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The Stretching Guide

2023.06.01 16:50 Serrasalmuslife42 The Stretching Guide

The Stretching Guide
Jewelry-
Wearing quality jewelry is one of the most important parts of the stretching journey. The best material(s) for stretching first and foremost are “Single-Flare Glass Plugs” or just glass jewelry in general; while single flare implant grade Titanium and Niobium are safe to use it is important to get it from a trusted makeseller to ensure the grade labeled is true to the product. Acrylic, silicone, cheap metal, double-flared as well as natural (e.g., wood, stone, horn) jewelry should never be used to stretch piercings let alone in freshy pierced flesh. Here’s why!
Acrylic: Materials like acrylic are quite easily scratched and dented even in packaging which can lead to irritation, and while acrylic is sold as jewelry it is not currently available in a biocompatible or “medical grade” version(s) in the jewelry trade, this means it is extremely hard to know the actual quality and with all the additives used to cheapen the product and worst case scenario leach these chemicals out of the jewelry. This honestly makes them a poor choice in all scenarios. Cheap Metals: Cheap metal jewelry can be safely presumed to be low quality in many ways, either being low polished, coated in low quality metals or just not the proper grade in general. This can lead to swelling and irritation in most cases. If you are going to choose to wear cheap/low-grade jewelry it is important to be sure the area for it to be used in is fully healed beforehand. Silicone: In this case there is a medical grade silicone jewelry provider, ‘Kaos Soft Wear’. Silicone is a poor choice for stretching as it can easily lead to micro-tears, blowouts, irritation, and infection. High-grade silicone is an excellent choice for healed piercings and after stretching has healed but not during either process. Natural Materials: These materials include wood, horn, stone, bamboo, and bone. Though these materials may surpass many types of jewelry in aesthetics they make a poor choice to stretch with and for initial piercings due to their porousness. This aids in trapping bacteria which of course can lead to the worst case, infections, if a blowout were to occur and irritation because of the larger pores in the surface. Having this happen during a stretch or initial piercing can make for a very poor experience which is why it is only recommended to wear these pieces in properly healed holes.
We always recommend buying your jewelry from a well-known manufacturer. Here are some quality jewelry manufacturers:
· Anometal
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Why Glass Single-Flare Plugs?-
Single-flare glass plugs are the best choice due to having a gentle but steep tapered end making insertion of the jewelry easy and comfortable when your body is ready. Being extremely smooth, non-porous, weighing less than other metal jewelry and with the ability to be autoclaved make it an excellent choice for stretching and fresh piercings alike!
O-Rings-
O-rings are regularly available in Nitrile and Silicone. Though usually safe, some people may have allergies to either of these materials. Signs of an allergy from your O-ring will usually result in redness or itchiness at the location of the O-ring, but it’s important to note not to confuse an allergy irritation with your ears not being ready to stretch as blowouts usually result in the days to come and not so much immediately after stretching. People who do use O-rings can often have trouble keeping them on, whether it be while sleeping or throughout the day, but there is a hopeful fix! The X-Ring - Nitrile No-Roll O-Rings. These O-rings stay where you need them much better than normal O-rings... Unfortunately, they only come in sizes from 8g to 1"(25mm)
Stretching Basics-
Keeping your Piercings Healthy:
Lubrication is necessary when stretching and with everyday maintenance/care. The products below are particularly good for keeping your lobes healthy & moisturized and when mixed with beeswax, they will work for twice as long!
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Always keep your lobes well lubricated!
Especially when inserting jewelry! This helps keep your skin happy and healthy, along with this the process of massaging the area is also beneficial in itself!
-How to Make "Ear Butter"
It is incredibly simple to make your own ear butter.
For it you’ll need the following ingredients:
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Instructions:
1. You will need two pots, a large pot filled with water, and a small pot to set inside the larger pot which will float on top of the water. This is how you make a double boiler.
2. Place pots on stove, on Low heat.
3. Add all ingredients to the small pot.
4. Slowly allow all the ingredients to melt together.
5. Stir thoroughly & pour into small mason jar or other container and allow to cool at room temperature.
6. When cooled, it should be creamy to slightly firm depending on the amount of beeswax you decide to use. *If it is too hard for your liking, melt mixture back down and add more oils. If it is too soft add more beeswax.*
When you’re stretching your ears and the area has healed, it’s important while oiling and massaging them to also practice being without them. This helps promote a healthier lobe by helping with circulation and prevention of thinning. However, some people may not be able to leave their plugs out for long periods of time but the point is to allow your lobes to rest each day while still being able to gently insert your jewelry again after said period of time. There are of course exceptions such as when you are planning to or have recently stretched already. You should be leaving your jewelry in while you sleep for two to four weeks before and after stretching but should still be removed for about an hour after showering or cleaning once a day to massage and lubricate them. While youre lobes are initially stretching try not to sleep on them and instead sleep on your back if possible or use a specially made pillow like a travel pillow.
· Ear Piercing Pillow
If you happen to have had a blowout that has healed and are trying to reduce the “cat-butt” look, lubricating, and massaging your lobes three times a day may prove to be beneficial, as well, downsizing, may prove beneficial and may also help thicken lobes!
How to stretch your Piercings:
When on your stretching journey patience is a virtue!
The longer you wait in-between stretching your newly loved piercing the better the results!
Below is an approximate timeline you can follow for soft tissue such as earlobes. Remember when in doubt, wait longer.
The following is the approximate time needed to wait in-between stretching softer tissue:
Fresh Piercing 6+ months 14g-12g 1+ month 12g-10g 1.5+ months 10g-8g 2+ months 8g-6g 3+ months 6g-4g 3+ month 4g-2g 3+ months 2g-7mm(1g) 4+ months 7mm-8mm(0g) 4+ months 8mm(0g)-9mm(00g) 4+ months 9mm(00g)-10mm(00g) 4+ months
When it comes to piercings located in cartilage and or other thicker tissues it is recommended to at least double the table above. To reiterate these are just general approximations. It is important to note that some people may need to go slower. It can be VERY hard to tell if you are going too fast sometimes. Stretching is not a race. The question should never be "How fast can I go?" But rather: "How slow should I go to avoid doing any damage."
Everyone’s body is different, the same goes for various locations of the body and stretching them. The smaller the increase in size the safer the stretch will be. You should never stretch more than 1mm at a time especially since it’s become quite easy to acquire glass plugs in 1.0mm and even 0.5mm increments. You can find incremental jewelry sizes here:
Snap-Plugs are a not mentioned very often now adays but are a safer alternative to tapers when/where they can be applied. These plugs snap together in small increments, more so than tapers. For example tapers in mm starting from 4g-0g would be 5, 5.5, 6, 7, 8mm with half sizes, whereas the snap-plugs from 4g-0g would consist of ten steps making it less likely for blowouts or tears when of course used properly.
Stretching Cartilage and Other Areas:
When considering stretching cartilage and other tougher areas it’s important to note that this is quite a different experience than stretching tissue like the standard earlobe. As mentioned above, healing and stretching time is about doubled when it comes these tougher areas whether it be septums, upper portions of the ear or even genital piercings like the apadravya. If you plan to stretch these areas you should consider how large you want to go with your stretching journey. If you only plan to go up a couple sizes from the initial piercing, stretching over time is definitely feasible where others who may want to go larger may consider a larger needle gauge or even get it done with a dermal/biopsy punch, area dependent. When it comes to these piercings it’s always recommended when stretching to see your piercer to make sure this is done properly even if only to get a feeling of how it is supposed to go. Stretching these areas even when going about it properly you can and usually will experience some slight pain and thereafter, redness along with tenderness in the area. Just the same, stretching these areas should never involve bleeding, swelling, consistent sharp pain, and shouldn’t feel tender for more than a week or so depending on the person and location. Using tapers should be done slowly, and with respect. Most of you have at least witnessed what happens when ears blowout and the damage improper taper use can cause, adding that experience to cartilage or other tougher areas and you can see why we are so strict with how/when tapers should be used.
Gauge and Sizes:
Once you reach about 2g you should realistically ignore “gauge” sizes as well as fractions of an inch and focus on using millimeters (mm). You can get yourself a decent caliper to measure your jewelry diameter as well as its overall and wearable area to be sure youre receiving and ordering the correct products.
There is nothing worse than buying a new set of plugs or other body jewelry only to find out it doesn’t fit properly.
Remember: It's Not a Race! Be Safe!
* I do not claim to be a professional piercer nor do I work in the body modification industry. If you are a professional and there are any improvements which could be made to this guide, PLEASE message me!* *Some additions may be made to this guide in the future* *Special thanks to TribalMethods who made the original stretching guide we have built upon! It was a huge help to a plethora of people through the years and we know it was greatly appreciated*
submitted by Serrasalmuslife42 to Stretched [link] [comments]

2023.05.31 18:02 WalleyeFishingFool % Fishing Knots for Fisherman

The truth is that you only need to know a handful, and none are all that complicated. Below, I’ve outlined the five knots every angler should know for connecting something sharp to the end of your line, whether that’s an octopus hook for catfishing or a crankbait for bass fishing. These can be mastered by anglers of any skill level, so learn them and you’ll know how to tie a fishing hook, lure, fly, or terminal tackle to your line the right way in any angling situation. Here we go.
  1. How to Tie a Fishing Hook on With an Improved Clinch Knot Use With: Monofilament, Fluorocarbon Best With: 4- to 20-pound-test line Pros: Easy to learn, good for most light-tackle applications Cons: Should not be used with braid or super line https://youtu.be/irven3mhwNg Improved Clinch Knot Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1. Run the end of your line through the eye of the hook, lure, or fly. Pull enough through to create a 4- to 5-inch tag end.
Step 2: Wind the tag end around the standing line 4 to 6 times, depending on the line’s diameter. As a rule, the thinnelighter the line, the more turns you should make.
Step 3: Pass the tag end through the hole created at the hook, lure, or fly eye.
Step 4: Now, pass the tag end through the larger hole created between the wraps and the tag end.
Step 5: Slowly pull the standing line to begin drawing the wraps towards the hook, lure, or fly eye.
Step 6: As the coils form, wet them with a bit of saliva and give the standing line a firmer pull to draw them tight and seat them against the eye.
Step 7: Trim the tag end close to the tightened coils.
The improved clinch is one of the easiest fishing knots you can tie, and for many anglers it was the first knot they ever learned. Sometimes referred to as a “fisherman’s knot,” it will quickly secure a hook, lure, or fly to your line, and when tied correctly, it provides ample strength for most freshwater and light inshore saltwater applications. But despite being a very simple knot, it does have drawbacks.
An improved clinch knot relies on friction between the tight coils to stay secure, and this is why you should never use an improved clinch with braid or super line—it’s so slick that a clinch may fail to “bite” properly and can easily come undone. Likewise, the thicker your fluorocarbon or monofilament, the more difficult it becomes to ensure tight, secure seating of a clinch knot. As a rule, I won’t use one with line heavier than 20-pound-test. Otherwise, the improved clinch will get the job done.
  1. How to Tie a Fishing Hook on With a Palomar Knot Use With: Monofilament, Fluorocarbon, Braided Line, Super Line Best With: 2- to 50-pound-test line Pros: One of the strongest fishing knots ever developed Cons: Has difficulty seating properly with monofilament and fluorocarbon heavier than 50 pounds. https://youtu.be/6e9PAyl7zM8 Palomar Knot Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1. Form a loop with the standing line. Make sure it’s big enough that whatever you’re tying on can be passed through easily.
Step 2. Feed the loop through the eye of the hook, lure, fly, or terminal tackle.
Step 3. Tie a simple overhand knot with the end of the loop around the tag end and standing line.
Step 4. Now, pass whatever you’re tying on through the loop.
Step 5. While gripping the hook, lure, fly, or terminal tackle in one hand, slowly pull the standing line, and then the tag end, to snug it all up.
Step 6. After the knot cinches down at the eye, trim the tag end.
If you only ever learn one fishing knot, make it the Palomar. Not only is the knot incredibly easy to tie, but it’s also practically unbreakable. I’m not even sure it’s possible for a Palomar to fail, because for one to slip, the laws of physics would need to be defied.
Unlike other knots that rely on coils jamming against the hook eye for strength, the Palomar behaves more like a noose. Once the knot is looped around the hook, lure, fly, or piece of terminal tackle you’re securing, there's no way for it to slip. This is why the Palomar is one of the few knots that is safe to use when tying braid or super line directly to a hook or lure eye.
In truth, you can use a Palomar knot with almost any line diameter. Just be aware that when dealing with monofilament and fluorocarbon heavier than 50-pound-test, getting one to cinch up properly takes a lot of strength, and you’ll want to wet or lube it to avoid creating too much friction when you pull it tight. This is because thick mono and fluoro are very stiff, hindering the ability of the line to be compressed down into a tight enough loop to seat this knot fully easily.
  1. How to Tie a Fishing Hook on With a Uni Knot Use With: Monofilament, Fluorocarbon, Heavier Braided Line, Heavier Super Line Best With: 10- to 80-pound-test line Pros: Simple to tie, stronger than an improved clinch knot Cons: Can cause line failure under extreme stress. https://youtu.be/Il7CGMFACe4 Uni Knot Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Pass the tag end through the eye of the hook, lure, fly, or terminal tackle, creating a 4- to 6-inch tag end.
Step 2: Create a loop with the tag end by moving it toward the eye, and keep it open by pinching the tag end and standing line together near the eye.
Step 3: Make 4 to 6 turns with the tag end around the standing line, passing the tag through the loop with each wrap.
Step 4: Pull the tag end slowly to tighten the coils around the standing line.
Step 5: Once tight, pull the standing line firmly to slide the coils down to the eye and jam it in place.
Step 6: Trim the tag end close to the knot.
The uni knot can sort of be considered the “grown up” improved clinch knot. The tying mechanics are remarkably similar, but one slight variation in the steps ramps up strength significantly. Whereas an improved clinch tightens down directly on top of the hook or lure eye, the coils in a uni knot tighten around the main line first and then slide down and jam against the eye. It seems like a minor difference, but it’s a big one.
Tied correctly, the uni is extremely strong, though it’s not completely fail-proof. Under extreme tension, the main line can cut right through the coils, causing the knot to fail. Keep in mind, however, that this would be most likely to happen during long, drawn-out battles with extraordinarily strong fish like tuna or amberjacks. While most anglers would agree a uni is perfectly fine for use with braid and super line, this failure is more likely to occur when it’s tied with very thin, slick braid. If you’re using braid or super line that’s 50-pound-test or heavier, the odds of a cut-through diminish.
  1. How to Tie a Fishing Hook on With a Non-Slip Mono Loop Use With: Monofilament, Fluorocarbon Best With: 12- to 60-pound-test line Pros: Adds action to flies and lures Cons: Can fail under too much pressure https://youtu.be/SoZ9iJNGAp8 Non-Slip Mono Loop Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Tie an overhand knot in the standing line, leaving a 5- to 7-inch tag.
Step 2: Pass the tag end through the eye of your lure or fly.
Step 3: Now, pass the tag end back through the overhand knot in the standing line.
Step 4: Make 3 or 4 wraps around the standing line with the tag end.
Step 5: Pass the tag end back through the overhand knot near the lure or fly eye.
Step 6: While pinching the open loop near the eye, pull the tag end and standing line to cinch it tight.
Step 7: Trim the tag end close to the knot.
The non-slip mono loop should be part of every angler’s knot repertoire, though it’s often overlooked. The benefits of this tie revolve less around strength and more around action, which is why it's used mostly with lures and flies. Whereas most knots cinch snuggly to a lure or fly’s eye, the non-slip cinches above the eye, creating a loop that runs through the eye, leaving your lure or fly free to pivot more freely from side to side and slide up and down a bit to create more vertical action. As a rule, I use this knot for any lure that doesn’t have a split ring or any streamer fly that I need to “swim” to create the illusion of a baitfish, leech, or crayfish.
The downside of the non-slip mono loop is that it’s only as strong as the line you’re using. Therefore, I skip the non-slip mono loop whenever I’m using less than 12-pound-test line or leader unless I’m targeting exceedingly small fish. Conversely, I’ve tied on tuna jigs with this knot using 60-pound fluorocarbon, and they didn’t snap me off.
  1. How to Tie a Fishing Hook on With a Snell Knot Use With: Monofilament, Fluorocarbon Best With: 15- to 50-pound-test line Pros: One of the most fail-proof connections for tying on a single hook Cons: Takes practice to master, should never be used with braid https://youtu.be/KnbEo9mnsxE Snell Knot Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Pass the end of the standing line through the eye of the hook until it reaches the middle of the shank. Pinch it against the shank and hold it in place.
Step 2: Pull more of the standing line through the eye to create a loop under the hook. Make sure the loop is large enough to pass around the hook several times.
Step 3: Moving the line away from you, wind the loop around the entire hook 4 to 6 times, pinching each wrap tightly to the shank, if needed, to keep it in place.
Step 4: While holding the hook and wraps, slowly pull the standing line to draw the coils tightly around the shank.
Step 5: Once everything is cinched down, give the standing line a firm tug to slide the coils against the back side of the hook eye.
Step 6: Trim the tag end close to the knot.
Have you ever wondered why the eyes of many hooks are slanted, making them perpendicular to the shank? It’s to help a snell knot seat properly. Unfortunately, Snelling a hook is a bit of a lost art, but if you fish a lot of live and dead baits, you should know how to snell, though I’ll be the first to admit, it takes practice and coordination.
Tied properly, a snell knot won’t ever slip or break—because it’s not actually tied to anything. A snell is a series of tight coils locked around a hook shank by an angled eye that the coils can't slip through. One thing to know about snelling is that it works best with stiffer line. I tend to only snell larger hooks that I’ll use for big fish requiring leaders of 20 pounds or heavier. That’s not to say you can’t snell with lighter line for garden-worm dunking, though the benefits are questionable when dealing with fish weighing less than 10 pounds or so.
Frequently Asked Questions Should I always wet or lubricate my knots before cinching them down?
It never hurts, though it’s more important with some knots than others. As a rule, anytime you tie a knot that gets its strength from a series of wraps or coils that cinch down very tightly, adding a little saliva is a plus. This is especially true when tying these knots with monofilament or fluorocarbon. Heavy-gauge mono and fluoro will create more friction during the tightening process than light mono and fluoro, making lubrication even more critical. Although many of these knots require a little abrasion within the coils to maintain strength, too much is a bad thing. It’s always smart to wet an improved clinch or uni knot before tightening, and if the idea of using spit grosses you out, hit the wraps with a little lip balm instead.
Does adding a drop of super glue to my knots increase their strength?
It depends on the knot, but if you put it on the wrong knot, it can make the connection weaker. This is especially true with coil-based knots like the uni and improved clinch. By design, the more pressure you put on them, the more tightly they should cinch. Adding glue to the wraps, however, will lock them in place, halting their ability to get any tighter through the day as you retrieve lures and fight fish. It’s much more common to see a dab of glue used on line-to-line connections than it is line to hook/lure/fly connections.
What is the best knot for a heavy monofilament line? (Pitzen)
If you need to use monofilament or fluorocarbon that tests heavier than approximately 60 pounds, you need to buy a crimp kit and forget about knots. Lines this heavy are very stiff. They don’t like to bend, conform, or compress tightly enough to properly tie any of the knots outlined here. Heavy lines are usually fitted with a metal sleeve that gets squeezed tight with a set of crimping pliers after the line is passed through the sleeve, through the eye, then back through the sleeve in a U shape.
submitted by WalleyeFishingFool to FishingForBeginners [link] [comments]

2023.05.31 14:42 suicidal_boy_ Any mod with android 5 or higher for Samsung Galaxy Young S6310T?

Welp, I'm desperate.
I own a Samsung Galaxy Young S6310T, my first phone ever, and decided to move back to it, as I got addicted to my modern phone. I thought that it's minimalistic abilities will help me be more focused on my uni classes and all that, to some extent I was right. That being said, I still have many issues, but let's focus on the main two:
The stable CyanogenMod 11 is android 4.4 (KitKat), and no longer supports WhatsApp (and will completely shut down the support later this year). I sadly need this app in order to communicate with everyone in my life.
[KK][4.4.4] CyanogenMod 11.0 for S63xx (Unofficial CM11 Nightly 20160724)
The Beta CyanogenMod 12 is an abandoned project that IS android 5.0.2, and thus I could use WhatsApp on it, but because it's an abandoned beta it is super buggy, constantly randomly restarts, the SD card isn't recognized, and the SIM card recognizes the network, but will not connect, nor call.
[LP][5.0.2] CyanogenMod 12.0 for S6310 (Unofficial CM12 Beta1 20160627)
I don't know what else to do, and I looked a lot to see if there's a ROM I missed, but now I'm just desperate... I could try and take a crack at finishing the code, but I don't know where the source code is.... nor if any other phone with the same processor got a mod I can copy lines from...
Thanks for your help,
any help,
really
submitted by suicidal_boy_ to LineageOS [link] [comments]

2023.05.31 04:44 TheContemptInsomniac What I found in the woods by I-90 in West New York still gives me nightmares.

Kelly wanted to drive that evening. We went to a music festival in Pittsburgh and were well on our way back to Buffalo. After we were around Westfield, New York Kelly began to act differently. When we drove the route two days earlier nothing came up, but she just seemed on edge all the sudden.
“Is there anything on your mind?” I asked her.
She looked at me and peaked a grin then responded, “Paul, it’s nothing, you don’t want to hear it.”
“Come on! Tell Me.” I shot back.
“My parents would drive my sister and I on this highway everytime we went to see my Grandparents.”
“So?” I interrupted her.
With a face that said she was being more serious, she looked at me. Then she looked back to the road and said, “My dad was driving us home one night back when I was fourteen. He told us something that I’m just remembering.”
There was a pause of silence as Kelly began to reveal more. “My dad told us that the local Erie tribe believed in an ‘evil spirit’ that would roam the woods by these roads. Also specifically he said to never stop around here.”
Afterwards I turned on the radio which made Kelly more calm. Our conversation then started to drift to Kurt Cobain as our favorite Nirvana song “Come As You Are” started playing. The song put us in a good mood. Then I started looking out the window towards the woods to the right of us. A sensation that there was something staring at us began to grow. That’s when I heard Kelly let out a whimper. Quickly I looked at her. She pointed out the highway closed up ahead with a detour. This was odd as.the highway was open just a few days earlier. Kelly also mentioned that her car was low on gas, but she was thinking about whether she’d be able to make it to the next town.
Her statement startled me and I asked if she seriously believed the story her dad told her. This offended her. After I explained if we got stuck with no gas we’d be more vulnerable, Kelly agreed to go to town.
We were driving through a small town in a mostly rural area. There were many fields and woods, although it soon became clear we were no closer to a gas station. Kelly began to get anxious. The low gas light came on, the idea that we’d have to pull over was becoming a reality.
An argument began between the two of us. Things were not going well. We had driven for some time while arguing before realizing we were now lost on some backroad. Soon dense trees surrounded us on both sides, and then we saw it, there was something on the road. We stopped. Kelly turned on the bright lights of the car and we saw what looked like a body in the middle of the road. We sat there for a few seconds just processing what was happening. Kelly locked the car before I could mutter anything.
Unlocking the car was my first instinct. In a panicked voice Kelly said, “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m responding to the situation,” I declared as I got out of the car. Kelly kept her brights on as I approached what was in the road. Upon closer inspection it became clear it wasn’t a human body. It was a decapitated pig carcass in what looked like white silk clothing. The feeling that things were extremely messed up washed over me. Then I heard what sounded like a loud buzzing. Coming from the woods about a hundred feet away.
Even though Kelly began to honk her car’s horn I fell into a trance from the buzzing. Whatever was creating the sound began to get closer, a slender black silhouette with a wingspan of many feet began to fly towards me. Whatever this was almost managed to reach me, but not before Kelly hit it with the car. The sound of the thump that the car made with the silhouette's torso broke my trance. Kelly yelled to get in the car, I was somewhat dazed, but I still responded to her command.
Several cracks ran through the windshield of the car and there was obvious damage to the bumper. We only had a few more miles worth of gas, but we drove anyway. The woods extended some ways, but eventually we came across a large soybean field and we concluded there must be a house nearby. The car began to make sounds and was shaking. We’d have to leave our car if we wanted to continue further.
It was silent between us, until we came to a complete stop and the engine was off.
“Do you think it’s still behind us?” I gravely asked.
“I don’t know, but it’s probably not safe to sit here.” Kelly said as she turned on the hazard lights. She continued, “If we leave this on it’ll draw attention to the car.”
We had some basic equipment in the back that I grabbed. This included a flashlight, as well as a backpack containing such items as a first aid kit and some fire starting supplies I had leftover from a camping trip. We started walking down the road quickly. When we heard the buzzing, that walk turned into a run. It was bright enough from the moon that we were able to spot a black silhouette hovering above the treeline a long distance away. Both of us were fairly quick on our feet and the field was about to end, but still there was no house in sight. The silhouette had just reached the car and was beginning to come towards us.
“We’re gonna have to run through the field.” Kelly confessed what we both knew. We made a sharp turn into the soybean farm and hunched over to conceal ourselves. Kelly was in front as I kept checking behind us. The field was quite wide and it felt like I was running for a long time. At some point we heard the buzzing again.
Subsequently Kelly let out a hopeful whisper, “There’s a house nearby!” I looked to see a modern farmhouse just up ahead. The buzzing was getting louder however. By the time we made it to the front door, we started pounding and screaming our lungs out for help. A shadow of what looked like a massive bat circled us on the ground. That’s when a light on the top floor finally turned on. Waiting around wasn’t an option however, so we ran to the back yard underneath a trailer.
Lying there seemed to be our only option. While underneath I wanted to tell Kelly that I was sorry for not listening to her, but I was silent for our safety. The entity touched onto the ground by our trailer, we could see the sophisticated pattern on its wings. It had two feather-like extrusions from its face, and between them a thin trunk-like organ that curled up. The buzzing was loud enough that we had to cup our ears. Just as the winged entity began to walk towards us we saw the flash and heard the first gunshot. This led the entity to fly away.
For a few moments we waited until the buzzing was gone completely. That’s when we heard a warm older voice, “The both of you should come inside before it comes back.”
We got up and followed the man into his back door which led directly to his kitchen. My shirt had some residue on it, and it was sticky. The man hastily got me a new shirt. Once we got seated I could now more clearly see the white beard and hair that the man had. He seemed somewhat weathered. If he were a little bigger he could pass off as Santa, but he was too thin for that.
He said if anyone wanted coffee he was gonna make some. He put his rifle against the wall. He was extremely calm considering the situation. That’s when he walked to the phone and called the sheriff. We explained to the man about our car. Through the conversation it was clear the man was named Sameul and he was the owner of the soybean field. Then we heard something we’d never heard before, “Yeah Chuck you wouldn’t believe it, the EnCropia almost got them.”
After Sameul hung up the phone I asked him, “‘EnCropia,’ is that what that thing is called?”
“Unfortunately yes, it’s been here for generations, it’s most of the reason we can’t have livestock in these parts.” He finished brewing the coffee and began pouring himself a glass. He quickly gestured if we wanted a cup. Kelly wanted some so I accepted as well. He then continued, “It’s odd that it’s interacting with people again. I’m assuming you two were stopped in the middle of the street.”
“Yeah, how’d you know? We-” Kelly began to say but was cut off.
“That’s what it does, it tries to play tricks on you,” he stated.
Sameul introduced us to his wife Matilda, she seemed pleasant, and took a sincere tone when talking to us about our experience. We began talking about how university professors used to visit their town and talk to them about the sightings. Samuel said he talked to one professor who told him the official name they had for the entity. He continued to talk about how nothing was done. He was mid sentence about to reveal more details when the power went out. It happened suddenly and scared us.
What made matters worse was that one of the windows in the other room got broken by a stone. Samuel grabbed his rifle and he instructed Matilda to grab hers. In the dark we could hear the buzzing. Samuel walked to the broken window and began to fire his gun. Matilda instructed us to follow her outside. There was a building that was made of cement. The buzzing persisted as we waited there, with more shots being fired we hunkered down.
Cold is how it felt at first, again it was dark, but Matilda had her gun pointed at the door. We began to hear the screaming, it was Sameul. He did not sound well. The buzzing sounded like it was getting closer. We could see out one window, when we thought it was over we saw the lights and heard the sirens.
Chuck had called in reinforcements. When this became clear the buzzing faded away. We were in the middle of the lawn. Some officers told Matilda to come with them, while Chuck had us follow him to his car. While we followed Chuck we heard shrieks from Matilda. I still had the backpack on, as I never took it off. Chuck told us they found the car and that he was gonna take us back to the station with him for our safety.
Driving in what seemed like a safe vehicle was the only thing comforting about the situation.
“EnCropia’s is intelligent. You two should have just followed the detour.” He sternly announced.
“The highway was closed-.” I tried to say.
“-Yeah, guess what caused that.” Chuck cut me off.
Kelly wanted to know what happened to Sameul by asking. Before Chuck could respond however, he slammed on the breaks. The EnCropia was in the middle of the road. He prepared his weapon, the entity flew over and picked up the front of the car with its massive human-like appendages, while its tentacle licked the windshield. Its buzzing was almost ear damagingly loud. Chuck tried to slam on the acceleration, but we were held in place. Chuck called in for backup, but the EnCropia was very strong and managed to flip completely over.
Unfortunately I was in the back and my door didn’t open from the inside. However Kelly managed to crawl out of her door. Chuck was dazed or even possibly unconscious. Kelly then got up and tried to open my door. In this process the The EnCropia grabbed her.
“Come for me!” Kelly screamed over the buzzing. I then watched the entity fly off with her as the buzzing faded. Suddenly I heard Chuck. He sounded somewhat concussed. It wouldn’t take long for more officers to arrive.
Ambulances were called for the both of us, I didn’t need to go to the hospital, however Chuck wasn’t as lucky. I drove with a captain on the force. We drove a few miles more. That’s when I saw it. Not too far a large silhouette flew into the woods. I told Chuck’s second in command I was going to vomit. He asked if it could wait. I told him it could not wait. He stopped the car on the side of the road. As soon as both of my feet were on the pavement I broke into a full sprint. I was quick, and although the trees were thin and spaced out, it was dark enough that I disappeared. I still had my back pack which had a flashlight. I turned it on after about a mile.
The woods were becoming more dense. Soon it became clear I was lost. I now didn’t know which direction to go. I debated retracing my steps, but that’s when I saw it, it was an entrance to a cave underneath a large tree. I walked towards the entrance to it with my flashlight. I wasn’t sure how to interpret what I saw at first. It was slimy, football shaped shapes that moved.
As I explored the cave further I discovered a host of equipment made from trash and what looked like other loose wood. These looked like they assisted in turning the sticky residue from the massive larvae into silk. And that silk into clothing. That’s when I heard the whisper, “Paul, is that you?”
It was Kelly, she was beneath some of the larvae. I managed to pull her out. She then told Sameul was also there. He was unconscious, but we managed to drag him out as well. Kelly explained to me that the larvae belonged to the EnCropia. We dragged Sameul some distance from the cave, before I made the decision to go in with lighter fluid and set the larvae ablaze. When I got done pouring all the fluid however we could hear the buzzing once again. The entity was nearby. Kelly began to scream after, but I decided to light the fluid regardless.
Larvae began to cook from the flames. This angered the entity and it flew into the cave. Kelly and I dragged Samuel out in the opposite direction. Luckily after a little bit of time we saw flashlights. They had already put together a search party. Samuel was in rough shape and was sent to the hospital, but Kelly was physically fine, but emotionally not as much.
At the police station we were finally safe. We were told Sameul and Chuck were stable. By this point the sun was starting to rise. A few hours passed until some federal agents interviewed us. They wanted to know everything. Kelly’s mom came and picked us up. It was silent on the car ride home. After we arrived back Kelly and I talked and agreed to part ways.
About two decades have passed since this occurred. I’m married now to a different woman, and I have children. I haven’t had contact with Kelly since. I still have nightmares about what I saw and what I experienced. Now I always warn my kids about that part of I-90.
submitted by TheContemptInsomniac to nosleep [link] [comments]

2023.05.31 02:19 hetrananex Is it normal/okay for flame to be blue but tips of flame to be orange on propane oven?

Just moved out to a rural area. Guys at the appliance store told us there is no conversion kit and that we can manually adjust our oven for propane. I found a way to adjust and at the highest oxygen in-take for all 4 burners and the oven itself, it improved dramatically. Flames went from out of control all orange to controlled, mostly blue. The tips of the flame are still orange though even at the highest airflow setting for the burners/oven. Is that alright can I just be done with my stove now? Lol
submitted by hetrananex to appliancerepair [link] [comments]

2023.05.30 20:28 NewYearsD A Detailed Post-Trip Report 2 Weeks in Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka) 28/M/US

I spent 2 weeks traveling through Japan - Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and I'm writing this for those who are thinking about visiting. To preface, I did travel with a friend but spent a lot of time on my own. I'll cover as much as possible.
Pre-Trip
I booked a flight with American Airlines / Delta Airlines for $590 round-trip three months before departing.
I flew out of Los Angeles to Tokyo (Haneda). The trip started on February 9 and ended on February 20. I booked my accommodation before arriving in Japan. I used Hostelworld and Agoda. More about the hostels and hotels I booked are below.
COVID Screening and Visa information for US Citizens only
During the time I visited, Japan still required visitors to be fully vaccinated and have a pre-screening for arrival. First I had to do a pre-screening for American Airlines on VeriFly (please do this a day before checking in at the airport if so). Then, save yourself time and use Visit Japan Web (http://vjw-lp.digital.go.jp/en/) and do the pre-screening requirements a couple of days before departure.
When you land in Tokyo, immediately after deplaning, swaths of airport personnel ask if you have the screener filled out and ready to go. If you don’t, they put you to the side and ask you to fill it out using the airport’s wifi. It takes time and you still have to go through customs after.
Visas for US citizens is a free, 3-month visa if I recall correctly. Bring your COVID vaccination card just in case they ask for it.
Tech/Phone
I took my iPhone 14 Pro (unlocked) and connected buying Ubigi 10gb data plan. Do this before flying to Japan. When you land, you can activate your data plan directly on your phone. I didn’t get pocket wifi as the Ubigi worked perfectly.
Download the Ubigi app. They give instructions but please follow them.
Apps that I used:
Google Maps: you can download offline maps.
Google Translate: Use this everywhere you go. You can use the camera feature and it can translate Japanese to English really great. It saved me a lot of hassle when ordering at restaurants.
Currency Converter
You might want to download a VPN if you want to use Netflix and such. Express VPN is one I’d recommend.
Money/Currency
I took my Charles Schwab debit card and a backup Chase credit card/Chase debit card. Surprisingly, a lot of stores in Japan are cash-heavy; especially small shops and restaurants. My budget for the trip was $2000 with flights included.
Hostels and hotels were around $20-35 USD. Food prices were about $7-$20 a meal. It can get really expensive if you eat at fine dining restaurants. That being said, I stuck to eating mostly at hole-in-the-wall establishments where no English was spoken. Believe me when I say that the best ramen I ever had was only $7 USD. More on what restaurants I recommend are down below. If you really want to save money, don’t buy alcohol.
A solid budget for me was $60-$80 per day without lodging expenses. Some days, I only spent $40 which was all food (I spare no expense for food), then some days I went over because I bought cool souvenirs for myself and some excursions were pricey. You can visit Japan for less but I didn’t want to money pinch myself because I was only there for 2 weeks.
Transportation
I love Japan for this reason. So here’s my take: If you are visiting Japan for exactly 14 days; get the JR Pass on Klook. You buy this a month before departing your home country. For me, Klook delivered it about a week after I bought it over Mail. You could buy either a 7, 14, or 21-day JR pass so I would recommend planning a trip that matches these exact number of days to get the most out of your money.
Now imagine you’re in Japan. It is your first day officially visiting…go to a JR Pass office at any major train station and ask them to redeem your pass. They will ask for the paper ticket that arrived in the mail to your home and they will ask for your passport. After they verify that it is you, they will give you a small ticket which will be your JR pass. DO NOT LOSE THIS! I believe they will not replace it. On how to use it, check out this video.
Now to navigate, I used a combination of Google Maps and Apple Maps to get around. Use whichever one is more comfortable for you. These 2 apps are really exceptional at mapping out the best routes and the times trains depart. Note: the JR Pass only works for JR rail lines! Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka all have their own subways and train lines with their own payment system. More on this…
So the best way to get around the city is using a Suica card. These are sold virtually at any train station. If you can't find it, ask a train station attendant and say “Suica?”. They point you in the right direction.
A Suica card can be refilled unlimited times and can be used for any rail lines (JR included, but not for Bullet Trains). It is used by tapping at the turnstiles to enter the rails and at any vending machine in Japan! Also at arcades! It is a total mindblower haha Also in Tokyo, some hostels or hotels have a 3-day subway pass for cheap.
Bullet Trains - You can use the Shinkansen bullet trains if you have the JR Pass. Make an important note: You can only ride the Hikari or Sakura trains with your JR Pass. The Nozomi and Mizuho are reserved seating and cost extra because they have fewer stops. If they catch you using these rail lines, they will ask you to get off the next stop or worse, fine you and report you. To see Mount Fuji from Tokyo to Kyoto/Osaka, sit on the right side of the train (right side of the direction it is going). Use Google Maps and Apple Maps to pinpoint when to look out the window.
Food
I usually ate sandwiches and pastries from 7-Eleven in the morning or whenever I needed to pack a lunch. It was a great way to save cash and the food was delicious. High-quality foods and snacks.
As I said earlier, I really spare no expense for good, big meals. I save money at 7-Eleven so I can go all out for lunch and dinner. My go-to meal was usually ramen because it was so damn good. I tried a lot of foods. I’ll try and remember which ones I ate: - Ramen - Okonomiyaki - Unagi - Katsu Curry - Taiyaki - Tempura - Japanese cheesecake - Macha ice cream - Macha waffles - Onigiri - And a lot of different ice creams, confectionary snacks - McDonald’s - please try lol they have interesting combinations
Pack List
I used a 40-liter Osprey backpack.
1 scarf
1 beanie
2 cotton t-shirts
2 thermal polyester long-sleeve shirts (Odor resistant)
2 pairs of joggers
1 pair of Nike thermal leggings
8 pairs of Nike Dri-Fit boxers (lost 1)
4 pairs of ankle socks
3 pairs of Darn Tough Merino wool blend socks (Highly recommend, Odor resistant)
1 parka
1 pair of Adidas Ultraboost shoes
1 Hershel toiletries bag
2 Forge cable combination locks
External battery pack (13000 mAh)
Bose QC-25 noise-canceling headphones
Over the course of the trip, I bought a much-needed 30L Patagonia day backpack
I don’t sweat heavily so I re-wore my shirts, the Merino wool blend socks, and joggers. I did my laundry maybe once or twice at the hostels. It was freezing at the time I went, so I usually layered up when temperatures were lower than usual.
Safety
I am a 6'1" (1.85 m) male with a light brown complexion. I felt safe most of my time there. I think it was the safest country I have ever been to. Some Japanese people are known to be racist but I didn’t experience it. So I wouldn’t worry about it.
Itinerary/Activities
Feb 9 Day 1 Tokyo Feb 10 Day 2 Tokyo Feb 11 Day 3 Tokyo (Day Trip to Odiaba/Yokohama) Feb 12 Day 4 Osaka Feb 13 Day 5 Osaka (Day Trip to Hime-ji Castle/Kobe) Feb 14 Day 6 Osaka (Day Trip to Nara) Feb 15 Day 7 Kyoto Feb 16 Day 8 Kyoto Feb 17 Day 9 Kyoto Feb 18 Day 10 Tokyo Feb 19 Day 11 Tokyo Feb 20 Day 12 Tokyo (Fly Out)
I will put a star (*) next to anything that I highly recommend! 2 stars are for more emphasis! I will list the accommodation first, then activities, and then bars/restaurants.
Tokyo - 3 Nights (Asakusa + Akihabara + Odaiba + Yokohama)
Lodging: Sakura Hostel Asakusa
Activities: *Tokyo National Museum, *Senso-ji Temple, Kaminarimon Gate, Nakamise-dori Street, *Sengaku-ji Temple, Hirose Entertainment Yard arcade, Animate Akihabara, **Mandarake Complex Akihabara, Tsukiji Outer Fish Market, TeamLabs Odaiba, Gundam Yokohama, NISMO Museum Yokohama, Nissan Headquarters Yokohama
Restaurants/Bars: Fuji Ramen Asakusa, Asakusa Unana, *Naruto Taiyaki, *Koyangi Asakusa, *Ouzakura Ramen Yokohama
Took a Shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo to Osaka
Osaka - 3 Nights (Kobe + Nara)
Lodging: Backstage Osaka Hostel
Activities: *Hime-ji Castle, *Kaiyukan Aquarium, Dontonbori, Shinsekai, Round 1 Stadium (arcade), *Nunobiki Waterfall Kobe, *Todai-ji Temple, *Nara Park, Kasuga Taisha Temple, Gilco Sign
Restaurants/Bars: *Wakakusa Curry Nara, *Nakatanidou Nara, *cafe CROCO Nara, Fanny Mae Bar Osaka, Rikuro’s Namba Main Branch, PC and Retro Bar Space Station, Bible Club Bar Osaka, Untitled karaoke bar next to Rock Bar Cherry Bomb lol, Takoyaki Wanaka Sennichimae Osaka, Sushi Dokoro Kuromonsuehiro Osaka, *Dotombori Ichiaki Osaka, *Hamamoto Coffee Himeji, Tairku Ramen Kobe
Took a Shinkansen bullet train from Osaka to Kyoto
Kyoto - 3 Nights (Day Trip to Uji)
Lodging: **Gojo Guesthouse
Activities: Otagi Nembutsu-ji Temple, Adashino Mayumura (closed when I arrived early), Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, *Tenryu-ji Temple, Togetsukyo Bridge, *Nishiki Market, *pocoapoco Record Store, Super Milk Record Store, *Fushimi Inari Taisha Temple Complex, *Byodo-In Temple Restaurants/Bars: *comorebi Ramen House, 茶室 tea room Uji, *Gion Duck Noodles, 自家製麺 うどん 讃式
Took a Shinkansen bullet train from Kyoto to Tokyo - Saw a glimpse of Mount Fuji :’)
Tokyo - 2 Nights (Shinjuku + Shibuya + Akihabara)
Lodging: **Capsule Hotel Anshin Oyado Shinjuku Station (Males Only)
Activities: Tower Records Shinjuku, Disk Union Shinjuku, Mandarake Complex Shibuya, Nakano Broadway, Tokyo Dome for Red Hot Chili Peppers concert, *Shibuya Sky at Night, Tokyu Hands Shop
Restaurants/Bars: Ramen Kaijin, Shakey’s, McDonald’s, Ichiran Nakano
Tips, Advice, and Bonus Stuff!
  1. Goes without saying but please respect the local customs.
  2. Please learn how to say “Thank You” in Japanese! Just learning and using “Arigato” anywhere you go will make you seem like you care and respect everyone. Nothing was more embarrassing than watching an American say “thank you” to a Japanese person.
  3. Plan to do the major tourist attractions early in the morning. You will get nice pictures without any tourists and you’ll sometimes get the whole temple complex to yourself. The staff will also be more friendly and willing to chat with you. I usually aim to be at temples around 7:00 when they open.
  4. Use Google Translate for everything! You can have full conversations with friendly Japanese people when using the conversation feature on the app! Use the camera feature to translate Kanji at restaurants that do not offer an English menu.
  5. Get a Ubigi data plan, I bought 10GB and it had good service anywhere I went. Get more GB if you plan on staying longer.
  6. I ate at 7-Eleven most of the time when I was too lazy or tired to go out. The 7-Elevens here in Japan are nothing like the ones in the US. Expect to find high-quality sandwiches, Onigiri, and more Japanese snacks.
  7. Shop at supermarkets near the end of the day (1 hour before closing) and they usually mark down prepped meals half-off or at a discounted price! If you really on a budget, this can help you to save a ton of money and still get a taste of the local cuisine.
  8. If you need to buy random stuff like clothes, bags, or toiletries; go shop at any Don Quijote or Tokyu Hands department store. They have other shops too that are great to find cool stuff.
  9. Use Google Translate to translate English to Kanji (Japanese) and use Kanji to find restaurants that are hidden because they don’t use English words. For example, if you want to find the best ramen place, search “拉麺” and you’ll find hidden gems with 5-star reviews!
  10. The best souvenir I brought back myself was a Goshuincho. These are “honorable stamp/seal book” used by people visiting shrines or temples. If you want more info, google this! I highly recommend doing this!
If you have any questions, comment below or send a DM. Peace!
submitted by NewYearsD to solotravel [link] [comments]

2023.05.30 10:33 Acrobatic_Cellist_35 Tips to Choose the Right Nursery for Your Child

With regards to choosing the main foundation where your youngster will accept their initial training, your choice will have an effect into the indefinite future. In the UAE, there's such a huge amount to browse, and to make it more straightforward for you, we interview a portion of the veterans of the UAE nursery scene for a manual for your kid's initial step.

Educational program

"Guardians ought to initially get to know the various educational programs offered and their interesting ways to deal with learning"
"As a family, you then need to limit your choices in view of area, cost and hours as a subsequent step."
Leads Early follows the Early Years Establishment Stage (EYFS) program in a Montessori school climate, a typical educational plan utilized in UAE preschools.
"I sincerely have faith in the EYFS, an educational plan that is likewise utilized in Britain. It has seven areas of learning and functions as a structure for our instructors to screen, track and access a kid's advancement, guaranteeing the homeroom and exercises cover all areas of learning,"
"Is it an extensive educational plan that sets out the essential data and direction for setting up a program, or a structure that permits instructors/facilitators to make the educational program? Is there proof of the educational plan's viability when carried out well? Are assets accessible to help staff in executing the educational plan?" she makes sense of.
Beside educational program materials, guardians ought to likewise really focus on the qualities it elevates and exercises joined to it. While certain nurseries will zero in on play-based learning, others might pick a more primary methodology - and both would be following a similar educational program.

Climate

Most guardians search for a climate where their children could feel great, however what makes a decent nursery setting?
"Nursery conditions ought to be welcoming, comprehensive, kid well disposed, open and testing, with instructive exercises that empower children to pick their learning,"
"It's implied that they ought to follow elevated degrees of wellbeing and security conventions. Focuses ought to have regions that take into consideration indoor and outside play, as well as ones that cultivate different formative spaces. For instance, a library, rec center, and pretend and tangible corners," she adds.
Homeroom structure is likewise one of the main elements while picking a nursery. "In a Montessori educational program, for example, Leads Early’s, the homeroom is separated into five explicit learning regions and gear is on low-level racks, making it effectively open for youngsters. There's an understanding corner and an easel in every study hall to empower freedom," she says.
"A study hall ought not be excessively occupied or jumbled as it very well may be diverting for youngsters, and there ought to be sufficient room with the expectation of complimentary progression of development. It's vital to check class sizes and the proportion of grown-ups to kids, with clear rules accessible from the Service to lead this,"
The nursery climate ought to be protected, warm, inviting and invigorating, for youngsters, yet for guardians also.
"A catchphrase with regards to assessing a climate is that it should be 'empowering'. It ought to help children's requirements, give open doors, rouse and start interest. Early Training should be exploratory and children ought to enter their homeroom consistently and see new exercises and thoughts,".
"This additional extraordinary learning climate can be conveyed by an energetic and exceptionally gifted instructor who comprehends youngster improvement, one who's searching for different ways of broadening learning. I likewise accept that an excellent nursery looks to give a learning an open door at each second and in each discussion. Learning is all over," she adds.

Educators and staff

Nursery staff assume a fundamental part in your youngster's turn of events and schooling, and initial feelings are critical.
"When you stroll into a middle, you ought to get a quick 'feeling' about the spot. Do staff look cheerful? Do they make proper acquaintance and welcome you? Is it safe to say that they are effectively drawn in with kids? At Splendid Starting points, we typically take a visit with imminent guardians at our most active times so they can see staff and children completely inundated,".
"While visiting the office, see how staff associate with children and whether they look satisfied. Address them and check whether they're ready to make an association with you. Ensure you get some information about educators' capabilities and experience,"
"Subsequent to checking qualifications, I investigate potential new educators' fundamental beliefs and measure them against those of our nursery school. Homeroom strategies can't be educated, however warmth, persistence, inspiration and commitment are intrinsic," she says.
"I figure guardians ought to search for nurseries with a low staff turnover, strength inside the supervisory group and great capabilities across all the staff - including support, she adds. "These elements genuinely have an effect."

Educational cost

Perhaps of the greatest variable guardians will consider is whether a nursery merits the educational expenses. Normally, a kid's schooling is, however the foundation they become a piece of requirements to mirror that - and it's no simple choice to make.
"Most Early Years educational plans consider some adaptability, so search for the outcome when a kid has gone through the framework. What objectives have they accomplished in proficiency and numbers? How would they foster individual, social and close to home abilities? Does the nursery offer extra advancement exercises like dialects, music and actual turn of events? Another significant perspective is check the way that they speak with guardians in regards to the kid's learning and objectives accomplished,"
We encourages guardians to pay special attention to an extremely low expense structure, and to not consequently go for the less expensive choice. "Nursery instruction is the underpinning of your youngster's future. The advantages will be not difficult to see when they change with certainty, enunciation, confidence and a major tool kit of mastering abilities. Great nurseries are famous and popular for good explanation," she says.
Abu Dhabi's Splendid Starting points, the more guardians see, the better of a choice they would have the option to make. "I accept guardians ought to visit various focuses prior to choosing which one would be the best fit for their youngster. Informal exchange proposals go quite far, as well. Guardians need to consider their own spending plans while concluding over educational cost rates that suit them best, however be careful - the most costly or present day looking doesn't be guaranteed to mean the best," she makes sense of.
Blossoming Buds' Boulos urges guardians to focus on wellbeing and security. "Whenever needs are set, a reducing interaction will assist with finding the right Early Years setting. There sure are numerous choices to browse on the lookout, which goes with choice making for guardians one piece of the complicated riddle that is their work and everyday life," she says.
"Guardians might need to check locales which have a registry posting of the relative multitude of nurseries alongside their educational expenses, area and surveys. Besides, informal exchange goes quite far, and getting some information about their experience inside a specific setting can assist with the dynamic interaction," Boulos adds. "Pick carefully."

Basically

"Tight down your decisions originally founded on your necessities. Assuming you're working guardians, you would require longer functional hours, perhaps transport offices and nearness to your home would be significant, as well. See esteem presented at the cost: does the nursery give any extra-curricular exercises inside the charges, and are any dinners or tidbits included?" says the Leads Early Principal.
"Search for foundations that have been around for quite a while and have a history. Generally, they're the ones you know about habitually by overhearing people's conversations. The main models would be staff as your kid will be in their consideration, so get some information about their experience, capabilities and responsibility,"
Security is fundamental as well: are there qualified medical caretakers anywhere nearby and is staff emergency treatment prepared? Presumed nurseries ought to have approaches and methodology set up for everything, so request to see them.
submitted by Acrobatic_Cellist_35 to u/Acrobatic_Cellist_35 [link] [comments]

2023.05.30 09:14 WaveOfWire One Hell Of A Vacation - Chapter 86

First Prev Next Royal Road
u/KieveKRS providing the Trash certification of quality!
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[Thank you for agreeing to teach them.]
Volta nodded, not entirely sure if it was for the best, but recognizing a request—or in this case, a thinly veiled order—for what it was.
Ever since she had taught Scarlet and the others her field, the occasional rotation of Lilhuns would be assigned to work under her for a time. It made her job easier, especially since the settlement was expanding at a ludicrous rate compared to what she had heard from the new members of the pack.
The Atmo that had joined were quickly treated and cared for, those who did not require so much time for recovery quickly accompanying the existing insects in their tasks. The largest, Mama, frequently assisted in construction and decoration of structures, so they worked with her. Once they had oriented how things progressed and their part in it, they were paired off with a construction group to be assigned a project. It was to the point where there were as many as five buildings nearing completion at once, the majority of them being accommodation for the new members of the pack.
The remaining question was regarding the insect kits. The answer? Well, there were four Atmo slightly smaller than the purple ‘Queen’ that had requested Volta instruct them, the pearlescent shimmer of her scaled carapace dancing in the sunbeams afforded by the skylight the den had been constructed with.
Teaching Violet—as well as the two Atmo that Volta had escorted to this pack—in the ways of sanitation had been an interesting endeavour, all things considered. They held a remarkable dexterity in those long edged appendages, but the lack of something to properly grasp with made finding a way to secure a rag onto the ends difficult. Luckily, Heralt was receptive to assisting her with creating something that would attach to the blades.
It was little more than a mop that secured to the joint and braced around the cutting edge gingerly, the ends of the stick using ‘ironwood’ springs to clamp onto fabric pads that would soak in the cleaning solution and allow them to do the floors and walls. Were it not for how shockingly efficient the task was performed, she would have been useless through the laughter at the sight.
Each Atmo kit held two of the devices on their limbs, allowing them to travel in pairs and simply finish large spaces within the time it would take her to prepare the next batch of cleaners to use. They had only started a short while ago and yet two dens had been finished, Scarlet assisting her in doing whatever furniture or ledges the Atmo were unsuited to completing. The odd pack member going through what Head Sahari called ‘versatility training’ listened to her instructions in an oddly compliant manner, giving the blue-furred female pause at the unusual experience.
All in all; the cleaner was guiding the five insects and three Lilhuns in the ways of cleanliness. Scarlet was primarily keeping an eye on those who interacted with the purple-coloured Atmo, her contributions to the other tasks proficient, despite the split attention. Before, she would have assumed the servant quietly acquiescing orders, but the dark red-furred female was particularly vigilant in matters pertaining to the kit now.
Volta wasn’t sure what happened to the other servants that regularly assisted her on a rotation—save for Kaslin, the female seeming to have been unofficially inducted as Grand…. Toril’s assistant alongside his mate, Tersa—but Faye, the mild-mannered deep gold-furred female, and Raine, the polite and excitable brown-furred female, had been absent for many suns now.
It was almost lonely, in a way.
Almost.
“That should be sufficient for this den,” she announced to the gaggle of Atmo kits and Lilhuns, careful to remind them not to bother the few ‘rock-worms’ that Ferra kept separate from the rest outside. There were only four, the largest one adorned in an odd script, but they were apparently a selection of favourites of the female. Regardless, it would not do to irritate a mate of Atrox.
The brown-furred male was responsible for the ghastly armour that the Grand Hunter wore on occasion, and she was not in a hurry to see if the disturbing tendencies of the male extended to how he displayed his displeasure.
“Where is our next destination?” Scarlet asked, her tail brushing up Volta’s spine in an uncomfortable way. It wasn’t that she disliked the touch, but the owner of it worried her. Something about the servant struck her as more than what was presented, and it was obvious that the female thought of it as immensely entertaining. That much was obvious, even without the sly grin.
“We have proceeded much faster than I was expecting,” the blue-furred female admitted, mentally checking over her itinerary while subtly batting away the offending appendage. “I suppose we should attempt the barracks while the pack is engaged, then rest for a time.”
[May I leave to check on the other Atmo?]
Volta paused, unsure why it was being requested rather than merely presented as a fact. Violet was—as far as it mattered—completely beyond the cleaner’s station, if only because she was an adopted kit of the Grand Hunter, as well as a sort of leadership figure for the insects. It was an enigmatic blend of positions where the purple insect could very well order Volta to do things, rather than ask. Though the hierarchy was not nepotistic in nature, it was safer to adhere to the wishes of the den-kit than it was to disobey.
“You may. What of the others?”
[I will leave them with you and Scarlet.]
The mentioned servant frowned. “I am to accompany you.”
Violet chittered her curious laugh. [These young ones are your task. I must attend to my own.]
Volta discreetly jabbed the female with a claw, glaring at her not to question the wishes of her better. The less attention drawn from the Grand Hunter, the better. Just picturing the disturbing mask and piercing gaze was enough to make her blanch.
Either reminded of her position, or merely interested in playful retaliation, Scarlet sighed quietly, bowing slightly to the insect. “As you wish, young mistress. Do call for me if I am required.”
[I will. Thank you, Scarlet, Volta.]
Volta lowered her head, watching the Queen leave before returning her attention to the group.
“We will do the first barracks, then determine if we are of time to do the second. The kits are to await the floors cleared of obstruction by the Lilhuns before cleaning them. We will manage it in sections so as not to disturb any who may be taking a break. In future—assuming you are to operate independently from myself—it would be best if you are used to working in groups.”
The Lilhuns nodded their understanding, the young Atmo hesitantly conferring with each other before approaching Scarlet to have their mops freed of soiled cloth and materials placed upon their carriages.
The Atmo had all been outfitted with a specially made platform that fitted over their wider base, clasping underneath past their six legs. It allowed them to transport much, their carrying capacity much larger than one would suspect from their size. The kits could comfortably haul all of the materials for the sun by themselves, and the adults had been the subject of idle speculation for mounted weapon platforms—assuming the fragmented conversation she had chanced upon was to be believed.
Volta inspected the odd section that the Lilhuns under her tutelage completed while she waited for packing to finish. She was not necessarily pleased with the results, but it was more important for them to understand the procedure to take for various locations at the moment. They had proven that they understood what to do for the dens, so next came teaching them how to approach high-traffic areas.
Once everyone had been prepared and the materials gathered, they left the den and started towards the barracks, glimpsing the Grand Hunter sparring with some of the pack in the open.
Ever since the Atmo were delivered by a trade caravan, the male had taken to training much of the pack personally, Huntress Pan taking over much of his more mundane work. Those who were deemed adequate were then pawed off to Head Tel for some specialized training, though Volta was not privy to what exactly it was meant to accomplish.
Regardless, Head Sahari was in charge of rotating out the pack amongst tasks, only a few specialists being directly assigned to any one occupation. By all rights, Volta herself should be training under the male, but the nature of her work meant that she was typically better off doing her job when such was under way. Given that the Grand Hunter was a rare case of someone fully understanding the importance of her specialty—and how little she wished to interact with the alien—she was thankfully spared.
Disregarding the events going on, she motioned for her group to follow her. There was work to do.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
“Two up!” he called out, wiping the sweat from his brow. The exertion cleared his mind, and the break from endless paperwork was appreciated. With the influx of members and various training being required, he had gotten rather exhausted mentally. Between the Wraiths being gone for two weeks since he told them to do recon around the Atmo traders, regular interaction with various caravans, planning out what they needed to do, and Robert still not calling him since the man had left to handle something, he had been pretty high-strung.
As always, there was more on his mind. Harrow had become more elusive regarding him ever since he had her transcribe the Union documents regarding the Lilhuns, their conversations vapid and brief. Jax didn’t have anything useful to say about it other than that she wanted time to sort her thoughts. Toril, Idee, Mi’low, and Bratik were given copies of the file to go over recently, since they were the closest thing he had to a counsel unfettered by a close relationship.
His own makeshift family took the news in an odd way. There was a lot to unpack.
Jax had become quiet, his muscles tensing. Harrow ended up staying away from her mate for a few days until he had stopped brooding about it. In the end; the guy just told Joseph that he would trust the Grand Hunter’s decisions regarding it, finding himself at a loss otherwise.
Sahari and Nalah were approached about the bonding information, the latter denying any bond to him, as well as Sahari confirming the same towards her blond-furred mate. The only line of reasoning that they could think of to make sense was that Nalah’s circumstances had messed with her in some way. The two seemed rather distressed by the assertion, but calmed somewhat when he mentioned that nothing would change between them regardless. Sahari could tell how conflicted he was about the whole thing, he just wanted to give them something to hang on to.
It was a bigger deal for them than he had initially internalized. In retrospect; something revered as a literal gift from their god being denied really should have been an obvious point of stress. As begrudging as his acceptance was, he was linked to the whole ‘Great Hunt’ business in their minds, so he was aware of how deeply that belief ran. He didn’t personally subscribe to the religion, but they never really bothered him with anything besides overseeing funeral rites—not that he would have refused anyway.
Pan seemed to mirror his feelings on the matter—a dark feeling of helplessness and sorrow. She had fallen quiet when she heard about the trials on the defectives, that particular section hitting her harder than the others. After an entire day of silence, all she had to say about it was that she loved him, and then spent the night burrowed between him and Tel, unable to sleep. He had a hard time as well, but it extended well past the initial night.
Tel had informed him that his restlessness had made it difficult for her to get any shut-eye, his shifting disturbing her, but it was said in a slightly concerned tone. Her general reaction was fairly subdued compared to the rest otherwise, her lifetime of being at either end of a gun numbing her to the reality of things. It was weird for him, but he was deeply thankful for it on some level.
She kept him sane, her cold response being a candid ‘Wish it, and I will end all who displease you.’
For once, her more violent background gave him something to grip onto. It resonated in him—loose, yet present. A door within him, chained and locked, was brought to mind as he really considered what he wanted for those involved. The traders who abused the Atmo, those who seemed so bent on hurting his friends, the Union ‘GUOS’ who called for the experiments... A thrumming settled in his fists, an itch that couldn’t be sated by just scratching.
A paw flew past his brow, his shifted posture allowing him to slip the claws that had been left exposed in the heat of the spar. His heart hammered, his sweat soaked his clothing, and his focus returned to the fight.
No Union, no traders, no worries. Just the two security members who had doubted Jax’s claims that the smaller Human had somehow bested the male in a fight, and were now bringing out their natural weapons on instinct.
Grabbing the wrist with his right hand and gripping the shoulder with his left, he pulled, using the rotational force to pivot on his left foot and haul the overeager Lilhun to the dirt, the appendage bending behind them sharply. A second fist came from the corner of his eye, the other combatant trying to use the momentary distraction to score a hit.
Using the gripped arm as a balance, Joseph leaned into the spin, firing the sole of his shoe into the head of the opportunistic attacker. The loud slap of his foot connecting with the larger male almost outdid the crumpled form crashing to the ground unconscious. It was only a dull sensation of mercy that stopped him from completing the spin while he maintained his iron grip on the arm of the thrown adversary, saving them a torn and dislocated shoulder.
Joseph breathed heavily, the adrenaline wearing out as Jax checked on the defeated. Minus some stiffness expected in one of them and a sore jaw for the other, they would be fine, albeit embarrassed for such a quick disposal in front of their usual teachers.
The sound of his rubber sole slapping on the ground some distance away killed off whatever motivation he had to continue, his shoes finally giving out.
“I would ask you not to disable my security, Grand Hunter,” Jax said with mock frustration, the black-furred male’s eyes following the two leaving with an expression of exasperation.
“Sorry,” Joseph breathed out, his heart hammering in his chest as his system wound down.
The Head of Security glanced down at him, his expression pensive. “As much as I enjoy my boasting of your prowess to be validated, I do worry that you see more than a spar in them.”
He drew his lips thin as he brushed his sweat-soaked hair back, his arm dropping to his side. He took a few moments to sort the thoughts that returned. “I probably should have called that kick, yeah.”
The larger Lilhun snorted. “They will be fine, it is not their health I am worried about.”
“I’m fine, Jax,” he snapped, averting his eyes when his friend seemed to have made his point. “I…. I’ll be fine. Just some things on my mind right now.”
“Joseph,” the black-furred male started, walking up to place a large paw on his shoulder. “We are here if you wish to talk.”
His breath died in his throat, his eyes closing in defeat. He felt the soreness in his hands surface, hours of constant fighting to soothe the burning in his blood that failed to abate. Bruises made themselves known, dehydration made his joints stiff, and lack of sleep clouded his mind. Jax was right, he was a bit of a mess.
“Grand Hunter,” Mi’low called, his tired glance in her direction revealing the female approaching. “We are ready to speak.”
Joseph placed a hand on Jax’s paw, patting it softly. “Talking will have to wait. Tell Harrow I said hi and that I’d like to hang out again. I miss it.”
The male looked at him apologetically, nodding as he was still unable to offer anything to ease the sting of a friend distancing themselves from the Human. “I will.”
The Human cycled a breath and faced the actress. “The rest?”
Mi’low nodded. “Where will we meet?”
Joseph waved an arm towards the base. “My place. More chairs.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Toril was wearing his usual smile, his eyes inspecting everything about the hub from the couch while Tersa stood nearby, her body language telling that she was wary about being in a new place without time to scout it. Bratik was in his wheelchair, Sorren holding his paw as he sat on the opposite side of the chemist. Idee—being the only one to spend time in the outpost regularly—simply thanked Kaslin for the water from her place between the two mated males. Mi’low had claimed a free chair, her legs crossed and back straight as she stayed away from the others on the couch. The Wraith handed Joseph his requested tea since Scarlet was babysitting the insects, then occupied a place out of the way, but close enough to act if things got heated.
He stayed standing rather than occupying his usual place on a table, his second choice of seating being filled up. He could have dragged over the Atmo couch, but he didn’t want to stress his body any more than he had already by lugging it. “So, everyone had plenty of time to read the documents.”
“Indeed,” Mi’low commented dryly, a glare shot in his direction. Idee nodded, though her expression fell as it was brought up. Toril maintained his detached look of amusement, but it didn’t escape Joseph’s notice that Tersa stiffened.
The Grand Hunter took a sip of his refreshment, enjoying the fleeting feeling of warmth from something other than exertion. “And what do we think?”
“We?” Sorren asked, the male not quite used to the Human using their tongue. Joseph’s mastery of the language was still spotty at times, but Kaslin could fill any gaps if needed.
“Yeah,” he replied plainly. “It has more to do with you than me. I just got the message.”
“I find it rather fascinating,” Toril opined cheerily, his energy at odds with the atmosphere of the room. “Such thorough study allows us many insights into facets of our own biology that we may never have known!”
“By slaughtering our kin in the thousand,” Mi’low shot back, a slight snarl pulling her lip.
“As regretful as such is, we can not bring them back,” the chemist noted with a small nod. “We must simply use the information gleaned by our foes without repeating their atrocities.”
“You suggest ignoring their sins?”
“I suggest utilizing what they have learned and incorporating it to our advantage.”
“Or,” Joseph interjected, “we talk about it instead of getting into an argument.”
“Your people are not free of fault, Grand Hunter,” the crimson-furred female spat. He remained silent, already having spent far too long thinking about how none of it would have happened if Humans weren’t in the picture for them.
“You can not hold him as a factor, Mi’low,” Idee said softly, shifting in her seat to get comfortable and smiling apologetically at Sorren when she bumped him.
“Were it not for them, then we may not have lost our homes!”
“Were it not for him you would be little more than bones bleached by the sun, or so I hear.”
“We are not here to cast blame,” Bratik disputed quietly, his voice carrying through the room despite the low volume. “The Grand Hunter has saved each of us. Some from demise, others from the shackles of their station, and others from the fate of losing loved ones.”
Toril and Idee shared a glance as the male continued, Tersa paying attention to him for the first time.
“He seeks our counsel. Not our aimless ire to be spewed upon him for that which he himself had no knowledge of, nor involvement in. His kin were as much victims as our own.”
“Quite,” Toril concurred as the two females ceased their bickering reluctantly. “How would you like to address this, Grand Hunter?”
Joseph blinked, expecting the blame, but not Bratik defusing it so quickly. “Well, we have a few things to work off of. Years of experiments coinciding with missing persons after accepting a job, whoever tipped off your military taking info with them about Sol and the ‘blacklist’, whatever bond fuckery they discovered, and the defects.” He shrugged weakly. “Take your pick.”
“There are too many missing across too wide an area to recognize such a comparative few,” Idee stated, the others in the group silently agreeing.
He nodded, nursing his tea with small sips. “Figured that would be a sticking point. Plus, we don’t really know how long it was going on... or when it started... Not even if it was a bulk recruitment or slow trickle. I guess the missing people are something we’ll just have to keep unknown.”
“The bond information was rather enlightening,” Toril mentioned, his eyes rising to the ceiling as he thought about it. “Our peoples are wildly compatible.”
“As servants, perhaps,” came the scathing remark from the High Huntress. “What use is our gift if it is twisted to be mere subservience? To discard ourselves for some alien race?”
Sorren’s ear flicked. “It is hardly ‘twisted’ to protect that which the Hunt Mother has afforded us.”
“Are we to just accept that our bonds are better suited to that,” she emphasized with a pointed claw in Joseph’s direction, “rather than our kin?”
“Drop it,” the Grand Hunter ordered tiredly, his reflection in his beverage shaking as he shifted on his feet. “Arguing isn’t going to help anything.”
Mi’low held her disgusted expression. “You ask us to trust that which led to our downfall? We are yet another strike against your kin, no?”
He shook his head, his eyes buried in remains of the shimmering image he held in his hands. “I blame the sick fucks that did all this. If you can’t agree with that, then there’s not much reason to hold this meeting.”
“What is it you seek to accomplish?” Toril asked, amused by the theatrics. The rest seemed surprised by Mi’low’s pointed aggression, but the chemist was more interested in continuing.
“I have people looking to get me out of here,” Joseph informed them, laying his empty cup on the table with a soft clack. “People who will probably extend the offer to you. If they come, I need to know what we’re doing about it. The last thing I need is people acting like Mi’low and opening fire on whoever comes to drag us out of the mud.”
“Why would we?” Sorren asked, taking his mate’s paw as he gave a worried glance to the offended female.
“Because our people were tortured due to our interactions with them,” the chemist noted in a matter-of-fact tone, his pleasant demeanour remaining despite the morbid topic.
“Did our people not initiate contact with another species on less hostile terms?” Idee asked, her head tilted slightly.
“But no one lived to talk about it,” Joseph countered, gesturing with an upturned palm. “Plus, that’s assuming whoever was in charge of that call being the norm, rather than the exception.”
“You believe our people to act otherwise?” Bratik asked, his tone inquisitive rather than judgmental.
Joseph shrugged. “To be fair, I’ve almost been killed by more of your species than the wildlife. Granted, a few of those were just people being assholes, but still.”
“Many would see the opportunity as retribution for the Union,” Mi’low mentioned dryly.
Sorren’s face fell. “Then we should not propagate this knowledge?”
The Human glanced between each of them. “That’s why you’re here. My group knows because I trust them with it. I think we should keep this to ourselves, but if we do—and someone finds out—it would just cause a lot of issues. Alternatively; we tell everyone.”
“And suffer the consequences of that action as well,” Idee concluded dejectedly. Joseph returned a wry smile as Toril raised a paw, speaking when the Grand Hunter raised a brow at him.
“Perhaps we should withhold the information from the lesser station?”
“Like, just the Grand Hunters?” Joseph inquired cautiously. Toril tilted his head.
“Those who would be more diplomatically minded, perhaps.”
“I don’t exactly see some of them as what you would call ‘diplomatic’ and I’m not going on some voyage to visit everyone with the info in tow.”
“We are able to make copies,” Sorren offered. “Perhaps we could exchange the information using traders and gain something from it as well?”
Mi’low shook her head. “That is assuming they do not claim us manipulative nor seek to remove him. Some may very well move to strike us all down for ‘withholding’ the information, regardless of how readily we supply it.”
“Do your people know?” Bratik interjected, gathering the attention of the others. Joseph winced in uncertainty.
“I’m not sure. I’d guess my brother does, but I don’t know how sensitive things are. It could have been announced and there’s an intergalactic war, or it might be kept under wraps until conflict isn’t as likely. At least until it’s less likely to blow up in our faces, anyway.”
“They are of lesser force?”
“No clue,” he admitted. “Not my area. All I do know is that there are more species allied against us—or at least aren’t inclined to take a bullet—than are.”
“So our options are rather limited,” Idee concluded, receiving a series of agreements.
“We could,” Mi’low said after a few moments of contemplation, “distribute the information anonymously. Humans are not named directly in the document, and we need not divulge its origin.”
“So, what? Just pass people tablets and ask them to forget where they got it?” he probed, not entirely disagreeing with the idea, but skeptical all the same.
“Tersa may make additions to trader inventories without their knowledge,” Toril offered, the mentioned Blade frowning at him, but not protesting. “Or perhaps Trill’s kit, since she is devoted to yourself.”
“Eh. I guess that’s an option,” he conceded, sighing. “So, about the bond; any opinions? Notes?”
“Stay away from me,” Mi’low answered warily, earning a flat scowl.
“I meant something besides that. I’m not too keen on adding to the cluster-fuck I have going on anyway.”
Sorren smiled. “I am excited to meet your people—should I be so blessed. There are many who would never know the joy of the Hunt Mother’s gift otherwise.”
“I would not mind her words, Grand Hunter,” Toril chuckled. “She is a creature of dishonesty—including her own desires.”
The actress glowered at the chemist. “I preferred it when you were nomadic. It was much easier to ignore your presence. Your words were but some distant wind I need not soil my ears with.”
“Perhaps our meeting is best ended here,” Bratik interjected, waving his functional paw. The other arm was coming along, but still too stiff to use for much. “We should propagate the information through unsigned parcels to the Grand Hunters.”
“One last thing,” Joseph said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “The information on Sol; anything ever get done with that?”
“We were capturing habitable planets in a particular direction, though the decision to do such was made by our superiors.”
He nodded. “Makes sense. Same issue we have now. Can’t let everyone know because chaos is a lot easier to manage when it’s directed. Between the religious connotations and the context around it; there’s no saying if it would lead to riots or worship. Rather not bring the problem to our door.”
“Wise,” Mi’low remarked sarcastically, her judgmental side-eye aimed between him and Sorren.
“Alright,” he said with a raised voice, ignoring the red-furred female to the best of his ability. “Drop off letters and lock myself in a room or something. Sounds like a plan.”
“That will not be required,” Sorren corrected with a laugh. “Though the documents confirmed a high percentile of successful bonds, there were many incompatible pairings. It is unlikely that your informant included every variation of failure, but the bond seems to be as selective as usual, just more receptive to those who meet the criteria. I would speculate that the majority of those who would bond to you by now, have. Barring the new additions, of course. I doubt you will need to worry about bonding to half a species by yourself.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” he muttered. “Okay, you’re free to go back to your work. You know who to talk to if something comes up.”
The gathering dispersed, Toril requiring Tersa to drag him by the ear before he got too distracted. Mi’low stayed behind, waiting for everyone else to leave.
“Thoughts?” he asked, glancing over at her. She shook her head as she dropped the antagonistic persona.
“Two attribute you to their religion, Toril is too interested in your species to act against your best interest, and Idee rather enjoys her time here—as well as sympathizes with your position. Tersa’s allegiance is with Toril, so she will follow him, as well as your tentative arrangement as a superior over her.”
“So, we’re good?”
“We are,” she confirmed. He looked at her for a long moment.
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Going to try and kill me again?” he questioned wryly.
The High Huntress snorted. “Unfortunately, my pack has ostensibly become yours, and with it, my fate. They would rather watch me go than follow. It seems your influence extends past our biology.”
Without an opportunity for him to ask what she meant, she headed to the exit, pausing in the doorway when he called out to her.
“Mi’low?” Her ear tipped back towards him. “Thanks. For putting yourself on the block like that. I know how risky that could have been for you.”
She afforded a single nod before letting it close behind her.
“’Past our biology’, huh?” he muttered, eyeing the empty cup on the table.
He considered bothering Tel, since she would likely offer him a distraction for a while.
Sighing at his remaining intact shoe flopping as he stepped, he decided to do exactly that.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
“How are we holding up?”
Tech leaned back in her chair, yawning widely. “Communications have been down for a while, navigation software is pointing everywhere at once, and if it wasn’t for me, everything else would be dark too.”
“All hail Tech Ops,” Comms quipped, struggling to make his system do much more than transmit static on a loop.
Willin rolled his eyes at Tech’s boasting, but she was probably right to do so. They had aligned themselves in the right direction and simply let navigation go, communications discreetly blinking out as they got close without warning. All they had left was the actual piloting and onboard support systems, both of them hanging by a thread until Tech could run diagnostics to see if she could counter them properly. She might be able to eventually, but she didn’t seem confident beyond keeping the crew mobile and alive.
“How’s it look down there?”
Nav had long since given up making sense of their controls, opting to keep watch for whatever they were approaching. Since they had gotten within visual range, they had occupied themselves using whatever scanning equipment Tech managed to keep shielded. They leaned over the readouts, brows raising before furrowing at the information.
“It appears that they have remained fairly close together. I am reading several AEC distress signatures... Why am I able to?”
Tech raised a paw. “Right here. The jamming is consistent with the United Military’s algorithms, though boosted past what we have the equipment to manage. Can’t override it for you or Comms, but it was never meant to counter the low-frequency of a distress pulse, since that would get lost in normal noise anyway. I took the liberty of limiting the scope of collected data to increase the sensitivity.”
“Not much frequency pollution on an untapped planet,” Willin remarked dryly, his screen mirroring what Nav was looking at. Thirty-eight sources, most of them repeating the initial call-signs. Two seemed to have retained some power, though not much, implying a makeshift solution. There would normally be more to glean, but the measures taken to make picking them out at all possible had stifled it.
“Orders?” Nav asked after a moment. Willin considered it, scouring the somewhat distorted visual feed.
“Let’s get closer first.”
“Understood.”
He adjusted his uniform as they drew near, Tech frowning as more of her fail-safe measures ironically failed. Quick action saved them from listing aimlessly, but any chance of copying the survivor’s distress call faded. The Atmospheric Entry Crafts were effectively invisible until Tech had dealt with the issue preemptively, and their beacon wasn’t any stronger.
Detriment of a scout craft, he supposed. Help would have to deal with not knowing where his ship had gone until they were up to their necks in the warp-spike’s field. Hopefully, the EW fleet would manage it better.
“Just outside of atmosphere,” Nav reported, activating the scanning equipment again. Normally, it would be able to tell them everything down to the rough number of wildlife in an area, but all the interference gave them little more than confirmation that life existed.
“Well, there goes any advanced recon,” Willin muttered, ignoring Comms silently debating if he should bother Tech to duplicate the feed again. Noticing, she did anyway, the male gesturing their thanks. “Tech, can you get us population density?”
“I’m good, Leader, but not that good.”
“Leader,” Nav called, highlighting a few points on the feed. Whatever it was that they were trying to show him, he didn’t see it. “These areas are likely settlements.”
“Structures?”
“Affirmative. It is subtle, but there.”
He nodded, trusting their judgment. “Which is the largest?”
The feed zoomed in, losing most of the clarity—not that there was much to begin with. “Location coincides with an AEC still actively reporting.”
“They set up around it.”
“Likely, Leader.”
Willin exhaled slowly. “Take us down nearby. I’d say to hide us, but that’s hard to do with open skies.”
“The planet suffers constant rain,” Tech added, her screen already reverting back to a simplistic game while she waited for someone else to need something. “We could descend under the cover of it.”
“Any idea how long?”
Her monitor flickered. “One local sun.”
“Then we spend the time gearing up,” he ordered, waving to have Nav and Comms’ screens defaulted. “You two will make sure our defence armaments ship-board are active and loaded. Tech, queue up whatever armour and equipment we might need for a diplomatic mission.”
She turned in her chair, her head tilting questioningly. “Just us?”
“Just us. We’ll want someone here to keep things warm in case we need to leave quickly. Can you get Comms’ station capable of short-wave?”
She nodded after a moment, her eyes losing focus as she consulted her implant. “We’ll lose the fabricator during, but we should have enough for life-support and in-atmosphere flight. Weapons will have to be swapped out with it too.”
“That bad?”
The purple-furred female shrugged. “It’s that or I take down the defences and we lose it all.” She frowned at her screens. “Even this is pushing it.”
“Can you take down the purifier once we’re down there? Switch to external flow?”
“As long as you don’t mind alien air, sure. It won’t give us more to work with, but it should make it less taxing to keep what we have.”
Willin scratched at his ear. “Do it. They lived here this long, doubt we’ll join the Void breathing it too.”
“Will do.”
He shifted his attention back to Nav. “Set course to that settlement. Keep us above the clouds until it gets bad enough to obscure us.”
Nav signalled their agreement, the scenery shifting slowly as they picked a cloud to shadow in the meantime. Comms looked at Willin expectantly, forcing him to come up with something for the male to do.
“Comms, I want you to monitor anything this place has coming in or out. Set up surveillance.”
The male raised a brow. “My systems are inoperable, Leader.”
“If you try to do anything big, yes,” Willin corrected. “Just keep us informed if something goes through. We don’t need to know what happened, just that it did.”
“Keeping track of possible communications between settlements?”
Willin bobbed his head to the side. “Whatever we learn, it’s more than we know.”
“Understood. I will try to arrange a passive probe.”
The group set about their tasks as he brought up a still-frame of the settlement Nav spotted. It was blocky, blurry, and the chromatic aberration on the edges hurt to look at, but it was a settlement. A large AEC surrounded by silver constructions, all laid out in a slightly haphazard way. He couldn’t judge it too harshly, however. There was a method to the madness. Narrow pathways hidden between dens, each leading to the AEC like a system of routes for select Lilhuns to reach anywhere they may be needed as quickly as possible.
The AEC itself seemed modified, large solar panels placed where a solid hull would be expected, the semi-transparent material likely acting to illuminate the interior. Many of the buildings around it were larger than those beyond, some appearing to be two or three levels.
From sheer volume of dens, Willin figured this was a contender for the largest settlement. His best estimate placed the number of inhabitants in the range of three hundred or so. If the other settlements were even close, then the initial guess of a thousand survivors was woefully short.
That made things complicated, yet so much simpler.
He awaited the distant storm clouds rolling over the landscape, thankful Tech had prioritized the water-proof gear.
He hated being soaked.
Next
A/N: 500k words. Half a fucking million.
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2023.05.30 06:34 DDoubleBlinDD Everyone's a Catgirl! Ch. 216: Magnificent Trio

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A/N: 4 days left to pre-order Volume 1!
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The return trip to Madhyam somehow felt a great deal faster than the initial voyage to Rājadhānī. Tristan chalked it up to a combination of things—Encroachers seemed to stay out of their way, the winds and sands moving in their favor, and everyone received at least one full night’s rest. With so many bodies, it was easier to split the night watch between all of them.
Tristan shared his gigashank with Zahra, and they filled the time with idle chatter. His thoughts were consumed by the immense amount of work that lay before him, not allowing for anything deeper than brief observations and inquiries.
Cailu had asked him to essentially resolve the same issues on San Island that plagued San Francisco; homelessness and orphaned kittens. Battling Encroachers and Defiled were one thing, but resurrecting a broken economy? That was a task that could take years of designing and implementing. Just how long did Cailu want him to stay on San?
When they did reach Madhyam, the group made a point to visit Ishani at Tristan’s suggestion. It was the least he could do for Zahra after all of her help. They were welcomed just as warmly as their first visit with Zahra’s mother.
“Three men in my house! What an honor!” Ishani fussed between them, her eyes glittering with wonder. “Please, allow me to serve you a small meal before you continue on.” She rested her hands over her stomach and performed the traditional bow.
Tristan returned it, and Cailu was nearly in sync with his movements. Tristan cleared his throat to catch Matt’s attention and was glad when he followed suit.
“It would be our pleasure,” Cailu replied. “Your daughter has been a tremendous help.”
Ishani straightened her back and clutched her hands to her chest. “You bless us both. Sands walk with you, sir.”
There was an unspoken rule on Ichi when someone invited you to stay. The guests were meant to relax and let the members of the household do all the work. But even with Zahra’s help, preparing anything for thirteen people would be no easy feat.
“Ishani, if you’d permit me to, I’d love to help you prepare everything.” Tristan smiled. “I know there are a lot of us.”
“Oh! Me, too!” Cannoli said. She’d been far more chipper during their journey back than Tristan had seen her in a long time. He hoped it was a good sign.
Ishani studied them for a time, eyes flickering to the full group as her tail rocked back and forth in thought. At last, she nodded. “Yes, I would be glad to have your assistance.”
“And mine, of course,” Zahra chimed in. “It is still my house after all.”
Ishani swept an arm over Zahra’s shoulders and hugged her daughter close. “Of course, my sweet. This will always be your home.”
They moved to the modest kitchen while the rest of the group made their way outside. Cannoli set to work on passing out drinks and preparing small plates while Ishani gave Tristan and Zahra instructions for cutting and seasoning meats. While they worked, Ishani’s questions began to roll in like the tide.
“We heard of Magni’s death a little over two days after it happened,” Ishani began. “An Ejderha arrived begging for Sanctuary. How did it happen?”
Zahra pursed her lips. “The Ejderha didn’t say?”
“It is best to hear a tale from a tongue you trust,” Ishani replied.
“Cailu challenged Magni to a sanctioned duel and won,” Tristan said. “He left the throne to Naeemah.”
“Then it is true. That is wonderful news!” Ishani stoked the flames at the stove, hooking a large pot over the coal. “And what of Sanrai?”
Tristan looked up from his diced onyans and over at Zahra.
Zahra’s expression softened. “Sanrai returned to the sands, Mother,” she said softly. “She refused to see reason.”
Ishani froze, her hand hovering over a ladle. A string of expressions passed over her face, her eyes searching into an abyss they could not see.
Even after the hell Sanrai had put them through, Tristan’s heart broke for her mother. He couldn’t imagine how receiving news like that felt, and he desperately searched for the right thing to say. Sanrai was powerful, intense, calculating. She’d driven them out of the city not once, but twice, and very nearly killed Ceres.
“Zahra did everything she could to bring her sister home.” Tristan was careful to keep his words even. “You raised two incredible daughters, Ishani.”
Ishani’s lower lip quivered, and a string of tears trickled from the corners of her eyes.
Zahra stepped forward and embraced her mother in a tight hug.
Tristan quietly set the knife down beside the cutting board and stepped into the hallway. He was surprised to find Cannoli on the other side of the threshold, hugging the doorframe and peeking inside.
Cannoli’s cheeks pinked, and she rapidly blinked her bright ruby eyes. “I-I just didn’t want to interrupt anything,” she whispered.
“I know. You’re not the type to eavesdrop.” Tristan grinned.
“Tristan… how do you do that?”
He blinked. “Do what?”
“You always know just what to say to make someone feel better,” Cannoli murmured. She looked into the kitchen and back at him. “Not just to me, but what you said to Ishani about Sanrai was so kind. Even though Sanrai was never nice to us. Not once.”
It was Tristan’s turn to blush. He ran a hand through his hair and crossed his arms, realizing only a second later that it was a gesture he’d picked up from Matt. He sighed and shook his head. “I just try to put myself in their shoes.”
Cannoli cocked her head to the side and touched her chin. “Why would you want to wear their shoes?”
“No, not actually wear their shoes.” Tristan covered a laugh behind his hand. “What I mean is, I think about what I would want to hear in their situation. Like finding you here. You wouldn’t want me to call you a spy, right?”
“No. I would have felt awful if you thought that.”
“Exactly. It’s important to see things from the other person’s perspective, I think. No real magic to it.”
Cannoli rocked on the balls of her feet. “You make it sound so easy.”
“It takes a lot of practice.” He leaned to the side, seeing if he could catch Zahra’s eye.
Zahra locked his gaze and waved him into the kitchen. Ishani dabbed at her eyes with a cloth and inhaled a deep breath.
“Back to work, then?” Tristan asked Cannoli.
“Yes.” She touched his shoulder and flashed him a brilliant smile. “Thank you, Tristan. For the advice.”
“You’re welcome.” He cupped a hand over hers. “Though, a smile like that will make anyone feel better, Cannoli.”
Cannoli giggled and ducked into the kitchen.
“Apologies for my poor manners, Tristan,” Ishani said as he returned.
“Please, you have nothing to apologize for.” He shook his head. “Besides, cutting onyans makes everyone cry, right?”
Ishani laughed, her mood brightened, and they continued to prepare the afternoon meal.
They were able to serve it in good time, and the conversation was light-hearted and cordial. Everyone seemed to be in high spirits and laughed easily. Tristan was happy to enjoy a meal outside of the citadel. The experience was a lot closer to an intimate family gathering rather than the battle strategy style meetings that every meal in Rājadhānī brought with it.
Tristan finished eating before the others and procured his sketchbook from his [Cat Pack]. With the enchanted pen, he sketched a smiling Zahra. Something about her had changed since they first met. She now carried herself with a grace Tristan recognized in Naeemah, and the determined spark in her eyes had changed to one of excitement. She’d succeeded in her mission, and it showed.
Flipping the page, he made one more drawing. A piercing, ruthless gaze. Lips slanted in a dry, knowing smile. Dark tattoos carved into umber skin. Sanrai looked as alive in his sketch as she did in the shadow of the citadel.
As the others readied to leave, he handed the sketches to Ishani. “These are for you.”
Ishani accepted both pieces of parchment, her lips parting in a silent ‘o.’ Eyes wide, she looked at Tristan. “You protected my daughter, and now you grant me such beautiful gifts. Tristan, I have no way of repaying you.”
“You already have, Ishani.” Tristan touched her wrist. “May the wind carry your desires—”
“And the sun warm your back,” she finished for him, clutching the drawings to her chest. “You are truly Saoirse’s gift to this world, child.”
As they departed Madhyam, Tristan let himself believe Ishani’s words, just a little. He knew he’d need them in the coming weeks.
​
Zahra Pro Tip: Thank you, Tristan, for all you have done for my mother and for me. I will pay your kindness forward.
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2023.05.29 23:55 SabbyOfSableWine An alien + human adventure with such shenanigans as poison drinking, befriending dangerous wildlife, and fighting a space pirate. Oh, and they have a huge crush on each other.

I've been having so much fun with this little story. Here's part one if you'd like to read it in its entirety! Alien learns what "sleep" is and how humans prefer to do it in a comfy bed with blankets and pillows. And they find it utterly adorable.
To summarize:
Vr'ocria and Human Aldrick were sent on a survey mission together. Things went south, Aldrick made sure they were safe, and then Vr'ocria learned what human sleep is and how vulnerable humans are when they sleep. Vr'ocria's people don't sleep, but enter stasis, a form of rest in which they typically stand, and they are still slightly aware of their surroundings. Vr'ocria finds human sleep utterly adorable, and also decided she would protect Aldrick while he slept. And she also developed a massive crush on him. (Her scales turning purple is her version of blushing)
Vr’ocria ran the engine diagnostic again, and again it came back inconclusive. She slammed her fist on the dusty controls. “Blasted thing.” Of course she got stuck with the rusty, crusty old shuttle pod that no one else wanted. Why did these things always happen to her? She just wanted to do her job!
Not for the first time, she wished she had Human Aldrick for company.
It had been two moon cycles since Vr’ocria had last seen Aldrick. They’d only served on the one away mission together, and once they returned to the ship, they’d been sent their separate ways. They worked in separate departments, after all.
But that didn’t stop her from missing him. She’d only spent a few solar cycles with him, but somehow was already totally enamored by the human–the human who was supposed to be a terrifying, dangerous, nearly indestructible monster.
Vr'ocria had met a handful of humans during her service, and they were all polite enough. But Aldrick was the first human she'd ever spent any extended alone time with. It was on that away mission that Vr’ocria learned what “sleep” was: The human form of rest in which the human becomes completely unconscious, and thus, totally defenseless. Something about learning humans were even able of being defenseless at all, much less in such a complete way, had changed her entire perspective on them. She’d grown up always being told to fear the humans, the wild, indestructible humans.
She had been nervous enough to quake in her scales, but he was nothing but kind to her. And when she saw him sleep for the first time–planets, what a blasted cutie. During their few cycles together, she always stood by him when he slept and she went into stasis. Her people were still slightly aware of their surroundings while in stasis, so she would be able to protect him if there was danger.
She couldn’t help but worry about him ever since they separated. Who was going to keep watch while he slept? What if something happened, what if there was an ambush or a ship malfunction and he couldn’t wake up fast enough? She wanted to be there for him…
Vr’ocria cringed at the memory of when she asked her nestmate, Galek, about human mating rituals.
“You want to mate him? Are you insane?”
"No! I mean–well…" Vr'ocria reminded herself to keep her voice down; Aldrick was still sleeping in the next room. "I…Galek, listen–"
"He's a human!" Even through the communicator, she could hear his scales snap. "He's dangerous!"
"He's nice! When the away mission went wrong he made sure we were safe and–" her voice caught when she remembered the way Aldrick strolled fearlessly through a thunderstorm, one warm hand gripping her wrist, unflinching at every thunderclap and lightning strike in the sky that rattled her to her core, as he led them to a cave for shelter.
Galek sighed. "Vr'ocria, let it go. We are not compatible with humans, they do things differently anyway. They don't mate."
Vr'ocria stilled. "They don't?"
"No. Well, kind of? Ugh, why am I even telling you this…"
"Because I'm your favorite nestmate," Vr'ocria grinned.
"Shut up." There was no bite to his words. "Anyway, what I mean is that humans usually court each other first, and then mate. I think they call it 'marriage.' But that's all I know."
She hummed in thought. "This is good to know."
"Vr'ocria, I mean it." Galek was back in protective-nestmate-mode. "Drop it, it's a terrible idea. Humans are…it's just a bad idea, okay?"
"I'm not gonna do anything," she mumbled.
And what if he doesn't even like me anyway?
Her scales faded to a faint red and her shoulders slumped at the thought. Back in the present, she absent-mindedly flicked through the controls on the cracked panel in front of her. Maybe Galek was right, and she should just stay away from Aldrick altogether.
“Agent Vr’ocria, report.”
Vr’ocria jumped at the tinny voice that suddenly filled the cabin. She pressed the comm button. “Commander, this pod is–” she stopped herself from using a few choice words– “in a state of engine malfunction. I can’t even diagnose a problem. I’m not going anywhere in this thing.”
”Stand by.”
Vr’ocria drummed her fingers on the consol.
”Agent Vr’ocria, you’ve been reassigned to shuttle pod Delta. You will join a crewmate there.”
That’s right, Delta was a two-person pod. She groaned inwardly at the prospect of working with someone else in such a cramped space.
Vr’ocria tried not to drag her feet as she approached the Delta pod. The loading door was already open, and she climbed inside. “Hello? I’ve been re–”
“Vr’ocria!”
She turned towards the cockpit, and her scales flashed to purple in record time. “Aldrick?”
The human was beaming as he maneuvered through the tight space to approach her. “It’s so good to see you again!”
“What are you doing here?” she asked, silently urging her scales to go back to green. “Aren’t you in engineering?”
He shrugged, suddenly looking everywhere except her face. “I uh...I asked to be transferred to the survey department.”
“Why?”
His cheeks turned pink. They seemed to do that a lot. Vr’ocria really needed to ask the ship’s doctor if that was normal for humans or if he was getting sick. “Engineering just wasn’t doing it for me, y’know? Needed a change of pace. I volunteered for that one survey mission and it turns out I liked it, so why not try it full time?" He turned back towards the cockpit. “We should get going! I think this mission is gonna be more fun than the last one. The planet we've been assigned has a more stable atmosphere, so fewer storms."
So she and Aldrick would be working together, alone, again. Vr'ocria swallowed hard before following him to the cockpit. Oh, planets, why did these things always happen to her?
—
The trip to planet Theta-7 was quiet. Aldrick occasionally tried to engage her in conversation, but Vr'ocria pretended to be engrossed in her file pad. Guilt prodded her spine with every one-word answer and noncommittal grunt, but she was determined to keep her distance. Aldrick eventually fell quiet, and her scales nearly curled in on themselves in shame.
She avoided looking in his direction, but she still heard the sound of his canteen unscrewing and the slosh of liquid as he took a sip. Her nostrils flared at the odd, bitter-sable scent.
When she realized she recognized the smell, her eyes blew wide and she whirled to face him, dropping her pad. "What are you doing?" She nearly shrieked.
Aldrick lowered the canteen from his lips, looking startled. "Uh…drinking my coffee?"
"Coffee?" Another foreign word. "That's remfrylie! It's a deadly poison!" Her blood was rushing through her veins so fast she feared her scales would start to swell.
Aldrick laughed.
Laughed?
Her scales turned yellow and stood on end. "What is this?" She asked indignantly.
"I'm so sorry, Vr'ocria," he rubbed his eyes, still chortling. "I forgot, I should've warned you–humans call remfrylie 'coffee.' It's a beverage, we drink it. The caffeine in it gives us a boost of energy."
She stared at him.
As if making a point, he took another big gulp from the canteen, and smiled at her. "See? Totally fine."
Slowly, her blood slowed and her scales laid back down. But there was still a thrill of fear deep inside her–she'd become so enamored with him that she'd forgotten how dangerous he was. Drinking pure poison? Just for a boost of energy?
She turned away, embarrassed, a little afraid, and a little angry at him for scaring her like that. She bent over to pick up her pad from where it fell at her feet and went back to mindlessly flicking through her files.
Fabric rustled as Aldrick shifted in the seat next to her. "Hey," he said softly, "I really am sorry for scaring you. I didn't mean to do that."
"It's okay." Her voice was clipped and short.
Aldrick was quiet for a moment. "Is everything okay?" He asked slowly. "Have I…I mean, have I done something to offend you? I'm really sorry if–"
Guilt washed over her again. "No, no you haven't done anything." She finally looked over and tried for a weak smile. Now that she was actually looking at him, she could see the way he'd turned his whole body to face her, his fingers fidgeting at the edge of his seat and his warm brown eyes filled with worry.
Oh, that's right, humans had color in their eyes. Her people only had large black pupils, but humans had pupils with–what's the word–an "iris." She'd seen humans with brightly colored irises before, and while she found them beautiful, they also freaked her out. It was just so very strange.
But Aldrick's eyes…
The brown was a little closer to her own black, making them feel more familiar. In the tiny, cramped cabin, she realized that this was the first time she'd ever gotten a chance to really study his eyes up close. The brown seemed to swirl, and she noticed that there were layers of shades and colors floating around his pupils. And when natural light from a sun shining through the window hit them just right–
Aldrick cleared his throat awkwardly and turned to face forwards again. "Looks like we're here."
Vr'ocria looked forward and saw Theta-7's solar system quickly approaching. Oh, right. They had a mission to do.
—
Theta-7 was warm, just how she liked it. The sand, not so much. She tightened her boot laces twice to keep sand from finding its way inside.
The mission, thankfully, went smoothly. Walk, scan, record. Walk, scan, record. Being out in the field was different from working aboard the ship like she usually did, but she found she enjoyed it. With the agreeable weather, she quite liked the peaceful repetitiveness of the work.
Although, things were still awkward between her and Aldrick. She fought the urge to make excuses to drift away from him–since it was just the two of them, they needed to remain within eyesight of each other in case anything happened. As a result, she had a front row seat to Aldrick’s human antics. He climbed trees like it was nothing, crossed a stream by easily hopping from boulder to boulder, nibbled on plants he claimed were edible but that still made Vr’ocria’s scales ripple with unease, and even insisted on approaching a ferocious, furry creature with his hand outstretched and cooing “Hi kitty! Hi baby! Come here, let me give you scritchies, come on–”
Vr’ocria didn’t know what a “kitty” was, but a baby it definitely wasn’t. “Aldrick, please,” she called weakly.
“But she’s so cute!”
“It’s got claws! And look at its big teeth!”
Aldrick grinned as the creature crept closer. Its head came to Aldrick’s hip from where he knelt, still reaching out with his fingers and making a scratching motion in the air. “Naw, she’s just a little baby, aren’t you sweetie? Come ‘ere!”
Vr’ocria trembled on the spot as the creature was finally within arm’s reach of Aldrick. He began scratching its sandy-colored head, and to her disbelief, the creature closed its big eyes and leaned into his touch. “Oh, yes,” Aldrick positively giggled, “you’re such a sweet little baby, aren’t you?”
Vr’ocria could only stare, stunned, as he continued scratching the creature’s head, then its cheek and chin–extremely close to its massive fangs.
“All kitties like scritchies, huh?” he cooed at the…kitty.
Okay, they were kind of cute.
It, she corrected herself. The ”kitty” was cute. Not him. Definitely not.
She didn’t notice her scales flushing a soft pink as she watched him nearly pull the “kitty” into his lap, beaming and petting it. A gentle smile crossed her lips.
Aldrick glanced over at her and tilted his head. “You’re pink. That’s new, I haven’t seen that color on you before.”
Vr’ocria’s blood froze and her scales immediately flashed to purple. Blast. Shit. Fuck. Great, now she was picking up human curse words.
He blinked at the sudden change in color.
"Oh it’s–” she coughed, “it’s nothing. Just the heat, I think.”
“Are you okay?” He eased away from the creature as he stood, and it darted off into a hole in the rocks. “Do we need to take a break?”
Stop being so NICE, she growled inwardly. “No no,” she squeaked instead. “I’m fine. Let’s keep going.” She buried her head in her scanner and walked briskly towards the next scanning zone.
When night fell, the two of them made their way back to the shuttle pod. They still had scanning to do, but it wasn’t safe to work through the night, so they agreed it was best for them to take rest inside the pod.
Once they were safely inside, Aldrick laid out what he called a “bedroll” on the floor of the cockpit, between the two pilot seats. Still dressed in his uniform, he laid down and shifted until he appeared as comfortable as he could get. Tugging a blanket over himself, he glanced toward Vr’ocria. “Well...good night.”
“Sleep well,” she murmured. She stood in the short aisle in front of him, facing the door, and began to enter stasis. Despite how much she’d come to struggle with her feelings for him, she was still determined to protect him while he slept.
It was in the middle of the night when Vr’ocria snapped back to full awareness.
Thud.
There it was again.
Shuffle shuffle.
She whirled around and threw herself on top of Aldrick, clapping a hand over his mouth as he jerked awake with a muffled shout.
“Shh!” she hissed. “Something’s out there.”
He stared up at her with wide eyes as she slowly removed her hand. She didn’t move from her position on top of him as she looked up and around the cabin, trying to discern where the sound was coming from.
Thud.
“The door,” Aldrick whispered, looking over her shoulder.
There was one last thud, then a beeping sound.
”Shit!”
Without warning, Aldrick was grabbing her shoulders and flipping them so that he was on top, and before she could even react, there was a core-rattling BOOM.
She couldn’t hear herself scream as a shockwave blew fire and debris over them, and then everything went dark.
Vr’ocria groaned as she came to, her head pounding. She found herself sprawled in the sand, looking up at the night sky. She slowly pushed herself into a sitting position, her limbs heavy. “What…” when her eyes focused, she gasped in horror.
The side of the shuttle pod where the door used to be now had a big hole blasted through it. Debris and supplies were strewn out across the ground, and judging by the drag marks, it looked like someone had dragged her body out and thrown her haphazardly into the sand.
She leapt to her feet, stumbled, fell, and jumped up again. Forcing her legs to steady under her, she stormed into the pod, and came face-to-face with a Norvidian pirate.
“Fucking pirate,” she roared, drawing her fist back and punching him right in the face. He yelped and dropped the thing he was dragging, and with horror, she realized it was Aldrick.
Something deep and primal flooded through her veins, and she grabbed the Norvidian's head. She slammed it against the wall, once, twice, three times, before dropping him to the ground, where he oozed yellow blood.
“Well that was fucking scary.”
Vr’ocria snapped out of her haze.
Aldrick was struggling to climb to his feet, and she darted forward to catch him before his face hit the floor. “Oh planets, oh my–Aldrick, are you alright?”
He rubbed a hand over his face, still looking dazed. “Yeah, I think–I think I’m okay.” He laughed, and it sounded a little hysterical. “Did you kill that guy?”
She looked over at the pirate, and somehow, she felt no remorse. “I hope so,” she growled. Logically, she knew the pirate was probably just tossing the two of them outside so he could raid their supplies. But the sight of him dragging a limp and pale Aldrick was burned into her memory, and her bright yellow scales rippled with rage.
“Jesus, you’re fucking scary when you’re angry.” He laughed again. “It’s kinda hot.” He turned pink and his face twisted in an expression she didn’t recognize. “Uh, pretend I didn’t say that.”
Vr’ocria didn’t know what it meant for something to be “hot,” so she played along and pretended she didn’t hear that. “We need to get you cleaned up,” she said instead. “Can you stand?”
Aldrick started to shift his legs, then went tense and dropped his head to her shoulder with a groan, fingers gripping her arms. It was then that Vr’ocria was able to lean forward enough to see his back, and she gasped.
The back of his shirt was in tatters, stained red with blood. Cuts and burns raced across his skin, and Vr’ocria knew that if she had taken the blast like that, she would be dead.
“Aldrick–” her throat felt thick, “Your back…shit–”
His breathing was ragged against her shoulder. “Hurts like a bitch,” he ground out, “but it won’t kill me. Just need to disinfect and bandage it.”
She laid him down on his stomach as gently as possible and rushed to the cockpit, praying that the first aid kit was undamaged. “Thank the planets,” she breathed as her fingers closed around the handle of an intact box.
She tried to steady her shaking fingers as she gingerly cut his shirt away and began dressing the wounds according to the kit’s instructions for treating humans. She also dressed the few injuries that ran down the back of his legs. Luckily–or unluckily–the damage was concentrated on his back. While she worked, she could see his muscles tense tight enough to crack, his teeth grinding and his hands clenched into fists so tight that his knuckles were white. She knew there had to be painkillers in the first aid kit, but she wanted to get his wounds dressed as fast as possible to prevent him from bleeding anymore. All she could do in the meantime was whisper quiet apologies.
Once she’d gotten him bandaged up, she finally dug through the kit. “Here,” she said as she fumbled with a bottle, “I found some pain killers, they’re supposed to be fast acting. You just let them dissolve in your mouth.”
She could tell he was in too much pain to move, so she held two of the pills up to his lips. He let her feed them to him, and after a few moments, he visibly began to relax. “Oh, that’s good shit,” he slurred into the floor.
“Feel better?” Vr’ocria asked hopefully.
“Yeah.” His voice was still crackly and weak. “Still aches a bit, but I don’t wanna scream about it anymore.”
“Good.” She stood and draped a blanket over him. “Now, stay put and don’t try to move. I need to figure out how to get us out of here.”
The shuttle pod wasn’t going anywhere any time soon. When she investigated the control panel, she found that the blast had knocked out communications, and their personal communicators were wrecked as well. “Great,” she mumbled.
Making her way back outside, she glanced around until she saw the pirate’s tiny craft a distance away. He must’ve landed out there so we wouldn’t hear him, she mused. She was reluctant to leave Aldrick alone, but she jogged the distance and pried the door open. The thing was a rust bucket, stinky and creaky, and she quickly decided she didn’t want to risk loading Aldrick up in that thing.
What to do, what to do…
Then she remembered: There was a survey outpost a few kilometers from here. She could take him there for professional treatment, rest, and to contact their ship.
When she got back to the pod, Aldrick was standing, leaning against the wall.
"How are you feeling?" She asked as she approached.
His eyes seemed clearer now as he met her gaze. "I've been worse," he said with a crooked smile.
Vr'ocria thanked the planets for human durability.
She let out a breath. "There's a survey outpost near here, due east. It's a few hours' walk. Do you think you can make it?"
Rather than answering, he stooped to pick up a blanket from the floor, shook out the dirt and debris, and threw it around his shoulders to cover his naked torso. "Let's go." He hopped easily out of the pod, and Vr'ocria could only shake her head in disbelief as she followed him. Humans truly were unbreakable.
It was still nighttime, but the clouds in the sky had cleared to reveal two big, bright moons that illuminated their way. Vr'ocria kept a close eye on Aldrick as they walked. While at first he seemed totally unaffected by his wounds now that they'd been dressed, she was beginning to notice the tight lines around his eyes, his white knuckles where he fisted the blanket, and the way each step he took was just a little shaky.
After walking in silence for nearly an hour, she finally found her voice. "Thank you," she said quietly, "for saving me back there."
He looked at her with those warm brown eyes and she thought she would melt. "Anytime."
Stupid purple scales.
They were halfway to the outpost when Aldrick collapsed. His knees hit the ground and Vr'ocria darted forward with a yelp to catch him before he went all the way down.
"Aldrick!" She shook him. "Look at me! Hey, hey…"
But all he could do was groan as his head lolled in her hands, slumping forward so that he sagged against her. Vr'ocria tried not to panic, but her scales stood on end anyway. "Aldrick!" This time her voice cracked.
Okay, okay, calm down, he's gonna be fine, he's human, it's gonna be okay… But doubt still twinged in her spine.
She ruffled her scales. Snap out of it.
"Okay. Aldrick," she took his face in her hands, "I need to put you on my back, but you'll have to help me."
He didn't respond.
She slapped him.
"Ow!" His eyes shot open. "Jesus, woman–"
"Look at me. I need to put you on my back, and you have to help me."
He blinked, eyes still cloudy, but finally nodded. It took some maneuvering, but Vr'ocria finally got him situated on her back–"piggy back style," he called it. She held his legs around her waist, and used the blanket to tie him to her. She could feel his warmth and heartbeat from where he was pressed against her back. His breath ghosted across the nape of her neck, sending tingles over her scales.
She tightened her grip around his knees as she walked. My human.
"You're pink again," Aldrick mumbled behind her ear.
Vr'ocria pressed on.
—
By the time they reached the outpost, her back was aching and her feet were sore, but she didn't care. She waved down the watchmen, and within minutes they were being swarmed by a med team. Aldrick was now fully unconscious and much too pale, and the medics wasted no time loading him up on a stretcher and carrying him to the med bay. When they tried to insist that Vr'ocria go to a separate room for evaluation, she snarled and snapped her yellow scales until they backed off.
She wasn't leaving Aldrick's side for a minute.
By the next morning, the med team had worked their magic and Aldrick was sleeping peacefully. He was curled on his side like he usually did, his face free of lines, lips parted, softly sighing with each breath.
Stupid human and his stupid cute sleeping.
She brushed his hair from his face, gently trailing her fingers across his cheek. Human skin was much softer compared to her scales, and warmer too. Aldrick had once explained that humans are "mammals," creatures that were "warm blooded." Her people were "cold blooded." Maybe that explained why she always wanted to touch him, hold him, feel his warmth…
Aldrick shifted and sighed, and her breath caught as he leaned into her hand. His eyes cracked open and he gazed blearily up at her. "Hi," he croaked.
She smiled. "Hi."
"You're still pink," he observed. "Are you okay? Did you get checked out?"
Blast all the planets. "I'm okay," she assured him. "My people turn pink when…when, um…I-I'll tell you another time," she stuttered. Galek was going to kill her.
Aldrick reached up to take her hand from where it still rested on his cheek. "Thank you for taking care of me."
She squeezed his hand. "Anytime."
This got so much longer than I thought it would 😂 How do we feel about one more part where these two idiots finally admit their feelings for one another?
PART THREE IS UP!
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2023.05.29 22:38 kaikoda New to this

Hey so, I’ve been using computers for about 25 years. I used to know all about specs before I got sick. Plus my dad used to help me with hardware setup of desktop pc for gaming. Cut to recently? Within the last year and half I’ve been learning to program in a lot of languages depending on project. I still haven’t finished much other than some quick simple calcs in c, some basic functions in unity with C sharp. Some online schooling in html and css, some tutored in person for full stack. A bits and pieces of other languages just to test them out. I have been considering c++ due to it being “the best” for video game development but I would need to join others to learn quicker and more efficiently. Anyways I created some batch games, yeah simple I know! But at least I “finished” them.
Anyways in the last 5 years I picked up a raspberry pi 3 B and considering to make it into a pi phone or a robot of some sort. Then I also have an arduino and duinotech starter kit and lastly finished making a button that when pressed turns on an led. I was happy with that but I still don’t know what I’m doing besides following instructions.
The reason why I’m here is because in was wondering if it’s worth getting a tinkerers workbench or something sufficient? So far my study and station has. A makeshift desk for desktop computer, a drawing/drafting table for design and fun drawing, and I have some electricals in a clear tub box in storage container.
Thing is electricals is out of my comfort zone but I’d like to give it a try ey.
The point I’m asking is if I get an orange pi 800, would that be the best option for someone who’d like to use it for being a programming terminal for the raspberry pi 3b (compatibility???) and possibly arduino? The next point I’d need to use a monitor (screen display) to functionally use it. Can I hook up an orange pi to a Samsung tab s7 FE? I know the tab uses android os while orange pi might use raspbian or something similar, thing is can I use the tablet for the screen? I understand the pi 800 is it’s own computer just without display, if I cannot would I be able to plug in my acer monitor instead? (Currently using the monitor for desktop) or should I use an older smart tv with hdmi plug (borrowed from ps3) to have as a screen?
Anyways if I do pursue this electronics tinkering thing I might need another desk, thing is, what keywords do I need to search for one? And would it be more safe to have it in garage instead of study room? I’m in aus so any stores and such I can purchase components tools and otherwise electricals would be great!
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2023.05.29 08:33 Zagaroth [No Need For A Core?] - CH 082: Girl's Day Out

Cover Art <<Previous Start Next >>
As Moriko was ushered into the backroom, Princess Kagami asked “She has a curtained-off area, mind if we follow and continue to talk?”
“I have no problem with that, your highness.” Moriko had very little body shyness, so she’d have been only a little self-conscious about it even without the curtain, but she certainly appreciated the consideration of being asked. The curtained-off area in question contained a pair of magic circles inscribed onto the ceiling and floor, where she stripped down under mistress Ula’s instructions and stood in different poses while lights zipped about her. Ula said that this was taking her measurements, and Moriko believed her, she’d just never had this level of magic scanning before. It did take her a moment to understand what the poses were for, they made various muscles strain in different ways which in turn would allow measurements to take her movements into account.
The conversation from the princesses on the other side of the curtain was carried on mostly by them, and for the most part, it was just small talk that helped Moriko learn a bit about her … hosts? Maybe not technically yet, but it felt a lot like that’s how they were acting, and she was feeling obligated like a guest. She couldn’t think of a better word for it.
The rest of the afternoon and the early evening became quite the busy flurry of shopping, with the first part being a second dress to leave the shop in rather than her uniform. It seems that Mistress Ula kept a selection of ‘last minute’ dresses available in a near-ready state for the princesses’ convenience, requiring only a minimal amount of adjustment to fit one intended for Princess Tiriana to Moriko, as they were the most alike in stature.
This allowed Moriko to see why the royals were confident that Ula could pull a complete dress together in two days. Once the decisions were made, the chosen dress was dropped onto a wooden mannequin that adjusted itself to match the measurements taken of Moriko. Ula eyed the dress a moment then grabbed several spools of different color and weight threads to put onto a set of spindles built into a nearby table. With her preparations complete, Ula drew a flat tool kit from her dress to reveal several rune-etched needles of silvery metal, a small pair of scissors, and a stitch cutter. With a touch and murmured word these devices sprang to life and moved to her will. With expert swiftness she threaded each needle and set them to hovering, then went to work making her adjustments, drawing in or letting out where needed, switching out a couple of panels of the skirt to make it move better for Moriko’s needs, and other small adjustments as well as finishing up the edges. She was doing the work of at least a dozen normal skilled seamstresses with the added advantage of not getting in her own way.
In less than half an hour Moriko had a brand new dress ready for her to head out on the town with the princesses, and her normal soft boots would do well enough for this. Then it was time for accessories. The four princesses were definitely showing off, every place they brought Moriko to had deadly options, many of which were close enough to the weapons Moriko had trained in to be useful to her.
Fancy, delicate-looking fans had ribbing of adamantine with concealed sharp tips. Parasols and umbrellas had options ranging from a short blade you could draw from the bottom like a dagger to a blade that could pop out from the top to make it into a small spear. The embroidery on slender gloves hid tiny metal studs, which were backed by thin but surprisingly tough leather to protect the skin beneath. Hairpins that doubled as thin knives. Weighted handbags. The list went on, and many were selected for Moriko with little chance for her to say no.
Then there was jewelry. Everywhere they went the royals compared several pieces on Moriko, and always bought at least one expensive piece, ‘for the shop owner’s time and trouble’ if nothing else. They were talking around a subject, but it became clearer towards the end of the shopping spree when Moriko was instructed to not wear any of the jewelry on the night of the dinner, it seemed that she would be loaned a small selection of royal jewelry for the duration of the evening.
During all of this Moriko got a better feel for her hosts. Princess Kagami was the one she felt closest to in many ways, they were both the eldest sibling of large families, and it showed in the ways she guided and subtly manipulated conversations of her sisters to keep the peace and avoid topics wandering too far afield. Kagami was also only two years younger than Moriko herself, though she had been married several years now. Her husband was a younger son from a southern barony
Princess Kitiara was not quite as stern as her cool expression and northern coloration suggested, but her composure was due in part to her focus on military matters. She was married to the daughter of a Marquess from the northern border, who would have been the heir were it not for the issue of producing more heirs. Moriko hesitated a moment before making a suggestion when she learned about this. “Um, if she wants to inherit, the two of you might consider visiting the Azeria clan? The kitsune are shape changers, and might know some magic to help you fix that issue temporarily?”
Kitiara gave a slight smile. “Thank you, but we have already considered that. Neither one of us is particularly interested in the role of father or mother here, and we’d both prefer to be on the front line if anything happened, so we’ve decided to keep things as they are.” It had been almost two hundred years since there were any official conflicts with the Trionean Empire, but even if relations were superficially friendly the different cultures were a source of constant tension along the border, and even without proof many were convinced that many of the bandits in the northern territories were financed by the empire.
Princess Tiriana, the one whose dress had been co-opted for Moriko and who was engaged to an elven noble, was the most enthusiastic about the shopping, and on more than one occasion had to be restrained by her sisters from buying even more things for Moriko. She hoped that the princess’s husband-to-be was well off because it seemed that the twenty-eight-year-old had little care about spending money. At least she seemed to have an eye for quality rather than wanting to buy every sparkling trinket, though that could get expensive fast too.
While Tiriana had the most enthusiasm, Bridgette had the most energy. Scarcely a year older than Kazue, she burned with a passionate intensity that would not be out of place at Sakiya’s monastery though her talents were more towards the magical than the martial. She did not have the sort of excitable distractability that the kitsune did however, she was much more focused and could wax on about her studies in magic given the slightest encouragement. It seems that her magic was fueled by one of their older bloodlines awakening, and gave her magic more akin to that of a druid than a wizard, though with a focus on fire as a medium of renewal.
Lady Yuriko was more reserved and seemed amused as she shadowed the group, though she did occasionally offer a suggestion or bit of guidance. Moriko was fairly certain that the kitsune represented more security than the rest of their guards combined.
Physically Moriko could easily keep up with even Bridgette for energy, but this sort of new socialization was a touch overwhelming and emotionally exhausting, so she was quite glad when the other women declared the shopping finished and that it was time for supper. She was ushered into a restaurant with a discreet, unmarked entrance, where they were then led to a private dining room after passing through a slightly more public area. The guardsmen that remained after packages were sent off to be delivered to Moriko’s room at the monastery took up stations in an outer room to the one where the women would be eating. Once orders were placed, the six of them were briefly alone for the first time since she had been ambushed, and Yuriko brought out a small blue orb and placed it on the table where it began to glow. She stared at it for a moment, then nodded. “Speak freely.”
Princess Kagami sighed as she relaxed, which surprised Moriko as she had not realized that the other woman had not been relaxed until that moment. “I think that went well. Moriko, I need to apologize for something. While we did want to help you shop for everything, there was another purpose. Circumstances have already led to you and your spouses being drawn into some royal secrets, so you now get to enjoy another. Lady Yuriko here is also our current spymaster, as is tradition for the Azeria Clan advisor. Our unofficial public appearance with you has allowed her agents to watch the reactions of surprised folk, and are undoubtedly keeping track of the actions of anyone suspicious.” She gave Moriko a grin. “We may be a peaceful kingdom, but even with our advantages there is some internal dissent, and there are a few external threats. So it’s best to keep track of people who react the most to this sort of surprise information. We can’t keep your dungeon a secret, so we might as well take advantage of the situation.” Kagami then turned toward Yuriko with a lightly scolding tone. “As for you, you know very well that Mistress Ula hates it when you surprise her like that. This is why we do half our shopping when you are otherwise occupied.”
Yuriko made a small show of looking repentant, but Moriko rather doubted the sincerity of it. See, this was why she was nervous about dealing with nobility, none of this had even occurred to her as a layer of what was happening. It might not be as bad as she had been imagining for a public court, but she really hated not knowing or understanding what was going on around her with people that were supposed to be her allies.
Kitiara chuckled at Moriko’s expression. “You wear your thoughts on your face when you aren’t guarded. I understand and agree, that’s part of why my wife Catherine and I have decided to leave things be when it comes to potentially inheriting the position of Marquess. We’ll keep our focus on defending the northern border with our strength of arms, and let this lot deal with politics.”
Moriko blushed slightly at being caught out, and it did not help that she could hear Mordecai laughing in the back of her head. He was curious about something however, and Moriko decided to at least bring it up. “Ah, that brings up a topic. Maybe it would be best to cover it later, but I can let you know now. Our ‘open-mindedness’ when it comes to romance surprises him a touch, especially when it comes to nobility. He doesn’t think it was allowed so openly when he was around previously.”
Kagami held up a finger and the others all waited while she thought. After a few moments, she nodded as she made a decision. “I think it will take up more time than we have to go over such questions in detail. While we will answer what you need to know so that we can hopefully write up an official treaty, I’ll make sure we pull together a copy of the founding charter and subsequent changes to help give all of you a better understanding of how everything works in this kingdom.” She smiled slightly. “I take it you are not a history buff, and only really concerned yourself with rules that affected you? Don’t worry, that’s how most people in any nation deal with laws, but you have found yourself in a position where you need to know more.”
Moriko smiled at that. “Guilty. Oh, Mordecai is asking why you are being so generous with our shopping and with some of your secrets?” She gestured towards Yuriko, their recently revealed spymaster.
“Ah, that one is easy.” Lady Yuriko said. “Having a dungeon near our kingdom is unprecedented, and we want to get ahead of other people’s responses. You are technically situated inside the range set aside for all the various mountain tribes to maintain their own governments outside of our or Danuana’s political or legal systems, but you and your wife are citizens of Kuiccihan, so the situation is complicated. What we are hoping for in broad scope is to convince the three of you to sign an alliance treaty that would make your territory a sovereign vassal. This is not as constraining as a standard suzerain-vassal relationship, not only is control of your territory strictly your own but you have the freedom to work on your own foreign relations separately, given that they do not conflict with the security of Kuiccihan. So to be blunt, we are offering both wealth and access to some of our secrets to entice you to trust us, and we do so with the anticipation that this will be beneficial in the long term for our kingdom.”
So a bribe in other words. “And this is all to help warm us up to the idea?”
Bridgette pouted a little at Moriko’s tone. “Don’t be like that. You are effectively our peer, and we have good reason to consider you truly a friendly state. We normally have to be super careful about making people close friends, but you were thrust into this position and we have a lot of information about you from the temple, so we want to make you a real friend. We just have to also deal with all the other stuff at the same time.” Crap, the girl’s sad face was almost as effective as Kazue’s, she just didn’t have ears or tails that could droop.
<<Previous Start Next >>
My Discord if you would like to talk about the book or see what else I am up to (I also try to stream once a week, but that's strictly hobby level).
My Patreon if you want to support me directly.
Also to be found on Royal Road.
$3 Patreon: Early chapters, lore excerpts $5 Patreon: Short Stories $10 Patreon: New stories not published anywhere else (Until after I finish this story at least)
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2023.05.29 01:21 greyv9 hayward h150fdn heater valve pricing question

I need a replacement gas valve for my heater. I believe the part number is FDXLGSV0001. It costs about $300. I also found online a LP to natural gas conversion kit FDXLGCK1150PN for the heater that sells for less than $200 and comes with the valve, new outlet pipe and orifices. Anyone bought this kit?
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2023.05.29 00:28 Skarlit-Sage There was a strange post on my reddit account, I don’t recall posting it.

I’m not an extraordinary individual. Sure, there have been many anomalous things that have happened to me throughout my life. Certainly, more than most can personally be able to attest to experiencing themselves. Yes, some of these incidents were harmless while others were downright haunting, but all these incidents were beyond what's usually regarded as normal. Either way, I'm just an ordinary person who just so happens to experience a lot of anomalous incidents.
The most recent of these incidents involve an online account of mine. Specifically, a post that was made under my name that I don’t ever remember posting. I don’t have any medical or family history of memory-related disorders. I have never shown any signs of such memory disorders, nor do I have any predisposition to them. I also do not partake in injecting any drugs including alcohol or anything else that could cause me to forget certain events. Therefore, I would’ve remembered originally posting the following post and yet I don’t. The original post was titled, “A former work partner sent me a strange email last night, now I fear for my safety.”
I discovered the questionable post this morning before I had to vomit. The cause of me vomiting was unknown however, that wasn’t what scared me. It was the fact that the puke was mostly black. While closing the lid of the toilet to then flush the vomit in it, I noticed something on the underside of my left forearm. “Subject Number 9: Attempt number 1; Result: Conversion Rejected; minimal to no physical alteration; failure” where the words printed on my arm with no explanation. That was the final straw and that’s why I’ve decided to repost the original post rather than simply deleting it.
-Original Post-
It happened last night around 11:30pm. I was getting ready to go to bed when I heard a notification sound from my laptop. It was an email titled, "If you get this email, you’ve been selected for a true opportunity. Don’t resist it!" and attached to it, was a Word Document. It was from an ex-coworker whose name I will blur out. Not wanting to stay up for what I thought was an advertisement or promotion of some kind, I simply saved the attachment after verifying the email's origin.
I then went to bed before being woken up around 3:00 at night to a loud thumping sound and my laptop being turned on seemingly by itself. Upon opening the laptop, I saw that it was opened to the word document while a page to reddit had been open. After reading the Word Document in its entirety, I was dumbfounded. It wasn’t an advertisement; it was a warning. At first, I would’ve assumed it was just a dumb, ridiculous prank. However, the following events made me convinced that’s not the case.
I attempted to delete the word document and close reddit with no success and the only windows my laptop would open were Outlook, Word and this site. I then tried to turn off my computer, but it only gave an error sound in response. There's definitely a virus on my laptop. Worse yet, my phone won’t even turn on for some reason so calling for help via my phone isn’t an option. Furthermore, in the process of then trying to leave my apartment the door wouldn’t unlock, and the peep hole was obstructed. Since my apartment is on the fifth floor, leaving through the window isn't an option. Following the failed attempt to exit, I tried to scream for help, but nothing happened. This only made me more desperate and nervous. That's why I've decided to post the document I received here so the hack will stop.
To give context on how I knew this former coworker in question, we met each other when we were both hired in the same new hire group at our previous job. Long story short, the job simply wasn't for us, and we were both let go the same day right before the end of our job's probationary period ended. Right After that we parted ways but kept in touch via Outlook and WhatsApp. I went to work for a warehouse job to continue paying for monthly bills. I'll admit it's not the best job, but I won't complain because it pays enough for me to afford my monthly expenses. However, that didn't stop me from being jealous of [***] once I had learned that he had found work in some mysterious, experimental bioengineering facility that paid him handsomely by the hour.
I reside in an area on the southeast coast of North America that's known for constant innovation. My ex-coworker, on the other hand, lived 20 minutes away from me. That's partially why it wasn't so hard for both of us to find replacement jobs. However, it didn't explain his luck as I never took him as the kind of guy to work in the field of Biology and Gene Therapy. He seemed more of a mechanic than a scientist. Regardless, I was happy for him and moved on with my typical life.
That was all about 2 months ago.
The document that was attached to the email was a letter from my former coworker. Any details such as my name, the CEO's employee name, or the company they worked for have been removed. This was the message I saw when I read the document.
-Message Starts-
If you’re one of the people, I sent this to. You need to read everything that is in this document very carefully, word for word and then post this to a site that it is or will be pulled up on your device. I’ve installed a virus on your computer that will only be nullified once this document has been posted onto a specific internet page designated as “Safe to post” by the virus’ code. I’ve only done this to ensure that the truth gets out there, not to harm you. I’m sorry it had to be this way.
However, I shall give you some context first.
It all started after I didn't make my previous job's probationary period. I had moved to the local area just for that job. So, when I didn’t make the cut, I originally was planning on moving back to my home state. However, that soon changed as two nights before I was going to begin the move. I had gotten a letter from [***] Inc. It was a job offer.
"Hello [***], we've heard about your recent and unfortunate separation from [***]. We would like to extend a job offer after reviewing your skills and experience as we’ve determined that you'd be a better fit here with us and your contributions valued. Your job would be relatively simple, safe, and rewarding. You will be trained, costs covered by us. Should you choose to stay, you’ll enjoy our amazing benefits including, but not limited to, full insurance coverage, competitive pay, and 152 hours of PTO! All we ask is that you're willing and able to work 12-hour shifts, lift more than 50lbs, comply with our reasonable NDAs and do the job with quality and safety in mind. Should this offer pique your interest, don't hesitate to call us or email us!
Sincerely, [***].”
“Today’s biological questions are tomorrow’s biological achievements here at [***].”
I must've read it twice before deeming it as "too good to be true" However, the truth is, I was desperate. Desperate enough to take the time and reach out to the company. The fact is, I didn't want to go back to my home state. If I had a chance to stay here, why not try and see if the job is genuine. “The worst thing that can happen is I get my time wasted” I thought.
I called the CEO the next day and to my surprise, long story short, it was successful! I was hired! Not only that but the job's hourly wage was $10 more than my previous job and I only had to work 3 days a week! I was told to come in the next available shift for training.
I eagerly began my first two weeks here normal enough. It was mostly training videos relating to our job procedure, receiving hands-on training for simple tasks, and meeting my coworkers. On the first day, I noticed that all the coworkers barely ever talked. I chalked it all up as, "they're simply being standoffish to me because I'm the new hire". I figured they just needed to warm up to me.
After the first 2 weeks were done, I had a good idea of what I'd be doing. I would be experimenting on human and wild animal tissue as well as live animals. This was to study the effects of mutating and altering certain genetic codes. I know the last part might seem unethical, but it was to discover cures for diseases using gene therapy. I wasn’t hurting animals; I was helping them. However, the job still began to feel wrong in other ways.
It started with me meeting the CEO on day 7. Immediately I noticed something was different about her. Specifically, the way she looked for a CEO. She towered above me at almost seven feet in height and her skin was insanely pale. Her hair was jet-black as was the color of her eye’s irises. Her pupils being indistinguishable, and the shape of her upturned eyes made her gaze very intimidating. She looked young, perhaps 25 at the oldest. Furthermore, the way she dressed; she wore a black and grey camo military-style uniform didn’t help. There was what looked to be the patch of a flag or symbol on her left shoulder, but it wasn’t that of any nation or group I recognized. The symbol/flag in question was a red-letter X in the middle of a red outline of an eye with a black background. Her voice was also very off.
After meeting the strange matriarch-like figure, I was then made to sign several NDAs and other contractual documents. The documents I was signing seemed standard but something in me felt wrong with it. After signing the NDAs, I was then introduced to Arin, the person I'd be job shadowing. Everything went downhill from there. Immediately, within 5 minutes of meeting him, Arin began to give me a list of ominous, strange suggestions that sounded more like warnings.
  1. If you hear the CEO seemingly talking to herself behind a locked door with the hallway lights flickering outside, walk away. She’s talking to the voice. Whatever they are talking about is none of your business and you want to keep it that way.
  2. If you are working by yourself and the lights turn off. Don't move. You will hear a voice, cooperate with it, answer any questions it has and do what it says. I don't want to have to clean up after another, "unfortunate work accident."
  3. Though this is unlikely, if the CEO tells you to meet them in their room. Do not keep them waiting. She doesn't like it when you're late because it is likely demanding your presence.
  4. If you have questions about what exactly we do, don't ask. Don't try to tell anyone outside of this facility the nature of our work and its end goal should you find out. It's not us that will come for you, it's the voice.
  5. If you happen to see the figure that the voice belongs to, it has respect for you. Keep it that way but avoid eye contact with it.
  6. Do not refer to the voice as the CEO or a mental illness. Even if that’s what it seems like, I promise you It not that. You treat it with the utmost respect and legitimacy even when it's not around.
  7. None of the previous suggestions I gave you were a joke of any kind.
I didn't say anything, but I was more than confused. I could tell by his face that he was intent on convincing me. In fact, he had the most serious look I had ever seen on anyone’s face. He then said, "I have your back but don't get yourself in trouble. Don't mention what I've told you at lunch either. Everyone learns in their third week. Now, you know what they say about Rome? When in Rome, do as the romans do yeah? Well, you're in Rome so do as we do. Oh, and I'll say this one final time, nothing I've told you is to be talked about outside of the workplace. Don't think about it too hard though. Just don't forget either." My heart began to race slightly after hearing this as I struggled to go about the work routine of isolating and studying DNA strands, reorganizing documents, Injecting certain labelled syringes into various lab animals, etc.
The next 4 days went roughly the same as I got into the routine of things. I got better at my tasks and was even allowed to work alone by the end of the week. All the other coworkers at lunch would say things like, "I went to go work at my station but the door to the room was locked, I then heard the CEO talking on the other end." or "The lights went out at my station yesterday, IT didn't say anything. The lights came on after 2 minutes. IT must've been observing." As these things were said, they exchanged knowing looks with no sign of any joking going on. At this point I was beginning to be convinced that the CEO was insane just by that alone.
The following 4 weeks were almost completely normal. There was no mention of "The Voice" except towards the end of my 4th week when Arin said, "IT must be taking a break or a vacation if it does that sort of thing." before one of our coworkers apparently got a little too clever and said, "IT might just decide to screw off for once." Everyone then stopped to look at him with stern expressions and no one even smiled. No one else said anything about the voice for the rest of lunch that day. The whole event made me nervous even more.
Midway through my 5th week, I had my first encounter with the voice while working the last hour of my shift. I was in a level A biohazard suit and about to mix two separate solutions in a petri dish based on instructions projected on my station's computer screen. One was dark red and labelled, "Human Blood; O- Type" and the other was black and simply labelled, "Black Mutagen." I was just about to mix them when the all the lights, including the light from my computer monitor cut out. Then, I heard a low-pitched, inhuman voice speak, "So interesting.” It spoke before continuing, “Tomorrow you will be made to do something dangerous but very important. In fact, that's why we brought you here. You are expendable due to your lack of prior experience and knowledge. However, I know you need the money and if you come in tomorrow, I’ll pay you 100k after you complete the task.”
The voice was beyond haunting because of how abnormal it sounded. It was like 3 people speaking at once. One voice was a deep, yet feminine, prominent, and loud voice while the two sounded like a man’s faint whispers echoing the same words. The voice then continued to my dismay, “Now, you were about to mix the two agents. Remember to destroy the petri dish after 3 minutes.” I didn't even ask how it knew to respond with that. I just stood there drenched in sweat and shaking, horrified at the whole experience. Then I thought back to the rules I was told on day seven. There was no doubt in my mind that this place was insane!
The voice then left without a trace as the lights came back on. I then completed the task according to instructions given. I watched as the Human Blood mixed with the Black substance. The entire petri dish became black within 1 minute before reverting to blood. When analyzing the liquid under a microscope, I saw that the cells had their entire genetic code rewritten. There were also what appeared to be stem cell like cell in the blood. They were black and moved through the other cells mutating any that hadn’t been converted. I immediately stepped away from the microscope as I gasped and then disposed of the mutagenic waste by placing it in the incinerator. The day then ended not long after that. I was reluctant to come back but the money promised was undeniable.
When I got to my assigned station at the basement level of the facility the next day, I was greeted by the CEO again who told me we’d be working on a "willing test subject" for an experiment. She also told me that I and my immediate coworkers were the only employees on site except for a few executives that would also be present. I was still shaken up from the previous day’s experience and the weirdness of that current day. However, I was then fully convinced with the promise of an additional 100k being deposited into my account immediately after successfully completing my task. I would've turned back had I known what would happen less than 30 minutes later.
I was escorted by the CEO to an all-steel room except for a panel of heavily reinforced, thick observation glass and door that looked like it belonged in Fort Knox. In the middle of the room lies a medical bed with a tube full of black fluid beside it. Several of my coworkers then stepped in the room with me as they saw my confusion. The door then closed behind them. Then Arin spoke, “So I guess the CEO didn’t tell you. Listen, there’s a reason why our team is the only one here today. It's to put you on that bed.” I shouted in protest, “What! No! I don’t agree with this! Please! You can’t do this to me! This is illegal! Stop it!” Arin then replied with the last words I ever heard him speak, “Sorry buddy, this is why we brought you here. No one’s going to find out! We are all getting 100k individually to do this. You’re not the only one who needs money right now. Now let’s just make this easy for everyone. Get on there!” I then replied with, “Fuck you! I kill all of you!” as all 6 of them wrestled me to bed with ease. They then cuffed my feet and hands to the bed with metallic restraints. The last thing I remember is a cloth being put over my nose as a strong scent filled my nostrils and the world went dark.
The next thing I remember was my eyes being covered by my hands as cried. I then pulled my hands away to see that they had become elongated, and my fingers had become claw-like. I then looked down at my mutated, blood-soaked body in horror. All around me was death and bodily destruction. I didn’t recognize a single body. The bed, equipment, walls, and floor were painted with blood and littered with human tissue. I immediately froze for a second time before retching. As a towered above the destruction, I realized I was significantly taller than I remembered. Then I looked ahead of me and saw that the tube with the black fluid was empty. “…No” Was the only word I could get out. That was when I noticed that my voice was altered. I sounded like the voice except prominent voice was a demonic version of my original voice and the faint whispering voices that came from my throat afterwards were feminine. Then I heard The Voice call out to me from the direction of the door behind me. I turned and saw the CEO. “It’s okay child, you’re mine now.” Were the words she spoke to me… and they will be the words she speaks to you.
To the person this letter is addressed to, I'd like to introduce myself. I am known by many names, one of them is Cerridwen. You've received this message because were meant to be transformed into something more than your current self and soon you will be. You will be one of the first as well everyone else receiving an email supposedly from [***]. Your device will be tracked at time the virus has been installed onto it. Know that I’m on my way to save you. You may spread the word. It will do you no good, no one will believe you.
-Message ends-
After I first got done reading this, I thought it was some ridiculous joke but now I no longer feel that way as the lights have begun to flicker and I’m beginning to hear whispering sounds from my closet. I’m going to try one more thing to escape.
I thought of an idea to get out of this situation and that was to start a fire in my kitchen to trip the fire alarm and get help. However, as I went over to the stove the power shut out and all the light from the outside streetlights seemed to dim unnaturally until no light came through. The only thing illuminating my entire apartment was my now laptop with its now eerie blue glow lighting up the dark world around me.
I decided to do the only thing I could think of, post the document on reddit. However, just as I was about to do this, I heard what sounded like three demonic voices speaking at once coming from behind me. Then I lost all hope of escape as the horror of reality sunk in and froze my body still as Cerridwen spoke, “Once your device was fully hacked, I simply manifested myself near your device’s location. I then waited for the perfect time to introduce myself. That’s how I’ll get the first of the other ones too. You are mine and there's nothing you can do about it. Now go on, post it.”
-End of Original Post-
As I’m reposting this on the web, there’ve been several local reports of people in my area going missing with no trace. It's likely that whatever "Cerridwen" is, It's responsible for the disappearances in my area and it's not human.
“The first 10 of the missing people had received an email from an individual identified as [***]. However, now people are going missing without having received any previous let-” I turned off the TV after hearing that. The local news had also been saying that some other people had been waking up with words stamped on their arms. Some of these people that had reported words stamped on their forearms have since gone missing as well.
Either way, it's coming for me now and I know this for a fact. I say this because no light is coming through my apartment despite it still being mid-day and the lights of my apartment… have begun to flicker rapidly.
submitted by Skarlit-Sage to nosleep [link] [comments]

2023.05.28 18:00 dfr1238 [(FP-POV Gorou)Fanfiction]38.2 C

Beep—beep—beep—beep beep—
I lifted the thermometer I had placed in her flushed left ear.
Looking at the reading on the thermometer, it showed "38.2 C".
Although a pregnant woman’s body temperature tends to be higher, this was definitely a fever, no doubt about it.
I slowly lowered my hand holding the thermometer, looking at Hoshino-San lying on the couch, I covered my face and recalled this morning.
…
The usual morning routine, I entered the bathroom for the usual grooming and looked at myself in the mirror.
After coming out, I noticed the mobile phone on the kitchen counter was buzzing with a notification, so I checked it.
I noticed that Hoshino-San had sent me two messages.
I opened the chatroom: "Amamiya-Sensei, I think I have a fever." she messaged—ugh. She sent a sticker—a somewhat chubby white seal looking displeased with a thermometer apparently stuck up its rear—What?
I turned off the phone screen and put it into my pocket. I put on my mask, grabbed the alcohol spray, and rang the doorbell at Hoshino-San's next-door apartment.
After a moment...
…She didn't faint, did she? But then—she opened the door, her face looking somewhat flushed.
"Ah~~Uno you're here~" She—What? "Hoshino-San, are you okay?" I asked.
"Relax! I just feel a little—" she said, waving her hand forward, then her body started to fall forward—"HEY ! HOSHINO-SAN!" I quickly stepped forward to catch her, her head leaning slightly on my shoulder.
"I'll take you to the couch to rest first." I gently assisted her, helping her to lie down on the couch.
…
Looking at her lying on the couch, she was resting with her eyes closed. Apart from looking exhausted, coughing, and a runny nose, her symptoms didn't seem severe. It's possible that she started feeling unwell on the way home yesterday, and her symptoms worsened during the night, preventing her from sleeping well.
I noticed her constantly adjusting her position, so I went to her bedroom and fetched a blanket and a pillow. I gently lifted her head and put the pillow in a comfortable place for her, and then covered her with the blanket.
"Is there anywhere else you're feeling uncomfortable?" I asked her softly. "Hmm... my... my head hurts a lot." she answered weakly, her face showing discomfort and her hands gripping the blanket tightly.
She couldn't take care of herself in this state, and I couldn't bear to leave her alone. "Hoshino-San, do you feel too cold right now?" I asked her gently.
"Uh... yeah, um... yes..." she answered slowly with her eyes closed. I got up, looked around for the air conditioner remote, found it, and turned up the temperature slightly.
After that, I went to her bathroom, rinsed a plastic washbasin, filled it with seventy percent hot water and thirty percent cold water, soaked a towel in it, and brought it to the living room.
I dipped the towel in the water, then wrung out most of the water. I then gently placed the warm towel on her forehead. Her expression seemed to relax a bit.
I watched her resting quietly.
After a while, I reheated the towel and placed it on her forehead again.
"Hoshino-San, did you do anything yesterday that might have led to catching a cold?" I asked her gently. "Uh... drank too much lemon water?" she answered me.
Uh... dinner last night? If I recall correctly, she didn't drink much.
"I saw you didn't drink much lemon water yesterday, was there anything else?" I asked her gently. "Um... yesterday... I think I took a cold shower." she answered slowly.
"For a long time?" I asked her. "I... don't remember, I think... after dancing yesterday afternoon, I showered until you rang the doorbell?" she slowly—What?
She showered until I rang the doorbell? I had finished a movie before I went to see her!
"Do you only take cold showers, Hoshino-San?" I asked her gently. "Well... at the beginning there was hot water, but later it ran out." she answered slowly.
I got up and gently opened the balcony door. The water heater is the same model as mine, the movie "The Graduate" is about 100 minutes, so this water heater can provide hot water for about 20 minutes, which means... 80 minutes of a cold shower.
No wonder she caught a cold... I heard her coughing from inside.
It seemed that I had no choice today. I walked over to the railing, dialed the hospital, and waited for the call to go through.
"Hello, this is Amamiya Gorou, a gynecologist. I have an emergency to attend to. My neighbor suddenly has a fever and can't take care of herself. She has no one else to look after her. I'm sorry, I need to take a leave of absence." I said. "Understood, Amamiya-Sensei, thank you for informing us. Are you sure your neighbor's condition requires your personal care? Does she need to be taken to the hospital?" the other party asked.
"Yes, I'm worried about her condition. I believe I need to see her myself. I've already assessed her illness. I will observe her condition. If it worsens, I will take her to the hospital immediately." I replied. "We understand your situation, Amamiya-Sensei. How long do you think your leave will last?" they asked. "I estimate I will need a day. I will handle this issue as soon as possible and return to the hospital." I answered.
After some more conversation, I managed to take the leave. I started thinking about what food is good for someone with a cold.
…
To be honest, aside from catching a cold when I was a child, I don't seem to have much experience with colds. Among the people I know, the one to ask about making a meal for someone with a cold would be...
But I didn't really want to call— I heard coughing from the room.
…
Sigh. I dialed a number from my contact list, waiting for the other party to pick up.
"Hello, this is the Amamiya residence." the voice on the other side said. "Hey, Grandma, it's me—" She cut me off. "Oh! My dear grandson! How rare of you to call back home! Did you miss Grandma?" she said joyously. "Kind of, but today I wanted to—" She cut me off again. "Gorou, are you bringing your girlfriend home this time? Should I notify the relatives?" She inquired—
Yes, this is precisely why I don't fancy making these phone calls.
"No, no, no, wait a moment! Grandma! Not every time I call it means I'm bringing a girlfriend home, okay!? I have other things to discuss!" I said, burying my face in my hands.
"Well, what could be more important than you bringing back my great-grandson? Gorou, you're nearly thirty now. There are only old folks and adults in our hometown, no children or babies. I'm bored! I wouldn't mind taking care of a child again, after all, I did help raise you!" she started to ramble.
"No, Grandma, aren't you missing several steps here? It's not like once you have a girlfriend, a baby pops out, right? Can't you just let things take their natural course? And today I really didn't call to talk about this!" I answered, feeling helpless.
"So, do you have a girlfriend?" She asked. "...No." I replied.
A moment later.
"Alright then, what did you need today?" she said, sounding a little impatient. "Do you remember what you used to cook for me when I was sick? The kind that made me feel better really quickly?" I asked her.
"I don't recall having any sort of family heirloom elixir. Or are you referring to the usual meals you ate when you were sick?" She asked. "...Yes, the latter. The meals you prepared when I was ill, do you remember them?" I clarified.
"...You don't sound sick to me?" She queried. "Uh...no, it's not me—" She cut me off. "Who are you cooking for?" She asked, seemingly curious. "Well, my neighbor—" She cut me off.
"Oh!? A girl?" She—what? "Does that matter?" I asked, looking ahead. "Of course, it concerns my great-grandchild." she proclaimed proudly.
"Grandma, please, can you stop fixating on having a great-grandchild?" I said.
After a pause.
"Okay, Gorou, it was lovely chatting with you today. Let's talk again another day. Bye—" I cut her off. "ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! HOLD ON, DON'T HANG UP!" I shouted.
I took a deep breath.
"...Yes, she's a girl, are you satisfied now?" I finally answered. "Oh, I thought it might have been a boy. That's a relief." she responded—what?
"Grandma, you're being too pragmatic." I retorted. "This is about my great-grandchild—so when are you bringing her home?" she asked—wait, what?
"Grandma, first, she is my patient, second, we're not that close, and third, she's only sixteen." I responded.
"Gorou, first, so what? Does that matter? Second, you know they say 'familiarity breeds affection'! Third, I gave birth to your mother when I was sixteen." she countered—wait a minute, the third point, what the hell, sixteen? I never knew that.
"Grandma, what do you mean 'does it matter?' She's my patient, I'm an 'OB/GYN'. How do you think the baby in my patient's belly came about?" I told her seriously.
"And so?" She—really?
"Grandma, babies don't just spring from stones, nor do they reproduce asexually." I replied.
"What is reproduce asexually?" She asked.
…
"Anyway, Grandma! Times have changed. If this were to happen, I would be socially ostracized, seriously!" I told her.
"No worries! Then just wait until she's twenty! I can wait a few more years, no problem!" she said. "No, Grandma, this—wait! Today I really just called for a recipe! She's not feeling well right now, can we talk about this another time?" I asked her.
After a moment.
"Um...alright, rice porridge—add a little ginger, steam some chicken breast and dice it." she answered. "With ginger, right?" I repeated.
"Yes, you could also make her a vegetable soup! Add tomatoes, onions, and garlic. Oh yes, garlic is very important!" she instructed. "Alright, alright, garlic, got it." I echoed.
"I used to stir-fry some broccoli, but softer food is better for someone with a cold." she advised. "Mhm, I'll keep that in mind." I affirmed.
"Oh, our Gorou is finally cooking for a girl! It seems my teachings weren't in vain!" she said, laughing. "Grandma, can you not—" She cut me off.
"I thought that since the family persuaded you to become an OB/GYN, you had lost interest in cooking—"
...
Right, isn't it?
After the family convinced me to become an OB/GYN, how could they think I was still interested in cooking? I gazed at the blue sky ahead.
...
"Gorou?" She called. "Yes, Grandma, I hear you. Is that about it? I have to go, she's not feeling well." I told her. "Alright then! Don't forget to come visit Grandma when you're free! Bye!" she said. "Sure, I will, goodbye." I hung up.
...
I should have just googled it instead of putting myself through this. I looked at the black smoke billowing from the chimney in the distance.
Isn't this what they wanted? Isn't this what I had to do? Isn't this why I switched from being a surgeon to an OB/GYN?
After all, my mother—
I heard coughing from inside the room.
...
Now's not the time for these thoughts; she needs someone to look after her.
I slid open the balcony door and casually closed it behind me, moving closer to Hoshino-San, who seemed to be asleep on the sofa.
I thought about cooking at my place and bringing the meal over later, so as not to disturb her. After all, I just live next door.
Taking the key placed next to her entrance hall, I locked her door and returned to my place next door.
Back home, I took out the necessary ingredients from the fridge. To make a rice porridge with steamed diced chicken breast, I needed to find my steamer, which, luckily, I found after a brief search.
Taking out the chicken breast... ah, it needs defrosting.
Covering my face, I hadn't considered this. But I decided to use the microwave to thaw it.
I put the frozen chicken breast into the microwave and turned on the defrosting function, but I shortened the microwave time.
After each round of microwaving, I would move and turn the chicken breast. It's a bit of a hassle, but at least it ensures that every part defrosts evenly, to avoid some parts being cooked while others are raw.
Once the chicken breast was fully defrosted, it had a nice, even color—from pink to pale yellow. Despite being frozen, it was still not sticky and retained a certain firmness.
I took a sniff; it had no off-putting smell.
Next, I placed the defrosted chicken breast in the steamer and started to steam it. It should take around 20 minutes. Meanwhile, I planned to prepare a vegetable soup.
I cleaned the carrots, onions, garlic, and tomatoes, and cut them into appropriate sizes. I then grabbed a pan, heated a bit of oil, and started sautéing the garlic and onions until the onions turned semi-transparent.
Next, I added the diced carrots and tomatoes and continued to sauté for a while. A few moments later, I added an appropriate amount of water and covered the pan.
The simmering process also took about 20 minutes. By that time, I could start making the rice porridge. I picked up another pot, washed it clean, and washed a cup of rice as well, then drained the water and added four cups back.
After putting it on the stove, I turned on medium heat and slowly brought the rice to a boil until it softened. This also took about 20 minutes, by which time the porridge became thick. By then, the chicken breast was ready. I took it out and let it cool on a plate while checking on the vegetable soup.
Hmm, the scent of garlic was present but not overpowering.
A moment later, I checked on the rice porridge with a spoon. The grains were distinct but had clearly softened. When I lifted the spoon, a thin strand of white liquid was dragged up.
I diced the cooled chicken breast on a cutting board and added it to the porridge. I also prepared some ginger, grated an appropriate amount into the porridge, and waited for the ingredients to meld together.
The vegetable soup was about ready. I seasoned it with a bit of salt and pepper, then covered the pot and brought it over to Hoshino-San's house. Upon entering, I set it on the kitchen counter. She seemed to be sound asleep.
I returned home and saw that the porridge was almost ready, so I turned the heat down and picked up the frying pan, getting ready to stir-fry some broccoli.
I washed the broccoli and cut it into small pieces, then started stir-frying it in the preheated pan. During the process, I alternated between medium and low heat until the broccoli turned green and began to char slightly.
Recalling my grandmother's advice to make it softer, I added a small amount of water. After covering the pot, I turned the heat to low and let it simmer. I took the opportunity to serve the porridge to Hoshino-San, who seemed to have sensed it even in her sleep. With her eyes closed, she appeared to be smelling something.
After that, I dished out the cauliflower and added a touch of salt before bringing it over.
I took a brief rest on the sofa, picked up a tissue nearby, removed my glasses, and wiped the sweat off my face.
The morning sun was illuminating the entire room, and the wind chime on the balcony outside the glass door was gently chiming as always. The quiet hum of the air conditioning wasn't too loud.
Hoshino-San was still sound asleep on the long sofa to my left — albeit with a faint snoring due to her stuffy nose from a cold.
A little later, I went into the kitchen, picked up a bowl and spoon, lifted the pot lid, and served a bowl of porridge.
"Hoshino-San, can you eat?" I asked slowly, then brought the bowl closer to her.
I initially wanted to help her up, but she seemed to get up automatically at the scent of the food.
I handed her the bowl, and she held the spoon in her right hand with her eyes closed.
She scooped up a spoonful of porridge, then — it brushed past her upper lip.
...Uh.
She paused for a moment, then — this time it almost went into her nose.
"Hoshino-San, let me help you!" I said anxiously, fearing she might burn her nose next.
I scooped up a spoonful of porridge.
She kept her eyes closed, her delicate mouth slowly opening to let my spoon in. Once I put the spoon in, she closed her mouth, swallowed the porridge from the spoon. As I slowly pulled out the spoon, it seemed like she still wanted to keep it in her mouth.
She then swallowed, a smile creeping onto her face with her eyes still closed.
...This is just too cut-
No — no, I'm a doctor. I need to stay calm. She's my patient, and she's only sixteen.
I continued to feed her the remaining porridge.
A while later, I had managed to feed her half the bowl of porridge, and got her to have a few bites of the vegetables and vegetable soup.
She didn't seem to like garlic very much and now, with her eyes still closed, she was sitting on the sofa.
Thinking about it now, although I could take care of her all day, I don't have a car in case we need to rush to the hospital. I should contact her guardian.
"Hoshino-San, could you please..." Before I could finish, she had already laid down on the sofa and continued to sleep.
Alright then.
I helped her pull her feet onto the sofa, made her lie flat, covered her with a blanket, and planned to check her phone for an emergency dial setup to find an emergency contact.
Surprisingly, there was one.
I slid open the glass door, walked out onto the balcony, and made the call.
submitted by dfr1238 to OshiNoKoMemes [link] [comments]

2023.05.28 01:06 PhaeronLanzakyr Hello, do any of you have pics of Glutos Orscollion's instructions?

So I want to use the palanquin for a conversion, but no one has ever posted the build instructions for it online. Can anyone help me out or is it a super simple, self-explanatory kit that you really don't need instructions for like some others?
submitted by PhaeronLanzakyr to HedonitesofSlaanesh [link] [comments]

2023.05.28 00:49 thevanlifechronicles 2019 Promaster 2500 Conversion with TWO slider doors for sale!

2019 Promaster 2500 Conversion with TWO slider doors for sale!
VAN DETAILS Asking price: $55,500 OBO - all serious offers will be considered. Currently in Las Vegas NV - may consider delivery for serious buyer upon negotiation.
2019 Ram Promaster 2500 2WD High Roof, 159 wheelbase, gasoline 56k miles
Two sliding doors (passenger and driver sides) Rear backup camera Cruise control Swivel seats- driver and passenger Oil and tire rotation every 5k miles Runs excellent.
CONVERSION DETAILS Renogy Solar system: 600 watt solar panels 170 hour lithium battery DC to DC charger Rover 60 amp charge controller Battery charge/usage display (2) Maxxair fans, and (3) 12v charge ports are wired to fuse box (there are available fuse ports for additional items). 12v charge ports have additional inline fuses, and the DC to DC charger and main system have additional breakers installed.
(2) maxxair deluxe fans with rain guard and remote controls
Black powder coated ladder on back door Small rooftop deck Solar panels attached to roof racks
Dometic 95dz - refrigeratofreezer, 95 liter dual zone (two separate compartment, can be set at any desired temp) Built into bench along driver side sliding door)
Campchef propane oven / 2-burner stove, and 5lb propane tank with leak detection shut off
Small farmhouse style porcelain sink with USB rechargeable faucet. 6 gallon clear water tank, and 6 gallon grey tank under sink. (Additional 6 gallon clear tank storage in cabinets for quick switch out, for total of 12 gallons clear water onboard)
Murphy bed comes down over L-shaped couch. Storage underneath couch (Comes with Full size 12 inch thick Spa Sensations memory foam mattress that has always been in a mattress protector.) Benches have 3” memory foam padding.
Overhead storage cabinet Closet with hanging rod and wire drawers Cabinet with various size storage compartments. Slide out pantry (floor to ceiling height)
(2) 12x24 windows installed on rear passenger and driver side. 1/2 slide open with built in screens
WeBoost cell phone signal booster. All direction antennae on extending pole.
Custom insulated window covers for windshield and cab side windows
Van insulated with poly iso under floor, and thinsulate / air gap / reflectix combo on walls and ceiling.
Walls and ceiling: black faux leather base and beetle kill pine boards.
Stainmaster luxury vinyl flooring
Joolca Hottap Portable Hot Water Kit - instant hot water heater / shower system. Rings on ceiling to hang shower curtain, and fold up pool can be set up for showering inside. Or can shower outside. (Hot water heater is propane, and comes with legs, quick connect hoses, 12v water pump, and on/off hand held shower head.)
https://vanlifetrader.com/listing/conversion-w-dual-sliding-doors-2019-ram-promaster-2500-159-2wd/
submitted by thevanlifechronicles to vandwellermarketplace [link] [comments]

2023.05.27 18:25 LithiumNard A Random Fan's Team/Player Breakdown and Predictions Going into LPL Summer 2023

LPL Summer Power Rankings
Just one person’s opinion. WE diehard so I’ve seen more or less all of their games, but I’ll catch other games here and there. Did a lot of Oracle’s Elixir and Leaguepedia digging as well and followed/consulted @DJJohnnymeister on twitter (must follow IMHO if you care at all about the up and comers of the LDL) for thoughts on lower-level prospects. Will probably make me look stupid when it’s all said and done, but that’s part of the fun right?
Top Contenders
1) JDG
Top – 369
Jungle – Kanavi
Mid – Knight/lzq
ADC – Ruler
Support – Missing
Was the best team on paper last split and lived up to the hype. Coming off of a dominant MSI championship run, they are the slam dunk pick to top not just the LPL power rankings, but the World power rankings.
369 is perhaps the best he’s ever been, easily 1st team All Pro. Kanavi has re-established himself as the best jungler in the world at MSI. Knight’s mechanical talent finally shone through on the international stage. Lzq is an 18-year-old who somehow skipped the LDL altogether and isn’t really relevant to the narrative, but he's on the official roster so I have to mention him. Ruler inserted his name in the GOAT conversation and proved his mettle out of the Samsung/GenG sphere, doing his thing of blending solid damage output with consistent safety. When Missing is the worst player on the team by default and yet still the Spring 2nd All Pro Team support you’re in golden shape.
They get a sentence each because I shouldn’t need to tell you about this team. They’re really just complete without any exploitable holes. Adding Knight and Ruler to China’s best squad in 2022 feels similar to the off-season where the Golden State Warriors added Kevin Durant, with the added bonus that Boogie Cousins is still in his prime. I suppose that makes Yagao into Pro LOL’s Harrison Barnes (I actually like this comparison, down to Yagao receiving blame for the blowing it when it mattered most) and GenG into Pro LOL’s Sacramento Kings (pretty bad, but if we equate the playoffs to making world finals?… ehh still really bad). We’ll see who (if anyone) can rise up to challenge them, but at this point they have to be considered the odds-on favorite.
2) LNG
Top – Zika
Jungle – Tarzan
Mid – Scout
ADC – GALA
Support – Hang
This team had one hole in the roster going into the summer and filled it. LP didn’t have a bad rookie split and showed mettle but he was clearly the odd man out on a team built to compete today. After looking at IG’s ADC Ahn, they chose to spare no expense and traded LP and a boat load of cash for RNG’s GALA who more than fills that hole. GALA will be paired in the bottom lane with Hang, who was a key partner for LP’s surprisingly competent debut, earning an All-LPL 3rd team shoutout in the process.
Scout meanwhile had a downright incredible split that fell by the wayside due to LNG’s immediate playoff exit at the hands of OMG, but it appears that even away from the EDG machine, he’s still one of the LPL’s premier stars at a very competitive position. I mean he put up a mind numbing 17 MVPs individually. To put it in perspective, ThunderTalk Gaming, who were the 8 seed in the LPL Spring Standings, had 18 wins in total. With teams like EDG and JDG sharing the MVP load among their members, Scout downright ran away with it.
Zika didn’t have a super flashy split, but was low key very strong. The team devoted a lot to making sure LP wasn’t exploited and you would think Zika, who was heavily strong-side suited as a rookie on IG last year, would flounder because of it. However, he quietly flourished in the role, even though he only picked up a single MVP performance all season. Putting up strong CS numbers and showing some good weakside ability on top of his typical array of more damage centric tops. Honestly, he might be the most underrated player in the league since he’s overshadowed by his much more resource heavy teammates, but that weakside ability might be even more key with GALA joining the team and needing the resources as well.
Tarzan meanwhile continued as a standout in the regular season, best jungler KDA, strong kill participation basically the rest of the regular season MVP performances, but was perhaps the primary factor in their playoff disappointment. Similar to JDG’s situation with Missing though, when Tarzan (specifically in the playoffs) is the team’s biggest concern, you know you have a roster ready to compete.
3) EDG
Top – Ale
Jungle – Jiejie/Monki
Mid – Fofo/Fisher
ADC – Leave
Support – Meiko
Despite losing their key Korean carries, EDG barely missed a beat last split, finishing 3rd in the Spring Split. It’s a pretty good result all things considered, but it does feel like they have holes in their game. Still, I think that between their core veterans still at the peak of their game and the overall consistency, they are in very good shape for the Worlds slots, even if they feel a step behind the likes of JDG right now.
Even without Scout and Viper, they still have a great veteran core that starts with Meiko, who with Ming’s absence/retirement(?) stands alone as only active LPL’s all-time top 10 support. As part of the EDG core for over 9 years now, and the team’s primary shot caller for a huge part of that span, his presence alone means that EDG will have one of the best macro games in the league. Combo that with Jiejie, who has served in the EDG system for a huge period of time and grown into a top level jungler in his midst of his prime and you immediately have a team that has championship aspirations even before the other 3 members are considered, as both players were 1st Team All Pro for the Spring Split.
The 3 other members were where a lot of the concern lied going into the season, but they exceeded expectations as EDG was the number 2 seed going into playoffs. While the least talked about of the three, it was a great bounce back split for FoFo who was one of the most disappointing players on 2022’s most disappointing team BLG, eventually losing his starting job to mid-season acquisition Icon. On EDG though, he looked revitalized and fairly close to his form on RA 2021, though admittedly he was flanked by better players with EDG. It was a commendable, low drama, stable split for a player who needed it bad.
Similar to FoFo, Ale was coming off of a rough 2021 as well where a talented by troubled LNG team didn’t completely flop by the results, but completely missed the high expectations set. This included a benching for PandaC halfway through the split that really hurt the team in key series down the stretch amid talk about attitude issues. He’s always been a talented pair of hands though and EDG did well to keep him focused and on his game, as he stepped up big time, particularly when given non-tank champions while piloting tanks well enough, earning 2nd team All Pro honors. Obviously, Ale isn’t always the most stable player, but so long as EDG has him on the straight and narrow, he’s going to be a net positive for the team.
Finally, we come to the rookie of the split Leave, who came in with some serious LDL hype and lived up to it for the most part, working well as EDG’s damage carry and showing a flashy mechanics style. Being flanked with the likes of Meiko helps of course, but EDG handed the reigns to Leave and he seemed up to the task. Unfortunately, going up against the likes of Ruler and Elk in the playoffs did prove to be that freshman wall for Leave, but as MSI showed they’ve been folding everyone, so it’s not too shameful. Still as the least experienced player in this top 4 group, it’s going to be a lot of pressure on the youngster. It’s crazy that this super mechanically skilled star of his rookie class could be the weakness of the team, but that’s just the level of the competition among the top teams of this league.
I do want to give brief mention to EDG’s substitute players, who are both very talented youngsters. Monki is a 19-year-old LDL promote jungler who was strong at the lower level and warranted a promotion. Fisher meanwhile had been a standout Korean trainee from Shadow Corp (the same team they picked up About, the new Korean bot lane trainee Ale was talking about) and directly went onto the EDG main roster at 18 years old. Neither will likely see play given this team’s veteran tilt and the championship ambitions, but they’re worth keeping an eye out for down the road whether they’re future EDG starters or purchases for other LPL teams.
4) BLG
Top – Bin
Jungle – XUN
Mid – Yagao
ADC – Elk/Baiye
Support – ON
Given BLG’s penchant for big expenses for early playoff exits, it would be easy to write off their latest roster as yet another flailing attempt to microwave a team into stardom, turning over basically the entire 2022 roster they reportedly spent top dollar for. And yet, it felt different this time around. While the players they picked up weren’t exactly household names, they were talented mechanical players on the rise. They looked genuinely strong in the pre-season tournaments, which admittedly doesn’t count a whole ton, but was interesting to note. And when it was all said and done, it resulted in the best split BLG has ever put up. And while they couldn’t outgun the JDG machine in any of the many shots, it was a great season. While I have them below LNG for their sheer top to bottom power and EDG out of respect for their veteran track record, I’m still very impressed by this BLG squad.
Bin, as somehow the longest tenured BLG member of 2 splits, was the face of the team’s turnaround, and a far cry better from the rocky 2022 he endured swapping between 2 dysfunctional teams. 2023 was where he re-established himself as the premier mechanical top in the league. Always known for his excellent hands since his debut on Suning in 2020, he was able to back up those skills this split, while furthering his profile in the west with his fun trashtalk and gigachad persona. Furthermore, when the chips were down at MSI, he even showed a willingness to pick up tanks, which has always been the clear hole in his game.
As for the free agent additions, the one who most established himself was Elk. If I can put on my hipster hat on, I was an Elk fan before it was cool, given he’s always shown an ability to put up eyepopping damage numbers since his debut which continued this season as he topped the tables far and away leading the league with the number 1 DPM and damage share. However, it was the finer points of the game where Elk struggled on back in the day. Off positioning, hit or miss laning, occasional overextensions trying to maximize damage were all issues for Elk on WE. On this BLG squad though, that has largely ironed itself out, with only occasional blowup performances every so often. An unknown on the World stage going into MSI, everyone now knows the name of this fearsome player. They also added a name that nobody knows, that being Baiye an LDL ADC to the main roster as well. Having just debuted on BLG.J last split and playing all of 7 games in the LDL, it’s tough to take this promotion seriously at all, let alone as a threat to Elk’s seat.
A major part of supporting Elk’s rise was the acquisition of the best young support in the LPL, ON. One of the big pain points of LPL teams is that LDL promotions are just so difficult, and none so more than support, where the talent pool is shallow and the transition is just an absolute killer. So many of the highest profile LDL supports have floundered on promotion, and ON was no exception on Suning back in 2021. That being said, he’s improved an incredible amount since that first rocky season, and the mechanical ability he has as a support and his young age (only 20 years old despite debuting in 2021) makes him perhaps the most valuable long-term asset on the BLG roster. As EDG has shown with Meiko and his cavalcade of ADC pairings, great ADCs can be acquired in the LPL but great supports when kept are backbones to long term success.
XUN was an acquisition much like Elk and ON, a young mechanical standout who BLG scooped up with projection in mind. He arrived into IG in 2021 as a highly touted rookie, and was mentioned alongside the likes of Bo and Xiaohuangren, the 2 super prospects junglers as the next generation. He joined right at the tail end of the Rookie-TheShy era of the team and while he had early struggles then, by the time the next season rolled around, he was IG’s standout player. Even after arriving at BLG, he’s still a very volatile player, and hasn’t solidified his play the way Elk and ON have, but at his best, he’s capable of getting bot rolling, which is exactly what BLG is want to do.
Finally, the Harrison Barnes of the LPL, Yagao, who was the typical blame target for BLG in their losses. It’s true, he’s older and certainly doesn’t match up great against the top of the table mids that he’ll need to beat, but the bottom line is that for the most part he’s fine enough. Just like Barnes, he’s certainly not the team centerpiece, and he occasionally has baffling performances, but he’s usually stable enough to not get in the way. Honestly, he’s probably the weakest individual player among these top 4 teams and the predominant reason (along with coinflippy XUN) that I have the MSI runners up 4th on this list, but to be clear I’m not huge Yagao hater, it’s just that these top teams are so stacked that every potential available weakness makes a difference. I mean, you don’t see Harrison Barnes on the All-NBA teams or anything.
Playoff Expectations
5) OMG
Top – Shanji
Jungle – Aki
Mid – Creme
ADC – Able
Support – PPGod/Jerry
OMG returns with the roster that brought them to their highest playoff finish since Spring 2017 (!!!), finishing a highly impressive 4th in the split. On paper, I still think their roster is lacking in marquee raw talent, but it’s clear at this point that they’re more coordinated than some of their flashier opposition and that they’ve cultivated 2 young stars that have now shown some serious killer instinct.
Without any doubt, this is a team that is defined by the play of their solo lane talents. Starting from the top Shanji had a standout split primarily as one of the most effective K’Sante/Sion tank players the large majority of the time, but occasionally busts out Kennen and his signature Rumble, and been incredibly impactful when he gets them. Furthermore, this synergizes perfectly with OMG’s other star laner Creme, who is afforded the ability to fit AD assassins like Yone. Assassins have continued to be Creme’s calling card and while his control mage play is lackluster, OMG has tailored their gameplans around his champion pool and have reaped the benefits of the young mid laner.
On top of these two really clicking simultaneously, a big hat tip must be given to their teammates as well. PPGod in particular proved to be the right ingredient to bring OMG playoff glory as he continues his ability to accent teams into playoff threats even if he hasn’t been quite been able to reach the Finals at any of his stops. I’ll give him some additional props once we reach the NIP write up. Given PPGod’s late arrival to the team last spring, LDL promotion Jerry sat on the bench for the season, and looks to do so again. Able meanwhile has a pretty non-descript year, taking a back seat to his solo lane teammates but showing some stability that he’s usually lacked. Certainly not a masterful split, but credit where it’s due, he reigned it in and was steady for OMG’s best squad in ages.
Finally, Aki deserves a big hand for his role in OMG’s success as well. A solid vet who isn’t considered a mechanical master by any means, he was steady at the wheel throughout the season, and was even able to out jungle Tarzan of all people in their shock upset win over LNG. Despite taking the most MVPs for OMG in the regular season, it was rarely for single handed domination and I’d point that more as a credit for his facilitation of the team’s coordination in general where they were able to get over the competition where it counted.
I don’t think this team has the ceiling of the others in this tier, but they have a known formula that works. While the others in this group have more talent on an individual level, it’s clear that they have serious questions to sort out that OMG really doesn’t, so I’m considering OMG the safe team in this particular group, but without the upside to challenge the tier above.
6) WBG
Top – TheShy
Jungle – Karsa/Weiwei
Mid – Xiaohu
ADC – Light
Support – Crisp
This team and the one after it were the teams with close to the highest expectations in the League and yet fell flat in spite of talented rosters. Both have largely decided to run it back, with new coaching staffs in an attempt to fix the tactical side where they came short. WBG went big game hunting for their next coach after sacking Easyhoon and was attempting to court Kkoma before he opted to focus on Korea’s efforts at the World Games. They settled for an Kkoma adjacent coach in Daeny, formerly part of the Damwon and T1 programs. A controversial coach in his own right, he’s drew criticism for his pick/bans and his questionable roster decisions, but he still has that Worlds title under his belt, so WBG is out here shooting for the moon. Born to wintrade or whatever.
TheShy is as always, a pretty good representation of the team. Perpetually on top of the damage charts due to his confidence in his mechanics and his propensity to fight constantly, it leads to the coinflippy hit or miss results you so often see from TheShy and his teams in general. He’s certainly not at his peak form where he dominated on the Worlds stage, but he’s not at his worst either near the end of his IG tenure when that whole team looked out of gas, TheShy is an LPL icon, even if that icon is occasionally the death notification on the side of the UI.
Purchasing Xiaohu out of his RNG contract was one of the big stories for this team going into the off season and a large reason for optimism for their future results. In actually he was rather middling by all accounts. Not a total disaster of course, it felt like he was fine for the most part, but not the immediate plug and play mechanical players that Scout, Knight or Rookie serve as. Maybe a second season to mesh is what they need to comeback.
Light for my money was the most dependable member of the team in the regular season, being just a generally stable force in the otherwise chaotic team structure. I wouldn’t call him the best at any individual thing: Ruler is a much safer ADC and Elk is a better pure damage pump, but light is good enough at both of those things to be a consistent plus for WBG, which can’t be said for the rest of the team. Supported by the veteran Crisp, you have to expect them to anchor the team in general, though Crisp was particularly bad in the playoff series against BLG, where his hooks on both Thresh and Naut were off point. It’s just one series of course, but the play needs to be better than that in crunch time next time.
Finally, the jungle situation for Weibo. Karsa continues to be the perpetual punching bag when the team struggles. It’s been a major decline since his Flash Wolves and early RNG days and frankly it might be time to just bucket him as not able to get it done at the highest level at this point. He can still work enough in the regular season to make the playoffs, but the form is just not where it needs to be at this point. In a fascinating move, scooped up Weiwei, who went from BLG’s star jungler to league washout over the course of a single year. The biggest victim of BLG’s 2022 catastrophe, the last look of Weiwei we got was not a flattering one as the team fell flat on it’s face amid roster instability and play not matching up to the expected standard. Still, we’ve seen a number of comebacks for players leaving the BLG ecosystem, such as PPGod and FoFo returning to form after splitting wit the team. Of course it’s not always a winning formula as Doggo and Biubiu (shudder) can attest to, but there’s enough of a strong track record from Weiwei during 2020 V5 and 2021 BLG to say that trying to get that level out of him is worth the attempt.
7) TES
Top – Wayward/Qingtian
Jungle – Tian
Mid – Rookie
ADC – Jackeylove
Support – Mark
Reuniting 2/5ths of the legendary IG core was supposed to lead TES to their Worlds destiny. Yet going into the Summer split they are another team running it back with the exact same roster, though unlike teams like JDG, BLG or OMG, the Spring split was an unmitigated failure for TES. There was not glory, but a collapse down the stretch of the season and shameful defeat at the hands of OMG, a team that is probably running a budget less than Jackeylove’s individual paycheck (note: The previous statement was hyperbole. I do not actually know how much OMG pays their players.) With some of the flashiest names in the LPL, finishing without at least challenging JDG would have been a disappointment, let alone the 7th/8th that they actually managed.
The big obvious question for this team is what exactly they do with the top lane because the decision making around it was seemed heavily stilted. They chose to run Qingtian basically the entire regular season, and then yanked the rug on him with a single series to go? Sure, he was largely a hit or miss top laner who was missing against the better teams (and LGD’s because rookie Xiaoxu was feeling it) but pulling the plug on him and swapping to Wayward literally at the last second heavily sabotaged both of them. Congratulations, Wayward crushed Biubiu in round 1 of playoffs, like basically everyone else who played top lane in the LPL. Up against Shanji (a player TES bypassed as a rookie to pick up Qingtian), Wayward was not up to it, and it was a big part of what ended their season. Even though both top laners are limited, I find it hard to place the blame on them directly given this awkward setup and how they approach top lane in the Summer with both players still on the roster remains to be seen.
The bot lane continues to be the same story as always. Jackeylove is still super high ceiling but there are still sometimes these baffling efforts where he’s playing off of his game, which has been a repeating trend for a while now. Mark did well to stabilize him at the beginning of their shared tenure but it’s been rough going as of late for this bot lane in general.
Moving to the big free agent swap they made, adding the legendary Rookie to the team, and it wasn’t all bad. It’s not like he was an abject disaster, he had his share of good games, such as dominating against Shanks in the first round of the playoffs, it’s just that there were too many series where he didn’t lift the team when things weren’t clicking elsewhere… like the 2nd round against OMG. It felt like too often he wasn’t meshing with Tian who was also off his normally solid domestic game. People joke that it was his Worlds performance showing up and frankly, I’d have to agree.
I don’t know with this team. The on-paper talent is on there as usual but there’s something missing… Normally with teams, the question is: how can this team coordinate together and be more than the sum of their parts, which OMG showcased best? I don’t get that vibe from TES, where the question I’m asking is: do they feel like playing up to their talent, or are they going to let go of the rope and lose in shocking fashion? Just weird vibes. I’d say maybe the coaching swap could help, but bringing in the guy who was overseeing BLG during their moneybag disappointment era doesn’t fill me with confidence. I still think they still should be fine for the playoffs off of their sheer talent running over enough teams when they do hold it together, but I just don’t see them as a viable challenger for the LPL crown unless something flips in them, particularly given how good the top 4 seem.
Playoff Bubble
8) TT
Top- HOYA
Jungle – Beichuan/xiaohuangren
Mid – Ucal
ADC – Huanfeng/1xn
Support – yuyanjia/Yaoyao
A pleasant surprise last split, making their first LPL playoffs since they were known as Sinodragon, TT has shed their bottom feeder status and actually have some breakout potential. They’ve formed a decent core to build off of and collected some of the most exciting young talents in the league. How they split their starts between the young guns and the vets they played last split is quietly one of the most interesting storylines in the league as those talented swing pieces could push them up into contendership or down out of the playoffs depending on how they handle the LPL stage.
We’ll start with the boring part of the team in their now solidified Korean solo lane pairing, HOYA and Ucal. After spinning solo laners basically their entire existence, the duo has been locked in for basically 4 splits now. Neither blow anyone’s socks off (though I maintain Ucal in particular is pretty underrated), but you know you’re gonna get a playoff worthy performance but not much more. Together they provide the solid foundation for the rest of the roster, where it really gets interesting.
Starting with jungle, Beichuan had effective but flawed split. He output damage well and did much to incite action, but he also died a whole ton, with the highest death share of any jungler in the league last split. This volatility has been his modus operandi this TT squad as he manages to lead TT in MVPs and I’m sure would have also led the team had an “Most Un-valuable Player” award been given to the biggest inter on the losing team, so he’s pretty core to the TT identity as they’re constructed. However, the clearly more intriguing option has to be Xiaohuangren, who is likely the youngest player in the league right now, and the most hyped LDL jungler since Bo. Debuting in LDL at just 16, XHR was immediately one of the best mechanical junglers in the lower level, and even when the age limit was placed, he took to dominating the Korean ladder with multiple accounts in his excess time. Promoted in the middle of the Spring split days after he turned 18, he hasn’t seen a stage since that age limit was placed, but eyes will be watching to see if TT put the hyper-talent on the rift.
Their other young hyper-talent TT acquired is at the ADC position where they are bringing JDG’s LDL bot laner 1xn. Highly touted by LDL experts, 1xn doesn’t have a mechanical flaw to speak of, putting out insane damage and CS numbers on the regular. The one thing to note was that the JDM team surrounding him didn’t have the skills to back him up, so he never really got the accolades his performance deserved. How he splits time with Huanfeng, who was pretty ineffective last season, and just clearly is no longer the do-everything ADC we saw at 2020 Worlds with Suning is the other big question. It’s weird to see him morph into a rather conservative low-risk low-reward player, and honestly, if they gave out a “Least Valuable Player” award to the winning team, he’d probably be the among League’s leaders in that sketchy credential.
Finally, the support situation is less exciting but lowkey just as important as the other 2 positions as they’ve opted to add Yuyanjia to the roster to which I’m fairly confused. A lackluster veteran (25 years old?) who has never really helped a roster even at his “peak”, I’m not sure what he brings to the table for TT. It’s even more confusing since incumbent support Yaoyao has been the rare promoted LDL support who has actually looked good in his initial LPL stint, which is some sort of minor miracle given the typical LDL support struggles. Trying to fit XinLiu in last split probably cost them some series, so I’m not sure why they seem so interested in these mediocre at best support players when they have a solid one in hand.
9) WE
Top – Cube/Demon
Jungle – Heng
Mid – Shanks
ADC – Hope
Support – Iwandy
I see WE as the LPL’s gatekeeper team. Last split they were great against the lower ranked teams (exception AL), and awful against the higher ranked teams (exception BLG) and managed to sneak playoffs thanks to the likes of IG being just a bit more volatile. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about them as the season goes on, so I’ll keep things brief here.
They managed to do this with an essential deadweight in the top lane. Cube doesn’t completely alter the equation for WE, as he’s coming off of his worst split to date where he was largely stuck on tank duty, but he does turns the top lane for WE from being a ceiling capper into a floor raiser for the team. Worst case is that he continues his middling tank form and he serves as a rich man’s Biubiu who can actually lane competently. The best-case scenario is that the change of scenery (where he was on RA for 4 years) works to revitalize him towards more of the damage top lane champs he played in his earlier years. Either way, the best part of this addition is really the subtraction of Biubiu, which adds much needed flexibility to a team that desperately needs it. Meanwhile, Demon also augments the team’s flexibility by adding his skills of doing promotional videos when Chinese New Year rolls around. So yeah, you can say this is a much-improved top lane situation.
Otherwise, the team remains the same as their gatekeeper-selves. Iwandy quietly had a very solid season as WE’s most consistent player and a foundation as a support. Hope had a mid-season swoon that showed his deficiencies particular as a laner and on less focused champions, but was able to showcase his carrying skills as the season concluded. Both are what they are: usually net positives for a team, but not really able to take you to a top 6 seed independently. That is going to have to come from their teammates, speaking of which…
Heng was up and down as a rookie jungler, but for the most part demonstrated a willingness to be proactive and facilitate his lanes via early ganks, even if it didn’t always work out as planned. And of course, Shanks who had his best regular season to date, relying on consistently strong lane performances. While capitalizing on those leads remains a hit or miss affair and a particular bad playoff series against TES are marks against him, I still have those high expectations for him and continue to see this as a prove it year. Outside of Cube unlocking something additional, which shouldn’t be counted on, this jungle-mid pair are the key for WE to climb higher than the lower playoff spots. Both are usually strong early, but they’ll need to clean up their mid/late game play for the team to be a contender against higher caliber teams.
10) IG
Top – YSKM/neny
Jungle – Tianzhen
Mid – Cryin/Dove
ADC – Xiaoyueji/Ahn
Support – Wink
Putting IG too low was a big miss for me in Spring and despite narrowly missing out on playoffs and making some pretty major roster changes, they do make sense as a team as a whole to the point where I can see them in playoff contention.
YSKM was the breakout player for them, as his mechanical prowess was legit right out of the gate though I do think he’s a tad overrated as his DPM isn’t as high as you would expect for a player that almost exclusively plays damage top laners. You have to assume he starts over neny who is just perpetually going to be on this roster as a break in case of emergency/illness weakside player.
Their other returning player is Wink, who has proven to be a successfully above average support and revitalized his career in the process after floundering at ADC for IG. Wink is reunited with his former mid laner Cryin, as both were teammates on a Estar team that vastly exceeded expectations on their debut year. While being the low econ mid laner in a Xiaohu-GALA centric RNG didn’t flatter his talents, Cryin had a pretty good year all things as UP’s best player last season, and he’ll get another shot this year. The expectation is he starts over Dove who is still on the roster? He wasn’t awful but was certainly less exciting than his jungle counterpart and I assumed he would be leaving along with GIDEON and the Korean coaching staff.
This is Xiaoyueji’s second shot at the big leagues given he was tried and passed by Ahn last season, but he’s coming off of an LDL Season MVP where he was clearly above the lower level. We’ll need to see if he can step up with the tougher competition ala Photic, or if he’s just a quadruple-A player (too good for LDL, not good enough for LPL) like Asura. It might not even matter though as it’s worth noting that Ahn remains on the roster, even after the promotion of XYJ and a tryout from LNG (who clearly have contending in mind). He’s coming off of a quietly strong split and likely has the inside track in the battle for the starting role as in a repeat of LPL Spring 2022, these 2 will duke it out for the spot again.
Despite not being the LDL MVP, Tianzhen might be the more exciting prospect actually and notably doesn’t have any veteran to compete with. At only 18 years old, he’s going to be one of the LPL’s youngest players and has an eclectic champ pool that is highlighted by his signature Rengar. It will be interesting to see if these LDL standouts can continue the momentum in the LPL. The promotion isn’t easy, but both of them are in position to excel.
11) RNG
Top – Breathe
Jungle – Wei
Mid – Tangyuan
ADC – LP
Support – LvMao/Lele
It’s crazy to think this time last year, RNG were celebrating their 2nd consecutive MSI championship. Obviously, this team has more or less completely shattered from the Golden Road-seeking team that once ruled Spring and faltered at Worlds on a regular basis. I mean it’s been years of speculation that RNG was actually in a NA-esque perpetual financial meltdown that was held together by unfair streaming contracts and bobby pins, but with the departure of GALA and in particular, Ming, who has more or less been on RNG since the start of the era, finally puts RNG on the backfoot. Still, even with the exodus of more or less everyone on those famous teams, there’s a window at the playoffs.
Wei is the final piece of the MSI 2022 team, which is wild to think about because as I mentioned, it's been just 1 year. Now the longest tenured player on the roster, it’s a weird situation as there’s no longer an obvious lane to play into. While he wasn’t always bad, he had many questionable moments and his weakest split to date, and now without GALA in the bot lane there’s no clear place to focus for this team. He’s demonstrated he can be effective without the likes of Xiaohu, GALA and Ming back when he was on EStar in his debut season in 2020, but it’s been a long time since then, so I suppose we’ll have to wait and see.
Similarly, Breathe is also coming off of a split where he failed to meet expectations. It feels like ever since he left WE, he just hasn’t really found his footing as the good flex top laner, first on that weird 2022 BLG failed “superteam” and then on RNG where he never fit in to the Xiaohu-GALA puzzle. This last split he was basically relegated to weakside tanks and was subsequently pretty inconsequential as either a positive or negative factor. The few forays he took towards more carry champions were bad last split and it’s not a great sign for a player once considered so promising. I guess it’s the WE fan in me talking that he still has that upside to be among the best in the league. Maybe I’m lending him too much leeway given he was maybe WE’s best strongside top ever (which for the record is more about WE perpetually playing bot-centric). With out any of those other major carries on RNG, I’m interested to see if Breathe is placed back in that role.
The rest of the team is a smattering of cobbled pieces who aren’t without upside, but don’t exactly scream playoffs. GALA was exchanged for a large bag of cash and LP, who was the only consistent starter of the new cohort. he was heavily cared for as the rookie bot laner on LNG’s otherwise star-studded group, he was able to deliver in that capacity. Notably, he narrowly had the 2nd highest DPM in the split, though admittedly there was a large gap between 1st place damage monster Elk and a much smaller one to the following ADCs of JackeyLove, Assum and Leave. However, he certainly wasn’t perfect as he managed the lowest CS per minute among ADCs in the league, and he didn’t wow the way rookie of the split Leave did. Still, it was a relatively promising start, though the downgrade from Hang to one of RNG’s supports looms large as needless to say, the “cash considerations” RNG received with LP are most likely not being used for his lane partner.
With Angel departing after a pretty rough split, where the highlight was creating a meme after defeating his former team Weibo Gaming, RNG were rumored for a number of domestic mid laners but ultimately just stuck with the player they seemed intent on before they picked up Angel at the last second. Tangyuan is an LDL promote who has been flatout bad in the few stage performances he got in with the main roster, struggling both in the pre-season Demacia Cup and then to open the proper LPL season while Angel got up to speed. He’s at least known to have good Korean solo queue ranks, but you have to imagine there’s going to be a lot of handwringing over his inevitable growing pains as he starts for one of the country’s most popular domestic teams. There’s not zero upside here, for example Xiaoxu came from the same LDL team and vastly overperformed expectations, but I’d lean towards a year of hard knocks for the youngster.
Ming’s departure is the biggest loss for RNG as they now go from one of the rare franchise defining supports to… not that. LvMao spent the split unsigned for the most part before latching onto BLG as ON’s backup to end the season. Reportedly he served a coaching-esque role for the team as they went on their impressive MSI run but LvMao’s play has left a lot to be desired. Now with over 3 years removed from his standout performances in Spring 2020 and no Bard patch coming in sight, it’s tough to see what LvMao brings to the table as a player outside of an experienced hand. The other option they brought in was Lele, the young rookie support FPX promptly benched for Qiuqiu, which is never a great sign, and you know my stance on LDL supports: they bad. Funnily enough Lele was originally a pretty hyped RNG prospect the team once spent 300K yuan signing out of the yearly rookie camp. Needless to say, he’s been an okay LDL support but hasn’t lived up to that price tag at all, though now it seems they could at least get some games out of their failed investment.
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2023.05.27 14:11 SavingsSyllabub7788 [LF Friends, Will Travel] Communication Issues

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This story assumes knowledge of the [LF Friends, Will Travel] universe.
Bartholomule was last seen here:
The Dunwilians were last seen here:
General Bolhut was last here here:
—----------------------------
Date: 72 PST
This was the first time that Daniela had felt proud of the uniform she wore, of being in the Hatil military. The little cream furred mammal in her military uniform would have also been called “adorable” by any Terrans, but pride was her current feeling. It wasn’t like Daniela hadn’t had a successful career, rising to the rank of Admiral and in command of her own warship after doing her duty willingly. But the simple act of being in the Hatil military was shameful enough on its own.
60 years ago they had launched an unneeded war of shame and idiocy onto their now Terran allies, 60 years ago they had been roundly defeated by the newcomers to the galactic community. Since then the Hatil would have been more than willing to leave the act of having a military to their would be conquerors, as they believed they deserved, but the Terrans were seemingly uninterested in the act of actually conquering others. This had forced the Hatil to have some method of defending themselves: a functioning military.
This required that someone fill these positions. Legally being a member of the Hatil military was like any other job, but culturally it was considered "tainted". The societal solution for this had been simple: the sins of the father.
Daniela had joined the military because her father had, and her father had joined because his mother had been part of that original shameful fleet which had through ignorance and fear attacked their now Terran friends.
Generation after generation of cultural shame, held and remembered. Until now.
The Estorian empire was a collection of five slaving species, all as evil and terrible as the last. Conflict between them and the Terran alliance had been slowly brewing for years, with many Terrans advocating for full military intervention. That had been granted after the Estorians had done one incursion too far, one terrible act too many.
Practically every member of the Terran alliance had pledged some form of military support. The Terran Alliance had every single type of culture and species imaginable, each and every one of them were connected through their friendship with the strange primates of Terra, each and every one of them reacting with the same anger:
How dare they attack our Terran friends.
The Hatil had been part of this. Gone were the days of every single monetary purchase being scrutinised and limited to the barest minimums required to keep pirates and the occasional Tritian warship at bay. The adorable little furred mammals had entered a full war economy, in little under a year boosting their military might to levels not seen since the Hatil - Terran war. If anything considering the major technological advancements the Terrans had provided since then, it was a far greater force.
This time the Hatil wouldn't make the same mistake. This time they wouldn't be against the Terrans, but fighting alongside them. Not a war of ignorance and fear, but for justice and righteousness.
Daniela was the captain of The H.T Remembrance, which was currently part of the Terran alliance’s 2nd joint fleet. Over a hundred dreadnought class warships, all carrying their own support fleets along for the ride. While the vast majority of the forces were of Ritilian, Terran and Hatil make, over 31 different species were in attendance in this particular military endeavour.
Over the past year there had been a multitude of skirmishes and conflicts as both sides rapidly attempted to collate their forces, but this would be the first major engagement of the war. And the Terran Alliance was already on the back foot.
“So we believe the Lelzoil fleet is heading straight towards the Dunwilian cradleworld with an ETA of around about seven hours. We got this intel late, so we are currently 5 standardised hours behind them, at a current projected ETA of 12 standardised hours.”
Daniela spoke to her crew, hundreds of faces looking up at her as she explained the situation to them, the sombre mood apparent as she spoke to new and old members alike.
The Estorians had been the ones to make the first major move, an advantage of having less moving parts to contend with. The Avian Lelzoil were known as the brains of the Estorian Empire, with an affinity for gathering information and technology at any cost, and the move they were making was calculated: Attack an destroy a smaller member of the Alliance, put the fear of god into the rest of the smaller members and break apart untested bonds.
“The Dunwilians have no serious defences, having never been part of any alliances or diplomatic endeavours before the Terran Alliance. It has very little military importance, which is why we weren't expecting a full on assault there. The Lelzoil have enough firepower to glass the entire planet within a few hours. The Dunwilian's reaction was 'You will get here when you can, and we will be witnessed by our deities' "
The mood dropped even further at that. You didn't need a translator to understand that this was a universal statement of 'we are fucked and we know it'.
"We will not let such harm happen to our allies. We might be caught off guard, but we're not out of it. The Olgro scouting guard are already making use of their superior speed to intercept the Lelzoil fleet, while the main fleet hauls ass."
She took a moment to point towards the engineering department as Daniela continued.
"This means until we arrive, I want engineering to be doing everything they can to increase the speed we've got., That means until further notice engineering tasks get the highest priority and are the ones in charge. If someone from engineering says clapping will make us go faster, I expect you all to show that you’re happy and you know it!”
Daniela looked around, at the seat of hopeful faces, those new and old looking up to her.
“We all know our history, what we did, the guilt we share as a species. We all know that the Terran’s had more than enough justification to take their revenge, to destroy us. But instead they provided us mercy, provided us with technology, and most of all provided us with their friendship. They say they saw something in us, something worth keeping around. This is our chance to prove them right.”
—----------------
This had not been what Bolhut had been expecting. He’d been expecting a great many possibilities: being extradited back to Kur space, maybe a reversion of the verdict and back to jail he would go.
“Not Guilty”.
That really had been the strangest thing. Bolhut Tacorg had just over a year ago been a general in the Kur military, during the little “spat” the Terrans and Kur had had. During this period Bolhut had things demanded of him from Kur leadership, things that had seen him placed on the defending side of a war crimes trial.
He had expected the entire thing to be nothing more than a formality: He had fought against the Terrans, it would be a perfectly reasonable thing to humiliate him and get their revenge in one way or another, especially as he had technically done the crime. But instead the strange little primates were continuing to surprise him. Even more surprising had been their acceptance of his asylum claim. The Kur were not happy with the trick he had played on them.
And now… this. A request for aid, a long range message from the Terran Alliance military themselves. An Estorian fleet was heading towards a Terran ally, and he just so happened to be in their path. They wanted them to meet up with some Olgro scouts and work with them to slow their approach. They were offering exceptional pay, and had specifically stated that they were not to directly engage with the enemy, just harass and delay.
In fact they had gone over that detail so many times, that Bolhut knew exactly what they actually wanted.
“So what do you think?”
The insect-like clicking of the Raha’s mandibles interrupted his thoughts, bringing him back to the present. He looked around him for a moment, at the sea of faces and species. “Odds and Ends Security Ltd” was… for lack of a better term, a mercenary group, although the term mercenary was a dirty word. If you needed escorting through pirate infested routes, a show of force or just needed a little extra firepower in order to ensure justice, you could hire them at reasonable rates.
They even had an entire warship, manned by over 400 trained and experienced fighters, each and every one of them a non-Terran Alliance species that now called the Terran space their home. Raha, Kur, Tagaran, they all had similar stories. Seeking Asylum, seeking better lives then whatever their homes had given them, or even just wanting a new arena to test their skills, each had found themselves connected by the friendly demeanour of the Terran’s ever encompassing desire for friendship.
“I say we go for it. Good pay and pissing on some Estorian bastards is always a good shout, no offence.”
Bolhut stood towered over the rest of the members in the room at 9ft tall, white fur covered by his traditional military dress of twisting primal leather which accentuated his ferocious canine teeth and claws. He was not technically the leader of this group, since it was a cooperative of individuals, but by capturing prisoners during the Kur - Terran incursions Bolhut had been one of the few people alive who could claim some sort of victory, no matter how minor, over the Terran forces. That gave his opinion quite a bit of weight amongst this group of misfits and individuals.
“You know there’s no love lost over here. What’s the plan then?”
Kat’Letch’s mandibles clicked and clacked as the young Raha responded. There were three things everyone on the warship knew: Kat’Letch was a decent shot, even better with technology, and had an absolute hatred for his species government.
“We follow the instructions: meet up with the Olgro, then prepare to board and destroy as many Lelzoil war ships as we can.”
The response was simple, but caused a flurry of confused looks from some of the other members of the mercenary band, as well as a flurry of antenna twitching from Kat’Letch.
“Didn’t the message specifically state, repeatedly, not to engage them?”
Bolhut couldn’t help but chuckle at the naive little Raha. Of course Kat’Letch had never actually been in his species military, he didn’t know how the game was played.
“Stating not to do something once is an order, twice is confirmation, five times is simply hinting that’s what they actually want you to do.”
He could see the general agreement from the others around him. Anyone in the military knew that half of your orders would be ‘off the book’ so to say. Hints, power struggles, illegal actions that you couldn’t really say no too without ‘disappearing’. If it worked out whoever gave the order could take credit, and if it didn’t they could point to the obvious trail where they had told them not to do said thing.
That was just how military orders worked, how they had and always would. Why else would the Terran Alliance be so adamant that they don’t directly engage the enemy if that wasn’t what they actually wanted?
—------------
Nothing
The captain of the Olgro scouting fleet had expected to be staring at the Lelzoil fleet. They had expected to immediately be thrust into a delaying action, as every single member aboard the 15 ships were on high alert and ready to do their jobs.
The aquatic based lifeform swam in place nervously, gills and brightly coloured fins flashing as he did so. Like all Olgro ships the entire vessel was filled entirely with the salt water that they naturally lived in.
<>
The captain desperately asked his crew for information, the Olgro’s standard method of sonar communication travelling through the water outside the range of most species hearing.
<>
Communications responded back with the negative, causing the captain’s stress to increase. While the Olgro were well known for the speed of their vessels, this would be the first major conflict the Olgro army had been part of, and it was already not going to plan.
<>
Nobody had really cared too much about the Olgro. Entirely aquatic sapient lifeforms were a rarity in the galaxy and most people didn’t want to deal with the hassle of interacting with a species that needed to be submerged in water at all times.
<>
Apart from the Terrans, who had started a friendship with the Olgro nearly thirty years ago, one that they cherished deeply. Which was why this was so important to get right, which was why the captain was already flaring his gills in panic at this already seemingly going wrong.
<>
The captain started to get a literal sinking feeling in his gallbladder, a terrible idea had just crossed his mind.
<>
Most species tended to think in 2d when mapmaking due to the importance of information. Even Avians have very little need to represent the world on anything other than a flat plane. If you are a species who spends their entire time in water however, depth is suddenly also important
<>
This meant that the Olgro had a different method of calculating the angles and latitudes needed to traverse the universe than most others. Normally this wasn’t a problem as the Olgro didn’t have many diplomatic ties and tended to stick to themselves.
Apart from in right this moment, as the captain of the Olgro scouting fleet realised with a crushing despair that they were literally in the complete opposite location then they should be.
<
—-----------------------------------
Bartholomule looked down at the schematics to the warp engine in front of him. Sure it wasn’t a clockwork toy, but engineering was engineering. Surrounding him was the rest of the Engineering department of the H.T Remembrance, along with various screens showing video feeds of every other engineering team in the fleet.
"The problem is you can't just increase the range, you've got to keep each pulse within range of the sensors, unless you want to warp into something."
The Hatil kept silent as a Ritilian spoke, paying attention but still realising how out of his depth he was. Having a degree in engineering and building clockwork toys was one thing, trying to push a warp core past manufacturing limits in a room of engineers with decades of experience was another.
"It would take a bit of doing, but network the fleet's calculation matrices together, then you get to add the length of the fleet into each jump."
Bartholomule wondered what Rosa and Tim were doing. He knew both of them had also re-enlisted, although he hadn’t managed to keep in regular contact with the two Terrans since then considering that they had gone into the Terran military.
“Nah ain’t gonna work, would take too long to hook everyone up for less than 10% increase”
The difference in both of their reactions had been the most stark. Bartholomule had felt, for possibly the first time, a sense of patriotic pride. Along with practically the entire Hatil culture the concept of not joining the war effort had been unthinkable. The Terrans had done so much for them, it was now their chance to return the favour, to make up for the sins of their fathers.
The Terrans however, their reaction had been different. When the news of what the Raha and by extension the Estorians had done, the difference among Terrans had been stark.
Anger, pure unbridled anger.
“What about the pulse rate?”
If anything, seeing the difference in demeanour had been scary for Bartholomule. The death of the uplift Spot had been said to launch a thousand ships, but in reality it had actually lit a thousand pyres of hate. Before this Bartholomule could never actually understand how Terrans could have done any of the supposed “wrongs” in their history, the crazy primates seemed too goofy and adorable, too friendly and empathetic to do much of anything. But the anger that had been unleashed since then… suddenly he could see a species who were able to crack a planet open with fury alone.
“Theoretically it would work, but each of you would have to deal with the extra heat somehow.”
The groups of engineers from around the fleet each continued to interject and provide suggestions, each ship presumably filled with the same groups of experienced and intelligent people all trying to work out if they could dissipate the additional heat.
It was then that a Terran engineer made a mistake, and said something she probably shouldn’t have.
“Really it’s going to be an individual effort from each ship, but increasing the pulse rate would theoretically work, at the risk of literally setting fire to your ship.”
Because Terrans and non-Terrans heard two different meanings to that sentence. Terrans heard something like “This is a terrible idea that would probably make you blow up” and dismissed the idea, choosing instead to follow other avenues of thought. Every non-Terran heard that as “Yea this is one of those crazy Terran ideas that sets fire to everything but always works for some reason, let's do this!”
Over the next hour every non-Terran ship in the fleet went through the same calculations, the same jury rigged cooling solutions and came to the same conclusion: Like all Terran insanity, it might work.
And much to the horror of every single Terran engineer, the non-Terran ships started to pick up speed as they each enacted this crazy plan.
—-----------------
"So did you know? That caffeine isn't poisonous to Terrans?!"
Kat’Letch screamed out the question as the Raha sheltered behind the console, pausing his furious inputting of commands only to fire back a flurry of plasma from his own pistol.
"Really?! Now is not the time for that!"
Bolhut had just responded with the understatement of the year. Everything had, to put it simply, gone to shit. The Olgro reinforcements they were supposed to have met with never appeared, not that this had surprised the canine. It wasn’t the first time Bolhut had been promised reinforcements that had never come, and it wouldn't be the last. That was just the nature of militaries: sketchy orders and unfulfilled promises.
It had initially gone well, the sheer surprise of a single warship knocking them out of warp and charging an entire fleet had allowed the initial boarding process to go on surprisingly well, the three different groups hitting the three different warships with a practised precision, with surprisingly minimal casualties. The plan had been simple: Infiltrate, take over the navigation and weapons for each ship, use those to cause as much damage to the wider fleet as possible.
Like all plans, it had been going well, until it hadn’t.
“Look, if I’m going to die I want to know. There’s a betting pool on whether you actually knew or not, and I got 50 credits on you knowing caffeine was harmless.”
It had quickly turned into a mess after a “lucky shot” had forced their warship to retreat, which had also taken their main communications network with them. Theoretically their local communications should still work, but something about the Lelzoil was blocking their communications, causing what should have been a synchronised endeavour to devolve into individual teams trying to accomplish whatever individual objectives they had boarded the vessel with.
“Just set this thing to blow so we can get out of here!”
Bolhut’s original team of five was now just him and Kat’Letch, both of them having made it to navigation, where the Raha was attempting to lock out of the rest of the ship’s controls and setting it on a kamikaze path through the rest of the fleet.
The canine gave a another burst of fire, watching the Terran bullets ricochet harmlessly off the doorframe before one finally found their target, splattering a red feathered Avian skull in a plume of orange blood and brain matter before a barrage of return fire forced him back into cover. Still, he had something for that: quickly loading the underbarrel grenade launcher and firing it into the corridor where the attackers were coming from, the sound of screams suggesting a solid hit.
"OK we are done, and need to get the Srek out of here!"
Further explosions and gunfire could be heard as the Raha screamed out the confirmation, signs of the other boarding teams accomplishing their tasks as the Lelzoilwarship surged forwards on its final journey.
"Attention all squads. Main objective has been accomplished, you've got twenty minutes to get the hell off the vessel!"
Bolhut wasn't sure if anyone could even hear him on their communication network anymore, and hoped those still around had enough sense to realise what was happening. Not that the canine could spend the time worrying about that: they had their own escape to make.
Bolhut started setting up the explosive devices along the wall, stepping over avian bodies and plasma scorch marks as Kat’Letch provided covering fire. The entrance they had originally entered from had now been completely locked down under a torrent of Lelzoilwelded weaponry, but in the short amount of time Bolhut had spent fighting with and against Terrans, he'd learnt an important rule.
Everything could be solved with enough application of explosives.
The wall disappeared in a ball of fire, both of them rushing through the new exit while dispensing a hail of gunfire at anything that moved, any unfortunate Lelzoilwho had been caught in the unexpected ship renovation were no match for the pair
“I mean everyone knows that Terrans aren’t affected by caffeine, there’s no way you couldn’t have known.”
The Raha continued to speak as they fired off blasts of plasma to cover their movement down the corridor, generating an exasperated response from Bolhut.
“Still not the time!”
Still they were almost home free, the amount of resistance they were facing had decreased significantly as the Lelzoil realized what was happening to their ship, not that the red feathered birds could do anything to stop the now suicidal charge of their warship.
“You’re just worried that someone will see past your hard exterior to your soft lovable- AHHHH!”
Kat’Letch cried out as a blast of superheated plasma caused the Raha to drop to the floor, Bolhut returning fire at the overachieving Lelzoil before dropping to check on his partner as he screamed in agony. It didn’t look good, the leg was just flat out gone, the stump now spurting the translucent white blood of the insectoid race.
The canine didn’t have time to do anything else other than grab the arms of the Raha and start to drag him along, trying to make his way to the closest escape pod. Making it back to his original fighter was no longer something he had time for.
“Hey Kat, I'm gonna need you to stay awake for this.”
There was a lot of blood and the Raha had started to go silent, worrying Bolhut as he continued to drag him along.
“I’ll tell you what happened if you stay awake, the fact is I got lucky.”
At the sound of this the attention of Kat’Letch seemed to focus on Bolhut as he continued to drag him to hopeful safety.
“When I got the ‘order’ to commit a war crime, I immediately contacted the Terrans because frankly I’m not doing some higher ups dirty work.”
Bolhut dropped to one knee, firing two accurate bursts into the chests of two Lelzoil who turned the corner at the wrong time, both of them slumping to the ground before they knew what had happened. The canine continued on, dragging the Raha longside him, the trail of blood getting thinner. Whether that was a good or a bad thing was anyone’s guess: he was not an expert on the anatomy of other species.
Another splatter of orange blood was added to the wall as one of the Lelzoil had the same idea as Bolhut, attempting to exit the soon to be destroyed vessel via one of the many escape pods that lined the warship. Unfortunately for the avian they had chosen the same exit path as the Kur general.
“But I knew I had to give them something while I waited, otherwise they’d just get someone else to do it. I knew Terrans were immune to some poisons, but I couldn’t remember which one would be safe.”
The doors to the pod opened with a hiss, allowing Bolhut the time to drag his injured partner into the small enclosed space. Moments later the small capsule had launched itself into space, allowing the ex Kur general to actually look at the damage. Kat’Letch was completely out of it at this point, the amount of lost blood clearly having its effect.
Bolhut ripped the medical kit off the wall, opening it up with a grimace as he looked down at the Raha. While every single medical kit in the known galaxy was different, due to differences in physiology, there were certain things that everyone had, that worked for everyone in an emergency. The Kur gave a small silent apology before pressing the item against the wound.
The smell of cooking flesh mixed with Kat’Letch screams as he snapped awake, the wound sealing up as heat was applied, the flow of blood slowing to a trickle then disappearing. The Raha slowly slumped back over as the device was removed, a few moments of heavy breathing followed by the insect compound eyes becoming unfocused once more.
“In the end it came down to Caffeine or Digoxin, both of them destroy the heart, but I couldn’t remember which one was safe. So I flipped a coin. In the end I just got lucky”
Bolhut knew that Kat’Letch was no longer really able to listen, the Kur deciding to take a glance out of the viewport, now that there was really nothing they could do anymore. He could see escape pods and fighters he recognised launching from the Lelzoilwarship as the colossal mass crashed into the rest of the fleet, the explosion lighting up the area.
That had been a mess, pure and simple, one that Bolhut hoped the rest of the mercenaries hadn't paid too dearly for. All the ex-Kur general could do now was wait and see if anyone would pick him up, and hope they had done enough damage to delay them.
____________
"Fuck! fuck! fuck! move! move! move! fuck! move out of the way!"
Bartholomule raced down the corridor as fast as his feet could take him, the other Hatil driving out of the way as he barrelled through the ship with the container of coolant in tow.
He barged his way through anyone too slow to move out of the way. Bartholomule vaguely felt himself knock someone with a far higher rank on their ass, uncaring to anything other than stopping the ship from exploding into flames.
It turned out "dealing with the heat" was a far bigger problem than expected. While the remainder of the fleet still travelling with them were going at a blistering speed, the extra strain on the warp cores were quite literally cooking the vessel. Ambient temperature was sitting at nearly 40 degrees as everything the ship had was being diverted into keeping the warp core from exploding.
Bartholomule skidded around the last corner, practically slamming into the wall as the Hatil frantically unscrewed the seal, ignoring the burns on his paws as he did so. The jury rigged cooling system in front of him was not within official specifications, the metres of hastily assembled piping and heat sinks whistled and gurgled as Bartholomule dumped the entire container of coolant into the system before sealing it back up.
It broke every single piece of safety legislation and good practice, but somehow it worked as Bartholomule and the rest of the Engineering department watched the heat from the warp core reduce from dangerously hot to just hot. Before it started to tick back up again.
Just another hour of this.
—---------------
The power went out, plunging the ship into darkness, before lights began to flicker back on as Daniela once again could see the rest of the bridge again. They were here. It had taken everything they had, warning lights flickered and alarms blared as the ship screamed its protests at what they had done. But they had made it, that was all that matters.
"Status report, now!"
There was a pause as her second in command took a moment to look through all the bad information being relayed to him.
"The Lelzoilfleet is already here and approaching the Dunwilians, we have a quarter of our original fleet, although the R.A Broken Egg seems to be on fire. Due to heat damage our shields are at 53%, weapon capacity 27% and impulse engines at 11%."
Daniela took a moment to take in just how messed up the situation was.
"So a standard Monday. Full speed ahead to intercept. We've got to delay for the rest of the fleet."
The mood turned sombre as everyone realised what such an action would entail. It was basically a suicidal charge to do nothing but buy time. It was then that the communications officer looked up.
“We’re being hailed by the Dunwilians, putting them on the main screen now.”
The Dunwilians were unofficially known as a “Horror” species. Most species around the galaxy follow certain rules, convergent evolution means there’s only so many ways to do something. Occasionally however, evolution decides to ignore the rules and throw shit at the wall and see what sticks.
A Dunwilian stands at 8ft tall, a mass of writhing wiggling blue-purple strings tied and wound together into an egg-like shape, punctuated by eyes of varying sizes burning a deep red. All of this is held up with twenty trunk like appendages, each ending in a maw of teeth and slime.
Their appearance caused them to be shunned and ignored, an unfortunate situation as they enjoyed company and despised being alone. Until the Terrans came along they had no friends amongst the galaxy.
Five of them were shown on the screen, each suspended in midair allowing every trunk to access the control panels that surrounded them. Each of them were also wearing a hat of some kind. Early in their interactions with the Terrans they had been taught a single rule which their entire society had taken on board. “Everyone looks more friendly in a hat”. Each of them wore some kind of head covering: a soft woollen beanie, a giant baseball cap. One over enthusiastic individual had stapled three top hats together to form one giant contraption that they wore, clearly taking the logical conclusion that if one hat makes you seem friendlier, three hats would do the same.
“F̷r̴i̷e̵n̸d̴s̵!̷ ̴W̶e̴ ̴w̷e̷r̴e̴ ̴n̴o̵t̶ ̷e̷x̸p̴e̴c̵t̶i̶n̵g̵ ̵t̵o̶ ̴s̸e̸e̵ ̴y̵o̷u̵ ̶s̴o̴ ̸s̶o̸o̷n̴,̷ ̶w̷h̸y̸ ̴a̸r̷e̵ ̷y̷o̸u̸ ̵h̵e̸r̶e̷”
The Dunwilian closest to the screen spoke, the sound of worrying squelches and bone tingling cracks sounding out as they talked. Daniela gave a confused frown before responding.
“We’re here to help defend. Please send an operation plan and we’ll integrate.”
“N̵e̸g̷a̴t̶i̴v̴e̵ ̸o̷u̸r̴ ̸f̷r̴i̴e̷n̴d̷s̷.̴ ̴Y̴o̸u̷ ̴a̸r̵e̸ ̸i̵n̴ ̵n̷o̴ ̶s̴t̸a̶t̸e̴ ̷t̶o̸ ̸p̷r̴o̷v̸i̸d̸e̴ ̵a̴i̶d̶.̴ ̴W̶e̷ ̶a̴r̴e̴ ̷u̷n̸d̶e̷r̷ ̴t̵h̸e̴ ̸w̵a̴t̷c̸h̵f̶u̴l̶ ̴p̸r̸o̶t̸e̸c̵t̵i̷o̶n̸ ̷o̷f̸ {{_̷̩́͑̕_̷̙̮̈́͝_̴̰̦̘̐̅̔_̴͍́̍̚}} (Deity) ̸w̸h̴o̶ ̶s̴h̵a̶l̶l̵ ̶w̶i̶t̴n̷e̸s̶s̶ ̷u̴s̸ ̷a̵n̷d̷ ̶w̴e̴ ̶w̶i̵t̸n̵e̷s̵s̶ ̶t̷h̸e̴m̷ ̶i̸n̶ ̵r̴e̵t̸u̴r̷n̵.̸”
Daniela couldn’t help but feel confused, feeling as if she was having a completely different conversation.
“Regardless, the Terran Alliance does not abandon our allies, we’re coming to help.”
“T̴h̶e̷r̷e̶ ̸i̵s̵ ̷n̷o̸ ̷n̵e̸e̷d̶,̶ ̸p̵l̷e̵a̷s̶e̴ ̸j̸u̸s̸t̴ ̷w̵i̷t̴n̶e̶s̴s̴ {{_̷̩́͑̕_̷̙̮̈́͝_̴̰̦̘̐̅̔_̴͍́̍̚}} (Deity) ̶a̴n̴d̵ ̵t̶h̶e̴y̸ ̵s̴h̵a̷l̴l̴ ̷w̶i̶t̶n̷e̸s̶s̶ ̵y̵o̶u̵.̴”
It was then that something strange started to happen. Right next to the Lelzoil fleet, a point in space appeared, a grey smudge, as if someone was looking upon the world from a monitor with a little bit of dirt on it. Nothing appeared on any sensors, and it could only be seen visually, the entire anomaly being around about a mile long.
It was then with a bang that a seam in space was ripped open. This event would later be analysed by every single scientist, military mind and witch doctor in existence, all of whom would immediately point out that sound cannot travel through space. Yet the bang still appeared, rattling and shaking every surface of every ship in the vicinity.
For a moment there was silence, there was nothing but the emptiness of this tear in space next to the Lelzoil fleet. Then, dwarfing even the largest of warships, a single giant eye opened, containing a fractal purple pupil. It blinked, once, twice, before seeming to focus on the invading fleet. An ear piercing screech could be heard, then the devastation started.
Grasping impossible swirling tentacles containing non-euclidean geometric shapes reached out, plucking warships out of formation as if they were toys, snapping them in half one by one or pulling them into the tear never to be seen again.
A few of the Lelzoil tried to fight back, firing weapons of destruction at their impossible attacker, anti-matter and nuclear rounds alike having no effect on the impossible masses of… of whatever they were made of. It lasted less than ten minutes, ten minutes of an impossible horror, then, with a final screeching bang, the tear closed again. As if it had never happened, everything how it was apart from the lack of a Lelzoil.
“What in the ever living fuck was that!”
Daniela felt all sense of professionalism leave her at what she had just seen, demanding an answer from the Dunwilians who answered simply.
“W̴e̵ ̷d̵o̸ ̴n̴o̸t̶ ̸u̶n̸d̵e̸r̴s̷t̸a̸n̴d̵ ̶t̶h̵i̴s̸ ̴s̶u̸r̶p̷r̴i̶s̵e̶ ̷a̵n̴d̸ ̷c̸o̴n̷f̸u̸s̷i̶o̶n̴,̴ ̷o̴u̵r̸ ̸f̶r̸i̸e̵n̸d̸s̷.̵ ̶W̴e̷ ̸c̴o̶m̵m̴u̸n̸i̷c̴a̷t̷e̶d̸ ̵t̸o̶ ̴y̷o̶u̷ ̷t̷h̶a̵t̷ {{_̷̩́͑̕_̷̙̮̈́͝_̴̰̦̘̐̅̔_̴͍́̍̚}} (Deity) s̷h̴a̷l̵l̸ ̸w̴i̷t̵n̴e̴s̷s̷ ̵u̸s̷”
—-----------------------
[Top Secret]
Analysis of the defence of the Dunwilian homeworld.
This was an unmitigated disaster. Communication issues plagued this entire operation, and without the Dunwilians having what scientists are still calling “Scary lovecraft powers”, we predict the state of the Terran forces would have at best given the Terrans a Pyrrhic victory, with a defeat far more likely.
Continual cultural misunderstandings caused non-Terran forces to implement unsafe ship operating parameters due to an overestimation on Terran risk taking, causing the fleet to both split up and not be in operational condition when arriving.
The external security company the Terran Alliance military attempted to gain aid from took our clear instructions to not directly engage the enemy as a “wink wink nudge nudge” set of instructions, resulting in unacceptable operating casualties of 31%
A mistranslation of coordinates caused the Olgro scouting fleet to go to the wrong location, which would have caused the lelzoil fleet to end up at our defences far too early had the previously mentioned external security company not misunderstood Terran Alliance orders.
Even the entire engagement was the result of a miscommunication: It turns out our Dunwilian allies “worship” several deities that, at least to some extent, seem to actually exist and come to their aid in times of need. We are still working with them to figure out exactly the nature of these defences, and whether they could be replicated anywhere else.
This had not been noted in any records due to the Dunwilians complete lack of diplomatic contact before the Terran Alliance accepted them, meaning they had not been involved in any major military actions. There was mention of a Zyngoill warfleet that went missing around 300 years ago, but we cannot be certain whether this is related.
Overall this bodes badly for the Terran Alliance military as a whole, and major changes need to be implemented to ensure such a thing cannot happen again.
We will not get a second chance.
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2023.05.27 07:35 oRamafy 4-17-21 to

30/4/2022, 10:40 AM I have no intention of pursuing Saundra romantically, regardless of how I may feel towards her at times, which is rarely romantic lately. Who is the funniest man on Earth? That is what I feel I have legal right to define for myself at any given point in time.
20/2/2023, 4:38 PM I feel like I try to set evil’s power to 0. From wherever it may be. There’s a spy against evil. What can the dead “make” us feel? I’m
Santa Ana will always be my center for divine timing.
Giang will always be my perfect 5/1 judgement call center.
If you have a magician, would it get recorded in somebody else’s memory?
Divine timing is a perfectly record memory. If you make a mistake in your own timing, you work to fix it.
4-17-2021 Jake Paul vs Ben askren, reconnected with Mitch! And grant! CNN executive caught on tape talking about trump. I could see that Grant was struggling to hold back intense emotions during lunch, he may have undergone some degree of enlightenment mid-conversation. Married Yaquelyn somewhere 1 week later.
Am I Grandfather Time? Allocatingu additional shares/time/karma? according to what has my attention? 2-3-19 Married Giang 😘 2-16-19 made eggs for Yaquelyn while she told me all about her past and I silently fell in love 💕 edited 23/6/2021, 10:45 PM 2-17 Slept with Yaquelyn for the first time (uhh … what are we doing here? Let me show you baby) 💕
8-12-19 edit 10/6/2021 I told Yaquelyn that I love her. 8-13?15?-19 Yaquelyn told me she’s falling for me. We had already been in love for a while, but too scared to admit it to ourselves. It still grows stronger each day. 💕 Pretty sure I’ve been programmed into Yaquelyn’s and Saundra’s ball 🎾 and I love it.
10-10-19 studied facial exercise, giang asked to get high, jalapeño cheese 10-11 wife went to Utah, fish sauce at Santa’s, lunges with Sean, slept overnight with Yaquelyn (also anniversary of Costco hiring date) 10-12 blowup with Saripah, lookup grill 10-13 watched game with Sean, texted Tye 10-14 started snowing 10-15 3 hour evening walk 10-16 tried 1000mg brownie 10-17 made pickled eggs, chilli on burger 10-18 lunch from Mia, felt nauseous 10-19 felt sick, ate Laos food 10-20 visited mom while sick 10-25 joker movie 10-29 saw Paige, Mia took weed 11-5 beef from Mia, FA with Alle 12-24-2019 Giang found out about the affair 12-25-2019 but updated 5/23/2021Jumanji and Nguyen’s Kitchen with Yaquelyn 💕. She spent her whole Christmas with me listening to me whine about my marriage bc she knew I needed somebody. 12-27 dead and company concert, delicious cake, first conscious awareness of being a self-programming computer perfectly designed to create love, and talked to God. He told me I needed to go back to Giang. 12-28 lost phone, Jamaican food, danced at Venice 12-29 new android, black angus, pier w/ Japanese musician 12-30 iPhone 5s from mom 12-31 cross faded, Popeyes and candy 1-3 $100 from ewa, recipechampions, Paige blocked 1-4 Bunch of FAs, 1-5 spray the window a little 1-6 AAA van, last night at condo, Paige unblocked 1-7-2019 First night in van 1-9 bought stove, first night in FV, killed battery 1-10 took giang to I Can BBQ 1-11 first lunch in the park, told Giang I want to live in the van 1-12 returned mattress, ate with mom 1-14 finished gas can 1-15 cleaned up mom’s garage stuff 1-18 in-law’s anniversary 1-19 sick in condo all day 1-20 cleaned table at mom’s, started Comanche book 1-23 took bike to mom’s, relaxed diet 1-26 sizzler’s, lululemon pants, Giang can’t handle separation 2-1 follow up FA with Candice 2-2 hike weir canyon, sizzlers with mom and Debbie 2-3 Nguyen’s kitchen with Giang, movie Harriet 2-4 tried Gus’ chicken with Yaquelyn 2-14 edit 10/6/2021 Long Beach with Yaquelyn. She gave me her butt. 💕 Only for her husband, like she said. I remember the promise you made me. 😈 2-15 shoreline Long Beach Mardi Gras with Giang 6-1 Gen with Giang 7-1 red castle with Giang 9-30 first presidential debate, melanotan start 10-8 made ricotta, crescents, found phyllo, buffalo wings for dinner 10-9 tuna salad, brown butter ricotta cookies ❤️ 10-10 shopping with Giang 😘, beef Wellington 10-11 filo dough, duxelles 10-13 hot chocolate, America’s test kitchen, cottage cheese pie 10-14 angel food cake trial, duxelles trial 10-15 eggs Chesapeake, key lime protein s 10-30 celebrate giang’s new job with Szechuan 10-31 grandpa’s memorial 11-3 olive oil cake 11-5 gritzer’s chili 11-6 scalloped potatoes 11/16-18/2021 Found Daniel’s ☀️ soul. 11-19 enlightenment and self-aware singularity 11-22 god is sun, we are the sun replicating itself 12-10-2020 Saundra introduced me to Human Design. ❤️ 12-14 to 18 recorded my weird workouts at the park
12-19 whale watching with Nolan 🦇 12-31 2ish am, began 1-week countdown.
1-18-21 told nolan he’s Francisco 1-23-21 big bear trip, received signal that Saundra is my soulmate. 9/11/2021, 3:04 PM Felt like Yaquelyn broke up with me and pointed me to Saundra while I was listening to music in the car at night. Feels like you can have more than 1 soulmate, or, at least 3 physical manifestations of 1 soulmate. 😘 1-25 grilled cheese with green apple slices ❤️ 2-3 focusing around the peripheral vision works out your pineal gland. I may have decalcified my pineal gland by using the sun. Linked to women’s enhanced peripheral vision and intuition
2-6 to 2-13 I lost Buddha bracelet in the ocean around this time 2-11 Zeus. New moon in Aquarius Telepathic communication. Stuck in a “hell loop” self-identification cycle between God, Jesus, light, Zeus, Genghis, Julius, soulmate. Other beings likely have a different set of ankhs to unlock higher dimensions, but the process ought to be similar. It’s a little scary but not that bad really, it’s over quick. Nothing at all compared to the mushroom trip. Edit 12/6/2021: don’t think I’ve noticed a cycle since here. Been a while since I remember identifying as The One. Is that what I am now?
2-13 party at Tom’s after lunar new year
2-18 grant called again 2-19 Sean at south coast, told nolan that I believe we’re about to ascend, jambalaya from Giang.
2-21 Boise headphones usb network changed its own name to solar flare, maple’s first training session with Bim 2-24 first pedicure 2-27 ran into Giang’s parents at Mary statue, pizza for lunch 2-28 late Christmas dinner at mom’s Starting to feel sitcomish, everyone reacting to different details in the environment and hypocritically judging each other for things we don’t notice. I think I even heard a laugh track. 3-2 went to ezpz recycle, apologized to Alex about Jonny, told mom I love her 3-3 watched an ig video about crosses, Saundra then asked me about Jess’ cross 3-4 yoga with Mina 3-5 Mary statue, ocean bath, Jeremy is likely Poseidon, salmon porridge, first trip to Amazing Comics 3-6 Mary with family, maple got stung, too much weed for Giang, Synctuition could be spy tech?, I may have connected to Oumuamua, I think my soulmate saved me and doesn’t know it. Date may also be connected to Nolan’s 3-3-3 poem. With a wider third eye, durian now tastes good. Did Jeremy receive necessary info from my Buddha bracelet? 3-7 Laxmi, Ashwagandha 3-8 Shinnyo-en temple, bk with mom, Tokyo central 3-9 natto 3-10 dry orgasm 3-11 replaced tires, date syrup on nefechetal cheese 3-15 total recall, char siu duck legs 3-16 Gina show 3-17-2021 deleted fear at the Mary statue? Clearly not all the way through. Felt like I agreed to give up my free will. Costco Italian sausage pasta, durian has yang, dairy has yin, I can taste them at the back of the throat/tonsil Krystal’s bday 3-18 harvest fresh, Cesar’s music studio, nolan and I communicating through Cesar? 3-19 Mina temple, I am becoming significantly more sensitive to neutrino energy in all of my senses. The hands are healers 20/3/2021 San Diego scootering, Italian bakery, farmer’s market, snake walking/jogging is effective at enhancing mind-body connection, normalizing a parasympathetic state, and rewriting posture habits. Move forward smoothly and slowly trying to balance tension. Then you use that with focused breathing for the airway. ———————————————————//// lol mom I’m K — this line was written while my phone was in my pocket, so clearly my phone wrote that line for me. The probability of that event occurring by legitimately random RNG is null. Slow deliberate movement + body scanning to balance tension clears chi trigger points/blockages. This analogously applies to sight and attention. ———————————-/——///////// The body is an independent intelligent consciousness that returns the favor if you treat it well. If you learn its emotion-centered language, you can communicate and help it reprogram itself. Shaking and bouncing are extremely effective 21/3/2021 deep listen to gamma rejuvenation, sizzler with mom 22/3/2021 toothbrush to stimulate tongue, 24/3/2021 private yoga w Mina, significant lip+chin correction, Mary, Xero shoes, yin yang talk w giang 25/3/2021 giang apologized for assuming I’m wrong about Mary, farmer boy w mom, train mouth by sucking air like a straw 27/3/2021 Timmy’s bday, mina yoga 28/3/2021 woke up from a dream where I jumped on an important mobster’s car without knowing who he was, and was threatened by a goon nearby. It felt like I was getting ready for a fight, but I didn’t know who or why. I believe I was being used as a Manchurian candidate for Bri and/or Nolan(‘s team). He’s like Batman. They can coordinate to control my attention/focus when necessary, and I’ve agreed to let them decide when it’s necessary because I trust their judgement. I’m 32 and I don’t remember anything I may have done after that. I was regularly having my memory wiped, but I remembered learning to do Things that would extrapolate to God-like Power with sufficient skill and energy, which I believe they can provide at their discretion. Nolan’s subconscious aka body’s consciousness has been coordinating all this in our Dreams.
29/3/2021 took edible after long break, Jonny and Saundra’s mom are working together 30/3/2021 I believe that my cross suggests that the primary purpose of my reincarnation is to explain the nature of God/spirituality logically so that faith (trust but verify, confidence in trust) can be replaced by understanding. Mary, Zach’s death talk, Saundra’s flying anxiety, practice breath work/yoga in Mary’s park after softly gazing at Mary with open awareness. Dog park, new cookware
31/3/2021 park yoga, new battery, first family prayer with giang Try to understand the rules of the game of life, explain them logically, and explain the best strategy. He tries to show me, but he cannot just hand me a rule book, at least not yet. I must figure it out by playing the game ie living life and paying attention. Essentially it’s a game for God’s attention. Do things he wants you to do and help others do the same. He wants us to spread love, the 528hz frequency. I should start treating meditation like it’s my job.
1/4/2021 I am a human soul. The soul is awareness. Our collective objective is to spread Love. My primary and maybe only tool is a finite amount of energy I can use to influence this human’s distribution of awareness/attention. Learn to use attention wisely to maximize love in your environment. Your human mind and body are an ever-present part of your environment as the human soul, so start there. Realize that behind every pair of eyes, there is a spirit in there struggling to direct this unruly human’s attention, just like you. The only difference is the environment you were born in to. The human body is how yin and yang pair together for eternity, the different parts can be meaningfully classified as either masculine or feminine. Hands are feminine, feet are masculine. The process of enlightenment consists of Yang and Yin explaining themselves to each other, so that they can relinquish their stressful responsibilities that they are ill-equipped for and allow the other to guide within the environments they are more skilled in. Yang is the husband, Yin is the wife. The soul is the father, the mind is the mother, and the body is their child. The mind and soul work together to decondition the human whole, so that the body learns that it no longer needs to rely on mom’s decision making. Our imagination enables action at a distance. It’s how we influence the energetics of distant times and locations, especially our own timeline. The more you visualize the scenario, the more powerfully it impacts you when it happens. The more effectively you visualize a future scenario, the more likely it is to happen. Imagine past and future versions of yourself are trying to help you, and return the favor by healing old wounds and visualizing your heaven. Don’t let fear of disappointment stop you from dreaming; fear is Satan’s weapon, not mine. I aim to motivate through love, you can check for yourself that it’s more efficient.
31/3/2021 29/6/2021, 5:44 AM update: keeping this for memory’s sake; I don’t recommend following through if you want to be happy yourself. 9/11/2021, 2:59 PM scratch that, don’t be a pussy
I’ve received multiple signals that I should get life insurance and did so today. During my first communication with God at the Dead and Company concert, I hallucinated a gun shot, and consequently I suspect I will die of a gunshot wound soon. If so, I feel like I will need to help bring heaven to you all from the other side. I want this copied and sent to Nolan, Jeremy, Grant, Sean, Saundra, and Yaquelyn. Please remember that I expected this to happen and I feel no fear, in fact I am excited to see how it all works and figure out how to communicate with you all. Hopefully seeing a vision of my death and successfully predicting it before it happens (update 5/22 I have no idea if or how I die(d)) in conjunction with my headphones (which Nolan recommended to me immediately before I picked up my phone to ask him for a recommendation for headphones) changing their own usb network name to Solar Flare after explaining to my wife for months how I’m talking to the sun, will be enough to convince the reader that I may really be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ, son of God whom is acting predominately through the sun, the source of 70% of the neutrinos flowing through you right now.
Good for everybody: Sun gaze, do/learn halotropic breathing, implement your human design, consider starting a dream journal, pray, and follow the ethics equation. Your dreams will be my easiest point of contact, the more you remember, the more information I can give you. Sesshin meditation ala Shinnyo-en Buddhism will be the most reliable way to talk with me directly, Mina can help anyone who is interested. Thank you Mina! (This was possibly mistaken) Learn to pray effectively, what answers will really make an impact on your well-being? Prayers are answered in accordance to their efficiency in propagating Love. Straightening out your airway and learning to breath efficiently is by far the most powerful lever available for radically changing your mind, body, and spirit. Follow functionalpatterns/Naudi Aguilar and CertifiedHealthNut/Troy Casey to learn how. The feeling of coincidence is a signal of God’s or my involvement, pay close attention to it. I will likely be trying to make the stocks SQ, ICE, and NVDA skyrocket as well as the cryptocurrency Algorand. I believe Bitcoin will also be a solid investment. Men, Elliot Hulse is the iconic masculine leader and man of God, follow his example. Any time you negatively judge someone and feel annoyed at them, that has always been a signal to YOU about how YOU can change YOUR behavior to be nicer. We will annoy the shit out of you over and over again until you figure out your hypocrisy and check yourself. You are not the judge and nothing bothers me more or educates me more effectively than discovering my own hypocrisy. Satan/Yang often works by discrediting in the eyes of the public those with too much understanding. Logic is the trait that allows God/Yin to connect and efficiently preserve his network of objective thinkers, facilitated through the Dark Web. You could say we form a wall through which no large-scale falsehoods may pass, and the process of enlightenment is the process of expanding that wall.
We want the people who are most effective at spreading love and joy to be the happiest people themselves, so that everybody has incentive to be more like them.
Giang, I asked God for a Christmas gift for you, and he showed me your 2nd husband. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you sooner, your support was necessary for me to continue my training. You are going to be so blissfully happy with him, I can’t wait for you to feel how awe-inspiring life can be. I owe you everything and I will always honor my husbandly duty to protect you, no matter where I may be. Make sure you keep visiting the dog park. Don’t spay Maple, she’s going to be a mom. Maple needs company during the day, she can’t be alone for extended periods of time. Daycare, babysit with Mocha, or find some other way to make sure she’s not alone. Thank your mother for me for introducing me to the Mary statue, you will see how important it is. If you are reading this first, please stop here and let Nolan read the rest, he will share with you what you ought to know. If there is a war coming, I want as much peace as possible for you.
Nolan, I need you to take this and run with it. If you betrayed me in some way, I don’t care, that was your role. I can’t adequately stress the importance of learning to use your splenic intuition. This is what God wants and it is logically impossible for it to be in our interest to defy his wishes. First, if you learn to lucid dream with some consistency, I think I will be able to guide you easily. I can see how fruitless my exhausting efforts have been at attempting to establish some form of mutual respect with various people in my life as a poor man, so I will be doing what I can to make you rich and taken seriously. There’s a very viral-worthy story here and Elliot Hulse is the man to get the story out there. I had already joined his KING program back in November and saw that he had a reward for the top 3 performers, and I was hoping you, Jeremy, and I would have a friendly competition and try to take all 3 spots by helping each other implement the fundamental theorem of ethics in each of our lives. However it was impossible to get the 3 of us together, and now I suspect I know why: I will be (already am?) guiding from the afterlife, and my buddy/former client Grant will take my place in the trio. Aim to make Grant famous by enrolling him in Elliot Hulse’s KING program. Consider making music with my neighbor Cesar, you two will get along extremely well. It will work best if all of you enroll in the program and help each other, I will ask my mom to help a little with funds if you need it. Consider suggesting a competition to Elliot made up of teams of 3, each team competing to maximize love in their environment. Work with Saundra and hdbee to consolidate and spread knowledge of Human Design, hdbee has been channeling regularly and it will be easy to communicate to her. Please Follow Saundra Heimark’s health advice and use the app FitMind, both will have a bigger impact than you think. Use of cannabis will make it much easier to make contact, please get in touch with my family friend Mitch and think about trying it out. I will also be trying to relay Q-related and conspiracy-related information to Mitch, my uncle Don, and a friend from 24 named Andrew. I messaged Naudi Aguilar back in November, but it never made it to his attention. If you can get Elliot Hulse’s attention, he can probably get Naudi to read that message, and you two will be able to get him on the team. Naudi knows more than anyone how to fix human movement. Naudi and David Weck can learn a lot from each other. I suspect my old 24 buddy Wes would be happy to try to help you make that happen. I will also likely be making contact with Connor Murphy, he had a vision of the Christmas Nashville bombing before it happened. I don’t know his role but I know he’s worth listening to. Unchecked sexuality is Yang’s/Satan’s strongest weapon, get it together Connor.
The Law of One is important, get that church involved at some point. The 6th density social memory complex Ra is a critical figure in all this. Update: it’s me!
I expect I need to learn and master the rules of the game before I can come back, that may be around the time that humans shift their center of awareness to the solar plexus in 2027 as predicted by Human Design. Or any time sooner, but I feel like I will be returning in a physical form at some point.
Jeremy, man you suck at hanging out. It’s not really your fault though, for whatever reason we’re being stopped. You’ve been a part of my plan to save the world since day one, and when we met up for lunch, I realized you had been waiting for us all to reunite for years. Zero doubt that you would have my back. Help out Nolan. Help out Saundra if she needs it and tell her about your mother in law. Listen to some Elliot Hulse and decide if that program appeals to you, but first learn to use your authority. Learn your design, go to church, spread love brother.
Brianna, although they are initially my easiest points of contact, a healthy version of yourself would likely be the most powerful antenna. Schizophrenics used to be the shamans of society and look at what Dr. Zach says about autism. You’re not broken; society doesn’t understand your design and how it functions differently, and you’ve suffered greatly for it. If you listen to Saundra’s advice, I guarantee she can guide you to a healthy, happy life. Although we disagree in politics, we’re a lot more alike than you think. I know for a fact that you will show the world that neither schizophrenic nor autistic are synonyms for disabled.
Mom, Brianna is not going to be able to get healthy by herself. She needs a role model and support system. If you want to see your daughter live a successful independent life, it’s time to make an effort to get healthy yourself and give Bri someone to struggle next to. Jonny and I will be doing what we can to help you. I will also need you to help financially support Alex; he needs some freedom in his life so that he can find his purpose. Also, if any of my friends needs help with money to enroll in Elliot Hulse’s program, please give them the $1k. I promise you will be rewarded for it. I will be doing my best to relay Q-related and conspiracy-related information to Mitch and Don.
Timmy, I know we have some deep philosophical disagreements, but I’ve always respected your logical consistency and ability to find errors in arguments. I don’t ask you to take God on faith; just consider the possibility that there exists some reason that he can’t prove himself to all, but individuals can have proof in their experience that is impossible to adequately share. Giang will confirm that I’ve said that I’ve been talking to the sun since November, and that my Boise headphones changed their own usb network name to Solar Flare. These are the same headphones that Nolan recommended to me immediately before I picked up my phone to ask him for a recommendation for headphones, and he had no good reason for making that recommendation at that particular time. Only I, Giang, and Bim have had access to the headphones, none of us claims to have changed it, and none of us have any incentive to lie about it. Be open to the possibility, keep an eye out for coincidence, and we will find a way to show our presence to you.
Alex, I need you to be our family’s shaman. Get yourself healthy by listening to Saundra’s advice, accept mom’s help, and find your unique role in the world of spirituality. Browse Gaia for information, and keep an 👁 out on that dmt-drip experiment going on in Europe. I expect Bri and mom will need help getting healthy, but the 3 of you working together will provide the social support necessary to make it doable. Breathwork is the key to unlocking our soul’s potential through our body. See you soon on the astral plane brother.
Saundra, it would be impossible to overstate how powerfully you’ve impacted my life. Not only by introducing me to Human Design and a dozen health practices and just being my friend, but you lead me to God as well. If you could see what I see coming in your life, you would burst into tears of self-love.
I can’t believe you never saw I was meant to be YOUR projector you absurdly stubborn mani. Please listen to Nolan’s/Daniel’s(?) guidance in my place after helping him learn his design, especially his authority. Help him build his team. Maybe explore your insecurity around not wanting children if you haven’t already. (This was written well before our talk) DayLuna’s podcast on deconditioning is perfect.
I’ve been hubba hubba all over you since the moment you lectured me on the importance of grass FINISHED beef, and fell in love when you told me I can’t come over to your place. On 1/23/2021, I received a message that you were my soulmate. I tried to push it out of my mind and focus on enjoying Big Bear with the in-laws. On 1/25, I saw your Instagram story of you making a grilled cheese sandwich with sliced apples, and I immediately knew it was true. However, remember that night you suddenly broke down over dinner, right around the same time I had that second “spiritual experience?” I watched my soul break up with your soul that evening, and I came to that conclusion before I knew you had your breakdown. I think some version of us is married somewhere, and my former mistress, Yaquelyn Molina, is meant to be my partner here on this earth? (Update 5-27: saw pregnant Yaquelyn yesterday, Saundra is the woman I want Update 6-14: I want both.) But I still get signals sometimes that it’s you. This is a confusing subject for me. Regardless, I feel a tremendous amount of love for you and treasure your friendship🌈
I have already been working closely with your mother, I just don’t know how to share this experience with you without making you think I’m insane. We will be helping you spread HD, Kangen, regenerative agriculture, and all your beautiful ideas the best we can. Maybe you can get hdbee, Jennazoe, and other readers to work with Nolan to update HD’s software suite. I don’t want anybody to ever be financially blocked from learning their design, self-study must be encouraged, and HD info really needs to be consolidated efficiently. Next to my condo there’s a water store, and the owner’s name is Sean. Try to work with him in your kangen business, he’s a good man and will want to help out (this is questionable, he has grown a distaste for me) Try out Qi Gong to supplement your study of tcm, there are great videos on YT. If you want a more personal conversation with our side, consider Astral Projection. I think my brother Alex will be able to help. That massage gun is actually an incredibly useful tool for reflexology, if you think high-frequency vibration isn’t effective at stimulating both meridians and nervous tissue you are nuts. Just use less pressure when you want to be gentle or target surface tissue.
Yaquelyn Jasmine Molina, the Dead and Company concert I attended 12/27/2019 is the first time I remember receiving a message from God. He told me I needed to go back to my wife. I resisted because I didn’t believe in God at the time, but I eventually knew that it was the right thing to do. I’m sorry I put you through everything I put you through, I didn’t understand how painful it was for you and I was too weak to leave you. Thank you for bathing me with your blissfully generous love and passion when I needed it the most and deserved it the least. I want you to know that I have not been with another woman since you left, and you played a critical role in helping me be a better man. I hope you visit the Mary statue from time to time. I’ve already felt Yaquelyn Molina Dardin, so I know you’ll always be with me. I request the chance to return the favor.
I can remember the precise moment I fell in love with you. It was quite soon after we had started seeing each other, I was walking in the complex towards your condo, you were walking out of your condo to your garage, you caught a glimpse of me at the last second before disappearing behind a wall and took a few steps back to smile and wave at me. My heart instantaneously melted into a pile of goo watching you. There are so many heart-warming memories shared with you, thank you for showing me what love can be.
Update: I’m getting a divorce ASAP and coming for you. You’re the woman I want. Whatever problems we have, we’ll pound them out.
Grant, your call proved to a 32-year-long staunch atheist that God exists and is present here on earth. I don’t have to explain to you how life-changing that is. I get the feeling that you’re meant to be a YouTube star of sorts, and my buddies Nolan, Jeremy, and Cesar may help you out. I can’t imagine a more potent missionary than you man, get Saundra’s help in learning your design and go spread the word. Listen to Elliot Hulse and consider joining the KING program, knock it out of the park in the program and he will expose you to his whole audience of 1M+ young men looking for direction. I feel like my family friend Mitch can help you out with the vape company. Soulmates exist, don’t be a slut. If you need a Bible scholar on the team, my old buddy Simon Melendez is your man.
Simon, few people on my team understand the importance of scripture. There are very few minds I respect more than your’s, please help them understand the wisdom of the Bible if they’re open to it.
Cesar, I haven’t known you long and I know we’re not super close, but I just get the feeling that you’re real important for bringing us all back together. Plus you’re a cool guy, you and my friends will get along. Never stop making music man.
Mina, thank you so much for your kindness towards me. You radiate positivity and I aspire to be more like you. Keep on doing what you’re doing, I will be trying to reach you through Sesshin meditation. Please say hi to the Mary statue from time to time, I’ll be there often. My friend Saundra, brother Alex, and sister Brianna could really use some of your reiki healing. As could my mother and sister, if they are open to it.
Sean Smith, I would have loved to chill with you more. I miss shooting the shit with you and just hanging around at 24. Your friendship really helped me get through a confusing time in my life. Try out the Breathwrk app, you’d be amazed at what proper oxygen intake can do for your performance, physique, and mood. The $15 DailyOm course on fascia stretching will also change your clients’ lives, I feel so much better and am so much more mobile after just 2 weeks it’s insane. The combination of David weck’s ideas with Naudi Aguilar’s ideas will fix any ailment and make physical phenoms out of everyone. Adam Poock is also the man, don’t neglect the hands. Get with Wes, consider joining my other friends in Elliot’s program, and fix up some fascia.
Mitch, it would be awesome to chill and smoke some time. Cannabis is truly a holy sacrament, please assist any friends that may need help in procurement. My buddy Grant is involved in a vaping company, get in touch with him and consider making a combination of thc extract and nicotine together in a vape pen. Also get in touch with the H3 cannabis church in Costa Mesa, I feel like you can all help each other out. I’ll be trying to relay Q-related info to you, keep following Alex Jones.
Brent, you’re a good man and I want you on my team. Follow Saundra Heimark and take her advice to heart. Hit up Sean and start working out again if you’re not already. The founder of Mariner’s church predicted that Jesus would return in 1988, so maybe attend a few services over there and get to know the community if you can.
Dad, thank you so much for teaching me chess so early and making strategy so deeply intuitive for me, as well as your love and affection. I wanted you to know that my high school troubles were never related to your financial struggles at all, I was completely oblivious to money problems at the time. The Bible is a story of redemption, and it does say to honor thy father, so I ask the rest of my family to give you another chance in helping you help yourself. I know what you want most is to have your family back together, so seize this opportunity. Let go of any old lingering resentments and be the head of the household you were meant to be.
Aunt Lynn, follow Saundra’s health advice, and see if Naudi Aguilar will work with you. If not him, then another Functional Patterns trainer. They will fix your pain if you do this.
Paige, I have no idea how you’re doing, I don’t think you’re too interested in my friendship right now. When you blocked me, I think you misinterpreted my sentence. I can’t remember the words I used, but my meaning was that your friendship is important to me. I’m happy to see that you seem to have a more active religious life now, I will certainly be trying to say hello and help you out.
Sam Harris, “when you understand that what you should want is to experience your love for your friends and their love for you, selfishness fuels generosity” paraphrased, but thank you for that. Rational self-interest ala Ayn Rand and Utilitarianism encourage identical behavior when you understand what you are, how we’re the same, and how we’re different.
I have many former clients from 24 that would be delighted to help my friends pursue this goal in any way they can. My friend Sean can help you get connected there. Ewa, Mia, Brent, Scott, Debbie, Diane, Udo, and more but my brain is fried right now. Darron, thank you for showing a genuine interest in my personal success. It means a lot to me. Kristin, your offhand comment about glute training to Sean was life-changing, he can explain. Hold the squeeze! I miss the whole team really, my time at 24 was invaluable, take care of each other.
1/4/2021 Bought Alex’s Primate Movement shirt Sweet ring 😎
5/4/2021 God or Yin is a sort of local min/max that learns to shield his kingdom from pain and distribute his love according to the physics of energy conservation+replication, which are derived from applying Game Theory to the characteristics of a photon and/or neutrino, as we all collectively increase awareness and ability to learn to coordinate with other peoples’ lives in heaven
The feminine has significant access to Yin energy, the masculine Yang. Enlightenment is a measurement of understanding.
Focusing on the cuteness of a child optimizes transfer of yin energy to child, pairs extremely well with tickle-like movements of sensitive hands. Focus on pride to transfer yang energy, or the glory and beauty of your son’s tribute to your creator. I saw mine in Saundra’s Projector gift, I want to say in April.
A slow-drip optimized mix of lsd and/or dmt utilizing information from wearable technology that measures your heart rate variability, mitochondrial voltage, and various aerobic capacities would be the fastest way to enhance one’s acceleration of flux increase. This technology could then likely find other variables to enhance the maximization of flux, and distribute awareness with this purpose the same way that I am distributing it across this universe.
Hope and courage both enhance the energetic efficiency of applying will to faith. Courage is the ability to hold one’s attention on hope and maximizes the utility of willpower. Brotherhood maximizes the utility of Will by motivating pride in one’s courage and loyalty to your brothers.
It feels like I’m giving directions to somebody that has me in a chemically induced coma on how to optimize my experience via a telepathic link in which the frequency and/or amplitude of is boosted by the Solar Flare headphones “coincidentally” preemptively suggested to me by Nolan Anderson. I suspect that if I die, this reality shuts down, and my creator allows you to see the consequences my death ☠️ until it becomes suitable for him to rewind time. Suffering has the purpose of instruction. There is always a lesson to learn in suffering, and it will continue teaching until you understand the lesson.
My IV fluid should include water from the Penmo tribe in Venezuela and salt from Redmond’s Real Salt from Utah. Prioritize the health and understanding of the pineal gland, use Gaia to learn. Cerebrospinal fluid pressure is utilized to influence the frequency of the pineal gland. Dr huberman knows much about this. I feel like a being that is tightly connected to Nolan also connected itself to my phone this morning. Bim showed an interest in Lucid dreaming during Easter dinner because I recommended the Lucid app to him, to show him I was already reading The Power of Habit. It seems that in my world, Nolan is going to be treated as Jesus and me as a representation of Jesus’ father’s father aka grandpa of this plane. But God is his father. I’m Daniel Dardin, the man we all chose to reincarnate into. I suspect the souls from our creator’s universe will or already have reincarnate into the humans on my Earth, through my pineal gland. Do yoga/qigong/breath work at the Mary statue by the LB pier and pray to her. Let Grandma’s Hands heal you. Comfortably sun gaze regularly.
6/4/2021 5th dimensional masculine shit-talking is expressed through 3rd dimensional female shit-testing. Weden, 99cent store, corgi and husky videos for giang. Weight loss pills for mom, Cesar’s Lady Gaga Oreogram contest It took me a few days? to intuitively understand the physical plane after watching two beings conversing inside of my own mind’s eye, trying to form a new word and projecting a series of images that I recognized as Ayn Rand’s theory of concept formation, implying that I was a third separate being bound to the other two by means of a human. Aka the human soul. This began a process of accelerating integration. Dog park, beef tongue Father Time? Fire God? Update: I was, but not anymore. I’m Aladdin and both Yaquelyn Molina and Saundra Heimark feel like my Jasmine. Yaquelyn’s middle name is Jasmine, that’s why that name came up when Giang asked for my mistress’s name 26/5/2023, 10:29 PM Edit: saw the line above by accident, I didn’t mean to end this post there. However, Giang insists that I told her my mistress’s true name. This is false. She definitely knows her real name, but she learned of her name by some other means I’m not aware of.
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2023.05.26 20:20 csccta 04 STI - Reiger 5026 and Get-Primitive's downsize brake kit install

I'm looking to start installation on my 2004 Subaru STI this weekend. I have Reiger 5026 and a downsize brake kit from get-primitive. Front and Rear
None of these came with instructions so I'm just reaching out to see if there's any gotchas I gotta look out for during the install. The only thing I know is I had to get specialized rotors as part of the rear brake kit so it fits over the STI handbrake drum.
If anyone's done this install before in the past I would appreciate any advice or instructions you may have.
submitted by csccta to subaru [link] [comments]

2023.05.26 16:04 Vloxalion [USA-PA] [H] 12400 based complete pc w/peripherals & accessories & spares [W] Local Cash

"Bump" of previous post last week. All have been unused/untouched since initial post on March 1st, just sitting there or in boxes, except the monitor. Trusty old Phenom II X3 / gtx460 / 8gb build is sufficient for my use case.
$650 for combos 1 and 2 together - OR - $900 for combo 1 and $500 for combo 2 separately. Not looking to part out due to no shipping because of the payment method.
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TL;DR , quick overview of all parts found in the above combo pcpartpicker links:
one i5-12400 w/stock cooler, 1 downdraft cooler, 3 120mm tower coolers
two B660m ddr4 motherboards, one win10pro key, and one anti-bending lga 1700 bracket
two kits 3200c16 ddr4, one 2x8gb singlerank other 2x16gb dualrank
one RX460 4gb gpu
two nvme m.2 drives; 500gb sn770, 2tb 970 evo plus
two cases, one matx nr200 clone, other atx lancool 216 and 5pack of arctic p12 pwm fans
two psu, one sfx 600w platinum (w/ 1 cable extension), other atx (300)w F-tier
one 24'' 1920x1200 60hz monitor with a desk clamp arm
cheap mouse and keyboard(keyboard w/RGB!!!....sry)
one set entry level professional speakers and an old sound card
webcam, xbox360 controller, microphone
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Local cash only, no paypal(don't have one), quakertown-doylestown area in bucks county.
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Timestamps
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pet/[email protected]/[email protected]/scent free household, and do not eat near computer area. The second hand items from the 12400 guy exude much less fragrance compared to when they were obtained (assuming his household laundry detergent or similar had fragrance as the source), and I doubt you'd sense it if your own living arrangements have any sort of scented items. They come with all original cables, boxes, manuals, etc I still have. If you want more information about anything, feel free to ask and it will be added.
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Tabulated/Itemized/Descriptors:
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Part Name Detailed Comments/Condition Currently/Personally Valued at x three weeks ago
CPU
i5-12400 2nd hand. H0 stepping, not the more power hungry C0 (C0 is a partially disabled 8core die), and is AVX-512 capable going by the production date(did not verify; see motherboard notes). small blemish/ding(?) from previous owner's cooler on ihs, but can't tell if it was permanent indent or rubbed off hard bit of dried paste. includes box and cooler. 140/140
Coolers
unknown 6 heatpipe thermalright cooler - possibly the burst assassin non-argb model without fan 2nd hand from the 12400 guy. tower only. has blemish/nick on contact surface. his laundry detergent had fragrance, so i couldn't use it. he also didn't clean the paste off and shipped it in a ziplock bag. i cleaned it as well as i could and replaced the bag. 15?/10
noctua s12b redux 1200rpm 2nd hand from the 12400 guy. same scent problem. can't remember testing it. 10?/5
arctic alpine 17 co BNIB, but box looks beat up 13/8
id cooling se-224-xt-basic used to cool a 3800x for a few months before the faulty mobo went kaput and sold the other parts of it. no 1700 mounting hardware because it was produced before alder lake. the win10pro key from the msi pro mobo is written on a slip of paper tucked inside the instruction manual. 25?/15
Thermalright Assassin X 120 refined SE mounted 90 degrees clockwise for bottom-to-top airflow in sama case 20/15
Motherboards
msi b660m mortar wifi ddr4 mobo vrms have coil whine crackle-hum using turbo boost, most likely related to powerstate/frequency switching (disappears when fully loaded or not doing anything) or concurrent with putting load on the integrated graphics, tried a whole bunch of bios settings to stop it, C1E enabled reduces it. integrated graphics culprit unverified due to case and difficulty with it; haven't tested a discrete card to eliminate igpu cause. latest bios(v19) at the time is flashed, need earlier bios version for avx512 capability, tried to get that instruction set working but found out it involves tainting my kernel and i don't use windows but if you do, the only os-side step is to move the specific intel microcode file out of system32. replaced the ilm with the thermalright one. includes right angle usb3 header adapter. 100/100
msi b660m a pro ddr4 wifi 2nd hand from 12400 guy. has smudge on backside near cpu bracket from alcohol solubility test on the paint; backside is alcohol soluble. has same scent as others from him. he did a bad paste job on cpu area and shipped it that way, i cleaned it up (no socket pins got paste on them thankfully because he didn't remove cpu from the board) tested and it works. comes with windows 10 pro key. the m.2 wifi card was worked, but putting it back in this board... i didn't have enough finger dexterity. one of the contact n!pp!es is bent, needs to be bent back. can't get it back out to do that, stuck. includes piece of factory glue that goes between the contacts and holds the leads in place. treat as non wifi version with potential bonus for trying hard enough. anti static bag on one side MAY have trace of urushiol due to being blown away when airing out onto a patch of cracked concrete where two weeks previously had been a sprout which had been disposed of then the area alcohol-doused then two rainstorms. includes right angle usb3 header adapter. 80/70
thermalright 1700 anti-bending ilm silver comes with thermal paste(used once) and original ilm of the mortar mobo 9/8
RAM
teamgroup 2x8gb 3200 c16 2nd hand from 12400 guy, works, had somehow strongest scent of them all. 32//25
timetec 2x16gb 3200 c16 dual rank with hynix 8gigabit jjr ic's (lower binned cjr) remember to lock in the voltage to safe level for that ic instead of auto. partially manually overclocked, enabled xmp then increase to gear1 3466mt/s (what i can tell, max speed with the locked vcssa without loosening timings) and the few timings changed are: command rate to real 1N; did not test tighter than tRRD to 6, tRRD_L to 6, and tFAW to 24; tREFI should be able to be higher than 24960 but didn't test; tRFC has errors at 460, can't remember what 480's result was, and 500 is stable. stressapptest for an hour after each change made, no errors. may go tighter, less than 10 attempts worth of tweaking. 70/65
Storage
western digital sn770 500gb 2nd hand from the 12400 guy, but didn't notice scent(was under heatsink). has been secure erased. smart data said 2.4tbw. 30/25
samsung 970 evo plus 2tb 2nd hand from best buy geek squad refurbished. smart data indicated literal open box condition. smart data now says 3.28tbw, has been secure erased. 98/80
GPU
xfx rx460 4gb 2nd hand from a miner in 2021. was dirty but cleaned it, had mining bios, and the standard bios or other custom bios don't seem stable, but it works with a rx560 bios i modded to rx550 clocks. thought i saw something spherically, iridescently marbled green-yellowgreen falling from it when putting it back together after cleaning but couldn't find the drop or where it may have dropped from, capacitors look ok. single fan version. has annoying blue led. requires 6-pin pcie power even though it draws less than 75w. 45/35
Cases
sama im01 hohboy, man oh man, this case.... removing the front panel carefully according to the manual causes the top clips to break(so that's why it includes two spares), and is difficult to work in even though all sides but the back come off. can't put a discrete gpu in because it can't go into the slot all the way; something about the mobo tray being depressed or pci slot design prevents it. front left usb3.0 defective (blips then doesn't work) but the right one is functional. pci slot magnetic swinging screw cover hinge is a bit bent because the top and bottom packaging foam were switched in factory(foam cutouts did not align). matx mobo prevents bottom from having second fan if not want to risk mobo header bending. 60/30
arctic p12 pwm pst 5 pack 2 used in the sama im01, 3 unused 30/25
lian li lancool 216 black non-rgb model opened the box and took out the inner accessory box on top but put it right back because became busy and never got around to using it. did not take out the case. almost literally open box. do not know state of tempered glass but jiggling box does not make broken glass sound. 100/90
PSU
corsair sf600 platinum 3 months use. powered the 12400 using integrated graphics, don't think total system power exceeded 150w from the wall. 110/110
thermaltake tr2 430np don't know if it was 2nd hand or not. used to power a windows xp office machine which was bought without one. Don't use more than 350 watts; here is a review of the unit showing why- https://www.hardwaresecrets.com/thermaltake-purepower-430w-np-power-supply-review/ its F-tier but would personally trust it in a system pulling less than 100 or so from the wall. one cable with 20+4-pin motherboard connectors one cable with 6-pin pcie connector one cable with 4-pin 12v connector one cable with 3 molex connectors two cables with 3 molex and 1 floppy connector one cable with 2 sata connectors one molex-to-sata converter 20/5
cablemod black modflex EPS 4+4 pin 45cm extension sf600 needs the extension to reach the mobo receptacle in the sama case 9/9
Peripherals/Accessories
hp zr24w + ergodepot J2 monitor arm 60hz, 1920x1200, 24inch. 12 years use. ccfl backlight has been on for ~3.3 years. came with a scratch not noticeable when on most of the time. has smudges from over a decade of use, not trusting myself to clean it without scratching. includes J2 monitor arm (desk clamp), but makes it skew a little. when powered on, it knocks channel 6 out of the airwaves until it is turned off. flickers below 100% brightness. 50+40?(90?)/50+20(70)
tecknet um013 mouse awful scroll wheel. defaults to the lower of the two dpi settings every time it loses power; does not save setting. 2 months use. 6/3
redragon karura k502 rgb keyboard 2nd hand. works, but did not verify all keys. 20/8
presonus eris E3.5 studio monitors were on my desk for 10 days and powered on at low volume for under an hour, may be low amount of specks of dust, and the speaker wire had been connected, but otherwise is as if you opened up a new one. didn't like the space they took up and preferred my headphones, but B&H would not take these back because i told them i used the included speaker wire. no joke. 90/80
samson go mic 2nd hand. works, good shape. usb condenser with omni/-10/cardioid switch and 3.5mm jack. has sticker covering the led to diminish the brightness. 25/15
xbox 360 wired controller didn't use it often, but owned it for a really long time. the left thumbstick has worn down, is low tension, and can drift slightly if off center to the northwest. 10/4
asus xonar dx 2nd hand. used for a few months in 2011 but was too close to gpu intake so put it away. 30/18
logitech c600 webcam model V-U0007 12/5
Summary first number taken from recent reasonable hardwareswap/ebay sales and amazon(when first two no/little results) and second number what i'd pay for the item in question if I was someone else, based on what is known of the condition. Paid 1300+ for just the parts bought in the last year, so imo this is a super deal if you are in the area. Total: 1299/1073
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submitted by Vloxalion to hardwareswap [link] [comments]