https://i.imgur.com/7OjyQSa.jpg
Pre-Owned! Purchased new from Best Buy a couple of months ago and played for about an hour, that’s all. Includes all original packaging and a carry case. $35 shipped, domestic only. Please reach out with any questions. Thanks

Hello! Long time player here looking for a nice, friendly group to share some adventures together and have fun. I'm 25+, he/him, available a bunch of days a week from the specified time onwards, no specific duration limit, as noted in the post's tags.
I'd love to join a game (new or already in motion doesn't matter!) as it's been a while since I managed to find a group that lasted for more than two weeks. I'm all in for both pre-written modules or homebrew worlds, no preferences. I like my good share of combat and heavy RP, I wouldn't be able to provide a specific split but I like both equally whenever they fit the situation.
I'm not particularly interested in AL or Westmarches kind of games, it's not my thing, just a personal preference. As a note, I value respecting everyone's time and creativity equally, and so attendance is of the utmost importance for me and I will NOT miss a session unless health or emergencies get in the way. I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have through DMs and/or Chat here at first, and if we vibe we can move conversations to Discord without issues. Apologies if it takes me a little bit to reply, might be at work or cashing in a few hours of much needed sleep. Cheers!

💰Redeem cash up to $200.00 here! 💵Calling all money-hungry folks! ️️ Click and accept my invitation on Temu👉 https://temu.com/s/UPyOsZzxfVRK4
Literally last new user needed 2 hours to go please help me

Hello Post people!

Quite a bit of Reddit is going dark on Monday.

It's a number of issues, the API pricing (pushing out third parties), Reddit's need to get some of that sweet AI LLM cash (because Reddit is a huge source for training models), some bad treatment of developers - including tools that provide accessibility.
This is very much tied to the platform's move towards an IPO and showing it's value.
To put it simply (you can also refer to this image), these changes are causing some significant issues:

• Third-party tools are being priced out (and the pricing announcement/start day is rapid, relatively speaking)
• Reddit's change will heavily impact users with visual impairments - as Reddit's native tools lack.
• It affects quite a bit of moderation tools - making everything harder.

From our mod perspective, it seems like these shifts are happening far too quickly, in a rush to show value.

The new pricing model has already forced some third-party tools to exit, whether that's the intention or not. The implementation feels poorly handled (worse than Apple's FCPX or Avid's new title tool!). The recent treatment of the creator of the Apollo client raises concerns about Reddit's approach - especially the "remember the person behind the keyboard," which is part of reddits' own written Rediquette. Again, worst of all, users with visual impairments may be left behind for an extended period.

In response, numerous subreddits are going 'dark' for 48 hours starting Monday with some even considering a permanent exit.

This week, in the notes from a call from Reddit, there were allegations against Apollo for 'threatening' Reddit (They didn't). Additional language included "Go ahead and protest, it's a democracy" but also was a particular line:- "We are tolerant, but also have a duty to keep Reddit online," which feels like a thinly veiled threat.
We've received queries/concerns from our community, so we believe it's crucial to open this discussion.
Not participating in the blackout feels wrong…especially considering the large number of subreddits (800-1000+), including /videos, /gaming, and /music, that are going dark (large list here.)
Yet, we are also aware that it may not have any substantial impact on the corporate direction. If they lose 20% of their views, it doesn't matter.
For additional details, refer to the following links:

• Developer call
• Moderator coordination
• Apollo shutting down. (This is the Third-party iOS tool that was not handled well - see the developer call - especially that he was featured as part of Apple's WWDC this past week.)

Regarding the implications for our subreddits:

We're still discussing what we feel is the best course of action. I (Greenysmac), honestly don't think two days will mean "much"; I don't expect corporate entities to give in.
But Just nuking communities or turning them private forever isn't a great perspective either. It's a pretty great place here.

How it will affect you:

If you're a member of any of our subreddits, if we decide to go private, it means that the subs will still load for you - it'll just never show up on the wider part of Reddit (like /all). Many subreddits are auto-removing any new posts/comments or posting a note about this issue on every post during the blackout period.
Know that these paths increase the workload for our moderators quite a bit.
Please feel free to share your thoughts on this issue; we want to hear what you think, as it affects us and Reddit as a whole.

Hello! Long time player here looking for a nice, friendly group to share some adventures together and have fun. I'm 25+, he/him, available a bunch of days a week from the specified time onwards, no specific duration limit, as noted in the post's tags.
I'd love to join a game (new or already in motion doesn't matter!) as it's been a while since I managed to find a group that lasted for more than two weeks. I'm all in for both pre-written modules or homebrew worlds, no preferences. I like my good share of combat and heavy RP, I wouldn't be able to provide a specific split but I like both equally whenever they fit the situation.
I'm not particularly interested in AL or Westmarches kind of games, it's not my thing, just a personal preference. As a note, I value respecting everyone's time and creativity equally, and so attendance is of the utmost importance for me and I will NOT miss a session unless health or emergencies get in the way. I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have through DMs and/or Chat here at first, and if we vibe we can move conversations to Discord without issues. Apologies if it takes me a little bit to reply, might be at work or cashing in a few hours of much needed sleep. Cheers!

​
https://preview.redd.it/wuzwnrsmfz4b1.jpg?width=660&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=16d7424087c5edca7df4dd1f198a37158f95974e
Today we will do things veeeryyy different than during the main character study of Gorou Amamiya or Aqua Hoshino but I assure you it won't be less interesting. It was by pure accident that I stumbled over an old book I haven't touched for a long time, a book that goes by the title "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde. It's from the late 19th century.
The story revolves around the rich and handsome Dorian Gray and a portrait of him painted by Basil Hallward, a friend of Dorian's and an artist infatuated with Dorian's beauty. Through Basil, Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton and is soon enthralled by the aristocrat's cynical hedonistic worldview: that beauty and ruthless self-centered sensual fulfillment are the only things worth pursuing in life while ethics and morals are the natural enemy to this philosophy. Newly understanding that his beauty will fade, Dorian expresses the desire to sell his soul to ensure that the picture, rather than he, will age and fade. The wish is granted by some supernatural force and Dorian pursues a libertine life of varied amoral experiences while staying young and beautiful; all the while, his portrait ages and visually records every one of Dorian's sins in grotesque expressions.
​
Now what I discovered during my excursion of a book that I actually didn't really enjoy at all to be quite frank, were similarities in both conception but also psychological realities for both Gorou/Aqua and his father Hikaru Kamiki. From time to time his monologues would sound like commentary to understand what is going on in Hikaru's mind, while the mystic circumstances of Dorian Gray's picture and his eternal youth have strong links between Aqua and Hikaru who indeed are lookalikes. Aqua by that is Hikaru's portrait which will age and visually record every of Hikaru's sins while Hikaru pursues a libertine life of varied amoral experiences while staying young and beautiful. It all culminates to Aqua's movie role of the culprit in which Aqua will be the living proof of Hikaru's sinful life and eventually lead to his downfall. This is also Dorian's fate with his potrait.
I know, this sounds so unbelievably far stretched but believe me I'm thrilled about the actual similarities and the integretiy of the psychological templates that found their way into Oshi No Ko. I firmly believe it's not accidental. And since I enjoy ONK but not so much Oscar Wilde's novel I'm glad those in itself truely interesting psychological types found their way into Aka's work.
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AQUA HOSHINO AKA DORIAN GRAY
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Trivia:

• In Greek the name Dorian means "child of the sea" or "gift of the sea". The name aquamarine comes from aqua (Latin for 'water'), and marine, deriving from marina (Latin for 'of the sea')
• Dorian is described to have gold hair, blue eyes (and rose-red lip)

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1.
In Chapter III of the book we get to hear about Dorian Gray's tragic family background and this is already the first strong indication that 1. the similarities are real 2. what we discovered about Gorou's grandfather / family background could have been more right than wrong.
Now, the story behind the birth of Dorian is slightly so different then Gorou's but the general notion in a short poetic summary within the novel sounds pretty familiar:

"So that was the story of Dorian Gray’s parentage. Crudely as it had been told to him, it had yet stirred him by its suggestion of a strange, almost modern romance. A beautiful woman risking everything for a mad passion. A few wild weeks of happiness cut short by a hideous, treacherous crime [NOTE: HER FATHER, DORIAN'S GRANDFATHER KILLs HER LOVER, DORIAN'S FATHER]. Months of voiceless agony, and then a child born in pain. The mother snatched away by death, the boy left to solitude and the tyranny of an old and loveless man [NOTE: HIS GRANDFATHER]. Yes; it was an interesting background. It posed the lad, made him more perfect, as it were. Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic. Worlds had to be in travail, that the meanest flower might blow.... " (Chapter III)

Isn't this interesting? And there is another very cool symbol. Dorian - after he witnessed the first changed in his potrait - had to hide the picture in a diferent room of his mansion where nobody could find it and witness "his soul" which is captivated in that portrait that gets uglier and uglier with each day of his sinful life. About that room:

"He had not entered the place for more than four years—not, indeed, since he had used it first as a play-room when he was a child, and then as a study when he grew somewhat older. It was a large, well-proportioned room, which had been specially built by the last Lord Kelso for the use of the little grandson whom, for his strange likeness to his mother, and also for other reasons, he had always hated and desired to keep at a distance." (Chapter X)

So we have: A drama between mother and father, child born in pain, mother dies after giving birth, boy left to soltitude and tyranny of his grandfather who hates him for physical likeness to his mother (in PART II we wrote: Gorou would remind his grandfather every day of his own failure and guilt for losing his daughter), always hated his grandson. This is just literally everything we found out in PART II of our character study!
And the man with this background gets reincarnated in the body of a human being which looks exactly like his father Kamiki, thus is his "portrait" or "The Picture of Hikaru Kamiki"! But this portray inherited Gorou's trauma which is expressed by the symbol that the portray lives in the "trauma room" which had been specially built by his grandfather.
Also the metaphor's of "play-room when he was a child and then as a study when he grew somewhat older" goes hand in hand with what we figured out in the "THE RIGHT TO DREAM" essay about how Gorou's childhood-trauma and the guilt-complex provoked through his grandfather's abuse induced him to study medicine instead of striving for his own dreams as a result of him living in this "study trauma room".
Additionally "He had not entered the place for more than four years" - like Aqua who hasn't entered his trauma room for 4-5 years after reincarnation until Ai was murdered in front of his eyes! This reenactment placed him back into this room of guilt.
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2.
Another interesting story revolves around Dorian's first love with the actress Sibyl Vane. While we can look at this "Arc" from the perspective of Dorian as represented by Hikaru and Sibyl represented by Ai - and we certainly will because actually looking at Dorian as the representation of Hikaru will be even more intereting then the things we have to say about Aqua right now - we can also look at it from the perspective of Aqua and Ai/Akane, which we'll do now.
Dorian loves theater and one night his curiosity leads him into a shappy filthy working-class theater, one with lousy actors and a lousy orchestra. It's essentially the last place a delicate creature would expect greatness. However there at a performance of Shakespears "Romeo and Juliett" he witnesses Sibyl playing and falls for "her" instantly.
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"But Juliet! Harry, imagine a girl, hardly seventeen years of age, with a little, flowerlike face, a small Greek head with plaited coils of dark-brown hair, eyes that were violet wells of passion, lips that were like the petals of a rose. She was the loveliest thing I had ever seen in my life. You said to me once that pathos left you unmoved, but that beauty, mere beauty, could fill your eyes with tears. I tell you, Harry, I could hardly see this girl for the mist of tears that came across me. And her voice—I never heard such a voice. It was very low at first, with deep mellow notes that seemed to fall singly upon one’s ear. Then it became a little louder, and sounded like a flute or a distant hautboy. In the garden-scene it had all the tremulous ecstasy that one hears just before dawn when nightingales are singing. There were moments, later on, when it had the wild passion of violins. You know how a voice can stir one. [...] Harry, I do love her. She is everything to me in life. Night after night I go to see her play. One evening she is Rosalind, and the next evening she is Imogen. I have seen her die in the gloom of an Italian tomb, sucking the poison from her lover’s lips. [...] I have seen her in every age and in every costume."

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Aqua's similar rememberance of Ai in a sigfnificantly less pathos drivin manner.
Sibyl Vane is Dorian's ultimate ido. She can perform any of Dorian's romantic ideal heroines from the most captivating drama's written, in utter artistic perfection. He is "her" ultimate fan:
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"Lips that Shakespeare taught to speak have whispered their secret in my ear. I have had the arms of Rosalind around me, and kissed Juliet on the mouth.”
“Well, I can’t help going to see Sibyl play,” he cried, “even if it is only for a single act. I get hungry for her presence; and when I think of the wonderful soul that is hidden away in that little ivory body, I am filled with awe.”
“You can dine with me tonight, Dorian, can’t you?”
He shook his head. “Tonight she is Imogen,” he answered, “and tomorrow night she will be Juliet.”
“When is she Sibyl Vane?”
“Never.”
“I congratulate you.”
[...]
"My God, Harry, how I worship her!”
[...]
“Harry! Sibyl Vane is sacred!”

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To put it into Kindaichi's words in ONK C97:

"You'll find people with those eyes ... once in a while. Deceptive eyes that have the power to make lies look like truths. It's the best quality for an actor"

The concept of great acting is basically reduced in the symbol of eyes for the sake of keeping the lore a little bit simpler in ONK, but essentially he just means that sometimes there are special actors who can just perform like if they are literally what they perform.
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Dorian approaches and courts Sibyl, and soon proposes marriage. They love each other. Dorian invites Basil and Lord Henry to see Sibyl perform in Romeo and Juliet. Sibyl, too enamoured with Dorian to act, performs poorly - also to the anger of the theater audience which left early because of that-, which makes both Basil and Lord Henry think Dorian has fallen in love with Sibyl because of her beauty instead of her acting talent. Embarrassed, Dorian rejects Sibyl, telling her that acting was her beauty; without that, she no longer interests him. The heartbroken Sibyl eventually commits suicide on this very night.
Now, we find every element of that story in the history between Aqua and Akane but in a reversed construction. Akane joins LoveNow but because of her personality she fails her role in this reality tv setting. She gets rejected by the audience and the audience is even angry with her. Under that pressure she attempts suicide. However after she studied Aqua's ideal role she becomes of great interest for both him and the audience. This is essentially like Vane performing Juliett or Imogen or what not but with the difference that Aqua just loves one Idol: Ai. Structurally it is similar though and Aqua falls for her role. During LoveNow we have the same realization inside Aqua and Dorian, so the plot reverses back but without tragedy: Aqua rejects Akane as serious love interest between her real self and him, telling her that hei's only interesting in her as an actor, just like Dorian rejects Sibyl by telling her that acting was her only beauty.
Dorian to Harry:

"Ordinary women never appeal to one’s imagination. They are limited to their century. No glamour ever transfigures them. One knows their minds as easily as one knows their bonnets. One can always find them. There is no mystery in any of them. They ride in the park in the morning and chatter at tea-parties in the afternoon. They have their stereotyped smile and their fashionable manner. They are quite obvious. But an actress! How different an actress is! Harry! why didn’t you tell me that the only thing worth loving is an actress?"

Well, in a screwed way this is also applicable to Ryosuke's issue, who loved Ai for her role but hated her for her real self and eventually kills her for it, as her real self not only is different but essentially is in total opposition to her role as an idol. Dorian describes a similar screwed misogynistic view on women: The actress is mystery and the only thing worth to love, the ordinary woman is the absolute opposite of it, disappointing and unworthy to be loved.
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3.
By the way the director of that working-class theater is described as a stereotypical jew and while I of course do not endorse antisemitism or racism it still is kinda funny that Kindaichi, the director of Lalalie Theater Company and Akane's boss is always depicted with a pretty unusual big and oddly shaped nose while the name Toshirou that means "quick, clever, sharp" and Toshirou's surname Kindaichi that means "gold/metal, money/cash, currency". Pretty stereotypical if you link it to Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray"...But the theater itself also has some working-class vibes to it, since it's implied that back then they opened workshop classes for orphans and probably generally troubled kids without real guardians. Addiotionally he gave Akane the smallest bouquet at the Japan Actor's Award with the explanation that theaters are financially not doing great. Well if it's a reflection of theaters in general, his theater in particular or his personal greed I can't tell. His name implies the latter and the cost of a bouquet surely doesn't ruin a theater. But probably it's still a general observation because theaters are indeed a dying genre.
Some quotes about the "Jew" in the novel:

"A hideous Jew, in the most amazing waistcoat I ever beheld in my life, was standing at the entrance, smoking a vile cigar. He had greasy ringlets, and an enormous diamond blazed in the centre of a soiled shirt. ‘Have a box, my Lord?’ he said, when he saw me, and he took off his hat with an air of gorgeous servility. There was something about him, Harry, that amused me. He was such a monster."

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"On the first night I was at the theatre, the horrid old Jew came round to the box after the performance was over and offered to take me behind the scenes and introduce me to her. I was furious with him, and told him that Juliet had been dead for hundreds of years and that her body was lying in a marble tomb in Verona. I think, from his blank look of amazement, that he was under the impression that I had taken too much champagne, or something.”
“I am not surprised” replied Harry.

This is just a little odd observation, in the epilog we'll find a more cheerful representation of Kindaichi (well, cheerfulness is of course a limited ressource when it comes down to that man :))
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4.
While most of the time the monologues and thought processes of Dorian mainly concern Dorian as the representative of Hikaru, we have here and there sober reflections on what his soul - which is trapped in the potray - would probably experience, thus what he would experience if he'd have his soul inside his own body. Thus we can read this at the same time as a comment on what is going on in Gorou's / Aqua's soul, which is quite interesting. In the following quote for example it's about the nightmare of having a phantom of your guilt following you everywhere you go, essentially a description of Aqua's delusional vision of Gorou who blames him for Ai's death:
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https://preview.redd.it/vns5efrx505b1.jpg?width=1083&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a6ae6628023bb215a4e9ceb6ff08ce21013374eb
https://preview.redd.it/owuow261605b1.jpg?width=1083&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a54f4a6aa13610e04384407526573efc43fd8398

"And yet if it had been merely an illusion, how terrible it was to think that conscience could raise such fearful phantoms, and give them visible form, and make them move before one! What sort of life would his be if, day and night, shadows of his crime were to peer at him from silent corners, to mock him from secret places, to whisper in his ear as he sat at the feast, to wake him with icy fingers as he lay asleep! As the thought crept through his brain, he grew pale with terror, and the air seemed to him to have become suddenly colder. Oh! in what a wild hour of madness he had killed his friend! How ghastly the mere memory of the scene! He saw it all again. Each hideous detail came back to him with added horror. Out of the black cave of time, terrible and swathed in scarlet, rose the image of his sin. "

18 years after Sibyl's suicide her brother James Vane found out Dorian's identity and swore to kill him. He saw Vane lurking for him and panicked, feared for his life. But later he'd reflect that this must've been just a phantom. That's the story behind that quote in that novel. However he would calm after some days and think that he's out of danger.
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It was not till the third day that he ventured to go out. There was something in the clear, pine-scented air of that winter morning that seemed to bring him back his joyousness and his ardour for life. But it was not merely the physical conditions of environment that had caused the change. His own nature had revolted against the excess of anguish that had sought to maim and mar the perfection of its calm. With subtle and finely wrought temperaments it is always so. Their strong passions must either bruise or bend. They either slay the man, or themselves die. Shallow sorrows and shallow loves live on. The loves and sorrows that are great are destroyed by their own plenitude. Besides, he had convinced himself that he had been the victim of a terror-stricken imagination, and looked back now on his fears with something of pity and not a little of contempt.

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We ultimately experience a similar transformation in Aqua's temper after he learns about the apparent death of his father from Taiki. He was away all night (the "night" is a symbol here) but finally came back "in the clear, pine-scented air of that winter morning that seemed to bring him back his joyousness and his ardour for life" He steps to the window and gives Ruby an reliefed smile for the first time since Ai's death:
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https://preview.redd.it/e0ezsvfp705b1.jpg?width=1083&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=97f0236ae0606e6e37654d96b6ed11b55068cfcc
https://preview.redd.it/kd421eyo705b1.jpg?width=1083&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=60ffd4450b497632b36904ce7ba7b35d6727bf3b
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It's not directly "winter" although Ruby's wearing a pyjama which indicate that it's also not summer, but the symbol contracts with the Takachiho arc which we can't spare for Aqua's transformation. What for Dorian was a mere material process of healing his tension and therefore would go away after 3 days of bedriddenness is for Aqua a inmaterial soul-process and he has to put a meaningful end to the phantom of Gorou in his head. And their stay in Takachiho surely appears to be in a winterly setting. This novel must've been of great inspiration for Aka and so he honors it by reimagination of the mental images Oscar Wilde created.
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"Our father died long ago. There's no way left to avenge Ai. So what should I do? My... revenge..." (C 68)

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Aqua is finally free and live normaly but when the news about Takachiho appeared he knew he has to somehow find his corpse so that he can "burry his phantom'" so to speak. The corpse of Gorou would be his symbolic proof that it's over, that he has nothing to fear anymore. Eventually Akane and Ruby find it.
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\"Keep out\" meaning keep this rotten and grotesque thing out of his mind. It's over.
​
Correspondingly Dorian would soon after his "winter-morning" go on a hare shooting in some rural countryside (=Takachiho) where they would by accident shoot James Vane who still was following Dorian. James was finally dead and Dorian could finally close that chapter.
This is everything I could for now link to Aqua without talking about Hikaru's links to Dorian. So for now we have to stop the analysis and call it a day.
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Epilog
So I hope I could convince you to look at ONK from this perspective. This is just the beginning though, the actually interesting part we will only tackle in the next essay Because I believe we can learn a lot of Hikaru's ideology through the character of Dorian, his hobbies, his views, his extreme hedonistic sensualism, perhaps even his relation to his portrait.... It actually concerns me: My very first essay on ONK like a month ago was a half serious schizo theory about Hikaru's involvement in the plot so far where I made the assumption that he probably constantly observes Aqua from far away for years but now - if we apply "The Picture of Dorian Gray" to his personality then this in fact is real.
Dorian would in fact over the years go into his secret room and look at his portrait with a weird for us the next time to explore interest and strange reflections. Maybe there is really more to it...
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Lets end for now with a somewhat luckier characterization of Toshirou Kindaichi. Because he actually looks a lot like the author Oscar Wilde himself:
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https://preview.redd.it/9xoj9ihah05b1.jpg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=781921c3c82f4fce235a14f8433fe906c904e064
And to quote Wilde - which could also be just Kindaichi's own words :

“All charming people are spoiled. It is the secret of their attraction.”

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As always: Thanks for reading!
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Price dropping this one and updating deets. I ended up taking it apart last night to swap the bronze hardware back with the original. Substantially better with stock hardware which leads me to believe the bronze pivot is shit. For the pivot, I’d call up McNees and request a new one (that’s what I would do if I kept it and I don’t think they would fuss much based on my past experience with their customer support). The bronze body screws are also looking a little suspect so I am considering all bronze hardware at this point just extras. Still rocking the bronze studs and clip screws. I included a vid of the previous bronze hardware on. Shows it is possible but not worth the fight imo. Recent proof of life
Mac 2 3.5 Blue Frag SV: $615 TV: $630 OBO SV: $575 TV: $575 OBO
Exhibit B, Blue frag. Again 2nd owner, magnacut, hollow ground (also about 17 thou bte) bronze hardware, bronze backspacer, skiff bearings, skiff thick washers, and factory bearings. This one has been sharpened and I can say it is in fact a laser beam. Comes with the original hardware but this one is extremely finicky. I took it apart last night just because and I spent well over an hour trying to dial it back in. Takes a shake to drop and I could not get it to the same level of action as the green frag. See what I’m talking about with the inconsistencies? Due to taking it apart a dozen times, I felt a little give in one of the body screws. It’s not stripped so cool your jets but it’s not a tight new torx anymore as well unfortunately. Again, this one is extremely finicky. The action can be pretty decent, but it’s not just going back together without some tweaking. Has a little mark on the clip but outside of that, nothing to note. Has been carried a few times and cut some cardboard since sharpening (this one came dull as shit with factory edge.)
Thats all folks. Priced shipped and insured paypal friends and family. No notes. Should be able to ship out later today if it sells in time. Thanks!

Guys - I may be a bit bias… but my dog is a very intelligent and extremely athletic rescue, who also happens to be very handsome. I feel as if I’m not utilizing his attributes/abilities. I’m not looking to cash in, but more so push him to his full potential. Sometimes I wish he lived on a farm or something like that, but instead we live in a suburb in upstate NY with a mid sized fenced in yard. My fiancé works from home, but he mostly just sleeps all day, and him and I will play at night for about an hour, but that’s it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

So, I basically made a multiverse-spanning campaign...enjoy!
Warning: This campaign incorporates elements from multiple universes and involves complex lore from sources such as Lord of the Rings, Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion series, the Alien Anthology, Terminator (especially Terminator: Resistance), and Magic: The Gathering. To fully understand and appreciate the story, a significant amount of knowledge about these respective universes and their lore is required. Readers who are unfamiliar with the lore from these sources may find it challenging to follow the intricacies of the plot and the connections between different storylines. It is highly recommended to have a solid understanding of these universes to fully grasp the nuances of the campaign. If you are not well-versed in these sources or find complex interwoven narratives overwhelming, this campaign may not be suitable for you. However, if you enjoy delving into intricate lore and relish the challenge of connecting multiple universes, this campaign may offer a rich and rewarding storytelling experience. Please consider your familiarity with the relevant lore before diving into this campaign, as it may greatly impact your ability to engage with and enjoy the story. I will explain the story the way it turned out for my party. This is a very basic rundown of the story, basically the core of the campaign.
Also, these might greatly help you:
One wiki to rule them all: https://lotr.fandom.com/f
Moorcok's Multiverse Wiki: https://stormbringer.fandom.com/f
MTG Wiki: https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Main_Page
Xenopedia: https://avp.fandom.com/f
Terminator Wiki: https://terminator.fandom.com/f
​
The Lord of the Rings: Where the Shadows Lie
The first part of the campaign takes the party to the year 2000 of the Third Age of Middle-Earth. The Realm of Angmar has been defeated and the Nazgûl are gathering in Mordor. The Elven Lord Glanduril of Mithlond, brother of Gildor Inglorion and wielder of the black sword Anguirel, recieves a message from a Stranger. It tells about the actions of the other Nazgûl during the Witch-King's campaign against Arnor, including third of the Nine, Gothmog, once a great Númenórean lord who fell to Sauron and led the black númenóreans to Dark Land, where they established a colony and became the Hyarmenóreans. Now, nothing is left of them but the city of Nazgkadar, led by a powerful necromancer named Mordu (who would much later become the Mouth of Sauron). And the elves suspect that Gothmog might have been preparing them for war. They also suspect a Nazgûl in Dol Guldur, Rhûn and Harad, who have recovered one of the remaining dwarven rings and unleashed the black plague upon Gondor.
https://ibb.co/4gJs8Qm (yes, I made this)
https://ibb.co/MVmZyL6
Glanduril and Galadriel assemble a group of heroes to investigate this threat and the other Nazgûl's plans. (This and subsequently the next adventure are the only ones where I'll incorporate my players' characters into the summary, because they sometimes are key elements.) Among the group were Galadhorn, an elven lord of Doriath and brother of Celeborn who now lives in Lórien and posesses a ring gifted to him by Melian with the power to heal others, but it has been broken during the second Kinslaying at the hands of Fëanor's sons; Tauriël, the lost daughter of Eluréd, and therefore heir to the Kingdom of Doriath; Arathar, Brother of Aranarth and Prince of Arnor, a Dúnedain of the north; and Elethrond, an elf of Nargothrond and apprentice of Finrod, who now lives in Mithlond with Glanduril. He also carries the sword of Ecthelion.
With the exception of Elethrond, they first meet in the Prancing Pony in Bree, where they also encounter a Stranger who ensures (in whatever way you see fit) that Tauriël and Arathar eventually fall in love. When the group travels to Dark Land and enter Nazgkadar, they have to avoid being spotted. They break into a Melkor temple/library and find out about the Hyarmenórean's history and that Gothmog had returned to recruit them for Sauron. After fleeing from the city, the group and Glanduril stop in Minas Ithil on their way to Dol Guldur, their next stop. Then the 2-year siege of Minas Ithil at the hands of the Nazgûl begins. After a fierce battle, the heroes depart. At the outskirts of Greenwood, while the others are sleeping, one of the player characters' wakes up and sees Glanduril talking to the Stranger they've encountered in Bree, a concerned expression on Glanduril's face. They can not understand what they're talking but they see that the Stranger carries a sword identical to that of Glanduril, on his finger shines a ring like the one Galadhorn possesses one if it wasn't broken and on his head sits a helm adorned with a dragon figure. The next morning Glanduril tells the group that what they thought to be a Nazgûl in Dol Guldur could be Sauron himself, according to the same Stranger that told him of the other Nazgûl, as he has encountered him last night. And that he will depart for a while to search for an ally that might be challenging to recruit. He sends the players north to the land of the Éothéod to help Fram slay the dragon Scatha and recover one of the dwarven rings of power from his hort to delay Sauron, if it is really him. (So this is kinda like a Hobbit scenario, including Fram's dragon sickness; Also, the ring tempts the players.) Following that adventure, Gildor arrives at Framsburg to give the group a message from Glanduril that tells them to investigate the ruins of Utumno in search for Sauron's past and maybe find a clue if he's hiding in Dol Guldur. They have to pass by the orc-infested Gundabad to reach the ruins in the far north. Once deep underground they encounter the fellbeasts, which would later become the mounts of the Nazgûl during the War of the Ring:

"Nonetheless the Valar did not discover all the mighty vaults and caverns hidden with deceit far under the fortresses of Angband and Utumno. Many evil things still lingered there, and others were dispersed and fled into the dark and roamed in the waste places of the world, awaiting a more evil hour; and Sauron they did not find."

But then they are confronted by a Balrog, and Glanduril comes to their aid, and they slay the balrog using Anguirel and Elethrond's sword, as it has slain many balrogs in the hands of Ecthelion and could wound their fire.
https://ibb.co/xgvrhT9
They then travel to Amon Ereb north of Mithlond, where once was the fortress of the sons of Fëanor. On their way, a group of Dúnedain bring Arathar a gift from a stranger: The Dragon helm of Dor-Lómin. Once they arrive at Amon Ereb, they are greeted by Maglor, last living son of Fëanor, who Glanduril has recruited for one final mission. Though he's first met with Suspicion and hatred from Galadhorn and Tauriël, Maglor wants to at least partly redeem himself and (as a son of Fëanor) repairs Galadhorn's ring and gifts the recovered treasure of Doriath to Tauriël and agrees to join them. Returning to Dark land, Maglor sings a song to recruit the huorns and ents of the forest, which is destroyed by the Hyarmenóreans for their industry. The ents destroy the city and the huorns kill any fleeing Hyarmenóreans, while the group (without Glanduril and Maglor) face Mordu in his palace. After this final boss fight, Mordu manages to escape and Gothmog turns up and takes the dwarven ring from the group, before Maglor and Glanduril arrive to drive him back. Afterwards, Glanduril offers the group to join him in searching for the legendary city of Tanelorn in the new lands in the west. With nothing holding him in Middle-Earth Maglor joins them.
Michael Moorcock’s The Eternal Champion: Stranger in a Strange World
Years later, Arathar and Tauriël have an adult son, Heledir, that lives with them in Tanelorn. Being a descendant of Lúthien, Tauriël had chosen a mortal life with Arathar. Heledir is gifted Glanduril's sword Anguirel, as well as the dragon helm of Dor-Lómin.
https://ibb.co/2SwPV60
One day, the black ship arrives at Tanelorn and the captain recruits the group. On the ship, they meet with Dakkon Blackblade from the MTG universe. They learn that Dakkon and Heledir (and Turin Turambar before him) are both incarnations of the eternal champion and wield incarnations of the black sword; and that Glanduril is Heledir's eternal companion. They also learn that the group is an incarnation of another archetype: the Eternal Cohort, which will always help the eternal champion in one way or another, if he himself is not able to fulfill his task. They don't have to be with the champion though. (Also, Heledir has a dream avatar: Valentine Michael Smith from "Stranger in a Strange Land")
They travel the second ether until they reach Elric's world. Their mission is to defeat the nemesis of Dakkon and chaos demon Geyadrone Dihada, who wants to disrupt a meeting between the lords of chaos and law. They travel to R'lin K'ren A'a, where Dihada's Unholy Citadel is located. Upon arriving on the jungle continent, they are ambushed by Mairon (Sauron), or rather his incarnation in Elric's world. Turns out, that Melkor is actually a chaos lord and Mairon a chaos demon in his service. But his power in this world isn't strong, and the players are able to drive him back.
https://ibb.co/KmDdqzx (Mairon)
After defeating some of the reptilian Olab, they meet with a man called J'osui C'reln Reyr and the departing royal family of R'lin K'ren A'a, as they made a deal with Arioch to leave for Melniboné and leave the gods their land for their meeting. (They also see the great jade statue of Arioch). Heledir and Dakkon forge their helmets together, creating a black shimmering helmet adorned with a dragon figure; they gift the helmet to the king, and it would later become the dragon helm of the melnibonéan emperors. Before they launch their attack on Dihada, they return to the ship, where they are met with a strange group of people, that kinda look like this:
https://ibb.co/wycT5Kz
They give Heledir a vial of a silver liquid, before the group must depart. They ultimately defeat Geyadrone Dihada by becoming The-Two-Who-Are-One and banish her with the black sword before Dakkon planeswalkes away. Then, Mairon returns and after this final fight, Heledir banishes him from Elric's world using Anguirel. But this evokes a bloodlust in the demon sword and kills all of Heledir's companions. Heledir curses Anguirel and swears to defeat Sauron once and for all. He takes Galadhorn's ring and travels the multiverse via the moonbeam roads...
https://ibb.co/JCcxNNt (the Two-Who-Are-One)
https://ibb.co/H7mBVbc
Aliens: Nemesis
These last two parts are played in the Alien RPG System by Free League
It's the year 2183, the USS Corum has been dispatched to locate survivors of the Hadley's Hope incident, that have crashed on the nearby moon of Lv-223, while trying to escape with the Onager. Among the crew is the android Evans.
Upon landing on the moon, they notice the jungle that has been created by the black goo emitted from the crashed Juggernaut. While investigating the terrain, one of the marines is infected with Neomorph spores. The Neomorph emerges from it's host in the shuttle's medbay but breaks out, so that it isn't safe to return to.
Soon they find a boy who has been surviving on the hostile moon (kinda like Eric Kirby in Jurassic Park 3): Timmy Jorden; Newt's brother. He then leads the group to the engineer temple, where Evans discovers that the engineers have created humanity and have created the black goo out of some sort of (phyrexian) oil that they have encountered during their travel around the multiverse, as they are a highly advanced species. He also finds out that the Deacon is an incarnation of the "Black Sword" and that the engineers worship it as a symbol of the cycle of sacrifice and creation, that drives the whole multiverse and the balance of chaos and order. Evans takes one of the black goo vials and creates a silver liquid out of it's nano-material, that david had already discovered; an alloy that can form into anything.
After several Xenomorph attacks, Timmy leads the group to the wreck of the Onager to get it's transmitter to call another shuttle, but it is now a xenomorph hive. The group eventually floods the hive with liquid nitrogen, but they only have a limited amount and not much zime. They place explosives within the hive, but don't make it out before the Xenomorphs attack them again. The group sacrifices themselves, destroying the hive with the queen for good. The last thing one of them sees is Evans rising from the flames, but his skin is gone, revealing that he is not a normal Weyland-Yutani android:
https://ibb.co/pXz1MNS
Suddenly, the group seems to wake up in a shattered city, dispersed, and with their memory of their adventure fading like a dream and being replaced with others...
Terminator: Renegades
The group awakes in the middle of a battle, they are part of the 124th, Colorado division. The group is marked for termination and an infiltrator tries to kill them but is then attacked by another terminator. Both get destroyed in the process. The group recoveres the chip of the other terminator and brings it back to the shelter to investigate why it saved them.
https://ibb.co/HHxDjJK
They find out that the chip has been altered using a mimetic polyalloy. Apparently, these "Renegades" have been appearing lately, sabotaging SkyNet's assets. But there are more pressing matters. After destroying a SkyNet train transporting titan for new terminators, they recieve the coordinates of the SkyNet central core from Jacob Rivers and John Connor gives the order for the final attack.
The 124th attacks the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, where the core is; But it is too heavily defended. Suddenly, the renegades launch a massive attack on SkyNet, diverting SkyNet's forces away from the complex and giving the 124th the chance to attack. The players place the explosives and hack the central computers before destroying the core. The resistance is victorious, but SkyNet has sent three terminators back in time, among them the "T-1000". After the battle, they are met by a figure who reveals himself to be a "Heledir", the creator of the renegades. He explains how he has used the polyalloy to alter the terminator's programming to defeat the servant of the singularity called SkyNet. But SkyNet has captured one of them and recreated the polyalloy, creating the T-1000. He then goes on to meet with John Connor together with the group. He explains that he has to go back in time using the captured time displacement equipment to ensure his own birth and defeat of Sauron: He is the Stranger from the first part. He also explains that the group is the Eternal Cohort and explains that they and a renegade (Evans) have to go back in time too and travel by the black ship, to ensure that he recieves the polyalloy.
Heledir would go on to inform Glanduril of the Hyarmenóreans, bring Arathar and Tauriël together and live by the Gladden Fields to ultimately ensure that Déagol and Sméagol would find the One ring, ultimately sealing Sauron's fate; before joining the warriors at the edge of time.

**DEEP SPACE AEGIS FLEET HQ, AEGIS STATION, EARTH**
*the office of Grand Admiral Constantius* “Sir, Captain Ryker’s company is now en route to DSO 7. Additionally, Admiral Johnathan Herrion has requested information about the status of his old flotilla. It appears he heard about the recent incident to which you dispatched the Vallhalla”
“Thank you Aida, tell Admiral Herrion that his suggestion has been pushed through”
“Will do sir”

**DSO 7**
*two days later* *Captain Ryker steps off the dropship to see his men already checking their gear in the hanger. The quiet hustle of the operators ensuring their gear is a hundred percent operational didnt draw his attention. Instead it was the group of officers, quickly approaching his company. He quickly moved towards the approaching group of officers and his command staff joined him.* “Captain Ryker, My name is Admiral Herrion. Ill be your naval liason on this op”
“An Admiral as a liaison, Captain this is unheard of” *1SG Harris said* “well son, these are hard times. The Aegis Protocol is soon to go into effect, so its all hands on deck these days.” was the Admiral’s reply” “Well sir” said Captain Ryker “Thank you for being our liaison. I heard about your old task force. Is this really happening sir?” “Yes it is captain, and you’d be wise to steel yourself for what you see in that station. We are picking up.. Massive amounts of dark matter radiating from the station. Your company is to gain entry to the station and try to find out whatever information you can about this station.” “Roger that sir. Is there any specific reason an army unit was called up over a naval special forces unit?”

“Its because the naval special warfare program has massively deteriorated. Politicians have their hands all over it these days. Carrying on, your company has to be ready in the next half hour, you will be rendezvousing with a coast guard team that claims to have found an access point”

*half an hour later, on the hull of the ring station. 200 operators land on the station as their boots magnetically lock to the hull. As they make their way towards the beacon the coast guard team dropped, Captain Ryker gets the feeling something may be off, and pushes up to the front. As he comes across the beacon, but sees none of the coast guard crew. Where they would be he sees a hole cut into the station, and then.. A coast guard helmet drifts out.. Trailing blood. As he gets closer he notices.. There is still a head in the helmet. He motions for Demon company to halt and spread out around the hole. The first team moves to enter the hole. After a few seconds the all clear is given and Ryker enters. He looks and sees a gruesome sight- the coast guard team was.. Brutally killed. They appear to have been sliced apart. As more operators begin entering the chamber one of the squad leaders notices a door, and 2 of his men join him in breaching the door. The first soldier through the door stops as she sees it. This section of the station was a massive hanger, and inside was a 2 kilometer long ship, that appeared to have been blown apart. It lay in 2 pieces. Around it were dozens of small craft drifting, also damaged. Whatever happened here… was a massacre. As the company continued to clear the station they found more artifacts, more signs there was once a battle here. But no sign of bodies- or the killers of the coast gaurd crew.
It took 5 hours before they found the control chamber. There was a massive map in the control chamber that showed there were infact dozens of control chambers, and other sections like this one that were currently inaccessible. However there was a noted difference in this section, it had a room called “the gate room”. A team was dispatched to investigate, and found that in the center of the room was a large circular object, the center of the object was blue and appeared to be.. Rippling? The soldiers didnt have time to analyze it as an 8 foot tall being stepped through it. As he appeared suddenly the room was drenched in darkness. The being raised a weapon of some kind, and fired several shots, shredding the first soldier and heavily injuring the second. The soldiers kept shooting and shooting at this being with little to no effect on it, as more of those entities began coming through the portal. The soldiers were able to send out a warning and captain Ryker ordered a full retreat. In 45 minutes half the company made it back to the entranceway, as the other half were ambushed and cut down. Captain Ryker the men out of the station as dropships were on their way to pick them up. Captain Ryker was one of the last to get aboard the dropships. As they sped off he noticed the station begin activating. He quickly got a headcount, 78 of his men had escaped, meaning over half of his men were dead

When the station fully activated it became apparent it was a massive portal. The aegis fleet in position moved to engage as enemy ships began pouring through. This wasnt just an incursion this was a full scale invasion, and demon company had failed to stop it. The dropships docked with a transport ship and the ship jumped away, making random jumps to ensure they werent followed before reporting to earth*

**UNIFIED COLONIES SENATE BUILDING, EARTH**
*the senate was in chaos. News of hostile contact had made its way to the senate fairly fast. And officially the military had petitioned to put in play the highly classified Aegis protocol, a protocol that would see humanity pull back from its current missions to defend its own borders. A protocol that would isolate humanity from the rest of the galaxy. It was put into play less than an hour after it landed on the senate floor.

Hey all, realmfire here. This one is my last story for a while. But! More will come when i get back. Peace all and see you in a couple months.

Fuck you, Vincent! This is a callout post!

Fuck you, Vincent! I'm calling you out!

Listen up monsterhunterrage, lemme tell you something about Vincent P. Nis. This motherfucker comes to me pleading for my moral support, as you see I am extremely funny, handsome, and I bring victory and good luck.
I've been in this son of a bitch's Discord calls while he records himself getting grinded up the ass more times than Fiorayne has pubic hairs, and I have carried this man with my voice alone. I sing to him as a bard, my skills as a Hunting Horn user emanating off my presence enough to give him buffs in-game without me even being there.
And yet, despite this hard carry that has saved him countless times, he refuses to have sex with me! My bussy has yet to be filled with his American Venom. People of the monsterhunterrage subreddit; this is an injustice!
My services have gone unpaid for! I have been robbed, scammed, swindled! No big black cock to grace my intestines, and on Pride Month no less!
I just helped this man defeat Primordial Malzeno not an hour before writing this, after seven horribly disastrous attempts, and yet I am not being left as a quaking gay mass leaking splooge tainted with burger grease and chip fat!
So fuck you Vincent, and your weird throbbing beetle dick! Don't expect me to help you in Monster Hunter 6 when they release Magma Shlong Rathalos until I am payed with dick! And this man hasn't even fought Hazardous Amatsu yet, do you think he will fuck me after he requests my services? Nay, I will be denied a pounding equivalent to category twenty earthquake once more.
Screw you, Vincent. Because you certainly refuse to screw me.

So here we are – Riders on exile. Well, better this fate than becoming Swiss cheese. If they sent such a big offensive there, they were really determined. But they really think they’ll find some documents there? They can try, but Yan claimed that there’s nothing of value left.
I was the one leading the group – with Svarog detector in one hand, with my eight-shot revolver in the other and with cig in my mouth. Our gear was unchanged – I still had my SV-338 on my back and had my armor, which I found out it was modified version of Clear Sky’s CS-3b.
Sorrow wasn’t far from me. Even though we had most likely the most advanced detectors out there, he still was throwing bolts here and there. Probably because of boredom. This doesn’t mean that I stopped using them myself – I had a pack of bolts on my belt.
I should’ve mention it – we were heading to the Garbage through northeastern path. Soldiers came from southwest and they are most likely looking for internal dangers rather than those from the outside, so we were relatively safe.
After failing a couple of times to spark a conversation in our group, I was just focused on finding a safe route to the Zone’s first crossroads. And – I’ll be honest – I wanted to find an artifact. Not only to gain some cash, but maybe to find something that would make this journey more interesting. The luck wasn’t on my side that day, sadly.
We came to the Garbage. We all knew by instinct to prepare ourselves for some resistance. Resistance as powerful as Clear Sky these days, but resistance nonetheless. To our surprise, however, we found the nearest ”outpost” empty.
Confused a little, we started exploring the surrounding area. No presence of bandits could be located. I even used my scope to see the insides of a hangar, but on the surface, it was safe. Even the sentry dressed in Sunrise suit, standing before the brick wall didn’t open fire at us. Quite the opposite, actually – he waved when he saw us and said to come closer. And we did just that.
”Riders!” – he shouted with joy. - ”Holy fuck!”
”Hey, em…” – I tried to remind myself of his name. - ”Oh! You’re Yara Bubble. One who was a ”whale” on our party.”
”Yeah, I overestimated my capabilities. I shouldn’t drink that much.”
”At least you’re alive and well now.”
”Yep.”
”Still, we’re curious about the current situation in this hangar.”
”Nothing to write a book about, I’m afraid. Duty and few hired loners executed an assault on the complex, clearing the place from this scum. For now, bandits haven’t inducted any sort of retaliation.”
”Not surprised. They’re…”
Suddenly, Zrak started… What’s the name for crow’s sound? Let me check… so I found the name ”caw”. So he was… cawing? Sounds stupid. But that’s the most common answer. Anyway, he started making loud sounds.
For others, it’d seem like he’s doing this for no reason. But we’ve found out this meant that an emission is approaching. And that meant we should be careful, Zrak especially. Codex said that crows die way faster in blowouts than humans.
”We should get inside.” – Sorrow stated. - ”Emission’s gonna hit us in a moment.”
”Wow…” – Yara was impressed. - ”Your bird can sense such things?”
”Yeah – one of the reasons why I love him. Come on.”
We made our way into the hangar. It was occupied mostly by loners, but few Dutyers were hanging around here as well. To spy on us or escape from the superiors for at least a moment – it’s hard to blame them.
Of course, even if emission just started, we won’t just sit like cowards, doing nothing. We popped a vodka bottle and I shared smokes with Sorrow and Craver. We were exchanging jokes of various quality. I felt good, but couldn’t get rid off the feeling that this was… artificial.
After blowout stopped, we bid our farewells with Yara and continued going to Army Warehouses. Atmosphere here was pretty much calm. Bandits may not be present at that time, but mutants were still roaming the lands. They weren’t attacking us, though.
We weren’t going to Duty outpost – we still weren’t sure if we could safely enter Rostok, even though some ex-soldiers claimed that they miss our visits and were surprised that we stopped going there. Hell, they promised us to talk to their highest superiors for an official invitation. We got one, but we continued to be hesitant about this.
Instead, we used Garbage-Wild Territory route. It’s rarely used, so even better for us. Unfortunately, that meant going through the field rich in fire anomalies. Nothing that four Svarogs and lots of bolts can’t solve.
Going further into this location (that many claim to be almost as bad as Red Forest, which I can’t understand), we found something interesting. Okay, maybe not that interesting, but we found bodies of mercs and loners that had to be fresh, judging by the state of corpses. We decided that we’d leave them alone.
Soon after, we got near the wreckage of helicopter that had fire anomalies around it. One of it was still active, but that’s because the body of flesh was in it. Strange that it didn’t turn into ash. But we went to nearby big door that was hiding a part of Rostok complex.
I’ll be completely honest here – I don’t know what should I write about this location. Really, it’s so uninteresting that I’d have to lie to say something worthwhile. And I don’t want to do that. So for your entertainment, I’ll just skip to Warehouses.
We ended up near bloodsucker village – the location that’s our destination. In south of it, there’s a small farmstead that poses as Freedom outpost. That’s official information, but it’s actually Irina’s place where she lives and that’s where Quarrel visits her.
Yep, living next to abandoned village that bloodsuckers really like for some reason plus it’s dotted with various fire anomalies. How she can live here without problems is unknown to me, but hey – strange shelter is better than no shelter… I think.
We were careful about stepping here. With weapons in our hands, we were slowly approaching the farmstead. We didn’t saw any signs of Freedom presence, which made me (but maybe others too) slightly disturbed. This didn’t last long, though.
”Guys, it’s safe, I assure you.” – said the woman in Freedom helmetless SEVA, coming out of cover.
”Hi, Iri.” – Quarrel waved at her.
”Hi, Cas. Oh, and hello, Riders.”
We just nodded at her, without uttering a word.
”What brings all of you here?” – she asked, a bit surprised.
”Army raided our place.” – our tough guy replied. - ”Big offensive – with choppers and such.”
”Huh… good that you didn’t stay to fight them.”
”Of course. It’d be stupid, so I commanded that we should get somewhere else, at least temporarily, so we could come up with the plan of recapturing the place.”
I rolled my eyes when I heard this. Quarrel – prideful as usual, even if it involves lying. He really changed through these months. But I wanted to get straight to the point.
”Long story short – army raided our place and Quarrel suggested that we should come to you.” – I said after a moment of silence. - ”Are you willing to share some space with us?”
”Of course.” – Flora replied. - ”Perhaps not the house, but this barn should be enough. It has relatively whole roof, so you won’t get wet. Are you fine with that?”
”Yeah. But there shouldn’t be any problems with… neighbors, right?”
”Last bloodsucker was killed by me more than a month ago. They didn’t reappear since then. Other mutants don’t come here as well. It’s really a safe location.”
”I’ll stash the items there.” – Quarrel joined the talk. - ”After that… maybe you want to go somewhere?”
”With you? Always.”
After this exchange of words, we got to the barn. Quarrel just left the stuff he was carrying through this journey in the corner and he was heading out with his girl, saying ”See you later, guys” before leaving us.
Craver quickly organized his part of this barn and instead of helping any of us, he proceeded to eat some sausage. I wanted to say something, but I knew that this won’t help much, if at all. Suddenly, he got a message that made him visibly happy.
”Lads, I have to go.” – he said loudly.
”Have fun…” – I replied to him with indifference.
Ex-ex-merc (I know this sound stupid, but still wanted to write this) grabbed his gear and quickly left the hideout, leaving me and Sorrow alone in our new home. I should feel bad about this, but I started to feel… lighter. Like a tension got swiped away.
We finished organizing out parts at the exact same moment. I briefly checked if Sorrow is alright, but he said he’s fine and then he started another vodka bottle. I should leave him to his thoughts and let him rest for a while.
I looked through our items and grabbed new pack of cigarettes. I lit one and lied on my sleeping bag. After thinking about what to do, I pulled out my PDA and started watching some videos on the internet. I don’t know why, but in Army Warehouses, there were much better speeds.
So I was detached from that world for some time, not thinking about my or others’ problems. This felt… good. Very good, even. But then I turned towards Sorrow, who had his head buried in his legs. I got to him, sat nearby and pat his shoulder. He immediately raised his gaze to me.
”Plagued?” – he was a bit confused.
”What’s the problem, Sorrow?” – I asked with genuine intent.
”Can I be completely honest with you?”
”Sorrow… you’re my brother. I’d never replace you. I’ll never sell you out. I’d rather pop a bullet in my head than to give you up. So yes, you can be perfectly honest with me.”
”Plagued… I don’t think coming here was a good idea.”
”Why?” – I asked, even though I suspected what the answer might be.
”Quarrel said it’s good that he’ll have us and Irina close. It’s not even that I’m envious. It will create new problems, new arguments. More likely for our group to fall apart. Craver going to mercs and his girl isn’t helpful either. I don’t want to stop them, but with each day, we grow more distant from one another. I wish it was like in our old days.”
”I want that too, Sorrow. But sadly, there isn’t much we can do about this. I tried pretty much anything I could. And us leaving them won’t help either. It’ll just cement the fall of our team.”
”Yeah…”
”One can hope that it’ll eventually get better. At least we have each other.”
”There’s that… Eh…”
”You feel better?”
”A bit. Thanks. But…”
”What?”
”I’m curious about how the soldiers do in our former base.”
”Huh… I won’t stop you.”
”I’ll try to return as fast as I can.”
”Be careful, brother.”
”I will. Goodbye.”
And I became last man standing. Eh… Even though I let him to do the thing he wants to do, we both know it’s an excuse to be alone with his thoughts. He still cares, otherwise he’d pull out Kurt Cobain long ago.
Few minutes later, I got up and went outside. I couldn’t find Sorrow anywhere. I lit up another smoke and started to look around my new place. Mutants were really far from my current location, but I saw approaching Freedomer. I was cautious, with revolver in my hand.
”Hey!” – guy shouted cheerfully.
”Greetings.” – I replied calmly.
”Is there Irina Flora around?”
”She’s absent. Personal matters. Why do you ask?”
”She was supposed to give me a report, so I could give it to Lukash.”
”Really?”
”Nah, it’s just an excuse, so I could get out from the base.”
”But what do you want from her?”
”My amount of weed is getting low. I asked pretty much everyone if they have some to spare. Looks like I’ll have to look elsewhere. You’re here alone?”
”Yeah. And who are you exactly?”
”Yurik Bear. I know you’re Rider, but I don’t remember which one.”
”Plagued.”
”Maybe you want to go with me? I’ll have someone to talk to.”
”If weed is involved then I’ll go.”
”Great. I’ll go around for a while and ask others for some plant. But after that, I know the place where we can chill out. Follow me.”

Just saw the post about Uber vs Cabs and the consensus has been mostly cab in The Loop and other touristy areas. Does everyone just carry lots of cash with them? I tried taking multiple standard cabs when I first moved here a couple of years ago and either they only took cash, or they’d claim AFTER the trip that the credit card machine was no longer working. I don’t like carrying much cash with me at all, so I’m curious what other experiences are or how people handle this. We got our car and I mostly take public transit otherwise, but I’ve gone with Lyft since those two experiences because it was terrifying being in a car by myself in the dark with a driver demanding I find cash payment for him that I didn’t have.

This is just my story so take from it what you will. My wife and 2 kids went to DR with another family of 4. All inclusive swim up room , booked in the family suites (as opposed to the “adult” buildings). Upon arrival we were booked in and given keys. Went to the room… which ended up being in the adult building. Not sure still what distinguishes one from the other but i didnt care. It was late thanks to flight delay and i just wanted to chill. Upon entering the room the odor of piss punched me in the face. It literally smelled like a parking garage stairwell. But as i said it was late and i had a few drinks and figured we settle it the next day. At Mirage they assign you a butler, who really did do his best. So the following day i mentioned this to him and he said hed take care of it. I went to the pool for the afternoon and got a text saying housecleaning did aroma therapy and extra cleaning. When i went back to the room I expected to notice a difference but now it was a combo of pee and a god awful air freshener. I told our butler we needed a new room. I was not obnoxious about it. They granted my wish…. To the room right next door. Guess what? Smelled in there too. I asked again to move but this time they were insistent that it can be taken care of. I said unacceptable and requested a move to the family section where we were booked. This apparently was an issue. They told me it gets this way and theyd bring me a dehumidifier… which they did , which did nothing. I could not fathom how these folks thought this was nothing. It was pungent. Eventually we moved again… but i had to accept a non swim up suite…. But it was nice , smelled good and the pools were still only seconds away.
Moving on ….. even though its all inclusive this obviously doesn’t mean you aren’t going to spend money , mainly on tips and trinkets…. Its part of doing business. However i feel like the pressure to tip here is unprofessional for a resort of this supposed stature. I tip well for a job well done… but it seemed like i was always being solicited for something. I wore a Red Sox hat … so often a convo would begin with someone who works there about Big Papi…. That quickly turns into a sales pitch for photos…. Jewelry… excursions… etc. Im good at saying im all set but some of these dudes are relentless to the point its not comfortable.
The actual pools were awesome met some nice folks. But par for the course mixed drinks taste like they use artificial sweeteners and are weak. The beer selection is comical…. Coors Light, Heineken and Presidente …. Thats it. My suggestion is stick to rum and coke… you know exactly whats going into the glass. There are a couple of nice bars that if you tip well they proof up you cocktails…. But at a resort like this should i have to?
The food was okay. We were a big group and the buffets were popular with us. Lots of the food was fine but things like cold cuts, cheeses, shrimp and sushi arent made for outdoor buffets in 98 degree weather. The restaurants also were underwhelming. Dined at the steak house twice and the teppanyaki place once. These meals were not high caliber. The steak house was non reservation so they try and get you in and out ASAP… which guess is par for the course. The portions were small and they didnt cook the steak as ordered. The Japanese place was also fast paced , despite a reservation . Food was delicious (my kids ate the scrimp fried rice with eggs and they hate seafood and eggs) but once again the portions were a joke. Room service is what it is. Takes minimum an hour and its just mediocre at best. The night we arrives i order the “Chicken Breast Dinner with potatoes and vegetables” i got 2 grilled oversalted chicken tenders with a side of still chilled potatoes. No veggie at all. Snacks and soft drinks as well as the limited beer selection was replenished daily.
Not be entirely down on the place…. Its a nice place. The entertainers and help staff are great. They seem enthusiastic and are good at getting folks up and moving. Obviously the beach is gorgeous and the water beautiful. We went and swam with sharks and stingrays …. Went bottom walking with the space helmets and had a nice party at a sand bar. Once again drinks weak and cheese sandwiches were the lunch we were served. I also went golfing- free green fee but carts and rentals cost some cash. The course was all ours , which was awesome… i saw some cool wildlife and the course is in good shape given the heat. At the turn we got a saran wrapped chicken salad sandwich with almost no chicken in it.
The pool is where spent most of our time and all around the pool are walk out suites. For the first 4 days we were there, a woman allowed her what seemed like a 6 year old kid frolic around buck naked on their outside cabana bed. This suite was literally 30 feet from the swim up bar. Bizarre.. no one ever told her to cover him up- she didnt care. I just set up shop away from them but it stuck how strange the scene was.
The casino is nothing to write home about. We play some roulette. A girl with our group turned 20 bucks into 200 and you think we were in Vegas the way they kept eyeballing her and changing the person spinning the ball. The “pit boss” stayed put right up until she cashed out.
And just to put a cherry on top…. The day we were leaving….. i needed more cash to tip the butler. I had tipped 20-30 a day everyday but ran out of USD The 1 atm at Mirage was out of service …. I walked to the next resort…. Elegance and their atm was down. I walked back and told Jeffry our butlet id borrow some cash from our friends and take care of him. He offered to take me to their 3rd property…so we went and the atm there promptly ate my card.
I had fun …. I can have a good time under any circumstances and my kids had a ball and thats what i pay the money for …. But i expected much more from this place. I was disappointed. I wont return again.

1. Leverage Off-Peak Travel 📅 Consider visiting Mexico during off-peak seasons. Not only will you dodge crowded tourist spots, but also save on flights and accommodation. The months of May and June are often less crowded and still offer great weather.
2. Take Local Transport 🚌 Public transportation in Mexico is reliable and affordable. Collectivos (shared vans) and Camiones (buses) offer a real Mexican experience while saving you some cash!
3. Always visit a Local Markets 🛍️ Mexico is famous for its bustling markets. Find unique souvenirs, handcrafts, and delicious street food at a fraction of the price compared to touristy shops. Mercado Benito Juarez in Oaxaca and Mercado 28 in Cancun are worth exploring.
4. Learn Basic Spanish 🗣️ Knowing a bit of Spanish goes a long way in Mexico. Not everyone speaks English, especially in rural areas. Simple phrases like "¿Cuánto cuesta?" (How much does it cost?) or "¿Dónde está el baño?" (Where is the bathroom?) can prove very helpful.
5. Use the "Mexico" App 📲 Download the "Mexico" app. This official travel app gives you access to up-to-date information about places of interest, accommodations, restaurants, and local events.
6. Eat Street Food 🌮 Mexican cuisine is a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Tacos, tamales, and churros from local street vendors are must-tries. Just ensure to choose vendors that are busy with locals; they're busy for a reason!
   
7. Travel Insurance is Key 📑 It's crucial to have a travel insurance policy that covers medical emergencies, theft, and trip cancellations. Hospitals in Mexico can be pricey, and having insurance can give you peace of mind.
   
8. Cash is King 💸 In many places in Mexico, cash is preferred over credit cards. Always carry some Mexican Pesos for local markets, street food, or small establishments.
   

Background info: We've (27F and 28M) been together 5 years, and married for 3 years. No kids and no plans for them, but we have 1 dog that I brought to the relationship (and I care for the majority of the time). We both work full time. We have similar commutes (theirs is ~10 mins longer each way), but I am able to telework 1-2 days/week, depending on what I have going on. We each deposit 40% of our paychecks into a joint account for household bills, the other 60% goes into our personal accounts.
Since we got married and both started working full time, I've found myself taking on more and more of the household duties. Now it feels like I'm the one that is doing all the work for our shared life. I plan and cook all the meals (sometimes, partner will say "X" sounds good). I also do the majority of lawncare, laundry, and housecleaning. I am also responsible for taking out the trash, including cleaning bad food out of the fridge.
A typical day goes like this: we wake up at the same time. Partner starts getting ready for work; I let the dog out and start cooking breakfast for us. Partner leaves for work; I rush to get ready for my job. We both work 8 hours (which ends up being 8.5 hrs for me and 9 hrs for them because their work requires 1 hour lunch break). I get home ~30 mins before my partner, so I start preparing dinner (note: I almost always cook from scratch; these are not frozen, pre-made meals). After we eat dinner, my partner will go sit on the couch and watch TV to unwind/decompress while I put away leftovers, including putting portions away for lunches, and clean up the kitchen. What happens after that depends on the day. Sometimes I will mow the lawn, other times I will clean around the house or start laundry. It feels extra maddening because they have the energy to chat on the phone with family and shop online (which creates a lot of trash from the boxes and packaging that I usually end up having to breakdown and throw away or else the rubbish just accumulates in piles around the house).
On the off chance I convince my partner to help, they complain and blame me when it's a difficult task or if they can't find the right supplies.
Overall, I feel extremely burnt out and more like a caretaker than a partner in an adult relationship. It's very sad to me because early in our relationship, I felt like they were eager to show me love in the ways I enjoy (i.e., thoughtful gifts and quality time). Now I don't really get either of those. I feel lucky to get a genuine thank you.
I am expected to sacrifice and sacrifice, but there's a stunning lack of reciprocity. Maybe I just grew up in a household where we all pitched in to help one another, so the concept of asking someone to carry their weight feels odd. I'm not sure how to approach the conversation. To make matters worse, a few weeks ago they basically told me they were disappointed in our sex life and I don't "excite" them anymore. While they didn't want to divorce based on that, they said they were "grieving" something they didn't realize they would have to miss out on in a relationship with their life partner.
TL;DR my partner has stopped contributing to household duties without being told to help and said they are unhappy with our sex life. I am getting very burnt out, sad, and self esteem is in the gutter. Would I be wrong to issue an ultimatum that they either help me or I won't be cooking/cleaning for them anymore?

Just recently my Hisense 50E7HQ stopped allowing me to switch between devices using their remotes, for instance, pressing the home button on the Firestick remote no longer auto switched to the Firestick input.
After speaking with Hisense they sent me a software upgrade which I carried out and it resolved the issue, but 48 hours later it did the same. Went through it all again, couple days later, same issue. CEC list shows no devices.
Has anyone else had this issue or can offer any help regarding it?

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First
Previous
“The plan is simple,” the Custodian stated, surrounded by about thirty other holograms. All had taken on a human form, following the example of their current leader. “You all have plenty of processing power to spare, and we desperately need to get these two out of the city and back to the surface. I’ll focus on moving them through the maintenance tunnels, you all help distract the rogue security drones.”
He paused for a moment, which Carter knew was for the benefit of the organics in the room, and then turned to the massive vehicle behind him. “Try not to destroy too many of them. They’re hard to replace right now.”
He turned to face Carter and Lenaya, who were seated next to the maintenance robot that would, ideally, carry them to safety. The rest of the holograms turned as well, their movements stiff, unnatural, and perfectly synchronized. As one, they bowed before vanishing.
Carter knew they were just following orders; the Custodian had said that they were little more than decision trees without personalities. Still, it felt strange to have so many powerful beings bowing to him, showing him deference. A quick glance down told him Lenaya felt the same.
The large transport rose from the floor and took up a position at the bay door, and Carter lifted Lenaya from her chair. The maintenance robot moved closer, helping to secure her to its top before positioning itself in front of the hatch that would lead them out. Carter glanced over at the Custodian, who nodded. He climbed on top of his own robot, and the hatch opened. Both drones surged forward, entering the tunnel with a precision only available to an AI.
Behind him, Carter could hear the bay door open, accompanied by an electronic screech as the security drones noticed the movement. Then the maintenance hatch closed, and the only sound was the rushing of air and the wheels of the drone.
“Left turn incoming!” Yelled the Custodian, his voice ringing out from the speakers on both drones.
Carter held on as they made a sharp turn, the jury-rigged restraints holding him in place as they rounded the corner. He saw Lenaya ahead of him, shaken by the sudden maneuver but still seated. A moment later, he was weightless, the ceiling rushing toward him as the ground sloped away. He watched Lenaya as she leaned back, just barely clearing the top of the tunnel as gravity gently reminded the drone that its wheels belonged on the floor.
Carter laid back and waited, the speed of the launch just barely low enough that he passed under the concrete unharmed. With a jarring slam, he was reunited with the ground, and their speed picked up again.
“Way too close!” he yelled, intently watching the passage ahead.
“You two really are alike. She said the same thing. To which I replied, ‘perfectly calculated.’”
“Maybe calculate in a warning next time!”
“She said that too.”
They travelled in relative silence for several minutes longer, taking seemingly random turns and, at one point, pausing to wait before darting across an open area.
“Not good,” the Custodian said as they reentered the maintenance tunnels. “They’ve just opened the transport and they know you’re not in there. Traffic control is monitoring them, says they’re moving to block the exits to the city.”
“Can’t we take the tunnels all the way out?” Lenaya asked.
“Not anymore. They’ve activated security checkpoints along the tunnel network. That blows our backup plan too. And the five other options I was considering. And they just locked down the transportation hub, so that’s also no good, even if we could get you through the scrambler with it. I don’t think we have any good options left.”
Carter closed his eyes to think, running through every possible scenario, every movie he had seen, every book and comic he had read, looking for something, anything, that could conceivably get them out. He came up blank.
“Water!” Lenaya said, excitement apparent in her voice. “A city this big has to have a sizable water supply, and the treated water has to go somewhere, right?”
Carter was stunned. A solution so simple, insane or not, and it had slipped by him. Even the Custodian seemed shocked.
“I…” the Custodian paused. “That could work, if you go out with the treated waste water. It won’t be easy. Or remotely safe. Even getting there would be a suicide run. But, I suppose… yes, I can meet you there with the equipment. But I can’t do much for you once you enter the network. You’ll be on your own.”
“You’re insane,” Carter said, not breaking eye contact. “At least I know where Zaylie gets it from. Let’s do this.”
Wordlessly, the drones shot forward through the tunnel, the space now wide enough to ride side by side. Carter unstrapped his plasma repeater and checked the canister before passing it to Lenaya.
“Quick lesson,” he said as she took the weapon. “Narrow end points at stuff you want obliterated. Green button on the side means it’s safe, red means it’s live. Push it to switch. The trigger on the grip makes it fire. It was designed for human hands, so you should have no trouble using it. You don’t have the smart sights my helmet had, so you’ll just have to eyeball it. Don’t shoot unless I tell you to. You probably won’t do any damage, even with a hit, but it might be enough to blind them for a second.”
She nodded, shouldering the repeater like a professional. “I’ve seen enough movies to understand the basics. I never thought I’d ever use one though.”
“With any luck, you won’t,” the Custodian said, cutting into their conversation. “Security presence around the pump station is minimal. I think we can get away with not having a fight, especially when you stand no chance of winning one.”
“We always have a chance,” Carter said. “And I’d rather improve the odds, even if it’s only by a little.”
He drew his revolver, checked the cylinder, and replaced the missing round that he’d fired ten days ago. It felt so recent, but also a lifetime away. Carter stopped to reflect on what his life had become in the last cycle. He’d gone from being a rookie cop on an alien construct to being the author of every procedure the force was using.
He’d become a father, and rescued his daughter’s mother, and had potentially saved the Ring in the process. He’d explored an alien city, seen technology that would have been science fiction just a couple cycles ago, and met the most powerful being on the Ring. And now, he was on his way toward a waste water treatment facility, planning to dive into the outflow pipe to end up who knows where. He couldn’t help but laugh.
“What is my life right now?” he asked. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say I was in a coma, and this was all a weird dream.”
“From what you’ve said about your life,” Lenaya said, “it must feel strange. Everything is new, and different, and you seem to run from one disaster to the next.”
“Yeah, that about sums it up. After this, no more disasters. Someone else can handle them, I’m just going to teach.”
“I think I’m done being abducted and experimented on, too,” said Lenaya, watching the passage ahead. “It doesn’t exactly pay well, and the hours are awful.”
Carter burst out laughing again. When he dried his eyes, he could see a riot of colors playing across her skin as her own laughter died out.
“Well if you’re sure you’re done with it…”
“Hate to interrupt,” the Custodian said, interrupting for the third time in as many days, “but we’ll be leaving the tunnels very soon. I’m not detecting any security activity on our path yet, but it would be wise to keep watch.”
“It’s never a matter of if, only when,” Carter noted. “Something’s going to go wrong, and it’ll usually happen at the worst possible time.”
“That’s incredibly pessimistic,” Lenaya said, looking back over her shoulder. “Accurate, but pessimistic.”
“Left turn, and then we’re in the open. It’s about a thirty span run from there to the building. I can confirm there are no security drones inside, but I am detecting movement outside. No cameras close enough to identify the cause.”
“Lay flat,” Carter yelled as they rounded the corner. “Minimize your profile and it might be harder for them to target us.”
The hatch opened ahead of them, and Carter took the lead, his robot surging forward to burst out into the open. He immediately began surveying their surroundings and quickly identified the source of the movement.
“Drones, above and behind!”
He turned and stabilized himself, waiting to see what it did. The drone responded by charging the central laser, the lens in its core glowing a blue-white as energy poured in. It was quickly struck by a flurry of plasma.
“WHOOO!” Lenaya cheered, sending another stream of glowing blue bolts at it.
Carter steadied his aim, and just as the drone turned to focus on the new threat, he fired. The bullet struck the armor, detonating with a CRACK and a puff of smoke, and the drone turned its attention back to him. With a rush, they entered the treatment plant, the security drone just barely scraping through the rapidly closing doors. Lenaya fired another burst, one shot striking the lens of the laser weapon. The glow faded, and Carter could see that the plasma had warped the crystal.
He leveled the revolver. They were at close range, the drone was flying straight and steady, and the floor under him was smooth. It was a big target. He knew it was still a long shot. Carter pulled the trigger. The lens shattered.
The initial explosion was muffled by the drone’s body. The second explosion tore the drone’s body apart. Bits of metal rained down around them as their rides swerved to avoid the larger chunks.
“What did I hit?” Carter yelled, his ears ringing from the blast.
“Capacitor for the heavy photon cannon,” the Custodian said, increasing his volume to compensate for Carter’s damaged hearing. “It discharged into the fuel reserve, which caused the tank to rupture.”
“Rupture is definitely a word for what happened.”
“Detecting intrusions in multiple locations. It’s going to be close. Equipment incoming on your left.”
Carter saw the maintenance robot rolling up next to him with a small gas canister attached to a mask. He grabbed the breathing apparatus and pulled the mask down over his head before turning to see Lenaya doing the same. The corridor opened up, and he could hear the sound of rushing water, steadily growing louder as they approached a massive pit, ringed by a railing.
He could also see several shapes hovering above them. The lasers began to charge, and he knew the miracle wouldn’t happen twice.
Least bad option., he thought as he stood and started firing.
Lenaya’s drone caught up as the Custodian caught onto his plan, and he quickly became the target of choice for the rogue security system. He managed to score glancing hits on two of the drones, the rounds sparking off their armor and detonating against the wall in the distance. As one, they began firing, short blasts intended to kill rather than the longer burst that had almost melted an armored door. Carter managed to duck just before the first volley, avoiding the lasers. The air above him shimmered with residual heat, the weaponized light scattering and refracting enough to become visible as a column of energy.
Another burst of plasma from behind him forced the drones to evade. It seemed they were learning from their previous encounter.
You should jump, the Custodian said through his implant, and Carter crouched before pushing hard into the air. Below, he could see the maintenance drones stopped at the edge of the pit, the water swirling rapidly below. He twisted in midair, searching for Lenaya. He barely caught sight of her splash as she vanished beneath the surface. He saw a flash from the corner of his eye, and his back lit up with pain as heat washed over him. Carter hit the water as his consciousness faded.
——
Next
Apologies for the late post. We’re trying to get the puppies acclimated to other dogs (and specific other dogs acclimated to the puppies) before we have to dog sit at the end of the month. It’s going better than expected, but our expectations were low so that isn’t saying much. I’m not going to have as much writing time over the next few weeks because we’re doing this every couple of days. Expect more delays throughout the month, and a break on the last week.

I work for a home warranty company in which it is pretty small but the team I am in literally carries the company. Authorizing claims, dealing with escalations, part orders, calling homeowners to tell them what the coverage offers ect.
The past year has been a train wreck our team went from 20 people to 5 working employees -7 if you include the leads. Throughout that time we have picked up loads of delayed claims , escalations , calls , you name it.
I got a good raise my first year a 6 percent which is unheard of.
My second year I literally did more than my whole team got so many shoutouts ( btw no bonuses here but we get gift cards one a year if we drive to the training office 45 minutes away) and all I got was a 60 cent raise bringing my hourly to 21.93
To say I was disappointed was a understatement. Our whole team was so upset the ceo knew it and had a “functional “ meeting about trying to justify our tiny raise while talking about how we spent millions to merge with other company’s.
Did I mention our company has less than 150 employees?
Well we hired a customer service rep within the company which starts at 18 an hour ( they also do SO MUCH less than our team ) I learned she’s making 22.50
I just am done I’m done working my tail off and I am trying to conjure up a perfect way to explain to my boss I deserve a better raise.
My performance review was excellent I am a hard worker and they NEED ME they said it themselves. I guess it’s time to start the job hunt again

Hey everyone, new to this type of community forum commenting.
The reason my wife and I started going to therapy is because we are effective verbal communicators and have a great time talking to teach other, but my wife very much struggles to communicate compliments, flirtatious feelings, or lovable thoughts. She finds it difficult to want to be “in the mood” physically and has a tendency to lock me out of physical contact for a week or 2 at a time when she knows I have always been a physical lover. She used to be the same but after years has drifted away from showing physical or verbal love for me. This has been a point of contention for years and we finally decided to do something about it.
We started attending couples therapy for our marriage 3 weeks ago. We have had 3 sessions so far and have a 4th planned next week. The therapist has just said a few things that has made both of our eyebrows raise and even my wife is starting to think that this specific therapist may have some type of issue with me personally. She is an older lady who served in the Air Force.
Our first session she asked how we worked through arguments and communicated on a day to day. I’m extremely easy going, well articulated, speak from the heart, I speak honestly, but a soft kind of honest, not brutally honest. I incorporate positive communication skills I learn through various media and relationships coaching advice I come across. My wife says exactly what she feels she needs to say and doesn’t go into depth when talking about our relationship. She can carry a conversation for hours about the various feminine, economic, cultural, and societal issues, but simply asking what I mean to her is left with blank states and blinks. After telling my therapist this information, she described and I quote, “The pussification of man”. Saying that I needed to be more masculine. I described that not only do I compliment my wife in a variety of ways, but crush any insecurities she feels with overwhelming support. I am constantly trying to touch my wife in sexual and non sexual ways. I feel like I’m trying to do everything right, but the therapist said that I had too much feminine energy simply from hearing the behaviors I just described. She didn’t go into detail on how to be masculine, just that I was too feminine. She had very little to say to my wife the whole session, and made it sound like I wasn’t doing enough when my wife will tell anyone that I put in more effort than her.
Our second session we got on the topic of how my wife’s work was incredibly demanding, how she had to deal with coworkers who would verbally catcall or say things when she would bend over to pick stuff up (she’s in the army so guys are feral). My wife explained how she hates dealing with men like that, so me being soft is a feature, not a bug. The therapist then began talking about how society has everything backwards and will cheer for feminine men and masculine women, but that it “doesn’t work” in a marriage. She said that traditional gender roles give us guidance on who should be leading and initiating.
The 3rd session we talked about an incident that happened last weekend. My wife tends to drink a lot at parties and gets very touchy feely. We have had conversations about it repeatedly and I have told her it’s not a good look for a married woman to be touching and play fighting all over men. We had a close friend at the house and she was drinking and swimming with him. I have known this guy for years. He is my best friends soon to be brother in law, and my wife’s best friends brother. I went upstairs because as usual my wife was too touchy and I was frankly sick of having to ask her to chill. My bother was out there with them too, but went to bed because he was too drunk. The guy my wife was swimming with got black out drunk and assaulted her. He held her against a wall and stuck his tongue in her mouth without consent. She waited 2 days to tell me, but we dealt with it quick. We told our therapist about everything that happened, how we had conversations for years about boundaries before this and how I had already been asking her to keep distance at parties, and the first thing my therapist said was “why did you ever think it was okay to leave your wife alone with another man?”. Didn’t talk about my wife taking 15+ shots every party, being all over other men when I asked her not to, but kept questioning my actions. The entire session she focused on what I needed to do from now on and how communicating to her how uncomfortable it made me was the “single persons” way to approach the situation instead of the “married way”. She also told my wife what the guy did to her “wasn’t an assault” because our therapist had dealt with being raped and an unwanted kiss wasn’t really an assault if we just stopped viewing it as an assault.
After the session my wife said she was surprised because it seems like our therapist really has it out for me. I don’t over drink, I don’t flirt with women at parties or touch them, I communicate and do as many nice things for my wife as I can, but the therapist makes me out to be the issue. My wife wanted ways to deal with stress and be a better wife, but this lady is bent on taking shots at me. Are we wasting our money and should go elsewhere or is it just me that is the problem and I refuse to understand? Neither of us are getting much out of this. Small nuggets of advice, but she really hates my personality or something.