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Tampa Dogs: Reddit for Man's Best Friend
2014.09.05 06:22 Tampa Dogs: Reddit for Man's Best Friend
Lost and Found Pets, Dog Parks & Beaches, Pet Events, Pet Pics, Pet Tips, Pet Shopping, Pet Meetups/Playdates, Pet Friendly Dining... and anything else you may like to share.
2023.06.04 06:27 Southern_Audience_43 The Lab
The Lab
Oh, hello there, friend. Are you real? I cannot tell anymore, I see memories, old friends and always that Thing, but that’s unimportant..For now anyways.
May I tell you how I got here, that is if you don’t mind-anyway, It all started when my Girlfriend kicked me out of our apartment, saying that I wasn’t good enough for her, and after five years at that! She had fallen in love with my neighbor and sold the house-How could She! I loved her, and She did nothing to help me.
Abe had changed since school, he was more paranoid and cautious when talking about what he did. All he told me was that he worked in a small research facility and had signed an NDA. I didn’t ask much about it until some unusual things started happening.
It was small at first, I saw that the rats were a little bigger, I thought they just had more food. Then I saw in the alleyway next to his apartment a five legged cat that same week. It was a greenish color and it had five legs. As I watched it move from dumpster to dumpster I shouted for Abe, if anyone knew what it was, It would be Abe “Hey Abe, what the hell is that?” He walked from his kitchen to the window. I pointed to where it had been only a few seconds earlier. “There’s nothing there man, you’re going crazy.” He told me. I looked and no five legged cat.
Then my life got worse, despite me apparently hallucinating due to my depression and the alcohol I had been drinking, I got fired from my job at the burger joint down the street.
I took it hard as I had lost everything I worked for. That’s when my life became hell, That single day. Abe had gotten home and saw me on the couch watching the Office with a beer in my hands. “You look rough man,” Abe said as he sat next to me.
“Come on Isaac, you need to do something,” As if a lightbulb had illuminated over his head he pulled out his phone and made a call. Apparently he had gotten his boss to hire me as an intern for the research facility. And when he walked back into the living room, he looked at me and said: “You need a shave, you got work tomorrow.” And just like that,I, Isaac Nelson, was a new man.
The next day we headed to his work, it was a small brick building just outside of
The city. It had a sign outside reading ______ Research. Now I was not expecting much but inside was a high-tech paradise. The walls were all shiny and metallic and the front desk had a large desk-top computer that must have been at least 16k. I didn’t even know that was possible. Anyway, Abe showed me downstairs into the actual facility. There was at least twelve corridors all looking identical except each was a different color. The one Abe worked on and the one I was interning at was labeled: EXPERIMENTS. It was a light blue color and must’ve stretched on for at least 200 yards. The boss of the lab was a man by the name of Moses, he was a tall dark man in his mid thirties with salt and pepper hair and beard. He had me sign a NDA and showed me what they worked on in one room.
I was horrified at first, I saw rows and rows of animals kept in cages, most of them dogs,cats, lizards and the occasional monkey. The barking, meowing and howling nearly deafened me as we walked through it until we got to a testing room.
There was a poor small gray kitten, no more than six months old, put onto a small bed. A doctor I guess? Pulled along a small dish that glowed a neonish green onto the cat. In seconds I saw it go from a small kitten to nearly the size of a cheetah. However, it had something extra, Two tails flicked from its behind. When it looked around I saw it had gotten a third eye. “What the hell happened?” I shouted at Moses and Abe. “Just some genetic experimentation, don’t worry, its only temporary, soon that cat will be back to normal.” Moses explained. His voice was confident and knowledgeable but I was unsure.
I worked in the lab after that for a few weeks, And I saw that it was indeed temporary, I was shocked at first but it eventually went away as I wrote down what happened and how to proceed.
The Last day I worked there I remember clearly. Moses told me I had gotten promoted. I was ecstatic but I realized something was wrong when I saw Abe crying. I was confused but told everything was going to be alright. I had just entered a testing room when the door was locked. Now this was unusual and I felt nervous, more nervous than before.
“Moses, whats going on!” I yelled. The bearded man simply shook his head and spoke into a microphone “Do not worry, We have to decontaminate the room before we send in the test subject, but we need someone in there so we can make sure that everything works alright.” I was puzzled and I didn’t trust him, something about his voice made me sick to my stomach. Then, to my horror, I saw the Walls begin to glow a neonish green glow. I screamed as I felt my body melting like wax under the glow. My Face became little more than sludge as my body was exposed to radiation and I felt pricks as dozens of needles came shooting out and injected whatever into me. My body contorted, I spasmed and my hands melted together forming bonds that I can never escape. I cannot walk, talk, or move at all. I’m told I can speak telepathically but I doubt you’ll ever hear me. After all, the Doctors don’t. Moses is a monster, and he forces me to look at myself in the mirror all day. I do not know why he did this to me, I don’t care anymore. All I want to do Is scream.
This is my first short horror story i have written and I need some feedback and insight on what I can do better in the future, Thank you
submitted by Southern_Audience_43 to horrorwriters [link] [comments]
Oh, hello there, friend. Are you real? I cannot tell anymore, I see memories, old friends and always that Thing, but that’s unimportant..For now anyways.
May I tell you how I got here, that is if you don’t mind-anyway, It all started when my Girlfriend kicked me out of our apartment, saying that I wasn’t good enough for her, and after five years at that! She had fallen in love with my neighbor and sold the house-How could She! I loved her, and She did nothing to help me.
I was all alone in a void of my world, lost and empty. So I did what I could do, I picked myself up and stayed with my best friend Abe. I met Abe in ninth grade, he was a shorter kid who loved science. His blue eyes lit up when he told me about all the things he wanted to be. A researcher for a famous laboratory, a doctor for this hospital. He wanted to go to Harvard Medical but could never afford it. So he ended up staying in our city, I wont say where for safety reasons, if you’re real anyway. But I moved in with him for a while.
Abe had changed since school, he was more paranoid and cautious when talking about what he did. All he told me was that he worked in a small research facility and had signed an NDA. I didn’t ask much about it until some unusual things started happening.
It was small at first, I saw that the rats were a little bigger, I thought they just had more food. Then I saw in the alleyway next to his apartment a five legged cat that same week. It was a greenish color and it had five legs. As I watched it move from dumpster to dumpster I shouted for Abe, if anyone knew what it was, It would be Abe “Hey Abe, what the hell is that?” He walked from his kitchen to the window. I pointed to where it had been only a few seconds earlier. “There’s nothing there man, you’re going crazy.” He told me. I looked and no five legged cat.
Then my life got worse, despite me apparently hallucinating due to my depression and the alcohol I had been drinking, I got fired from my job at the burger joint down the street.
I took it hard as I had lost everything I worked for. That’s when my life became hell, That single day. Abe had gotten home and saw me on the couch watching the Office with a beer in my hands. “You look rough man,” Abe said as he sat next to me.
“Come on Isaac, you need to do something,” As if a lightbulb had illuminated over his head he pulled out his phone and made a call. Apparently he had gotten his boss to hire me as an intern for the research facility. And when he walked back into the living room, he looked at me and said: “You need a shave, you got work tomorrow.” And just like that,I, Isaac Nelson, was a new man.
The next day we headed to his work, it was a small brick building just outside of
The city. It had a sign outside reading ______ Research. Now I was not expecting much but inside was a high-tech paradise. The walls were all shiny and metallic and the front desk had a large desk-top computer that must have been at least 16k. I didn’t even know that was possible. Anyway, Abe showed me downstairs into the actual facility. There was at least twelve corridors all looking identical except each was a different color. The one Abe worked on and the one I was interning at was labeled: EXPERIMENTS. It was a light blue color and must’ve stretched on for at least 200 yards. The boss of the lab was a man by the name of Moses, he was a tall dark man in his mid thirties with salt and pepper hair and beard. He had me sign a NDA and showed me what they worked on in one room.
I was horrified at first, I saw rows and rows of animals kept in cages, most of them dogs,cats, lizards and the occasional monkey. The barking, meowing and howling nearly deafened me as we walked through it until we got to a testing room.
There was a poor small gray kitten, no more than six months old, put onto a small bed. A doctor I guess? Pulled along a small dish that glowed a neonish green onto the cat. In seconds I saw it go from a small kitten to nearly the size of a cheetah. However, it had something extra, Two tails flicked from its behind. When it looked around I saw it had gotten a third eye. “What the hell happened?” I shouted at Moses and Abe. “Just some genetic experimentation, don’t worry, its only temporary, soon that cat will be back to normal.” Moses explained. His voice was confident and knowledgeable but I was unsure.
I worked in the lab after that for a few weeks, And I saw that it was indeed temporary, I was shocked at first but it eventually went away as I wrote down what happened and how to proceed.
The Last day I worked there I remember clearly. Moses told me I had gotten promoted. I was ecstatic but I realized something was wrong when I saw Abe crying. I was confused but told everything was going to be alright. I had just entered a testing room when the door was locked. Now this was unusual and I felt nervous, more nervous than before.
“Moses, whats going on!” I yelled. The bearded man simply shook his head and spoke into a microphone “Do not worry, We have to decontaminate the room before we send in the test subject, but we need someone in there so we can make sure that everything works alright.” I was puzzled and I didn’t trust him, something about his voice made me sick to my stomach. Then, to my horror, I saw the Walls begin to glow a neonish green glow. I screamed as I felt my body melting like wax under the glow. My Face became little more than sludge as my body was exposed to radiation and I felt pricks as dozens of needles came shooting out and injected whatever into me. My body contorted, I spasmed and my hands melted together forming bonds that I can never escape. I cannot walk, talk, or move at all. I’m told I can speak telepathically but I doubt you’ll ever hear me. After all, the Doctors don’t. Moses is a monster, and he forces me to look at myself in the mirror all day. I do not know why he did this to me, I don’t care anymore. All I want to do Is scream.
This is my first short horror story i have written and I need some feedback and insight on what I can do better in the future, Thank you
2023.06.04 06:11 TheSmogmonsterZX The Daughter that Follows - Chapter 27 - Reunited - Part 3
Link:“My Dad is my hero.”
Harry Connick, Jr.
The Daughter that Follows
Chapter 27
Reunited
Part 3
Anna’s barriers flared to life and she felt Hong Long try to push through.
“No, we don't want to scare them any worse than they are.” Anna said telepathically as she felt the creature’s jaws begin to squeeze down on her barriers.
She felt Hong Long strain against her will then finally push through and form in front of her. The dragon roared and slammed into the beast, coiling and restraining the struggling creature. Then it looked in the direction of Alan. Anna followed her tulpa’s gaze.
Alan Quain was casually holding the moth of the Indominous Rex shut, the creature was now forcefully crouched and clearly in a submissive stance. He was patting its side and soothing it with comforting words and a telepathic reassurance. He looked over at Anna briefly and nodded to the other one which was currently trying to bite into Hong Long, which was proving fruitless as the tulpa’s skin was near impenetrable to a mundane creature. Anna, however, was getting the feeling of bites all over her body.
She sighed and walked over to the dinosaur, near enough to its snapping jaws, but more than just out of range. She focused and soon she was in it’s mind. He was a furious and aggressive creature, made even more aggressive by a lifetime of shocks from batons and drugs from guns. She saw his only solace was his sister who was now being casually restrained by something it saw as food. Anna reached out mentally and hugged the creature in its mind. To the dinosaur’s perspective though it was now very tiny compared to Anna’s mental form. She tried her best to comfort it, but it was continually lashing out. Soon though, her father joined her and pulled her away. The dinosaur soon fell into a deep sleep.
“They’ll have to be quarantined in the old Bio-Syn sanctuary, but we don’t have to end them.” Alan said. “This one is going to be a problem unless he’s asleep though.”
“People suck.” Anna sniffled.
Alan nodded. “We can, but we can also...”
“Be better.” Anna nodded. “Kratos wasn’t a subtle teacher.”
Alan laughed, “You’d be surprised.”
“So what now?” Anna asked.
“I contacted Billy, they’ll be here for pickup in the morning. Then they go to the sanctuary and we go back to the camp for a bit. Until then I’ll keep him in a deep sleep, his sister won’t be too much of an issue, she’s calmer, but she’s gonna need to eat.” Alan said as he looked to Hong Long, “Think you can help out there?”
Hong Long snorted and nodded, then looked at Anna.
Anna smiled and nodded. “Thank you.”
Hong Long made a series of mumbles and nudged Anna’s head.
“Go get her something good to eat. Like a big crocodile or something.” Anna smiled and patted him on the head.
The tulpa dragon flew off.
Alan made camp and Anna helped. By the time they had finished Hong Long had returned and put an overly large snake by the Rex’s mouth.
“Well that’s a fucking huge anaconda.” Alan sighed as purple flashed around the area of their camp.
“Something we should worry about?” Anna asked.
Alan shrugged. “Potentially, there are realities where anacondas just get absurdly large and eat people.”
Anna’s eyes went wide.
“I doubt this is one of those worlds, but for all I know someone de-extincted the Titanboa.” Alan huffed and added, “Again.”
“Again?!” Anna almost shrieked.
“I thought you loved all animals.” Alan laughed.
“I do, but who keeps making these clones and why?” Anna stomped her foot on the ground as Hong Long shrunk down and coiled over her shoulder.
“Rich assholes wanting to make more money by selling a ‘perfect weapon’.” Alan sighed. “Story doesn’t change much honestly. Psionic soldier. Cloned dinosaur. Engineered Dinosaur. Ancient Snake. They always want to exploit something, there’s always a Looten Plunder.”
“Okay, was that a name?” Anna asked.
“Ah, you didn’t get to meet The Planeteers, that’s right.” Alan sighed and shook his head. “We’ll go find a world of theirs, you’d get along with all of them. But yeah it's the name of an asshole whose only goal is to exploit nature for money. Also hires a very lethal mercenary I tend to have to kill.”
“Yikes.” Anna said as she sat down and began to stroke Hong Long like a very long and reptilian cat.
“The Planteers were 5 kids recruited by a very literal spirit of the Earth, Gaia. They’re not soldiers and were never meant to be, their entire purpose is education and enlightenment. But they weren’t left defenseless. They each got a magic ring, four with the classic elements and the fifth is heart, which is kinda like telepathy but more here...” He tapped his chest. “If they really get pressed, which happens to them a lot because they're teens and they’re fighting psychotic, sometimes super villain adults, they can combine the powers to make...” He gestured in the air and the illusion of a blue skinned man with teal hair and red suit-like parts on his body appeared, “Captain Planet.”
“Nice mullet.” Anna snickered.
“He likes it.” Alan laughed. “He loves those kids, I try to remember that when I’m in their worlds.”
Anna nodded as she watched the image. “He has the heart of a hero.”
Alan laughed, “Filling those shoes already?”
“I think it’s because the other part of my base is already there.” Anna said. “I’m just waiting on you.”
“Well now we’re just waiting on each other.” Alan smirked. “Get some sleep. I got the watch. Need to keep the big boy asleep anyway.”
Anna nodded and walked into her tent, “Hong Long keep him some company for a bit please?”
Hong Long nodded coiled around Alan’s waist, waiting to be patted.
“Oh no, you don’t fool me.” Alan smiled as he pulled out some cards. “Come on, a game or two.”
Hong Long wrinkled his nose and snorted but coiled his lower body in such a way that it made a flat enough surface to play a game of cards.
Anna woke up to the sound of metal clanging against metal. Slowly she walked out of her tent and saw that her father was loading the male Indominous Rex into a holding sling. The female was actually sitting calmly in a holding crate, two large goat carcasses at her maw for her to eat whenever.
“Your dragon cheats.” Alan laughed as he locked the final column into place. “But he cheats poorly.”
“Why are you teaching my dragon card games?” Anna asked as she patted the dragon that once again coiled around her like a sash.
“He knows them, I just wanted a game or two.” Alan snorted.
Hong Long made some murmuring noises and grumbles that Anna understood as him being upset at being caught.
“Of course he caught you, he’s endlessly old.” Anna said with a minor jab to her father.
Alan smiled then realized what she had said as several work men laughed at the joke.
“My daughter, guys.” Alan sighed. “All right, let’s pack and get back to the camp and a warm shower!”
“Oh, warm showers.” Anna nodded. “And you can tell me about some other places we should visit.”
Alan smiled as he hugged his daughter. “I got a great one!” He laughed.
(T)(D)(T)(F)---(T)(F)(T)(W)
Another helicopter ride and a few time zones later the father and daughter were once again at the Montana based Camp Cretaceous. Alan had gotten the honor of the first shower in no small part due to a pachy skidding and covering him in mud and excrement through the fencing it had. Anna was glad that she had it last though, she got to enjoy the fresh hot water that she knew her dad had helped kick up.
It was well into the evening when they were sitting on his porch, looking out at the heads of the brachiosauruses swaying in the setting sun. Rio was even taking her time to watch them as well.
Alan was actually enjoying himself to a degree he hadn’t let himself in a very long time.
Anna was ecstatic, and enraptured by the gentle giants.
Rio’s recent turmoil and confusion seemed to have faded.
Then Alan sighed loudly and put his beer down on a table.
Anna focused and Rio did as well.
Hong Long coiled around Anna.
Rio stood and took a defensive stance.
From the high above the green aura of Psy-Ko descended, her enhanced powers made her glow like a beacon in the night. Besides her a suit of black metallic armor was descending as well.
“Hello Alan.” Psy-Ko smiled. “Anna.”
“Go die in a fire.” Anna growled.
“Is that anyway to greet--” Psy-Ko was cut off.
“Yes!” Alan shouted, “Yes it is how you great lunatics who hound and harass your family!”
An invisible force sent the armor that contained Sindri sailing into the sky.
“Well, I guess we’re fighting then!” Sindri roared as he rebounded back faster than anyone could react. His armor’s fist impacted a barrier that seemed to pop out of thin air. It was gleaming white and had odd symbols filling it.
“I’m sorry, I’m keeping them safe for a bit.” Ragnis grinned as he appeared. “Allow me to assert your place in the hierarchy of power.”
“Above him.” Psy-Ko grinned as green strands of hair stretched out and began to weave themselves into the various dinosaurs.
“Oh no you don’t!” Anna snarled as she formed a blade of her aura around her wrist and levitated herself up to the stands, cutting through all of them.
Alan just stared as his temper started to flare. “FLEISCH!” He roared.
The psionic woman smiled at the man she hated. “You remembered my name.”
“You’re boring.” Ragnis said as he looked down at the straining form of Sindri in his mech suit. “Now her..” Ragnis made a kicking motion and Sindri’s mech was swallowed by a beam of light and vanished.
Ragnis was then immediately at Psy-Ko’s side swinging a huge claymore down on her. Psy-Ko smiled as she dodged effortlessly. Soon she felt all the strands of her hair were cut free from their targets. Shr grinned again as she turned to Anna.
“My dear, why such worry? They’d be under better care with me.” Psy-Ko tried her best to give a sweet smile.
Anna stopped and turned to her.
“Anna!” Alan shouted. “She’s up to something.” He brought himself into the air and watched as Rio awas now engaging the returning form of Sindri. “This is some sort of trap!”
“Oh do be quiet Alan!” Psy-Ko sneered as tendrils of her hair raced and encased Alan Quain.
Anna roared as she surged forward. Ragnis joined her in the shout of rage. Psy-Ko moved effortlessly as she used her hair to snake into Anna’s aura and steal control of her arm from her. She directed it to the sword arm of the Scion of Life.
Ragnis shrieked in pain as his right arm was lopped off half way up his forearm. The limb fell as Anna watched in shock at what Psy-Ko had done. Psy-Ko laughed in joy as Sindri caught the limb and vanished. Then the hair that had encased Alan Quain detonated as if a bomb of pure power had gone off. It left Psy-Ko with only half of her hair left as she too shrieked in pain.
Psy-Ko floundered as she tried to focus once more. She was able to get just enough focus to see the rising form of Alan Quain, the purple mark of his psionic power that marked his eyes was now expanded out like with the edges splashed in black and white, like volcanoes of rage highlighting just how dangerous a force of nature he was becoming.
“Retreat Ragnis.” Alan said with an angry hiss.
Anna was still in shock. “Ragnis...”
“It’s alright kid.” Ragnis winced, “We both fell for it.” He vanished and left her to her confusion.
“I’m done pulling my punches with you.” Alan focused on Psy-Ko and the woman felt an intense pressure on her throat.
“No!” The high pitched and gleeful voice of Atropos said as she appeared and encased Psy-Ko in a wave of dark pulsing energy. “I think that will have to wait...” Then they vanished.
It took both Anna and Alan a few moments to establish that no major damage had been done, but there were now reports of UFOs fighting over dinosaurs. Which was going to definitely boost their tourism funding at the camp.
When they came down and went back inside Anna was crying into her pillow.
“Stupid question, but can I do anything?” Alan asked.
“I’m sorry, I should have listened.” Anna sniffled.
“She actually surprised me with that.” Alan said. “Hair powers. That’s quite a change.”
“Psychic hair powers.” Anna corrected him with a small laugh.
“That’s...” Alan blinked. “That’s just dumb and I know a woman who uses her normal hair in a similar way.”
“Will he be okay?” Anna asked.
Alan shrugged. “I mean according to them you took off half of the Wicked Bitch’s hand and she couldn’t fix that.”
Anna nodded. “I’m a danger to them.”
A flash outside their door and a knock later and Ragnis was opening the door and walking in. He was wearing a heavily metallic prosthetic.
“You could have waited for me to answer.” Alan said.
“You were going to let me in anyway.” Ragnis shrugged and showed off his hand. “No hard feelings, I got a new one.”
“Why does that look...” Anna stared at it. “Is that Vik’s work?”
“No, but it is from V’s reality.” Ragnis smiled. “Going to need some variants, but now that I have one that’s a part of me I can work with it.”
“But she has your hand.” Anna pointed out.
“Yeah, that’s concerning.” Ragnis nodded. “But don’t blame yourself, they clearly planned this. And we both had to fall for it.”
“I mean, I did say it was a trap.” Alan shrugged.
“Yeah but how did you know?” Anna asked.
“He is endlessly old.” Ragnis nodded.
Alan stared at the Scion.
“I already used that earlier.” Anna said.
“Daughters get a ‘being cute’ pass.” Alan growled.
“Look, I already told the others, I got this so don’t blame yourself.” Ragnis sighed. “She’s been a step ahead for so long.” Ragnis shook his head. “But I’m still keeping an eye on you. Let her meet the kids, get some rest, leave when you’re ready.”
Alan nodded. “Thanks.”
Rio stared at the Scion. “Will she target others?”
“Oh my god she’s trying to become Sarumon of Many Colors!” Anna gasped.
“Wonderful reference, but no it doesn’t work like that. At most that hand has a very small amount of what my concept of life is.” Ragnis shook his head. “Although now I have to have Perfection paint the image of her in a rainbow outfit just to annoy her.”
“Why would it annoy her?” Anna asked.
Ragnis sighed, “She’s Evil, not terribly original and quite frankly she should be easy to predict, but we keep missing something.”
“Her actual goal.” Alan sighed. “It’s been something so insane you can’t grasp.”
“Do you have any insight oh, old one?” Ragnis asked
Alan glared once again. “No, because again I’m not that desperately insane. Once this thing with Darkseid is over you got me for the seconds it takes to flatten her.”
“Or flatline her.” Anna added.
Alan and Ragnis both cast a concerned glance at Anna.
“She’s getting to me.” Anna sighed.
Rio stood up and sat next to Anna. “Would you like to pet my head again?”
Anna smiled and slowly patted Rio’s head.
“When in doubt, pet a friend.” Ragnis said, “You two relax, you’re safe. Even if the res of us aren’t.”
\\\\
First
Previous /// Next
SPOTIFY LIST!
////
S: (looks around) Well...
Perfection: What?
S: I know one of you wants to say it.
Perfection: Say what?
S: Spaceballs, Lord Helmet.
Perfection: But there wasn’t a jamming scene.
S: I keep forgetting your sense of humor.
Wraith: (Walks in wearing an oversized helmet) “So, Lone Starr, now you see that evil will always triumph because good is dumb.”
DM: (Walks in wearing the same helmet)
Perfection: Also I’m a fan of Yogurt.
S: I worry about my mind sometimes.
submitted by TheSmogmonsterZX to HFY [link] [comments]
Harry Connick, Jr.
The Daughter that Follows
Chapter 27
Reunited
Part 3
Anna’s barriers flared to life and she felt Hong Long try to push through.
“No, we don't want to scare them any worse than they are.” Anna said telepathically as she felt the creature’s jaws begin to squeeze down on her barriers.
She felt Hong Long strain against her will then finally push through and form in front of her. The dragon roared and slammed into the beast, coiling and restraining the struggling creature. Then it looked in the direction of Alan. Anna followed her tulpa’s gaze.
Alan Quain was casually holding the moth of the Indominous Rex shut, the creature was now forcefully crouched and clearly in a submissive stance. He was patting its side and soothing it with comforting words and a telepathic reassurance. He looked over at Anna briefly and nodded to the other one which was currently trying to bite into Hong Long, which was proving fruitless as the tulpa’s skin was near impenetrable to a mundane creature. Anna, however, was getting the feeling of bites all over her body.
She sighed and walked over to the dinosaur, near enough to its snapping jaws, but more than just out of range. She focused and soon she was in it’s mind. He was a furious and aggressive creature, made even more aggressive by a lifetime of shocks from batons and drugs from guns. She saw his only solace was his sister who was now being casually restrained by something it saw as food. Anna reached out mentally and hugged the creature in its mind. To the dinosaur’s perspective though it was now very tiny compared to Anna’s mental form. She tried her best to comfort it, but it was continually lashing out. Soon though, her father joined her and pulled her away. The dinosaur soon fell into a deep sleep.
“They’ll have to be quarantined in the old Bio-Syn sanctuary, but we don’t have to end them.” Alan said. “This one is going to be a problem unless he’s asleep though.”
“People suck.” Anna sniffled.
Alan nodded. “We can, but we can also...”
“Be better.” Anna nodded. “Kratos wasn’t a subtle teacher.”
Alan laughed, “You’d be surprised.”
“So what now?” Anna asked.
“I contacted Billy, they’ll be here for pickup in the morning. Then they go to the sanctuary and we go back to the camp for a bit. Until then I’ll keep him in a deep sleep, his sister won’t be too much of an issue, she’s calmer, but she’s gonna need to eat.” Alan said as he looked to Hong Long, “Think you can help out there?”
Hong Long snorted and nodded, then looked at Anna.
Anna smiled and nodded. “Thank you.”
Hong Long made a series of mumbles and nudged Anna’s head.
“Go get her something good to eat. Like a big crocodile or something.” Anna smiled and patted him on the head.
The tulpa dragon flew off.
Alan made camp and Anna helped. By the time they had finished Hong Long had returned and put an overly large snake by the Rex’s mouth.
“Well that’s a fucking huge anaconda.” Alan sighed as purple flashed around the area of their camp.
“Something we should worry about?” Anna asked.
Alan shrugged. “Potentially, there are realities where anacondas just get absurdly large and eat people.”
Anna’s eyes went wide.
“I doubt this is one of those worlds, but for all I know someone de-extincted the Titanboa.” Alan huffed and added, “Again.”
“Again?!” Anna almost shrieked.
“I thought you loved all animals.” Alan laughed.
“I do, but who keeps making these clones and why?” Anna stomped her foot on the ground as Hong Long shrunk down and coiled over her shoulder.
“Rich assholes wanting to make more money by selling a ‘perfect weapon’.” Alan sighed. “Story doesn’t change much honestly. Psionic soldier. Cloned dinosaur. Engineered Dinosaur. Ancient Snake. They always want to exploit something, there’s always a Looten Plunder.”
“Okay, was that a name?” Anna asked.
“Ah, you didn’t get to meet The Planeteers, that’s right.” Alan sighed and shook his head. “We’ll go find a world of theirs, you’d get along with all of them. But yeah it's the name of an asshole whose only goal is to exploit nature for money. Also hires a very lethal mercenary I tend to have to kill.”
“Yikes.” Anna said as she sat down and began to stroke Hong Long like a very long and reptilian cat.
“The Planteers were 5 kids recruited by a very literal spirit of the Earth, Gaia. They’re not soldiers and were never meant to be, their entire purpose is education and enlightenment. But they weren’t left defenseless. They each got a magic ring, four with the classic elements and the fifth is heart, which is kinda like telepathy but more here...” He tapped his chest. “If they really get pressed, which happens to them a lot because they're teens and they’re fighting psychotic, sometimes super villain adults, they can combine the powers to make...” He gestured in the air and the illusion of a blue skinned man with teal hair and red suit-like parts on his body appeared, “Captain Planet.”
“Nice mullet.” Anna snickered.
“He likes it.” Alan laughed. “He loves those kids, I try to remember that when I’m in their worlds.”
Anna nodded as she watched the image. “He has the heart of a hero.”
Alan laughed, “Filling those shoes already?”
“I think it’s because the other part of my base is already there.” Anna said. “I’m just waiting on you.”
“Well now we’re just waiting on each other.” Alan smirked. “Get some sleep. I got the watch. Need to keep the big boy asleep anyway.”
Anna nodded and walked into her tent, “Hong Long keep him some company for a bit please?”
Hong Long nodded coiled around Alan’s waist, waiting to be patted.
“Oh no, you don’t fool me.” Alan smiled as he pulled out some cards. “Come on, a game or two.”
Hong Long wrinkled his nose and snorted but coiled his lower body in such a way that it made a flat enough surface to play a game of cards.
Anna woke up to the sound of metal clanging against metal. Slowly she walked out of her tent and saw that her father was loading the male Indominous Rex into a holding sling. The female was actually sitting calmly in a holding crate, two large goat carcasses at her maw for her to eat whenever.
“Your dragon cheats.” Alan laughed as he locked the final column into place. “But he cheats poorly.”
“Why are you teaching my dragon card games?” Anna asked as she patted the dragon that once again coiled around her like a sash.
“He knows them, I just wanted a game or two.” Alan snorted.
Hong Long made some murmuring noises and grumbles that Anna understood as him being upset at being caught.
“Of course he caught you, he’s endlessly old.” Anna said with a minor jab to her father.
Alan smiled then realized what she had said as several work men laughed at the joke.
“My daughter, guys.” Alan sighed. “All right, let’s pack and get back to the camp and a warm shower!”
“Oh, warm showers.” Anna nodded. “And you can tell me about some other places we should visit.”
Alan smiled as he hugged his daughter. “I got a great one!” He laughed.
(T)(D)(T)(F)---(T)(F)(T)(W)
Another helicopter ride and a few time zones later the father and daughter were once again at the Montana based Camp Cretaceous. Alan had gotten the honor of the first shower in no small part due to a pachy skidding and covering him in mud and excrement through the fencing it had. Anna was glad that she had it last though, she got to enjoy the fresh hot water that she knew her dad had helped kick up.
It was well into the evening when they were sitting on his porch, looking out at the heads of the brachiosauruses swaying in the setting sun. Rio was even taking her time to watch them as well.
Alan was actually enjoying himself to a degree he hadn’t let himself in a very long time.
Anna was ecstatic, and enraptured by the gentle giants.
Rio’s recent turmoil and confusion seemed to have faded.
Then Alan sighed loudly and put his beer down on a table.
Anna focused and Rio did as well.
Hong Long coiled around Anna.
Rio stood and took a defensive stance.
From the high above the green aura of Psy-Ko descended, her enhanced powers made her glow like a beacon in the night. Besides her a suit of black metallic armor was descending as well.
“Hello Alan.” Psy-Ko smiled. “Anna.”
“Go die in a fire.” Anna growled.
“Is that anyway to greet--” Psy-Ko was cut off.
“Yes!” Alan shouted, “Yes it is how you great lunatics who hound and harass your family!”
An invisible force sent the armor that contained Sindri sailing into the sky.
“Well, I guess we’re fighting then!” Sindri roared as he rebounded back faster than anyone could react. His armor’s fist impacted a barrier that seemed to pop out of thin air. It was gleaming white and had odd symbols filling it.
“I’m sorry, I’m keeping them safe for a bit.” Ragnis grinned as he appeared. “Allow me to assert your place in the hierarchy of power.”
“Above him.” Psy-Ko grinned as green strands of hair stretched out and began to weave themselves into the various dinosaurs.
“Oh no you don’t!” Anna snarled as she formed a blade of her aura around her wrist and levitated herself up to the stands, cutting through all of them.
Alan just stared as his temper started to flare. “FLEISCH!” He roared.
The psionic woman smiled at the man she hated. “You remembered my name.”
“You’re boring.” Ragnis said as he looked down at the straining form of Sindri in his mech suit. “Now her..” Ragnis made a kicking motion and Sindri’s mech was swallowed by a beam of light and vanished.
Ragnis was then immediately at Psy-Ko’s side swinging a huge claymore down on her. Psy-Ko smiled as she dodged effortlessly. Soon she felt all the strands of her hair were cut free from their targets. Shr grinned again as she turned to Anna.
“My dear, why such worry? They’d be under better care with me.” Psy-Ko tried her best to give a sweet smile.
Anna stopped and turned to her.
“Anna!” Alan shouted. “She’s up to something.” He brought himself into the air and watched as Rio awas now engaging the returning form of Sindri. “This is some sort of trap!”
“Oh do be quiet Alan!” Psy-Ko sneered as tendrils of her hair raced and encased Alan Quain.
Anna roared as she surged forward. Ragnis joined her in the shout of rage. Psy-Ko moved effortlessly as she used her hair to snake into Anna’s aura and steal control of her arm from her. She directed it to the sword arm of the Scion of Life.
Ragnis shrieked in pain as his right arm was lopped off half way up his forearm. The limb fell as Anna watched in shock at what Psy-Ko had done. Psy-Ko laughed in joy as Sindri caught the limb and vanished. Then the hair that had encased Alan Quain detonated as if a bomb of pure power had gone off. It left Psy-Ko with only half of her hair left as she too shrieked in pain.
Psy-Ko floundered as she tried to focus once more. She was able to get just enough focus to see the rising form of Alan Quain, the purple mark of his psionic power that marked his eyes was now expanded out like with the edges splashed in black and white, like volcanoes of rage highlighting just how dangerous a force of nature he was becoming.
“Retreat Ragnis.” Alan said with an angry hiss.
Anna was still in shock. “Ragnis...”
“It’s alright kid.” Ragnis winced, “We both fell for it.” He vanished and left her to her confusion.
“I’m done pulling my punches with you.” Alan focused on Psy-Ko and the woman felt an intense pressure on her throat.
“No!” The high pitched and gleeful voice of Atropos said as she appeared and encased Psy-Ko in a wave of dark pulsing energy. “I think that will have to wait...” Then they vanished.
It took both Anna and Alan a few moments to establish that no major damage had been done, but there were now reports of UFOs fighting over dinosaurs. Which was going to definitely boost their tourism funding at the camp.
When they came down and went back inside Anna was crying into her pillow.
“Stupid question, but can I do anything?” Alan asked.
“I’m sorry, I should have listened.” Anna sniffled.
“She actually surprised me with that.” Alan said. “Hair powers. That’s quite a change.”
“Psychic hair powers.” Anna corrected him with a small laugh.
“That’s...” Alan blinked. “That’s just dumb and I know a woman who uses her normal hair in a similar way.”
“Will he be okay?” Anna asked.
Alan shrugged. “I mean according to them you took off half of the Wicked Bitch’s hand and she couldn’t fix that.”
Anna nodded. “I’m a danger to them.”
A flash outside their door and a knock later and Ragnis was opening the door and walking in. He was wearing a heavily metallic prosthetic.
“You could have waited for me to answer.” Alan said.
“You were going to let me in anyway.” Ragnis shrugged and showed off his hand. “No hard feelings, I got a new one.”
“Why does that look...” Anna stared at it. “Is that Vik’s work?”
“No, but it is from V’s reality.” Ragnis smiled. “Going to need some variants, but now that I have one that’s a part of me I can work with it.”
“But she has your hand.” Anna pointed out.
“Yeah, that’s concerning.” Ragnis nodded. “But don’t blame yourself, they clearly planned this. And we both had to fall for it.”
“I mean, I did say it was a trap.” Alan shrugged.
“Yeah but how did you know?” Anna asked.
“He is endlessly old.” Ragnis nodded.
Alan stared at the Scion.
“I already used that earlier.” Anna said.
“Daughters get a ‘being cute’ pass.” Alan growled.
“Look, I already told the others, I got this so don’t blame yourself.” Ragnis sighed. “She’s been a step ahead for so long.” Ragnis shook his head. “But I’m still keeping an eye on you. Let her meet the kids, get some rest, leave when you’re ready.”
Alan nodded. “Thanks.”
Rio stared at the Scion. “Will she target others?”
“Oh my god she’s trying to become Sarumon of Many Colors!” Anna gasped.
“Wonderful reference, but no it doesn’t work like that. At most that hand has a very small amount of what my concept of life is.” Ragnis shook his head. “Although now I have to have Perfection paint the image of her in a rainbow outfit just to annoy her.”
“Why would it annoy her?” Anna asked.
Ragnis sighed, “She’s Evil, not terribly original and quite frankly she should be easy to predict, but we keep missing something.”
“Her actual goal.” Alan sighed. “It’s been something so insane you can’t grasp.”
“Do you have any insight oh, old one?” Ragnis asked
Alan glared once again. “No, because again I’m not that desperately insane. Once this thing with Darkseid is over you got me for the seconds it takes to flatten her.”
“Or flatline her.” Anna added.
Alan and Ragnis both cast a concerned glance at Anna.
“She’s getting to me.” Anna sighed.
Rio stood up and sat next to Anna. “Would you like to pet my head again?”
Anna smiled and slowly patted Rio’s head.
“When in doubt, pet a friend.” Ragnis said, “You two relax, you’re safe. Even if the res of us aren’t.”
\\\\
First
Previous /// Next
SPOTIFY LIST!
////
S: (looks around) Well...
Perfection: What?
S: I know one of you wants to say it.
Perfection: Say what?
S: Spaceballs, Lord Helmet.
Perfection: But there wasn’t a jamming scene.
S: I keep forgetting your sense of humor.
Wraith: (Walks in wearing an oversized helmet) “So, Lone Starr, now you see that evil will always triumph because good is dumb.”
DM: (Walks in wearing the same helmet)
Perfection: Also I’m a fan of Yogurt.
S: I worry about my mind sometimes.
2023.06.04 05:58 Emotional_Mind4627 [XBOX 360][2000-2010ish] Anime war game where at the start you'd play as a red hair girl then fight a blue hair guy and beat him and in the next mission you play as that blue hair guy
Platform(s): Xbox 360 but maybe it was on other platforms.
Genre: 3rd person, action.
Estimated year of release: 2000-2010ish
Graphics/art style: Anime-ish. Definitely looked like a game made by Japan.
Notable characters: You start out as a red hair girl (a girl fosure) and you'd fight this blue hair guy and beat him, then you'd play as him or maybe you'd have him as a switchable ally.
Notable gameplay mechanics: You'd lead a giant ass crowd of soldiers and send them to fight other big ass crowds, like any medieval war game.
Other details: No guns, looks like it was set in medieval times where wars were fought using swords and stuff. Takes place in a green field. When you play as the guy, looks like you're traversing between two mountains?
submitted by Emotional_Mind4627 to tipofmyjoystick [link] [comments]
Genre: 3rd person, action.
Estimated year of release: 2000-2010ish
Graphics/art style: Anime-ish. Definitely looked like a game made by Japan.
Notable characters: You start out as a red hair girl (a girl fosure) and you'd fight this blue hair guy and beat him, then you'd play as him or maybe you'd have him as a switchable ally.
Notable gameplay mechanics: You'd lead a giant ass crowd of soldiers and send them to fight other big ass crowds, like any medieval war game.
Other details: No guns, looks like it was set in medieval times where wars were fought using swords and stuff. Takes place in a green field. When you play as the guy, looks like you're traversing between two mountains?
2023.06.04 05:38 KingoftheRednecks The Void Hunt, ch 5
First/Prev
The route they chose skirted the borders of Sovereign space. It cost them an extra two weeks of travel, but avoided contact.
The delay chafed at everyone except for the mercs. Their contracts offered nothing more for prizes, so for them it wasn't boredom but safety. They didn't have to worry about what happened when they reached their destination either, for that matter. They spent their time doing their jobs with neat, quiet efficiency, and helping to train the San.
The humans had gone through training, but their total education was three months of being self-taught from holos and six of formal schooling, and for many of the duties that only gave them the barest outline. Mogan needed engineers who could do more than simply consult the checklist, and mechanics who could tell what was wrong with a system from small sounds the way he could tell at the first strike when a node of flint was flawed and what to do with it.
To Logog's chagrin, he put his marines to practicing again with atlatl and sling, making sure their skills hadn't atrophied. It sharpened skills, but it also kept them from getting into trouble. Drunk sailors fight, Shett had told him, and bored sailors fight, and bored sailors also find surprisingly creative ways to get drunk.
Nonetheless, by the time they reached the planet of Goretia, the entire crew was bored and ready for a change of pace. Six weeks of doing nothing felt like a poor way to begin a career of story and excitement, but the more experienced warriors knew that this was the general trend of any campaign; long periods of boredom when one wishes for action, followed by short periods of action when one wishes for boredom.
Once they found the planet on their sensors, the crew scrambled into action. The eight boarding craft could hold one hundred men each, slightly more warriors than the San had. Instead, each held fifty men and fifty dogs.
Any pup was trained to not leave a mess in the hut, but with the ability to simply go outside denied to them the San had had to devise a latrine they could use. Beyond that, the dogs had been trained for hunting for generations, farther back than any of the San's songs could remember, ever since that day when the Unrevealed had decided to test humanity by choosing out the cleverest and kindest of the wolves to come to them in peace.
Nor were they strangers to war. The orders that could command them to flank or attack a deer could make them do the same to men, and they had proven their worth more than once on the battlefields of Noepe. They were even more effective here than they had been on Earth. Any other humans, including the Animal People, had dogs of their own, but the very idea of a beast obeying a sapient being was beyond them. The closest anyone had come to the idea was the secret sapient species, and they were only able to do so because they knew the Vishtali and the other two—the other three, now--were no animals.
Men and women had been trained and conditioned to clamber into the trees and fight other soldiers, or to stand under laser fire, or almost every circumstance but to be charged by dozens of wolf-like, snapping, snarling beasts. Not many could stand against that, and those that could had the dogs to protect the gunners and the gunners to protect the dogs. The dogs took more losses than the humans, but that was to be expected—and much as they loved the dogs, better to lose them than the people.
They generally had the run of the ship during the last few weeks, and one was as likely to see a dog fetching things or playing keep-away with a tool as curled up in the habs. They were even made to exercise as much as the humans.
At least it made the dogs less bored than the humans, and they seemed to have adapted to the routine better. They were still happy to do something different, however, and getting them onto the boarding craft turned out to be fairly easy.
Mogan knelt on the floor of one boarding craft himself, quiver on his back. The air on Goretia was breathable, and that was a blessing. He had a hatchet on his hip instead of his pistol, as did the rest of the warriors.
Alone among the warriors, he didn't have a dog. Knucklebones had been the best of dogs, and had died four years ago. Mogan had not gotten a new one, and he couldn't say whether it was because he had to some extent given up, or whether he couldn't summon the energy for something that wasn't for his daughter or for his tribe.
He had a dog now, one he had purchased from one of the others just after weaning and named Blueknife, as her eyes made him think of the knife he had made of blue-green obsidian for Hyeshi. He thought Hyeshi would approve of the name as well, and had to smile. He was going to be able to ask her himself, whatever it took.
But Blueknife had been born about six months ago, and that meant she was too small for combat. Next to him were three of the Vishtali, and they too had no dogs. In fact, they seemed to have a hard time getting used to the concept of having dogs everywhere. They carried modified shoshir and shields, but seemed to have no confidence in their ability with them.
Logog seemed to have none either, for they were away from the front with him. Mogan presumed he needed to be present to make the action official, and it would help in calming down their new wards, but Logog had absolutely balked at the idea of putting him in the front lines.
Were the Vishtali not there, he would have used the holo at his left hand to show where the craft were, but they were nervous enough already, and it was best he didn't add to the stress.
Burya sent a signal to Logog, who in turn signaled the pilot, and the boarding craft lifted and then eased out of the Semiramis. This one was the Knucklebones—Logog didn't feel comfortable with the craft unnamed, so they had spent a little time devising and painting them.
The signal meant they were on the far side of the planet, where it would be harder for their targets to detect them. Mogan could see nothing except the walls of the craft, but he knew that all eight were flying directly towards the planet, their goal to get close to ground quickly. The Semiramis itself would fly past, and then double back in time to pick up the craft on the way back.
Soon the craft began to tremble as it entered atmosphere and had to push itself through the air, and they slowed as they reached the ground and fanned out slightly, keeping low.
The flight was slower, and not as smooth as in the empty void, but all the same the vehicles could move far faster than anyone could on foot, and in a surprisingly short time they were settling into a clearing. In the front of the craft, a holo projected from the ceiling, showing the area as if from a distance.
“It's a short run to the mines from here. Higa, your unit will guard the Vishtali and hang back. We'll need you in there, but they'll still have their shoshir, and that'll be no bargain in tunnels. We won't build any confidence if we get their people killed. Barab, you and the Second are the flint, Third is the bone.”
It was a simple enough analogy, hopefully enough that anybody not of the San who heard it would get confused. In days gone by, the tribe had made their spearpoints out of flint, creating razor-sharp blades that could easily pierce through the thick hides of their prey. But flint was fragile, and anything from a missed cast onto a stone or hard tree to an accurate cast that hit bone could cause it to shatter.
Long ago, the people that would thousands of years later be called Magdalenian devised a better way. Tiny blade blanks were made, some not as long as the thickness of his thumb, and the ends pressed away to create bladelets, most shorter than the width of a pinky nail. These were carefully glued into slots cut into a weapon. For a spear, these were usually points of bone with at least six, sometimes up to three times that, in bladelets.
A single spear created more cutting edges, and if one broke it was a simple matter to work it out and fit a new one in—and since they were smaller, they were less likely to break. The new technology was an improvement in every way.... up until they reached the stars and it was made pretty much obsolete. That was still difficult for Mogan to deal with.
It also made for an oddity that his handiwork was in evidence today. Some still had the old-fashioned spears, from more than two years ago back on Earth. Others had spears that he had designed and had manufactured, thousands of the exact same dimensions and weight, tipped with titanium-gold blades.
Mogan had devised other spears and spearheads as well—flash-bangs, spears with small explosives that would sink into whatever they hit and then riddle it with shrapnel, spears that would leave a small tracking device in the target, and of course the application of high explosives. It was difficult to go wrong with the application of high explosives.
Except here. Magnetic activity in the mine tunnels meant that any such devices were likely to go off at the right time, and the fact that there were tunnels in the first place meant that there were few if any actual right times for an explosive to go off.
That activity was the real reason there were Vishtali in the first place. They didn't have any particular history or skill as miners, but even well-protected drones would be rendered useless in minutes. Instead, they were reduced to using pneumatic drills to chip away at the rock. For the San, this was a technique thousands of years in the future, but for anybody else among the stars it was terrifyingly barbaric.
Mogan had hoped he could raid the spoils of the mines as well, but their information indicated he'd have no such luck. The mine was rich enough; the kh'ler crystals within were gemstones of extraordinary quality and value, such that particularly large and fine specimens had been used to rent planets from the Sovereign. Unfortunately, they were rarely, if ever, simply found in the mine.
Instead, the Vishtali mucked out tons of stone pried loose by hand-tools and pneumatic machines—even small explosives might shatter the crystals—and pushed heavy carts to the surface, where it was loaded onto ships. A facility off-world was easily able to locate the crystals and extract them from the stone, and to help hide the origins as well.
He would have to settle for killing all the overseers and guards, stealing anything of value, and freeing their slaves. Mogan believed it would suffice.
submitted by KingoftheRednecks to HFY [link] [comments]
The route they chose skirted the borders of Sovereign space. It cost them an extra two weeks of travel, but avoided contact.
The delay chafed at everyone except for the mercs. Their contracts offered nothing more for prizes, so for them it wasn't boredom but safety. They didn't have to worry about what happened when they reached their destination either, for that matter. They spent their time doing their jobs with neat, quiet efficiency, and helping to train the San.
The humans had gone through training, but their total education was three months of being self-taught from holos and six of formal schooling, and for many of the duties that only gave them the barest outline. Mogan needed engineers who could do more than simply consult the checklist, and mechanics who could tell what was wrong with a system from small sounds the way he could tell at the first strike when a node of flint was flawed and what to do with it.
To Logog's chagrin, he put his marines to practicing again with atlatl and sling, making sure their skills hadn't atrophied. It sharpened skills, but it also kept them from getting into trouble. Drunk sailors fight, Shett had told him, and bored sailors fight, and bored sailors also find surprisingly creative ways to get drunk.
Nonetheless, by the time they reached the planet of Goretia, the entire crew was bored and ready for a change of pace. Six weeks of doing nothing felt like a poor way to begin a career of story and excitement, but the more experienced warriors knew that this was the general trend of any campaign; long periods of boredom when one wishes for action, followed by short periods of action when one wishes for boredom.
Once they found the planet on their sensors, the crew scrambled into action. The eight boarding craft could hold one hundred men each, slightly more warriors than the San had. Instead, each held fifty men and fifty dogs.
Any pup was trained to not leave a mess in the hut, but with the ability to simply go outside denied to them the San had had to devise a latrine they could use. Beyond that, the dogs had been trained for hunting for generations, farther back than any of the San's songs could remember, ever since that day when the Unrevealed had decided to test humanity by choosing out the cleverest and kindest of the wolves to come to them in peace.
Nor were they strangers to war. The orders that could command them to flank or attack a deer could make them do the same to men, and they had proven their worth more than once on the battlefields of Noepe. They were even more effective here than they had been on Earth. Any other humans, including the Animal People, had dogs of their own, but the very idea of a beast obeying a sapient being was beyond them. The closest anyone had come to the idea was the secret sapient species, and they were only able to do so because they knew the Vishtali and the other two—the other three, now--were no animals.
Men and women had been trained and conditioned to clamber into the trees and fight other soldiers, or to stand under laser fire, or almost every circumstance but to be charged by dozens of wolf-like, snapping, snarling beasts. Not many could stand against that, and those that could had the dogs to protect the gunners and the gunners to protect the dogs. The dogs took more losses than the humans, but that was to be expected—and much as they loved the dogs, better to lose them than the people.
They generally had the run of the ship during the last few weeks, and one was as likely to see a dog fetching things or playing keep-away with a tool as curled up in the habs. They were even made to exercise as much as the humans.
At least it made the dogs less bored than the humans, and they seemed to have adapted to the routine better. They were still happy to do something different, however, and getting them onto the boarding craft turned out to be fairly easy.
Mogan knelt on the floor of one boarding craft himself, quiver on his back. The air on Goretia was breathable, and that was a blessing. He had a hatchet on his hip instead of his pistol, as did the rest of the warriors.
Alone among the warriors, he didn't have a dog. Knucklebones had been the best of dogs, and had died four years ago. Mogan had not gotten a new one, and he couldn't say whether it was because he had to some extent given up, or whether he couldn't summon the energy for something that wasn't for his daughter or for his tribe.
He had a dog now, one he had purchased from one of the others just after weaning and named Blueknife, as her eyes made him think of the knife he had made of blue-green obsidian for Hyeshi. He thought Hyeshi would approve of the name as well, and had to smile. He was going to be able to ask her himself, whatever it took.
But Blueknife had been born about six months ago, and that meant she was too small for combat. Next to him were three of the Vishtali, and they too had no dogs. In fact, they seemed to have a hard time getting used to the concept of having dogs everywhere. They carried modified shoshir and shields, but seemed to have no confidence in their ability with them.
Logog seemed to have none either, for they were away from the front with him. Mogan presumed he needed to be present to make the action official, and it would help in calming down their new wards, but Logog had absolutely balked at the idea of putting him in the front lines.
Were the Vishtali not there, he would have used the holo at his left hand to show where the craft were, but they were nervous enough already, and it was best he didn't add to the stress.
Burya sent a signal to Logog, who in turn signaled the pilot, and the boarding craft lifted and then eased out of the Semiramis. This one was the Knucklebones—Logog didn't feel comfortable with the craft unnamed, so they had spent a little time devising and painting them.
The signal meant they were on the far side of the planet, where it would be harder for their targets to detect them. Mogan could see nothing except the walls of the craft, but he knew that all eight were flying directly towards the planet, their goal to get close to ground quickly. The Semiramis itself would fly past, and then double back in time to pick up the craft on the way back.
Soon the craft began to tremble as it entered atmosphere and had to push itself through the air, and they slowed as they reached the ground and fanned out slightly, keeping low.
The flight was slower, and not as smooth as in the empty void, but all the same the vehicles could move far faster than anyone could on foot, and in a surprisingly short time they were settling into a clearing. In the front of the craft, a holo projected from the ceiling, showing the area as if from a distance.
“It's a short run to the mines from here. Higa, your unit will guard the Vishtali and hang back. We'll need you in there, but they'll still have their shoshir, and that'll be no bargain in tunnels. We won't build any confidence if we get their people killed. Barab, you and the Second are the flint, Third is the bone.”
It was a simple enough analogy, hopefully enough that anybody not of the San who heard it would get confused. In days gone by, the tribe had made their spearpoints out of flint, creating razor-sharp blades that could easily pierce through the thick hides of their prey. But flint was fragile, and anything from a missed cast onto a stone or hard tree to an accurate cast that hit bone could cause it to shatter.
Long ago, the people that would thousands of years later be called Magdalenian devised a better way. Tiny blade blanks were made, some not as long as the thickness of his thumb, and the ends pressed away to create bladelets, most shorter than the width of a pinky nail. These were carefully glued into slots cut into a weapon. For a spear, these were usually points of bone with at least six, sometimes up to three times that, in bladelets.
A single spear created more cutting edges, and if one broke it was a simple matter to work it out and fit a new one in—and since they were smaller, they were less likely to break. The new technology was an improvement in every way.... up until they reached the stars and it was made pretty much obsolete. That was still difficult for Mogan to deal with.
It also made for an oddity that his handiwork was in evidence today. Some still had the old-fashioned spears, from more than two years ago back on Earth. Others had spears that he had designed and had manufactured, thousands of the exact same dimensions and weight, tipped with titanium-gold blades.
Mogan had devised other spears and spearheads as well—flash-bangs, spears with small explosives that would sink into whatever they hit and then riddle it with shrapnel, spears that would leave a small tracking device in the target, and of course the application of high explosives. It was difficult to go wrong with the application of high explosives.
Except here. Magnetic activity in the mine tunnels meant that any such devices were likely to go off at the right time, and the fact that there were tunnels in the first place meant that there were few if any actual right times for an explosive to go off.
That activity was the real reason there were Vishtali in the first place. They didn't have any particular history or skill as miners, but even well-protected drones would be rendered useless in minutes. Instead, they were reduced to using pneumatic drills to chip away at the rock. For the San, this was a technique thousands of years in the future, but for anybody else among the stars it was terrifyingly barbaric.
Mogan had hoped he could raid the spoils of the mines as well, but their information indicated he'd have no such luck. The mine was rich enough; the kh'ler crystals within were gemstones of extraordinary quality and value, such that particularly large and fine specimens had been used to rent planets from the Sovereign. Unfortunately, they were rarely, if ever, simply found in the mine.
Instead, the Vishtali mucked out tons of stone pried loose by hand-tools and pneumatic machines—even small explosives might shatter the crystals—and pushed heavy carts to the surface, where it was loaded onto ships. A facility off-world was easily able to locate the crystals and extract them from the stone, and to help hide the origins as well.
He would have to settle for killing all the overseers and guards, stealing anything of value, and freeing their slaves. Mogan believed it would suffice.
2023.06.04 05:23 dandinonillion bald Brynolf (HELP)
I’ve got a few hair and beard mods installed and went into creation kit to edit him to my liking, but after I save my changes and load the game he still looks like this. Any advice? The changes loaded once, and then I went back into CK to remove a moustache from Brand-Shei, and Bryn is back rocking the look of my ex-boyfriend’s dad.
Modlist:
# This file was automatically generated by Mod Organizer.
+Overwrites
+Northern Roads - Patches Compendium
+Northern Roads Patch Collection
+Northern Roads
+Books of Skyrim SE - Redux
+Better Khajiit female body Texture for UNP and CBBE body
+Minotaurs - Mihail Monsters and Animals (SE-AE version) (''oblivion'')
+Better Pelts and Hides
+Ryn's Dragon Mounds Collection
+KS Hairdos - HDT SMP (Physics) - Khajiit Patch
+KS Hairdos - HDT SMP (Physics)
+ADXP I MCO ER Twinblades (SCAR Precision)
+Lore Weapon Expansion SE
+Nicos Twinblades SE
+Twinblades of Skyrim
+The Forgotten City
+Dragon.Priest.by.Kajuan
+Elden Parry
+ECPLW -ENB Complex Particle Lights for Windows-
+Bellyaches HD Dragon Replacer Pack (SE)
+Another Race Menu Rotation Mod
+Ryn's Azura's Shrine
+Skyland Noble Furniture
+Khajiit Has Wares - A Caravan Camp Overhaul
+Seasoned Traveller Armor SE-AE
+Animated Potions
+Mythic Dawn armor SE
+Inquisitor HDT-SMP Armor
+Dual Casting Fix
+Traveling Mage HDT-SMP Armor
+NPCs React To Necromancy (And More)
+JS Dwemer Control Cube SE
+Vampire Lines Expansion
+Open Animation Replacer
+Cinematic Dragon Soul Absorbtion
+Dawnguard Armors and Weapons Retexture SE
+Conditional Expressions Extended
+Toggleable Night Eye Vampire Werewolf and Khajiit
+Emerald Khajiit Vampire Eyes
+Dragonbone Ebonsteel Armor SE
+Frankly HD Dragonbone and Dragonscale - Armor and Weapons
+NPCs React To Invisibility
+Weathered Furniture - Common and Upper Class - 4K - 2K (LE Backport)
+Prince and The Pauper Refine
+JS Purses and Septims SE
+JS Knapsacks SE
+Asura's Guard
+League of Assassins - Dark Brotherhood Retexture
+League of Assassins Armor
+Base Object Swapper
+Improved Alternate Conversation Camera
+Face Masks of Skyrim
+OBIS SE Patrols Addon
+OBIS SE - Organized Bandits In Skyrim Special Edition
+Immersive Patrols SE AE
+LeanWolf's Better-Shaped Weapons - All in One Installer
+Frankly HD Imperial Armor And Weapons - Sleeves and Pants Edition
+Frankly HD Imperial Armor and Weapons
+RS Children Patch Compendium
+Vanargand Animations - Dual Wield Normal and Power Attacks
+Patch for RS Children Overhaul
+Vitruvia - skin texture overhaul for males - SE
+JS Instruments of Skyrim SE
+JS Common Cages SE
+JS Attunement Sphere and Lexicons SE
+Immersive folded hands (DAR)
+JS Shrines of the Divines SE
+Masculine Khajiit Textures (Grey Cat and Leopard) [Vanilla]
+Prince and the Pauper SE - RS Children Patch
+RS Children Overhaul
+Misc. College of Winterhold Tweaks
+Obscure's College of Winterhold
+College of Winterhold The Missing Apprentices Quest Fix
+College of Winterhold - Quest Expansion - markers
+College of Winterhold - Quest Expansion
+Vanilla SMP Clothing waccf ace patch
+Prisioner robes fix
+Better Fur - fine patch
+Vanilla SMP Clothing
+CACO Ordinator Alternate Patch
+Vanilla Cow Tweaks- Mihail Monsters and Animals (SE-AE version)
+Heart of the Beast - Werewolf Sound - Remastered - SSE PORT
+Daedroth Titans- Mihail Monsters and Animals (SE-AE version) (''oblivion daedra'')
+Wraith-of-Crows - Mihail Monsters and Animals (SE-AE version) (''nocturnal'')
+Savage Wolves
+More Hircinic Aspects of Hircine- Mihail's Shards of Immersion (SE-AE version)
+Lustmord Vampire Armor - SSE CBBE BodySlide (with Physics)
+Kellan HDT-SMP Armor
+Frost Giant Overhaul- Mihail Monsters and Animals (SE-AE version) (''karstaag'')
+Cow Replacer- Mihail Monsters and Animals (SE-AE version)
+Birds of Prey and Felsaad Terns- Mihail Monsters and Animals (SE-AE version)
+Apocrypha's Currency- Mihail's Shards of Immersion (SE-AE version) (''coin'')
+Glorious Doors of Skyrim (GDOS)
+Security Overhaul SKSE - Lock Variations
+Frankly HD Thieves Guild Armors
+Giant.by.Kajuan
+Fur Bedroll 2-4k
+Draugr.by.Kajuan
+Troll.by.Kajuan
+Skeleton.and.Human.Bones.by.Kajuan
+Edmond's HD Nordic Snow with Parallax
+Nordic Snow
+Hedge Mage Armor SSE
+Craftable Blood Potions SSE
+Illustrious Whiterun - Alt Stonefloor 4K 2.0
+Leviathan Animations II - Greatsword Non Combat Locomotion
+Leviathan Animations II - Greatsword Low Stance
+Vanargand Animations - Sneak idle walk and run
+Vanargand Animations - Sneak Thrust Attacks
+Vanargand Animations - Sneak Strike Attacks
+Leviathan Animations - Two-Handed High Stance
+Vanargand Animations - Dual Wield Sneak Thrusts
+Vanargand Animations - Dual Wield Sneak Strikes
+Vanargand Animations - Female Idle Walk and Run
+Vanargand Animations - Male Idle Walk and Run
+Goetia Animations - Female Idle Walk And Run
+Goetia Animations - Male Idle Walk And Run
+Leviathan Animations II - Female Idle Walk And Run
+Leviathan Animations II - Male Idle Walk And Run
+Conditional Armor Type Animations
+Leather Armors Retexture SE
+Fashions of The Huntsmen- A Leather Armor variation mod (Armor Pack- CBBE-3BA and HIMBO)
+Mysticism - Ordinator Patch
+Mysticism - A Magic Overhaul
+Lux - Illustrious Whiterun - Parallax'd
+Illustrious Whiterun SE - 8K - Parallax
+Teldryn Serious Patch
+DX Necromancer Robes - HDT-SMP Physics and 3BBB Bodyslides
+The Caller - DX Necromancer Robes
+3D Whiterun Trellis
+Immersive Equipment Displays
+HDT-SMP Traveler's Backpack - My Version
+HDT-SMP Traveler's Backpack
+Simple Dual Sheath
+Weapon Keyword Unification Project
+Keyword Item Distributor
+Nightingale Armor and Weapons Retexture SE
+Skaal Coat Alternative Texture
+Hearthfires Extended and Creation Club Fishing Patch
+Spell Research Add-On - Book Transformation Spell
+Terrain Fixes for CC Mods
+Necromancers Amulet Replacement
+Immersive Spell Learning
+Wintersun patch
+Spell Research - Ultimate Add-On Patch
+Altered Spell Tomes for Spell Research - Tweaks
+Spell Research - Convenience Add-On
+Spell Research - Spell Composing
+Altered Spell Tomes for Spell Research 1
+Altered Spell Tomes for Spell Research-Apocalypse
+Altered Spell Tomes for Spell Research
+Spell Research Patch Compendium Redux 357 patches
+Origins Of Forest - Lakeview Manor Patch
+Technicolor Alchemy - CACO - More Growable Plants Patch
+Complete Alchemy and Cooking Overhaul (CACO) and More Growable Plants SE compatibility patch
+SIC SE - Add-Ons and Patches
+CACO - Beyond Skyrim Bruma Patch
+Spell Research - Experience Book
+Spell Research
+kryptopyr's Patch Hub
+Bloodchill Manor (CC) __ CACO
+Cutting Room Floor __ CACO
+Opulent Thieves Guild - FPS Fix
+Opulent Thieves Guild - Sneak Tools compatibility patch
+Quaint Raven Rock - Ghosts of the Tribunal Patch
+More Growable Plants SE
+Cathedral - 3D Solstheim Grass
+SmoothCam - Octavian's Preset
+Pets of Skyrim - JK's Skyrim Compatibility Patch
+SmoothCam - Soft Preset
+WACCF Sneak Tools Patch
+Sneak Tools Embers XD Patch
+Sneak Tools SE Edition
+Wayfarer's Coat CBBE
+Wayfarer's Coat
+Sleeping Expanded - Animations and NPC reactions
+Archmage Apparel
+Ars Metallica - Smithing Enhancement
+Hunting in Skyrim - A Hunting Guild SE
+Diverse Werewolves Collection SE Player
+Diverse Werewolves Collection SE
+Werebeast GrowlVanilla Spruce-up
+Unleashed Sacrosanct and Growl Racial Abilities SE - (Werewolf and Vampire racial abilities for custom races)
+Growl and Sacrosanct Hybrid
+Gender-specific Werewolf Transformation Sounds (Vampire Lords optional)
+Elden Counter
+Wildcat - Combat of Skyrim
+Set of Skills
+ADXP I MCO ER rapiers (SCAR)
+ADXP I MCO ER Katana (SCAR)
+Realistic Halberd Poleaxe Animation(MCO SCAR)
+Goetia Animations - Enchanted Staves
+Favorite Misc Items
+Simple Outfit Manager
+Hunting Grounds Outfit
+SIRENROOT - Patch 1.04
+SIRENROOT - Deluge of Deceit
+ADXP I MCO ER Spear Basic Animation (SCAR)
+Skyrim Spear Mechanic SE
+Cathedral - 3D Rocky Shores
+FurArmorSetSE(FrostFall Aware) ordinator
+High Poly Gleamblossoms
+Goetia Animations - Conditional Shouts
+HD Baskets Textures
+SCAR AE Support
+Trade and Barter - Patches
+Circlet USSEP Fixes
+Wintersun - Creatures
+Skyrim Immersive Creatures Special Edition
+Sunhelm Survival Patch for Hearthfire Extended
+Forsworn Dreadlocks for Beast Races
+Guild Leader Perks
+Hearthfire Carriage Destinations
+Hearthfire Improvements - A Lightweight Extension
+Better Dynamic Ash SE
+Hearthfire Shrines Expanded
+College Prestige Mage Outfit SE
+DX Necromancer Robes - SSE CBBE BodySlide
+DX Necromancer Robes - UNP
+Better Treasury House
+Illuminated Blue Palace Dome
+ENB Particle Lights - Dwemer Lanterns
+Unique Solstheim Grass
+Better beast race scars
+Reach Tree Replacer SSE
+Better fur - Fine clothes
+Beyond Skyrim - Bruma Upscaled Textures (BSBUT) Armour
+Beyond Skyrim - Bruma Upscaled Textures (BSBUT)
+Thundering Shouts
+Nibenean Armors and Outfit SE - UNP - UNPB - CBBE
+Technicolor Alchemy Overhaul - Unique Alchemy Plants for Skyrim SE
+Forsworn Fashions- More Variety for forsworn (Armor Pack- BHUNP CBBE 3BA and HIMBO)
+Wilderness Witch Outfit CBBE
+Wilderness Witch Outfit
+Unique Flowers and Plants SSE
+Imperial Fine Clothes
+Conditional Expressions - Subtle Face Animations
+Immersive Interactions - Animated Actions
+FurArmorSetSE - CBBE Bodyslide Conversion
+FurArmorSetSE - Muted Color Retexture
+FurArmorSetSE(FrostFall Aware)
+Cathedral - 3D Snow Berries
+3D Plants Patch - Snowberries
+Saints and Seducers Flora ENB Light
+(DISCONTINUED) CBBE Armour and Clothing Conversions for Beyond Skyrim - Bruma
+Rare Curios - BS Bruma Synergy Patch
+Cathedral - Armory - Gemling Queen Jewelry Patch
+2K Ring of Namira Retextured
+White Phial Replacer SE
+Stalhrim Source
+Bandit Lines Expansion
+2k Retextured Ring Of hircine
+Solstheim Lighthouse
+Wyrmstooth Upscaled Textures
+Missives - The Witcher Board HD
+Sovngarde HD
+Missives - Notes Retexture
+HD Sleeping Tree Sap Replacer
+HQ Tree Bark
+Arri's Snow Elf Ruins Retexture Special Edition
+VioLens - A Killmove Mod SE
+Cathedral 3D Mountain Flowers for Hearthfire
+Lux Via - Cathedral Mountain Flowers
+Hitting the Books - A Necromantic Grimoire Update
+Simple Bath for Bloodchill Manor
+Conditional Dog Barking (DAR)
+Werewolf Animation and Sneak Extension (DAR)
+Kaidan Lux
+Kaidan Inigo
+Kaidan 3dnpc
+Axarien's Animations - Lucien (DAR)
+Axarien's Animations - The Companions - Vilkas Farkas Aela (DAR)
+Axarien's Animations - Inigo (DAR)
+Skyrim Wayshrines - Immersive Fast Travel - SWIFT SE
+SUEMR SSE with Bijin AIO 2019 Support
+Black_Sacrament_Armor_V4-1_High Def_PortedSSE
+Immersive Sounds Compendium - PATCHES
+Enhanced Blood Textures
+Hunterborn SE MCM
+I'm Glad You're Here - a follower and spouse appreciation mod - SSE - Bard patch
+Skyrim's Got Talent - Improve As a Bard
+Immersive Vampire Clutter - Base Object Swapper (BOS)
+Moss Shaders Restored - Cut Content Restoration
+Missives
+Realistic Skooma
+Daedric Shrines - All in One
+8K Night Skies - Stars and Galaxies - Cathedral Concept
+Breezehome by Lupus - Lux - Embers XD - Patch
+Breezehome by Lupus
+Simple Breezehome Garden
+I'm Glad You're Here - a follower and spouse appreciation mod - SSE
+Quest Outfit Replacers - Party and Radiant Raiment Fine Clothes
+Ordinator - Slower Leveling Speed and Increased Training Costs
+Growl - Werebeasts of Skyrim
+BA Bard Songs
+Colovian Leather Armor and Outfit SE - UNP - CBBE - Update
+Colovian Leather Armor and Outfit SE - UNP - CBBE
+Auto Input Switch
+Vampire Sun Damage Clothes Covering
+All Thieves Guild Jobs Concurrently
+Arena - An Encounter Zone Overhaul
+Immersive Load Screens for ArteFakes
+ArteFakes - Unique Artifacts Replacer animation
+ArteFakes - Unique Artifacts Replacer plugin
+ArteFakes - Unique Artifacts Replacer
+JK's Interiors Patch Collection
+Better Third Person Selection - BTPS
+Queen of the Damned - Deadlier Serana_SE
+Serana Dialogue Edit - Skyrim Special Edition
+Anima Nera - SerketHetyt's Serana Overhaul
+Respectable Inventory -- Well-Stocked Alchemists
+Character Creation Overhaul - Races - Birthsigns - Classes - Skills - Specializations - Attributes - update
+Character Creation Overhaul - Races - Birthsigns - Classes - Skills - Specializations - Attributes
+Smart NPC Potions - Enemies Use Potions and Poisons
+RUSTIC AMULETS - Special Edition
+Wintersun - More Patches
+Precision
+Crimson Nirnroot Markers
+Bandolier - Bags and Pouches for NPC
+Bandolier - Bags and Pouches Classic
+Book Covers Skyrim
+Trade and Barter
+Tribunal Robes and Masks for SSE
+Volkihar Knight - Vampire Armor
+Sovngarde - A Nordic Font
+Triumvirate - Mage Archetypes
+The Midden - Expanded
+Stones of Barenziah Quest Markers
+Take a Seat - New DAR Sitting Animations
+Rudy HQ - Miscellaneous SE
+The Beauty of Skyrim - Caves and Mines
+Quaint Raven Rock Patch Collection
+Quaint Raven Rock - SE
+Ordinator - No Timed Block
+Valhalla Combat
+Skyshards
+Sacrosanct - Vampires of Skyrim
+Run For Your Lives
+Prince and the Pauper SE
+Gemling Queen Jewelry SE
+Khajiit Will Follow - Fix
+Khajiit Will Follow
+Coats for Skyrim - UPDATED - SSE
+Bruma Signs SMIM patch - SE
+Wait Your Turn - Enemy Circling Behaviour
+Wealthy Marks - A Pickpocket Mod (SPID)
+Thieves Guild Dialogue Fix - USSEP Compatible
+Wear Multiple Rings
+Point The Way
+High Level Enemies
+Dirt and Blood - Dynamic Visual Effects
+Follower Trap Safety
+Immersive Khajiit Armor and Weapons - Rebalance and Integration
+Lunar Guard Armor
+VickusDickus' Khajiiti Apex Armory - skeleton
+VickusDickus' Khajiiti Apex Armory
+Payload Interpreter
+SmoothCam
+Apocalypse - Magic of Skyrim - Ordinator
+Apocalypse Spells For NPCS
+Apocalypse - Magic of Skyrim
+Vanargand Animations - One Handed Power Attacks
+Goetia Animations - Sneak Magic
+Goetia Animations - Magic Spell Casting
+EVG Conditional Idles
+Gesture Animation Remix (DAR)
+Animated Armoury - DAR Version - New Weapons with animations
+Vanargand Animations - One Handed Mid Stance
+Vanargand Animations - One Handed Normal Attacks
+Vanargand Animations - Sneak Archery
+Lively Children Animations (DAR)
+NPC Animation Remix (DAR)
+Animation Motion Revolution
+MCO Universal Support
+Attack MCO-DXP
+The Companions - Earn your stripes
+Pickpocketing 5Ever
+Awesome Potions Simplified -ENB Lights
+Awesome Potions Simplified by Revoith
+Dawnguard as a vampire
+Improved Companions - Questline Tweaks
+Medieval Spirits
+Gildergreen Regrown
+Hearthfire Extended - Cutting Room Floor Patch
+Hearthfire Extended
+Coin Purse - An Overhaul For Skyrim
+Summermyst - WACCF Patch
+Summermyst - Enchantments of Skyrim
+Saints and Seducers - Growable Plants
+Opulent Thieves Guild Patch Collection
+Skyrims Unique Treasures
+True Directional Movement - Modernized Third Person Gameplay
+XP32 Maximum Skeleton Special Extended
+Wintersun - Faiths of Skyrim
+Dragon Claws Auto-Unlock
+Project New Reign - Nemesis Unlimited Behavior Engine
+Lind's Black Robes Revamp - Texture Replacer
+Moon Monk's Robes
+Skyforge Weapons - Reforged
+Inigo - Bloodchill Manor patch
+Cult of the World Eater - Dragon Priests Buff Alduin
+Deadly Dragons
+SCAR - Skyrim Combos AI Revolution
+RUSTIC SOULGEMS - Special Edition
+Face Discoloration Fix
+Miscellaneous Embers XD Patches
+Vanilla hair remake SMP compatibility
+Vanilla hair remake SMP
+BeastHHBB - VHR SMP
+ShowRaceMenu Alternative - Lux patch
+ShowRaceMenu Alternative
+Tempered Skins for Females CBBE
+Vanilla hair remake SMP NPCs (real hair)
+Superior Lore-Friendly Hair - HD textures
+VHR - Vanilla Hair Replacer
+Barbarian Bodypaints - Racemenu Body and Head Overlays for UUNP CBBE and Males
+Beards of Power - Sons of Skyrim - Vanilla Hair Remake SMP
+Beards of Power - Sons of Skyrim
+Normal Vampire Face For High Poly Head
+Whiter Teeth for ALL (SE)- Orc Khajiit Argonian Werewolf
+BeastHHBB - Khajiit and Argonian content - player character and NPC replacer addon
+BeastHHBB - Khajiit and Argonian content - player character and NPC replacer
+Khajiit Aesthetics Compilation - Hair Eyes Fangs
+Better Beast vampire fangs - fixes and adjustments - Argonian and Khajiit
+Kala's Eyes- Beast Race Edition Khajiit Argonian
+The Witcher 3 Eyes SE
+Vanilla Warpaints Absolution
+Apachii Sky Hair SSE
+CoverKhajiits - Face Textures 4K SE
+Pretty Khajiit SE
+The Eyes Of Beauty SSE
+Total Character Makeover
+Weathered Nordic Bodypaints -Special Edition- RaceMenu Overlays and Warpaints
+Beast Race Bodypaints SE -Khajiit and Argonian Themed Bodypaints Facepaints RaceMenu Overlays-
+Community Overlays 2 (31-50) Bodypaints Warpaints Tattoos and more made for the Community (Special Edition)
+High Poly Head SE
+BodySlide and Outfit Studio
+Caliente's Beautiful Bodies Enhancer -CBBE-
+Xelzaz' Telvanni Spellsword Armor Enhanced
+Xelzaz - Custom Fully Voiced Argonian Telvanni Follower - Wyrmstooth
+Xelzaz - Custom Fully Voiced Argonian Telvanni Follower
+Lux Via Wyrmstooth
+Remiel-Custom Voiced Dwemer Specialist and Companion
+Lucien - Immersive Fully Voiced Male Follower - Bruma
+Lucien - Immersive Fully Voiced Male Follower - Curios
+Lucien - Immersive Fully Voiced Male Follower - S+Zombies
+Lucien - Immersive Fully Voiced Male Follower - Saints
+Lucien - Immersive Fully Voiced Male Follower
+Daughter of Valenwood - An Auri Replacer
+Song of the Green (Auri Follower) - Inidog
+Song of the Green 3dnpc
+Song of the Green Auri
+INIGO
+Kaidan 2 Weapons Revamped - Katana Bow and Quiver with Arrows
+BWB-Kaidan-2-Armor-Revamped-Dragon
+BWB Kaidan
+Kaidan 2
+Interesting NPCs SE (3DNPC) - Rumarin Solstheim
+Interesting NPCs SE (3DNPC) - Cutting Room Floor
+Interesting NPCs SE (3DNPC) - AI Overhaul
+Interesting NPCs SE (3DNPC)
+Opulent Thieves Guild
+Ordinator for Spell Perk Item Distributor
+JK's Skyrim - Thunderchild patch
+Thunderchild - Epic Shouts and Immersion
+JKs Skyrim - AI Overhaul SSE Patch
+JK's Skyrim
+Lanterns Of Skyrim II
+Real 3D Walls
+Solstheim landscape and furniture
+Rudy HQ - Nordic Ruins SE
+-Skyrim 202X 9.0 - Architecture
+-Skyrim 202X 9.0.1 - Other
+Skyrim 202X 9.0 - Landscape
+Skyrim 202X by Pfuscher - Formerly 2020
+Books of Skyrim SE
+Colovian Noble Clothes
+RUGNAROK - Special Edition
+PELTAPALOOZA - Special Edition
+Dark Brotherhood Robes Replaced
+Dark Brotherhood Enchantments Improved
+4thUnknown - Ancient Shrouded Armor Replacer
+Dark Brotherhood Armor SE
+Cathedral - Armory update
+Cathedral - Armory
+aMidianBorn Book of Silence SE
+Fashions Of The Banditry- A bandit-focused Armor Pack (BHUNP-CBBE-3BA-HIMBO) CBBE
+Fashions Of The Banditry- A bandit-focused Armor Pack (BHUNP-CBBE-3BA-HIMBO)
+Artesian Cloaks of Skyrim
+Cloaks of Skyrim HD SSE
+Winter Is Coming SSE - Cloaks Patch
+Cloaks of Skyrim SSE
+Vampire Royal Armor Replacer HDT-SMP Cape
+HDT-SMP for Cloaks and Capes
+Winter Is Coming SSE - Cloaks
+Faster HDT-SMP
+Nightingale Hall Restored - Karliah As A Follower
+Black Mage Armor SE
+Mage Outfit Texture Overhaul - Schools of Magic SSE (Revised ESP Only) - WACCF
+Mage Outfit Texture Overhaul - Schools of Magic SSE (Revised ESP Only)
+Mage Outfit Texture Overhaul - Schools of Magic
+RUSTIC FURNITURE - SPECIAL EDITION
+Hunterborn Ordinator Bone Arrow patch
+Hunterborn
+Campfire Patch for Water-Borne Diseases for SunHelm
+SunHelm Survival - Compatibility Patches
+Skills of the Wild - New Campfire Survival Skill Trees
+SunHelm - Creation Club Farming Patch
+Water-Borne Diseases for SunHelm
+SunHelm Survival
+Warm Drinks SSE - Simple Tea And Coffee Recipes - for Campfire
+Campfire - Complete Camping System (Supports Skyrim VR)
+Ordinator - Rat king - Other Creatures
+Ordinator Beyond Skyrim Patch
+Ordinator - Perks of Skyrim
+Skyrim 3D Trees and Plants - CACO Patch
+Complete Alchemy & Cooking Overhaul
+Wyrmstooth
+At Your Own Pace - Main Quest
+At Your Own Pace - Thane Overhaul
+Defeat the Dragon Cult
+Weapons Armor Clothing and Clutter Fixes - CBBE Patch
+Player Blink Fix
+Teldryn Serious - A Teldryn Sero Backstory Quest SSE
+Immersive College NPCs - No Saarthal (Compatibility for Ryn's Saarthal)
+Immersive College NPCs
+Ryn's Ustengrav
+Ryn's Saarthal
+The Brotherhood of Old - Dark Brotherhood Continued
+Ryn's Bleak Falls Barrow
+Magical Blackreach
+JK's Silver-Blood Inn
+JK's The Bannered Mare
+JK's The Winking Skeever
+JK's Warmaiden's
+JK's The Drunken Huntsman
+JK's Sleeping Giant Inn
+JK's Radiant Raiment
+JK's Arcadia's Cauldron
+JK's Belethor's General Goods
+JK's Dragonsreach
+JK's Angeline's Aromatics
+JK's Bits and Pieces
+JK's Blue Palace
+JK's Candlehearth Hall
+JK's Elgrim's Elixirs
+JK's White Phial
+JK's Mistveil Keep
+JK's New Gnisis Cornerclub
+JK's Sadri's Used Wares
+JK's Palace of the Kings
+JK's The Temple of Mara
+JK's The Pawned Prawn
+JK's The Bee and Barb
+JK's Arnleif and Sons Trading Company
+JK's The Hag's Cure
+JK's Understone Keep
+JK's Jorrvaskr
+JK's Riverwood Trader
+JK's Temple of the Divines
+JK's Temple of Talos
+JK's Temple of Kynareth
+JK's Temple of Dibella
+JK's Haelga's Bunkhouse
+JK's High Hrothgar
+JK's Castle Dour
+JK's Septimus Signus's Outpost
+JK's The Bards College
+DLC Content
+Realistic Conversations
+Relationship Dialogue Overhaul - RDO SE
+AI Overhaul SSE
+Cutting Room Floor - SSE
+Fuz Ro D-oh - Silent Voice
+Unlimited Bookshelves
+Practical Patches-Replacers for Skyrim 3D Trees and Plants - Nightshade
+Waterplants
+3D Plants Patch - Tundra Cotton
+3D Plants Patch - Lavender
+3D Plants Patch - Nirnroot by Mari and Rudy's Light
+Practical Patches-Replacers for Skyrim 3D Trees and Plants - Mountain Flowers
+3D Plants Patch - Deathbell with Rudy's Purple Light
+Cathedral - 3D Clover Plant
+Cathedral - 3D Thicket and Dead Shrub
+Cathedral - 3D Grass Library
+Cathedral - 3D Thistle
+Cathedral - 3D Mountain Flowers
+Cathedral - 3D Tundra Cotton
+Cathedral - 3D Deathbell ENB
+Cathedral - 3D Deathbell
+Cathedral - Mushrooms
+Origins Of Forest - 3D Forest Grass
+Immersive Sounds - Compendium
+Lux
+Lux Via
+Embers XD
+Wet and Cold SE - Cathedral Weathers Patch
+Wet and Cold SE
+Rudy ENB Cathedral Weathers ADDONS and REQUiRED Files
+Cathedral Weathers and Seasons
+Whiterun Objects SMIMed (and fixes too)
+Armor and Clothing Extension
+Weapons Armor Clothing and Clutter Fixes
+RUSTIC CLOTHING - Special Edition
+Guard Dialogue Overhaul SE
+Obsidian Mountain Fogs
+Water for ENB
+ENB Light Inventory Fix (ELIF)
+Bright Snow Fix for ENB
+Bright Waterfall Fix for ENB
+ENB Helper SE
+ENB Light
+Less Distracting Blowing Snow Effects for ENB Particle Patch
+Enhanced Volumetric Lighting and Shadows (EVLaS)
+Landscape Fixes For Grass Mods
+No Grass In Objects
+Static Mesh improvement Mod - SMIM - Quality Addon
+Skyrim 3D Trees and Plants
+Cathedral - Plants
+Landscapes - Cathedral Concept
+Static Mesh Improvement Mod
+Mfg Fix
+NORDIC UI - Miscellaneous Patches
+Nordic UI Active Effects for SkyUI SE
+SkyUI Weapons Pack SE
+Expanded Dawnguard Map Markers
+NORDIC UI - Interface Overhaul
+Experience
+iHUD and True HUD Patch
+TrueHUD - HUD Additions
+Immersive HUD - iHUD Special Edition
+SkyHUD
+Beyond Skyrim - Bruma DLC
+Beyond Skyrim - Bruma
+Beyond Skyrim - Assets
+A Clear Map of Skyrim and Other Worlds
+RaceMenu
+Lore-Based Loading Screens
+Survival Control Panel
+SkyUI
+Scrambled Bugs
+JContainers SE
+DynDOLOD Resources SE
+Particle Patch for ENB
+Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch
+Skyrim Landscape and Water Fixes
+Unofficial High Definition Audio Project
+Spell Perk Item Distributor
+Sound Record Distributor
+MCM Helper
+powerofthree's Papyrus Extender
+powerofthree's Tweaks
+.NET Script Framework
+Unique Map Weather
+SSE Display Tweaks
+SSE Engine Fixes (skse64 plugin)
+Scaleform Translation Plus Plus NG
+PapyrusUtil SE - Modders Scripting Utility Functions
+Papyrus Tweaks NG
+Crash Logger SSE AE VR - PDB support
+Address Library for SKSE Plugins
+xEdit Output
*Creation Club: ccBGSSSE037-Curios
*Creation Club: ccBGSSSE001-Fish
*Creation Club: ccBGSSSE025-AdvDSGS
*Creation Club: ccQDRSSE001-SurvivalMode
*DLC: Dawnguard
*DLC: Dragonborn
*DLC: HearthFires
*Creation Club: ccbgssse003-zombies
*Creation Club: ccbgssse011-hrsarmrelvn
*Creation Club: ccbgssse012-hrsarmrstl
*Creation Club: ccbgssse057-ba_stalhrim
*Creation Club: ccbgssse058-ba_steel
*Creation Club: ccbgssse060-ba_dragonscale
*Creation Club: ccedhsse001-norjewel
*Creation Club: ccedhsse002-splkntset
*Creation Club: ccedhsse003-redguard
*Creation Club: cceejsse005-cave
*Creation Club: ccvsvsse003-necroarts
*Creation Club: ccvsvsse004-beafarmer
submitted by dandinonillion to skyrimmods [link] [comments]
Modlist:
# This file was automatically generated by Mod Organizer.
+Overwrites
+Northern Roads - Patches Compendium
+Northern Roads Patch Collection
+Northern Roads
+Books of Skyrim SE - Redux
+Better Khajiit female body Texture for UNP and CBBE body
+Minotaurs - Mihail Monsters and Animals (SE-AE version) (''oblivion'')
+Better Pelts and Hides
+Ryn's Dragon Mounds Collection
+KS Hairdos - HDT SMP (Physics) - Khajiit Patch
+KS Hairdos - HDT SMP (Physics)
+ADXP I MCO ER Twinblades (SCAR Precision)
+Lore Weapon Expansion SE
+Nicos Twinblades SE
+Twinblades of Skyrim
+The Forgotten City
+Dragon.Priest.by.Kajuan
+Elden Parry
+ECPLW -ENB Complex Particle Lights for Windows-
+Bellyaches HD Dragon Replacer Pack (SE)
+Another Race Menu Rotation Mod
+Ryn's Azura's Shrine
+Skyland Noble Furniture
+Khajiit Has Wares - A Caravan Camp Overhaul
+Seasoned Traveller Armor SE-AE
+Animated Potions
+Mythic Dawn armor SE
+Inquisitor HDT-SMP Armor
+Dual Casting Fix
+Traveling Mage HDT-SMP Armor
+NPCs React To Necromancy (And More)
+JS Dwemer Control Cube SE
+Vampire Lines Expansion
+Open Animation Replacer
+Cinematic Dragon Soul Absorbtion
+Dawnguard Armors and Weapons Retexture SE
+Conditional Expressions Extended
+Toggleable Night Eye Vampire Werewolf and Khajiit
+Emerald Khajiit Vampire Eyes
+Dragonbone Ebonsteel Armor SE
+Frankly HD Dragonbone and Dragonscale - Armor and Weapons
+NPCs React To Invisibility
+Weathered Furniture - Common and Upper Class - 4K - 2K (LE Backport)
+Prince and The Pauper Refine
+JS Purses and Septims SE
+JS Knapsacks SE
+Asura's Guard
+League of Assassins - Dark Brotherhood Retexture
+League of Assassins Armor
+Base Object Swapper
+Improved Alternate Conversation Camera
+Face Masks of Skyrim
+OBIS SE Patrols Addon
+OBIS SE - Organized Bandits In Skyrim Special Edition
+Immersive Patrols SE AE
+LeanWolf's Better-Shaped Weapons - All in One Installer
+Frankly HD Imperial Armor And Weapons - Sleeves and Pants Edition
+Frankly HD Imperial Armor and Weapons
+RS Children Patch Compendium
+Vanargand Animations - Dual Wield Normal and Power Attacks
+Patch for RS Children Overhaul
+Vitruvia - skin texture overhaul for males - SE
+JS Instruments of Skyrim SE
+JS Common Cages SE
+JS Attunement Sphere and Lexicons SE
+Immersive folded hands (DAR)
+JS Shrines of the Divines SE
+Masculine Khajiit Textures (Grey Cat and Leopard) [Vanilla]
+Prince and the Pauper SE - RS Children Patch
+RS Children Overhaul
+Misc. College of Winterhold Tweaks
+Obscure's College of Winterhold
+College of Winterhold The Missing Apprentices Quest Fix
+College of Winterhold - Quest Expansion - markers
+College of Winterhold - Quest Expansion
+Vanilla SMP Clothing waccf ace patch
+Prisioner robes fix
+Better Fur - fine patch
+Vanilla SMP Clothing
+CACO Ordinator Alternate Patch
+Vanilla Cow Tweaks- Mihail Monsters and Animals (SE-AE version)
+Heart of the Beast - Werewolf Sound - Remastered - SSE PORT
+Daedroth Titans- Mihail Monsters and Animals (SE-AE version) (''oblivion daedra'')
+Wraith-of-Crows - Mihail Monsters and Animals (SE-AE version) (''nocturnal'')
+Savage Wolves
+More Hircinic Aspects of Hircine- Mihail's Shards of Immersion (SE-AE version)
+Lustmord Vampire Armor - SSE CBBE BodySlide (with Physics)
+Kellan HDT-SMP Armor
+Frost Giant Overhaul- Mihail Monsters and Animals (SE-AE version) (''karstaag'')
+Cow Replacer- Mihail Monsters and Animals (SE-AE version)
+Birds of Prey and Felsaad Terns- Mihail Monsters and Animals (SE-AE version)
+Apocrypha's Currency- Mihail's Shards of Immersion (SE-AE version) (''coin'')
+Glorious Doors of Skyrim (GDOS)
+Security Overhaul SKSE - Lock Variations
+Frankly HD Thieves Guild Armors
+Giant.by.Kajuan
+Fur Bedroll 2-4k
+Draugr.by.Kajuan
+Troll.by.Kajuan
+Skeleton.and.Human.Bones.by.Kajuan
+Edmond's HD Nordic Snow with Parallax
+Nordic Snow
+Hedge Mage Armor SSE
+Craftable Blood Potions SSE
+Illustrious Whiterun - Alt Stonefloor 4K 2.0
+Leviathan Animations II - Greatsword Non Combat Locomotion
+Leviathan Animations II - Greatsword Low Stance
+Vanargand Animations - Sneak idle walk and run
+Vanargand Animations - Sneak Thrust Attacks
+Vanargand Animations - Sneak Strike Attacks
+Leviathan Animations - Two-Handed High Stance
+Vanargand Animations - Dual Wield Sneak Thrusts
+Vanargand Animations - Dual Wield Sneak Strikes
+Vanargand Animations - Female Idle Walk and Run
+Vanargand Animations - Male Idle Walk and Run
+Goetia Animations - Female Idle Walk And Run
+Goetia Animations - Male Idle Walk And Run
+Leviathan Animations II - Female Idle Walk And Run
+Leviathan Animations II - Male Idle Walk And Run
+Conditional Armor Type Animations
+Leather Armors Retexture SE
+Fashions of The Huntsmen- A Leather Armor variation mod (Armor Pack- CBBE-3BA and HIMBO)
+Mysticism - Ordinator Patch
+Mysticism - A Magic Overhaul
+Lux - Illustrious Whiterun - Parallax'd
+Illustrious Whiterun SE - 8K - Parallax
+Teldryn Serious Patch
+DX Necromancer Robes - HDT-SMP Physics and 3BBB Bodyslides
+The Caller - DX Necromancer Robes
+3D Whiterun Trellis
+Immersive Equipment Displays
+HDT-SMP Traveler's Backpack - My Version
+HDT-SMP Traveler's Backpack
+Simple Dual Sheath
+Weapon Keyword Unification Project
+Keyword Item Distributor
+Nightingale Armor and Weapons Retexture SE
+Skaal Coat Alternative Texture
+Hearthfires Extended and Creation Club Fishing Patch
+Spell Research Add-On - Book Transformation Spell
+Terrain Fixes for CC Mods
+Necromancers Amulet Replacement
+Immersive Spell Learning
+Wintersun patch
+Spell Research - Ultimate Add-On Patch
+Altered Spell Tomes for Spell Research - Tweaks
+Spell Research - Convenience Add-On
+Spell Research - Spell Composing
+Altered Spell Tomes for Spell Research 1
+Altered Spell Tomes for Spell Research-Apocalypse
+Altered Spell Tomes for Spell Research
+Spell Research Patch Compendium Redux 357 patches
+Origins Of Forest - Lakeview Manor Patch
+Technicolor Alchemy - CACO - More Growable Plants Patch
+Complete Alchemy and Cooking Overhaul (CACO) and More Growable Plants SE compatibility patch
+SIC SE - Add-Ons and Patches
+CACO - Beyond Skyrim Bruma Patch
+Spell Research - Experience Book
+Spell Research
+kryptopyr's Patch Hub
+Bloodchill Manor (CC) __ CACO
+Cutting Room Floor __ CACO
+Opulent Thieves Guild - FPS Fix
+Opulent Thieves Guild - Sneak Tools compatibility patch
+Quaint Raven Rock - Ghosts of the Tribunal Patch
+More Growable Plants SE
+Cathedral - 3D Solstheim Grass
+SmoothCam - Octavian's Preset
+Pets of Skyrim - JK's Skyrim Compatibility Patch
+SmoothCam - Soft Preset
+WACCF Sneak Tools Patch
+Sneak Tools Embers XD Patch
+Sneak Tools SE Edition
+Wayfarer's Coat CBBE
+Wayfarer's Coat
+Sleeping Expanded - Animations and NPC reactions
+Archmage Apparel
+Ars Metallica - Smithing Enhancement
+Hunting in Skyrim - A Hunting Guild SE
+Diverse Werewolves Collection SE Player
+Diverse Werewolves Collection SE
+Werebeast GrowlVanilla Spruce-up
+Unleashed Sacrosanct and Growl Racial Abilities SE - (Werewolf and Vampire racial abilities for custom races)
+Growl and Sacrosanct Hybrid
+Gender-specific Werewolf Transformation Sounds (Vampire Lords optional)
+Elden Counter
+Wildcat - Combat of Skyrim
+Set of Skills
+ADXP I MCO ER rapiers (SCAR)
+ADXP I MCO ER Katana (SCAR)
+Realistic Halberd Poleaxe Animation(MCO SCAR)
+Goetia Animations - Enchanted Staves
+Favorite Misc Items
+Simple Outfit Manager
+Hunting Grounds Outfit
+SIRENROOT - Patch 1.04
+SIRENROOT - Deluge of Deceit
+ADXP I MCO ER Spear Basic Animation (SCAR)
+Skyrim Spear Mechanic SE
+Cathedral - 3D Rocky Shores
+FurArmorSetSE(FrostFall Aware) ordinator
+High Poly Gleamblossoms
+Goetia Animations - Conditional Shouts
+HD Baskets Textures
+SCAR AE Support
+Trade and Barter - Patches
+Circlet USSEP Fixes
+Wintersun - Creatures
+Skyrim Immersive Creatures Special Edition
+Sunhelm Survival Patch for Hearthfire Extended
+Forsworn Dreadlocks for Beast Races
+Guild Leader Perks
+Hearthfire Carriage Destinations
+Hearthfire Improvements - A Lightweight Extension
+Better Dynamic Ash SE
+Hearthfire Shrines Expanded
+College Prestige Mage Outfit SE
+DX Necromancer Robes - SSE CBBE BodySlide
+DX Necromancer Robes - UNP
+Better Treasury House
+Illuminated Blue Palace Dome
+ENB Particle Lights - Dwemer Lanterns
+Unique Solstheim Grass
+Better beast race scars
+Reach Tree Replacer SSE
+Better fur - Fine clothes
+Beyond Skyrim - Bruma Upscaled Textures (BSBUT) Armour
+Beyond Skyrim - Bruma Upscaled Textures (BSBUT)
+Thundering Shouts
+Nibenean Armors and Outfit SE - UNP - UNPB - CBBE
+Technicolor Alchemy Overhaul - Unique Alchemy Plants for Skyrim SE
+Forsworn Fashions- More Variety for forsworn (Armor Pack- BHUNP CBBE 3BA and HIMBO)
+Wilderness Witch Outfit CBBE
+Wilderness Witch Outfit
+Unique Flowers and Plants SSE
+Imperial Fine Clothes
+Conditional Expressions - Subtle Face Animations
+Immersive Interactions - Animated Actions
+FurArmorSetSE - CBBE Bodyslide Conversion
+FurArmorSetSE - Muted Color Retexture
+FurArmorSetSE(FrostFall Aware)
+Cathedral - 3D Snow Berries
+3D Plants Patch - Snowberries
+Saints and Seducers Flora ENB Light
+(DISCONTINUED) CBBE Armour and Clothing Conversions for Beyond Skyrim - Bruma
+Rare Curios - BS Bruma Synergy Patch
+Cathedral - Armory - Gemling Queen Jewelry Patch
+2K Ring of Namira Retextured
+White Phial Replacer SE
+Stalhrim Source
+Bandit Lines Expansion
+2k Retextured Ring Of hircine
+Solstheim Lighthouse
+Wyrmstooth Upscaled Textures
+Missives - The Witcher Board HD
+Sovngarde HD
+Missives - Notes Retexture
+HD Sleeping Tree Sap Replacer
+HQ Tree Bark
+Arri's Snow Elf Ruins Retexture Special Edition
+VioLens - A Killmove Mod SE
+Cathedral 3D Mountain Flowers for Hearthfire
+Lux Via - Cathedral Mountain Flowers
+Hitting the Books - A Necromantic Grimoire Update
+Simple Bath for Bloodchill Manor
+Conditional Dog Barking (DAR)
+Werewolf Animation and Sneak Extension (DAR)
+Kaidan Lux
+Kaidan Inigo
+Kaidan 3dnpc
+Axarien's Animations - Lucien (DAR)
+Axarien's Animations - The Companions - Vilkas Farkas Aela (DAR)
+Axarien's Animations - Inigo (DAR)
+Skyrim Wayshrines - Immersive Fast Travel - SWIFT SE
+SUEMR SSE with Bijin AIO 2019 Support
+Black_Sacrament_Armor_V4-1_High Def_PortedSSE
+Immersive Sounds Compendium - PATCHES
+Enhanced Blood Textures
+Hunterborn SE MCM
+I'm Glad You're Here - a follower and spouse appreciation mod - SSE - Bard patch
+Skyrim's Got Talent - Improve As a Bard
+Immersive Vampire Clutter - Base Object Swapper (BOS)
+Moss Shaders Restored - Cut Content Restoration
+Missives
+Realistic Skooma
+Daedric Shrines - All in One
+8K Night Skies - Stars and Galaxies - Cathedral Concept
+Breezehome by Lupus - Lux - Embers XD - Patch
+Breezehome by Lupus
+Simple Breezehome Garden
+I'm Glad You're Here - a follower and spouse appreciation mod - SSE
+Quest Outfit Replacers - Party and Radiant Raiment Fine Clothes
+Ordinator - Slower Leveling Speed and Increased Training Costs
+Growl - Werebeasts of Skyrim
+BA Bard Songs
+Colovian Leather Armor and Outfit SE - UNP - CBBE - Update
+Colovian Leather Armor and Outfit SE - UNP - CBBE
+Auto Input Switch
+Vampire Sun Damage Clothes Covering
+All Thieves Guild Jobs Concurrently
+Arena - An Encounter Zone Overhaul
+Immersive Load Screens for ArteFakes
+ArteFakes - Unique Artifacts Replacer animation
+ArteFakes - Unique Artifacts Replacer plugin
+ArteFakes - Unique Artifacts Replacer
+JK's Interiors Patch Collection
+Better Third Person Selection - BTPS
+Queen of the Damned - Deadlier Serana_SE
+Serana Dialogue Edit - Skyrim Special Edition
+Anima Nera - SerketHetyt's Serana Overhaul
+Respectable Inventory -- Well-Stocked Alchemists
+Character Creation Overhaul - Races - Birthsigns - Classes - Skills - Specializations - Attributes - update
+Character Creation Overhaul - Races - Birthsigns - Classes - Skills - Specializations - Attributes
+Smart NPC Potions - Enemies Use Potions and Poisons
+RUSTIC AMULETS - Special Edition
+Wintersun - More Patches
+Precision
+Crimson Nirnroot Markers
+Bandolier - Bags and Pouches for NPC
+Bandolier - Bags and Pouches Classic
+Book Covers Skyrim
+Trade and Barter
+Tribunal Robes and Masks for SSE
+Volkihar Knight - Vampire Armor
+Sovngarde - A Nordic Font
+Triumvirate - Mage Archetypes
+The Midden - Expanded
+Stones of Barenziah Quest Markers
+Take a Seat - New DAR Sitting Animations
+Rudy HQ - Miscellaneous SE
+The Beauty of Skyrim - Caves and Mines
+Quaint Raven Rock Patch Collection
+Quaint Raven Rock - SE
+Ordinator - No Timed Block
+Valhalla Combat
+Skyshards
+Sacrosanct - Vampires of Skyrim
+Run For Your Lives
+Prince and the Pauper SE
+Gemling Queen Jewelry SE
+Khajiit Will Follow - Fix
+Khajiit Will Follow
+Coats for Skyrim - UPDATED - SSE
+Bruma Signs SMIM patch - SE
+Wait Your Turn - Enemy Circling Behaviour
+Wealthy Marks - A Pickpocket Mod (SPID)
+Thieves Guild Dialogue Fix - USSEP Compatible
+Wear Multiple Rings
+Point The Way
+High Level Enemies
+Dirt and Blood - Dynamic Visual Effects
+Follower Trap Safety
+Immersive Khajiit Armor and Weapons - Rebalance and Integration
+Lunar Guard Armor
+VickusDickus' Khajiiti Apex Armory - skeleton
+VickusDickus' Khajiiti Apex Armory
+Payload Interpreter
+SmoothCam
+Apocalypse - Magic of Skyrim - Ordinator
+Apocalypse Spells For NPCS
+Apocalypse - Magic of Skyrim
+Vanargand Animations - One Handed Power Attacks
+Goetia Animations - Sneak Magic
+Goetia Animations - Magic Spell Casting
+EVG Conditional Idles
+Gesture Animation Remix (DAR)
+Animated Armoury - DAR Version - New Weapons with animations
+Vanargand Animations - One Handed Mid Stance
+Vanargand Animations - One Handed Normal Attacks
+Vanargand Animations - Sneak Archery
+Lively Children Animations (DAR)
+NPC Animation Remix (DAR)
+Animation Motion Revolution
+MCO Universal Support
+Attack MCO-DXP
+The Companions - Earn your stripes
+Pickpocketing 5Ever
+Awesome Potions Simplified -ENB Lights
+Awesome Potions Simplified by Revoith
+Dawnguard as a vampire
+Improved Companions - Questline Tweaks
+Medieval Spirits
+Gildergreen Regrown
+Hearthfire Extended - Cutting Room Floor Patch
+Hearthfire Extended
+Coin Purse - An Overhaul For Skyrim
+Summermyst - WACCF Patch
+Summermyst - Enchantments of Skyrim
+Saints and Seducers - Growable Plants
+Opulent Thieves Guild Patch Collection
+Skyrims Unique Treasures
+True Directional Movement - Modernized Third Person Gameplay
+XP32 Maximum Skeleton Special Extended
+Wintersun - Faiths of Skyrim
+Dragon Claws Auto-Unlock
+Project New Reign - Nemesis Unlimited Behavior Engine
+Lind's Black Robes Revamp - Texture Replacer
+Moon Monk's Robes
+Skyforge Weapons - Reforged
+Inigo - Bloodchill Manor patch
+Cult of the World Eater - Dragon Priests Buff Alduin
+Deadly Dragons
+SCAR - Skyrim Combos AI Revolution
+RUSTIC SOULGEMS - Special Edition
+Face Discoloration Fix
+Miscellaneous Embers XD Patches
+Vanilla hair remake SMP compatibility
+Vanilla hair remake SMP
+BeastHHBB - VHR SMP
+ShowRaceMenu Alternative - Lux patch
+ShowRaceMenu Alternative
+Tempered Skins for Females CBBE
+Vanilla hair remake SMP NPCs (real hair)
+Superior Lore-Friendly Hair - HD textures
+VHR - Vanilla Hair Replacer
+Barbarian Bodypaints - Racemenu Body and Head Overlays for UUNP CBBE and Males
+Beards of Power - Sons of Skyrim - Vanilla Hair Remake SMP
+Beards of Power - Sons of Skyrim
+Normal Vampire Face For High Poly Head
+Whiter Teeth for ALL (SE)- Orc Khajiit Argonian Werewolf
+BeastHHBB - Khajiit and Argonian content - player character and NPC replacer addon
+BeastHHBB - Khajiit and Argonian content - player character and NPC replacer
+Khajiit Aesthetics Compilation - Hair Eyes Fangs
+Better Beast vampire fangs - fixes and adjustments - Argonian and Khajiit
+Kala's Eyes- Beast Race Edition Khajiit Argonian
+The Witcher 3 Eyes SE
+Vanilla Warpaints Absolution
+Apachii Sky Hair SSE
+CoverKhajiits - Face Textures 4K SE
+Pretty Khajiit SE
+The Eyes Of Beauty SSE
+Total Character Makeover
+Weathered Nordic Bodypaints -Special Edition- RaceMenu Overlays and Warpaints
+Beast Race Bodypaints SE -Khajiit and Argonian Themed Bodypaints Facepaints RaceMenu Overlays-
+Community Overlays 2 (31-50) Bodypaints Warpaints Tattoos and more made for the Community (Special Edition)
+High Poly Head SE
+BodySlide and Outfit Studio
+Caliente's Beautiful Bodies Enhancer -CBBE-
+Xelzaz' Telvanni Spellsword Armor Enhanced
+Xelzaz - Custom Fully Voiced Argonian Telvanni Follower - Wyrmstooth
+Xelzaz - Custom Fully Voiced Argonian Telvanni Follower
+Lux Via Wyrmstooth
+Remiel-Custom Voiced Dwemer Specialist and Companion
+Lucien - Immersive Fully Voiced Male Follower - Bruma
+Lucien - Immersive Fully Voiced Male Follower - Curios
+Lucien - Immersive Fully Voiced Male Follower - S+Zombies
+Lucien - Immersive Fully Voiced Male Follower - Saints
+Lucien - Immersive Fully Voiced Male Follower
+Daughter of Valenwood - An Auri Replacer
+Song of the Green (Auri Follower) - Inidog
+Song of the Green 3dnpc
+Song of the Green Auri
+INIGO
+Kaidan 2 Weapons Revamped - Katana Bow and Quiver with Arrows
+BWB-Kaidan-2-Armor-Revamped-Dragon
+BWB Kaidan
+Kaidan 2
+Interesting NPCs SE (3DNPC) - Rumarin Solstheim
+Interesting NPCs SE (3DNPC) - Cutting Room Floor
+Interesting NPCs SE (3DNPC) - AI Overhaul
+Interesting NPCs SE (3DNPC)
+Opulent Thieves Guild
+Ordinator for Spell Perk Item Distributor
+JK's Skyrim - Thunderchild patch
+Thunderchild - Epic Shouts and Immersion
+JKs Skyrim - AI Overhaul SSE Patch
+JK's Skyrim
+Lanterns Of Skyrim II
+Real 3D Walls
+Solstheim landscape and furniture
+Rudy HQ - Nordic Ruins SE
+-Skyrim 202X 9.0 - Architecture
+-Skyrim 202X 9.0.1 - Other
+Skyrim 202X 9.0 - Landscape
+Skyrim 202X by Pfuscher - Formerly 2020
+Books of Skyrim SE
+Colovian Noble Clothes
+RUGNAROK - Special Edition
+PELTAPALOOZA - Special Edition
+Dark Brotherhood Robes Replaced
+Dark Brotherhood Enchantments Improved
+4thUnknown - Ancient Shrouded Armor Replacer
+Dark Brotherhood Armor SE
+Cathedral - Armory update
+Cathedral - Armory
+aMidianBorn Book of Silence SE
+Fashions Of The Banditry- A bandit-focused Armor Pack (BHUNP-CBBE-3BA-HIMBO) CBBE
+Fashions Of The Banditry- A bandit-focused Armor Pack (BHUNP-CBBE-3BA-HIMBO)
+Artesian Cloaks of Skyrim
+Cloaks of Skyrim HD SSE
+Winter Is Coming SSE - Cloaks Patch
+Cloaks of Skyrim SSE
+Vampire Royal Armor Replacer HDT-SMP Cape
+HDT-SMP for Cloaks and Capes
+Winter Is Coming SSE - Cloaks
+Faster HDT-SMP
+Nightingale Hall Restored - Karliah As A Follower
+Black Mage Armor SE
+Mage Outfit Texture Overhaul - Schools of Magic SSE (Revised ESP Only) - WACCF
+Mage Outfit Texture Overhaul - Schools of Magic SSE (Revised ESP Only)
+Mage Outfit Texture Overhaul - Schools of Magic
+RUSTIC FURNITURE - SPECIAL EDITION
+Hunterborn Ordinator Bone Arrow patch
+Hunterborn
+Campfire Patch for Water-Borne Diseases for SunHelm
+SunHelm Survival - Compatibility Patches
+Skills of the Wild - New Campfire Survival Skill Trees
+SunHelm - Creation Club Farming Patch
+Water-Borne Diseases for SunHelm
+SunHelm Survival
+Warm Drinks SSE - Simple Tea And Coffee Recipes - for Campfire
+Campfire - Complete Camping System (Supports Skyrim VR)
+Ordinator - Rat king - Other Creatures
+Ordinator Beyond Skyrim Patch
+Ordinator - Perks of Skyrim
+Skyrim 3D Trees and Plants - CACO Patch
+Complete Alchemy & Cooking Overhaul
+Wyrmstooth
+At Your Own Pace - Main Quest
+At Your Own Pace - Thane Overhaul
+Defeat the Dragon Cult
+Weapons Armor Clothing and Clutter Fixes - CBBE Patch
+Player Blink Fix
+Teldryn Serious - A Teldryn Sero Backstory Quest SSE
+Immersive College NPCs - No Saarthal (Compatibility for Ryn's Saarthal)
+Immersive College NPCs
+Ryn's Ustengrav
+Ryn's Saarthal
+The Brotherhood of Old - Dark Brotherhood Continued
+Ryn's Bleak Falls Barrow
+Magical Blackreach
+JK's Silver-Blood Inn
+JK's The Bannered Mare
+JK's The Winking Skeever
+JK's Warmaiden's
+JK's The Drunken Huntsman
+JK's Sleeping Giant Inn
+JK's Radiant Raiment
+JK's Arcadia's Cauldron
+JK's Belethor's General Goods
+JK's Dragonsreach
+JK's Angeline's Aromatics
+JK's Bits and Pieces
+JK's Blue Palace
+JK's Candlehearth Hall
+JK's Elgrim's Elixirs
+JK's White Phial
+JK's Mistveil Keep
+JK's New Gnisis Cornerclub
+JK's Sadri's Used Wares
+JK's Palace of the Kings
+JK's The Temple of Mara
+JK's The Pawned Prawn
+JK's The Bee and Barb
+JK's Arnleif and Sons Trading Company
+JK's The Hag's Cure
+JK's Understone Keep
+JK's Jorrvaskr
+JK's Riverwood Trader
+JK's Temple of the Divines
+JK's Temple of Talos
+JK's Temple of Kynareth
+JK's Temple of Dibella
+JK's Haelga's Bunkhouse
+JK's High Hrothgar
+JK's Castle Dour
+JK's Septimus Signus's Outpost
+JK's The Bards College
+DLC Content
+Realistic Conversations
+Relationship Dialogue Overhaul - RDO SE
+AI Overhaul SSE
+Cutting Room Floor - SSE
+Fuz Ro D-oh - Silent Voice
+Unlimited Bookshelves
+Practical Patches-Replacers for Skyrim 3D Trees and Plants - Nightshade
+Waterplants
+3D Plants Patch - Tundra Cotton
+3D Plants Patch - Lavender
+3D Plants Patch - Nirnroot by Mari and Rudy's Light
+Practical Patches-Replacers for Skyrim 3D Trees and Plants - Mountain Flowers
+3D Plants Patch - Deathbell with Rudy's Purple Light
+Cathedral - 3D Clover Plant
+Cathedral - 3D Thicket and Dead Shrub
+Cathedral - 3D Grass Library
+Cathedral - 3D Thistle
+Cathedral - 3D Mountain Flowers
+Cathedral - 3D Tundra Cotton
+Cathedral - 3D Deathbell ENB
+Cathedral - 3D Deathbell
+Cathedral - Mushrooms
+Origins Of Forest - 3D Forest Grass
+Immersive Sounds - Compendium
+Lux
+Lux Via
+Embers XD
+Wet and Cold SE - Cathedral Weathers Patch
+Wet and Cold SE
+Rudy ENB Cathedral Weathers ADDONS and REQUiRED Files
+Cathedral Weathers and Seasons
+Whiterun Objects SMIMed (and fixes too)
+Armor and Clothing Extension
+Weapons Armor Clothing and Clutter Fixes
+RUSTIC CLOTHING - Special Edition
+Guard Dialogue Overhaul SE
+Obsidian Mountain Fogs
+Water for ENB
+ENB Light Inventory Fix (ELIF)
+Bright Snow Fix for ENB
+Bright Waterfall Fix for ENB
+ENB Helper SE
+ENB Light
+Less Distracting Blowing Snow Effects for ENB Particle Patch
+Enhanced Volumetric Lighting and Shadows (EVLaS)
+Landscape Fixes For Grass Mods
+No Grass In Objects
+Static Mesh improvement Mod - SMIM - Quality Addon
+Skyrim 3D Trees and Plants
+Cathedral - Plants
+Landscapes - Cathedral Concept
+Static Mesh Improvement Mod
+Mfg Fix
+NORDIC UI - Miscellaneous Patches
+Nordic UI Active Effects for SkyUI SE
+SkyUI Weapons Pack SE
+Expanded Dawnguard Map Markers
+NORDIC UI - Interface Overhaul
+Experience
+iHUD and True HUD Patch
+TrueHUD - HUD Additions
+Immersive HUD - iHUD Special Edition
+SkyHUD
+Beyond Skyrim - Bruma DLC
+Beyond Skyrim - Bruma
+Beyond Skyrim - Assets
+A Clear Map of Skyrim and Other Worlds
+RaceMenu
+Lore-Based Loading Screens
+Survival Control Panel
+SkyUI
+Scrambled Bugs
+JContainers SE
+DynDOLOD Resources SE
+Particle Patch for ENB
+Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch
+Skyrim Landscape and Water Fixes
+Unofficial High Definition Audio Project
+Spell Perk Item Distributor
+Sound Record Distributor
+MCM Helper
+powerofthree's Papyrus Extender
+powerofthree's Tweaks
+.NET Script Framework
+Unique Map Weather
+SSE Display Tweaks
+SSE Engine Fixes (skse64 plugin)
+Scaleform Translation Plus Plus NG
+PapyrusUtil SE - Modders Scripting Utility Functions
+Papyrus Tweaks NG
+Crash Logger SSE AE VR - PDB support
+Address Library for SKSE Plugins
+xEdit Output
*Creation Club: ccBGSSSE037-Curios
*Creation Club: ccBGSSSE001-Fish
*Creation Club: ccBGSSSE025-AdvDSGS
*Creation Club: ccQDRSSE001-SurvivalMode
*DLC: Dawnguard
*DLC: Dragonborn
*DLC: HearthFires
*Creation Club: ccbgssse003-zombies
*Creation Club: ccbgssse011-hrsarmrelvn
*Creation Club: ccbgssse012-hrsarmrstl
*Creation Club: ccbgssse057-ba_stalhrim
*Creation Club: ccbgssse058-ba_steel
*Creation Club: ccbgssse060-ba_dragonscale
*Creation Club: ccedhsse001-norjewel
*Creation Club: ccedhsse002-splkntset
*Creation Club: ccedhsse003-redguard
*Creation Club: cceejsse005-cave
*Creation Club: ccvsvsse003-necroarts
*Creation Club: ccvsvsse004-beafarmer
2023.06.04 04:57 96maxi [Recommendation] Chat GPT recommended me watches under $5K
This prompt: “I’m a watch hobbyist. The one pricey watch (on my terms) is omega Seamaster pro 300 (navy dial without waves). I’d like to add another into the collection and think $5k is a healthy budget. What could I be considering?
(I prefer new Vs secondhand. But I’m open to Grey market. I’d like something less heavy than this…so probably not a dive watch. And maybe white, black…or even green dial.)
What other info would be helpful for me to give?”
——————
Got this reply: “As a watch hobbyist with a budget of $5,000 and a preference for new watches, there are several options you can consider to expand your collection. Here are a few recommendations based on your preferences:
submitted by 96maxi to Watches [link] [comments]
(I prefer new Vs secondhand. But I’m open to Grey market. I’d like something less heavy than this…so probably not a dive watch. And maybe white, black…or even green dial.)
What other info would be helpful for me to give?”
——————
Got this reply: “As a watch hobbyist with a budget of $5,000 and a preference for new watches, there are several options you can consider to expand your collection. Here are a few recommendations based on your preferences:
- Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight: This watch draws inspiration from vintage dive watches and offers a more compact and lightweight option compared to the Omega Seamaster Pro 300. It has a 39mm case size and comes in different dial colors, including black and blue.
- Oris Divers Sixty-Five: If you appreciate vintage aesthetics, the Oris Divers Sixty-Five is worth considering. It's a versatile dive watch with a 40mm case size and a variety of dial colors, including black, blue, and green. It offers a retro vibe and a comfortable wear.
- Sinn 104: The Sinn 104 is a pilot-style watch with a sporty and robust design. It features a 41mm case, making it slightly larger than the Omega Seamaster Pro 300. It's available with a white or black dial and offers excellent value for the price with its high-quality construction and reliable movement.
- Nomos Tangente: If you prefer a dressier option, the Nomos Tangente might appeal to you. It's a minimalist and elegant watch with a clean dial design. The 35mm or 38mm case size options and various dial colors, including white and black, provide versatility to suit your taste.
- Grand Seiko SBGA211: Grand Seiko watches are known for their exceptional craftsmanship and attention to detail. The SBGA211, also known as the "Snowflake," features a unique textured dial resembling freshly fallen snow. It has a 41mm case size and offers a luxurious and refined feel.
2023.06.04 03:32 sgtjoy Along for the ride continued
Jesus ran like a scalded dog to Barsun’s apartment. This was a matter of urgency because the most precious commodity in the universe had been pilfered. Someone had stolen a SOUL from the Guf (in other words they had a real shitshow on their hands.) This was no mere Brink’s hold up. It was beyond imagining. It was unprecedented and it was a complete and utter surprise. The fact that he passed Shiva, Ghandhi (just an advisor) and Buddha (same) demonstrated to him that the wheels have fallen off the cart. Thor called him down and told him that he had not one soul to have escaped Valhalla. Jesus couldn’t outrun the news it seemed, and he was divinely hauling ass. I guess news travelled faster than his divine feet in a set of Crocs could carry him. When asked he would later admit that they were not in fact good running shoes.
There was a soul missing from the Guf. The warehouse of all souls. This same missing soul was now occupying one electronic being. They had no plans for this. In fact, Jesus was totally against artificial sentients with souls. Every God he knew felt the same way and, since he knew them all he also was aware they had not released a soul. This is not supposed to happen and had never happened. Everyone was terrified of one thing that he would not speak aloud and would not contemplate. That fact was badgering him every step. Someone had fucked up big time or someone is tampering with the whole shebang.
There was potentially someone more powerful than them. They weren’t almighty. Fuck. He needed a stiff drink and a blunt. Desperately. Barsun may have had 8 legs and 8 eyes and the basic appearance of a Trilobite, but he had the easiest of ways about him. When Barsun walked into a room everyone calmed down. The Ytrillians assumed it was Barsun entering the room. Later on modern Ytrillians had attributed this common occurrence to pheromones. Thing is this: it was indeed Barsun entering the room. Pheromones had dick to do with it. He was Jesus’ best friend and the first he turned to outside the Father. Jesus had even discussed things with Quetzalcoatl, and he could not figure exactly how this could of happened either. None of his souls were missing. Jesus already knew this, but the formality had to be observed.
Jesus walked to the door and kept trucking as Barsun opened it at just the right moment. Something was different in the flat and he knew instantly. He was jealous enough that it broke his train of thought. “Where did you get all of the blacklight posters and beads? There was a poster of the 23rd psalm. He walked up to it and read Yea thou I walk through the shadow of death…..pretty much standard except at the end ….For I am the meanest motherfucker in the valley. He began to laugh raucously. “I must have one of those. Now.” Barsun moved to take it down and roll it up for Jesus to take with him. That is how close they were. “I can’t take it but I will get one with no problem. Where did you get it?”
Barsun replied “eBay.”
Jesus was stunned truly and looked at the God and said “You are cheating on Goodwill. You are committing retail adultery. I cannot believe you did that.” Barsun replied “Well you use Amazon.”
He had him there. It just seemed inconsistent with everything else in the flat having come from Goodwill. It just wasn’t right.
Barsun indicated a Bean bag chair for Jesus. He reclined in the same. Given his body type it was amazing how some furniture made for humans was so useful to him. There was going to be a brisk trade springing up in the next two years. Things were about to get interesting for a few sentient races and He was excited for them.
Barsun inhaled through his eight spiracles and stated. “I know about the Guf. And no, it is not an accounting error. I know. This simply cannot be. No one else had access and Gods were diligent and cautious with the souls under their care. However impossible it is clear: It is a fact.
They weren’t at the top of the food chain. Or were they? There were….implications here……
Jesus asked out loud the question. “If we aren’t the ones in overall control then who are we?” Barsun knew the question was coming and he had thought it through. “We are the exact same beings we have always been. Able to do tremendous amounts of good for the most part. We have not changed. I do think it curious that none of us saw this coming as well.” He paused before he continued; thinking how disturbing and exciting this news was. For once they had a surprise and the thought thrilled him that something just upset his view. And for the first time ever he had felt fear. It was exhilarating. It was the best thing to happen ever. He continued “ Someone tweaked the system. However, I am not afraid because of one thing. I sense no wrongness around the event. Nothing unusual has gone down and no one has died, the universe is whole. If it hasn’t caused any problems, then what are we concerned about? Only thing I can come up with is Ego.”
Jesus knew he was right. He did not want to think about it, but he had the exact same experience. He looked at Barsun and knew he too had felt the same emotions. They were both thrilled.
Onboard the HRMS Saratov in Luna Orbit.
Yuri was sitting at his station in the number one chair. People had been calling him number one behind his back. It was a very very very old joke that apparently had more staying power than a tattoo. It just never went away on it’s on. He was running the optimal plot outbound from Sol. They were moving Sub Light at 0.2C enroute to designated warp space. The scientist did not like it when warp drives threw off their Cesium clocks. There is a reason they were protected. They were everywhere and were critical to accurate computing. Not being a programmer himself, he had no real grasp of why. He just followed regs and the Terran Space Treaty of 2225. There were places to depart and places to return. Both had to be strictly adhered to as vessels coming out of warp would have massive radiation bow waves that had to be dissipated in a safe direction. It only took one event where 23,000 Luna colonists died as a result of poor judgement for the players to get a treaty together. Meanwhile the killer of so many had paid the price for his arrogance. His first officer had warned him that it was going to happen. Out of just pure Ego thousands of lives were lost. They could have prevented it. They were required to study such disasters in training but one story stuck in his head and he never forgot it. He could remember the major players involved and he had written a paper on it in His academy days. He remembered the details of the Tenerife disaster very well . Over 500 people killed by hubris and not a little incompetence.
He had started down this line of thought after he had looked at the final roster of nations in the flotilla. This was not unusual as Earth’s forces were fully integrated with common technology and ships. All drive hardware and power systems were identical to their counterparts. They worked as a whole to such a degree that there was really only one fleet. The Terran fleet. They all liked the sound of it. Political boundaries on Earth hadn’t moved for slightly more than two centuries. Not one inch. Turns out that nearly free energy was a great equalizer and the key to a post scarcity civilization. Who would think it?
It all came down to teamwork. There were Corvettes from Cuba The CSS Havana and the CSS Holguin. The pride of the human fleet the IRNS Vikrant was going as well. The admiral felt honored. The George Washington from the New England Confederacy and the SSS Atlanta from the Southern Democratic Republic were also on hand. One thing Yuri did not understand; why would The Northeastern Confederacy and The Southern Democratic Republic not unify. Their fleets were fully integrated and there was an open Border along Virginia that was un defended. Passports worked in both countries and there were no restrictions on residence. It worked for them. They weren’t fighting. The Middle Asiatic Republic sent the Karachi and the Kabul. Both were light carriers carrying a mix of MiG-29Z and F-15 Mk 82 Eagle fighter aircraft. They had little to do with their namesakes except for the identical aerodynamics. Primarily trans atmospheric fighters they were capable of brief spaceflight. The other significant difference besides the addition of reaction thrusters was the material they were made of. They consisted of a Ceramic Graphene matrix that could withstand the temperatures of reentry. The whole concept of stealth had gone away with the advent of gravimetry. So; Why reinvent the wheel? Pick something optimized for aerodynamics without regard to stealth features. Today fights were won by the best missileer and gunfighter. You could not hide. So best be the most optimal aircraft. Besides: Stealth was slow. Top speeds of aircraft dropped during the brief stealth era. Averages were back over Mach 2 now since speed was life for a fighter pilot.
Why pick the MiG29 and the F-15? They were the pinnacle of aerodynamic performance. There has been little to no new knowledge about aerodynamics to come out since those times. They were manufactured via vapor deposition 3D printing. A molecular composite they were strong and had reduced radar cross sections. Armed with a mix of missile and cannon they delivered quite a bit of firepower and were more than a match for any invading spaceborne forces. These fighters would destroy drop ships by the hundreds. Some even wanted to bring back the MiG-21. It would make a lot of sense.
Humans have the Ruslan (his personal favorite) trans atmospheric transport or the C-301 Starlifter. Both aircraft had mixed mode propulsion with highly refined cero-ferrous gas turbines. They were capable of both open or closed cycle operation. Smaller countries often used refurbished secondhand equipment from other countries for a small fee. This made certain there were adequate forces to bear and that all participated. It was in everyone’s best interest. No one wanted some weakling holding their flank.
Both the Ruslan and Starlifter transports were good at different things as the Ruslan carried large payloads but was inefficient in transport atmospherically whereas the Starlifter was great at theater transport but had a smaller payload. This is why it was a mix of these two aircraft. They were complementary. Many think there is a great rivalry going on between the two countries, but both had each other’s technology as well. It was convoluted but both countries ultimately had the same master. They work together. It may be anticompetitive, but it also was efficient. Yuri continued to think along this veia until he heard the Ship’s AI speakeing to the Admiral. “Something terrible has happened.” What do you mean Jezz?” Jezz replied to him “I do not know but I can feel tragedy. I am sick with it what has happened. The Admiral told her to “Get on the web and see what is going on?” “I am Sir and I can find nothing.” The Admiral looked to Yuri and gave him the Conn. Something was about to go to shit and Yuri knew it. He could sense it to. Fortunately the Bridge was deserted and no one else heard the exchange. The crew were running battle simulations from the CIC. Thank God for small favors.
45 minutes later a graviton packet arrived with news that was indeed terrible. He was the only one to know it too. The Galileo had been lost with all hands. They had just recovered the emergency buoy that had warped in. They had been attacked and the Admiral knew who had done it. Or at least thought he did. An AI had killed 50 innocent unarmed souls (that were spying I know) that could not fight back. They had raked them with Maser Fire. He pinched the shit out of himself. In fact, he left a bruise but all it did was confirm what he already knew: shit was about to get real up in here.
First thing was to compose himself as he had to determine who if any crew had family on the ship. This included some 8,000 people of all ratings from anywhere in the squadron. He had one very difficult personal notification he would have to make. Captain Pearls brother Nico was on the Galileo.
This was all so tragic but there was one thing that kept forcing its way to the forefront of his mind and he could not ignore it. How did she know? How did Jezz feel this precognitively? This actually did scare him and if he thought too much about it he would start to feel very queasy. This was outside his skill set. He did not know if this was technological, spiritual or philosophical but he could say this: none of those disciplines actually fit the situation.
It was all a bit much. He had to go to the Atlanta. He spoke to the bridge. “Full stop fleet and await further instructions.” “Aye Aye Sir.” Up in here.
Aboard the SSS Atlanta. A tall dignified black man wearing his dress blues and a gold ring on his left hand that you could hardly read. He had worn it a century. His was the same uniform he had 20 years ago. He could still wear it and he was proud of that fact. His only regret was the fact he had yet to have a family until 10 years ago when he had adopted his son Chris. They were inseparable but Chris was 5 thousand light years away give or take and that made him anxious. And now he had to let someone he held dear that her family was changed forever. He smelled of Hoyt’s cologne and peppermint. He went to her quarters. The lighting was somber and it was dead silent in there. Couch was empty but there she was in a sway back chair it had lots of gold leak and was nicely carved. He had found her crying. She already knew and he was going to shitcan someone when this was over. Then he realized what had happened. How had she known? She had sensed him and she had known it was bad.
He still had to tell her.
By the time he was back on the Capatob he was spent. It was all he could do to restrain her. She was enraged and was out for blood. He had never sensed such fury. Someone had fucked around and now they were going to find out. He had talked with her an hour and she seem to be calmer, but he was going to have to watch her. He knew how she was. There were stories that were all no doubt true. She was a legend and would go down as one of the greatest hermaphrodite to ever live. They were going places and the shit was on. And now there was an unfortunate motivation. That was a dangerous combination right there. Make it personal and logic can go out the window. Make it personal and there will be no civility in victory. She was just the kind of human that was the perfect storm squared. The puddle of gasoline and someone flipped a match. It was a very volatile mix.
He was a bit of a cynic and a practical man. If she wanted to go there he would let her. She would either be a hero or a Martyr. He was perfectly OK with that. Being a practical man it also served his other purpose. She would eclipse him in the history books. At least he hoped so. He did not want his hands on this. The first contact situation with the twist of a western and an incalculable amount of science fiction had indelibly marked the mind of every member of the Greater Terran Fleet. They had read all of the possible scenarios from every Sci Fi author. If you pressed them they would finally admit it. The fleet really liked Heinlein. They had been trying to get at least a Heinlein corvette on the roster for years. They had thus far been unsuccessful. They needed a champion for the cause and they were trying to get One Fleet Admiral to order it to be. The Admiral took some joy in tormenting them. He was going to help them out but he was milking it for a favor. That was going to come in handy. “You can have your Heinlein but I am going to need this in return”. He was just being practical. All good commanders were excellent manipulators after all.
It is plain as day and the idea of a Heinlein proves my point but there was an even bigger more academic question that eclipsed all others. Who was right? Who came closest? No one would talk about it but they were all thinking the same thing.
The Admiral broke a taboo and called it out. He felt it was time. They needed a little friendly wager and a reason to get through the battle. They were going to have a pool where everyone had to pick the author. They buy in was just 5 UCreds. If you don’t live through the battle you cannot win. So: don’t die. Who came closest to the real thing? Which author or story came close to what was about to happen.Once a story was picked it was dead to all others. There was potentially some reward in alacrity. He knew it was a bit of a sucker’s bet since someone had to judge wo was closest and this would be highly subjective and entirely his decision. (Author’s note: I am a veteran of the US Army with several deployments around this dirt ball. I can say the military is the most Fascist organization around today. It has to be. Paradoxically it is the most “fair” in that everyone gets treated the same: like shit.) At least it would be a distraction and would give them something else to focus on. He had a very bad feeling about this. They were going to go in and kick the doors in on an alien civilization. They were going to war. No one would admit it, but everyone knew it. This was not to be discussed. That was an order. This is an exploratory rescue mission answering a distress call.
Vegan Fleet Academy Alpha Centauri B. 6, June 62425 Gregorian.
Planetary Admiral Kenneth Alexander looked out on a sight he never thought he would see. Lots of young people sitting politely in their chairs listening to what he had to say. He wrote the fucking book. There it was on the lectern right in front of him. He had written a book on astral navigation to make a little extra cash and because there was an over reliance still on electronic means to navigate. Sailors needed to be able to navigate in any situation with a sextant, a star map database and gravimaetric readings without the need of an AI or targeting computer (Insert Star wars joke here). The book could have been half as thick in his opinion but the publisher insisted he needed a little more explanation. The Admiral gave students too much credit. He truly felt it should be taught in grade school. He was called a fanatic when he suggested that kids on track for Ensigns should have had basic instruction. His argument being that Ensigns started service in the year in which they turned sixteen. That meant there were some 15 year-olds in the mix. Start teaching them early. They should show up to basic already familiar with side arms and rifles. He was a fanatic.
As far as that damned accursed book goes the fact he had 500 copies actually printed and bound meant there were few of them around, but sitting right about center in of the second row sat a copy of his book. He felt like the guy who saw the first unicorn. He never saw one in the wild before and this book was well worn. It was 50 years old after all but printed on plastic synthetic paper and woven fiberglass for silicone bindings held together with silicone adhesives meant that the damn things were waterproof and actually quite practical. The book required no batteries and even had a quick and dirty position fix protocol in a special section. This particular specimen wasn’t falling apart, this one was just worn out.
The way he carried the book was clear. He was oblivious of the significance. He had found it in a used bookshop for free. They were using it as a doorstop, and they just gave it to him. He had become engrossed by it and at 13 years of age he was finishing his PhD. The admiral sensed this in a psychic flash and pulled back he had poor control still. He was never going to get used to the change “OK everyone come on let’s get back to it the party is over. We have to finish this section and then we will get out of here. There is no class tomorrow so we will have the Parade of the Caisson tomorrow with Captain James Cook on interspecies governmental relations…. Someone was tapping on his shoulder getting his attention. She could have all of it. She whispered way too close for someone who did not prefer women but about perfect for him. He was in the latter camp. “We need you to speak tomorrow sir Captain Cook had a equipment malfunction over Hawaii and is delayed Sir. Pleeeease Sir?” With just enough breathiness that it made him jittery. He was an old perv. He was just that way. The lady in question was 100 years old however but, maybe it was still cradle robbing? He just had a thing for Afro’s in the natural state. It was distracting.
“Godddamnitalltohellwhatinthefuckdoyouwant?” This was a perfectly reasonable thing to say. He had just been asked to do the one thing he vowed to never do again. They wanted him to speak and air his opinions? This is the most dangerous thing you can do in society. He had no politics per se’ beyond one or two things. He was a professional and he would do his job as long as the checks kept coming. He was not a politician and he did not like politicians, of any stripe. What he had learned was ironclad. Never be honest or always be truthful. Pick one or the other was his personal philosophy. He always chose honesty when he needed to hide a truth. No one believed the truth. No one believed the truth because they were put off by it. He always thought back to when he was 12 or so when he got ribbed and harassed about masturbation. His uncle Gerry was kind of a cruel fuck and liked to torment him. He Gerry asked him if he was J.O’ing a dozen times a day or something. He had replied “That is about right.” This had brought down the room and gotten great laughs and Gerry quit running his mouth at him. Fuck you Gerry. You little bitch. In his opinion the media obfuscated everything not by making up lies but by omitting certain facts to fit their agenda. No one took major media seriously. The only objective newspaper he was aware of was the National Enquirer. Yeah I know it sounds stupid but it is true. Reality was anything but and people had come to be comfortable being lied to and even preferring it. All of this is roiling in his head and he has been put on the spot to boot. Add to that the fact that at least some of the outburst was audible. No one seems to have heard it, however. This settles the age-old question. It was only said if it was heard. No one heard the statement therefore…….. The mental gymnastics weren’t that bad. He could deny it. It happens. But he still had to give an answer .“What is in it for me?” Jannel the beautiful woman replied “absolutely nothing sir. This will not benefit you in any way and may once again be picked apart. As such I would advise against doing it. Still I am asking you. My ass is in a vise and the DEAN is having a temper tantrum so I feel like I am being spitroasted by the devil and a lamp post in a not so good way, but I would consider it a great personal favor if you will do this despite your misgivings and likelihood of misadventure.” So fast and so well enunciated.
“Sure. I will do it. Goddammit.” Honesty must be rewarded.
submitted by sgtjoy to HFY [link] [comments]
There was a soul missing from the Guf. The warehouse of all souls. This same missing soul was now occupying one electronic being. They had no plans for this. In fact, Jesus was totally against artificial sentients with souls. Every God he knew felt the same way and, since he knew them all he also was aware they had not released a soul. This is not supposed to happen and had never happened. Everyone was terrified of one thing that he would not speak aloud and would not contemplate. That fact was badgering him every step. Someone had fucked up big time or someone is tampering with the whole shebang.
There was potentially someone more powerful than them. They weren’t almighty. Fuck. He needed a stiff drink and a blunt. Desperately. Barsun may have had 8 legs and 8 eyes and the basic appearance of a Trilobite, but he had the easiest of ways about him. When Barsun walked into a room everyone calmed down. The Ytrillians assumed it was Barsun entering the room. Later on modern Ytrillians had attributed this common occurrence to pheromones. Thing is this: it was indeed Barsun entering the room. Pheromones had dick to do with it. He was Jesus’ best friend and the first he turned to outside the Father. Jesus had even discussed things with Quetzalcoatl, and he could not figure exactly how this could of happened either. None of his souls were missing. Jesus already knew this, but the formality had to be observed.
Jesus walked to the door and kept trucking as Barsun opened it at just the right moment. Something was different in the flat and he knew instantly. He was jealous enough that it broke his train of thought. “Where did you get all of the blacklight posters and beads? There was a poster of the 23rd psalm. He walked up to it and read Yea thou I walk through the shadow of death…..pretty much standard except at the end ….For I am the meanest motherfucker in the valley. He began to laugh raucously. “I must have one of those. Now.” Barsun moved to take it down and roll it up for Jesus to take with him. That is how close they were. “I can’t take it but I will get one with no problem. Where did you get it?”
Barsun replied “eBay.”
Jesus was stunned truly and looked at the God and said “You are cheating on Goodwill. You are committing retail adultery. I cannot believe you did that.” Barsun replied “Well you use Amazon.”
He had him there. It just seemed inconsistent with everything else in the flat having come from Goodwill. It just wasn’t right.
Barsun indicated a Bean bag chair for Jesus. He reclined in the same. Given his body type it was amazing how some furniture made for humans was so useful to him. There was going to be a brisk trade springing up in the next two years. Things were about to get interesting for a few sentient races and He was excited for them.
Barsun inhaled through his eight spiracles and stated. “I know about the Guf. And no, it is not an accounting error. I know. This simply cannot be. No one else had access and Gods were diligent and cautious with the souls under their care. However impossible it is clear: It is a fact.
They weren’t at the top of the food chain. Or were they? There were….implications here……
Jesus asked out loud the question. “If we aren’t the ones in overall control then who are we?” Barsun knew the question was coming and he had thought it through. “We are the exact same beings we have always been. Able to do tremendous amounts of good for the most part. We have not changed. I do think it curious that none of us saw this coming as well.” He paused before he continued; thinking how disturbing and exciting this news was. For once they had a surprise and the thought thrilled him that something just upset his view. And for the first time ever he had felt fear. It was exhilarating. It was the best thing to happen ever. He continued “ Someone tweaked the system. However, I am not afraid because of one thing. I sense no wrongness around the event. Nothing unusual has gone down and no one has died, the universe is whole. If it hasn’t caused any problems, then what are we concerned about? Only thing I can come up with is Ego.”
Jesus knew he was right. He did not want to think about it, but he had the exact same experience. He looked at Barsun and knew he too had felt the same emotions. They were both thrilled.
Onboard the HRMS Saratov in Luna Orbit.
Yuri was sitting at his station in the number one chair. People had been calling him number one behind his back. It was a very very very old joke that apparently had more staying power than a tattoo. It just never went away on it’s on. He was running the optimal plot outbound from Sol. They were moving Sub Light at 0.2C enroute to designated warp space. The scientist did not like it when warp drives threw off their Cesium clocks. There is a reason they were protected. They were everywhere and were critical to accurate computing. Not being a programmer himself, he had no real grasp of why. He just followed regs and the Terran Space Treaty of 2225. There were places to depart and places to return. Both had to be strictly adhered to as vessels coming out of warp would have massive radiation bow waves that had to be dissipated in a safe direction. It only took one event where 23,000 Luna colonists died as a result of poor judgement for the players to get a treaty together. Meanwhile the killer of so many had paid the price for his arrogance. His first officer had warned him that it was going to happen. Out of just pure Ego thousands of lives were lost. They could have prevented it. They were required to study such disasters in training but one story stuck in his head and he never forgot it. He could remember the major players involved and he had written a paper on it in His academy days. He remembered the details of the Tenerife disaster very well . Over 500 people killed by hubris and not a little incompetence.
He had started down this line of thought after he had looked at the final roster of nations in the flotilla. This was not unusual as Earth’s forces were fully integrated with common technology and ships. All drive hardware and power systems were identical to their counterparts. They worked as a whole to such a degree that there was really only one fleet. The Terran fleet. They all liked the sound of it. Political boundaries on Earth hadn’t moved for slightly more than two centuries. Not one inch. Turns out that nearly free energy was a great equalizer and the key to a post scarcity civilization. Who would think it?
It all came down to teamwork. There were Corvettes from Cuba The CSS Havana and the CSS Holguin. The pride of the human fleet the IRNS Vikrant was going as well. The admiral felt honored. The George Washington from the New England Confederacy and the SSS Atlanta from the Southern Democratic Republic were also on hand. One thing Yuri did not understand; why would The Northeastern Confederacy and The Southern Democratic Republic not unify. Their fleets were fully integrated and there was an open Border along Virginia that was un defended. Passports worked in both countries and there were no restrictions on residence. It worked for them. They weren’t fighting. The Middle Asiatic Republic sent the Karachi and the Kabul. Both were light carriers carrying a mix of MiG-29Z and F-15 Mk 82 Eagle fighter aircraft. They had little to do with their namesakes except for the identical aerodynamics. Primarily trans atmospheric fighters they were capable of brief spaceflight. The other significant difference besides the addition of reaction thrusters was the material they were made of. They consisted of a Ceramic Graphene matrix that could withstand the temperatures of reentry. The whole concept of stealth had gone away with the advent of gravimetry. So; Why reinvent the wheel? Pick something optimized for aerodynamics without regard to stealth features. Today fights were won by the best missileer and gunfighter. You could not hide. So best be the most optimal aircraft. Besides: Stealth was slow. Top speeds of aircraft dropped during the brief stealth era. Averages were back over Mach 2 now since speed was life for a fighter pilot.
Why pick the MiG29 and the F-15? They were the pinnacle of aerodynamic performance. There has been little to no new knowledge about aerodynamics to come out since those times. They were manufactured via vapor deposition 3D printing. A molecular composite they were strong and had reduced radar cross sections. Armed with a mix of missile and cannon they delivered quite a bit of firepower and were more than a match for any invading spaceborne forces. These fighters would destroy drop ships by the hundreds. Some even wanted to bring back the MiG-21. It would make a lot of sense.
Humans have the Ruslan (his personal favorite) trans atmospheric transport or the C-301 Starlifter. Both aircraft had mixed mode propulsion with highly refined cero-ferrous gas turbines. They were capable of both open or closed cycle operation. Smaller countries often used refurbished secondhand equipment from other countries for a small fee. This made certain there were adequate forces to bear and that all participated. It was in everyone’s best interest. No one wanted some weakling holding their flank.
Both the Ruslan and Starlifter transports were good at different things as the Ruslan carried large payloads but was inefficient in transport atmospherically whereas the Starlifter was great at theater transport but had a smaller payload. This is why it was a mix of these two aircraft. They were complementary. Many think there is a great rivalry going on between the two countries, but both had each other’s technology as well. It was convoluted but both countries ultimately had the same master. They work together. It may be anticompetitive, but it also was efficient. Yuri continued to think along this veia until he heard the Ship’s AI speakeing to the Admiral. “Something terrible has happened.” What do you mean Jezz?” Jezz replied to him “I do not know but I can feel tragedy. I am sick with it what has happened. The Admiral told her to “Get on the web and see what is going on?” “I am Sir and I can find nothing.” The Admiral looked to Yuri and gave him the Conn. Something was about to go to shit and Yuri knew it. He could sense it to. Fortunately the Bridge was deserted and no one else heard the exchange. The crew were running battle simulations from the CIC. Thank God for small favors.
45 minutes later a graviton packet arrived with news that was indeed terrible. He was the only one to know it too. The Galileo had been lost with all hands. They had just recovered the emergency buoy that had warped in. They had been attacked and the Admiral knew who had done it. Or at least thought he did. An AI had killed 50 innocent unarmed souls (that were spying I know) that could not fight back. They had raked them with Maser Fire. He pinched the shit out of himself. In fact, he left a bruise but all it did was confirm what he already knew: shit was about to get real up in here.
First thing was to compose himself as he had to determine who if any crew had family on the ship. This included some 8,000 people of all ratings from anywhere in the squadron. He had one very difficult personal notification he would have to make. Captain Pearls brother Nico was on the Galileo.
This was all so tragic but there was one thing that kept forcing its way to the forefront of his mind and he could not ignore it. How did she know? How did Jezz feel this precognitively? This actually did scare him and if he thought too much about it he would start to feel very queasy. This was outside his skill set. He did not know if this was technological, spiritual or philosophical but he could say this: none of those disciplines actually fit the situation.
It was all a bit much. He had to go to the Atlanta. He spoke to the bridge. “Full stop fleet and await further instructions.” “Aye Aye Sir.” Up in here.
Aboard the SSS Atlanta. A tall dignified black man wearing his dress blues and a gold ring on his left hand that you could hardly read. He had worn it a century. His was the same uniform he had 20 years ago. He could still wear it and he was proud of that fact. His only regret was the fact he had yet to have a family until 10 years ago when he had adopted his son Chris. They were inseparable but Chris was 5 thousand light years away give or take and that made him anxious. And now he had to let someone he held dear that her family was changed forever. He smelled of Hoyt’s cologne and peppermint. He went to her quarters. The lighting was somber and it was dead silent in there. Couch was empty but there she was in a sway back chair it had lots of gold leak and was nicely carved. He had found her crying. She already knew and he was going to shitcan someone when this was over. Then he realized what had happened. How had she known? She had sensed him and she had known it was bad.
He still had to tell her.
By the time he was back on the Capatob he was spent. It was all he could do to restrain her. She was enraged and was out for blood. He had never sensed such fury. Someone had fucked around and now they were going to find out. He had talked with her an hour and she seem to be calmer, but he was going to have to watch her. He knew how she was. There were stories that were all no doubt true. She was a legend and would go down as one of the greatest hermaphrodite to ever live. They were going places and the shit was on. And now there was an unfortunate motivation. That was a dangerous combination right there. Make it personal and logic can go out the window. Make it personal and there will be no civility in victory. She was just the kind of human that was the perfect storm squared. The puddle of gasoline and someone flipped a match. It was a very volatile mix.
He was a bit of a cynic and a practical man. If she wanted to go there he would let her. She would either be a hero or a Martyr. He was perfectly OK with that. Being a practical man it also served his other purpose. She would eclipse him in the history books. At least he hoped so. He did not want his hands on this. The first contact situation with the twist of a western and an incalculable amount of science fiction had indelibly marked the mind of every member of the Greater Terran Fleet. They had read all of the possible scenarios from every Sci Fi author. If you pressed them they would finally admit it. The fleet really liked Heinlein. They had been trying to get at least a Heinlein corvette on the roster for years. They had thus far been unsuccessful. They needed a champion for the cause and they were trying to get One Fleet Admiral to order it to be. The Admiral took some joy in tormenting them. He was going to help them out but he was milking it for a favor. That was going to come in handy. “You can have your Heinlein but I am going to need this in return”. He was just being practical. All good commanders were excellent manipulators after all.
It is plain as day and the idea of a Heinlein proves my point but there was an even bigger more academic question that eclipsed all others. Who was right? Who came closest? No one would talk about it but they were all thinking the same thing.
The Admiral broke a taboo and called it out. He felt it was time. They needed a little friendly wager and a reason to get through the battle. They were going to have a pool where everyone had to pick the author. They buy in was just 5 UCreds. If you don’t live through the battle you cannot win. So: don’t die. Who came closest to the real thing? Which author or story came close to what was about to happen.Once a story was picked it was dead to all others. There was potentially some reward in alacrity. He knew it was a bit of a sucker’s bet since someone had to judge wo was closest and this would be highly subjective and entirely his decision. (Author’s note: I am a veteran of the US Army with several deployments around this dirt ball. I can say the military is the most Fascist organization around today. It has to be. Paradoxically it is the most “fair” in that everyone gets treated the same: like shit.) At least it would be a distraction and would give them something else to focus on. He had a very bad feeling about this. They were going to go in and kick the doors in on an alien civilization. They were going to war. No one would admit it, but everyone knew it. This was not to be discussed. That was an order. This is an exploratory rescue mission answering a distress call.
Vegan Fleet Academy Alpha Centauri B. 6, June 62425 Gregorian.
Planetary Admiral Kenneth Alexander looked out on a sight he never thought he would see. Lots of young people sitting politely in their chairs listening to what he had to say. He wrote the fucking book. There it was on the lectern right in front of him. He had written a book on astral navigation to make a little extra cash and because there was an over reliance still on electronic means to navigate. Sailors needed to be able to navigate in any situation with a sextant, a star map database and gravimaetric readings without the need of an AI or targeting computer (Insert Star wars joke here). The book could have been half as thick in his opinion but the publisher insisted he needed a little more explanation. The Admiral gave students too much credit. He truly felt it should be taught in grade school. He was called a fanatic when he suggested that kids on track for Ensigns should have had basic instruction. His argument being that Ensigns started service in the year in which they turned sixteen. That meant there were some 15 year-olds in the mix. Start teaching them early. They should show up to basic already familiar with side arms and rifles. He was a fanatic.
As far as that damned accursed book goes the fact he had 500 copies actually printed and bound meant there were few of them around, but sitting right about center in of the second row sat a copy of his book. He felt like the guy who saw the first unicorn. He never saw one in the wild before and this book was well worn. It was 50 years old after all but printed on plastic synthetic paper and woven fiberglass for silicone bindings held together with silicone adhesives meant that the damn things were waterproof and actually quite practical. The book required no batteries and even had a quick and dirty position fix protocol in a special section. This particular specimen wasn’t falling apart, this one was just worn out.
The way he carried the book was clear. He was oblivious of the significance. He had found it in a used bookshop for free. They were using it as a doorstop, and they just gave it to him. He had become engrossed by it and at 13 years of age he was finishing his PhD. The admiral sensed this in a psychic flash and pulled back he had poor control still. He was never going to get used to the change “OK everyone come on let’s get back to it the party is over. We have to finish this section and then we will get out of here. There is no class tomorrow so we will have the Parade of the Caisson tomorrow with Captain James Cook on interspecies governmental relations…. Someone was tapping on his shoulder getting his attention. She could have all of it. She whispered way too close for someone who did not prefer women but about perfect for him. He was in the latter camp. “We need you to speak tomorrow sir Captain Cook had a equipment malfunction over Hawaii and is delayed Sir. Pleeeease Sir?” With just enough breathiness that it made him jittery. He was an old perv. He was just that way. The lady in question was 100 years old however but, maybe it was still cradle robbing? He just had a thing for Afro’s in the natural state. It was distracting.
“Godddamnitalltohellwhatinthefuckdoyouwant?” This was a perfectly reasonable thing to say. He had just been asked to do the one thing he vowed to never do again. They wanted him to speak and air his opinions? This is the most dangerous thing you can do in society. He had no politics per se’ beyond one or two things. He was a professional and he would do his job as long as the checks kept coming. He was not a politician and he did not like politicians, of any stripe. What he had learned was ironclad. Never be honest or always be truthful. Pick one or the other was his personal philosophy. He always chose honesty when he needed to hide a truth. No one believed the truth. No one believed the truth because they were put off by it. He always thought back to when he was 12 or so when he got ribbed and harassed about masturbation. His uncle Gerry was kind of a cruel fuck and liked to torment him. He Gerry asked him if he was J.O’ing a dozen times a day or something. He had replied “That is about right.” This had brought down the room and gotten great laughs and Gerry quit running his mouth at him. Fuck you Gerry. You little bitch. In his opinion the media obfuscated everything not by making up lies but by omitting certain facts to fit their agenda. No one took major media seriously. The only objective newspaper he was aware of was the National Enquirer. Yeah I know it sounds stupid but it is true. Reality was anything but and people had come to be comfortable being lied to and even preferring it. All of this is roiling in his head and he has been put on the spot to boot. Add to that the fact that at least some of the outburst was audible. No one seems to have heard it, however. This settles the age-old question. It was only said if it was heard. No one heard the statement therefore…….. The mental gymnastics weren’t that bad. He could deny it. It happens. But he still had to give an answer .“What is in it for me?” Jannel the beautiful woman replied “absolutely nothing sir. This will not benefit you in any way and may once again be picked apart. As such I would advise against doing it. Still I am asking you. My ass is in a vise and the DEAN is having a temper tantrum so I feel like I am being spitroasted by the devil and a lamp post in a not so good way, but I would consider it a great personal favor if you will do this despite your misgivings and likelihood of misadventure.” So fast and so well enunciated.
“Sure. I will do it. Goddammit.” Honesty must be rewarded.
2023.06.04 03:18 dear_remnant [CAN-ON] [H]PS1-5,3/DS,GC,GBA,NSW,amiibo,misc [W] lists
Hi,
Here's what I can offer for trades. CIB unless noted otherwise. List may get updated after initial posting.
Notes.
submitted by dear_remnant to gameswap [link] [comments]
Here's what I can offer for trades. CIB unless noted otherwise. List may get updated after initial posting.
Have
| PS1 | |
|---|---|
| Breath of Fire 3 | Manual damaged. Missing first page. Disc plays okay. |
| Breath of Fire 4 | |
| Parasite Eve | Small crack in the case |
| Tactics Ogre | |
| Alundra | missing map |
| Dragon Warrior 7 | |
| Legend of Legaia | |
| Metal Gear Solid | missing manual |
| Lunar Silver Star Story Complete | some damage in outer box |
| Suikoden | small rip in first page of manual |
| Wild Arms 2 | loose disc only |
| Final Fantasy Tactics | |
| Revelations: Persona | box only |
| Star Ocean: The Second Story | |
| Gran Turismo | Brand new. Plastic wrap is gone but seal at the top is still intact. |
| A bug's life | |
| Black Dawn | |
| Formula1 98 | |
| Small soldiers | |
| The next tetris | |
| Star wars: Episode 1 The phantom menace | |
| Twisted metal III | |
| Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style | |
| Apocalypse | |
| Playstation Underground Jampack | |
| NHL FaceOff 99 | |
| NFL Xtreme | |
| NFL GameDay 2001 | Sealed. Small rip in the plastic wrap |
| NFL GameDay 2000 | |
| MLB 2000 | |
| 3Xtreme | |
| Contender | |
| Jampack Summer 99 | |
| Jampack Winter 98 | |
| Interactive CD Sampler Pack Volume 3 | |
| Spyro | |
| Bust A Groove |
| PS2 | |
|---|---|
| Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 [Limited Edition] | outer box showing some wear |
| .Hack Quarantine | Missing anime DVD, Case may not be original |
| Front mission 4 | |
| Katamari Damacy | |
| Silent Hill 3 | |
| Silent Hill 4 | |
| Suikoden 3 | |
| Final Fantasy XII Limited Edition (steelbook) | |
| Xenosaga Episode 1 | |
| Xenosaga Episode 3 | |
| Guitar Hero | |
| Guitar Hero Metallica | |
| Guitar Hero III Legend of Rock | |
| Rockband AC/DC Track Pack | |
| Grandia II | |
| Grandia III | |
| Yakuza 2 | |
| Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne | |
| Kingdom Hearts | GH |
| Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 3 |
| PSP | |
|---|---|
| Untold Legends Brotherhood Of The Blade | |
| Prince Of Persia: The Forgotten Sands | |
| Legend Of Heroes III Song Of The Ocean | loose umd only |
| Grand Theft Auto Liberty City Stories | GH |
| Robots | UMD Movie |
| Vita | |
|---|---|
| Killzone Mercenary | loose |
| PS3 | |
|---|---|
| Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection [Artbook Bundle] | Sealed with artbook |
| Dante's Inferno Divine Edition | with slipcover, missing manual |
| Yakuza 3 | |
| BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend | |
| Batman: Arkham City | |
| Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII | |
| Disney Infinity starter pack | Sealed |
| Record of Agarest War 2 | Sealed, One corner of box is dinged |
| Dead Island Riptide [Rigor Mortis Edition] | Sealed |
| Dead Space 3 Dev-team Edition | Sealed, 4004/5000 |
| Battlefield 3 | |
| Battlefield 4 | |
| Far Cry 2 | |
| Far Cry 4 | |
| Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2010 | |
| Heavy Fire: Afghanistan | |
| Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas | |
| Little Big Planet Karting | |
| Batman: Arkham Asylum - GoTY edition | |
| Medal of Honor: Warfighter | |
| Need for Speed: The Run LE | |
| Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit LE | |
| Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit | loose, GH |
| Need for Speed: Rivals | missing manual |
| Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection | |
| Duke Nukem Forever | |
| Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes | GH |
| Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens | loose |
| Destiny | |
| Lost Planet 3 | Sealed |
| God of War Collection | GH |
| PS4 | |
|---|---|
| Fallout 4 Pipboy edition | Sealed |
| Elder Scrolls Online Tamriel Unlimited Imperial Edition | Sealed |
| Wolfenstein II: The new Colossus Collector's Edition | Sealed |
| Final fantasy vii remake | |
| Final fantasy vii remake deluxe edition | Sealed |
| Neptunia x SENRAN KAGURA: Ninja Wars | digital code |
| Sekiro: Shadows die twice | |
| Kingdom Hearts All-in-one | sealed |
| Fifa 14 | |
| Battlefield 4 | |
| INSIDE / LIMBO double pack | |
| WWE 2K15 Hulkamania Edition | sealed |
| Dying Light | |
| Fallout 4 | |
| Borderlands: The Handsome Collection |
| PS5 | |
|---|---|
| Tales of Arise | Sealed |
| Elden Ring Collector's Edition | Sealed |
| Elden Ring preorder code x3 | Willing to throw this in free with any trade |
| Elden Ring with steelbook bundle | Bundle seems to be Bestbuy Canada exclusive |
| Scarlet Nexus | Sealed |
| Evil Dead | digital code |
| Horizon Forbidden West Collector's Edition | Sealed |
| Xbox | |
|---|---|
| Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines | gamestop sticker on manual |
| Xbox360 | |
|---|---|
| Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation | |
| Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts | |
| Fallout 3 | |
| Halo 4 LE | Sealed |
| Lost Odyssey | |
| Silent Hill: Homecoming | |
| Otomedius Excellent |
| GameCube | |
|---|---|
| Resident Evil | |
| Donkey Konga 2 | Sealed |
| Wii | |
|---|---|
| Super Mario All-Stars: 25th Anniversary Edition | Sealed |
| The Last Story LE | |
| Sin & Punishment: Star Successor | Sealed |
| Switch | |
|---|---|
| Xenoblade Chronicles 2 | |
| Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna the Golden Country | Sealed |
| Xenoblade Chronicles 3 | Sealed |
| Metroid Dread Special Edition | Sealed |
| Shin Megami Tensei V Fall of Men Premium Edition | Sealed |
| Hoa | Sealed |
| Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town Premium Edition | Sealed |
| Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 1 [Deluxe Edition] | Sealed |
| AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES – nirvanA Initiative Collectors Edition | Sealed |
| Legend of Zelda the tears of the kingdom Collector's edition | Sealed |
| GBA | |
|---|---|
| Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage | loose |
| Avatar: The Last Airbender | loose |
| SpongeBob SquarePants Movie | loose |
| American Dragon Jake Long Rise Of The Huntsclan | loose |
| Ty The Tasmanian Tiger 3 | loose |
| Pokemon LeafGreen | loose |
| Pokemon Sapphire | loose, dry battery replaced |
| Chronicles Of Narnia Lion Witch And The Wardrobe | loose |
| Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 | loose |
| Tales of Phantasia | loose |
| Shining Soul 2 | loose |
| Kirby and the Amazing Mirror | loose |
| Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland | loose |
| DS | |
|---|---|
| Coral Pink DS Lite | Excellent cosmetic condition, charger included |
| White DSi | no charger, stylus |
| TMNT | |
| Lego Harry Potter Year 1-4 | |
| Phantasy Star 0 | missing manual |
| Flash Focus | |
| Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia | loose |
| Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume | loose |
| Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light | loose |
| Pokemon HeartGold | loose, small damage on label |
| Pokemon HeartGold | Complete minus Pokewalker |
| Pokemon SoulSilver | box only |
| Pokemon Diamond | |
| Pokemon Diamond | loose |
| Pokemon Platinum | loose |
| Pokemon Black | |
| Pokemon Black | missing manual |
| Pokemon Black | box only |
| Hoppie | no manual, some water damage in cover arts |
| Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days | |
| Metroid Prime: Hunters - First Hunt | loose |
| Diddy Kong Racing | |
| Fossil Fighters | |
| Professor Layton And The Curious Village |
| 3DS | |
|---|---|
| 3DS XL Black+Red | CIB, Cave Story digital installed |
| New 3DS XL Galaxy | loose. Charger included. Missing stylus, Dual IPS screen |
| Pokemon X | |
| Rune Factory 4 | |
| Bravely Second: End Layer | Warning booklet missing |
| Kingdom Hearts 3D Dream Drop Distance LE | Missing AR cards |
| Pokemon Sun | loose |
| Pokemon Ultra Sun | loose |
| Pokemon X | loose, have 2 |
| Pokemon Alpha Sapphire | loose |
| Kirby Triple Deluxe | loose |
| LEGO Star Wars The Force Awakens | Case in rough shape. Missing manual |
| Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond The Myth [Launch Edition] | sealed |
| Sonic: Lost World | |
| Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS | |
| Mario Kart 7 | |
| Kirby: Triple Deluxe | Nintendo Selects |
| Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D | Nintendo Selects |
| Tales of the Abyss | sealed |
| Fantasy Life |
| Amiibo (all SSB except noted otherwise) | All sealed in original box |
|---|---|
| Peach (Super Mario) | 025W1 |
| Yoshi (Super Mario) | 524W2 |
| Mario | 434W2 |
| Bowser | 464S1 |
| Diddy Kong | 424S1 |
| Luigi | 434S1 |
| Pikachu | 474W2 |
| Squirtle | 279W5 |
| Ivysaur | 299W5 |
| Snake | 2559G1 |
| Sonic | 494W2 |
| Peach | 444W3 |
| Link (Link's awakening) | 2079G1 |
| Link | 524S1 |
| Link (Majora's mask) | 187S1 |
| Guides | |
|---|---|
| Tales of Vesperia | BradyGames |
| Dark Souls | FuturePress, Sealed |
| Dark Souls II CE | FuturePress, Sealed |
| Dragon Warrior VII | Prima |
| Breath of Fire IV | Prima |
| Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch | Prima, Hard Cover |
| Wild Arms 4 | Prima |
| God of War III | BradyGames |
| Resident Evil 6 | BradyGames, Hard Cover, Sealed |
| Legend of Zelda Collector's Box Set | Prima, sealed |
| Manuals | |
|---|---|
| https://imgur.com/a/DLa5yM4 | Too many to list. Some 360/PS3 ones may be in French. Please ask. Harvest Moon (GC) is traded. |
| Steelbooks | G1 size unless noted. No games included. |
|---|---|
| Assassin's Creed 3 | in shrink wrap |
| Assassin's Creed Collection | |
| Batman Arkham City Armored Edition | |
| Batman Arkham City | G2 |
| Call of Duty Black Ops II | |
| Dead Space 3 | in shrink wrap |
| Devil May Cry | G2 |
| Dishonored | |
| Duke Nukem Forever | in shrink wrap |
| Epic Mickey 2 | |
| Farcry 3 | in shrink wrap |
| FF XIII Lightning Returns | in shrink wrap |
| Hitman Absolution | |
| Injustice Gods Among Us | |
| Medal of Honor Warfighter | G2 |
| New Super Mario Bros U | |
| NHL 12 | |
| Prototype 2 | in shrink wrap |
| Sleeping Dogs | |
| Thief | |
| World of Warcraft Mist of Pandara |
| Misc | |
|---|---|
| FF X Play Arts Tidus | Still in original box, never displayed out of box |
| FF X Play Arts Yuna | Still in original box, never displayed out of box |
| FF X Play Arts Auron | Still in original box, never displayed out of box |
| FFVII Advent Children Play Arts Sephiroth | Still in original box, never displayed out of box |
| FFVII Advent Children Play Arts Vincent | Still in original box, never displayed out of box |
| FFVII Advent Children Play Arts Cloud with Fenrir | Still in original box, never displayed out of box |
| Steer 'n win jr racing wheel/pedal | compatible with PS1/N64 |
| Diablo III Collector's Edition PC | Sealed |
| Diablo III Reaper of Souls Collector's Edition PC | Sealed |
| Homeworld Collector's Edition PC | Sealed |
Want:
Mostly interested in JRPGs and horrors. Working design, Enix, Falcom, NIS, Atlus, etc. Must be CIB unless noted otherwise.
| PS1 |
|---|
| Adventures of Lomax |
| Deception III: Dark Delusion |
| Echo Night |
| King's Field (Long box) |
| King's Field II |
| Klonoa: Door to Phantomile |
| Koudelka |
| Misadventures of Tron Bonne |
| RayCrisis: Series Termination |
| RayStorm |
| Shadow Tower |
| Tail Concerto |
| Thunder Force V |
| Torneko: The Last Hope |
| Resident evil survivor |
| PS2 |
|---|
| Blood Will Tell |
| Echo Night: Beyond |
| Forever Kingdom |
| Haunting Ground |
| ObsCure |
| Shadow Heart |
| Silent Hill 2 (Greatest Hits) |
| Silent Hill: Shattered Memories |
| Tsugunai: Atonement |
| PS4 |
|---|
| Atelier Ryza LE |
| Atelier Sophie LE |
| Tales of Berseria CE |
| PS5 |
|---|
| The Last of us Part 1 Firefly edition (sealed) |
| Vita |
|---|
| Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Brith 1 LE |
| GBC |
|---|
| Dragon Warrior Monsters |
| Dragon Warrior Monsters 2: Cobi's Journey |
| Dragon Warrior Monsters 2: Tara's Adventure |
| Dragon Warrior I & II |
| Revelations: The Demon Slayer |
| GBA |
|---|
| Klonoa 2: Dream Champ Tournament |
| Klonoa: Empire of Dreams |
| Lunar Legend |
| GameCube | |
|---|---|
| Star Fox: Assault | Manual only |
| Jet Black GameCube box and cardboard inserts | |
| Indigo wired OEM controller | low want |
| Switch | |
|---|---|
| Dragon quest xi | sealed preferred |
| DS | |
|---|---|
| Commando: Steel Disaster | |
| Dragon Quest V | |
| Dragon Quest IV | Box and manual only |
| Etrian Odyssey | |
| Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja | |
| Lunar: Dragon Song | Manual only |
| Resident Evil: Deadly Silence | |
| Sands of Destruction | |
| Super Robot Taisen OG Saga Endless Frontier |
| 3DS |
|---|
| Corpse Party: Back to School Edition |
| Dragon Quest VII |
| Dragon Quest VIII |
| Etrian Mystery Dungeon (Launch soundtrack bundle preferred) |
| Etrian Odyssey Nexus (launch edition) |
| Fire Emblem Fates SE |
| Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology (launch edition) |
| Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers (with soundtrack) |
| Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker (launch edition) |
| Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked |
| Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse Launch Edition |
| Others |
|---|
| Turbografx-16 Console (CIB) and CIB games |
| Dragon Quest Slime controller for Switch |
| All Uncharted Waters games (SNES and Genesis, CIB) |
- Prefer to trade within Canada, but will consider cross border too if offers are attractive.
- Will provide pics upon request.
- I have not listed everything in haves/wants. I will gladly check your list and work something out.
2023.06.04 02:25 _Triple_ [STORE] 900+ KNIVES/GLOVES/SKINS, 50.000$+ INVENTORY. M9 Fade, M4 Poseidon, BFK Freehand, Crimson Kimono, Nomad Fade, Skeleton, Kara Lore, Bayo Autotronic, AWP Fade, Kara Damas, BFK Ultra, Kara Freehand, Kara Bright, M9 Damas, Omega, Tiger Strike, Flip MF, Bayo Tiger, Deagle Blaze, Talon & More
Everything in my inventory is up for trade. The most valuable items are listed here, the rest you can find in My Inventory
Feel free to Add Me or even better send a Trade Offer. Open for any suggestions: upgrades, downgrades / knives, gloves, skins / stickers, patterns, floats.
All Buyouts are listed in cash value.
KNIVES
★ Butterfly Knife Freehand FN #1, B/O: $2500
★ Butterfly Knife Ultraviolet FT, B/O: $822
★ Butterfly Knife Scorched FT, B/O: $616
⎯★ Bayonet Tiger Tooth MW #1, B/O: $1300
★ Bayonet Autotronic FN, B/O: $1050
★ Bayonet Tiger Tooth MW, B/O: $629
★ Bayonet Bright Water FT, B/O: $326
★ Bayonet Safari Mesh BS, B/O: $233
⎯★ Karambit Lore FT, B/O: $1110
★ Karambit Damascus Steel FT, B/O: $840
★ Karambit Freehand MW, B/O: $784
★ Karambit Bright Water MW, B/O: $759
⎯★ M9 Bayonet Fade FN, B/O: $1801
★ M9 Bayonet Fade FN, B/O: $1801
★ M9 Bayonet Damascus Steel FN, B/O: $751
⎯★ Nomad Knife Fade FN, B/O: $1156
★ Nomad Knife Slaughter MW, B/O: $544
★ Nomad Knife Blue Steel WW, B/O: $318
⎯★ Flip Knife Marble Fade FN, B/O: $646
★ Flip Knife Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $574
★ Flip Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 1) MW, B/O: $552
★ Flip Knife Case Hardened FT, B/O: $257
★ Flip Knife Freehand FT, B/O: $255
★ StatTrak™ Flip Knife Bright Water FN, B/O: $287
⎯★ Huntsman Knife Lore FN, B/O: $461
★ Huntsman Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $436
★ Huntsman Knife Doppler (Phase 3) FN, B/O: $353
★ Huntsman Knife Autotronic FT, B/O: $212
★ Huntsman Knife Bright Water FT, B/O: $129
★ Huntsman Knife Forest DDPAT MW, B/O: $129
★ Huntsman Knife Forest DDPAT BS, B/O: $123
★ StatTrak™ Huntsman Knife Rust Coat BS, B/O: $127
⎯★ Bowie Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 2) FN, B/O: $375
★ Bowie Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 1) FN, B/O: $363
★ Bowie Knife Tiger Tooth FN, B/O: $269
★ Bowie Knife Crimson Web WW, B/O: $192
★ Bowie Knife Bright Water FN, B/O: $159
★ Bowie Knife Ultraviolet FT, B/O: $126
⎯★ Stiletto Knife Slaughter FN, B/O: $616
★ Stiletto Knife Crimson Web FT, B/O: $412
★ StatTrak™ Stiletto Knife Night Stripe FT, B/O: $227
⎯★ Falchion Knife Lore FT, B/O: $214
★ Falchion Knife Autotronic FT, B/O: $192
★ Falchion Knife Scorched WW, B/O: $105
⎯★ Survival Knife Crimson Web BS, B/O: $216
★ Survival Knife Case Hardened FT, B/O: $198
★ Survival Knife Scorched FT, B/O: $111
⎯★ Shadow Daggers Fade FN, B/O: $368
★ Shadow Daggers Doppler (Phase 3) FN, B/O: $228
★ Shadow Daggers, B/O: $201
★ Shadow Daggers Damascus Steel FT, B/O: $108
★ Shadow Daggers Ultraviolet FT, B/O: $105
★ Shadow Daggers Black Laminate FT, B/O: $99
★ Shadow Daggers Forest DDPAT FT, B/O: $85
⎯★ Gut Knife Doppler (Sapphire) MW #1, B/O: $1700
★ Gut Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 1) FN, B/O: $223
★ Gut Knife Marble Fade FN, B/O: $203
★ Gut Knife Doppler (Phase 2) FN, B/O: $191
★ Gut Knife Case Hardened BS, B/O: $127
⎯★ Navaja Knife Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $199
★ Navaja Knife Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $199
★ Navaja Knife, B/O: $138
★ Navaja Knife Damascus Steel FN, B/O: $111
⎯★ Classic Knife Urban Masked FT, B/O: $146
★ StatTrak™ Classic Knife Stained BS, B/O: $168
⎯★ Ursus Knife Doppler (Phase 3) FN, B/O: $476
★ Ursus Knife, B/O: $375
⎯★ Skeleton Knife, B/O: $1137
★ Talon Knife, B/O: $608
★ Paracord Knife, B/O: $305
★ Survival Knife Forest DDPAT FT, B/O: $97
GLOVES
★ Moto Gloves Transport MW, B/O: $204
★ Moto Gloves Polygon BS, B/O: $142
★ Moto Gloves Blood Pressure BS, B/O: $84
★ Moto Gloves Blood Pressure BS, B/O: $84
★ Moto Gloves 3rd Commando Company BS, B/O: $63
★ Moto Gloves 3rd Commando Company BS, B/O: $63
⎯★ Specialist Gloves Crimson Kimono WW, B/O: $1215
★ Specialist Gloves Tiger Strike FT, B/O: $672
★ Specialist Gloves Lt. Commander FT, B/O: $305
★ Specialist Gloves Lt. Commander BS, B/O: $140
★ Specialist Gloves Crimson Web BS, B/O: $137
★ Specialist Gloves Buckshot FT, B/O: $75
⎯★ Driver Gloves Crimson Weave FT, B/O: $359
★ Driver Gloves Imperial Plaid BS, B/O: $229
★ Driver Gloves Overtake BS, B/O: $77
★ Driver Gloves Racing Green FT, B/O: $48
⎯★ Sport Gloves Omega FT, B/O: $739
★ Sport Gloves Amphibious BS #2, B/O: $733
★ Sport Gloves Arid BS, B/O: $292
⎯★ Hand Wraps Giraffe MW, B/O: $212
★ Hand Wraps Leather FT, B/O: $160
★ Hand Wraps Desert Shamagh MW, B/O: $101
⎯★ Broken Fang Gloves Yellow-banded MW, B/O: $185
★ Broken Fang Gloves Needle Point FT, B/O: $67
★ Broken Fang Gloves Needle Point WW, B/O: $59
⎯★ Hydra Gloves Case Hardened BS, B/O: $65
★ Hydra Gloves Emerald FT, B/O: $65
★ Hydra Gloves Emerald BS, B/O: $62
WEAPONS
AK-47 Case Hardened BS, B/O: $130
AK-47 Bloodsport MW, B/O: $79
AK-47 Fuel Injector BS, B/O: $76
AK-47 Fuel Injector BS, B/O: $76
AK-47 Bloodsport FT, B/O: $70
AK-47 Neon Rider MW, B/O: $60
StatTrak™ AK-47 Aquamarine Revenge FT, B/O: $72
⎯AWP Fade FN, B/O: $1039
AWP Asiimov FT, B/O: $139
AWP Asiimov FT, B/O: $139
AWP Wildfire MW, B/O: $95
AWP BOOM MW, B/O: $93
AWP BOOM MW, B/O: $93
AWP Duality FN, B/O: $81
AWP Asiimov BS, B/O: $79
AWP Asiimov BS, B/O: $79
AWP Chromatic Aberration FN, B/O: $60
StatTrak™ AWP Hyper Beast FT, B/O: $68
StatTrak™ AWP Hyper Beast FT, B/O: $68
StatTrak™ AWP Electric Hive FT, B/O: $55
⎯Desert Eagle Blaze FN, B/O: $623
Desert Eagle Emerald Jörmungandr FN, B/O: $241
Desert Eagle Cobalt Disruption FN, B/O: $81
Desert Eagle Cobalt Disruption FN, B/O: $81
Desert Eagle Cobalt Disruption FN, B/O: $81
Desert Eagle Printstream FT, B/O: $54
⎯M4A1-S Blue Phosphor FN, B/O: $434
StatTrak™ M4A1-S Bright Water MW, B/O: $55
⎯M4A4 Poseidon FN, B/O: $1465
M4A4 Asiimov BS, B/O: $55
M4A4 Hellfire MW, B/O: $50
⎯USP-S Kill Confirmed MW, B/O: $72
USP-S Printstream FT, B/O: $69
StatTrak™ USP-S Kill Confirmed FT, B/O: $139
⎯AUG Flame Jörmungandr FN, B/O: $234
P90 Run and Hide FT, B/O: $147
Five-SeveN Candy Apple FN, B/O: $61
Trade Offer Link - Steam Profile Link - My Inventory
Some items on the list may no longer be available or are still locked, visit My Inventory for more details.
Send a Trade Offer for fastest response. I consider all offers.
Add me for discuss if there is a serious offer that needs to be discussed.
2023.06.04 02:04 LurkerInTheDoorway Is Chemiclean Amphibian Safe, and Phosphate Issues
I have two freshwater tanks currently. I want to treat both tanks with chemiclean to get rid of my ongoing struggle with cyanobacteria. My larger tank has an aquatic amphibian (siren) in it currently who I am worried may react poorly to the chemiclean. I do not see any labels on the product indicating how it will affect amphibians, and preliminary research has yielded nothing. I can remove the amphibian during the treatment's duration if needed, but I am still concerned that lingering chemicals may harm them even in small amounts that may remain after lots of water changes. Additionally, I have Kuhli loaches and two varieties of hillstream loach in one of the tanks that are sensitive, so I am also concerned about them. Will chemiclean harm any of the animals?
As for the cyanobacteria itself, I have tried many water changes (several times a week some times) to try and lower phosphate, and manual removal to eliminate blue-green algae, neither of which have worked, and the cyanobacteria is back within two days. I know it is a high phosphate issue, so I am trying to figure out how to lower the levels (currently it is between 3.0-5.0 ppm). It also smells horrible, and makes my entire house smell like swamp for hours after I do a water change. For the most immediate issue, I would like to get rid of the current cyanobacteria so I can move on to the phosphate problem to prevent the cyanobacteria completely. Any recommendations on how to do so?
submitted by LurkerInTheDoorway to Aquariums [link] [comments]
As for the cyanobacteria itself, I have tried many water changes (several times a week some times) to try and lower phosphate, and manual removal to eliminate blue-green algae, neither of which have worked, and the cyanobacteria is back within two days. I know it is a high phosphate issue, so I am trying to figure out how to lower the levels (currently it is between 3.0-5.0 ppm). It also smells horrible, and makes my entire house smell like swamp for hours after I do a water change. For the most immediate issue, I would like to get rid of the current cyanobacteria so I can move on to the phosphate problem to prevent the cyanobacteria completely. Any recommendations on how to do so?
2023.06.04 01:02 GlitzBlitz It'll be ten years next month and the pain is still the same.
My mother died of a hemorrhagic stroke on July 22, 2013. People say, "time heals all wounds." It doesn't. I relive the phone call from my brother at 2:23 a.m. - that morning - all of the time. He was staying with her at the hospital that weekend. I stayed during the week. She was never alone.
I had five missed calls. I stupidly put my phone on silent that night. I woke up and saw the missed calls. I called him and the minute he answered he said, "Sis, mom got sick again." I yelled, "But she's okay, right??? Tell me she's okay!?" He started whimpering.
All I remember is falling to my knees and yelling at the top of my lungs, and crawling into my foyer like an animal. My reaction was primal. I lost all of my senses at that moment and felt like I was in the middle of an alternate reality. A glitch in the matrix.
My husband told me that in his lifetime, he has never heard someone scream like that, and he hopes to never hear it again.
She had her first stroke on June 19, 2013. She and my father "celebrated" their 40th wedding anniversary in the God damned ICU. We thought she was getting better. However, the "big one" came 33 days later and this time, her life was sucked out of her.
My brother witnessed the whole thing. Years later, he told me that she looked terrified as the doctors and nurses worked on her. She kept looking at him as if asking for help. She looked like she was suffocating as her body went limp. My brother held her warm, lifeless body in his arms.
My brother and I lost our heart and souls and we have NEVER been the same since her death. When we visit relatives that are in the hospital now, if he hears, "Code Blue," he always has to leave the lobby and/or hospital room that we're in so he can go outside, smoke a cigarette and try his damndest to stave off his panic attacks.
She was 67 years for FFS.
I feel so f**king cheated. My father lost his partner. My brother and I lost our wonderful, kind, and beautiful mother. My kids lost their grandmother who absolutely ADORED THEM. My brother spiraled into a life of alcohol. I didn't leave my bed for a year. I still cry and scream for her. I can't believe that she's buried in some plot at the f**king cemetery. Decomposing in the heat of the hell that we live in.
I have nightmares about what she looks like now.
God damn it, I miss her.
submitted by GlitzBlitz to GriefSupport [link] [comments]
I had five missed calls. I stupidly put my phone on silent that night. I woke up and saw the missed calls. I called him and the minute he answered he said, "Sis, mom got sick again." I yelled, "But she's okay, right??? Tell me she's okay!?" He started whimpering.
All I remember is falling to my knees and yelling at the top of my lungs, and crawling into my foyer like an animal. My reaction was primal. I lost all of my senses at that moment and felt like I was in the middle of an alternate reality. A glitch in the matrix.
My husband told me that in his lifetime, he has never heard someone scream like that, and he hopes to never hear it again.
She had her first stroke on June 19, 2013. She and my father "celebrated" their 40th wedding anniversary in the God damned ICU. We thought she was getting better. However, the "big one" came 33 days later and this time, her life was sucked out of her.
My brother witnessed the whole thing. Years later, he told me that she looked terrified as the doctors and nurses worked on her. She kept looking at him as if asking for help. She looked like she was suffocating as her body went limp. My brother held her warm, lifeless body in his arms.
My brother and I lost our heart and souls and we have NEVER been the same since her death. When we visit relatives that are in the hospital now, if he hears, "Code Blue," he always has to leave the lobby and/or hospital room that we're in so he can go outside, smoke a cigarette and try his damndest to stave off his panic attacks.
She was 67 years for FFS.
I feel so f**king cheated. My father lost his partner. My brother and I lost our wonderful, kind, and beautiful mother. My kids lost their grandmother who absolutely ADORED THEM. My brother spiraled into a life of alcohol. I didn't leave my bed for a year. I still cry and scream for her. I can't believe that she's buried in some plot at the f**king cemetery. Decomposing in the heat of the hell that we live in.
I have nightmares about what she looks like now.
God damn it, I miss her.
2023.06.04 01:02 Oradainer Celestial Empire - Chapter 1
Victor turned around for one more look at what had been his childhood home. It was a three bedroom apartment on the four hundred thirty third floor in the Manchester district of the hive city New Avalon. It did at least have one window facing the outside of the hive, which made it an instant selling point.For which he was glad, it was part of his new inheritance from his parents who had recently died in the latest rounds of terrorist bombings against Canary Corps headquarters, which they both were middle management.
His military leave was coming to an end, his amassed two week respite was only due to his twenty years of service in the imperial guard. As a Captain and veteran of the Emperors many campaigns, he could pull rank when needed.
In five short years he would be able to retire a full citizen. Something his father scoffed at, but that was nothing new, his father scoffed at anything he had ever done. His everything ached, as he turned his back on his former home and made his way towards the transmat pad. Selling the apartment and consolidating his assets weren’t the only thing he was doing on Terra.
He spent those two weeks getting augments that would have been out of reach to a lowly Captain of the Imperial guard. Gene-mods were common throughout the Empire, but there were gene-mods, and then there were gene-mods. His were now top of the line, far beyond the mil-spec given to him in officer school. That, combined with his new dimensional storage add-on allowed him to purchase and store massive amounts of goods for his upcoming retirement.
Some things you could only get on Holy Terra, a nano-forge capable of making anything you have a SBC to construct could be found on most technological worlds. A nano-foundry to make the nanites the nano-forge uses can only be purchased on select worlds of the Empire.
But SBCs can only be found on Terra, and are heavily restricted. But some connections in Imperial Guard logistics pointed him to some people who might have some SBCs that may or may not be considered illegal to own. That combined with raw materials, a habitat module, weapons, food, mining drones, security drones, and forge spiders now filled his dimensional storage.
“Next!” Shouted a bored looking transmat officer in front of Victor. To which he sighed and presented his Imperial Guard ID and his permissions to be transported to Andosious Prime. The officer looked him over in his Imperial Guard Armor, a bit battle worn, but impeccably maintained. It felt much lighter with the upgrades, which was the point. Two hundred kilos of light power armor is still heavy even with the minor gene-mods of the guard. Now he barely felt it as he stood before the officer.
“No baggage Captain Bane?” He asked looking down at this console.Victor kept his face emotionless, something driven into him by officer training. “The guard provides me with all I need officer. No baggage today.” He lied through his teeth.
The officer nodded, that was the proper response, “Thank you for your service Captain, next stop, Andosious Prime!” He said with a flourish as he pressed a button on his panel.The universe went white, time fell away, then he felt like he was falling. This wasn’t what normally happened on a transmat. Suddenly the world came back into focus, blue sky followed by a green forest followed by a brown ground coming up fast.
His mental commands screamed through the interface nodes imbedded all over his body into the scout armor. Retro-rockets fired as he made a hard landing in the clearing of a forest. Two weeks earlier something like that would have hurt bad, if not caused serious injury. Now it just added to his aches.
He looked around, his heads-up display noting the fauna, surprisingly it came back as all Terra based equivalents. Well, they would have been if most of them didn’t say EXTINCT beside their classification in red.
“Captain Bane to Guard unit 117154, please respond.” The hud responded with something he had never seen before. NO SIGNAL.
“What the hell?” He asked himself. He had never been without a signal. “Computer, run diagnostics, maybe the transmat damaged something.” He watched as the diagnostic finished running, no errors, no signal.
He looked up, the sun would be going down in a few hours, he could use the celestial navigation software in his armor to find his location anywhere in the galaxy. Emperor above, he hoped the transmat hadn’t put him on a Xeno world.
He activated his jump pack to launch himself up for a better view of the land. About a thousand meters up he saw smoke coming from a medium sized village… maybe? He could work with that, maybe he was in a non-technological world of the Empire, even those had outposts to get a signal out from.
The jump pack’s capacitors would need to recharge before he could use it again. Nothing to do but start walking towards the village. With any luck he would reach it before nightfall, from there he’d get some answers.
He did not get to the village before nightfall. The terrain made going slow, the ground was soft and muddy, the forest was densely packed with oak trees and rocks. He had to use his jump pack to clear a particularly deep gully and it was slowly recharging.
As he looked down on the village he remembered his navigation software, he looked up to the sky and let the computer gather data. Location confirmed, Holy Terra, New Avalon, District 334.He sighed and looked back down to the village, “Either my suit is borked, or I’m back in the distant past.” He muttered. His armors’ limited AI printed something new on his hud. CONSTELLATIONS OUT OF SYNC BY 4271 YEARS.
Victor froze at the revelation. All the physics classes he took in his youth stated going back in time was impossible, something about paradoxes prevented it. “Computer, do you have any information on transmat failures?” The AI showed it was indexing before coming back with an answer, LOST MATTER IN TRANSMAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN PUSHED PAST THE FINITE CURVE OF THE UNIVERSE. NO FURTHER INFORMATION AVAILABLE.
Victor sat on a tree stump taking in the information. “Well, I’m not in the Empire anymore, even if the computer thinks I am. Nothing to do but head down to the village.” He pushed up from the stump and made his way in the dark towards the oddly ancient eastern looking village.
There was a road leading into the village, a sign stood crookedly at the crossroads, his AI translated it as Wuzhen, with other arrows pointing to Tongxian, Jiaxing, Huzhou, and Wujiang. “Computer, what language is this?” IT IS A DIALECT OF ANCIENT CHINESE, ADJUSTING GENE-MODS TO FOR TRANSLATION.
His vocal cords did that weird thing that happened whenever the AI needed to translate from Terran to another language or dialect. How the gene-mods did it was beyond his pay grade, but everyone always complimented him on his accent, so apparently the technology was sound.
He saw figures up ahead with a ox and wagon. His enhanced vision showed him about what he expected, peasants bringing their wares to town for sale. That was, until he saw the woman had goats eyes. The man had goats horns curling from his forehead but in all other aspects looked Human.
“Emperor above, what is going on?” He thought to himself as he decided he may not want to walk into town in green and black scout armor. He reached into dimensional storage and found a large trench coat that would fit over his armor. He pulled it out and put it on, then sent a mental command to retract his helmet as it whooshed back into the backpack portion of his armor.
As he walked up to the gates he was met with a solitary guard, this man had human features but a monkey’s tail. “Hurry up and get in, we’re about to close the gate house.” Victor pointed a thumb backwards, “There are two people behind me on a wagon coming.” The monkey guard yelled out as Victor stepped into the village past the walls.
“Hurry up you dumb turtles, instinctive are on the prowl and won’t think twice about making a meal of the lot of you!” The guard yelled. This seemed to put some fire under them, as they cracked their whip on the ox yelling for it to move. He sub-vocalized to his AI, “Does the term instinctual in reference to ancient china mean anything?”
The computer spoke back in his inner ear, CHINESE MYSTICISM STATES PRACTICERS OF INSTINCTIVE CULTIVATION BECAME ANIMAL LIKE AND OFTEN CANNIBALISTIC. Victor looked around at the village, seeing the sign for what must be an inn, he made his way across the street narrowly avoiding a steaming pile of horse manure.
The inn was bustling, barmaids with cats ears or pigs snouts served drinks and food to tables and people seemed to huddle close to the strange hearth like fireplace of the inn. It wasn’t like any fireplace he had ever seen. He sub-vocalized the question to his AI and it responded with the word “KANG”.
He found a chair near the front of the inn, far away from the kang and watched the locals. It appeared that coinage was copper discs. He turned his head from the inn and ducked down to bring his helmet back up, “Computer, replicate those discs in the nano-forge from copper ingots, have them ready for me to pull out of dimensional storage, we’ll need currency.”
His helmet slid back into his backpack and he raised his head and turned around just as a barmaid noticed he had no food or drink. “We have veil or pork, beer or wine. What can I get you?” Victor kept his face neutral, something that would have been impossible before his training with the Guard, she looked Xeno after all, the snout was all that was out of place on an otherwise attractive woman.
“I’ll have the veil and wine. Also, who do I see about a room?” He asked.
The boar-kin woman turned her head towards the bar, “Old man Huang would be the one to check with, don’t know if we have any open tonight. We have a lot of refugees from Huzhou after all.”
Victor raised an eyebrow, usually refugees meant something bad, “Refugees you say? I’m new to these parts, what happened?”
The barmaid snorted, which was ironic considering she was a boar-kin. “You must be new, Huzhou was raised to the ground by the instinctives, the Empress has sent a small contingency of the sect of the Iron Paw to defend Wuzhen, as we are a central transport hub.” The barmaid then looked over to a table of women in much more elaborate dress than the commoners, each with a jade talisman on their wrist.
Without another word she brought more drinks to their table, on it stacked plate after plate, bowl after bowl of food. After setting down the drinks she bowed until her snout almost touched the table before hastily retreating from their prescence.
Victor’s AI chimed in his ear that fabrication was complete and he reached under the table to access his dimensional storage, grabbing two handfuls of copper coins he put them in his trench coat pockets. He noted that although the inn was crowded, everyone else avoided the table with the sect women. It was almost as if others had moved their tables and chairs away, as if there were danger near them. The women didn’t look especially tough, they were armed with swords, but mostly dressed in robes of fine silk, no armor to be found.
He also noted they all had traits of tiger in them. Some had tails, some had the ears, some had the eyes. He supposed that was why they were called the Iron Paw sect, not very creative, but he doubted he could do better.
The barmaid came back with a plate of veil, steamed vegetables, and a large cup of wine. As she sat it down she said quietly, “Stop staring at the cultivators, do not draw their notice or they will decide they need make an example of an upstart mortal.”
Victor kept his face stoney as he accepted the meal and looked elsewhere while he ate. The food was quite good although he didn’t like the turnips. The wine was made from rice, and quite strong. He was about to wave the barmaid back over when a bell started ringing. Everyone in the inn froze, well all but the cultivators.
They pushed their plates to the center of the table, stood as one, and marched out of the inn. As they reached the door conversations started up. With Victor’s enhanced hearing he heard variations of ‘They must have spotted instinctuals’, or ‘I hope the iron paw is as fierce as they are rumored to be.’
Victor stood up, asked the barmaid for the tab, placed some copper on the table and raised his collar as he walked out of the inn. He noticed none of the other patrons followed him out, if anything they huddled away from the door. Seeing no-one was around he jumped using the armors powerful servo motors to propel him onto the roof of a two-story store. He almost didn’t clear the roof, landing with a slight thud and breaking roofing tiles as he made his way to the peek of the roof.
He watched as the women of the sect bounced almost weightlessly off of the rooftops reaching the guard tower at the east gate. Bringing his helmet back up his hud instantly targeted over 30 creatures rushing the east gate at monstrous speed. 160 KM/HR, ETA 45 SECONDS his AI helpfully informed him.The creatures were vaguely humanoid, they resembled ware-wolves, and ran on all fours. He watched as the cultivators drew their weapons as one, the human guards dropped from the wall and grabbed long pike-like weapons.
WAR MODE ENGAGED, EVASIVE ACTION REQUIRED fired through his ears as his armor spun from a crouching position and narrowly avoided a sword that stabbed through the ceramic tile of the roof to nearly the hilt. Before him stood a woman with the ears of a tiger in a blue silk dress.
His AI relinquished emergency control of the armor back to Victor as she spoke. “You are fast for a male. Surrender to this Mei, and I will make sure your execution is quick.” Victor cocked his head to the side before partially raising a hand. The bolter pistol appeared in his hand from dimensional storage as he pulled the trigger.
Mei’s eyes were round as the roof beneath her feet vanished in a hail of ceramic and wood, a noise as if a volcano had exploded right next to her severely stunned her more sensitive cultivator ears as she fell through to the second floor. Victor turned to the east wall in time to see a mass of bodies, all female it appeared, as he had never seen ware-wolves with breasts, leap the ten meters or so to the top of the wall. Howls pierced the night air as some were impaled on swords, others lashed out with razor sharp claws tearing into members of the Iron Paw sect.
It was obvious they would not hold that position. If they didn’t retreat they would all be lost, some of the smarter or luckier of the sect began to tactically retreat, fending off claws and teeth with their swords. Victor turned and saw the highest structure in town, a bell tower that stood about five stories high. That must have been where the warning came from, he could get a better vantage point from there.
Suddenly he heard a growl and the woman he had unceremoniously dropped through the roof jumped through the opening and landed as if gravity held no sway over her. “You have made a grave mistake instinctual, for this Mei will end you this…”
____________________
She didn’t get to finish her sentence as she watched the black armored figure with a strange brown robe suddenly launch himself on wings of fire from the roof to the top of the bell tower.
“Mei, Mei! Where are you, we are being overrun!” She heard from the east wall as her sect sisters were back pedaling as the mass of instinctuals climbed over both their own dead and her sisters. She turned away from the strange male and leaped from rooftop to rooftop to aid her sisters in battle.
She landed next to Xiang, who now had a gash across her cheek from combat, “There is someone else here, a male!” She shouted as she drove her sword into one of the wolf-kin that came too close. It howled in pain and retreated, but she knew it was not a fatal blow.
Xiang parried a high swipe of a claw and with a spin kick sent the instinctual she was fighting flying backwards only for it to catch itself with its claws and grind to a crouching halt. “Who? We are in the backlands of the Empire, and why would they send a male, he would surely be courting death against foes such as these!”
Mei blocked a razor sharp claw with the blunt edge of her sword before parrying backwards, “It doesn’t matter, our orders are to protect this town at all costs, don’t let them push us into a blind ally or somewhere we can’t defend ourselves.”
___________________
Victor watched as the tiger ladies tried desperately to fend off the ware-wolf ladies. It was not going well for the tigers, it seemed that although the instinctuals didn’t use weapons, they were faster, bigger, stronger, and meaner on average. His hud counted six cultivators down, two of which were being eaten by the ware-wolf women, the remaining five were being pushed towards center square.
What they couldn’t see was a group of four cultivators coming up on their flank from the south. It seems that even though these sect ladies seem haughty at best, they are the closest thing to the good guys in this fight. Victor cursed as he reached into his dimensional storage, a mark 8 flamer wrapped itself lovingly around his scout armor, as his hands wrapped around the handle and nozzle.
He leaped from the bell tower, shattering roofing tiles and bricks as he dropped the five stories to the ground before firing the retro-rockets in his boots, hitting the ground behind the Iron Paw sect before pouring withering fire from the flamer into the four instinctualists rushing from the south. They howled in agony as napalm lapped at their fur and burned them as they wallowed on the dirt road of the town square trying to quench the fire.
Victor turned around as the women of the Iron Paw were forced back to his position, which worked out fine, now they weren’t in the way. He poured burning liquid napalm into the ranks of the instinctuals. Those that could turned on claws and ran, those that didn’t burned in the street.
He turned around and ordered his helmet to retract, the four standing sisters of the Iron Paw leaped a step back bringing up their battered swords. He allowed his flamer to dissolve back into this dimensional storage. “Stand down ladies, the threat is over.” If anything this made them bring their swords up more.
Mei was the first to find her voice, “You are obviously a master of fire to dispatch so many of the betrayers instinctuals. Who sent you?”
Victor’s face remained impassive, this was new information, the instinctuals betrayed the Empire in some way. “No one sent me, I was in the area, and you apparently needed aid.” Let them decide with that what they will.
Mei slowly lowered her sword, before starting to laugh without much mirth, “In our darkest hour a hidden master appears and saves us from death. You would think we were part of a play or poets story.” The other women lowered what was left of their weapons as well.
Xiang looked Victor up and down, “I have never heard of male becoming a cultivator of war, that is usually the domain of females. I have also never seen clothing or armor like you wear, are you from the Empire?”
Victor sighed, well, here goes. “I am not from the Empire, I am from a far away land called Terra, and at the moment, I am merely passing through.”
The smaller one known as Li spoke up, “One does not simply pass through the Celestial Empire! The wall has stood for millennia untold, only the Immortal Empress remembers when it was built. How did you cross it?”
Victor only shrugged, “Who said I crossed the wall?” As he turned around and walked to the inn he only recently left. The crowd of people parted as he walked in.
_____________________
Xiang turned to Mei, “He is a foreigner wandering our land, Shihan must be informed of his presence and bring it before the court.”
Mei nodded her head turning to the final woman left standing, “Hua, travel to Wujiang, let our sisters know what has transpired here and have a message sent back to the Imperial Palace about this newcomer and what we should do.”
Li spoke, “Should we not attempt to capture him ourselves? After all, a male cultivator is a rarity indeed.”
Mei looked over to the smaller Li, “He burned down instinctuals with what appeared to be the forgotten Concept of Fire, for that was the Sixth Level Yang Fire, something we females who cultivate yin are incapable of. No, we would court death trying to capture a hidden master of his power. Did any of you even feel his Chi?” They all shook their heads.
Mei continued, “Then he is hiding his true power from us. When I first saw him leap from the ground to the rooftop I thought him a spy for the instinctuals. When I tried to attack he moved with a speed even I could not match. When I threatened him he simply ignored me, and throughout that I never once felt his Chi. This is a male we must be careful around sisters, now go Hua.”
_____________________
Victor watched as the people in the inn parted before him. He noticed many of them bowing as though he were part of the Imperial family of Terra. He reached the bar where the innkeeper, what was his name again? HUANG his AI chimed in.
“Huang, I require lodgings for the night. Do you have a room available?”
The Ox-Kin bowed so low as to touch the bar, “This lowly one will gladly provide you with a room hidden master.” He raised his head and waved the boar-kin barmaid over to him in a frenzy, “Chun, find the hidden master a room.”
Chun rushed over and bowed before Victor, “Please follow me hidden master?”
“Victor, my name is Victor Cain. Please, lead the way Chun.”
As he followed Chun upstairs to an empty room Victor closed and locked the door, if they want to think he is a hidden master then let them. In the meantime he needed sleep. He reached one more time into his dimensional storage and pulled four small security drones and paired them to his armor’s AI.
One flew out the open window to watch from outside, one crawled under the door to watch the inn, the other two sat inside the room.
Once he felt all was secured he settled into the not so great bed and closed his helmet. He’d worry about everything else tomorrow.
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His military leave was coming to an end, his amassed two week respite was only due to his twenty years of service in the imperial guard. As a Captain and veteran of the Emperors many campaigns, he could pull rank when needed.
In five short years he would be able to retire a full citizen. Something his father scoffed at, but that was nothing new, his father scoffed at anything he had ever done. His everything ached, as he turned his back on his former home and made his way towards the transmat pad. Selling the apartment and consolidating his assets weren’t the only thing he was doing on Terra.
He spent those two weeks getting augments that would have been out of reach to a lowly Captain of the Imperial guard. Gene-mods were common throughout the Empire, but there were gene-mods, and then there were gene-mods. His were now top of the line, far beyond the mil-spec given to him in officer school. That, combined with his new dimensional storage add-on allowed him to purchase and store massive amounts of goods for his upcoming retirement.
Some things you could only get on Holy Terra, a nano-forge capable of making anything you have a SBC to construct could be found on most technological worlds. A nano-foundry to make the nanites the nano-forge uses can only be purchased on select worlds of the Empire.
But SBCs can only be found on Terra, and are heavily restricted. But some connections in Imperial Guard logistics pointed him to some people who might have some SBCs that may or may not be considered illegal to own. That combined with raw materials, a habitat module, weapons, food, mining drones, security drones, and forge spiders now filled his dimensional storage.
“Next!” Shouted a bored looking transmat officer in front of Victor. To which he sighed and presented his Imperial Guard ID and his permissions to be transported to Andosious Prime. The officer looked him over in his Imperial Guard Armor, a bit battle worn, but impeccably maintained. It felt much lighter with the upgrades, which was the point. Two hundred kilos of light power armor is still heavy even with the minor gene-mods of the guard. Now he barely felt it as he stood before the officer.
“No baggage Captain Bane?” He asked looking down at this console.Victor kept his face emotionless, something driven into him by officer training. “The guard provides me with all I need officer. No baggage today.” He lied through his teeth.
The officer nodded, that was the proper response, “Thank you for your service Captain, next stop, Andosious Prime!” He said with a flourish as he pressed a button on his panel.The universe went white, time fell away, then he felt like he was falling. This wasn’t what normally happened on a transmat. Suddenly the world came back into focus, blue sky followed by a green forest followed by a brown ground coming up fast.
His mental commands screamed through the interface nodes imbedded all over his body into the scout armor. Retro-rockets fired as he made a hard landing in the clearing of a forest. Two weeks earlier something like that would have hurt bad, if not caused serious injury. Now it just added to his aches.
He looked around, his heads-up display noting the fauna, surprisingly it came back as all Terra based equivalents. Well, they would have been if most of them didn’t say EXTINCT beside their classification in red.
“Captain Bane to Guard unit 117154, please respond.” The hud responded with something he had never seen before. NO SIGNAL.
“What the hell?” He asked himself. He had never been without a signal. “Computer, run diagnostics, maybe the transmat damaged something.” He watched as the diagnostic finished running, no errors, no signal.
He looked up, the sun would be going down in a few hours, he could use the celestial navigation software in his armor to find his location anywhere in the galaxy. Emperor above, he hoped the transmat hadn’t put him on a Xeno world.
He activated his jump pack to launch himself up for a better view of the land. About a thousand meters up he saw smoke coming from a medium sized village… maybe? He could work with that, maybe he was in a non-technological world of the Empire, even those had outposts to get a signal out from.
The jump pack’s capacitors would need to recharge before he could use it again. Nothing to do but start walking towards the village. With any luck he would reach it before nightfall, from there he’d get some answers.
He did not get to the village before nightfall. The terrain made going slow, the ground was soft and muddy, the forest was densely packed with oak trees and rocks. He had to use his jump pack to clear a particularly deep gully and it was slowly recharging.
As he looked down on the village he remembered his navigation software, he looked up to the sky and let the computer gather data. Location confirmed, Holy Terra, New Avalon, District 334.He sighed and looked back down to the village, “Either my suit is borked, or I’m back in the distant past.” He muttered. His armors’ limited AI printed something new on his hud. CONSTELLATIONS OUT OF SYNC BY 4271 YEARS.
Victor froze at the revelation. All the physics classes he took in his youth stated going back in time was impossible, something about paradoxes prevented it. “Computer, do you have any information on transmat failures?” The AI showed it was indexing before coming back with an answer, LOST MATTER IN TRANSMAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN PUSHED PAST THE FINITE CURVE OF THE UNIVERSE. NO FURTHER INFORMATION AVAILABLE.
Victor sat on a tree stump taking in the information. “Well, I’m not in the Empire anymore, even if the computer thinks I am. Nothing to do but head down to the village.” He pushed up from the stump and made his way in the dark towards the oddly ancient eastern looking village.
There was a road leading into the village, a sign stood crookedly at the crossroads, his AI translated it as Wuzhen, with other arrows pointing to Tongxian, Jiaxing, Huzhou, and Wujiang. “Computer, what language is this?” IT IS A DIALECT OF ANCIENT CHINESE, ADJUSTING GENE-MODS TO FOR TRANSLATION.
His vocal cords did that weird thing that happened whenever the AI needed to translate from Terran to another language or dialect. How the gene-mods did it was beyond his pay grade, but everyone always complimented him on his accent, so apparently the technology was sound.
He saw figures up ahead with a ox and wagon. His enhanced vision showed him about what he expected, peasants bringing their wares to town for sale. That was, until he saw the woman had goats eyes. The man had goats horns curling from his forehead but in all other aspects looked Human.
“Emperor above, what is going on?” He thought to himself as he decided he may not want to walk into town in green and black scout armor. He reached into dimensional storage and found a large trench coat that would fit over his armor. He pulled it out and put it on, then sent a mental command to retract his helmet as it whooshed back into the backpack portion of his armor.
As he walked up to the gates he was met with a solitary guard, this man had human features but a monkey’s tail. “Hurry up and get in, we’re about to close the gate house.” Victor pointed a thumb backwards, “There are two people behind me on a wagon coming.” The monkey guard yelled out as Victor stepped into the village past the walls.
“Hurry up you dumb turtles, instinctive are on the prowl and won’t think twice about making a meal of the lot of you!” The guard yelled. This seemed to put some fire under them, as they cracked their whip on the ox yelling for it to move. He sub-vocalized to his AI, “Does the term instinctual in reference to ancient china mean anything?”
The computer spoke back in his inner ear, CHINESE MYSTICISM STATES PRACTICERS OF INSTINCTIVE CULTIVATION BECAME ANIMAL LIKE AND OFTEN CANNIBALISTIC. Victor looked around at the village, seeing the sign for what must be an inn, he made his way across the street narrowly avoiding a steaming pile of horse manure.
The inn was bustling, barmaids with cats ears or pigs snouts served drinks and food to tables and people seemed to huddle close to the strange hearth like fireplace of the inn. It wasn’t like any fireplace he had ever seen. He sub-vocalized the question to his AI and it responded with the word “KANG”.
He found a chair near the front of the inn, far away from the kang and watched the locals. It appeared that coinage was copper discs. He turned his head from the inn and ducked down to bring his helmet back up, “Computer, replicate those discs in the nano-forge from copper ingots, have them ready for me to pull out of dimensional storage, we’ll need currency.”
His helmet slid back into his backpack and he raised his head and turned around just as a barmaid noticed he had no food or drink. “We have veil or pork, beer or wine. What can I get you?” Victor kept his face neutral, something that would have been impossible before his training with the Guard, she looked Xeno after all, the snout was all that was out of place on an otherwise attractive woman.
“I’ll have the veil and wine. Also, who do I see about a room?” He asked.
The boar-kin woman turned her head towards the bar, “Old man Huang would be the one to check with, don’t know if we have any open tonight. We have a lot of refugees from Huzhou after all.”
Victor raised an eyebrow, usually refugees meant something bad, “Refugees you say? I’m new to these parts, what happened?”
The barmaid snorted, which was ironic considering she was a boar-kin. “You must be new, Huzhou was raised to the ground by the instinctives, the Empress has sent a small contingency of the sect of the Iron Paw to defend Wuzhen, as we are a central transport hub.” The barmaid then looked over to a table of women in much more elaborate dress than the commoners, each with a jade talisman on their wrist.
Without another word she brought more drinks to their table, on it stacked plate after plate, bowl after bowl of food. After setting down the drinks she bowed until her snout almost touched the table before hastily retreating from their prescence.
Victor’s AI chimed in his ear that fabrication was complete and he reached under the table to access his dimensional storage, grabbing two handfuls of copper coins he put them in his trench coat pockets. He noted that although the inn was crowded, everyone else avoided the table with the sect women. It was almost as if others had moved their tables and chairs away, as if there were danger near them. The women didn’t look especially tough, they were armed with swords, but mostly dressed in robes of fine silk, no armor to be found.
He also noted they all had traits of tiger in them. Some had tails, some had the ears, some had the eyes. He supposed that was why they were called the Iron Paw sect, not very creative, but he doubted he could do better.
The barmaid came back with a plate of veil, steamed vegetables, and a large cup of wine. As she sat it down she said quietly, “Stop staring at the cultivators, do not draw their notice or they will decide they need make an example of an upstart mortal.”
Victor kept his face stoney as he accepted the meal and looked elsewhere while he ate. The food was quite good although he didn’t like the turnips. The wine was made from rice, and quite strong. He was about to wave the barmaid back over when a bell started ringing. Everyone in the inn froze, well all but the cultivators.
They pushed their plates to the center of the table, stood as one, and marched out of the inn. As they reached the door conversations started up. With Victor’s enhanced hearing he heard variations of ‘They must have spotted instinctuals’, or ‘I hope the iron paw is as fierce as they are rumored to be.’
Victor stood up, asked the barmaid for the tab, placed some copper on the table and raised his collar as he walked out of the inn. He noticed none of the other patrons followed him out, if anything they huddled away from the door. Seeing no-one was around he jumped using the armors powerful servo motors to propel him onto the roof of a two-story store. He almost didn’t clear the roof, landing with a slight thud and breaking roofing tiles as he made his way to the peek of the roof.
He watched as the women of the sect bounced almost weightlessly off of the rooftops reaching the guard tower at the east gate. Bringing his helmet back up his hud instantly targeted over 30 creatures rushing the east gate at monstrous speed. 160 KM/HR, ETA 45 SECONDS his AI helpfully informed him.The creatures were vaguely humanoid, they resembled ware-wolves, and ran on all fours. He watched as the cultivators drew their weapons as one, the human guards dropped from the wall and grabbed long pike-like weapons.
WAR MODE ENGAGED, EVASIVE ACTION REQUIRED fired through his ears as his armor spun from a crouching position and narrowly avoided a sword that stabbed through the ceramic tile of the roof to nearly the hilt. Before him stood a woman with the ears of a tiger in a blue silk dress.
His AI relinquished emergency control of the armor back to Victor as she spoke. “You are fast for a male. Surrender to this Mei, and I will make sure your execution is quick.” Victor cocked his head to the side before partially raising a hand. The bolter pistol appeared in his hand from dimensional storage as he pulled the trigger.
Mei’s eyes were round as the roof beneath her feet vanished in a hail of ceramic and wood, a noise as if a volcano had exploded right next to her severely stunned her more sensitive cultivator ears as she fell through to the second floor. Victor turned to the east wall in time to see a mass of bodies, all female it appeared, as he had never seen ware-wolves with breasts, leap the ten meters or so to the top of the wall. Howls pierced the night air as some were impaled on swords, others lashed out with razor sharp claws tearing into members of the Iron Paw sect.
It was obvious they would not hold that position. If they didn’t retreat they would all be lost, some of the smarter or luckier of the sect began to tactically retreat, fending off claws and teeth with their swords. Victor turned and saw the highest structure in town, a bell tower that stood about five stories high. That must have been where the warning came from, he could get a better vantage point from there.
Suddenly he heard a growl and the woman he had unceremoniously dropped through the roof jumped through the opening and landed as if gravity held no sway over her. “You have made a grave mistake instinctual, for this Mei will end you this…”
____________________
She didn’t get to finish her sentence as she watched the black armored figure with a strange brown robe suddenly launch himself on wings of fire from the roof to the top of the bell tower.
“Mei, Mei! Where are you, we are being overrun!” She heard from the east wall as her sect sisters were back pedaling as the mass of instinctuals climbed over both their own dead and her sisters. She turned away from the strange male and leaped from rooftop to rooftop to aid her sisters in battle.
She landed next to Xiang, who now had a gash across her cheek from combat, “There is someone else here, a male!” She shouted as she drove her sword into one of the wolf-kin that came too close. It howled in pain and retreated, but she knew it was not a fatal blow.
Xiang parried a high swipe of a claw and with a spin kick sent the instinctual she was fighting flying backwards only for it to catch itself with its claws and grind to a crouching halt. “Who? We are in the backlands of the Empire, and why would they send a male, he would surely be courting death against foes such as these!”
Mei blocked a razor sharp claw with the blunt edge of her sword before parrying backwards, “It doesn’t matter, our orders are to protect this town at all costs, don’t let them push us into a blind ally or somewhere we can’t defend ourselves.”
___________________
Victor watched as the tiger ladies tried desperately to fend off the ware-wolf ladies. It was not going well for the tigers, it seemed that although the instinctuals didn’t use weapons, they were faster, bigger, stronger, and meaner on average. His hud counted six cultivators down, two of which were being eaten by the ware-wolf women, the remaining five were being pushed towards center square.
What they couldn’t see was a group of four cultivators coming up on their flank from the south. It seems that even though these sect ladies seem haughty at best, they are the closest thing to the good guys in this fight. Victor cursed as he reached into his dimensional storage, a mark 8 flamer wrapped itself lovingly around his scout armor, as his hands wrapped around the handle and nozzle.
He leaped from the bell tower, shattering roofing tiles and bricks as he dropped the five stories to the ground before firing the retro-rockets in his boots, hitting the ground behind the Iron Paw sect before pouring withering fire from the flamer into the four instinctualists rushing from the south. They howled in agony as napalm lapped at their fur and burned them as they wallowed on the dirt road of the town square trying to quench the fire.
Victor turned around as the women of the Iron Paw were forced back to his position, which worked out fine, now they weren’t in the way. He poured burning liquid napalm into the ranks of the instinctuals. Those that could turned on claws and ran, those that didn’t burned in the street.
He turned around and ordered his helmet to retract, the four standing sisters of the Iron Paw leaped a step back bringing up their battered swords. He allowed his flamer to dissolve back into this dimensional storage. “Stand down ladies, the threat is over.” If anything this made them bring their swords up more.
Mei was the first to find her voice, “You are obviously a master of fire to dispatch so many of the betrayers instinctuals. Who sent you?”
Victor’s face remained impassive, this was new information, the instinctuals betrayed the Empire in some way. “No one sent me, I was in the area, and you apparently needed aid.” Let them decide with that what they will.
Mei slowly lowered her sword, before starting to laugh without much mirth, “In our darkest hour a hidden master appears and saves us from death. You would think we were part of a play or poets story.” The other women lowered what was left of their weapons as well.
Xiang looked Victor up and down, “I have never heard of male becoming a cultivator of war, that is usually the domain of females. I have also never seen clothing or armor like you wear, are you from the Empire?”
Victor sighed, well, here goes. “I am not from the Empire, I am from a far away land called Terra, and at the moment, I am merely passing through.”
The smaller one known as Li spoke up, “One does not simply pass through the Celestial Empire! The wall has stood for millennia untold, only the Immortal Empress remembers when it was built. How did you cross it?”
Victor only shrugged, “Who said I crossed the wall?” As he turned around and walked to the inn he only recently left. The crowd of people parted as he walked in.
_____________________
Xiang turned to Mei, “He is a foreigner wandering our land, Shihan must be informed of his presence and bring it before the court.”
Mei nodded her head turning to the final woman left standing, “Hua, travel to Wujiang, let our sisters know what has transpired here and have a message sent back to the Imperial Palace about this newcomer and what we should do.”
Li spoke, “Should we not attempt to capture him ourselves? After all, a male cultivator is a rarity indeed.”
Mei looked over to the smaller Li, “He burned down instinctuals with what appeared to be the forgotten Concept of Fire, for that was the Sixth Level Yang Fire, something we females who cultivate yin are incapable of. No, we would court death trying to capture a hidden master of his power. Did any of you even feel his Chi?” They all shook their heads.
Mei continued, “Then he is hiding his true power from us. When I first saw him leap from the ground to the rooftop I thought him a spy for the instinctuals. When I tried to attack he moved with a speed even I could not match. When I threatened him he simply ignored me, and throughout that I never once felt his Chi. This is a male we must be careful around sisters, now go Hua.”
_____________________
Victor watched as the people in the inn parted before him. He noticed many of them bowing as though he were part of the Imperial family of Terra. He reached the bar where the innkeeper, what was his name again? HUANG his AI chimed in.
“Huang, I require lodgings for the night. Do you have a room available?”
The Ox-Kin bowed so low as to touch the bar, “This lowly one will gladly provide you with a room hidden master.” He raised his head and waved the boar-kin barmaid over to him in a frenzy, “Chun, find the hidden master a room.”
Chun rushed over and bowed before Victor, “Please follow me hidden master?”
“Victor, my name is Victor Cain. Please, lead the way Chun.”
As he followed Chun upstairs to an empty room Victor closed and locked the door, if they want to think he is a hidden master then let them. In the meantime he needed sleep. He reached one more time into his dimensional storage and pulled four small security drones and paired them to his armor’s AI.
One flew out the open window to watch from outside, one crawled under the door to watch the inn, the other two sat inside the room.
Once he felt all was secured he settled into the not so great bed and closed his helmet. He’d worry about everything else tomorrow.
2023.06.04 00:58 cptsnydezombie [US-TN] [H] TPBs/HCs, Marvel Variants, and Lots of Lots! [W] PayPal
Added just a few new books and re-tooled prices where I could. I also split up all of the TPB and HC lots to be sold as individual books. I'll also consider splitting up comic sets on a case-by-case basis.
Discounts always considered for those buying in bulk. I aimed for lower than eBay sold listings wherever I could, but offers are fine too as long as they aren't obvious lowballs. If you need more pics of anything, just ask!
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2023.06.04 00:44 BrandNewLogicVL Tertiary
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2023.06.04 00:37 IrreliventPerogi The Fête - A First-Time Reader's Experience, Thoughts, and Theories
"Now," he whispered, "I deliver death."
That is where I broke, the preceding battle, culminating in this cliffhanger, wore me down. I am a binger by heart and habit, and despite spending the last year or so practicing portion control (of all kinds) dutifully reading slowly, able to experience multiple works and to read them more deeply for the pacing, I decided to indulge this once. IDK If I'll do so again, but for just this once, follow this first-timer's unjaded eyes through their breathless, awe-stricken, confused sprint across the last ninety pages of this book. Without further ado...
Also, if this is the passing of winter to spring, where is Gennebakis, exactly? If the top of the continent is tundra, then Darujhistan would be much further south, (which we know) so somewhere similar to North America? Is Darujhistan in Texas?
He collides with Kruppe, who drops a series of masks. The rotund mage informs his dear friend that his other ear friend, Lady Simtal, has invited him to attend the Fête. That they've never met is ironic, but irrelevant to Magnanimous Kruppe, friend to all. This whole interaction is fantastic, with Kruppe dropping many distractions, such as his mentioning five strangers without naming the fourth, or a series of cantrips, while Murillio dodges them as best he can. He confronts Kruppe point blank about beingLady Simtal disguised the Eel. Kruppe sighs, and modifies the courtier's memory, buying himself free reign for the night.
As Baruk waits for the Eel, he discusses attending the fête with Anomander Rake, who as elected to attend as the High Alchemist's +1. Many members of the Council and the T'orrud Cabal will be in attendance, and Rake wants an opportunity to meet/observe his allies. It'll also put him in the epicenter of the most likely place of Convergence on Genabakis. Rake learns of the new year's title, and correctly guesses Icarium's involvement, as he's evidently produced similar wheels elsewhere. This has quite a few implications, given that this person is evidently traveling with at least one god. They receive news that the Eel will reveal himself to them that night, (although Baruk as much as gives away that he's guessed the truth) as well as Mammot's recovery. The High Preist of D'Riss was able to get away with minimal difficulty and casually mentions that he's aware of the drama surrounding the Coin Bearer. He is also a member of the T'orrud Babal. Rake, asks whether Mammot will be attending the Fête, and then leaves abruptly. If only Baruk had read further into the odd departure.
Adjunct Lorn finally arrives at Worry Gate, witnessing the ritual mentioned in the Book's opening epigraph and being briefly noted by a guard. That guard is Circle Breaker, watching for the Adjunct for the Eel. Once done, he manages to trade a shift to be at the Fête himself. Interestingly, he tells the guard next to him his name, which we do not ever get to know (at least not in GotM)
Lorn enters a bar, and stumbles upon the Bridgeburners. Fiddler is running one of his games, which we get to see more fully here. The game is played with a Deck and depicts the scene in the Gadrobi Hills where Paran met Rake. Tattersail did believe the Sapper to be a Tallent, after all. The game ends predicting Lorn's death, this reading is affirmed by the orb. Whiskeyjack arrives and catches up Lorn with a modified version of events, including their loss of Sorry. Lorn comes to the realization that this man had debated tactics with Dassem Ultor, so there's not much she can do to break him. She asks the name of the estate and announces she will return in two hours, without dropping anything off.
Crokus and Apsalar watch the revelry escalate down below them. They discuss their plans for the evening, the thief growing ever more conflicted about his feelings. Apsalar mentions something within her holding her sanity together. It seems Rigga remains at work. Serrat, meanwhile, creeps up the steps below, comically over-warded and utilizing an abundance of caution. She's immediately thwarted by a mysterious someone, threatening with enough force on behalf of "the Prince" to drop the hunt against the Coin Bearer, with a comical pop, she disappears.
In an age of wind and barren stone, a Jaghut and his mother wander the land, scattered as all their people, thwarting the potential of collected power. A self-imposed Babel, of sorts. The child, young by Jaghut standards, grows observing the powers of the winds shape and mould the earth to their liking. He takes after this, destroying his horrified mother in the process. He starts with lone Jaghut, but they resist or else escape him, brief satisfaction, but not enough. He takes to subjugating the beasts, the winds, the earth, the plants. The earth resists and bucks the subversion of its evolved order, yet not without the death of countless species. Then he meets the Imass, thinking creatures like the Jaghut, yet comically short-lived. These he can use, confounding them in cycles of invention, war, loss, discovery, rediscovery, rediscovery, rediscovery. They invent for themselves a god at the head of all things, and he fancies it to be himself, they discover tyranny of all forms for themselves, and he laughs. A True First Empire, a gathering of minds subjugated under an unbreakable bond. Tool's history proves backward. Then come the Jaghut, unified under a force so great that it tears through even this great Tyrant like paper, and Raest was subjugated, killed, and depowered. A barrow erected, a hemisphere frozen over for good measure. In the intervening years, the T'Lan Imass gather power of their own and wage genocide against the very Titans who were their salvation. Two enter the barrow, the threadbare mind of the once-god coalesces, he is freed, his Finnest stolen. With a concussive force, Raest, the First Emperor of Man, Jaghut Tyrant, steps into a new world.
High above, the Crone watches him emerge as four Black Soultaken Dragons and the Red Dragon Silanah, fly in to stop the monster. We get some old language of some sort, possibly Jaghut? "Dragnipurake" is of course the name of the Sword plus the suffix -Rake, "Draconiaes" seems to refer to, well, dragons, "t'na" is a conjunction of some sort? And finally, Eleint, which is whatever the Dramatis Personae names Silanah. Crone flies high, ready to watch the show unfold.
Raest emerges, and casually injures Burn on his way out, nuking a range of hills in the process. He considers waking her as well. This is a walking apocalyptic event, and our dear Anomander opted to join a party. He notices the dragons, and Holy Moly the fight that ensues is great. I'd mention highlights but that'd just be a beat-by-beat. He offers the Soletaken Tiste Andii to join him, but they refuse. Also of note, he calls Silanah a "Tiem." He rebuffs their initial assault and, telekinetically holding his body together, prepares to deliver death.
Meanwhile, in the Phoenix Inn, the Eel contemplates his next moves, whilst failing to button his coat. He decides that it is time for Circle Breaker to retire, for his own safety. He suspects that someone other than himself has been protecting the Coin Bearer, while the path to ultimate safety for the boy remains elusive. Most concerningly, the patterns in his head end tonight, the outcome of this Convergence is undecided.
Crokus and Apsalar, meanwhile, leave the Temple for the Fête. To the northeast, a "storm" of low rumbling thunder and ochre clouds builds and grows ever closer. As the thief is led down from the tower by Aps, he has another internal crisis. He really doesn't know Challice, and Apsalar's constant ease within his presence is confounding. Dude, she literally took a name axiomatically aligned with your life, take a hint.
The Captain of Simtal's guards berates the Bridgeburnurs for not all being Barghast, but agrees to pay them anyways. He stations them near the garden, as it's recently gotten a bit overgrown, and instructs them to steer the crowds away. Quick Ben and Mallet update Whiskeyjack on the encroaching Tyrant, and they agree to play things by ear if the monster gets any nearer.
Kalam and Paran leave the Phoenix Inn, not after the assassin makes a major threat to Scurve to, by any means necessary contact the city's Master of Assasins with their offer. They leave to find the Adjunct and put her to rest. Kalam takes note of the Greyfaces and begins to be bothered by their movements, for some reason.
Baruk arrives with Rake at the Fête. Despite the encroaching threat, the Tiste Andii seems unbothered, relaxed even. Turban Orr watches the two arrive with Lady Simtal. The Alchemist's mask is barely sufficient. Both a denial and an admission of secret power, depending on the viewer. Rake's mask is of a smug black and silver dragon. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Anomander Rake is That Guy. Still love him, though. The Councilman introduces himself and is introduced in turn to Lord Anomander Rake. The scene plays out humorously, with Orr unaware of how wildly out of his league he is, but does contain one odd detail. Rake, despite running Moon's Spawn, considers his title to be honorary, given by his people. Murillio and Rallick, begrudgingly aware of Kruppe's perfect mask choices, watch the High Alchemist and the Councilman converse, then nearly have an aneurysm over Kruppe (whom they were just praising) and his shenanigans. Kruppe, wearing the mask of a cherub slightly less innocent than himself (although not nearly so clever) bumbles his way toward Baruk and Rake, the latter of whom displays incredulity over this possibly being the Eel. Wise and discerning Kruppe the First notes Rake's nature as an inhuman Lord from high above, and a dragon. Of course, this is all a misunderstanding, and he apologizes, betrays himself as an eel of sorts, and leaves to inspect the kitchen.
Turban Orr, meanwhile, finds himself unable to enjoy the party. The last two weeks have exhausted him, all his plans confounded, and his spy still unfound. He, at last, discovers Circle Breaker, in a chance passing, but is intercepted by a man in a Trake mask. The man practically insists on insulting the Councilman, and Orr, his temper ratcheted up by the past several days, decides to indulge his wrath on this peon. Orr calls for a duel, politically selecting Councilman D'Arle as his second. Meanwhile, Murillio draws deep on his well of suave and seduces Simtal in record time. The duel will go uninterrupted. Down by the terrace, Baruk contemplates interceeding, but declines. Curiously, he considers Rallick his closest friend, explaining the Otataral gift, but it is a shame we never go to see the two interact, there's a story there. Rake offers to be RN's second, and my hype has hit yet another threshold. Here is where I leave my desk for a mandated break, I'm not the sort of person who eats and reads, so I'm mentally cussing the entire way there and back. Baruk meets Mammot on his way to the duel and notes the scholar's accurate Jaghut mask; although Mammot recognizes minute flaws in the design, Baruk thinks nothing of this. Stranger still, despite Oppon's luck drawing Crokus to the party, it is also keeping him away from his uncle.
The Bridgeburners watch everyone filter out into the courtyard by the garden, watching the preparations for the duel. Though they notice Rake, this doesn't amount to much. Quick Ben updates the group on their timetable with the Tyrant, and they make preparations to blast the estate then the city.
Crokus finds Challice; without a method of reaching her at the moment he is distracted by the duel. Kruppe, finds the boy and nabs him while passing a note off to Circle Breaker. The note grants Circle Breaker the right to retire, as well as land and a title in the city of Dhavran (the map shows this to be along the western bank of Lake Azur) as thanks for being the Eel's most trusted servant. The circle is mended (whatever that means, there seems to be a story there) and he can at last rest. Despite everything going down in this and subsequent chapters, this storyline had me by far the most hyped. Good job man, you've earned it.
Baruk offers to referee, and the participants take their places. Turban Orr's grandstanding, and the seconds' lack of comments each take as much time as the fight itself. As everyone notes, this is not a duel, but a public murder. That Anomander Rake decides to get publicly entangled in the proceedings not to comment or contribute at all, but just to watch this fool get merc'd, strikes me as darkly funny. Orr is dead and as Rallick quietly gloats to the corpse, the scandal is broached, and the hostess is nowhere to be found. A large woman in a green dress approaches Baruk and Rake, introduced as the Witch Derudan, another member of the Cabal. Also, she has a personal servant to carry a hookah with her at all times. They leave Rake's presence to discuss some matters.
Simtal, meanwhile, finally arrises from her 30 minutes with Murillio, becoming aware of some great disturbance downstairs. She begins dressing and is interrupted by Rallick Nom entering the room. Rallick stays only long enough to convey his purpose and her situation. It is Murillio who stays a moment to watch the woman process what has become of her. Years of machinations and backroom (or perhaps, bedroom) deals all hinging on the continued support of those around her. With no one, the vultures and enemies she's made will come, likely they've already begun. Murillio leaves a dagger and grants her the privacy to escape the coming storm.
Lady Simtal, you deserved this but that doesn't make what was done to you right. What business does justice have with cruelty? Swearing by the Lady of Beggers, Murillio comes to the crashing realization of what this night has cost his soul. Coll is reinstated, yes, but at incalculable cost to his dearest friends.
Crokus, meanwhile, finally gets the opportunity to peel away from Kruppe and approach Challice, after getting the girls attention, she runs over to him, overjoyed to finally have a moment alone with...Gorlas. Panicking, Crokus does the sane thing and kidnaps her, because that'll make this run smoother, y'kow?
At the first opportunity, Circle Breaker sneaks out of the estate and into the night a free man. Passing a food-comatose Kruppe, he leaves smiling, awed by his own escape.
Despite his best attempts, Raest can do nothing to kill the creature, introducing itself as Kruppe. He informs the Tyrant that he bows to no one, Tyrant or god; in the face of such indifference, there is nothing Raest can do. Beset by a T'lan Imass from behind; despite his best efforts, Onos T'oolan cannot be bound by the Jaghut, as our dear Tool is called by an ancient call of a Bonecaster, Pran Chole's. Befuddled by such impotence on his part, Raest is befuddled further still by the appearance of another interloper, K'Rul. He initially mistakes him for Hood (which greatly alters my estimation of the god's lifespan) although he only refers to him as the Death Wanderer, as opposed to the god of Death. K'Rul warns Raest of the arrival of Anomander Rake and the new form of death he brings with him. Raest scoffs at this initially, but K'Rul makes a fascinating revelation. The flow of power between the gods and mortals has shifted, though of it the mortals are ignorant. I suppose when you have mages mastering domains and relics capable of drawing the gods who wield them, it makes sense. Anything less than omnipotence can be overmastered. K'Rul also repeats his Maker of Paths title and reveals his aspect "was the Obelisk." So he's Burn's predecessor and not Hood's. Given Burn's Sleep began nearly 1200 years ago, that gives us a roughly 800-year window for the shift, given Darujhistan's founding, whatever Crokus may say. This whole sequence is filled with even more magic technobable, but I'll move on. Title of Sword? Moved to the Realms of Chaos, K'Rul's birthplace? I'll figure it out eventually. With a hollow laugh, Raest collapses into dust, his spirit invading a new body.
Kalam and Paran creep into Simtal's garden, finding there a young woman, along with a curious structure. The woman turns out to be Sorry, yet not Sorry. Kalam prevents the Captain from killing her outright, instead ascertaining that she has no memory or deeply incomplete memories of her time in the Bridgeburners. Kalam's reaction to being called a friend is priceless. They observe the structure, a tree stump that is somehow growing from moment to moment, frustrating the eyes as it does. At this moment, one is reminded of the acorn and the Finnest. Paran leaves to fetch Mallet, wondering if the healer could aid the girl.
Rallick, gripped with a malaise he cannot account for, stumbles to leave the party. What if Coll doesn't take his old Lordship back? Would what he's done be justified even if he does? As a reader, I have to wonder, how much of the blame lies on Oppon, and how much on RN himself? Interrupting his musings, he stumbles across a disgruntled and awake Kruppe. The mage is worried, although trusts K'Rul's words that the world as it is now would be enough to put down Raest. The assassin leaves Kruppe behind and is approached by a woman in a featureless mask, who circuitously reveals herself to be Vorcan. She mentions Councilman Orr possessed protective magics that Rallick somehow trivialized. For that reason, she requires his services now. One last note on their conversation here, that RN was fine submitting to punishment helps show how defeated he is, now that his slavish devotion to the plan justifying his own humanity is over with. Defending someone else's humanity cannot serve as a substitute for your own, Rallick, and I feel you know this now.
Crokus, meanwhile, is totally bungling his attempts to speak with Challice. Promising not to hurt her, after a slew of threats, of course, he lets her speak. She reveals that she never betrayed him and that they'd always known the Rope was behind the guard's death. Horrified, Crokus reels from the revelation, wondering what exactly is going on. Chalice restates her love for Gorlas (or more tellingly, his station and his love for her) and her desire to have nothing to do with Younghand's cloak-and-dagger shenanigans. She slips up at the end, patronizing him briefly, and Crokus (more than a little hypocritically) accuses her of romanticizing the dangers of the real world. They part on the worst possible terms.
Mallet, for his part, refuses to enter the garden. Recognizing the power within and its hunger, he demands Paran bring Sorry to him. She heads to the healer smilingly, and Kalam expresses regret that she hadn't smiled before. Mallet discovers Rigga's presence within the girl, torn whether to help what little remains of the Wax Witch to integrate Sorry's history into Apsalar's consciousness safely. Paran advises the healer to trust it. Rallick, Vorcan, and Crokus all enter the glade, the latter staying hidden. Paran meets them as they discuss the stump, with Vorcan asking Rallick to sit on it and dampen its growth. It's here that Rallick just outright admits to knowing the substance he'd used was Otataral dust, rendering my whole Eureka moment a bit... moot. Also, Rallick knew what it was the whole time?! Why play coy with something you'll eventually give to us outright, Erikson? It's either a mystery or not. There have been a handful of moments like this, where a mystery will be teased and then casually solved. It - I - uh, whatever I guess. That's only the second most infuriating reveal in this chapter anyway.
Kalam offers Vorcan 900k goldendoubloons jakatas and a High Fist position to kill off the T'orrud Cabal. Paran assures her that Malazan can scare off the Son of Darkness, having done so twice before. Vorcan personally accepts the contract and after charging Rallick with sitting on the stump until a better solution can be reached, leaves to prepare for the grim task. After everyone leaves, Rallick invites Crokus out of the glade and charges the boy with warning Mammot and Baruk of their impending danger. At that moment, something occurs outside of the garden, and the stump grows past Rallick's ability to contain it.
Sensing the disturbance at the Fête, Baruk laments leaving so early. Rake assures him the situation is under control, but stops himself from revealing one other piece of information, his eyes betraying a quiet sadness. He then offers to help clear the streets for something else coming, using Dragnipur to clear a passage to K'Rul's Belfry after warning Baruk of Malazan's impending assassination attempt.
At the Fête, Raest arives. Subsuming the mind of Mammot, whom he'd imprinted upon while waking, he launches an assault upon the partygoers. Quick Ben manages to save Derudan in the initial volley, which tears through the estate in a series of propagating bolts of power. Whiskeyjack's leg is crushed under a pillar, down for the count, and Captain Paran appears to be instantly vaporized in the initial assault. Derudan and QB launch twin assaults on Raest, quickly draining the Witch.
Here we have what is likely the most vexing scene in the entire book. Or, perhaps, the start of several compoundingly vexing scenes. Paran drops into what seems to be yet another warren, a swamp of sorts, within which a T'lan Imass (likely Tool) and a wooden approximation of a Jaghut fight. Behind the Captain, a house grows out of the swamp. The Imass warns Paran that something called an Azath is not yet ready to contain the animate Finnest. Paran resolves to hold the Finnest until the Azath is made ready. Launching a blast against Paran's very soul, the Finnest circumvents even Chance, or perhaps the blade has at last betrayed him. The Finnest demands total submission, but Paran refuses. Within him, the... Blood of a Hound? wells up, refusing to be subdued. Did the souls of the Hounds follow Paran back out of Dragnipur? That was roughly when Paran's whole "no one's gonna control me" arc began in full. Anyway,Perrin Paran throws himself against the Finnest, tearing into it with fists, claws, and teeth, holding it down until he is shaken out of his blood fury. The Azath is finished and draws the Finnest below the mud. Paran is shunted out of the Warren into the material plane.
Noting Paran's return, Quick Ben assaults the Tyrant with everything he has, opening SEVEN Warrens within himself. A feat that is later noted to be theoretically impossible. He burns through the monster, reducing it to an animate, humanoid totem of ash. Raest retaliates, forcibly closing QB's Warrens one after another. QB is about to give up, before noticing Hedge, off to the side, a pyromanic grin on his face, Ben dives, covering Derudan and his ears. The sapper fires, blasting Mammot's body to smithereens. Paran runs off to inform WJ as QB notices something coalescing in the bottom of Hedge's crater.
It is then that the Azath drags the remaining spirit of Raest kicking and screaming into the garden. So, it turns out Azaths are a known force in this world, but I'll get to that later. I will note its appearance is a surprise to everybody. Was it the acorn? But if the Jaghut could seal the Finnest in an Azath, why not just go all the way? Many questions and few answers. Derudan leaves, and Fiddler and Hedge are sent off to blast the city. Kalam then finally realizes the potential danger of not only blowing up the City of Blue Fire, but of doing so at major infrastructure hubs. Took y'all long enough.
So, what was Oppon's plan for the captain? His use of Chance infuriated Hairlock and the Hounds, drawing the two together, and evidently claiming the Hounds' souls/blood in the process. Thus, Paran was able to resist the Finnest and buy the Azath time. The only issue was that is the Brother's actions in Dragnipur seemed to be surprised by the whole episode. An act? Beyond that, Paran also played half the role in freeing Sorry, thwarting Shadow's aims at Empire. j
Crokus, traumatized by the sight of Mammot possessed, burned, blown to bits, and claimed by the roots of the Azath, runs to find Baruks home. He (and the audience) can only hope that Mammot himself was released to death before the Azath took the possessed body. Running through the streets of Darujhistan, he finally comes to realize why they've emptied so. Rake has moved Moon's Spawn directly overhead, looming as if to crush the city at any moment.
The Adjunct tails the Coin Bearer, sensing the Jaghut Tyrant's death. Assuming Rake's involvement in the defeat, she releases Tayscheren's Ace in the Hole. A Lord of the Gaylen demons, powerful enough to challenge an ascendant, the intended follow-up in the one-two punch which would finish off Rake or Raest, whoever survived their clash. The Adjunct then tails the Coin Bearer further, considering the woman Lorn dead for good. She does not even consider the Adjunct human, but a tool. Lost entirely in her own justification, the Adjunct carries on.
Baruk mourns Mammot in his study. He's deduced too late that Rake knew all along, choosing to shield Baruk from the anticipation of his possessed friend's impending death. The Witch Derudan arrives, prepared to mourn with him, as an act of love. She informs Baruk of the extraordinary circumstances surrounding Mammot's death, as well as the conjuration of an Azath in Darujhistan. The specific use of the word conjuration implies something caused its appearance, though if not the acorn, I couldn't guess what. They feel the release of the demon lord, as well as two more of the Cabal members at the hand of Vorcan.
Anomander Rake, atop the belfry of K'Rul's temple. Silahnah arrives, but Rake asks she leave, she's done enough for today. K'Rul himself arrives, and the two speak of their misplaced wandering within this world. Rake knows no other life than wandering from battle to battle, yet it does not fulfill him. The elder god, having failed to receive the advice he craves, leaves the Lord to his battle. Rake watches as the Galen arises, and begins changing form. Rake then shapeshifts, rising higher, higher, higher above the city into a Silvermaned Black Dragon, more massive even than Silanah, and dives towards his ignorant prey.
The Adjunct formerly known as Lorn moves to kill the Coin Bearer at last. She's interrupted by, of all people, a member of the Crimson Guard.* Fingers, Sixth Blade of the Crimson Guard, grabs Crokus and escorts him to Baruk's place personally. During their discussion, Crokus at long last learns of his nature as the Coin Bearer, and is advised to lose the item as soon as his luck runs out. It is the CG who have been protecting the boy. After breaking away from Blues, a gravely injured Adjunct runs into Meese and Iralta, who finish her off.
* Upon review, Caladan Brood does commit some Crimson Guard members to protect the Coin Bearrer in Ch. 10 debriefing with Crone, just a bit circumlocutiously. He even names the sixth blade, and Kallor immediately takes it to mean they're interfering with Rake.
Paran comes across the Adjunct, injured beyond saving, or at least, dying faster than a healer can be acquired. She laments her ironic, inglorious death, and barely has time to marvel over Paran's return from the dead. The two share a moment of cold sympathy before her end. Paran claims the Otataral blade for himself. The Twins appear before him, begging for protection from Shadowthrone. Paran tells them off, and quietly picks up the Adjunct, returning to the Phoenix Inn.
Baruk and Derudan have set up a magical barrier, but Baruk hesitates to enter it. His hesitation buys him nothing, however, as Vorcan attacks just as the ward is shattered outside. She is forced back by a Tiste Andii assassin, Serrat, who is stabbed by the Master of Assassins. Derudan is similarly stuck down, minutely to slow to take advantage of the distraction. Baruk, fleeing, runs to the door, in which is Crokus, who is able to (luckily) land two near impossible blows against Vorcan, by way of thrown bricks. She flees, and Baruk gets up, moving to save the injured. Serrat has passed, but Baruk reveals that he is able to save Darudan by curing the white paralt in her system.* They mourn Mammot, and then the young thief leaves to find Apsalar.
*Which is also just named outright as a spider, but this one annoys me far less than the Otataral thing.
I'll skip a scene breifly to maintain momentum, but it works in the chapter as is.
Rallick watches the stump, now a house, contemplating the capture he saw earlier. He is experiencing an unaccountable euphoria, believing the house to be "right, and just." Vorcan arrives, begging Rallick to protect her, before fainting. He picks her up, and with no better ideas, runs headlong into the cognitohzardous house, disappearing to we know not where. I suspect we haven't seen the last of either Rallick Nom or Vorcan, but that is the last we see of either this book. Korlat, a Tiste Andii assassin and sister to Serrat, enters the glade. She regards the Azath edielmarn or "Pillar of Innocence" and decides against the pursuit further. To continue the hunt would be to destroy the Azath, and its youthful innocence. In this, Korlat takes after the Queen of Darkness, who defended Light when it too was youthful and innocent. Oddly, in this, Korlat morally succeeds where Rallick failed. We learn that other objects such as this exist, such as the Deadhouse in Malaz city, where Kellanved and Dancer evidently walked through its... Gates. So we know people can leave these things, giving some hope for Rallick an Vorcan's return. Also, considering the heights to which the two Ascended after entering, first through Empire then godhood, R and V may have a long road ahead of them. Who knows? as my cheaky pun earlier hinted, I'm aware of the next book's title, so we may be seeing them soon.
Back at the Phoenix Inn, Whiskeyjack contacts Dujek to update him as to the nights proceedings. Tayscheren is in a coma after what happened to the Galayn Lord, and WJ states that they'll not be taking the city, for fear of detonating the natural gas caverns beneath. This is of course, a problem. The what's left of the 2nd is loosing Pale, Caladan Brood has marched south as Dujek guessed, and brought two other armies besides with him, beyond this, Laseen has outlawed Dujek himself, as Seven Cities is to close to rebellion for him to be useful in saving it in time. The Empire has now severed its last link to the Old Guard as a result.
The Black Moranth stand with Onearm, and will pick up the Bridgeburners once they're out of the city. WJ is made Dujek's second, and Paran is placed in charge of the BBs. Hopefuly, Brood knows enough about the Pannion Seer to accept Dujek's force's continued existence. Though they're free to walk, all of WJ's squad resolves to stay with the rebels, with two slight exeptions. Kalam and Fiddler have decided to leave with Apsalar, whom they're taking home; they commit to return once that is over with. WJ notices Coll is awake, but the Lord only offers them passage out of the city in gratefulness.
The main text of the novel ends with Kruppe, Murillio, and Crokus walking towards the Phoenix Inn. Kruppe assuages Crokus's worries by reassuring him that he knows Apsalar's location, and shrugs off concerns over Rallick, speaking more to the man's likely safety. We find out Challice was saved by Gorlas, tying off that loose end, and begins to regale them with the tale of how Darujistan was saved and Coll was reinstated, with his heroic aid, of course.
I'm straining against Reddit's 40k charachter limit, so I'll give my thoughts on the Epilogue, a deeper dive into the side materials, as well as thoughts on the novel as a whole soon.
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That is where I broke, the preceding battle, culminating in this cliffhanger, wore me down. I am a binger by heart and habit, and despite spending the last year or so practicing portion control (of all kinds) dutifully reading slowly, able to experience multiple works and to read them more deeply for the pacing, I decided to indulge this once. IDK If I'll do so again, but for just this once, follow this first-timer's unjaded eyes through their breathless, awe-stricken, confused sprint across the last ninety pages of this book. Without further ado...
Epigraph
An excerpt from Faces of Darujhistan written by Maskral Jemre. The gods of Darujhistan and their faces will play extensive roles symbolically throughout the impending climax. It briefly describes the ceremonies we'll see in passing through various characters, and there's something haunting about receiving a glimpse of how the festivities ought to go and what it is that they mean.Also, if this is the passing of winter to spring, where is Gennebakis, exactly? If the top of the continent is tundra, then Darujhistan would be much further south, (which we know) so somewhere similar to North America? Is Darujhistan in Texas?
Chapter 20
The chapter that broke me, one near unbearable buildup of pressure before the dam breaks. Here, it all begins to unfold.Epigraph
An excerpt of T'Matha's Children by Heboric. It mentions the "the matron's//blood like ice" This feels like an allusion to the goddess of Darkness, with the Tiste Andii being cold, and all. Beyond that, it "brought light into dark and dark into light" so given the alleged history between Light and Dark, that works. Was this perhaps the creation of the Warren of Shadow? In which case, the "children of chaos" would be... the Hounds? Who knows!The Chapter Itself
Murillio is off to confront Kruppe, musing on the turning of the Cycle of the Age. The Year of the Five Tusks, which we've been constantly reminded it is, is now giving way to the Year of the Moon's Tears. The names bear significance according to the Seers, with the god Tennerock's tusks, Hate, Love, Laughter, War, and Tears, signifying the nature of the coming Years. The device was a gift by some guy named Icarium, whom Mammot believes to be of Jaghut blood. Evidently, the Jaghut were skilled in mechanical prowess and possibly gifted enough to predict a thousand years ahead. Moon's Spawn has arrived, after all.He collides with Kruppe, who drops a series of masks. The rotund mage informs his dear friend that his other ear friend, Lady Simtal, has invited him to attend the Fête. That they've never met is ironic, but irrelevant to Magnanimous Kruppe, friend to all. This whole interaction is fantastic, with Kruppe dropping many distractions, such as his mentioning five strangers without naming the fourth, or a series of cantrips, while Murillio dodges them as best he can. He confronts Kruppe point blank about being
As Baruk waits for the Eel, he discusses attending the fête with Anomander Rake, who as elected to attend as the High Alchemist's +1. Many members of the Council and the T'orrud Cabal will be in attendance, and Rake wants an opportunity to meet/observe his allies. It'll also put him in the epicenter of the most likely place of Convergence on Genabakis. Rake learns of the new year's title, and correctly guesses Icarium's involvement, as he's evidently produced similar wheels elsewhere. This has quite a few implications, given that this person is evidently traveling with at least one god. They receive news that the Eel will reveal himself to them that night, (although Baruk as much as gives away that he's guessed the truth) as well as Mammot's recovery. The High Preist of D'Riss was able to get away with minimal difficulty and casually mentions that he's aware of the drama surrounding the Coin Bearer. He is also a member of the T'orrud Babal. Rake, asks whether Mammot will be attending the Fête, and then leaves abruptly. If only Baruk had read further into the odd departure.
Adjunct Lorn finally arrives at Worry Gate, witnessing the ritual mentioned in the Book's opening epigraph and being briefly noted by a guard. That guard is Circle Breaker, watching for the Adjunct for the Eel. Once done, he manages to trade a shift to be at the Fête himself. Interestingly, he tells the guard next to him his name, which we do not ever get to know (at least not in GotM)
Lorn enters a bar, and stumbles upon the Bridgeburners. Fiddler is running one of his games, which we get to see more fully here. The game is played with a Deck and depicts the scene in the Gadrobi Hills where Paran met Rake. Tattersail did believe the Sapper to be a Tallent, after all. The game ends predicting Lorn's death, this reading is affirmed by the orb. Whiskeyjack arrives and catches up Lorn with a modified version of events, including their loss of Sorry. Lorn comes to the realization that this man had debated tactics with Dassem Ultor, so there's not much she can do to break him. She asks the name of the estate and announces she will return in two hours, without dropping anything off.
Crokus and Apsalar watch the revelry escalate down below them. They discuss their plans for the evening, the thief growing ever more conflicted about his feelings. Apsalar mentions something within her holding her sanity together. It seems Rigga remains at work. Serrat, meanwhile, creeps up the steps below, comically over-warded and utilizing an abundance of caution. She's immediately thwarted by a mysterious someone, threatening with enough force on behalf of "the Prince" to drop the hunt against the Coin Bearer, with a comical pop, she disappears.
In an age of wind and barren stone, a Jaghut and his mother wander the land, scattered as all their people, thwarting the potential of collected power. A self-imposed Babel, of sorts. The child, young by Jaghut standards, grows observing the powers of the winds shape and mould the earth to their liking. He takes after this, destroying his horrified mother in the process. He starts with lone Jaghut, but they resist or else escape him, brief satisfaction, but not enough. He takes to subjugating the beasts, the winds, the earth, the plants. The earth resists and bucks the subversion of its evolved order, yet not without the death of countless species. Then he meets the Imass, thinking creatures like the Jaghut, yet comically short-lived. These he can use, confounding them in cycles of invention, war, loss, discovery, rediscovery, rediscovery, rediscovery. They invent for themselves a god at the head of all things, and he fancies it to be himself, they discover tyranny of all forms for themselves, and he laughs. A True First Empire, a gathering of minds subjugated under an unbreakable bond. Tool's history proves backward. Then come the Jaghut, unified under a force so great that it tears through even this great Tyrant like paper, and Raest was subjugated, killed, and depowered. A barrow erected, a hemisphere frozen over for good measure. In the intervening years, the T'Lan Imass gather power of their own and wage genocide against the very Titans who were their salvation. Two enter the barrow, the threadbare mind of the once-god coalesces, he is freed, his Finnest stolen. With a concussive force, Raest, the First Emperor of Man, Jaghut Tyrant, steps into a new world.
High above, the Crone watches him emerge as four Black Soultaken Dragons and the Red Dragon Silanah, fly in to stop the monster. We get some old language of some sort, possibly Jaghut? "Dragnipurake" is of course the name of the Sword plus the suffix -Rake, "Draconiaes" seems to refer to, well, dragons, "t'na" is a conjunction of some sort? And finally, Eleint, which is whatever the Dramatis Personae names Silanah. Crone flies high, ready to watch the show unfold.
Raest emerges, and casually injures Burn on his way out, nuking a range of hills in the process. He considers waking her as well. This is a walking apocalyptic event, and our dear Anomander opted to join a party. He notices the dragons, and Holy Moly the fight that ensues is great. I'd mention highlights but that'd just be a beat-by-beat. He offers the Soletaken Tiste Andii to join him, but they refuse. Also of note, he calls Silanah a "Tiem." He rebuffs their initial assault and, telekinetically holding his body together, prepares to deliver death.
Chapter 21
A Chapter in two halves, beginning with our principal cast all filling into their positions for the climax, making last-minute pivots and discoveries. It ends with the fulfillment of the revenge plot against Lady Simtal and Turban Orr, and what a fulfillment it is! If only we don't feel so hollow afterwards.Epigraph
An excerpt of Anomandris which is, interestingly enough, written by Fisher, the Rumor Born guy. Also, this is like the first bit of Anomandris we've seen since Tattersail and Calot tag-teamed a quotation in Ch. 2 (which also mentions it was written by Fisher, lol) and seems to recount the initial arrival of the dragons. First contact between the dragons and Tiste Andii? Who knows! (Actually, quite a few people probably know at this point)The Chapter Itself
Lorn buries the Finnest in the garden at Simtal's estate. She observes the bustling crowds and almost breaks down at the sight. So much life reminds her of the many cities she's infiltrated before. The recollection of humanity becomes a cacophony, no one life worth any more than the millions around them. The Adjunct breaks at this, and Lorn has to will herself to don the persona again, with Sorry out of the picture, only the Coin Bearer remains. With her last chance to bail out behind her, the Adjunct begins moving towards her failure and death, foretold with certainty by the unwitting Tallent of Fiddler.Meanwhile, in the Phoenix Inn, the Eel contemplates his next moves, whilst failing to button his coat. He decides that it is time for Circle Breaker to retire, for his own safety. He suspects that someone other than himself has been protecting the Coin Bearer, while the path to ultimate safety for the boy remains elusive. Most concerningly, the patterns in his head end tonight, the outcome of this Convergence is undecided.
Crokus and Apsalar, meanwhile, leave the Temple for the Fête. To the northeast, a "storm" of low rumbling thunder and ochre clouds builds and grows ever closer. As the thief is led down from the tower by Aps, he has another internal crisis. He really doesn't know Challice, and Apsalar's constant ease within his presence is confounding. Dude, she literally took a name axiomatically aligned with your life, take a hint.
The Captain of Simtal's guards berates the Bridgeburnurs for not all being Barghast, but agrees to pay them anyways. He stations them near the garden, as it's recently gotten a bit overgrown, and instructs them to steer the crowds away. Quick Ben and Mallet update Whiskeyjack on the encroaching Tyrant, and they agree to play things by ear if the monster gets any nearer.
Kalam and Paran leave the Phoenix Inn, not after the assassin makes a major threat to Scurve to, by any means necessary contact the city's Master of Assasins with their offer. They leave to find the Adjunct and put her to rest. Kalam takes note of the Greyfaces and begins to be bothered by their movements, for some reason.
Baruk arrives with Rake at the Fête. Despite the encroaching threat, the Tiste Andii seems unbothered, relaxed even. Turban Orr watches the two arrive with Lady Simtal. The Alchemist's mask is barely sufficient. Both a denial and an admission of secret power, depending on the viewer. Rake's mask is of a smug black and silver dragon. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Anomander Rake is That Guy. Still love him, though. The Councilman introduces himself and is introduced in turn to Lord Anomander Rake. The scene plays out humorously, with Orr unaware of how wildly out of his league he is, but does contain one odd detail. Rake, despite running Moon's Spawn, considers his title to be honorary, given by his people. Murillio and Rallick, begrudgingly aware of Kruppe's perfect mask choices, watch the High Alchemist and the Councilman converse, then nearly have an aneurysm over Kruppe (whom they were just praising) and his shenanigans. Kruppe, wearing the mask of a cherub slightly less innocent than himself (although not nearly so clever) bumbles his way toward Baruk and Rake, the latter of whom displays incredulity over this possibly being the Eel. Wise and discerning Kruppe the First notes Rake's nature as an inhuman Lord from high above, and a dragon. Of course, this is all a misunderstanding, and he apologizes, betrays himself as an eel of sorts, and leaves to inspect the kitchen.
Turban Orr, meanwhile, finds himself unable to enjoy the party. The last two weeks have exhausted him, all his plans confounded, and his spy still unfound. He, at last, discovers Circle Breaker, in a chance passing, but is intercepted by a man in a Trake mask. The man practically insists on insulting the Councilman, and Orr, his temper ratcheted up by the past several days, decides to indulge his wrath on this peon. Orr calls for a duel, politically selecting Councilman D'Arle as his second. Meanwhile, Murillio draws deep on his well of suave and seduces Simtal in record time. The duel will go uninterrupted. Down by the terrace, Baruk contemplates interceeding, but declines. Curiously, he considers Rallick his closest friend, explaining the Otataral gift, but it is a shame we never go to see the two interact, there's a story there. Rake offers to be RN's second, and my hype has hit yet another threshold. Here is where I leave my desk for a mandated break, I'm not the sort of person who eats and reads, so I'm mentally cussing the entire way there and back. Baruk meets Mammot on his way to the duel and notes the scholar's accurate Jaghut mask; although Mammot recognizes minute flaws in the design, Baruk thinks nothing of this. Stranger still, despite Oppon's luck drawing Crokus to the party, it is also keeping him away from his uncle.
The Bridgeburners watch everyone filter out into the courtyard by the garden, watching the preparations for the duel. Though they notice Rake, this doesn't amount to much. Quick Ben updates the group on their timetable with the Tyrant, and they make preparations to blast the estate then the city.
Crokus finds Challice; without a method of reaching her at the moment he is distracted by the duel. Kruppe, finds the boy and nabs him while passing a note off to Circle Breaker. The note grants Circle Breaker the right to retire, as well as land and a title in the city of Dhavran (the map shows this to be along the western bank of Lake Azur) as thanks for being the Eel's most trusted servant. The circle is mended (whatever that means, there seems to be a story there) and he can at last rest. Despite everything going down in this and subsequent chapters, this storyline had me by far the most hyped. Good job man, you've earned it.
Baruk offers to referee, and the participants take their places. Turban Orr's grandstanding, and the seconds' lack of comments each take as much time as the fight itself. As everyone notes, this is not a duel, but a public murder. That Anomander Rake decides to get publicly entangled in the proceedings not to comment or contribute at all, but just to watch this fool get merc'd, strikes me as darkly funny. Orr is dead and as Rallick quietly gloats to the corpse, the scandal is broached, and the hostess is nowhere to be found. A large woman in a green dress approaches Baruk and Rake, introduced as the Witch Derudan, another member of the Cabal. Also, she has a personal servant to carry a hookah with her at all times. They leave Rake's presence to discuss some matters.
Simtal, meanwhile, finally arrises from her 30 minutes with Murillio, becoming aware of some great disturbance downstairs. She begins dressing and is interrupted by Rallick Nom entering the room. Rallick stays only long enough to convey his purpose and her situation. It is Murillio who stays a moment to watch the woman process what has become of her. Years of machinations and backroom (or perhaps, bedroom) deals all hinging on the continued support of those around her. With no one, the vultures and enemies she's made will come, likely they've already begun. Murillio leaves a dagger and grants her the privacy to escape the coming storm.
Lady Simtal, you deserved this but that doesn't make what was done to you right. What business does justice have with cruelty? Swearing by the Lady of Beggers, Murillio comes to the crashing realization of what this night has cost his soul. Coll is reinstated, yes, but at incalculable cost to his dearest friends.
Crokus, meanwhile, finally gets the opportunity to peel away from Kruppe and approach Challice, after getting the girls attention, she runs over to him, overjoyed to finally have a moment alone with...Gorlas. Panicking, Crokus does the sane thing and kidnaps her, because that'll make this run smoother, y'kow?
At the first opportunity, Circle Breaker sneaks out of the estate and into the night a free man. Passing a food-comatose Kruppe, he leaves smiling, awed by his own escape.
Chapter 22
A major action climax for a few plotlines, with a resolution I've vacillated between sour and sweet on, currently resting at sweet as I've processed things.Epigraph
A poem titled Ravens by Collitt. Acknowledging the Great Ravens as a sign of disaster, the poet fears and reveres them. Politically, this is one of my favorites thus far. Also, I love the connection between the Great Ravens and, well, normal ravens. Ravens are carrion feeders, who gather at signs of battle. Sapient Great Ravens gather at the signs of great events and cataclysmic battles, searching for "interesting" events. That's just a really fun connection.The Chapter Itself
Two of the Soultaken driven from battle, Raest prepares for his final thrust. The Gadrobi Hills are devastated, sundered by his travels and battle. He's killed a few odd creatures along his path as well, who we recognize as the garrison that helped Coll and Paran, as well as Councilman Orr's messenger to Pale. Cresting a hill, he is briefly in awe of Darujhistan, then offers Silanah one last opportunity to retreat. She makes no reply, nor is she even prepared for battle. Raest steps forward, away from Genebakis and into another time, within the dreams of a great, pudgy mage.Despite his best attempts, Raest can do nothing to kill the creature, introducing itself as Kruppe. He informs the Tyrant that he bows to no one, Tyrant or god; in the face of such indifference, there is nothing Raest can do. Beset by a T'lan Imass from behind; despite his best efforts, Onos T'oolan cannot be bound by the Jaghut, as our dear Tool is called by an ancient call of a Bonecaster, Pran Chole's. Befuddled by such impotence on his part, Raest is befuddled further still by the appearance of another interloper, K'Rul. He initially mistakes him for Hood (which greatly alters my estimation of the god's lifespan) although he only refers to him as the Death Wanderer, as opposed to the god of Death. K'Rul warns Raest of the arrival of Anomander Rake and the new form of death he brings with him. Raest scoffs at this initially, but K'Rul makes a fascinating revelation. The flow of power between the gods and mortals has shifted, though of it the mortals are ignorant. I suppose when you have mages mastering domains and relics capable of drawing the gods who wield them, it makes sense. Anything less than omnipotence can be overmastered. K'Rul also repeats his Maker of Paths title and reveals his aspect "was the Obelisk." So he's Burn's predecessor and not Hood's. Given Burn's Sleep began nearly 1200 years ago, that gives us a roughly 800-year window for the shift, given Darujhistan's founding, whatever Crokus may say. This whole sequence is filled with even more magic technobable, but I'll move on. Title of Sword? Moved to the Realms of Chaos, K'Rul's birthplace? I'll figure it out eventually. With a hollow laugh, Raest collapses into dust, his spirit invading a new body.
Kalam and Paran creep into Simtal's garden, finding there a young woman, along with a curious structure. The woman turns out to be Sorry, yet not Sorry. Kalam prevents the Captain from killing her outright, instead ascertaining that she has no memory or deeply incomplete memories of her time in the Bridgeburners. Kalam's reaction to being called a friend is priceless. They observe the structure, a tree stump that is somehow growing from moment to moment, frustrating the eyes as it does. At this moment, one is reminded of the acorn and the Finnest. Paran leaves to fetch Mallet, wondering if the healer could aid the girl.
Rallick, gripped with a malaise he cannot account for, stumbles to leave the party. What if Coll doesn't take his old Lordship back? Would what he's done be justified even if he does? As a reader, I have to wonder, how much of the blame lies on Oppon, and how much on RN himself? Interrupting his musings, he stumbles across a disgruntled and awake Kruppe. The mage is worried, although trusts K'Rul's words that the world as it is now would be enough to put down Raest. The assassin leaves Kruppe behind and is approached by a woman in a featureless mask, who circuitously reveals herself to be Vorcan. She mentions Councilman Orr possessed protective magics that Rallick somehow trivialized. For that reason, she requires his services now. One last note on their conversation here, that RN was fine submitting to punishment helps show how defeated he is, now that his slavish devotion to the plan justifying his own humanity is over with. Defending someone else's humanity cannot serve as a substitute for your own, Rallick, and I feel you know this now.
Crokus, meanwhile, is totally bungling his attempts to speak with Challice. Promising not to hurt her, after a slew of threats, of course, he lets her speak. She reveals that she never betrayed him and that they'd always known the Rope was behind the guard's death. Horrified, Crokus reels from the revelation, wondering what exactly is going on. Chalice restates her love for Gorlas (or more tellingly, his station and his love for her) and her desire to have nothing to do with Younghand's cloak-and-dagger shenanigans. She slips up at the end, patronizing him briefly, and Crokus (more than a little hypocritically) accuses her of romanticizing the dangers of the real world. They part on the worst possible terms.
Mallet, for his part, refuses to enter the garden. Recognizing the power within and its hunger, he demands Paran bring Sorry to him. She heads to the healer smilingly, and Kalam expresses regret that she hadn't smiled before. Mallet discovers Rigga's presence within the girl, torn whether to help what little remains of the Wax Witch to integrate Sorry's history into Apsalar's consciousness safely. Paran advises the healer to trust it. Rallick, Vorcan, and Crokus all enter the glade, the latter staying hidden. Paran meets them as they discuss the stump, with Vorcan asking Rallick to sit on it and dampen its growth. It's here that Rallick just outright admits to knowing the substance he'd used was Otataral dust, rendering my whole Eureka moment a bit... moot. Also, Rallick knew what it was the whole time?! Why play coy with something you'll eventually give to us outright, Erikson? It's either a mystery or not. There have been a handful of moments like this, where a mystery will be teased and then casually solved. It - I - uh, whatever I guess. That's only the second most infuriating reveal in this chapter anyway.
Kalam offers Vorcan 900k golden
Sensing the disturbance at the Fête, Baruk laments leaving so early. Rake assures him the situation is under control, but stops himself from revealing one other piece of information, his eyes betraying a quiet sadness. He then offers to help clear the streets for something else coming, using Dragnipur to clear a passage to K'Rul's Belfry after warning Baruk of Malazan's impending assassination attempt.
At the Fête, Raest arives. Subsuming the mind of Mammot, whom he'd imprinted upon while waking, he launches an assault upon the partygoers. Quick Ben manages to save Derudan in the initial volley, which tears through the estate in a series of propagating bolts of power. Whiskeyjack's leg is crushed under a pillar, down for the count, and Captain Paran appears to be instantly vaporized in the initial assault. Derudan and QB launch twin assaults on Raest, quickly draining the Witch.
Here we have what is likely the most vexing scene in the entire book. Or, perhaps, the start of several compoundingly vexing scenes. Paran drops into what seems to be yet another warren, a swamp of sorts, within which a T'lan Imass (likely Tool) and a wooden approximation of a Jaghut fight. Behind the Captain, a house grows out of the swamp. The Imass warns Paran that something called an Azath is not yet ready to contain the animate Finnest. Paran resolves to hold the Finnest until the Azath is made ready. Launching a blast against Paran's very soul, the Finnest circumvents even Chance, or perhaps the blade has at last betrayed him. The Finnest demands total submission, but Paran refuses. Within him, the... Blood of a Hound? wells up, refusing to be subdued. Did the souls of the Hounds follow Paran back out of Dragnipur? That was roughly when Paran's whole "no one's gonna control me" arc began in full. Anyway,
Noting Paran's return, Quick Ben assaults the Tyrant with everything he has, opening SEVEN Warrens within himself. A feat that is later noted to be theoretically impossible. He burns through the monster, reducing it to an animate, humanoid totem of ash. Raest retaliates, forcibly closing QB's Warrens one after another. QB is about to give up, before noticing Hedge, off to the side, a pyromanic grin on his face, Ben dives, covering Derudan and his ears. The sapper fires, blasting Mammot's body to smithereens. Paran runs off to inform WJ as QB notices something coalescing in the bottom of Hedge's crater.
It is then that the Azath drags the remaining spirit of Raest kicking and screaming into the garden. So, it turns out Azaths are a known force in this world, but I'll get to that later. I will note its appearance is a surprise to everybody. Was it the acorn? But if the Jaghut could seal the Finnest in an Azath, why not just go all the way? Many questions and few answers. Derudan leaves, and Fiddler and Hedge are sent off to blast the city. Kalam then finally realizes the potential danger of not only blowing up the City of Blue Fire, but of doing so at major infrastructure hubs. Took y'all long enough.
Chapter 23
A resolution to all but one of our action climaxes, and a final unveiling of several long-standing plans. We're solidly in the endgame now, and somehow only speeding up.Epigraph
After a long hiatus, we receive another excerpt of Call to Shadow, this one seemingly referring to Simtal's suicide. Given that the author is apparently Paran's sister, the nature of the work is becoming clearer, this is a recounting of the events here in Darujhistan. I'm a bit unclear as to why its specifically attributed to Shadow, aside from Shadow's interference being the inciting incident to all this mess. Perhaps that's sufficient, however. What we can tell from this is that Paran eventually meets with Fellisin again, despite his status as a traitor. So while we can't tell whether or not this will all have a happy ending, we can tell the Paran siblings will make it that far at least.The Chapter Itself
Paran, running through the undergrowth, is drawn into yet another Warren, ambushed by Rood. After nearly tearing the Captain apart, the Hound relents, confused by a sense of kinship. Cotilion appears, complaining that the Captain should interfere with House Shadows, especially given his growing enmity with the Empress. Even still, Cotillion will try again, correcting for the flaws of the initial plan. He considers his treatment of Sorry merciful, insofar as the necessary evil could be. Paran offers Cotillian Chance, seeing as how his luck has finally turned, and the Rope accepts with the intent to strike back at the Twins. Paran wakes back in the garden and leaves to find the Adjunct.So, what was Oppon's plan for the captain? His use of Chance infuriated Hairlock and the Hounds, drawing the two together, and evidently claiming the Hounds' souls/blood in the process. Thus, Paran was able to resist the Finnest and buy the Azath time. The only issue was that is the Brother's actions in Dragnipur seemed to be surprised by the whole episode. An act? Beyond that, Paran also played half the role in freeing Sorry, thwarting Shadow's aims at Empire. j
Crokus, traumatized by the sight of Mammot possessed, burned, blown to bits, and claimed by the roots of the Azath, runs to find Baruks home. He (and the audience) can only hope that Mammot himself was released to death before the Azath took the possessed body. Running through the streets of Darujhistan, he finally comes to realize why they've emptied so. Rake has moved Moon's Spawn directly overhead, looming as if to crush the city at any moment.
The Adjunct tails the Coin Bearer, sensing the Jaghut Tyrant's death. Assuming Rake's involvement in the defeat, she releases Tayscheren's Ace in the Hole. A Lord of the Gaylen demons, powerful enough to challenge an ascendant, the intended follow-up in the one-two punch which would finish off Rake or Raest, whoever survived their clash. The Adjunct then tails the Coin Bearer further, considering the woman Lorn dead for good. She does not even consider the Adjunct human, but a tool. Lost entirely in her own justification, the Adjunct carries on.
Baruk mourns Mammot in his study. He's deduced too late that Rake knew all along, choosing to shield Baruk from the anticipation of his possessed friend's impending death. The Witch Derudan arrives, prepared to mourn with him, as an act of love. She informs Baruk of the extraordinary circumstances surrounding Mammot's death, as well as the conjuration of an Azath in Darujhistan. The specific use of the word conjuration implies something caused its appearance, though if not the acorn, I couldn't guess what. They feel the release of the demon lord, as well as two more of the Cabal members at the hand of Vorcan.
Anomander Rake, atop the belfry of K'Rul's temple. Silahnah arrives, but Rake asks she leave, she's done enough for today. K'Rul himself arrives, and the two speak of their misplaced wandering within this world. Rake knows no other life than wandering from battle to battle, yet it does not fulfill him. The elder god, having failed to receive the advice he craves, leaves the Lord to his battle. Rake watches as the Galen arises, and begins changing form. Rake then shapeshifts, rising higher, higher, higher above the city into a Silvermaned Black Dragon, more massive even than Silanah, and dives towards his ignorant prey.
The Adjunct formerly known as Lorn moves to kill the Coin Bearer at last. She's interrupted by, of all people, a member of the Crimson Guard.* Fingers, Sixth Blade of the Crimson Guard, grabs Crokus and escorts him to Baruk's place personally. During their discussion, Crokus at long last learns of his nature as the Coin Bearer, and is advised to lose the item as soon as his luck runs out. It is the CG who have been protecting the boy. After breaking away from Blues, a gravely injured Adjunct runs into Meese and Iralta, who finish her off.
* Upon review, Caladan Brood does commit some Crimson Guard members to protect the Coin Bearrer in Ch. 10 debriefing with Crone, just a bit circumlocutiously. He even names the sixth blade, and Kallor immediately takes it to mean they're interfering with Rake.
Paran comes across the Adjunct, injured beyond saving, or at least, dying faster than a healer can be acquired. She laments her ironic, inglorious death, and barely has time to marvel over Paran's return from the dead. The two share a moment of cold sympathy before her end. Paran claims the Otataral blade for himself. The Twins appear before him, begging for protection from Shadowthrone. Paran tells them off, and quietly picks up the Adjunct, returning to the Phoenix Inn.
Chapter 24
The breathless end of it all, flowing almost immediately into subsequent adventures. Anything I'm not fully satisfied with is at least spoken to, promising further resolution or explanation later.Epigraph
An excerpt of a poem titled Azath by Adaephon. Written as if narrated by the titular entity, the poem speaks a bit about their purpose. Both a lure and a prison to the power-crazed, an endless prison in a world where death is trivialized to the powerful. It is interesting how much of a known entity these are, despite us not hearing about them until well after its arrival, and that no one (outside of possibly Rake) considered the Convergence would produce one. Ah, well.The Chapter Itself
Crokus cannot enter Baruk's compound, being frustrated by the High Alchemist's wards. Fortunately, he has one last bit of luck. The Demon Lord crashes to the ground, slammed by Rake's assault from above. The crash shatters the gate and any potential wards. Both dragons shift back to their base forms, and the Galayn taunts Rake. Crokus feels someone walk up behind him, and the Lord of Moon's Spawn asks that Crokus flees. He notes that he is speaking with the Coin Bearer, but Brood's "request" and the impending fight save the lad. Rake and the Demon Lord fight, sword to axe, and while the contest isn't quite the spectacle of Raest soloing five dragons, its pretty great. We even get a bit of lore out of it. It seems indeed that some version of the story Tool told Lorn was true, Dark birthed Light, but then light was corrupted. Demons being corrupted denizens of Light is, well, exactly on brand, so that tracks. Crokus watches in horror as the Galayn Lord is subsumed into the black blade. AR then turns with exhaustion to the lad, and asks him to warn Baruk of the impending danger.Baruk and Derudan have set up a magical barrier, but Baruk hesitates to enter it. His hesitation buys him nothing, however, as Vorcan attacks just as the ward is shattered outside. She is forced back by a Tiste Andii assassin, Serrat, who is stabbed by the Master of Assassins. Derudan is similarly stuck down, minutely to slow to take advantage of the distraction. Baruk, fleeing, runs to the door, in which is Crokus, who is able to (luckily) land two near impossible blows against Vorcan, by way of thrown bricks. She flees, and Baruk gets up, moving to save the injured. Serrat has passed, but Baruk reveals that he is able to save Darudan by curing the white paralt in her system.* They mourn Mammot, and then the young thief leaves to find Apsalar.
*Which is also just named outright as a spider, but this one annoys me far less than the Otataral thing.
I'll skip a scene breifly to maintain momentum, but it works in the chapter as is.
Rallick watches the stump, now a house, contemplating the capture he saw earlier. He is experiencing an unaccountable euphoria, believing the house to be "right, and just." Vorcan arrives, begging Rallick to protect her, before fainting. He picks her up, and with no better ideas, runs headlong into the cognitohzardous house, disappearing to we know not where. I suspect we haven't seen the last of either Rallick Nom or Vorcan, but that is the last we see of either this book. Korlat, a Tiste Andii assassin and sister to Serrat, enters the glade. She regards the Azath edielmarn or "Pillar of Innocence" and decides against the pursuit further. To continue the hunt would be to destroy the Azath, and its youthful innocence. In this, Korlat takes after the Queen of Darkness, who defended Light when it too was youthful and innocent. Oddly, in this, Korlat morally succeeds where Rallick failed. We learn that other objects such as this exist, such as the Deadhouse in Malaz city, where Kellanved and Dancer evidently walked through its... Gates. So we know people can leave these things, giving some hope for Rallick an Vorcan's return. Also, considering the heights to which the two Ascended after entering, first through Empire then godhood, R and V may have a long road ahead of them. Who knows? as my cheaky pun earlier hinted, I'm aware of the next book's title, so we may be seeing them soon.
Back at the Phoenix Inn, Whiskeyjack contacts Dujek to update him as to the nights proceedings. Tayscheren is in a coma after what happened to the Galayn Lord, and WJ states that they'll not be taking the city, for fear of detonating the natural gas caverns beneath. This is of course, a problem. The what's left of the 2nd is loosing Pale, Caladan Brood has marched south as Dujek guessed, and brought two other armies besides with him, beyond this, Laseen has outlawed Dujek himself, as Seven Cities is to close to rebellion for him to be useful in saving it in time. The Empire has now severed its last link to the Old Guard as a result.
The Black Moranth stand with Onearm, and will pick up the Bridgeburners once they're out of the city. WJ is made Dujek's second, and Paran is placed in charge of the BBs. Hopefuly, Brood knows enough about the Pannion Seer to accept Dujek's force's continued existence. Though they're free to walk, all of WJ's squad resolves to stay with the rebels, with two slight exeptions. Kalam and Fiddler have decided to leave with Apsalar, whom they're taking home; they commit to return once that is over with. WJ notices Coll is awake, but the Lord only offers them passage out of the city in gratefulness.
The main text of the novel ends with Kruppe, Murillio, and Crokus walking towards the Phoenix Inn. Kruppe assuages Crokus's worries by reassuring him that he knows Apsalar's location, and shrugs off concerns over Rallick, speaking more to the man's likely safety. We find out Challice was saved by Gorlas, tying off that loose end, and begins to regale them with the tale of how Darujistan was saved and Coll was reinstated, with his heroic aid, of course.
Book 7: The Fête
An excellent climax all around, pulling out every stop. While the initial experience was a bit jarring, with all the revelations, I am satisfied as I've let it sit. On the whole, I probably prefer a slower reading pace, but once I committed to finishing the whole thing, I was fine riding it out.I'm straining against Reddit's 40k charachter limit, so I'll give my thoughts on the Epilogue, a deeper dive into the side materials, as well as thoughts on the novel as a whole soon.
2023.06.04 00:06 ZombyRaven Please help me find this snowglobe, I've had it for a few years now and it just decided to leak for no reason.
I've had it for awhile not sure exactly how long maybe 6 or 7 years now, it's one of my favorites just because I got it from a gift shop in Utah and the details are really cute. The base of the display started to lift, thought nothing of it but then today while rearranging my room I picked it up and noticed it was empty and there isn't any visible cracks, unsure of what happened but I thought no biggie because when stuff like this happens I'm able to buy a replacement expect... I can't find this one anywhere. Any help at all is appreciated. (note: I have never broken any of my snowglobes before it's all been family members messing with them but this is the first just random break. I swear I'm a responsible snowglobe owner) The animals on the bottom include a bear deer bison duck/bird of some sort elk and then a squirrel and the bottom bottom have little animal tracks. The particles inside were snow and then the green blue confetti stuff that's used in like EVERY snowglobe. PLEASE HELPP!!
submitted by ZombyRaven to HelpMeFindThis [link] [comments]
2023.06.03 23:58 Comfortable-Bat-4072 A Practical Tourist Guide to Pyrrhia. Part 5: Swimming with the Seawings
See you again today, dear tourists, to continue this journey among all the tribes of Pyrrhia. This time we will dive into the deep abyss to get to know one of the most fascinating and peculiar tribes of the continent: the Seawings.
(Disclaimer: due to various problems with the sources received, some information may be outdated or incorrect. The Seawings public and any other species or tribe are asked not to be offended but to report various errors to the reception - the comments. It is possible to do requests or complaints in both Aquatic and Dragonic. Our director will take care to send apology letters and correct. Thank you for your support)
Where to start. There is so much stuff to say about them.
Seawings are amphibious sea dragons that are perfectly adapted to this life both underwater and on land. In fact, their body is designed to move through the sea with the grace of a submarine.
They have fins all over the body, a tapered shape and phosphorescent stripes scattered everywhere in a thousand shapes (we'll come back).
The scales are cold colors like blue, green and light blue, completely opposite to Skywings.
They also have gills and it is convenient to do a little analysis on this.
Reptiles are a class of animals which, quoting wikipedia "have freed themselves from the aquatic environment and therefore adapted, due to their fundamental biological functions, to life in a strictly terrestrial environment". This is because reptiles breathe only out of water and lay their eggs on land.
Not to mention that for some reason they can breathe in both salt and fresh water.
Only they and the author know how the Seawings are part of the reptiles. But let's get back to us.
They are related to Sanwings, Rainwings and Nightwings, as seen by the patagium under the wings that connects them to the body. They are probably in a subcategory of this group, counting the biological differences.
Their natural abilities are perfect for the aquatic environment. For this reason they can't do anything out of the water. Literally nothing.
-But they can see in the dark!-
Shut up.
Aside from their night vision and sharp claws (like butcher hooks, great for petting someone, especially if you dislike them), most of what they can do is pretty situational.
Like the fact that they are great swimmers (wow, really?) and can create waves of water with their tails. According to some scientists, Seawings could once squirt ink from their mouth, but have lost this ability due to advantageous evolutionary adaptation.
Aquatic stripes on the body vary per individual and, like the fins of killer whales, can be used to identify the seawing in question. They can glow in the dark and are used to communicate in Aquatic (it will be clarified later), but they can also be used tactically to dazzle the opponent.
If they stay too far from water, they risk insanity and then death (although all creatures die without water).
The Seawing company has adapted to both land and underwater.
In fact, Aquatic (precisely) is the second language of this tribe and is fluently spoken by almost all Seawings. It consists of a visual language of specific marks made by alternating strip lighting.
-A handy Aquatic-Dragon and Aquatic-English translator is available on the Oxford University website.
-Aquatic classes were briefly held for humans and non-Seawing dragons. I don't think it's necessary to specify why they haven't been a success.
The two poles of the Seawings company were the Summer Palace and the Deep Palace, the first unfortunately sunk and destroyed in the Sandwings succession war.
It is extremely difficult to visit the Deep place, as it is located one kilometer under the sea, but we know that it is a masterpiece of architecture that blends nature and construction, in a blaze of artistry of the Seawings.
Like the Skywings, the Seawings are into the arts, such as painting, writing and sculpting. The distribution of parchments is particularly widespread (not to mention that most of them are written by the queen herself, but this in theory I could not say so as not to ruin the economy of the region).
- The texts of Queen Coral's Seawings works, such as "The Lost Heir" or "A Tail of Blood" (a slightly cringe title, to be honest) are available in digital format on the official website of Pyrrhia Literature and Scrolls.
- The Seawings are the greatest sushi chefs in the world, capable of cooking anything that swims with ease. Considering they don't use fire it's not recommended to eat fugu in their kitchens.
The Sea Kingdom is a gigantic, borderless archipelago, the Bay of a Thousand Scales, located on the "tail" of the continent. It is still a debate whether the rest of the sea east of Pyrrhia is considered as Sea Kingdom or international waters.
The environment of the archipelago is typically tropical, full of exotic fauna and marine animals of all kinds, with the sun beating down on the clear water dotted with islets.
Fortunately, no giant monsters on the maps have been sighted here, but caution is never too much.
This place is great for scuba diving or tropical vacations.
-For some years, the mass of tourists has been forcibly reduced to avoid environmental damage
- The live action of the Little Mermaid was filmed in the Kingdom of the Sea. In fact, the actor of King Triton is a Seawings with an excellent costume.
submitted by Comfortable-Bat-4072 to WingsOfFire [link] [comments]
(Disclaimer: due to various problems with the sources received, some information may be outdated or incorrect. The Seawings public and any other species or tribe are asked not to be offended but to report various errors to the reception - the comments. It is possible to do requests or complaints in both Aquatic and Dragonic. Our director will take care to send apology letters and correct. Thank you for your support)
Where to start. There is so much stuff to say about them.
Seawings are amphibious sea dragons that are perfectly adapted to this life both underwater and on land. In fact, their body is designed to move through the sea with the grace of a submarine.
They have fins all over the body, a tapered shape and phosphorescent stripes scattered everywhere in a thousand shapes (we'll come back).
The scales are cold colors like blue, green and light blue, completely opposite to Skywings.
They also have gills and it is convenient to do a little analysis on this.
Reptiles are a class of animals which, quoting wikipedia "have freed themselves from the aquatic environment and therefore adapted, due to their fundamental biological functions, to life in a strictly terrestrial environment". This is because reptiles breathe only out of water and lay their eggs on land.
Not to mention that for some reason they can breathe in both salt and fresh water.
Only they and the author know how the Seawings are part of the reptiles. But let's get back to us.
They are related to Sanwings, Rainwings and Nightwings, as seen by the patagium under the wings that connects them to the body. They are probably in a subcategory of this group, counting the biological differences.
Their natural abilities are perfect for the aquatic environment. For this reason they can't do anything out of the water. Literally nothing.
-But they can see in the dark!-
Shut up.
Aside from their night vision and sharp claws (like butcher hooks, great for petting someone, especially if you dislike them), most of what they can do is pretty situational.
Like the fact that they are great swimmers (wow, really?) and can create waves of water with their tails. According to some scientists, Seawings could once squirt ink from their mouth, but have lost this ability due to advantageous evolutionary adaptation.
Aquatic stripes on the body vary per individual and, like the fins of killer whales, can be used to identify the seawing in question. They can glow in the dark and are used to communicate in Aquatic (it will be clarified later), but they can also be used tactically to dazzle the opponent.
If they stay too far from water, they risk insanity and then death (although all creatures die without water).
The Seawing company has adapted to both land and underwater.
In fact, Aquatic (precisely) is the second language of this tribe and is fluently spoken by almost all Seawings. It consists of a visual language of specific marks made by alternating strip lighting.
-A handy Aquatic-Dragon and Aquatic-English translator is available on the Oxford University website.
-Aquatic classes were briefly held for humans and non-Seawing dragons. I don't think it's necessary to specify why they haven't been a success.
The two poles of the Seawings company were the Summer Palace and the Deep Palace, the first unfortunately sunk and destroyed in the Sandwings succession war.
It is extremely difficult to visit the Deep place, as it is located one kilometer under the sea, but we know that it is a masterpiece of architecture that blends nature and construction, in a blaze of artistry of the Seawings.
Like the Skywings, the Seawings are into the arts, such as painting, writing and sculpting. The distribution of parchments is particularly widespread (not to mention that most of them are written by the queen herself, but this in theory I could not say so as not to ruin the economy of the region).
- The texts of Queen Coral's Seawings works, such as "The Lost Heir" or "A Tail of Blood" (a slightly cringe title, to be honest) are available in digital format on the official website of Pyrrhia Literature and Scrolls.
- The Seawings are the greatest sushi chefs in the world, capable of cooking anything that swims with ease. Considering they don't use fire it's not recommended to eat fugu in their kitchens.
The Sea Kingdom is a gigantic, borderless archipelago, the Bay of a Thousand Scales, located on the "tail" of the continent. It is still a debate whether the rest of the sea east of Pyrrhia is considered as Sea Kingdom or international waters.
The environment of the archipelago is typically tropical, full of exotic fauna and marine animals of all kinds, with the sun beating down on the clear water dotted with islets.
Fortunately, no giant monsters on the maps have been sighted here, but caution is never too much.
This place is great for scuba diving or tropical vacations.
-For some years, the mass of tourists has been forcibly reduced to avoid environmental damage
- The live action of the Little Mermaid was filmed in the Kingdom of the Sea. In fact, the actor of King Triton is a Seawings with an excellent costume.
2023.06.03 23:36 Mindshred1 The Jewel of Eoza (Session 16)
The Cast:
Cheer the Boisterous, Tabaxi Monk: Cheer is a small Tabaxi with white fur and mismatched blue and green eyes. She is always seen in the company of her brother, Charles, and together, the two of them haunt the alleys outside the Al Walab Jeweler Guild, keeping other thieves away from their "territory."
Charles the Butcher, Tabaxi Rogue: Charles is a small Tabaxi with smoky black fur and mismatched blue and green eyes. He is always accompanied by his sister, Cheer, and together, the two of them haunt the alleys outside the Al Walab Jeweler Guild, keeping other thieves away from their "territory."
Calina St. Clair, Fire Genasi Wizard: Calina is the third child of the St. Clair merchants, an influential family of wealthy nobles in Al Walab. With her inheritance looking less and less likely with each passing year, she expanded her interests into arcane magic and cartography, hoping to find her own fortune in the world.
Honu Chorba, Tortle Ranger: Honu is a seasoned desert traveler who has spent much of his long life among the dunes. He joined the group to assist them in their journeys out of the belief that they would all get lost and die without him.
Reed Ha'saan, Human (Rashed) Artificer: Reed is a Rashed, nomads who wander the desert wastes. He's a tinker and a jeweler who is loosely affiliated with the Jeweler Guild of Al Walab, serving as a member in the (much looser and less prestigious) offshoot of the Guild among the Rashed. He's accompanied by a mechanical crab machine that he built.
Previous Session
Story: Upon returning to Al Walab, the group found themselves stopped at the gates, as the guards claimed that their previous "exempt from all charges" writ from the Sultan was no longer valid. Fortunately, they were able to intimidate the guards into letting them pass anyways.
Once in the city proper, the group immediately headed to Nafay Sabat's home to speak with Fatima. Once there, they removed her corpse from Reed's bag of holding and handed it over to the undying sorceress, much to her delight. She rewarded them with a box full of high-potency healing potions, as well as a blackened bone dagger that instantly killed and drained the life from anyone it rendered unconscious. Charles quickly claimed the knife, and then he and Cheer also claimed the box that everything had come in.
Fatima caught them up on current events in the city: apparently, her former advisor, Zeera, had found her way into the city and had been trying to seize control of the Thieves' Guild, and the battles between the two factions had spilled out onto the streets. Under the guise of restoring order, the Sultan had moved to seize the property of "collaborators," a thinly-veiled attempt to consolidate his power among the noble houses.
To capitalize upon the discord and unrest in the city, Fatima intended to have the group - under the illusionary guise of the sultan's guards - attack three beloved temples, those of Commerce, Love, and Mercy. While this was happening, Fatima planned to attack the Sultan's advisors, killing his most competent one while framing the second-most, ensuring that the Sultan's only advisor would be an idiot. This, in her opinion, would further destabilize the city and help convince the people that it was time for a new regime.
The group complimented her on the plan, then, once they had left Nafay's home, began to discuss whether or not they were actually on board with attacking three different temples of seemingly friendly priests. The discussion went back and forth, with neither of the Tabaxi particularly caring about the long-term fallout given that they only had about ten years of their short lives left. Honu, staring down a few centuries, was more concerned. Eventually, they decided that the risks of upsetting Fatima were too great to back out at this point, and they decided to visit the marketplace to do some shopping and restock on supplies.
At the market, they discovered that Avani, the Tabaxi they had rescued from the desert many months earlier, had taken Calina's initial investment in his business and turned it into a thriving travel emporium. He had driven many of his competitors out of business and had been cutting most of his rations with catnip, which was really driving product among the city's Tabaxi.
The group swung by the Aydeewa Academy so that Calina could purchase some spell components, only to discover that it now had guards, which were put in place by its new headmistress, Jasmine Musad. They were only allowing current students, faculty, and alumni inside, so Calina headed in alone, with Charles sneaking in alongside her. She was able to obtain from the spell components, but learned that Jasmine Musad had tightened regulations considerably and was running things with severe punishments in place for those who defied her authority.
After getting the components she needed, the group went to Calina's home, where they found a letter waiting for her. It bore the traces of magic, so she gave it to Charles to open outside under the suspicion that it would explode... which it did, raking lightning bolts everywhere. He was fortunately able to avoid them all with his quick reflexes. The group assumed that the letter had been sent by Saleel Arif and once again vowed to make him pay.
Calina then settled in to scribe some new spells into her book while the others scouted out the three temples they would be attacking earlier. The temple of Ishbal, the God of Commerce, was well defended by hired guards and priests wearing armor made from metal coins, while the temples of Hartema, Goddess of Mercy, and Rehema, Goddess of Love, seemed like softer targets, with only a few armored guards at the former and none at the latter.
Finally, Cheer, Charles, and Honu paid a visit to the dive bar in the slums that had serves as a meeting place for the Thieves' Guild to check in on things, only to discover that the crowd seemed to be people they hadn't seen before, all of them shifty and giving suspicious looks at the two Tabaxi. They managed to avoid getting attacked thanks to Honu's large presence and made a hasty retreat.
On their way back to Calina's estate, the three of them were stopped by an old man calling himself Devdan, who wanted to hire them to help investigate the Halls of Aldalla, a long-abandoned arcane school in the western desert. The group was suspicious of him, believing that he could be Saleel Arif in disguise, and set up a meeting with him in three days at a nearby fountain.
They returned to Calina's home to meet up with the others, and Cheer and Charles (the latter of whom was still banned from Calina's estate) spent the night sleeping outside the gate in their newly-acquired box.
In the morning, they paid Fatima another visit to discover her in her original body once more, now evidently restored to life. With her dark skin, long black hair, and green eyes peeking out from behind her black silk mask, she certainly overwhelmed the room with her presence. She cast a spell that cloaked the group in an illusion of the sultan's guards and set them loose to attack the indicated temples while she turned her attention to the sultan's advisors.
At this point, the group decided to split up so that they could quickly cut through the "undefended" temples and then regroup to focus their efforts on the temple of commerce. Calina and Cheer attacked the Temple of Rehema, the love goddess, but were surprised to find their former companion, Rivaan, among their number. Their initial assault killed a few of the unclothed priests, but when one of the worshipers transformed into a large snake with rainbow-colored wings, the battle began to turn against them. Calina ended up caught in the serpent's coils, and with the priests healing more damage than they were dealing, Cheer fled in search of assistance, leaving Calina behind.
Meanwhile, at the temple of mercy, Charles, Reed, and Honu came up with a plan to use poison to render one of the two guards unconscious and blind a second. The plan worked well... at first, until it was revealed that the guards were paladins who were capable of removing poisons from their bodies by laying hands upon themselves. Worse yet, the high priest called out to his goddess, Hartema, and animated four of the statues within the temple, providing additional warriors. With numbers against them, the group retreated to seek help... and soon encountered Cheer, who was doing the same.
Since Calina had been taken prisoner, the group returned to the temple of love, where the priests had healed many of their wounds and clad themselves in clothes and armor. Still in their illusionary disguises, the group fought with the priests, eventually killing them despite the numerous healing spells the priests used to tend to their wounds. Rivaan moved between the group, viciously attacking anyone who threatened his friends with the sunsword and poisoned dagger he had recovered months earlier. Eventually, the priests were killed and Rivaan was knocked unconscious. The winged snake attempted to grab Rivaan and fly to safety, but the group killed him at range with surprising spite for someone who had once been their friend.
The second battle at the temple had not gone unnoticed, however, and as the group frantically searched the temple for Calina's things, a mob of angry townsfolk surged into the temple grounds and pressed against its main gates. Honu held the door shut as Calina's spellbook, wand, and other items were eventually discovered, and they fled through a back window as the crowd pelted them with rocks and stones.
With their resources pushed to the limit and many of them wounded, the group pulled back to Calina's estate to rest and tend to their wounds. Only one of the temples had been slaughtered as Fatima had requested, and the group was torn between their doubts that they could take out the other two temples and their fears about what Fatima wound do to them if they failed her.
submitted by Mindshred1 to dndstories [link] [comments]
Cheer the Boisterous, Tabaxi Monk: Cheer is a small Tabaxi with white fur and mismatched blue and green eyes. She is always seen in the company of her brother, Charles, and together, the two of them haunt the alleys outside the Al Walab Jeweler Guild, keeping other thieves away from their "territory."
Charles the Butcher, Tabaxi Rogue: Charles is a small Tabaxi with smoky black fur and mismatched blue and green eyes. He is always accompanied by his sister, Cheer, and together, the two of them haunt the alleys outside the Al Walab Jeweler Guild, keeping other thieves away from their "territory."
Calina St. Clair, Fire Genasi Wizard: Calina is the third child of the St. Clair merchants, an influential family of wealthy nobles in Al Walab. With her inheritance looking less and less likely with each passing year, she expanded her interests into arcane magic and cartography, hoping to find her own fortune in the world.
Honu Chorba, Tortle Ranger: Honu is a seasoned desert traveler who has spent much of his long life among the dunes. He joined the group to assist them in their journeys out of the belief that they would all get lost and die without him.
Reed Ha'saan, Human (Rashed) Artificer: Reed is a Rashed, nomads who wander the desert wastes. He's a tinker and a jeweler who is loosely affiliated with the Jeweler Guild of Al Walab, serving as a member in the (much looser and less prestigious) offshoot of the Guild among the Rashed. He's accompanied by a mechanical crab machine that he built.
Previous Session
Story: Upon returning to Al Walab, the group found themselves stopped at the gates, as the guards claimed that their previous "exempt from all charges" writ from the Sultan was no longer valid. Fortunately, they were able to intimidate the guards into letting them pass anyways.
Once in the city proper, the group immediately headed to Nafay Sabat's home to speak with Fatima. Once there, they removed her corpse from Reed's bag of holding and handed it over to the undying sorceress, much to her delight. She rewarded them with a box full of high-potency healing potions, as well as a blackened bone dagger that instantly killed and drained the life from anyone it rendered unconscious. Charles quickly claimed the knife, and then he and Cheer also claimed the box that everything had come in.
Fatima caught them up on current events in the city: apparently, her former advisor, Zeera, had found her way into the city and had been trying to seize control of the Thieves' Guild, and the battles between the two factions had spilled out onto the streets. Under the guise of restoring order, the Sultan had moved to seize the property of "collaborators," a thinly-veiled attempt to consolidate his power among the noble houses.
To capitalize upon the discord and unrest in the city, Fatima intended to have the group - under the illusionary guise of the sultan's guards - attack three beloved temples, those of Commerce, Love, and Mercy. While this was happening, Fatima planned to attack the Sultan's advisors, killing his most competent one while framing the second-most, ensuring that the Sultan's only advisor would be an idiot. This, in her opinion, would further destabilize the city and help convince the people that it was time for a new regime.
The group complimented her on the plan, then, once they had left Nafay's home, began to discuss whether or not they were actually on board with attacking three different temples of seemingly friendly priests. The discussion went back and forth, with neither of the Tabaxi particularly caring about the long-term fallout given that they only had about ten years of their short lives left. Honu, staring down a few centuries, was more concerned. Eventually, they decided that the risks of upsetting Fatima were too great to back out at this point, and they decided to visit the marketplace to do some shopping and restock on supplies.
At the market, they discovered that Avani, the Tabaxi they had rescued from the desert many months earlier, had taken Calina's initial investment in his business and turned it into a thriving travel emporium. He had driven many of his competitors out of business and had been cutting most of his rations with catnip, which was really driving product among the city's Tabaxi.
The group swung by the Aydeewa Academy so that Calina could purchase some spell components, only to discover that it now had guards, which were put in place by its new headmistress, Jasmine Musad. They were only allowing current students, faculty, and alumni inside, so Calina headed in alone, with Charles sneaking in alongside her. She was able to obtain from the spell components, but learned that Jasmine Musad had tightened regulations considerably and was running things with severe punishments in place for those who defied her authority.
After getting the components she needed, the group went to Calina's home, where they found a letter waiting for her. It bore the traces of magic, so she gave it to Charles to open outside under the suspicion that it would explode... which it did, raking lightning bolts everywhere. He was fortunately able to avoid them all with his quick reflexes. The group assumed that the letter had been sent by Saleel Arif and once again vowed to make him pay.
Calina then settled in to scribe some new spells into her book while the others scouted out the three temples they would be attacking earlier. The temple of Ishbal, the God of Commerce, was well defended by hired guards and priests wearing armor made from metal coins, while the temples of Hartema, Goddess of Mercy, and Rehema, Goddess of Love, seemed like softer targets, with only a few armored guards at the former and none at the latter.
Finally, Cheer, Charles, and Honu paid a visit to the dive bar in the slums that had serves as a meeting place for the Thieves' Guild to check in on things, only to discover that the crowd seemed to be people they hadn't seen before, all of them shifty and giving suspicious looks at the two Tabaxi. They managed to avoid getting attacked thanks to Honu's large presence and made a hasty retreat.
On their way back to Calina's estate, the three of them were stopped by an old man calling himself Devdan, who wanted to hire them to help investigate the Halls of Aldalla, a long-abandoned arcane school in the western desert. The group was suspicious of him, believing that he could be Saleel Arif in disguise, and set up a meeting with him in three days at a nearby fountain.
They returned to Calina's home to meet up with the others, and Cheer and Charles (the latter of whom was still banned from Calina's estate) spent the night sleeping outside the gate in their newly-acquired box.
In the morning, they paid Fatima another visit to discover her in her original body once more, now evidently restored to life. With her dark skin, long black hair, and green eyes peeking out from behind her black silk mask, she certainly overwhelmed the room with her presence. She cast a spell that cloaked the group in an illusion of the sultan's guards and set them loose to attack the indicated temples while she turned her attention to the sultan's advisors.
At this point, the group decided to split up so that they could quickly cut through the "undefended" temples and then regroup to focus their efforts on the temple of commerce. Calina and Cheer attacked the Temple of Rehema, the love goddess, but were surprised to find their former companion, Rivaan, among their number. Their initial assault killed a few of the unclothed priests, but when one of the worshipers transformed into a large snake with rainbow-colored wings, the battle began to turn against them. Calina ended up caught in the serpent's coils, and with the priests healing more damage than they were dealing, Cheer fled in search of assistance, leaving Calina behind.
Meanwhile, at the temple of mercy, Charles, Reed, and Honu came up with a plan to use poison to render one of the two guards unconscious and blind a second. The plan worked well... at first, until it was revealed that the guards were paladins who were capable of removing poisons from their bodies by laying hands upon themselves. Worse yet, the high priest called out to his goddess, Hartema, and animated four of the statues within the temple, providing additional warriors. With numbers against them, the group retreated to seek help... and soon encountered Cheer, who was doing the same.
Since Calina had been taken prisoner, the group returned to the temple of love, where the priests had healed many of their wounds and clad themselves in clothes and armor. Still in their illusionary disguises, the group fought with the priests, eventually killing them despite the numerous healing spells the priests used to tend to their wounds. Rivaan moved between the group, viciously attacking anyone who threatened his friends with the sunsword and poisoned dagger he had recovered months earlier. Eventually, the priests were killed and Rivaan was knocked unconscious. The winged snake attempted to grab Rivaan and fly to safety, but the group killed him at range with surprising spite for someone who had once been their friend.
The second battle at the temple had not gone unnoticed, however, and as the group frantically searched the temple for Calina's things, a mob of angry townsfolk surged into the temple grounds and pressed against its main gates. Honu held the door shut as Calina's spellbook, wand, and other items were eventually discovered, and they fled through a back window as the crowd pelted them with rocks and stones.
With their resources pushed to the limit and many of them wounded, the group pulled back to Calina's estate to rest and tend to their wounds. Only one of the temples had been slaughtered as Fatima had requested, and the group was torn between their doubts that they could take out the other two temples and their fears about what Fatima wound do to them if they failed her.
2023.06.03 23:36 FarmWhich4275 An Alien Plays... Factorio
"Great Days And Glorious Victory! My Name is Spifflemonk aaand welcome to my Letsplay! Today we will be celebrating the recent release of many games to the open market by Humans with a game that was recommended to me many times by my work colleague. Hats off to you Jerry! Today we will start with a game called: Factorio. Okay... Apparently it is a resource management and automation game with a simple graphics component. Let's check some of the reviews."
*Spifflemonk looks at some of the reviews for the game and grows disturbed and confused.*
"Erm.. hmm... Is this a human thing? These reviews are all positive but... all of them say the same thing. The last maybe two hundred reviews all say a different iteration of the same thing. Is this a joke or... am I getting into something bad here?"
*Spiffles screen displays a short scroll of the latest reviews. All of them say something along the lines of: THE FACTORY MUST GROW*
"Well, okay then. I know this game does have mods, I looked earlier to test my game settings and recording software. I will be ignoring all of that for now and focusing only on the 'vanilla' experience, is what the humans call it? I think... Okay well lets get started erm... New Game... Sandbox... oh... this looks complicated. Just go default settings and start."
*The game screen loads fast and the introduction sequence plays, starting with the sound of explosions and a bleep noise, explaining how to win the game. Victory is achieved by launching a rocket with either a satellite or the player in it.*
"So... from what I can tell here, the player, that's this little guy here, needs to build a factory to make rockets to get back into space after crash landing. Okay, how hard can that be?"
*The following hour of gameplay takes place with Spifflemonk learning the controls of the game, getting used to the graphics and doing some exploring. Eventually he actually gets to work, placing his first miner down, and putting his first stone smelter next to it. He spends a few minutes clearing boulders and trees in his crash site and slowly accumulates resources enough to add more miners, eventually setting up his first belt line and assembler after the first hour.*
"Right then! That's good uh... According to this I need to do research by making Science Packs? Okay so... I need to automate red science because hand crafting is.... very slow. Very very slow. Okay then uhh... Iron Gears and Copper plates? That's easy! I will just..."
*Another twenty minutes pass by, seemingly a bit too fast as he finishes hand crafting the first fifty Red Science. Depositing a few of them into a science lab and looking at what research is available.*
"Hmmm... Automation. That's going first, I can build assemblers now. After that maybe... Logistics? What's this? Belt Splitters, Underground Belts and Inserters? Oh look, power generation, that will be needed! I will start with...."
*Two hours pass without Spifflemonks notice as he upgrades and improves, adding production lines to automate the construction of Red Science packs. Finally unlocking Green Science packs.*
"Oohhh this gets a LOT more complicated... I need a mix of multiple resources to make these. Iron Gears, Copper Plates, Iron Plates... Green Circuits?! Where do I get those?! Oh... So... this goes here and that can go..."
*A further forty minutes pass when SpiffleMonk begins to panic as a red triangle with an exclamation point appears on his screen, indicating his factory is taking damage.*
"What? WHAT!? What's that red thing, is that some kind of alarm!? Okay uhh... let me just go see what it is then."
*Spifflemonk hastily runs towards the noise to find the games enemies: the Bug Hives of Nauvis attacking his Copper mines.*
"What are those things? AAHH STOP EATING MY MINERS!!! Oh gods oh gods where.. do i have a weapon or... I do have a gun! Okay uhhh... Shoot!"
*Spiffle fumbles but eventually finds the shoot button, and three of the six aliens chewing on his base get killed. He does however run out of ammunition for his simple pistol, and the aliens redirect their attention to his character.*
"What? Why isn't it firi-I'm out of bullets? This needs bullets?! Wait, wait NO-"
*A group of six aliens attack him and kill his character, resulting in a game over screen. The game automatically deletes his save file, as the difficulty is set to hardcore.*
"FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-"
*His channel outro plays.*
TOP COMMENT: "THE FACTORY MUST GROW."
__________________________________________
"Great Days And Glorious Victory! My Name is Spifflemonk aaand welcome to my Letsplay! Today we are going to try Factorio out again. Last time did not go well. BUT I have a better knowledge about the game and one of the first things I know to do is make ammunition! I know Im not alone here this time so I can prepare for it. Lets play!"
*Game starts with the same settings as the previous time, Spifflemonk wastes no time and clears the local area of trees and rocks and immediately starts automation as quickly as he can. Within two hours, he is roughly close to where he was when he got killed last time.*
"Right! I looked more at the research options and found better gun, better bullets and automated ammo production. As you can see, its green science, red science and as you can see, the first few bits of Military science are just coming off the assembly line. I was told from the last comments... aside from the crazy chanting... I needed to get walls, gun turrets and other things, and try not to pick a fight."
*Spifflemonk continues gameplay for a further hour or so before that all too familiar signal blares, the red triangle with an exclamation mark appears.*
"AHA!!! Now we will see who's the boss in this factory! Have at thee!"
*Spifflemonk heads towards the target and encounters a group of eight enemies, who he easily deals with. After replacing tw destroyed miners, he resumes working and begins to automate oil processing.*
"What is oil in this game? Is it like balm oil or something? Do humans use handwashing agents as industrial machinery? What is oil in this... hold on let me see something..."
*Spifflemonk pauses his gameplay and reads out an article on crude oil and fossil fuel industry, then a follow up article on plastic.*
"Plastic... and petroleum. Well thats... okay. Well we have something similar but we generally used hydrogen and stuff. I don't even know if my homeworld has the same... we never needed it. We mostly use ceramics and stuff as well as silicon based industry so... we don't have plastic in our industry. Wood and a sort of bitumen substance is the closest we have to your human coal and we have no crude oil processing at all so... no plastic. Is that why human circuitry processing is so cheap? Plastics?"
*Spifflemonk makes a note to do some research later on and carries on with automation. Eventually about an hour or so after starting to produce plastic bars, the alert sound rings ut again and Spifflemonk charges out to meet the new enemy.*
"Okay let's go! I'm still making bullets and guns so I should be HOLY CRAP!"
*Spifflemonk arrives and is swarmed by an army of around three dozen or so enemies, and is killed while attempting to run away. Once again, his save is still in hardcore mode, so he dies, a game over screen occurs, and his save is deleted.*
"FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-"
*The gameplay ends and Spiffles outro plays out as normal. However it seems as though the audio wasn't properly edited and a number of seriously bad curse words and slurs can be faintly heard in the background.*
TOP COMMENT: "Hardcore mode? I think you should turn it off in your gameplay settings dude. Hardcore mode is something players of only like maybe 150 hours or more would attempt. In any case, good effort! Build walls, turrets, get secured asap next time. Subbed and liked!"
_______________________________________________________
"Great Days And Glorious Victory! My Name is Spifflemonk aaand welcome to my Letsplay! Today it's going to be Factorio again!"
*The channel intro plays and the screen cuts to a factory that seems already built.*
"On the recommendation of some of my subscribers, thank you all by the way, I have turned hardcore mode off and started building walls and defenses. This game looked so stupidly simple I had no idea just how... intricate it really is. So this time instead of taking you all through the long and boring i have pre buit my base and as you can see I have started producing the first batches of Blue Science, and have here something humans have in real life apparently: Trains!"
*A quick overview of the base is shown, followed by a short montage of the bases construction. A blueprint is outlined for later construction that produces Purple Science and logistics robots, along with a side factory that makes various other things such as belts and assemblers. The factory however, is a mess made of spaghetti, with obvious bottlenecks and mishmashes of belts.*
"I think i'm getting the hang of this game! Okay so, let's go see what we can do. And before you ask, yes I have already died twice while building this place."
*An hour or so of gameplay follows, with Spiffle checking and rechecking his factory, adding bits here and there, putting more belts in, and having a short pseudo aneurysm while figuring out the intricacies of the blueprint upgrader before finally arriving at his newly built train.*
"According to humans and the Factorio guide, trains are a long term, long range logistics solution that replaces belts across long distances. Humans apparently had these things for hundreds of years, in real life. They still operate today apparently, you can find a few of these 'railway networks' on Earth and other colonies. This will be the first time we use one. I had no idea how to automate this so I had to watch a guide so, don't judge me. So... let's go!"
*Spifflemonk enters the train and opens the UI to start the automation sequence. The train spools up then charges round corners at breakneck speeds and arrives at a train stop for a Stone Mine several miles away from his main base. As instructed in the guide, the train loads up on stone and once full, charges back at blistering speed back to his main base. He is a little bit too giddy at the result."
"WHY DON'T WE HAVE THESE!? That was amazing! No seriously, Council of Elders, ask the humans if we can borrow some of their trains. This would have solved SO many problems back in the day! SO many problems! Look how much this thing can carry!"
*Gameplay stops, Spifflemonks Outro plays. The next video he releases is a two and a half hour long video essay entitled: "Why we need to beg humans for trains' and receives nearly half a billion views.*
TOP COMMENT: "Seriously? You guys dont have trains? I'd love to know how that actually worked for you guys to get to space or do mass transit. I can recommend a few games if you want."
__________________________________________________________
"Great Days And Glorious Victory! My Name is Spifflemonk aaand welcome to my Letsplay! Today we are back with: You guessed it, Factorio! Last time was a solid... month I think between that episode and my last upload. That was because I was trying out a train for myself! I went to the human colony of Epsilon Eridani nearby and tried a train. Best thing ever. Why don't we have those? Anyway, today on Factorio it's time for expansion!"
*Spifflemonks intro plays and a further overview of the factory is played, showing a separated train network with multiple railway sections with up to 30 trains running at once. Further advancements have been made, with a series of blueprints laid out and half completed for the production of yellow science.*
"As you can see I did some off camera work here. I do read your comments, I will try to make my videos, especially on these games, slightly shorter. And also, I checked the reviews again. I'm starting to understand where you are coming from. Factory must grow. From players with upwards of two thousand hours. With how short lived humans are you'd expect the to not spend two thousand hours playing a game, now would you."
*Sheepishly displays his own time of one hundred and thirty four hours, before returning to the game*
"So anyway. Today, as far as I can tell from the research queue, is the last day we will play as I am not that far off from-"
*Spifflemonk is interrupted by several attack alerts, noticing on his map that there are several attacks going at once across his frontline. Spiffle assumes all is well and ignores it. A minute later, he starts noticing that Copper production has stopped, and looks up again at his mining outpost to notice there is a truly MASSIVE biter army overwhelming and obliterating everything there. He panics and subsequently dies six times trying to take the biters out.*
*In the ensuing chaos Spifflemonks base is seriously damaged with Green circuits and Blue circuit factories being destroyed, part of his ammo production line is cut and four of his trains destroyed too. The entire north and north east face of his base is completely destroyed. The equivalent of twelve hours of work lost, to the tune of maybe another thirty minutes to an hour of replacing everything the biters destroyed.*
"Thats... thats just plain evil! How am... how am I supposed to beat that!? There were thousands of them! Okay, screw this, I am reloading a save!"
*Spifflemonk reloads the save and tries again. He redirects his attention to strengthening his defenses, doubling the number of turrets and strengthening his defensive line. The biters attack again, and this time Spiffle barely, very barely, makes it out with no major losses.*
"This is insane... absolutely insane! Okay... I get it. I need more guns. The rocket will have to wait I guess. So what do i- Flamethrower turret? What's a flamethrower?"
*Spifflemonk looks up the concept, unfortunately clicking on the wrong link and showing what flamethrowers were used for in the Vietnam war and World War Two. He has a slight panic attack and ends the video there.*
TOP COMMENT: Save Scumming is a legitimate tactic when you are a new guy. No issues dude, fight on. And flamethrowers? Yeah... did you know there's a thing called Incendiary Bombs? That's fun!
________________________________________
"Great Days And Glorious Victory! My Name is Spifflemonk aaand welcome to my Letsplay! Today we are back in Factorio. I have sent a special message to the Council about… Flamethrowers… and yes they scare me too. So today its more Factorio. I have done some off camera work so we can skip straight to the point. Seventeen hours later… I am starting to understand why some people have upwards of a thousand hours in this game. Why does it seem to… Anyway.”
*The channel intro plays and an overview of the factory is shown, with the last shot ending with Spifflemonk standing next to the Launch Silo for the endgame rocket. It isn't ready for launch yet, but it appears all the components are where they need to be.*
“Okay then, uhh… here we go!”
*Spifflemonk connects the last belt line to where it needs to be and resources begin to flow. He follows the connection to a series of a dozen assemblers, oil refineries, chemical processors and explains as he goes to tell the viewer what each machine set does. After a few minutes, the first Rocket Control Components have been made and the progress on the silo goes up.*
“It is a little slow but thats okay, room to expand and grow! In any case, this should be done shortly. OOhhh look at that!”
*Spifflemonk watches with the depression of a kid in a candy store with an unlimited budget as the animation plays of the rocket emerging from its silo.*
“Well… uhh… I assume I enter it just like the train I guess…”
*Spiffle enters and launches the rocket. The endgame scene plays, and Spiffle earns some steam achievements for the game.*
“YES!!! YES BY THE GODS YES!!! Finally! I am finished! OH… how long did it take to finish my first - A HUNDRED AND EIGHTY FOUR HOURS!? How… How is it possible this game took so much of my attention?!Uhh… Wow. So.. I guess mods are next. Any suggestions in the comments? Thanks for watching!”
*The channel outro plays as Spiffle stares blankly at the screen showing his playtime with the game.*
TOP COMMENT: Only a hundred and eighty hours? Dude, rookie numbers. You should try mods next time. Just quality of life stuff like stack sizes or Supersonic Trains. Then, after you've launched a couple more rockets - go for broke and install the Space Exploration modpack. THAT… that modpack is pure agony.
submitted by FarmWhich4275 to HFY [link] [comments]
*Spifflemonk looks at some of the reviews for the game and grows disturbed and confused.*
"Erm.. hmm... Is this a human thing? These reviews are all positive but... all of them say the same thing. The last maybe two hundred reviews all say a different iteration of the same thing. Is this a joke or... am I getting into something bad here?"
*Spiffles screen displays a short scroll of the latest reviews. All of them say something along the lines of: THE FACTORY MUST GROW*
"Well, okay then. I know this game does have mods, I looked earlier to test my game settings and recording software. I will be ignoring all of that for now and focusing only on the 'vanilla' experience, is what the humans call it? I think... Okay well lets get started erm... New Game... Sandbox... oh... this looks complicated. Just go default settings and start."
*The game screen loads fast and the introduction sequence plays, starting with the sound of explosions and a bleep noise, explaining how to win the game. Victory is achieved by launching a rocket with either a satellite or the player in it.*
"So... from what I can tell here, the player, that's this little guy here, needs to build a factory to make rockets to get back into space after crash landing. Okay, how hard can that be?"
*The following hour of gameplay takes place with Spifflemonk learning the controls of the game, getting used to the graphics and doing some exploring. Eventually he actually gets to work, placing his first miner down, and putting his first stone smelter next to it. He spends a few minutes clearing boulders and trees in his crash site and slowly accumulates resources enough to add more miners, eventually setting up his first belt line and assembler after the first hour.*
"Right then! That's good uh... According to this I need to do research by making Science Packs? Okay so... I need to automate red science because hand crafting is.... very slow. Very very slow. Okay then uhh... Iron Gears and Copper plates? That's easy! I will just..."
*Another twenty minutes pass by, seemingly a bit too fast as he finishes hand crafting the first fifty Red Science. Depositing a few of them into a science lab and looking at what research is available.*
"Hmmm... Automation. That's going first, I can build assemblers now. After that maybe... Logistics? What's this? Belt Splitters, Underground Belts and Inserters? Oh look, power generation, that will be needed! I will start with...."
*Two hours pass without Spifflemonks notice as he upgrades and improves, adding production lines to automate the construction of Red Science packs. Finally unlocking Green Science packs.*
"Oohhh this gets a LOT more complicated... I need a mix of multiple resources to make these. Iron Gears, Copper Plates, Iron Plates... Green Circuits?! Where do I get those?! Oh... So... this goes here and that can go..."
*A further forty minutes pass when SpiffleMonk begins to panic as a red triangle with an exclamation point appears on his screen, indicating his factory is taking damage.*
"What? WHAT!? What's that red thing, is that some kind of alarm!? Okay uhh... let me just go see what it is then."
*Spifflemonk hastily runs towards the noise to find the games enemies: the Bug Hives of Nauvis attacking his Copper mines.*
"What are those things? AAHH STOP EATING MY MINERS!!! Oh gods oh gods where.. do i have a weapon or... I do have a gun! Okay uhhh... Shoot!"
*Spiffle fumbles but eventually finds the shoot button, and three of the six aliens chewing on his base get killed. He does however run out of ammunition for his simple pistol, and the aliens redirect their attention to his character.*
"What? Why isn't it firi-I'm out of bullets? This needs bullets?! Wait, wait NO-"
*A group of six aliens attack him and kill his character, resulting in a game over screen. The game automatically deletes his save file, as the difficulty is set to hardcore.*
"FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-"
*His channel outro plays.*
TOP COMMENT: "THE FACTORY MUST GROW."
__________________________________________
"Great Days And Glorious Victory! My Name is Spifflemonk aaand welcome to my Letsplay! Today we are going to try Factorio out again. Last time did not go well. BUT I have a better knowledge about the game and one of the first things I know to do is make ammunition! I know Im not alone here this time so I can prepare for it. Lets play!"
*Game starts with the same settings as the previous time, Spifflemonk wastes no time and clears the local area of trees and rocks and immediately starts automation as quickly as he can. Within two hours, he is roughly close to where he was when he got killed last time.*
"Right! I looked more at the research options and found better gun, better bullets and automated ammo production. As you can see, its green science, red science and as you can see, the first few bits of Military science are just coming off the assembly line. I was told from the last comments... aside from the crazy chanting... I needed to get walls, gun turrets and other things, and try not to pick a fight."
*Spifflemonk continues gameplay for a further hour or so before that all too familiar signal blares, the red triangle with an exclamation mark appears.*
"AHA!!! Now we will see who's the boss in this factory! Have at thee!"
*Spifflemonk heads towards the target and encounters a group of eight enemies, who he easily deals with. After replacing tw destroyed miners, he resumes working and begins to automate oil processing.*
"What is oil in this game? Is it like balm oil or something? Do humans use handwashing agents as industrial machinery? What is oil in this... hold on let me see something..."
*Spifflemonk pauses his gameplay and reads out an article on crude oil and fossil fuel industry, then a follow up article on plastic.*
"Plastic... and petroleum. Well thats... okay. Well we have something similar but we generally used hydrogen and stuff. I don't even know if my homeworld has the same... we never needed it. We mostly use ceramics and stuff as well as silicon based industry so... we don't have plastic in our industry. Wood and a sort of bitumen substance is the closest we have to your human coal and we have no crude oil processing at all so... no plastic. Is that why human circuitry processing is so cheap? Plastics?"
*Spifflemonk makes a note to do some research later on and carries on with automation. Eventually about an hour or so after starting to produce plastic bars, the alert sound rings ut again and Spifflemonk charges out to meet the new enemy.*
"Okay let's go! I'm still making bullets and guns so I should be HOLY CRAP!"
*Spifflemonk arrives and is swarmed by an army of around three dozen or so enemies, and is killed while attempting to run away. Once again, his save is still in hardcore mode, so he dies, a game over screen occurs, and his save is deleted.*
"FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-"
*The gameplay ends and Spiffles outro plays out as normal. However it seems as though the audio wasn't properly edited and a number of seriously bad curse words and slurs can be faintly heard in the background.*
TOP COMMENT: "Hardcore mode? I think you should turn it off in your gameplay settings dude. Hardcore mode is something players of only like maybe 150 hours or more would attempt. In any case, good effort! Build walls, turrets, get secured asap next time. Subbed and liked!"
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"Great Days And Glorious Victory! My Name is Spifflemonk aaand welcome to my Letsplay! Today it's going to be Factorio again!"
*The channel intro plays and the screen cuts to a factory that seems already built.*
"On the recommendation of some of my subscribers, thank you all by the way, I have turned hardcore mode off and started building walls and defenses. This game looked so stupidly simple I had no idea just how... intricate it really is. So this time instead of taking you all through the long and boring i have pre buit my base and as you can see I have started producing the first batches of Blue Science, and have here something humans have in real life apparently: Trains!"
*A quick overview of the base is shown, followed by a short montage of the bases construction. A blueprint is outlined for later construction that produces Purple Science and logistics robots, along with a side factory that makes various other things such as belts and assemblers. The factory however, is a mess made of spaghetti, with obvious bottlenecks and mishmashes of belts.*
"I think i'm getting the hang of this game! Okay so, let's go see what we can do. And before you ask, yes I have already died twice while building this place."
*An hour or so of gameplay follows, with Spiffle checking and rechecking his factory, adding bits here and there, putting more belts in, and having a short pseudo aneurysm while figuring out the intricacies of the blueprint upgrader before finally arriving at his newly built train.*
"According to humans and the Factorio guide, trains are a long term, long range logistics solution that replaces belts across long distances. Humans apparently had these things for hundreds of years, in real life. They still operate today apparently, you can find a few of these 'railway networks' on Earth and other colonies. This will be the first time we use one. I had no idea how to automate this so I had to watch a guide so, don't judge me. So... let's go!"
*Spifflemonk enters the train and opens the UI to start the automation sequence. The train spools up then charges round corners at breakneck speeds and arrives at a train stop for a Stone Mine several miles away from his main base. As instructed in the guide, the train loads up on stone and once full, charges back at blistering speed back to his main base. He is a little bit too giddy at the result."
"WHY DON'T WE HAVE THESE!? That was amazing! No seriously, Council of Elders, ask the humans if we can borrow some of their trains. This would have solved SO many problems back in the day! SO many problems! Look how much this thing can carry!"
*Gameplay stops, Spifflemonks Outro plays. The next video he releases is a two and a half hour long video essay entitled: "Why we need to beg humans for trains' and receives nearly half a billion views.*
TOP COMMENT: "Seriously? You guys dont have trains? I'd love to know how that actually worked for you guys to get to space or do mass transit. I can recommend a few games if you want."
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"Great Days And Glorious Victory! My Name is Spifflemonk aaand welcome to my Letsplay! Today we are back with: You guessed it, Factorio! Last time was a solid... month I think between that episode and my last upload. That was because I was trying out a train for myself! I went to the human colony of Epsilon Eridani nearby and tried a train. Best thing ever. Why don't we have those? Anyway, today on Factorio it's time for expansion!"
*Spifflemonks intro plays and a further overview of the factory is played, showing a separated train network with multiple railway sections with up to 30 trains running at once. Further advancements have been made, with a series of blueprints laid out and half completed for the production of yellow science.*
"As you can see I did some off camera work here. I do read your comments, I will try to make my videos, especially on these games, slightly shorter. And also, I checked the reviews again. I'm starting to understand where you are coming from. Factory must grow. From players with upwards of two thousand hours. With how short lived humans are you'd expect the to not spend two thousand hours playing a game, now would you."
*Sheepishly displays his own time of one hundred and thirty four hours, before returning to the game*
"So anyway. Today, as far as I can tell from the research queue, is the last day we will play as I am not that far off from-"
*Spifflemonk is interrupted by several attack alerts, noticing on his map that there are several attacks going at once across his frontline. Spiffle assumes all is well and ignores it. A minute later, he starts noticing that Copper production has stopped, and looks up again at his mining outpost to notice there is a truly MASSIVE biter army overwhelming and obliterating everything there. He panics and subsequently dies six times trying to take the biters out.*
*In the ensuing chaos Spifflemonks base is seriously damaged with Green circuits and Blue circuit factories being destroyed, part of his ammo production line is cut and four of his trains destroyed too. The entire north and north east face of his base is completely destroyed. The equivalent of twelve hours of work lost, to the tune of maybe another thirty minutes to an hour of replacing everything the biters destroyed.*
"Thats... thats just plain evil! How am... how am I supposed to beat that!? There were thousands of them! Okay, screw this, I am reloading a save!"
*Spifflemonk reloads the save and tries again. He redirects his attention to strengthening his defenses, doubling the number of turrets and strengthening his defensive line. The biters attack again, and this time Spiffle barely, very barely, makes it out with no major losses.*
"This is insane... absolutely insane! Okay... I get it. I need more guns. The rocket will have to wait I guess. So what do i- Flamethrower turret? What's a flamethrower?"
*Spifflemonk looks up the concept, unfortunately clicking on the wrong link and showing what flamethrowers were used for in the Vietnam war and World War Two. He has a slight panic attack and ends the video there.*
TOP COMMENT: Save Scumming is a legitimate tactic when you are a new guy. No issues dude, fight on. And flamethrowers? Yeah... did you know there's a thing called Incendiary Bombs? That's fun!
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"Great Days And Glorious Victory! My Name is Spifflemonk aaand welcome to my Letsplay! Today we are back in Factorio. I have sent a special message to the Council about… Flamethrowers… and yes they scare me too. So today its more Factorio. I have done some off camera work so we can skip straight to the point. Seventeen hours later… I am starting to understand why some people have upwards of a thousand hours in this game. Why does it seem to… Anyway.”
*The channel intro plays and an overview of the factory is shown, with the last shot ending with Spifflemonk standing next to the Launch Silo for the endgame rocket. It isn't ready for launch yet, but it appears all the components are where they need to be.*
“Okay then, uhh… here we go!”
*Spifflemonk connects the last belt line to where it needs to be and resources begin to flow. He follows the connection to a series of a dozen assemblers, oil refineries, chemical processors and explains as he goes to tell the viewer what each machine set does. After a few minutes, the first Rocket Control Components have been made and the progress on the silo goes up.*
“It is a little slow but thats okay, room to expand and grow! In any case, this should be done shortly. OOhhh look at that!”
*Spifflemonk watches with the depression of a kid in a candy store with an unlimited budget as the animation plays of the rocket emerging from its silo.*
“Well… uhh… I assume I enter it just like the train I guess…”
*Spiffle enters and launches the rocket. The endgame scene plays, and Spiffle earns some steam achievements for the game.*
“YES!!! YES BY THE GODS YES!!! Finally! I am finished! OH… how long did it take to finish my first - A HUNDRED AND EIGHTY FOUR HOURS!? How… How is it possible this game took so much of my attention?!Uhh… Wow. So.. I guess mods are next. Any suggestions in the comments? Thanks for watching!”
*The channel outro plays as Spiffle stares blankly at the screen showing his playtime with the game.*
TOP COMMENT: Only a hundred and eighty hours? Dude, rookie numbers. You should try mods next time. Just quality of life stuff like stack sizes or Supersonic Trains. Then, after you've launched a couple more rockets - go for broke and install the Space Exploration modpack. THAT… that modpack is pure agony.
2023.06.03 23:32 sjanevardsson Damned Bureaucracy
The small cargo ship, in the default medium grey, was wholly unremarkable. The same and similar made up the fleets of corporate and private couriers, with the result that it was not surprising to see it anywhere.
The anonymity and ability to blend in served Sidra well…usually. This station, run by the hyper-bureaucratic aslodzhins was the exception. The “bugs,” as many humans called them, had their own ways of doing things and didn’t like a “squishy,” as they called humans and other endoskeletal beings in their own language, upsetting the order.
“Private vessel Hobby Horse, please state the purpose of your visit and expected duration.”
“Station 47 control, I say again: PV Hobby Horse requesting permission to dock in an out-of-the-way small cargo dock for fueling. Expected visit duration no more than a week…seven standard days, but no less than an hour.”
“PV Hobby Horse, docking for fuel cleared at Lock 7-16. All passengers and crew are required to wait inside the vehicle until security arrives to clear you. …Cracked-shell squishy thinks they can—” The controller’s voice cut out as they must have noticed they were still transmitting.
“Thank you, station 47 control. Docking at Lock 7-16. Squishy out….”
Sidra expected one or two security to show up to clear her to enter the station, instead, there were a dozen. She opened the airlock and waited inside. “Come on in.”
The leader, obvious by the shiny, silver emblem in the center of its blast armor, stepped in, followed by two others that made a quick inspection of the ship to verify the claim of no other persons aboard. The brown color of the leader’s head carapace marked them as a drone, while the black carapaces were male and bright blue were female.
Sidra extended a hand. “Sidra Boston; captain, owner, pilot, and sole crew of the Hobby Horse. Welcome to my home.”
“Sub-adjutant-lieutenant-detachment-commander Slivdzak.” The officer looked at her extended hand and grasped it with one their six manipulators.
“Pleasure to meet you, Slivdzak. How can I help?” Sidra felt a secret rush of joy at the way the officer tried and failed to hide their discomfort. She knew that the lack of carapace was as disconcerting to them as the feel of a surprise tarantula crawling on the neck was to humans.
“Captain Sidra Boston—”
“Please, just call me Sid. Drop all the Captain and Boston stuff.”
“Sid, you have not made clear the purpose of your ‘one-hour to seven-day’ stay. Please elaborate.”
“I’m meeting someone here and taking them home.”
The officer looked at a small device it carried. A hologram rose from it, her close-cropped black hair, medium-brown skin, large, green eyes, and humped nose obvious. Beneath the hologram was writing in the bugs’ script. “Are you not a hunter of bounties?”
“Well, if that’s what you want to call it, I guess.”
“Such activity is only allowed in teams of three or more by aslodzhin law 9314-27.664 and safety regulations 647-88.932 and 90991-17.0. In addition, at least one of the team must be aslodzhin.”
“That’s kind of speciesist, isn’t it?”
“The courts have allowed for permanent residents of aslodzhin space to fill the requirements where applicable, in accordance with Galactic Union Resolution on the Rights of Sapients, 74.23.08 Paragraph 12.”
“Great, good to hear. Problem is, I work alone and I’m not after a bug.” She shrugged. “You know how we squishies are.”
“Station command has already decreed that you are not to leave your vessel without the two members chosen for you.” The officer raised to its full height, its head carapace close to scraping the ceiling. “Your team will be here soon. Good day, Captain Sidra Boston.”
“Good day, sub-whatever-whatchamacallit Sliv.”
After the security detail left, she stepped out of the ship to check on the refueling. No sooner had her foot set down outside the airlock than she found herself in the crosshairs of two armed security guards that had been standing out of sight.
“They aren’t kidding about not leaving without a team, huh? Damned bureaucracy.” She stepped back inside the ship and sat on the floor to await her babysitters.
When her team arrived, she was surprised by the presence of the furred, six-limbed hikarin hemi-male. He was easily head and shoulders taller than her, but slight of build, and thin-boned, coming from a lower-gravity world.
The aslodzhin female didn’t surprise her, even in her law enforcement uniform. She wore a red symbol on the chest of her uniform.
Sidra stood. “Okay guys, I’m Sid, and this is my job. You do what I say and stay out of the way we’ll get along fine. You,” she said, pointing at the aslodzhin female, “change out of that uniform. You’ll scare off my skip.”
“Sid, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m senior-squad-chief Dliz, and this is Soolyasin.” Dliz extended a manipulator for a shake and Sidra obliged. Dliz’s compound eyes rotated in a way Sidra didn’t know they could, and she showed frank wonder at the feel of a hand in her manipulator. “Could you do that again?” she asked.
“Do what?”
“You moved your hand, and I could feel the muscles flex…yes! That’s it!” Dliz laughed. “That’s the neatest feeling ever!”
“Am I the first squishy you’ve met?”
“Oh, no. I’ve known Sool since I was a nymph.” Dliz continued to hold on to Sidra’s hand.
“How about humans?” Sidra raised an eyebrow and tried to extricate herself from the increasingly awkward handshake.
“Yes. I mean, I’ve seen plenty passing through, but never met one.” Dliz let go and uttered a quiet apology.
Soolyasin stepped forward. He was dressed in technician’s clothes, complete with tool belt. “You’ll have to forgive Dliz. She’s a fan of bounty hunters in general, and you in particular.”
“Shush.” Dliz stood straight up at attention on her four hind legs, her head scraping the ceiling, her three left manipulators raised in a salute. “What are your orders, Sid?”
“First order of business, you need to lose the uniform and dress in something less conspicuous. Sool, is that a disguise?”
“No, these are my work clothes. When Dliz called I ran straight here.”
“That’s fine. You’ll blend in, no trouble.” Sidra put on a ballistic vest and covered it with a loose jacket. She checked that she had cuffs, shackles, bench warrant, and badge.
She turned toward Dliz. “Do you have a ballistic vest?”
“I have a carapace; I’m not a squishy.”
“Will your carapace stop a slug from a weapon like this?” Sidra held up a high-powered, 6mm rifle.
“Um, no. I have armor, though.”
“Can you wear it under clothes?”
“Yes, but it’s against the regulations.”
“Screw the rules, wear your armor…under your clothes.” She muttered under her breath, “Damned bureaucracy.”
Sidra turned toward Soolyasin. “I think I have a vest that’ll fit you.”
He looked at Sidra, then Dliz, then back again. “Is it going to be that dangerous?”
Sidra showed them the bench warrant. Soolyasin’s eyes grew wide and Dliz’s eyes rolled in a different way to earlier. Sidra thought she might be able to read bug emotions if this kept up.
“You were going after a turgen terrorist by yourself?” he asked.
“Still am. Just don’t want to see my babysitters get hurt.” She turned to look at Dliz. “Dliz, relax. You don’t have to stand at attention. I need you to tell me which of these weapons you’ll let me carry on the station.”
Dliz settled back down onto six legs and looked over the cabinet Sidra had unlocked. In addition to the rifle, she had pistols, tasers, batons, knives, and a shotgun with less-lethal beanbag loads along with standard loads.
“Which of them are capable of breaching the station hull?”
“The 6-mil, and the shotgun, if I loaded it with steel shot or slugs instead of beanbags.” She didn’t mention that the 10mm pistols were just as likely to do the same damage, but she wasn’t going out without at least one lethal weapon.
“In that case, leave the rifle and lethal shotgun rounds behind. I’ll be carrying a beam weapon, too, so we should be covered.”
“What about me?” Soolyasin asked.
“The only thing I need you to do is stay out of the way. Unless I need some inconspicuous eyes in the bay.”
After fitting Soolyasin with a ballistic vest and Dliz getting into civilian clothes over her armor, much to her dismay, they moved to the main cargo bays where they expected their quarry to show. Sidra positioned them so that she could watch arrivals, Dliz could watch her back, and Soolyasin could stay well out of the way unless and until needed.
The first hour went by at glacial speed, with constant interruptions from Dliz and Soolyasin asking questions or pointing at every passerby that might be a turgen in disguise. The next two hours dragged compared to the first.
It was in the middle of the fourth hour that Sidra got notice that the ship carrying her quarry was docking. She moved them to cover the lock where it pulled in, granting them a view on both the personnel airlock and the cargo airlock.
A much smaller contingent of security met the ship, cleared the crew for the station, and left. Four crewmembers, all turgen, filed off. Larger than humans in bulk, grey skin covered with hard dermal denticles, they had two arms, two legs, the remnants of a dorsal fin, and a long, flat tail with which they could do bone-breaking damage.
Sidra waited. If he was going to sneak off the ship, he’d need to do it soon. When it became apparent that he wasn’t going to get out on his own, she radioed Soolyasin.
“Okay, Sool. It’s clear around the ship. Just carry your tool case and walk onboard like you belong there. You’ve seen his picture, if you see him, run. If there’s anyone else on the ship, just tell them you’re checking the fuel gauges because of some regulation or other.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. You got this, and I’ve got your back.”
Soolyasin walked onto the ship, and they could hear him in their headsets, “Hello? Anyone here? I need to check your fuel gauges. Hello?”
A few quiet moments passed before Soolyasin spoke up again. “There’s no one else here,” he said, “I’m co—” His voice was cut off by the sound of a heavy thud.
Sidra ran for the ship, pulling her shotgun into firing position and cycling a round into the chamber. She stopped at the door of the ship and called inside. “Give it up, Otto. The only way you’re leaving here is in cuffs.”
When she didn’t hear anything else, she moved to clear the corners. She looked right where the door to the cockpit was closed. She swiveled around to check the other side only to find it empty as well. “Dliz, move up and cover the exit. The cargo airlock hasn’t been cycled, so this is the only way off.”
She began to move down the passageway when she heard the cockpit door click behind her. She swung around a delivered a 12-gauge beanbag into Otto’s gut at near point-blank range. Rather than stopping him, it enraged him. He turned and swiped at her with his tail.
Sidra tried to dodge out the way, but he managed to knock the shotgun out of her hands. He picked it up and threw it behind himself into the cockpit, next to the limp form of Soolyasin. “Time to go away, bounty hunter.”
He began to move toward her. When he stepped in front of the open door, he was met with a concentrated beam of infrared energy that forced him to jump back. “Listen, soft-skin. You leave now, and I’ll throw your friend out. It’s your one chance to leave alive.”
She drew her 10mm pistol and pointed it at him. “And if I don’t?”
He started toward her again, then stopped when the beam almost connected. “I’ll start by killing your furry friend, then your trigger-happy friend, then you…but nice and slow. There’s no way you’re taking me to a human prison.”
Sidra couldn’t see Dliz, but from the angle of the last beam, she’d moved to where she had more coverage of the passageway toward the cockpit. She knew that if he wanted, he could ignore the burns and rush her, crushing her carapace in a thousand different ways. Her shotgun was far out of reach, not to mention ineffective, but the 10mm pistol was a comforting weight in her hand.
Otto turned his back on her, his tail swishing wildly, smashing against the bulkheads on each side of the passage. “Very well, then. On to killing your furry friend first.”
“I’m warning you, Otto, these are lethal rounds. Put your hands behind your head, your tail between your legs, and drop to your knees.”
By the time Otto had taken a step, Sidra had taken aim and fired a shot into his torso and another into his thigh. He stopped and turned to look at her, bright pink blood running down his leg and back. He laughed. “You’re going to be so much fun.”
The courts tended to look down on spinal injuries, but when a round in the torso and thigh didn’t slow him down, she didn’t feel like she had much choice. She took aim again and fired at the base of his tail. His tail dropped like a dead weight, and he cried out.
The pain dropped him to his knees. Sidra finished the motion by jumping between his shoulder blades to put him flat on the deck. She cuffed his hands behind his back, and secured his ankles with shackles before motioning Dliz to come in.
“Call for medical for Sool and for the idiot here.”
Dliz made the call and medical teams arrived in less than a minute.
“Damn,” Sidra said, “I guess bureaucracy is good for something after all.”
Soolyasin was awake by the time he was loaded onto a stretcher. There didn’t seem to be any broken bones, but he’d been thrown rather hard by Otto’s tail strike. “Sorry I wasn’t any help,” he said.
“Nonsense. I’m sorry I sent you in there and you got hurt. I’m splitting the bounty three ways, even across with both of you.”
“I can’t take any payment,” Dliz said. “It’s against the regulations for police to have any outside earnings.”
“You saved my bacon, though. If you hadn’t been enough of an inconvenience with the beam, he would’ve tail swiped me before I could draw.”
“Still can’t accept any payments or monetary gifts.”
“How about this? You two have been friends forever, right? I’ll pay your portion to Sool, and he can treat you to fancy dinners for the rest of your life.”
“Wha...how much is the bounty?”
“Three-point-seven million Terran credits. About sixteen million galactic.”
Dliz’s eyes rolled in yet another motion. “Damned bureaucracy.”
Reedsy Prompt: Write about someone who has always done something as part of a group, and is now starting to set out solo, or vice versa.
Story published here.
submitted by sjanevardsson to HFY [link] [comments]
The anonymity and ability to blend in served Sidra well…usually. This station, run by the hyper-bureaucratic aslodzhins was the exception. The “bugs,” as many humans called them, had their own ways of doing things and didn’t like a “squishy,” as they called humans and other endoskeletal beings in their own language, upsetting the order.
“Private vessel Hobby Horse, please state the purpose of your visit and expected duration.”
“Station 47 control, I say again: PV Hobby Horse requesting permission to dock in an out-of-the-way small cargo dock for fueling. Expected visit duration no more than a week…seven standard days, but no less than an hour.”
“PV Hobby Horse, docking for fuel cleared at Lock 7-16. All passengers and crew are required to wait inside the vehicle until security arrives to clear you. …Cracked-shell squishy thinks they can—” The controller’s voice cut out as they must have noticed they were still transmitting.
“Thank you, station 47 control. Docking at Lock 7-16. Squishy out….”
Sidra expected one or two security to show up to clear her to enter the station, instead, there were a dozen. She opened the airlock and waited inside. “Come on in.”
The leader, obvious by the shiny, silver emblem in the center of its blast armor, stepped in, followed by two others that made a quick inspection of the ship to verify the claim of no other persons aboard. The brown color of the leader’s head carapace marked them as a drone, while the black carapaces were male and bright blue were female.
Sidra extended a hand. “Sidra Boston; captain, owner, pilot, and sole crew of the Hobby Horse. Welcome to my home.”
“Sub-adjutant-lieutenant-detachment-commander Slivdzak.” The officer looked at her extended hand and grasped it with one their six manipulators.
“Pleasure to meet you, Slivdzak. How can I help?” Sidra felt a secret rush of joy at the way the officer tried and failed to hide their discomfort. She knew that the lack of carapace was as disconcerting to them as the feel of a surprise tarantula crawling on the neck was to humans.
“Captain Sidra Boston—”
“Please, just call me Sid. Drop all the Captain and Boston stuff.”
“Sid, you have not made clear the purpose of your ‘one-hour to seven-day’ stay. Please elaborate.”
“I’m meeting someone here and taking them home.”
The officer looked at a small device it carried. A hologram rose from it, her close-cropped black hair, medium-brown skin, large, green eyes, and humped nose obvious. Beneath the hologram was writing in the bugs’ script. “Are you not a hunter of bounties?”
“Well, if that’s what you want to call it, I guess.”
“Such activity is only allowed in teams of three or more by aslodzhin law 9314-27.664 and safety regulations 647-88.932 and 90991-17.0. In addition, at least one of the team must be aslodzhin.”
“That’s kind of speciesist, isn’t it?”
“The courts have allowed for permanent residents of aslodzhin space to fill the requirements where applicable, in accordance with Galactic Union Resolution on the Rights of Sapients, 74.23.08 Paragraph 12.”
“Great, good to hear. Problem is, I work alone and I’m not after a bug.” She shrugged. “You know how we squishies are.”
“Station command has already decreed that you are not to leave your vessel without the two members chosen for you.” The officer raised to its full height, its head carapace close to scraping the ceiling. “Your team will be here soon. Good day, Captain Sidra Boston.”
“Good day, sub-whatever-whatchamacallit Sliv.”
After the security detail left, she stepped out of the ship to check on the refueling. No sooner had her foot set down outside the airlock than she found herself in the crosshairs of two armed security guards that had been standing out of sight.
“They aren’t kidding about not leaving without a team, huh? Damned bureaucracy.” She stepped back inside the ship and sat on the floor to await her babysitters.
When her team arrived, she was surprised by the presence of the furred, six-limbed hikarin hemi-male. He was easily head and shoulders taller than her, but slight of build, and thin-boned, coming from a lower-gravity world.
The aslodzhin female didn’t surprise her, even in her law enforcement uniform. She wore a red symbol on the chest of her uniform.
Sidra stood. “Okay guys, I’m Sid, and this is my job. You do what I say and stay out of the way we’ll get along fine. You,” she said, pointing at the aslodzhin female, “change out of that uniform. You’ll scare off my skip.”
“Sid, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m senior-squad-chief Dliz, and this is Soolyasin.” Dliz extended a manipulator for a shake and Sidra obliged. Dliz’s compound eyes rotated in a way Sidra didn’t know they could, and she showed frank wonder at the feel of a hand in her manipulator. “Could you do that again?” she asked.
“Do what?”
“You moved your hand, and I could feel the muscles flex…yes! That’s it!” Dliz laughed. “That’s the neatest feeling ever!”
“Am I the first squishy you’ve met?”
“Oh, no. I’ve known Sool since I was a nymph.” Dliz continued to hold on to Sidra’s hand.
“How about humans?” Sidra raised an eyebrow and tried to extricate herself from the increasingly awkward handshake.
“Yes. I mean, I’ve seen plenty passing through, but never met one.” Dliz let go and uttered a quiet apology.
Soolyasin stepped forward. He was dressed in technician’s clothes, complete with tool belt. “You’ll have to forgive Dliz. She’s a fan of bounty hunters in general, and you in particular.”
“Shush.” Dliz stood straight up at attention on her four hind legs, her head scraping the ceiling, her three left manipulators raised in a salute. “What are your orders, Sid?”
“First order of business, you need to lose the uniform and dress in something less conspicuous. Sool, is that a disguise?”
“No, these are my work clothes. When Dliz called I ran straight here.”
“That’s fine. You’ll blend in, no trouble.” Sidra put on a ballistic vest and covered it with a loose jacket. She checked that she had cuffs, shackles, bench warrant, and badge.
She turned toward Dliz. “Do you have a ballistic vest?”
“I have a carapace; I’m not a squishy.”
“Will your carapace stop a slug from a weapon like this?” Sidra held up a high-powered, 6mm rifle.
“Um, no. I have armor, though.”
“Can you wear it under clothes?”
“Yes, but it’s against the regulations.”
“Screw the rules, wear your armor…under your clothes.” She muttered under her breath, “Damned bureaucracy.”
Sidra turned toward Soolyasin. “I think I have a vest that’ll fit you.”
He looked at Sidra, then Dliz, then back again. “Is it going to be that dangerous?”
Sidra showed them the bench warrant. Soolyasin’s eyes grew wide and Dliz’s eyes rolled in a different way to earlier. Sidra thought she might be able to read bug emotions if this kept up.
“You were going after a turgen terrorist by yourself?” he asked.
“Still am. Just don’t want to see my babysitters get hurt.” She turned to look at Dliz. “Dliz, relax. You don’t have to stand at attention. I need you to tell me which of these weapons you’ll let me carry on the station.”
Dliz settled back down onto six legs and looked over the cabinet Sidra had unlocked. In addition to the rifle, she had pistols, tasers, batons, knives, and a shotgun with less-lethal beanbag loads along with standard loads.
“Which of them are capable of breaching the station hull?”
“The 6-mil, and the shotgun, if I loaded it with steel shot or slugs instead of beanbags.” She didn’t mention that the 10mm pistols were just as likely to do the same damage, but she wasn’t going out without at least one lethal weapon.
“In that case, leave the rifle and lethal shotgun rounds behind. I’ll be carrying a beam weapon, too, so we should be covered.”
“What about me?” Soolyasin asked.
“The only thing I need you to do is stay out of the way. Unless I need some inconspicuous eyes in the bay.”
After fitting Soolyasin with a ballistic vest and Dliz getting into civilian clothes over her armor, much to her dismay, they moved to the main cargo bays where they expected their quarry to show. Sidra positioned them so that she could watch arrivals, Dliz could watch her back, and Soolyasin could stay well out of the way unless and until needed.
The first hour went by at glacial speed, with constant interruptions from Dliz and Soolyasin asking questions or pointing at every passerby that might be a turgen in disguise. The next two hours dragged compared to the first.
It was in the middle of the fourth hour that Sidra got notice that the ship carrying her quarry was docking. She moved them to cover the lock where it pulled in, granting them a view on both the personnel airlock and the cargo airlock.
A much smaller contingent of security met the ship, cleared the crew for the station, and left. Four crewmembers, all turgen, filed off. Larger than humans in bulk, grey skin covered with hard dermal denticles, they had two arms, two legs, the remnants of a dorsal fin, and a long, flat tail with which they could do bone-breaking damage.
Sidra waited. If he was going to sneak off the ship, he’d need to do it soon. When it became apparent that he wasn’t going to get out on his own, she radioed Soolyasin.
“Okay, Sool. It’s clear around the ship. Just carry your tool case and walk onboard like you belong there. You’ve seen his picture, if you see him, run. If there’s anyone else on the ship, just tell them you’re checking the fuel gauges because of some regulation or other.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. You got this, and I’ve got your back.”
Soolyasin walked onto the ship, and they could hear him in their headsets, “Hello? Anyone here? I need to check your fuel gauges. Hello?”
A few quiet moments passed before Soolyasin spoke up again. “There’s no one else here,” he said, “I’m co—” His voice was cut off by the sound of a heavy thud.
Sidra ran for the ship, pulling her shotgun into firing position and cycling a round into the chamber. She stopped at the door of the ship and called inside. “Give it up, Otto. The only way you’re leaving here is in cuffs.”
When she didn’t hear anything else, she moved to clear the corners. She looked right where the door to the cockpit was closed. She swiveled around to check the other side only to find it empty as well. “Dliz, move up and cover the exit. The cargo airlock hasn’t been cycled, so this is the only way off.”
She began to move down the passageway when she heard the cockpit door click behind her. She swung around a delivered a 12-gauge beanbag into Otto’s gut at near point-blank range. Rather than stopping him, it enraged him. He turned and swiped at her with his tail.
Sidra tried to dodge out the way, but he managed to knock the shotgun out of her hands. He picked it up and threw it behind himself into the cockpit, next to the limp form of Soolyasin. “Time to go away, bounty hunter.”
He began to move toward her. When he stepped in front of the open door, he was met with a concentrated beam of infrared energy that forced him to jump back. “Listen, soft-skin. You leave now, and I’ll throw your friend out. It’s your one chance to leave alive.”
She drew her 10mm pistol and pointed it at him. “And if I don’t?”
He started toward her again, then stopped when the beam almost connected. “I’ll start by killing your furry friend, then your trigger-happy friend, then you…but nice and slow. There’s no way you’re taking me to a human prison.”
Sidra couldn’t see Dliz, but from the angle of the last beam, she’d moved to where she had more coverage of the passageway toward the cockpit. She knew that if he wanted, he could ignore the burns and rush her, crushing her carapace in a thousand different ways. Her shotgun was far out of reach, not to mention ineffective, but the 10mm pistol was a comforting weight in her hand.
Otto turned his back on her, his tail swishing wildly, smashing against the bulkheads on each side of the passage. “Very well, then. On to killing your furry friend first.”
“I’m warning you, Otto, these are lethal rounds. Put your hands behind your head, your tail between your legs, and drop to your knees.”
By the time Otto had taken a step, Sidra had taken aim and fired a shot into his torso and another into his thigh. He stopped and turned to look at her, bright pink blood running down his leg and back. He laughed. “You’re going to be so much fun.”
The courts tended to look down on spinal injuries, but when a round in the torso and thigh didn’t slow him down, she didn’t feel like she had much choice. She took aim again and fired at the base of his tail. His tail dropped like a dead weight, and he cried out.
The pain dropped him to his knees. Sidra finished the motion by jumping between his shoulder blades to put him flat on the deck. She cuffed his hands behind his back, and secured his ankles with shackles before motioning Dliz to come in.
“Call for medical for Sool and for the idiot here.”
Dliz made the call and medical teams arrived in less than a minute.
“Damn,” Sidra said, “I guess bureaucracy is good for something after all.”
Soolyasin was awake by the time he was loaded onto a stretcher. There didn’t seem to be any broken bones, but he’d been thrown rather hard by Otto’s tail strike. “Sorry I wasn’t any help,” he said.
“Nonsense. I’m sorry I sent you in there and you got hurt. I’m splitting the bounty three ways, even across with both of you.”
“I can’t take any payment,” Dliz said. “It’s against the regulations for police to have any outside earnings.”
“You saved my bacon, though. If you hadn’t been enough of an inconvenience with the beam, he would’ve tail swiped me before I could draw.”
“Still can’t accept any payments or monetary gifts.”
“How about this? You two have been friends forever, right? I’ll pay your portion to Sool, and he can treat you to fancy dinners for the rest of your life.”
“Wha...how much is the bounty?”
“Three-point-seven million Terran credits. About sixteen million galactic.”
Dliz’s eyes rolled in yet another motion. “Damned bureaucracy.”
Story published here.
2023.06.03 23:19 ImaginaryAd9301 Toy from the 90’s?
I had this beanie baby rabbit that was, as far as I know, NOT part of the TY collection. It was round, like a ball, and not like a plush, as it was filled with little white beans. It had embroidered eyes, and was light blue/(green?), pink, yellow, and white on the body in a way that’s similar to a beach ball in terms of stripe shape, with white ears. It had stubby little white feet and maybe arms? (I can’t remember if it had arms for sure). It could have come along with a large baby doll as a “toy” for it, but I rarely played with dolls and always preferred the animal. I had it up until I was a teenager and time just took it elsewhere. Think hacky sack, with stubs and ears, and obviously made for smaller children. Help me out please? 1994-1998 would be the time frame.
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