2014 ford fusion shift lock release
Help me find out what’s wrong please
2023.06.04 11:27 ruthiess18 Help me find out what’s wrong please
I have a 2014 Ford Taurus SHO this has happened twice in a period of 6 months. I’ll turn on my car and everything is on and as I wait for the car to cool off my car will go silent like it turned off. The first time it happened I tried to shift gears and the car wouldn’t move. The second time I pressed the push to start button and even though all screens and lights were on the car made the sound like it turned on again. What could be wrong with the car?
submitted by ruthiess18 to Cartalk [link] [comments]
2023.06.04 10:02 dreamingofislay Feis Ile 2023 Recap - Festival Superlatives
 | Award season is upon us. No doubt Islay's distillery managers and business owners are waiting with bated breath for the announcement of the ultra-prestigious "random guy on Reddit says" prizes. Without further ado, this year's winners. submitted by dreamingofislay to Scotch [link] [comments] The sun sets on Bowmore (distillery in the far left) and our trip to Feis Ile 2023 Best Music: Caol Ila I am the least qualified person in the world to give out this prize, having no musical talent and not even much taste for it. But overall, Caol Ila seemed to have the best setup: a great, centrally located stage that hosted various different acts, ranging from higher-energy acts to some individual folk or blues singer types. Best Distillery Bar: Ardnahoe This island is lousy with stellar distillery bars, especially during the Feis when some distilleries pour old and rare bottles for modest prices (thank you, Bowmoe and Ardbeg). But thanks to being a Hunter Laing joint, Ardnahoe's in-house bar stood head and shoulders above the rest. The menu was a bound book that contained offerings ranging from 3 to 100 pounds a pour, and very intriguing expressions (20-plus years old) were available for single-digit prices. The bar and seating area are big, lit up by floor-to-ceiling windows with incredible views over the Sound of Islay, and the chairs are super-comfy. Could have whiled away a week here and considered it time well spent. The selection at Ardnahoe's distillery bar Best Games and Activities: Ardbeg This was an easy pick. Ardbeg was chock-full of entertainment, starting with a scavenger hunt that everyone could do to earn an extra dram. Besides that, there was a separate games area by the sea, with entry fees going to charity and the usual dram prizes. Out in the courtyard, a team member taught guests how to draw Planet Ardbeg comic characters on gift-shop merchandise. And my favorite game of all was the filling station roulette. The way it worked was that a team member had a set of small mailboxes or lockers, filled with different Ardbegs ranging from Ardbeg 10 to Ardbeg 25. Then we drew a random number from a bag and got the dram inside that locker number. Ardbeg's filling station locker game Best Whisky Tastings - Value and Variety: Kilchoman This year, some distilleries felt like they were out to maximize profit from the week, a stark change from long ago when the open days were seen as fan service and featured generous experiences meant to foster brand loyalty. So Kilchoman deserves credit for sticking to the older ways. Very nice tastings were available for reasonable 45-50-pound prices and featured half a dozen excellent drams. Meanwhile, they still did their regular, affordable core range tasting lineups, and had lots of other offerings including a farm tour where team members took guests out to drink drams in the location that gave them their name (e.g., drinking Loch Gorm by the loch). We loved our Kilchoman tasting and have heard people all week praising whichever event they attended there. Excellent setup for Kilchoman's Past, Present, and Future tasting, with pre-poured driver's drams Best Feis Ile 2023 Bottle: Lagavulin 14-year-old Armagnac Cask Finish* Let me add the critical * caveats up front: this award doesn't factor in price, and the judging panel (of one) hasn't had all the festival bottlings. But I have tried this one, Laphroaig Cairdeas 2023, Ardbeg Heavy Vapours (regular and Committee) and the single cask, Bunnahabhain Canasta and 17 y.o. Moine, Bowmore's 18 y.o., Kilchoman's 3-cask vatting, and Caol Ila 13 y.o. To be honest, the bottles were a little overwhelming as a group, especially considering their premium price points. But leaving price aside, Lagavulin's Armagnac cask experiment produced a robust, complex, sweet-and-spicy dram. If only it weren't overpriced by about 50 pounds ... Best Feis Ile Exclusives Lineup and Sale System: Bunnahabhain After Lagavulin, my second favorite Feis bottling probably was Bunnahabhain's 17-year-old Moine triple cask. Bunnahabhain wins this award because it offers visitors a variety of options, ranging from a 95-pound sherry cask offering (the cheapest Feis bottle) to some ultra-exclusive expressions like a 1998 Manzanilla and a 1989 single cask. In addition to having the most options, the bottles are available all week, lessening the silly rushes that happen with single-day releases. And the cherry on top: Bunnahabhain offered pre-packed tasting kits with a flight of Bunnahabhain 12 and the first two Feis releases, along with a glass cap and a festival pin, for 30 pounds. It was nice to have that option before splurging on a whole bottle. Best Views: Bunnahabhain and Ardnahoe (tie) Both of these distilleries have brand-new visitor centers that look across the Sound of Islay to the Paps of Jura, and it is really hard to beat. Caol Ila has a similar view, but Ardnahoe and Bunnahabhain have nicer outdoor deck areas. The stunning view across the Sound from Bunnahabhain's visitor center Best Swag Bag: Bowmore So much free stuff. Bowmore set the bar for generosity on festival day, giving everyone a branded canvas bag, two free drams (of the 12- and 15-year-old bottles), a mini-glencairn glass, and lots of little souvenirs like a postcard, pencil, small lock, a keychain carabiner, and a bung stopper coaster. A real blast from the past, hearkening back to older festivals. Best Gift Shop: Ardnahoe, Kilchoman, and Ardbeg (three-way tie) The distilleries have invested a lot in these gift shops since our last visit in 2018, and it shows. Ardnahoe gets high marks for its selection of independent bottles, the Ilicit Still cafe and whisky bar, and its fun "guess the region" nosing game. Kilchoman has lots of distillery exclusives, a great cafe, and luxurious leather seats that make me want to hang out there all day. And Ardbeg's shop has the most tongue-in-cheek decorations and a stellar cafe of its own, the Old Kiln, plus they pour tasting flights or drams for reasonable prices. Caol Ila has a huge, new shop with some impressive features, including a distillery hand-fill exclusive and a big tasting bar. But it seemed more like an outpost of Edinburgh's huge Johnnie Walker Experience, and the lack of a cafe hurt it. Best Single Whisky Tasting: Douglas Laing Rare Peatz-eria So glad I found this event a few weeks before we came. Douglas Laing's ambassador Dougal led five of us through a bravura flight culminating in a 40-year-old Caol Ila, a 25-year-old Bowmore, and two Port Ellen drams, one at 37 and one at 40 years old. When I'm at a tasting where several drams are older than me, how can it not win this prize? But there was much more to this day than whisky. We had a great conversation as everyone shared stories of how they got into the whisky hobby, and Dougal answered our questions about the industry and Douglas Laing. Rare Peatz-eria tasting Best Non-Distillery Bar: Ballygrant Inn It has the best or second-best selection on the island and the best prices. What more can I say? A must-visit for anyone who makes it to Islay. Best Evening Community Event: "Up for a Laph" Quiz Night feat. Laphroaig whiskies The open days are from 10 am - 5 pm every day, but in the evenings, community groups throw events like dances (ceilidhs), and there are other whisky tastings or mini-festivals like an Indie Whisky gathering on Tuesday night. This time around, we attended an Islay whisky and culture-based trivia night at the Gaelic center. Barry MacAffer, Laphroaig's distillery manager, took it to the next level by pouring four 2014 single casks during the quizzing. Every one of them reminded me why Laphroaig is my favorite distillery. Best Restaurant: Bowmore Hotel Restaurant The Bowmore Hotel stood out for its great service and scrumptious food, and it didn't hurt that it was around the corner from our lodgings. I emailed asking for a last-minute booking, and Peter (Junior) was responding into the wee hours of the morning confirming our time for the next night. The Isles burger with black pudding and grilled onions was quite something, and my wife loved her chicken curry. The fact that the restaurant has one of the island's best whisky bars also didn't hurt. The well-organized Bowmore Hotel bar ... oh, did I mention, there's another half on the other side of the wall? We stuck to restaurants in Bowmore on this trip, so I can't speak to dining in Port Ellen or other parts of the island. In Bowmore, Peatzeria and Indian Tandoori are also great, although Peatzeria got so busy that, on one night, we couldn't even order takeout (we tried but they were preparing a large-group order and had to turn us down). If possible, book a few dinners ahead if you come to the Feis! Best Quick Recovery Hike: Dunyvaig Castle Dunyvaig castle is a ruin nestled into a squat seaside bluff dusted with lilac, white, and gold wildflowers. Turn left to the ocean and, on clear days, distant Ireland; turn right, and there's Lagavulin. This short walk lies between Lagavulin and Ardbeg. If you take the sidewalk on the right side of the road, there'll be a right turn that leads to a paved way with three or four houses, and then a grass path at the dead end that carries you across the field while the winds blow and the birds sing. The perfect way to regain equilibrium after a warehouse tasting at either distillery. Dunyvaig castle guarding its seaward crag Complete festival recap series below: Day One, Lagavulin Day Two, Bruichladdich - but we skipped and did Bunnahabhain Day Three, Caol Ila Day Four, Laphroaig Day Five, Bowmore and Ardnahoe Bonus notes from Days One through Five Day Six, Kilchoman Day Seven - Bunnahabhain Day, but we did Lagavulin and Ardbeg warehouse tastings Day Eight, Ardbeg |
2023.06.04 09:32 owlwhalephant I enacted PettyRevenge on my coworker's chair
Sorry in advance for the long post.
At my work there is this one lady that is one of the pettiest, rudest people I've ever had to work with. She has been written up and sent to HR multiple times for discrimination and racist remarks such as referring to her (white) self as a "sl*ve driver" and saying the N* word in front of our Black coworkers and has shared personal information about them that is racially charged in nature.
She's also discriminated against our ethnic housekeepers and tried to get them fired over the smallest thing. She also gossips openly about others to one other woman that is just as toxic as she is.
So about this chair-it is BROKEN. Legit rickety, loose, and has pitched people onto the floor before and hurt someone's back who has had a spinal fusion.
Maintenance has tried to fix it but it's beyond repair and they suggested we just get rid of it. A group decision was then made to get rid of the chair due to it being a hazard and it was marked for removal and set to go to the dumpster.
The next morning, this lady shows up and went searching for this broken chair and went all over the building to find it & brings it back. I told her that we were throwing it away because it's broken and it hurt someone's back last night. She said "no, I need this chair, it's the only one I like".
I told her that the chair has caused people to fall before and she laughed and said "that's funny, it doesn't bother me though".
My manager told her we can't have broken equipment on the unit if it's a safety risk, and then she proceeded to have another tantrum saying "I only ask for this one thing, is that too much to ask?!" and stated that if we wanted to get rid of it that the office has to buy her a special chair just for her. My manager told her that wouldn't happen and for now, she has to lock it up when she's off shift so no one gets hurt.
Mind you, we have PLENTY of chairs that are just as or more comfortable, newer, and are more ergonomic than that stupid chair. Her reason for liking it was that it raises up high enough for her desk, which ALL of our other chairs do.
She doesn't have any known or reported medical issues that would require a BROKEN chair, and she's made it well known that she knows people hate it and that's part of why she likes it.
Following some more of her typical behavior towards the rest of the staff in the last few weeks and yet another HR case being opened, I decided to use this week when she's on leave as an opportunity to make sure that thing is finally disposed of. With the help of housekeeping, that thing is now gone forever.
TLDR; my racist and petty coworker insists we keep a broken chair just for her even though people have been hurt by it and while she's gone for a week I made sure it got thrown away.
submitted by owlwhalephant to pettyrevenge [link] [comments]
At my work there is this one lady that is one of the pettiest, rudest people I've ever had to work with. She has been written up and sent to HR multiple times for discrimination and racist remarks such as referring to her (white) self as a "sl*ve driver" and saying the N* word in front of our Black coworkers and has shared personal information about them that is racially charged in nature.
She's also discriminated against our ethnic housekeepers and tried to get them fired over the smallest thing. She also gossips openly about others to one other woman that is just as toxic as she is.
So about this chair-it is BROKEN. Legit rickety, loose, and has pitched people onto the floor before and hurt someone's back who has had a spinal fusion.
Maintenance has tried to fix it but it's beyond repair and they suggested we just get rid of it. A group decision was then made to get rid of the chair due to it being a hazard and it was marked for removal and set to go to the dumpster.
The next morning, this lady shows up and went searching for this broken chair and went all over the building to find it & brings it back. I told her that we were throwing it away because it's broken and it hurt someone's back last night. She said "no, I need this chair, it's the only one I like".
I told her that the chair has caused people to fall before and she laughed and said "that's funny, it doesn't bother me though".
My manager told her we can't have broken equipment on the unit if it's a safety risk, and then she proceeded to have another tantrum saying "I only ask for this one thing, is that too much to ask?!" and stated that if we wanted to get rid of it that the office has to buy her a special chair just for her. My manager told her that wouldn't happen and for now, she has to lock it up when she's off shift so no one gets hurt.
Mind you, we have PLENTY of chairs that are just as or more comfortable, newer, and are more ergonomic than that stupid chair. Her reason for liking it was that it raises up high enough for her desk, which ALL of our other chairs do.
She doesn't have any known or reported medical issues that would require a BROKEN chair, and she's made it well known that she knows people hate it and that's part of why she likes it.
Following some more of her typical behavior towards the rest of the staff in the last few weeks and yet another HR case being opened, I decided to use this week when she's on leave as an opportunity to make sure that thing is finally disposed of. With the help of housekeeping, that thing is now gone forever.
TLDR; my racist and petty coworker insists we keep a broken chair just for her even though people have been hurt by it and while she's gone for a week I made sure it got thrown away.
2023.06.04 08:50 n47iq Yesterday I read a reddit post discussing my tweets and I wanted to adress some things.
NAHARPUR PRINTS :-
4 days before the release of our album, We got in an argument. I had clarified from the beginning i would need 2 things if we're going to do a collaborative album - a primary on the project + 50% splits (In all of our earlier collaboration nothing like this was ever discussed but we're coming together after 3 years and both of us have a brand of our own now, its work and thus i clarified what i needed before hand). He agreed to that. As soon as the masters came I reminded Nanku that make sure it comes on my profile and you make splits. He uses distrokid where he had exhausted all his artist slots, I suggested him to use CD Baby for one time use and we can split the money its required to distribute through it, He said cool ill do it today and inform you. I checked with him 2 days later to find out he distributed it without my name on the album, without informing me, and without making splits. We were on a call about the same thing and as soon as he cut the call he distributed on Distrokid without adding me in the primary, without making any splits and without informing me. When confronted he says "Yaar ab randirona mat kar". It was followed by a long to and fro where I held him accountable and he tried his best to manipulate me into letting it be. Things like "Dude who cares spotify is social media" "Kya farak padta hai naam aye ya na aaye" "Bhai ek hafte baad sabkuch shift hojayega" "Bro is spotify>Life?" "Ab mai album dekhu ya teri wants" And a couple of more totally obnoxious things. I wanted it to be redistributed the proper way, He was adamant on not doing that because that would mean it wont be live at the bombay gig.
About the Bombay launch – His management had the idea of launching the album on Bombay gig. They almost finalised everything and had made their mind before talking to me about it. Next day when they told me, I said dude you know I have my exams coming any moment now, You know I can’t come there, and if it’s a collaborative album both the artists should present it. He told me he wants even if I’m unable to come, him and his team should launch it themselves because it’s “once in a lifetime” opportunity (?) He started guilting me by saying things like “Bhai mai teri jaga hota toh ye hone deta agar mai nahi aa paata toh bhi” “Bhai isey rok mat isey hone de”
I gave in and said cool. Anyway back to where I was
We fought for a while. He said most he can do is submit an edit request to put my name after (issue with that is, most of times, edits reflect after weeks, so the album would still go live without my name; luckily it went through on time and it got sorted however things had turned way too ugly by then) He then involved a LOT of people and created an absolute mess like Roy who decided to call me randomly and explain to me how I should focus more on youtube and other platforms and not spotify and that he'll make videos and do branding work for me if I let this slide (?).
Anyway. Later that night, He decided to get shit drunk and shout like an absolute maniac at me how i am a fucking this up, simply for wanting my name on my work (lmao) , it got very ugly and got to the point where I wanted it to be canned. The central theme of the project was the time we spent at Naharpur, our friendship, It seemed very lame and meaningless after hearing these things from my “Friend”. I told him i dont wanna produce this anymore, take your songs and produce them yourself to which this dude replies "Teri beats to mai le raha hu, kya karega? Case karega?" and laughed. I warned him if he does that, i will premiere it right now on youtube. He said cool karle. I set the premiere, Informed him that i am doing that. He said alright
If the album comes it will come my way or it wont. Not rijul's way, Not Roy's way, Not anyone else's way. I worked equally hard and contributed a lot more than just beats. If the other half of the project wants to be inconsiderate and selfish, I don’t have any business considering what he wants as well.
Next day they told me I HAVE to come to bombay (In his defense, he had booked expensive last moment tickets for me to come to the gig) But no way I was gonna stay one whole day with this maniac. I cancelled the flight.
During the launch i see him branding the whole thing as "My album", his friends potraying it as “Bhai ki album” and these subtle things. Next day he went ranting and bitching to everyone about how i uploaded "without informing" him and fucked the launch, completing leaving the part he threatened me. Telling people they should not work with me. Verbally harassing my friend Toorjo multiple times for hours at a time (who wasnt even involved in this any way) because he couldnt get to me. Telling him he should watch his back with me, intrestingly he had the same thing to say about Toorjo to me just a few months ago (lol)
PS - my tweet about Reddit review of the album wasn't meant in a bad way and I was not complaining about it. It was just suprising because the songs I was least confident about were appreciated the most (BOP and Zubaida) and opposite with songs i was sure about (Trippy, Dhishkyau!, SOJA).
After a few days, Karun on a call with toorjo said "I don't want to be associated with you guys anymore" and was pretty rude in general, I gave it back to him but I saw them milking our releases 2 days later at paid gigs. If you really do not want to be associated, why not stop playing our instrumentals at gigs? Why not clear royalties and move forward? Fuck that, why not take down and builld the album fresh like you did with Itti si?
J BLOCK
My scene with J block was not related to royalties, it was more of a personal thing. J block had royalty issues with Siddhant, him being a friend, I was standing up for him. It started with Siddhant finding out they split gig money amongst themselves but don’t keep Siddhant in the loop, after which Lonekat flipped out. They held his royalties (650$) for months and then started saying we dont have it, have sent it back to the distribution site, which is impossible. Not sure what happened afterward, stopped following up on that. They also claimed to have “made” Siddhant when in reality, they only started getting any sort of traction after Siddhant came in to the picture. They also used personal incidents Siddhant shared with Lonekat in confidence to trigger and personally attack him. And the worst of it all, they said they’ll send a “bill” to Siddhant for production, mixing mastering, recording his songs. Why would Siddhant pay you for songs that he wrote, recorded, made videos for and agreed to give it to you to put on your channel? He's working and putting stuff on YOUR channel. It’s like I can’t ask someone to give me a verse on my song which is going to release through me and then also say “it’ll cost you to rap on my beat” it doesn’t make sense. After the “bill” thing, Siddhant asked them to remove his stuff. Faizan asked to not include his guitar if Bandeya is reuploaded but when I asked him to take down my songs nicely and politely, it was a big deal? Lol. That’s exactly what you did with Bandeya.
AGAAHI RAAHI -
I agree with Agaahi that I have not been professional and striking isnt the way to deal with things, however he completely skipped the part where It had not come to that before he said something along the lines of – Song isnt coming down do whatever you want, take it down if you can – or something like that. Not sure, don’t have the chats anymore. Hence "gundagardi". I retracted all the strikes the very same day when Circle Tone and Saqlen mediated things. But not surprised Agaahi would talk shit about now out of all times, Block and associates have been trying to ride on Udbhav and Karun’s hype since way too long. Also what’s this “We should call him out” ya’ll already did with some kids putting stories about me after you told them stuff. And weird of him to use Naezy incident against me now when he was very quick to shit on Naezy on facebook posts in support of me when it happened.
NAEZY –
I was in 10th or so when Naezy’s first track had come out (2014-2015). I was very active in the Facebook hip hop community and started talking to Naezy there. He asked me if I can produce, I was fairly new at production. He asked me for a beat on which him and his friends could shoot a cypher on. Few months later he blew up and got signed so I assumed the cypher wont happen anymore and forgot about it. Me and Naezy didn’t communicate after it. 2017 I randomly see that very same beat being used in Bombay 70 – MAMI short film, I wasn’t told anything about my beat being used and there was no credits as such, On reaching out to Naezy he didn’t do anything about it and I let it slide. 3 years later I saw him actually release that song. No permission, No informing, No producer credits in the title (It was pretty standard at that time in hip hop songs). On confronting he said “Description me likha hai na, kaafi hai permission aur title ka kya karna hai” etc. He did some similar shit with the artists who used to make artworks for him. We collectively decided to call him out for these things.
LASTLY –
Feeling solely entitled to a collaborative piece of work seems to be a common issue in all these incidents. I don’t think its very hard to grasp you cannot claim 100% ownership of work you got done for free.
Someone said royalties arent significant in amount, why fight over it – No one knows when a song might blow up, we never knew Aajkal would have half a mil streams 3 years later or Heeriye 800k. Plus if its so hard to get royalties which are small in amount what do you think is going to happen when they are big in number?
I don’t have people to babysit me through a music career unlike some of the people mentioned , So excuse me if i come on a lil too strong to get my share of whatever I have made. I have to look after myself and my work and I don’t find anything wrong in doing so. I’m just trying not to get screwed in the name of brotherhood and friendship. Friends don’t pull shit like this for a couple of claps, views and story mentions.
This is my final say on the issue
Thank you
submitted by n47iq to u/n47iq [link] [comments]
4 days before the release of our album, We got in an argument. I had clarified from the beginning i would need 2 things if we're going to do a collaborative album - a primary on the project + 50% splits (In all of our earlier collaboration nothing like this was ever discussed but we're coming together after 3 years and both of us have a brand of our own now, its work and thus i clarified what i needed before hand). He agreed to that. As soon as the masters came I reminded Nanku that make sure it comes on my profile and you make splits. He uses distrokid where he had exhausted all his artist slots, I suggested him to use CD Baby for one time use and we can split the money its required to distribute through it, He said cool ill do it today and inform you. I checked with him 2 days later to find out he distributed it without my name on the album, without informing me, and without making splits. We were on a call about the same thing and as soon as he cut the call he distributed on Distrokid without adding me in the primary, without making any splits and without informing me. When confronted he says "Yaar ab randirona mat kar". It was followed by a long to and fro where I held him accountable and he tried his best to manipulate me into letting it be. Things like "Dude who cares spotify is social media" "Kya farak padta hai naam aye ya na aaye" "Bhai ek hafte baad sabkuch shift hojayega" "Bro is spotify>Life?" "Ab mai album dekhu ya teri wants" And a couple of more totally obnoxious things. I wanted it to be redistributed the proper way, He was adamant on not doing that because that would mean it wont be live at the bombay gig.
About the Bombay launch – His management had the idea of launching the album on Bombay gig. They almost finalised everything and had made their mind before talking to me about it. Next day when they told me, I said dude you know I have my exams coming any moment now, You know I can’t come there, and if it’s a collaborative album both the artists should present it. He told me he wants even if I’m unable to come, him and his team should launch it themselves because it’s “once in a lifetime” opportunity (?) He started guilting me by saying things like “Bhai mai teri jaga hota toh ye hone deta agar mai nahi aa paata toh bhi” “Bhai isey rok mat isey hone de”
I gave in and said cool. Anyway back to where I was
We fought for a while. He said most he can do is submit an edit request to put my name after (issue with that is, most of times, edits reflect after weeks, so the album would still go live without my name; luckily it went through on time and it got sorted however things had turned way too ugly by then) He then involved a LOT of people and created an absolute mess like Roy who decided to call me randomly and explain to me how I should focus more on youtube and other platforms and not spotify and that he'll make videos and do branding work for me if I let this slide (?).
Anyway. Later that night, He decided to get shit drunk and shout like an absolute maniac at me how i am a fucking this up, simply for wanting my name on my work (lmao) , it got very ugly and got to the point where I wanted it to be canned. The central theme of the project was the time we spent at Naharpur, our friendship, It seemed very lame and meaningless after hearing these things from my “Friend”. I told him i dont wanna produce this anymore, take your songs and produce them yourself to which this dude replies "Teri beats to mai le raha hu, kya karega? Case karega?" and laughed. I warned him if he does that, i will premiere it right now on youtube. He said cool karle. I set the premiere, Informed him that i am doing that. He said alright
If the album comes it will come my way or it wont. Not rijul's way, Not Roy's way, Not anyone else's way. I worked equally hard and contributed a lot more than just beats. If the other half of the project wants to be inconsiderate and selfish, I don’t have any business considering what he wants as well.
Next day they told me I HAVE to come to bombay (In his defense, he had booked expensive last moment tickets for me to come to the gig) But no way I was gonna stay one whole day with this maniac. I cancelled the flight.
During the launch i see him branding the whole thing as "My album", his friends potraying it as “Bhai ki album” and these subtle things. Next day he went ranting and bitching to everyone about how i uploaded "without informing" him and fucked the launch, completing leaving the part he threatened me. Telling people they should not work with me. Verbally harassing my friend Toorjo multiple times for hours at a time (who wasnt even involved in this any way) because he couldnt get to me. Telling him he should watch his back with me, intrestingly he had the same thing to say about Toorjo to me just a few months ago (lol)
PS - my tweet about Reddit review of the album wasn't meant in a bad way and I was not complaining about it. It was just suprising because the songs I was least confident about were appreciated the most (BOP and Zubaida) and opposite with songs i was sure about (Trippy, Dhishkyau!, SOJA).
After a few days, Karun on a call with toorjo said "I don't want to be associated with you guys anymore" and was pretty rude in general, I gave it back to him but I saw them milking our releases 2 days later at paid gigs. If you really do not want to be associated, why not stop playing our instrumentals at gigs? Why not clear royalties and move forward? Fuck that, why not take down and builld the album fresh like you did with Itti si?
J BLOCK
My scene with J block was not related to royalties, it was more of a personal thing. J block had royalty issues with Siddhant, him being a friend, I was standing up for him. It started with Siddhant finding out they split gig money amongst themselves but don’t keep Siddhant in the loop, after which Lonekat flipped out. They held his royalties (650$) for months and then started saying we dont have it, have sent it back to the distribution site, which is impossible. Not sure what happened afterward, stopped following up on that. They also claimed to have “made” Siddhant when in reality, they only started getting any sort of traction after Siddhant came in to the picture. They also used personal incidents Siddhant shared with Lonekat in confidence to trigger and personally attack him. And the worst of it all, they said they’ll send a “bill” to Siddhant for production, mixing mastering, recording his songs. Why would Siddhant pay you for songs that he wrote, recorded, made videos for and agreed to give it to you to put on your channel? He's working and putting stuff on YOUR channel. It’s like I can’t ask someone to give me a verse on my song which is going to release through me and then also say “it’ll cost you to rap on my beat” it doesn’t make sense. After the “bill” thing, Siddhant asked them to remove his stuff. Faizan asked to not include his guitar if Bandeya is reuploaded but when I asked him to take down my songs nicely and politely, it was a big deal? Lol. That’s exactly what you did with Bandeya.
AGAAHI RAAHI -
I agree with Agaahi that I have not been professional and striking isnt the way to deal with things, however he completely skipped the part where It had not come to that before he said something along the lines of – Song isnt coming down do whatever you want, take it down if you can – or something like that. Not sure, don’t have the chats anymore. Hence "gundagardi". I retracted all the strikes the very same day when Circle Tone and Saqlen mediated things. But not surprised Agaahi would talk shit about now out of all times, Block and associates have been trying to ride on Udbhav and Karun’s hype since way too long. Also what’s this “We should call him out” ya’ll already did with some kids putting stories about me after you told them stuff. And weird of him to use Naezy incident against me now when he was very quick to shit on Naezy on facebook posts in support of me when it happened.
NAEZY –
I was in 10th or so when Naezy’s first track had come out (2014-2015). I was very active in the Facebook hip hop community and started talking to Naezy there. He asked me if I can produce, I was fairly new at production. He asked me for a beat on which him and his friends could shoot a cypher on. Few months later he blew up and got signed so I assumed the cypher wont happen anymore and forgot about it. Me and Naezy didn’t communicate after it. 2017 I randomly see that very same beat being used in Bombay 70 – MAMI short film, I wasn’t told anything about my beat being used and there was no credits as such, On reaching out to Naezy he didn’t do anything about it and I let it slide. 3 years later I saw him actually release that song. No permission, No informing, No producer credits in the title (It was pretty standard at that time in hip hop songs). On confronting he said “Description me likha hai na, kaafi hai permission aur title ka kya karna hai” etc. He did some similar shit with the artists who used to make artworks for him. We collectively decided to call him out for these things.
LASTLY –
Feeling solely entitled to a collaborative piece of work seems to be a common issue in all these incidents. I don’t think its very hard to grasp you cannot claim 100% ownership of work you got done for free.
Someone said royalties arent significant in amount, why fight over it – No one knows when a song might blow up, we never knew Aajkal would have half a mil streams 3 years later or Heeriye 800k. Plus if its so hard to get royalties which are small in amount what do you think is going to happen when they are big in number?
I don’t have people to babysit me through a music career unlike some of the people mentioned , So excuse me if i come on a lil too strong to get my share of whatever I have made. I have to look after myself and my work and I don’t find anything wrong in doing so. I’m just trying not to get screwed in the name of brotherhood and friendship. Friends don’t pull shit like this for a couple of claps, views and story mentions.
This is my final say on the issue
Thank you
2023.06.04 07:20 idlechat 2023 Lord of the Rings Read-Along Week 23 - The King of the Golden Hall (Book III, Chapter VI)
"In the gloom they heard the hiss of Wormtongue's voice: 'Did I not counsel you, lord, to forbid his staff? That fool, Háma, has betrayed us!' There was a flash as if lightning had cloven the roof. Then all was silent. Wormtongue sprawled on his face."
Welcome to Book III, Chapter VI ("The King of the Golden Hall") of The Two Towers, being chapter 28 of The Lord of the Rings as we continue our journey through the week of Jun 4-Jun 10 here in 2023.
Now that Gandalf had returned from the dead, he served as the captain of the Three Hunters; Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli.
He led them South through the Westemnet, past tributaries of the Entwash, through the Simbelmynë covered Barrowfields and to the city of Edoras. This was the capital city of Rohan, built on a hill in Harrowdale, a valley of the White Mountains. There they told the guards that they had come back to return the horses that Éomer had lent them.
The four companions entered the city and were guided up to the top of the hill, where the great golden hall Meduseld stood, home to King Théoden. There Háma, Doorward of Théoden, bid them to lay aside their weapons before being permitted to enter, Aragorn was reluctant to set aside Andúril but was compelled to do so or not enter. The others did so willingly, leaving their weapons outside the entrance to the hall, with only Gandalf retaining his staff, having deceived the Doorward Hama into it only being a stick to support him.
The companions entered and found it to be a mighty hall, with carved pillars, rune covered floors and rich tapestries lining the walls, in particular one of Eorl the Young riding Felaróf at the Battle of the Field of Celebrant. However, despite the warmth of the hall they did not get a warm welcome from Théoden, who was reluctant to show gratitude; he said this was because Gandalf always brought bad news and so he named him Láthspell. In truth, Saruman had a secret hold on Théoden in the form of the advisor, Gríma Wormtongue.
Gandalf managed to show Théoden that there was still hope and so freed him from his despair and the wicked influence of Wormtongue. Gandalf asked Théoden to release Éomer, who had been held prisoner at the counsel of Wormtongue. When Éomer returned he offered his sword to the King, pledging his service to him once more. Háma was sent to find Théoden's own sword Herugrim, which turned out to be hidden in Wormtongue's locked chest.
Théoden realized his mistake in trusting Wormtongue and decided that he would lead the riders of Rohan against Saruman. Wormtongue was given a choice; ride with them to war to prove his loyalty to Théoden in battle, or to go where he wishes, though he will receive no mercy should he be found. He chose to spit at the feet of the king and flee the city.
Théoden then praised Gandalf and granted him Shadowfax as a gift, no longer to borrow. Gandalf then spoke to Théoden of the depth of Saruman's tracheary, and they made plans to ride to Isengard and make war against him. He proclaimed that Éowyn was to rule in his stead until he returned and then leading the host of Rohirrim alongside Gandalf they rode off into the West towards Isengard. [1]
Join in on the discussions!
submitted by idlechat to tolkienfans [link] [comments]
Welcome to Book III, Chapter VI ("The King of the Golden Hall") of The Two Towers, being chapter 28 of The Lord of the Rings as we continue our journey through the week of Jun 4-Jun 10 here in 2023.
Now that Gandalf had returned from the dead, he served as the captain of the Three Hunters; Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli.
He led them South through the Westemnet, past tributaries of the Entwash, through the Simbelmynë covered Barrowfields and to the city of Edoras. This was the capital city of Rohan, built on a hill in Harrowdale, a valley of the White Mountains. There they told the guards that they had come back to return the horses that Éomer had lent them.
The four companions entered the city and were guided up to the top of the hill, where the great golden hall Meduseld stood, home to King Théoden. There Háma, Doorward of Théoden, bid them to lay aside their weapons before being permitted to enter, Aragorn was reluctant to set aside Andúril but was compelled to do so or not enter. The others did so willingly, leaving their weapons outside the entrance to the hall, with only Gandalf retaining his staff, having deceived the Doorward Hama into it only being a stick to support him.
The companions entered and found it to be a mighty hall, with carved pillars, rune covered floors and rich tapestries lining the walls, in particular one of Eorl the Young riding Felaróf at the Battle of the Field of Celebrant. However, despite the warmth of the hall they did not get a warm welcome from Théoden, who was reluctant to show gratitude; he said this was because Gandalf always brought bad news and so he named him Láthspell. In truth, Saruman had a secret hold on Théoden in the form of the advisor, Gríma Wormtongue.
Gandalf managed to show Théoden that there was still hope and so freed him from his despair and the wicked influence of Wormtongue. Gandalf asked Théoden to release Éomer, who had been held prisoner at the counsel of Wormtongue. When Éomer returned he offered his sword to the King, pledging his service to him once more. Háma was sent to find Théoden's own sword Herugrim, which turned out to be hidden in Wormtongue's locked chest.
Théoden realized his mistake in trusting Wormtongue and decided that he would lead the riders of Rohan against Saruman. Wormtongue was given a choice; ride with them to war to prove his loyalty to Théoden in battle, or to go where he wishes, though he will receive no mercy should he be found. He chose to spit at the feet of the king and flee the city.
Théoden then praised Gandalf and granted him Shadowfax as a gift, no longer to borrow. Gandalf then spoke to Théoden of the depth of Saruman's tracheary, and they made plans to ride to Isengard and make war against him. He proclaimed that Éowyn was to rule in his stead until he returned and then leading the host of Rohirrim alongside Gandalf they rode off into the West towards Isengard. [1]
Join in on the discussions!
- Here are some maps and further information relevant to the chapter from The Encyclopedia of Arda: Dunharrow, Dwimordene, Edoras, Field of Celebrant, Golden Hall, Golden Wood (Lórien), Gondor, Hold of Dunharrow, Isengard, Lórien, Lothlórien, The Mark, Meduseld (Golden Hall), Riddermark, Rohan, Tower of Guard (Minas Tirith).
- Phil Dragash narrates "The King of the Golden Hall" at the Internet Archive.
- For drafts and history of this chapter, see The Treason of Isengard, pp. 411-51. From The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion (2014), Book III, Chapter 6, pp. 397-411.
- Interactive Middle-earth Map by the LOTR Project.
- Announcement and Index: 2023 Lord of the Rings Read-Along Announcement and Index
2023.06.04 06:49 YoungSansSouci 2014 mustang corner headlamp assembly ?
 | i was wondering if there was a corner headlamp assembly for a 2014 mustang bc i wanna change things up and the headlights aren’t my favorite look on her. does anyone know if that’s even possible ? submitted by YoungSansSouci to Mustang [link] [comments] |
2023.06.04 05:30 PunkrockPopeye Beat Em'!
 | "Beat Em'!" submitted by PunkrockPopeye to funny [link] [comments] Sometime among the events of the very first Kinder Cosmic... The director of the United States Space Force marches back and forth before a gathered group of several hardened space marines all standing at attention within a large training room as he addresses the group with a general Patton like speech. USSF Director: Ladies and gentlemen...We are at the precipice of the dawn of a new age! *The group murmurs amongst one another curiously. USSF Director: Time and time again threats from opposing galaxies, dimensions, and outer worlds; some beyond the very realm of human comprehension have descended upon our little blue marble suspended in space and threatened our quality of life, our society, our safety, our sovereignty and our very existence! *Several members of the group shudder and gasp as the director continues his sermon. USSF Director: If the citizens of this United States, no...The very world itself are to maintain our status qu- *The group diverts their attention behind the director towards the sound of a loud, laborious sigh. *The director shoots a disapproving glare at the alien grey known as Alpha as he continues to speak. USSF Director: As of late, the only force standing between the citizens of this planet and total annihilation has been... The lady astronaut and appointed liaison to the greys; one Luna Valentina gently pushes the little grey alien known as Jorg towards the middle of the room as she whispers in his earholes. Luna: ...Go ahead, Jorg! *Dressed in a bright red silk dress and miniskirt with a purple bandanna tied tightly around the crown of his head; Jorg stares at the hem of his dress with either side clasped tightly within his hands as he swings his hips from side to side and hums happily as the dress flutters back and forth. The USSF Director sighs apathetically as he continues to speak, pointing at the little grey now standing beside him. USSF Director: W-What... *The Director shields his mouth and whispers to Alpha and Luna as Jorg continues swaying unmoved and unbothered. USSF Director: What th-....What is this? *Luna laughs and smiles as she replies patiently. Luna: The only way I could get him to cooperate is if I let him wear his dress! *The Director stares at Jorg still humming and fluttering from side to side and then Alpha confusedly. Alpha: He thinks it makes him stronger... *Luna giggles as she follows Alpha’s words. Luna: He...he doesn't understand how feminism works! *The Director stares at the flamboyant grey and then Alpha once more. *Alpha throws his hands up as he replies. Alpha: Who the hell am I to tell him otherwise? As far as I know it probably does! *The USSF Director sighs frustratedly as he quips. USSF Director: Jesus fucking Christ...Can he fight wearing it? *Alpha smirks mischievously as he speaks. Alpha: ...Jorg? Jorg can fight in anything, anywhere, at anytime! USSF Director: Fine...Well I guess we'll conti- *Suddenly the Director is interrupted by a massive, muscled and imposing Sergeant who addresses the group obnoxiously. Sergeant: Why is that little alien wearing a fuckin' miniskirt!? Luna snaps defensively. Luna: HE'S IN TOUCH WITH HIS FEMININE SIDE! *A private nearby mutters knowingly. Private: Well, I heard that lil' shit is completely unhinged! *The group of hardened space marines murmur amongst one another as Luna plants her hands on her hips and speaks once more. Luna: NO HE ISN’T! HE SAVED YOUR IGNORANT ASSES! *The Sergeant points at the preoccupied grey as he speaks once again. Sergeant: That scrawny, 80 lbs, ugly ass little critter? Saved what? Ru Paul's drag race? *The private glares at the Sergeant standing beside him confusedly as he continues to speak. Private: Where the hell have you been man!? You didn't hear about what happened in Tulsa? *The Sergeant cuts a sidelong glance at the private as he continues to speak. Sargeant: Stationed abroad... No phones, or internet, or TV, or electricity, or running water...not even a fuckin working toilet! So no...I don't know "what happened in Tulsa". Private: ...Oh. Well I HEARD he leveled half a city fighting some interstellar Lovecraftian planet killer... USSF Director: OFFICIALLY THAT WAS A LEVEL 4 EARTHQUAKE! Private: SURE BOSS! whatever y'all say, it's not like it hasn't been cycling all over Tiktok for months... USSF Director: RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA! A DIVERSIONARY TACTIC TO UNDERMINE UNITED ST- *Alpha sighs again loudly. *As the group continues to bicker incessantly the USSF Commander from "Kinder Cosmic: Paradise Lost" strolls into the training room and smiles with a large grin as he leans against a supply depots consignment widow and addresses it's quartermaster casually. Commander: Has it started yet!? QuarterMaster: ....Has what started yet? *The Commander grins mischievously as he continues to speak. Commander: Say...Are you a bettin' man? Quarter Master: On what exactly? Commander: Costello over there of course! *The Quarter Master stares at the grey still preoccupied with his pretty dress and then the Commander once again. Quarter Master: That sick lookin, effeminate little space midget against ALL OF THEM!? *The Commander smiles knowingly. Commander: You bet your ass! *The QuarterMaster doubles a glance back and forth between the grey and the Commander as he speaks. QuarterMaster: How drunk are you? Commander: VERY! QuarterMaster: How much do you wanna put down on him? *The Commander reaches into his pocket then slams several stacks of money upon the window's table as he speaks. Commander: My ENTIRE goddamned pension! *The Quarter Master stares at the little grey smiling as he swings in his pretty red dress and then the hardened military veterans and finally, the grinning Commander once more. Quarter Master: You're on! *The USSF Director silences the gathered, bickering and murmuring group as he interjects. USSF Director: QUIET! *The group of military commandos quickly stand at attention as the USSF Director commences pacing and continues his addressment once again while Luna smiles knowingly and Alpha shakes his head from side to side...also knowingly. USSF Director: THE POINT IS! That we're facing a potential threat that is completely out of human understanding, the very laws of physics itself and our current martial capabilities! *The USSF Director points at the greys; Alpha’s arms folded as he stands like a solemn statue and Jorg still hyperfocused as he busily plays with his red dress. USSF Director: Although they ARE friendl- *Alpha’s face sours distastefully as he hisses underbreath. Alpha: Pshhh... *The Director darts a sharp glare at Alpha who returns it with a twisted, smug expression and then at Luna who shrugs her shoulders casually. USSF Director: ....Although they ARE NOT THE ENEMY we can not let the future of humanity... *The Director stares at Jorg who is still absolutely lost within his own world as he continues to speak. USSF Director: ...Rest upon the strapless shoulder blades of one four and a half foot; morally and mentally compromised little...whatever in the hell this thing is. *The Director points towards Jorg as he flutters and sways repeatedly. *Luna retorts defensively as Alpha comments sarcastically. Luna: HEY! Alpha: Well...I mean, he's right. Man's still kinda a misguided idiot but when he's right he's right! *The Director glares at Alpha once more as his subordinates murmur and contemplate his directive aloud amongst one another. Private: We are so, so, so completely and utterly screwed... *The Sergeant standing besides the private shrugs apathetically as he speaks. Sergeant: I don't see what the big deal is... *The director marches to and fro once again as he continues to speak. USSF Director: That being said! The ONLY WAY to adjust our combat to this new enemy is simulated combat WITH THE ENEMY! Private: I'M NOT FIGHTING THOSE THINGS! *Alpha smiles slyly and quips sarcastically as The Director retorts with a commanding tone. Alpha: ....Sissy! USSF Director: Oh yes you will private! Unless of course you want... AN EXTRA WORK DETAIL! Private: GOD-DAMNIT! *The Director grins as he continues to speak. USSF Director: Besides! You'll only be facing a single extraterrestrial opponent today, Alpha has adamantly refused to participate in this exercise... *Alpha retorts sharply. Alpha: I said, "You can go fuck yourself", that's what I said. *Luna erupts with a riotous laughter as the USSF Director glares at Alpha in return. *The Sergeant points towards Jorg still playing with his fluttering dress. Sergeant: And lil' Miss Doubtfire over here? HE'S supposed to be our opponent!? *Luna beams with pride as she retorts. Luna: I wouldn't underestimate Jorg! He's wildly talented! Sergeant: At what!? Martha Stewart style homesteading? *The group snickers as Luna giggles and returns a mischievous grin and then quips once more. Luna: THAT TOO! *Alpha clarifies casually as the group murmurs and looks on at the little grey still lost amongst the surrounding atmosphere. Alpha: Consent for Jorg is kind of a non-issue, he's barely aware of where he is half the time. When goaded he does have a certain instinctive enthusiasm for martial combat under the right conditions. I don't even know where he learned it, he just came back one day and knew it innately. Like a telekinetic amalgamation of something between Ong-Bak and Jet Li... *The Private stares at the little grey in suspended disbelief. Private: Under...what conditions? *Alpha grins knowingly; as he responds. Alpha: Basically...You've got to manage to piss him off. Private: "Piss him off?" *The Sergeant cracks his knuckles as he smiles belligerently. Sergeant: Well this should be easy! *Alpha shrugs unknowingly. Alpha: Maybe...Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't! To evoke this reaction from Jorg or to "Piss him off"; it is like this ingrained psychological trigger. It isn't so much guided as a form of premeditated anger as a kind of pro-active defense mechanism. He's not even really fully aware when he does it. I think it may be a kind of "Fight or Flight" reaction he just does. Except Jorg...well...Jorg pretty much always chooses to fight. *The privates eyes widen curiously as he stares the little grey up and down before him. Private: Is he...is he dangerous!? *The USSF Commander laughs heartily as he slams his hand upon the provisional warehouse window and retorts excitedly. USSF Commander: YOU CAN BET YOUR ASS HE IS! *The QuarterMaster glares at the USSF Commander as he chimes in. QuarterMaster: I wanna replace my bet! *The USSF Commander replies snarkily. USSF Commander: TOO LATE ASSHOLE! *Alpha, Luna, The Director and the group of soldiers all divert their attention towards the Commander and QuarterMaster until Alpha continues speaking. Alpha: Jorg!? Dangerous? I mean...IF YOU DESERVE IT then I dunno... *Alpha shrugs apathetically. Alpha: ...Maybe? I really doubt he'd actively kill anyone though. *The private throws his hands into the air and addresses Alpha frustratedly as the group murmurs amongst themselves once more. Private: THE FUCK YOU MEAN "MAYBE" AND YOU "DOUBT HE'LL KILL ANYONE"!? *Alpha shrugs once more... Alpha: It's Jorg...Jorg is Jorg! You'll see... *The private stares at the two greys one after another then retorts underbreath as he turns to walk away. Private: I'm so not fuckin doing this... USSF Director: MORE WORK DETAIL! Private: GODDAMNIT! Sergeant: Well I think they're full of shit... Private: THEY TORE APART AN ENTIRE MILITARY BASE "JUST BECAUSE". Sergeant: Of Non-combatant "week-long warriors" I bet! Might as well be a buncha national guardsmen...I mean...JUST LOOK AT HIM! *The Sergeant points towards Jorg still swaying giddily. Sergeant: ...There's no way in hell that little queer fella could take a seasoned soldier! *Luna retorts defensively. Luna: JORG ISN’T GAY! HE'S JUST SENSITIVE AND HE'S VERY SPECIAL! *Luna cuts her gaze towards Alpha seeking confirmation. Luna: He isn't...is he? *Alpha shrugs unknowingly and apathetically as the group murmurs amongst themselves once more. *The Private suddenly turns then approaches a series of lockers and containment bins stowing riot gear, defensive equipment and padded suits much like one that would be used to disarm a bomb or train a K-9 attack dog as nearly all of his peers follow suit... Private: I'm not fucking with this lil dude without my PPE! *The Sergeant snorts obnoxiously in response as he watches. Sergeant: I don't need that crap...Besides, it's hard to move or fight with all that bullshit on! Whatchu gonna do? Bumper car bang him to death with it? *The Private shrugs undisturbed. Private: ....Whatever! The crowd gathers all around the little grey warily; some armed with things like MMA gloves, hand-wraps, Batons and extended martial defense metallic rods as they all approach the grey from all angles. Suspicious and cautious at exactly what the little grey might do and exactly how he might respond. That is all but one, the boisterous military Sergeant who readies himself and then throws the very first strike at the seemingly defenseless and unsuspecting Jorg. Without ever even lifting his eyes from the hem of his dress, in a matter of moments warping the surrounding spectators very perception of time; Jorg shifts his head slightly towards the left as the Sergeant's fist narrowly misses the grey by a hair's length. *The USSF Commander slams his hand upon the provisional warehouses window once more as he retorts giddily. USSF Commander: HAH! What happens next can best be described through the conveyance of a matter of collective very short-lived and somewhat difficulty perceived moments. The next soldier and the next and the next and the next; all of them simultaneously rush towards the little grey slinging their fists and their weapons towards the inattentive and unbothered little grey. Jorg bobs, weaves, and feints his big grey bandanna wrapped head not unlike a hyperactive, super-powered Muhammad Ali; as fist and all flies from every perceivable angle, not ever touching him...not even once, his attention still diverted towards his fluttering dress all the while. Another military combatant rushes forewords and thrusts a kick towards the grey; to which he spins out of reach with seamless grace as yet another kick comes flying from it's opposing direction to which the grey quickly ducks then loops his body around from underneath...still playing with the hem of his pretty red dress still humming to himself gleefully as Luna erupts with laughter. Sergeant: What...what the hell IS THIS!? Luna: I TOLD YOU! Private: He....He never even LOOKED at us...NOT ONCE! *The Director stares at Luna and Alpha then questions them curiously. USSF Director: Why isn't he defending himself? Alpha: ...Probably because Jorg doesn't see any of you as a threat. *The boisterous military Sergeant walks towards Jorg then plants a single finger upon his forehead then slowly pushes him backwards; to which Jorg sways back then forwards then rests in the exact same position of which he'd originally been. Sergeant: What do you mean he doesn't see us as a threat? *Alpha responds casually. Alpha: I mean exactly what I said! Jorg only reacts when driven towards it from an outside stimulus; when he himself, someone he cares about, or perhaps even others are under certain conditions of diress such as a threat or pressure or the friction of oncoming conflict. It is very difficult to tell exactly when this trigger will set off from an outside perspective but FOR JORG these lines are ingrained within his very being. It's like a reflex, he doesn't even have to think about it. Private: How is it he can move so quickly like that? I could barely even see him doing it! Alpha: Part of it is because Jorg instinctively compounds his telekinesis with Kinetic energy. The other is because he's clairvoyant, prophetic even. This doesn't just apply to the precepts of time or it's passage through the universe itself but also to an outside stimulus. But just like almost all things concerning Jorg; he isn't fully aware of what he's doing and what he does it its all interdependent on outside stimulus and outside perception and interpretation. In short, Jorg is like a living mirror in everything he does and reasons for doing them. A reflection of one's self whether they even realize it or not. He could punch through a two inch steel wall or bulletproof plate glass window faster than you could blink if he wanted to... *Alpha shrugs casually. Alpha: ...Only problem is it takes alot for Jorg to actively feel inclined to do so. Well...sometimes. All that being said apparently he sees absolutely none of you as an inclination for him to act...and so...he doesn't. He doesn't see any of you as a threat! *The Sergeant fumes angrily and frustratedly as he stares at the preoccupied little alien frustratedly and then speaks angrily. Sergeant: WHADDYA MEAN "HE DOESN'T SEE ME AS A THREAT"!? I'M A GODDAMNED NAVY SEAL! I DID TWO TOURS IN AZKABAN! *Alpha replies to the Sergeant flatly and unflinching. Alpha: Exactly what I just said...Your limited human capabilities and physicality to Jorg is a non-issue. You're not big enough, strong enough, forceful enough or physically capable through your own recognizance of being a perceivable threat to him. *The Sergeant stands from the opposing side of the playful grey in the little red dress then angrily unbuttons and unholsters his service weapon as he holds it in both hands, pointed towards the ground. *The USSF Commander laughs a riotous laugh as he spectates from the warehouse window some distance away then pounds the desk upon it once more as he goads the Sergeant playfully. USSF Commander: YOU GET EM HOSS! *The Commander quickly turns towards it's QuarterMaster then whispers as he winks towards his glare. USSF Commander: ....Fucking idjit! *Luna’s eyes widen with worry as she begins to speak. Luna: I WOULDN'T DO TH- *Alpha calmly places a gentle hand upon Luna’s shoulder as he knowingly interjects solemnly yet very mischievously. Alpha: Nah....Let em'. The Sergeant steadies his firearm upon the grey methodically as all of his compatriots watch onwards nervously. And what happens next, again...Can best be explained by a breakdown of a series of events that through our perception of time unfolded within a matter of moments. ...But to Jorg himself? Well, that's another matter entirely. Just like one perceptive light switch suddenly being flicked on from deep, deep, deep within Jorg’s psyche. The little grey suddenly raises his head; his black, saucer shaped eyes widened with a perfectly aligned subconscious awareness. One of them twitching erratically above a maddened grin as above and all throughout this training room; the loud deafening roar of electric guitar reverberates one ear-splitting and most deafening melody. Loudly cutting through the awkward silence not unlike a high-powered circular saw this melody is that of the song "Beat It" the cover of an infamous Michael Jackson tune preformed by the band "Fall Out Boy". https://youtu.be/Qt54wA7Z2LY And as this guitar melody drones and roars throughout the intercom and sirens of the facility all around; As Alpha smirks smugly and Luna laughs...and then gasps. What follows suit could be quite accurately articulated as a series of movements so perceivably fast, powerful, and deadly accurate that one could quite convincingly say that Jorg DID move faster than a human could blink. He quickly utilizes his telekinetic energy with one hand to jerk the firearm out from within the Sergeant's grasp not unlike a vaulted football ripped from between a running back's fingers. And as this pistol flies and spins towards Jorg he launches himself into the air, quickly preforming a spinning back kick that smacks against the gun sending it ricocheting and flipping once more until it hurtles directly dead center of the Sergeant's face sending him spiraling and sprawled out upon the ground nearby while the gun itself deflects, is thrown against a nearby wall and then misfires. Space Marine: SHIT...MY LEG! And as the lyrics of the song echo and vibrates all throughout this training room, quaking its walls and cushioned floormats with every progressing spoken word; the frightened private quickly turns to sprint in the other direction, absolutely ANY direction away from Jorg. But little did he know; it was far, far, far too late... Jorg harnesses his telekinetic energy to rip the man's legs out from beneath him, as he does Jorg quickly sprints forward, leaps into the air again like a telekinetic grasshopper then dead drops his knee into the private's back. As Jorg "ground and pounds" the back of the privates combat protective headgear repeatedly in rapid succession; not unlike quick repeating Wing-Chun punches into the back of the man's head, striking and bouncing his forehead off of the training floor's cushioned material all to the rhythm of this melody. The surrounding marines look around at one another, murmuring in a stunned confusion as the private cries for help. Private: G-G-GET I- *WHACK! *BANG! *POW! *WHOMP! *THUMP-THUMP-THUMP! Private: GET IT OFFA ME! *The USSF Director points at the private then addresses the fearful combatants sternly. USSF Director: ...WELL!? HELP HIM! *One of the remaining combatants turns to kick Jorg off of the private when the grey quickly stops then pivots as if in anticipation of said strike; catches the man's ankle then smiles with a malevolent grin before twisting it with a loud *CRACK! *Luna squints her eyes closed and winces painfully as Alpha grins a grin very much reflective of Jorg’s and they both comment. Luna: Oooooooh! Alpha: Fuck em'... Elsewhere at the provisional warehouse window the USSF Commander slams his hand down upon the table once more as he also comments; smiling at the QuarterMaster with a shit eating grin all the while. USSF Commander: That looked like it HURT LIKE HELL! GET EM' HOSS! *The QuarterMaster also comments, sneering distastefully. QuarterMaster: I fuckin' hate you... Elsewhere amongst the whirlwind of rapid, successful strikes and all to a melody; Jorg now stands his miniskirt fluttering in training room's AC cooled air along with the motion of his movements with the Marine's now broken ankle held between the palms of his hands; the man still wailing with pain. In an amount of time accumulating to less than the passage of a few seconds; the grey spins and leg sweeps the other man's remaining limb, tossing him upwards into the air before kicking him in the abdomen with a telekinetically reinforced strike that sends the man hurtling into and bouncing off of the nearest wall. As another approaching soldier moves in to strike Jorg the grey quickly hops a foot into the air once more; then quickly plants a deflective side kick in rapid, fluid succession into the center of the man's chest which sends him staggering back just a few paces. *The soldier hardens himself as he pounds his chest then closes in on Jorg once more. Space Marine: IS THAT ALL YOU GOT!? And as this melody continues to pound with a thunderous roar all throughout the training room; Jorg smiles a sadistic smile. While the man races forwards to preform a takedown upon the little grey, Jorg quickly and acrobatically dips his head and upper abdomen towards the ground. With a certain level of martial flexibility mirroring that of a Shaolin Monk the grey lifts the pad of his foot from behind towards where his head originally was, arching it upwards and from behind his backside with his torso now angled downwards, he then slams the bottom of his foot into the Marine's forehead; stunning him instantaneously. Jorg quickly rights his equilibrium and with a fluid, unceasing movement uses that very same leg to plant a telekinetically charged front kick into the man's sternum; sending him flying backwards and crashing into yet another padded wall. Space Marine: YOU CRAZY LITTLE SHIT! A remaining marine shouts at Jorg and then races towards him from a flanked position sending his own angled "axe kick" towards the grey's abdomen. And as this melody pounds and reverberates the ether all around from every perceivable direction; without so much as a moments hesitation, forethought, or consideration Jorg side steps then archs his own leg around the own man's "Axe Kick" locking it into place. *The Marine's eyes meet the grey's; whose deep, darkened saucer shaped eyes are deadlocked onto his own. Shining with a glossy, detached madness as the grey's smile widens. And with their legs locked in place, Jorg intentionally restricts the man's movement; the Marine's remaining free leg trembles as he utters words of fear and astonishment. Space Marine: Oh....SHI- *Before the man can even get the words out the grey hops into the air with his remaining leg with the other still locked in place, then uses his free leg to dropkick the soldier dead center of his chest with another telekinetically reinforced strike before quickly releasing his leglock to send the man vaulting into another padded wall not unlike a human bullet. And as this resounding melody finally tolls onwards towards it's completion; the little grey still stands in the middle of this training room. In the exact spot in which he'd originally began; surrounded by moaning, bloody, blackened and bruised human cadavers. Who at this point are each and all very, very much alive; though perhaps their pride...not so much. *Luna shakes her head from side to side as the USSF Director speaks. USSF Director: Well...we're never doing that again! *Alpha stares at the director and smiles with an air of apathy. Alpha: I could have told you but you'd never have listened... *The private spits a mouthful of blood onto the ground as he slowly gathers his strength to try to lift himself from it, next to the still unconscious Sergeant lying face down on the floormat beside him. Private: We are so...so...so fucked. *At the provisional warehouse window the QuarterMaster counts out the last of his debt and then slams it upon the table towards the USSF Commander's outstretched smile now grinning from ear to ear. USSF Commander: It was nice doin' business with you! QuarterMaster: Shut the hell up... |
2023.06.04 05:05 A_Stony_Shore Murkintok Municipal Airport
I was going to be late. I was on the verge of panic, uncertain of where I’d come from or why I was late, but I was going to be late.
Today was supposed to be different. I was sure of it. The start of something new. My only opportunity to move out of my little dead-end corner of Appalachia rested on me arriving for the night shift on time.
I sped over the rolling road in a panic. Dense old growth rushed past in a blur periodically broken by small plots of pasture, apple orchards and fields that a few months earlier were brimming with corn. Shadows danced out there in the dim moonlight and the closer I got to the airfield the more separated from the small outlying town I felt.
My steering wheel was cold and it vibrated wildly in rhythm with my heart. I tapped it impatiently.
The rusted hulk nearly left the road each time I crested a hillock. My suspension groaned under the salt spurred corrosion and strain.
I can get a new car if this all works out.
I nearly missed my turn. Fishtailing, I plodded off the main road onto an aptly named “Airport Drive”.
I came to a halt at the designated stall and turned the car off.
A minute to spare.
I looked out into the darkness beyond the parking area and a tingle ran down my spine. The shadows that were once dancing as I passed were still now and the air oppressive. My hands were tingled with cold yet brimmed with sweat. Before opening the door, I took a few deep breaths, flattened my hair, and made sure my uniform was sharp. Looking into my image in the rearview mirror I cleared my throat.
“Alright buddy. You’ve been drifting from service job to service job in this dying county for half a decade. Somethings got to change. *You’ve* got to change. You’ve got a daughter now, you can’t be out there chasing bar weasels and getting drunk every other night. It’s time to up your game. You aren’t the little boy who had to stand in the corner with his nose to the wall every time you messed up anymore. Now your choices matter for her life too. The pay and experience here are going to help springboard you off into something bigger and brighter. You can do this.”
My car door shrieked open causing the chirping and croaks in the forest around the airfield to briefly fall silent. The crunch of gravel followed me across the unpaved, unmarked parking spaces poorly illuminated by one lonely floodlight. I made my way to the entrance of the terminal and pulled open the door to the chime of an old brass bell.
“Oh, hey buddy.” He glanced at the clock. “You’re early.” Stepping into the room I saw Gus casually looking up from his crossword, bifocals resting on his fat, bright red nose.
“Yessir. I figured maybe if things weren’t too busy we could get started early. I’ve heard night shift can be a lot to take in.”
His brows furrowed and his mouth hung half open.
“Well….alright, I guess. But we’ll be easing you in. Just the basics for the first week.” He held up a finger, “Will and I are gonna rotate each night, until we know you’ve got the hang of it, then we’ll start giving you more responsibilities – if you’re up to it.”
We spent several hours on the night shift responsibilities for the airfield. Many of the duties weren’t too complicated. When we went to the control room at the base of the single tower overlooking the tarmac we flipped several very clearly marked switches turning the runway lights on and off. Then we walked over the several generators tucked away behind baggage claim to check their fuel and oil levels.
“Checking these emergency generators things each night seems a bit overkill, no?” I asked.
Gus smiled. “These aren’t for emergencies. This is our power. Yea, this past winter much to our surprise we found that some of the power poles came down. Some heavy rainfall right before the first snow turned the ground to soup and the just sort of…fell over.”
“They really shouldn’t do that.”
Gus shrugged. “Yea well, corners get cut all over the place. Damn things still aren’t back up, so here we are.”
As we walked back over to the portables for baggage claim and arrivals/departures. Another tingle ran down my spine. Instinctively I looked around and caught sight of something out in the dark. It was the feeling of being watched. I tried to focus my eyes on the darkness. I saw some gently pulsating shadows near the trees but nothing more.
The chirping and croaks were nowhere to be heard and I shivered.
“Come on kid, I ain’t got all night.”
I came to and trotted over to where Gus had stopped. “Sorry, I thought I saw…something.”
We continued onward, restocking the restrooms, went over baggage tagging and safe lifting procedures and the other mundane parts of preparing for the night’s departures and arrivals.
Finally, we wrapped up my first training session with perimeter checks.
Gus’ labored breathing alternated with his footfalls on the blacktop as we walked down the small runway.
“Every 3 hours you are going to be making this walk.” He gestured around. “You start over at the ATC tower and head out to the tree line, then follow that parallel to the tarmac until you pass the last of the landing lights and keep going until you hit the transmission shack. Don’t get distracted and go off following the transmission lines. Had a guy do that a year or two ago and it took us a week only to find his ass mumbling by the side of the road talking about the linemen – boy wasn’t right after that.”
He paused thoughtfully for a moment.
“Anywho, after the transmission shack you hook right following the shore of the river until you hit Eddie’s orchard then head back. You’ll pass his cornfield and follow that until you see the two terminal portables, then you check the parking lot and come back to the office to enter it all in the logbook. Just need to make sure there ain’t nothing out there that shouldn’t be.”
We continued walking in silence for a few minutes. “So what do I do if I find something? Are we looking for the Wilson boys or something? I thought they stopped causing trouble after you…”
“Well, you need to enter it in the logbook for one.”
“Bears? What do I do if it’s bears?”
He stopped. “Bears? What the hell are you rambling about? We don’t get bears this time of year. Oh, and be sure to bring your bear spray.”
“Even though there aren’t bears?”
“It’s under the counter next to the logbook.” He paused again. “If you see any wildlife, just take the truck out there and honk at it to get it away from the runway. Be sure to use your high beams, too. Very important. You see any people you get back to the office and call the Sheriff – don’t need to be a hero. You hear anything weird out there in the dark you leave it be, if it’s off property it’s not our problem.”
“Any questions?” he asked as we got back to the office.
A few.
“No, I’m good.”
“Great, Will’s in the control tower if anything comes up. No flights scheduled for tonight so it should be awfully quiet. Here’s the keys to the castle. Adios.”
He placed a massive key ring into my hand that had more keys than there were doors on the property and took off.
I sat down behind the counter, looked at the broken clock and sighed.
I was able to knock out the task list before midnight and had 6 more hours to kill before the end of my shift. There was no cell service, because of course not. I tried reading an old Town and Country magazine I found stashed under the desk and found most of the pages had been covered in circles and doodles by someone who must have been just as bored as I was on some unknown shift prior.
I decided to sweep up and clean the counters to keep myself busy and after I was done it was only 12:15.
I groaned.
The silence was oppressive. Outside the window was an empty, dark expanse with a slowly strobing series of red lights marking the flight line. I felt safer indoors but even then as I stared into the dark something felt off. If I turned my gaze from the windows I could see something out of the corner of my eyes. Branches swaying in the breeze.
There was no wind here.
12:34.
I pulled the logbook out from its shelf and placed it on the counter entering my start time, grabbed my flashlight and headed out into the frigid night.
The occasional whistling of the wind punctuated my footfalls. I passed red light posts every few yards on a never-ending runway. I kept walking for what felt like half an hour, losing count of the lights I’d passed. I turned back out of curiosity and still saw the slowly receding light of the air traffic control tower confirming that yes, all was well. After the runway ended I continued into the dark until coming to the boarded up transmission shack and the power lines that ran off into the forest.
I came the edge of the marsh and began following it. Minutes passed. I turned to get my bearings on the tower and found it’s lonely beacon, but I also noticed a void in the dark – not a blackness per-se, black is a color. No, it was a complete lack of color, a hole in existence out past the power lines. It was getting larger.
I picked up my pace.
I got to the orchard and looked back finding that the lights were out. All of them were out. And that thing in the forest was growing near.
I stood there and watched it for several minutes waiting for it to move. It didn’t.
I turned back now walking as fast as I could. After a dozen yards I stopped and turned around.
It was closer, I was sure of it. Much closer.
I turned and began to jog forgetting everything Gus had told me. It was gaining on me.
Now I was in a full-blown run down the flight line, glancing back every few moments, still unable to see it but sure it was there. The thing that had been watching me since I got here. The thing that drove a cold shock down my spine. This was it.
My legs pumped like pistons and the sting of cold air shot through my chest with each strained, gasping breath.
I passed the recently harvested cornfield, in which stood two perfectly still Deer judging me for my frantic escape.
It was gaining on me.
Finally I came to the portables. I slammed into the nearest door but it stood firm. I slammed my shoulder into it three more times and it didn’t budge. I remembered my key chain.
I pulled it out and started flipping through the keys. *too many keys*.
First key. No.
Second key. No.
Third key. No.
The fourth key worked, the tumbler clicked and I was in. Slamming the door back in place, I frantically locked it.
My hands were shaking and even though I was panting, I went to the window. The void cast long shadows across the field as it stood transfixed not on me, but on the deer.
“Shhhh” a man’s voice whispered from behind me.
“Oh SWEET JESUS FU-“ I screamed as a hand clamped down on my mouth.
“SHHH.” Sharper this time, commanding. “It’s me.” Will whispered, releasing his hand from my mouth.
“What..” I replied quietly as I turned to see him using his phone to maneuver the drone. “What’s going on? You scared the shit out of me. Nice to meet you by the way I’m..”
He smiled, “You gotta be more careful buddy, Didn’t Gus tell you not to go out into the woods?” Now that I could hear him clearly, his odd vowel pronunciation took me off guard. He’d fit right in, in Venice beach. Surfers. He sounded exactly like how I imagined California Surfers sounded. Very out of place for this part of the country. I shook the thought from my mind.
“I didn’t, I..”
He shushed me and pointed to the deer.
“Just…watch.”
I’d never seen deer stay still so long.
I strained my eyes to see. The shadows, tilled earth and wilted corn husks broke up the terrain making it hard to see what was hidden in plain sight. I’d see movement then have to dismiss it as wind kicking up gentle curtains of soil or the shifting of a shadow from the small movements in the night.
Slowly a thin sharp shadow moved, followed by another, then another. They moved in concert from that enormous void that had followed me.
The deer stood transfixed before it all happened at once.
A mixture of humanlike screams erupted as each of their bodies were slammed into the ground. Viscera painted the wind. In another moment the light went out and I heard Will sigh.
The wind whistled and died, but we could still hear it out there breathing heavily as it gorged itself. From where I stood I could only see a throbbing silhouette breaking the horizon as it went to work. A crisp snap rang out as it pulled limb by limb from the carcass. The throbbing of the shape slowed as a new sound arose. A contented hum made its presence felt through the rattling of the windows and doors and threatened to overwhelm my own beating heart.
The sound rose as the shape slowly moved closer.
“What do we..”
Will shushed me.
I jumped and stifled a scream as a wet, boneless appendage slammed against the window curiously. The doorknob rattled though this time not from the creatures’ purr but from it’s clumsy efforts to open the door and join us inside.
The ceiling creaked above us under a massive weight.
It groaned as if remembering something and suddenly began moving away back towards the trees. There were no footfalls, just the gently receding sound of a blissful purr.
When it finally entered the world beyond its movements melted into those of the swaying branches becoming indiscernible. The more I tried to focus on it the harder it was to recall its form or the impossibility I’d just witnessed.
Will smiled and patted me on the shoulder sadly, “Welcome to Murkintok.”
submitted by A_Stony_Shore to nosleep [link] [comments]
Today was supposed to be different. I was sure of it. The start of something new. My only opportunity to move out of my little dead-end corner of Appalachia rested on me arriving for the night shift on time.
I sped over the rolling road in a panic. Dense old growth rushed past in a blur periodically broken by small plots of pasture, apple orchards and fields that a few months earlier were brimming with corn. Shadows danced out there in the dim moonlight and the closer I got to the airfield the more separated from the small outlying town I felt.
My steering wheel was cold and it vibrated wildly in rhythm with my heart. I tapped it impatiently.
The rusted hulk nearly left the road each time I crested a hillock. My suspension groaned under the salt spurred corrosion and strain.
I can get a new car if this all works out.
I nearly missed my turn. Fishtailing, I plodded off the main road onto an aptly named “Airport Drive”.
I came to a halt at the designated stall and turned the car off.
A minute to spare.
I looked out into the darkness beyond the parking area and a tingle ran down my spine. The shadows that were once dancing as I passed were still now and the air oppressive. My hands were tingled with cold yet brimmed with sweat. Before opening the door, I took a few deep breaths, flattened my hair, and made sure my uniform was sharp. Looking into my image in the rearview mirror I cleared my throat.
“Alright buddy. You’ve been drifting from service job to service job in this dying county for half a decade. Somethings got to change. *You’ve* got to change. You’ve got a daughter now, you can’t be out there chasing bar weasels and getting drunk every other night. It’s time to up your game. You aren’t the little boy who had to stand in the corner with his nose to the wall every time you messed up anymore. Now your choices matter for her life too. The pay and experience here are going to help springboard you off into something bigger and brighter. You can do this.”
My car door shrieked open causing the chirping and croaks in the forest around the airfield to briefly fall silent. The crunch of gravel followed me across the unpaved, unmarked parking spaces poorly illuminated by one lonely floodlight. I made my way to the entrance of the terminal and pulled open the door to the chime of an old brass bell.
“Oh, hey buddy.” He glanced at the clock. “You’re early.” Stepping into the room I saw Gus casually looking up from his crossword, bifocals resting on his fat, bright red nose.
“Yessir. I figured maybe if things weren’t too busy we could get started early. I’ve heard night shift can be a lot to take in.”
His brows furrowed and his mouth hung half open.
“Well….alright, I guess. But we’ll be easing you in. Just the basics for the first week.” He held up a finger, “Will and I are gonna rotate each night, until we know you’ve got the hang of it, then we’ll start giving you more responsibilities – if you’re up to it.”
We spent several hours on the night shift responsibilities for the airfield. Many of the duties weren’t too complicated. When we went to the control room at the base of the single tower overlooking the tarmac we flipped several very clearly marked switches turning the runway lights on and off. Then we walked over the several generators tucked away behind baggage claim to check their fuel and oil levels.
“Checking these emergency generators things each night seems a bit overkill, no?” I asked.
Gus smiled. “These aren’t for emergencies. This is our power. Yea, this past winter much to our surprise we found that some of the power poles came down. Some heavy rainfall right before the first snow turned the ground to soup and the just sort of…fell over.”
“They really shouldn’t do that.”
Gus shrugged. “Yea well, corners get cut all over the place. Damn things still aren’t back up, so here we are.”
As we walked back over to the portables for baggage claim and arrivals/departures. Another tingle ran down my spine. Instinctively I looked around and caught sight of something out in the dark. It was the feeling of being watched. I tried to focus my eyes on the darkness. I saw some gently pulsating shadows near the trees but nothing more.
The chirping and croaks were nowhere to be heard and I shivered.
“Come on kid, I ain’t got all night.”
I came to and trotted over to where Gus had stopped. “Sorry, I thought I saw…something.”
We continued onward, restocking the restrooms, went over baggage tagging and safe lifting procedures and the other mundane parts of preparing for the night’s departures and arrivals.
Finally, we wrapped up my first training session with perimeter checks.
Gus’ labored breathing alternated with his footfalls on the blacktop as we walked down the small runway.
“Every 3 hours you are going to be making this walk.” He gestured around. “You start over at the ATC tower and head out to the tree line, then follow that parallel to the tarmac until you pass the last of the landing lights and keep going until you hit the transmission shack. Don’t get distracted and go off following the transmission lines. Had a guy do that a year or two ago and it took us a week only to find his ass mumbling by the side of the road talking about the linemen – boy wasn’t right after that.”
He paused thoughtfully for a moment.
“Anywho, after the transmission shack you hook right following the shore of the river until you hit Eddie’s orchard then head back. You’ll pass his cornfield and follow that until you see the two terminal portables, then you check the parking lot and come back to the office to enter it all in the logbook. Just need to make sure there ain’t nothing out there that shouldn’t be.”
We continued walking in silence for a few minutes. “So what do I do if I find something? Are we looking for the Wilson boys or something? I thought they stopped causing trouble after you…”
“Well, you need to enter it in the logbook for one.”
“Bears? What do I do if it’s bears?”
He stopped. “Bears? What the hell are you rambling about? We don’t get bears this time of year. Oh, and be sure to bring your bear spray.”
“Even though there aren’t bears?”
“It’s under the counter next to the logbook.” He paused again. “If you see any wildlife, just take the truck out there and honk at it to get it away from the runway. Be sure to use your high beams, too. Very important. You see any people you get back to the office and call the Sheriff – don’t need to be a hero. You hear anything weird out there in the dark you leave it be, if it’s off property it’s not our problem.”
“Any questions?” he asked as we got back to the office.
A few.
“No, I’m good.”
“Great, Will’s in the control tower if anything comes up. No flights scheduled for tonight so it should be awfully quiet. Here’s the keys to the castle. Adios.”
He placed a massive key ring into my hand that had more keys than there were doors on the property and took off.
I sat down behind the counter, looked at the broken clock and sighed.
I was able to knock out the task list before midnight and had 6 more hours to kill before the end of my shift. There was no cell service, because of course not. I tried reading an old Town and Country magazine I found stashed under the desk and found most of the pages had been covered in circles and doodles by someone who must have been just as bored as I was on some unknown shift prior.
I decided to sweep up and clean the counters to keep myself busy and after I was done it was only 12:15.
I groaned.
The silence was oppressive. Outside the window was an empty, dark expanse with a slowly strobing series of red lights marking the flight line. I felt safer indoors but even then as I stared into the dark something felt off. If I turned my gaze from the windows I could see something out of the corner of my eyes. Branches swaying in the breeze.
There was no wind here.
12:34.
I pulled the logbook out from its shelf and placed it on the counter entering my start time, grabbed my flashlight and headed out into the frigid night.
The occasional whistling of the wind punctuated my footfalls. I passed red light posts every few yards on a never-ending runway. I kept walking for what felt like half an hour, losing count of the lights I’d passed. I turned back out of curiosity and still saw the slowly receding light of the air traffic control tower confirming that yes, all was well. After the runway ended I continued into the dark until coming to the boarded up transmission shack and the power lines that ran off into the forest.
I came the edge of the marsh and began following it. Minutes passed. I turned to get my bearings on the tower and found it’s lonely beacon, but I also noticed a void in the dark – not a blackness per-se, black is a color. No, it was a complete lack of color, a hole in existence out past the power lines. It was getting larger.
I picked up my pace.
I got to the orchard and looked back finding that the lights were out. All of them were out. And that thing in the forest was growing near.
I stood there and watched it for several minutes waiting for it to move. It didn’t.
I turned back now walking as fast as I could. After a dozen yards I stopped and turned around.
It was closer, I was sure of it. Much closer.
I turned and began to jog forgetting everything Gus had told me. It was gaining on me.
Now I was in a full-blown run down the flight line, glancing back every few moments, still unable to see it but sure it was there. The thing that had been watching me since I got here. The thing that drove a cold shock down my spine. This was it.
My legs pumped like pistons and the sting of cold air shot through my chest with each strained, gasping breath.
I passed the recently harvested cornfield, in which stood two perfectly still Deer judging me for my frantic escape.
It was gaining on me.
Finally I came to the portables. I slammed into the nearest door but it stood firm. I slammed my shoulder into it three more times and it didn’t budge. I remembered my key chain.
I pulled it out and started flipping through the keys. *too many keys*.
First key. No.
Second key. No.
Third key. No.
The fourth key worked, the tumbler clicked and I was in. Slamming the door back in place, I frantically locked it.
My hands were shaking and even though I was panting, I went to the window. The void cast long shadows across the field as it stood transfixed not on me, but on the deer.
“Shhhh” a man’s voice whispered from behind me.
“Oh SWEET JESUS FU-“ I screamed as a hand clamped down on my mouth.
“SHHH.” Sharper this time, commanding. “It’s me.” Will whispered, releasing his hand from my mouth.
“What..” I replied quietly as I turned to see him using his phone to maneuver the drone. “What’s going on? You scared the shit out of me. Nice to meet you by the way I’m..”
He smiled, “You gotta be more careful buddy, Didn’t Gus tell you not to go out into the woods?” Now that I could hear him clearly, his odd vowel pronunciation took me off guard. He’d fit right in, in Venice beach. Surfers. He sounded exactly like how I imagined California Surfers sounded. Very out of place for this part of the country. I shook the thought from my mind.
“I didn’t, I..”
He shushed me and pointed to the deer.
“Just…watch.”
I’d never seen deer stay still so long.
I strained my eyes to see. The shadows, tilled earth and wilted corn husks broke up the terrain making it hard to see what was hidden in plain sight. I’d see movement then have to dismiss it as wind kicking up gentle curtains of soil or the shifting of a shadow from the small movements in the night.
Slowly a thin sharp shadow moved, followed by another, then another. They moved in concert from that enormous void that had followed me.
The deer stood transfixed before it all happened at once.
A mixture of humanlike screams erupted as each of their bodies were slammed into the ground. Viscera painted the wind. In another moment the light went out and I heard Will sigh.
The wind whistled and died, but we could still hear it out there breathing heavily as it gorged itself. From where I stood I could only see a throbbing silhouette breaking the horizon as it went to work. A crisp snap rang out as it pulled limb by limb from the carcass. The throbbing of the shape slowed as a new sound arose. A contented hum made its presence felt through the rattling of the windows and doors and threatened to overwhelm my own beating heart.
The sound rose as the shape slowly moved closer.
“What do we..”
Will shushed me.
I jumped and stifled a scream as a wet, boneless appendage slammed against the window curiously. The doorknob rattled though this time not from the creatures’ purr but from it’s clumsy efforts to open the door and join us inside.
The ceiling creaked above us under a massive weight.
It groaned as if remembering something and suddenly began moving away back towards the trees. There were no footfalls, just the gently receding sound of a blissful purr.
When it finally entered the world beyond its movements melted into those of the swaying branches becoming indiscernible. The more I tried to focus on it the harder it was to recall its form or the impossibility I’d just witnessed.
Will smiled and patted me on the shoulder sadly, “Welcome to Murkintok.”
2023.06.04 05:01 A_Stony_Shore Murkintok Municipal Airport
I was going to be late. I was on the verge of panic, uncertain of where I’d come from or why I was late, but I was going to be late.
Today was supposed to be different. I was sure of it. The start of something new. My only opportunity to move out of my little dead-end corner of Appalachia rested on me arriving for the night shift on time.
I sped over the rolling road in a panic. Dense old growth rushed past in a blur periodically broken by small plots of pasture, apple orchards and fields that a few months earlier were brimming with corn. Shadows danced out there in the dim moonlight and the closer I got to the airfield the more separated from the small outlying town I felt.
My steering wheel was cold and it vibrated wildly in rhythm with my heart. I tapped it impatiently.
The rusted hulk nearly left the road each time I crested a hillock. My suspension groaned under the salt spurred corrosion and strain.
I can get a new car if this all works out.
I nearly missed my turn. Fishtailing, I plodded off the main road onto an aptly named “Airport Drive”.
I came to a halt at the designated stall and turned the car off.
A minute to spare.
I looked out into the darkness beyond the parking area and a tingle ran down my spine. The shadows that were once dancing as I passed were still now and the air oppressive. My hands were tingled with cold yet brimmed with sweat. Before opening the door, I took a few deep breaths, flattened my hair, and made sure my uniform was sharp. Looking into my image in the rearview mirror I cleared my throat.
“Alright buddy. You’ve been drifting from service job to service job in this dying county for half a decade. Somethings got to change. *You’ve* got to change. You’ve got a daughter now, you can’t be out there chasing bar weasels and getting drunk every other night. It’s time to up your game. You aren’t the little boy who had to stand in the corner with his nose to the wall every time you messed up anymore. Now your choices matter for her life too. The pay and experience here are going to help springboard you off into something bigger and brighter. You can do this.”
My car door shrieked open causing the chirping and croaks in the forest around the airfield to briefly fall silent. The crunch of gravel followed me across the unpaved, unmarked parking spaces poorly illuminated by one lonely floodlight. I made my way to the entrance of the terminal and pulled open the door to the chime of an old brass bell.
“Oh, hey buddy.” He glanced at the clock. “You’re early.” Stepping into the room I saw Gus casually looking up from his crossword, bifocals resting on his fat, bright red nose.
“Yessir. I figured maybe if things weren’t too busy we could get started early. I’ve heard night shift can be a lot to take in.”
His brows furrowed and his mouth hung half open.
“Well….alright, I guess. But we’ll be easing you in. Just the basics for the first week.” He held up a finger, “Will and I are gonna rotate each night, until we know you’ve got the hang of it, then we’ll start giving you more responsibilities – if you’re up to it.”
We spent several hours on the night shift responsibilities for the airfield. Many of the duties weren’t too complicated. When we went to the control room at the base of the single tower overlooking the tarmac we flipped several very clearly marked switches turning the runway lights on and off. Then we walked over the several generators tucked away behind baggage claim to check their fuel and oil levels.
“Checking these emergency generators things each night seems a bit overkill, no?” I asked.
Gus smiled. “These aren’t for emergencies. This is our power. Yea, this past winter much to our surprise we found that some of the power poles came down. Some heavy rainfall right before the first snow turned the ground to soup and the just sort of…fell over.”
“They really shouldn’t do that.”
Gus shrugged. “Yea well, corners get cut all over the place. Damn things still aren’t back up, so here we are.”
As we walked back over to the portables for baggage claim and arrivals/departures. Another tingle ran down my spine. Instinctively I looked around and caught sight of something out in the dark. It was the feeling of being watched. I tried to focus my eyes on the darkness. I saw some gently pulsating shadows near the trees but nothing more.
The chirping and croaks were nowhere to be heard and I shivered.
“Come on kid, I ain’t got all night.”
I came to and trotted over to where Gus had stopped. “Sorry, I thought I saw…something.”
We continued onward, restocking the restrooms, went over baggage tagging and safe lifting procedures and the other mundane parts of preparing for the night’s departures and arrivals.
Finally, we wrapped up my first training session with perimeter checks.
Gus’ labored breathing alternated with his footfalls on the blacktop as we walked down the small runway.
“Every 3 hours you are going to be making this walk.” He gestured around. “You start over at the ATC tower and head out to the tree line, then follow that parallel to the tarmac until you pass the last of the landing lights and keep going until you hit the transmission shack. Don’t get distracted and go off following the transmission lines. Had a guy do that a year or two ago and it took us a week only to find his ass mumbling by the side of the road talking about the linemen – boy wasn’t right after that.”
He paused thoughtfully for a moment.
“Anywho, after the transmission shack you hook right following the shore of the river until you hit Eddie’s orchard then head back. You’ll pass his cornfield and follow that until you see the two terminal portables, then you check the parking lot and come back to the office to enter it all in the logbook. Just need to make sure there ain’t nothing out there that shouldn’t be.”
We continued walking in silence for a few minutes. “So what do I do if I find something? Are we looking for the Wilson boys or something? I thought they stopped causing trouble after you…”
“Well, you need to enter it in the logbook for one.”
“Bears? What do I do if it’s bears?”
He stopped. “Bears? What the hell are you rambling about? We don’t get bears this time of year. Oh, and be sure to bring your bear spray.”
“Even though there aren’t bears?”
“It’s under the counter next to the logbook.” He paused again. “If you see any wildlife, just take the truck out there and honk at it to get it away from the runway. Be sure to use your high beams, too. Very important. You see any people you get back to the office and call the Sheriff – don’t need to be a hero. You hear anything weird out there in the dark you leave it be, if it’s off property it’s not our problem.”
“Any questions?” he asked as we got back to the office.
A few.
“No, I’m good.”
“Great, Will’s in the control tower if anything comes up. No flights scheduled for tonight so it should be awfully quiet. Here’s the keys to the castle. Adios.”
He placed a massive key ring into my hand that had more keys than there were doors on the property and took off.
I sat down behind the counter, looked at the broken clock and sighed.
I was able to knock out the task list before midnight and had 6 more hours to kill before the end of my shift. There was no cell service, because of course not. I tried reading an old Town and Country magazine I found stashed under the desk and found most of the pages had been covered in circles and doodles by someone who must have been just as bored as I was on some unknown shift prior.
I decided to sweep up and clean the counters to keep myself busy and after I was done it was only 12:15.
I groaned.
The silence was oppressive. Outside the window was an empty, dark expanse with a slowly strobing series of red lights marking the flight line. I felt safer indoors but even then as I stared into the dark something felt off. If I turned my gaze from the windows I could see something out of the corner of my eyes. Branches swaying in the breeze.
There was no wind here.
12:34.
I pulled the logbook out from its shelf and placed it on the counter entering my start time, grabbed my flashlight and headed out into the frigid night.
The occasional whistling of the wind punctuated my footfalls. I passed red light posts every few yards on a never-ending runway. I kept walking for what felt like half an hour, losing count of the lights I’d passed. I turned back out of curiosity and still saw the slowly receding light of the air traffic control tower confirming that yes, all was well. After the runway ended I continued into the dark until coming to the boarded up transmission shack and the power lines that ran off into the forest.
I came the edge of the marsh and began following it. Minutes passed. I turned to get my bearings on the tower and found it’s lonely beacon, but I also noticed a void in the dark – not a blackness per-se, black is a color. No, it was a complete lack of color, a hole in existence out past the power lines. It was getting larger.
I picked up my pace.
I got to the orchard and looked back finding that the lights were out. All of them were out. And that thing in the forest was growing near.
I stood there and watched it for several minutes waiting for it to move. It didn’t.
I turned back now walking as fast as I could. After a dozen yards I stopped and turned around.
It was closer, I was sure of it. Much closer.
I turned and began to jog forgetting everything Gus had told me. It was gaining on me.
Now I was in a full-blown run down the flight line, glancing back every few moments, still unable to see it but sure it was there. The thing that had been watching me since I got here. The thing that drove a cold shock down my spine. This was it.
My legs pumped like pistons and the sting of cold air shot through my chest with each strained, gasping breath.
I passed the recently harvested cornfield, in which stood two perfectly still Deer judging me for my frantic escape.
It was gaining on me.
Finally I came to the portables. I slammed into the nearest door but it stood firm. I slammed my shoulder into it three more times and it didn’t budge. I remembered my key chain.
I pulled it out and started flipping through the keys. *too many keys*.
First key. No.
Second key. No.
Third key. No.
The fourth key worked, the tumbler clicked and I was in. Slamming the door back in place, I frantically locked it.
My hands were shaking and even though I was panting, I went to the window. The void cast long shadows across the field as it stood transfixed not on me, but on the deer.
“Shhhh” a man’s voice whispered from behind me.
“Oh SWEET JESUS FU-“ I screamed as a hand clamped down on my mouth.
“SHHH.” Sharper this time, commanding. “It’s me.” Will whispered, releasing his hand from my mouth.
“What..” I replied quietly as I turned to see him using his phone to maneuver the drone. “What’s going on? You scared the shit out of me. Nice to meet you by the way I’m..”
He smiled, “You gotta be more careful buddy, Didn’t Gus tell you not to go out into the woods?” Now that I could hear him clearly, his odd vowel pronunciation took me off guard. He’d fit right in, in Venice beach. Surfers. He sounded exactly like how I imagined California Surfers sounded. Very out of place for this part of the country. I shook the thought from my mind.
“I didn’t, I..”
He shushed me and pointed to the deer.
“Just…watch.”
I’d never seen deer stay still so long.
I strained my eyes to see. The shadows, tilled earth and wilted corn husks broke up the terrain making it hard to see what was hidden in plain sight. I’d see movement then have to dismiss it as wind kicking up gentle curtains of soil or the shifting of a shadow from the small movements in the night.
Slowly a thin sharp shadow moved, followed by another, then another. They moved in concert from that enormous void that had followed me.
The deer stood transfixed before it all happened at once.
A mixture of humanlike screams erupted as each of their bodies were slammed into the ground. Viscera painted the wind. In another moment the light went out and I heard Will sigh.
The wind whistled and died, but we could still hear it out there breathing heavily as it gorged itself. From where I stood I could only see a throbbing silhouette breaking the horizon as it went to work. A crisp snap rang out as it pulled limb by limb from the carcass. The throbbing of the shape slowed as a new sound arose. A contented hum made its presence felt through the rattling of the windows and doors and threatened to overwhelm my own beating heart.
The sound rose as the shape slowly moved closer.
“What do we..”
Will shushed me.
I jumped and stifled a scream as a wet, boneless appendage slammed against the window curiously. The doorknob rattled though this time not from the creatures’ purr but from it’s clumsy efforts to open the door and join us inside.
The ceiling creaked above us under a massive weight.
It groaned as if remembering something and suddenly began moving away back towards the trees. There were no footfalls, just the gently receding sound of a blissful purr.
When it finally entered the world beyond its movements melted into those of the swaying branches becoming indiscernible. The more I tried to focus on it the harder it was to recall its form or the impossibility I’d just witnessed.
Will smiled and patted me on the shoulder sadly, “Welcome to Murkintok.”
submitted by A_Stony_Shore to A_Stony_Shore [link] [comments]
Today was supposed to be different. I was sure of it. The start of something new. My only opportunity to move out of my little dead-end corner of Appalachia rested on me arriving for the night shift on time.
I sped over the rolling road in a panic. Dense old growth rushed past in a blur periodically broken by small plots of pasture, apple orchards and fields that a few months earlier were brimming with corn. Shadows danced out there in the dim moonlight and the closer I got to the airfield the more separated from the small outlying town I felt.
My steering wheel was cold and it vibrated wildly in rhythm with my heart. I tapped it impatiently.
The rusted hulk nearly left the road each time I crested a hillock. My suspension groaned under the salt spurred corrosion and strain.
I can get a new car if this all works out.
I nearly missed my turn. Fishtailing, I plodded off the main road onto an aptly named “Airport Drive”.
I came to a halt at the designated stall and turned the car off.
A minute to spare.
I looked out into the darkness beyond the parking area and a tingle ran down my spine. The shadows that were once dancing as I passed were still now and the air oppressive. My hands were tingled with cold yet brimmed with sweat. Before opening the door, I took a few deep breaths, flattened my hair, and made sure my uniform was sharp. Looking into my image in the rearview mirror I cleared my throat.
“Alright buddy. You’ve been drifting from service job to service job in this dying county for half a decade. Somethings got to change. *You’ve* got to change. You’ve got a daughter now, you can’t be out there chasing bar weasels and getting drunk every other night. It’s time to up your game. You aren’t the little boy who had to stand in the corner with his nose to the wall every time you messed up anymore. Now your choices matter for her life too. The pay and experience here are going to help springboard you off into something bigger and brighter. You can do this.”
My car door shrieked open causing the chirping and croaks in the forest around the airfield to briefly fall silent. The crunch of gravel followed me across the unpaved, unmarked parking spaces poorly illuminated by one lonely floodlight. I made my way to the entrance of the terminal and pulled open the door to the chime of an old brass bell.
“Oh, hey buddy.” He glanced at the clock. “You’re early.” Stepping into the room I saw Gus casually looking up from his crossword, bifocals resting on his fat, bright red nose.
“Yessir. I figured maybe if things weren’t too busy we could get started early. I’ve heard night shift can be a lot to take in.”
His brows furrowed and his mouth hung half open.
“Well….alright, I guess. But we’ll be easing you in. Just the basics for the first week.” He held up a finger, “Will and I are gonna rotate each night, until we know you’ve got the hang of it, then we’ll start giving you more responsibilities – if you’re up to it.”
We spent several hours on the night shift responsibilities for the airfield. Many of the duties weren’t too complicated. When we went to the control room at the base of the single tower overlooking the tarmac we flipped several very clearly marked switches turning the runway lights on and off. Then we walked over the several generators tucked away behind baggage claim to check their fuel and oil levels.
“Checking these emergency generators things each night seems a bit overkill, no?” I asked.
Gus smiled. “These aren’t for emergencies. This is our power. Yea, this past winter much to our surprise we found that some of the power poles came down. Some heavy rainfall right before the first snow turned the ground to soup and the just sort of…fell over.”
“They really shouldn’t do that.”
Gus shrugged. “Yea well, corners get cut all over the place. Damn things still aren’t back up, so here we are.”
As we walked back over to the portables for baggage claim and arrivals/departures. Another tingle ran down my spine. Instinctively I looked around and caught sight of something out in the dark. It was the feeling of being watched. I tried to focus my eyes on the darkness. I saw some gently pulsating shadows near the trees but nothing more.
The chirping and croaks were nowhere to be heard and I shivered.
“Come on kid, I ain’t got all night.”
I came to and trotted over to where Gus had stopped. “Sorry, I thought I saw…something.”
We continued onward, restocking the restrooms, went over baggage tagging and safe lifting procedures and the other mundane parts of preparing for the night’s departures and arrivals.
Finally, we wrapped up my first training session with perimeter checks.
Gus’ labored breathing alternated with his footfalls on the blacktop as we walked down the small runway.
“Every 3 hours you are going to be making this walk.” He gestured around. “You start over at the ATC tower and head out to the tree line, then follow that parallel to the tarmac until you pass the last of the landing lights and keep going until you hit the transmission shack. Don’t get distracted and go off following the transmission lines. Had a guy do that a year or two ago and it took us a week only to find his ass mumbling by the side of the road talking about the linemen – boy wasn’t right after that.”
He paused thoughtfully for a moment.
“Anywho, after the transmission shack you hook right following the shore of the river until you hit Eddie’s orchard then head back. You’ll pass his cornfield and follow that until you see the two terminal portables, then you check the parking lot and come back to the office to enter it all in the logbook. Just need to make sure there ain’t nothing out there that shouldn’t be.”
We continued walking in silence for a few minutes. “So what do I do if I find something? Are we looking for the Wilson boys or something? I thought they stopped causing trouble after you…”
“Well, you need to enter it in the logbook for one.”
“Bears? What do I do if it’s bears?”
He stopped. “Bears? What the hell are you rambling about? We don’t get bears this time of year. Oh, and be sure to bring your bear spray.”
“Even though there aren’t bears?”
“It’s under the counter next to the logbook.” He paused again. “If you see any wildlife, just take the truck out there and honk at it to get it away from the runway. Be sure to use your high beams, too. Very important. You see any people you get back to the office and call the Sheriff – don’t need to be a hero. You hear anything weird out there in the dark you leave it be, if it’s off property it’s not our problem.”
“Any questions?” he asked as we got back to the office.
A few.
“No, I’m good.”
“Great, Will’s in the control tower if anything comes up. No flights scheduled for tonight so it should be awfully quiet. Here’s the keys to the castle. Adios.”
He placed a massive key ring into my hand that had more keys than there were doors on the property and took off.
I sat down behind the counter, looked at the broken clock and sighed.
I was able to knock out the task list before midnight and had 6 more hours to kill before the end of my shift. There was no cell service, because of course not. I tried reading an old Town and Country magazine I found stashed under the desk and found most of the pages had been covered in circles and doodles by someone who must have been just as bored as I was on some unknown shift prior.
I decided to sweep up and clean the counters to keep myself busy and after I was done it was only 12:15.
I groaned.
The silence was oppressive. Outside the window was an empty, dark expanse with a slowly strobing series of red lights marking the flight line. I felt safer indoors but even then as I stared into the dark something felt off. If I turned my gaze from the windows I could see something out of the corner of my eyes. Branches swaying in the breeze.
There was no wind here.
12:34.
I pulled the logbook out from its shelf and placed it on the counter entering my start time, grabbed my flashlight and headed out into the frigid night.
The occasional whistling of the wind punctuated my footfalls. I passed red light posts every few yards on a never-ending runway. I kept walking for what felt like half an hour, losing count of the lights I’d passed. I turned back out of curiosity and still saw the slowly receding light of the air traffic control tower confirming that yes, all was well. After the runway ended I continued into the dark until coming to the boarded up transmission shack and the power lines that ran off into the forest.
I came the edge of the marsh and began following it. Minutes passed. I turned to get my bearings on the tower and found it’s lonely beacon, but I also noticed a void in the dark – not a blackness per-se, black is a color. No, it was a complete lack of color, a hole in existence out past the power lines. It was getting larger.
I picked up my pace.
I got to the orchard and looked back finding that the lights were out. All of them were out. And that thing in the forest was growing near.
I stood there and watched it for several minutes waiting for it to move. It didn’t.
I turned back now walking as fast as I could. After a dozen yards I stopped and turned around.
It was closer, I was sure of it. Much closer.
I turned and began to jog forgetting everything Gus had told me. It was gaining on me.
Now I was in a full-blown run down the flight line, glancing back every few moments, still unable to see it but sure it was there. The thing that had been watching me since I got here. The thing that drove a cold shock down my spine. This was it.
My legs pumped like pistons and the sting of cold air shot through my chest with each strained, gasping breath.
I passed the recently harvested cornfield, in which stood two perfectly still Deer judging me for my frantic escape.
It was gaining on me.
Finally I came to the portables. I slammed into the nearest door but it stood firm. I slammed my shoulder into it three more times and it didn’t budge. I remembered my key chain.
I pulled it out and started flipping through the keys. *too many keys*.
First key. No.
Second key. No.
Third key. No.
The fourth key worked, the tumbler clicked and I was in. Slamming the door back in place, I frantically locked it.
My hands were shaking and even though I was panting, I went to the window. The void cast long shadows across the field as it stood transfixed not on me, but on the deer.
“Shhhh” a man’s voice whispered from behind me.
“Oh SWEET JESUS FU-“ I screamed as a hand clamped down on my mouth.
“SHHH.” Sharper this time, commanding. “It’s me.” Will whispered, releasing his hand from my mouth.
“What..” I replied quietly as I turned to see him using his phone to maneuver the drone. “What’s going on? You scared the shit out of me. Nice to meet you by the way I’m..”
He smiled, “You gotta be more careful buddy, Didn’t Gus tell you not to go out into the woods?” Now that I could hear him clearly, his odd vowel pronunciation took me off guard. He’d fit right in, in Venice beach. Surfers. He sounded exactly like how I imagined California Surfers sounded. Very out of place for this part of the country. I shook the thought from my mind.
“I didn’t, I..”
He shushed me and pointed to the deer.
“Just…watch.”
I’d never seen deer stay still so long.
I strained my eyes to see. The shadows, tilled earth and wilted corn husks broke up the terrain making it hard to see what was hidden in plain sight. I’d see movement then have to dismiss it as wind kicking up gentle curtains of soil or the shifting of a shadow from the small movements in the night.
Slowly a thin sharp shadow moved, followed by another, then another. They moved in concert from that enormous void that had followed me.
The deer stood transfixed before it all happened at once.
A mixture of humanlike screams erupted as each of their bodies were slammed into the ground. Viscera painted the wind. In another moment the light went out and I heard Will sigh.
The wind whistled and died, but we could still hear it out there breathing heavily as it gorged itself. From where I stood I could only see a throbbing silhouette breaking the horizon as it went to work. A crisp snap rang out as it pulled limb by limb from the carcass. The throbbing of the shape slowed as a new sound arose. A contented hum made its presence felt through the rattling of the windows and doors and threatened to overwhelm my own beating heart.
The sound rose as the shape slowly moved closer.
“What do we..”
Will shushed me.
I jumped and stifled a scream as a wet, boneless appendage slammed against the window curiously. The doorknob rattled though this time not from the creatures’ purr but from it’s clumsy efforts to open the door and join us inside.
The ceiling creaked above us under a massive weight.
It groaned as if remembering something and suddenly began moving away back towards the trees. There were no footfalls, just the gently receding sound of a blissful purr.
When it finally entered the world beyond its movements melted into those of the swaying branches becoming indiscernible. The more I tried to focus on it the harder it was to recall its form or the impossibility I’d just witnessed.
Will smiled and patted me on the shoulder sadly, “Welcome to Murkintok.”
2023.06.04 04:20 Cephalomagus 2023 Season 3 Release Notes [Pre-Release Version]
The Release Notes for 2023 Season 3 have been posted on the iRacing Forums!
Find them posted here:
https://forums.iracing.com/discussion/42721/2023-season-3-release-notes-pre-release-version#latest
Or read them below!
========================================================================
Our Dirt Taskforce has completed their work on the Dirt Refresh Project shared with the community back in February, and we are excited for you to experience the fruits of their labors. The Spotter System has received a Race Control-focused set of updates and new calls that will liven up your racing and keep you better informed about what is happening on the track and in the race. New challengers approach - you will now have the ability to add AI Opponent Rosters to your Hosted Sessions that utilize the Heat Racing format! We are excited to announce we have been investing time into saving you time, loading time to be precise, and this Season Release includes a first phase of loading optimizations that should get you into the driver’s seat just a little bit faster. Willow Springs International Raceway is proud to pioneer a new 3D Foliage System that automatically populates the environment with grasses, shrubs, and other creations of Mother Nature. USB Audio Hot Swapping is now fully enabled and supported by iRacing for all of your headset and speaker needs. A new Graphics Option has also been added which controls the display of all cockpit obstructions instead of this parameter being car setup specific.
The New Damage Model has been put into practice on eleven additional cars. And last but not least our AI Drivers have mastered eight new cars and twenty-four new track configurations. Welcome to iRacing 2023 Season 3!
Season highlights include:
Full 2023 Season 3 Release details are below.
submitted by Cephalomagus to iRacing [link] [comments]
Find them posted here:
https://forums.iracing.com/discussion/42721/2023-season-3-release-notes-pre-release-version#latest
Or read them below!
========================================================================
2023 Season 3 Release Notes [Pre-Release Version]
This is the iRacing 2023 Season 3 Release! This release contains both content and upgrades for 2023 Season 3, which officially starts on June 12th! This season update includes three new cars: Cadillac V-Series.R GTP, Ligier JS P320, and Porsche 911 GT3 R (992). iRacing also expands its track offerings to include MotorLand Aragón (7 configs) and Willow Springs International Raceway, as well as a new 2023 Cup config for Chicago Street Course.Our Dirt Taskforce has completed their work on the Dirt Refresh Project shared with the community back in February, and we are excited for you to experience the fruits of their labors. The Spotter System has received a Race Control-focused set of updates and new calls that will liven up your racing and keep you better informed about what is happening on the track and in the race. New challengers approach - you will now have the ability to add AI Opponent Rosters to your Hosted Sessions that utilize the Heat Racing format! We are excited to announce we have been investing time into saving you time, loading time to be precise, and this Season Release includes a first phase of loading optimizations that should get you into the driver’s seat just a little bit faster. Willow Springs International Raceway is proud to pioneer a new 3D Foliage System that automatically populates the environment with grasses, shrubs, and other creations of Mother Nature. USB Audio Hot Swapping is now fully enabled and supported by iRacing for all of your headset and speaker needs. A new Graphics Option has also been added which controls the display of all cockpit obstructions instead of this parameter being car setup specific.
The New Damage Model has been put into practice on eleven additional cars. And last but not least our AI Drivers have mastered eight new cars and twenty-four new track configurations. Welcome to iRacing 2023 Season 3!
Season highlights include:
- Cadillac V-Series.R GTP
- Ligier JS P320
- Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)
- MotorLand Aragón (7 configs)
- Willow Springs International Raceway
- New Track Configuration: Chicago Street Course - 2023 Cup
- Dirt Racing Refresh Project
- New Spotter Calls and Updates for Race Control
- Hosted Session AI Heat Racing
- Phase 1 of Loading Time Improvements
- 3D Foliage System
- USB Audio Device Hot Swapping
- Cockpit Obstruction Removal Graphics Option
- New Damage Model for 11 Vehicles (Cadillac V-Series.R GTP, Dirt Late Model (ALL), Ligier JS P320, NASCAR Truck Series Trucks, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992), Porsche 911 GT3 R (992), and Renault Clio R.S. V)
- AI Racing for 8 Cars (Aston Martin DBR9 GT1, Cadillac CTS-V Racecar, Cadillac V-Series.R GTP, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R GT1, Ford GT GT2, Ligier JS P320, Porsche 911 GT3 R (992), and Radical SR10)
- AI Racing at 24 Track Configurations (Autodromo Nazionale Monza - GP without first chicane, Junior, and GP without chicanes, Chicago Street Course - 2023 Cup and Prototype, Circuit of the Americas - East and West, Irwindale Speedway - ALL FIVE Configs, MotorLand Aragón - ALL SEVEN Configs, Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway - Mini, New Smyrna Speedway, Twin Ring Motegi - East and Oval, and Willow Springs International Raceway)
- Hundreds of new and optimized official iRacing vehicle setups
Full 2023 Season 3 Release details are below.
iRACING UI:
--------------------------------------------------------------Hosted Racing
- The Create Starting Grid functionality and button are now disabled whenever both Heat Racing and AI Opponent Roster are selected for an Event.
AI Racing
- AI Drivers have completed an extensive training course for participating in the Heat Racing format!
- - - Heat Racing is now available for Hosted Sessions using AI Rosters!
- - - This is a brand new feature implementation for both AI Racing and the Heat Racing format.
- - - - - It is important to note that this feature is only available for Hosted Racing events at this time. AI Drivers still need the support of real humans in their Sessions or artificial chaos would surely ensue.
Tracks
- All Track location information has been standardized and updated. All Track locations are now identified by: City, State/Province, Country.
Leagues
- Fixed an issue where the names of AI Drivers who won League Series Sessions were forgotten when viewing the League Season Schedule.
Paint Shop
- A new sponsor, Maconi Setup Shop, has been added to the Paint Shop!
- Fixed an issue with a missing font for the Stock Car Pro Series Class Cars.
SIMULATION:
--------------------------------------------------------------Windows Support
- With the release of iRacing 2023 Season 3, the Windows 8.1 operating system is no longer able to successfully launch the iRacing application.
- - - Microsoft officially dropped support for Windows 8.1 on January 14th, 2023. As a result of this, it is no longer compatible with our software, and it will fail to launch.
- - - If you need help installing or running iRacing on Windows 10 or 11, please contact Customer Support here: https://support.iracing.com. Customer Support cannot get iRacing to work on Windows 8.1.
Race Servers
- Race Server capacity has been expanded to allow for nine different car models to be present within a Session.
- A user’s average lap time will no longer exclude laps that had been labeled as “invalid”.
- Fixed an issue where some Open Practice Race Servers were closing early due to inactivity.
- Fixed an issue where track temperatures were changing wildly if the Session was restarted (via AI Racing controls for example).
Loading
- Some adjustments have been made to how video memory resources are loaded.
- Some car loading algorithms have been optimized.
Dynamic Track
- The manner in which the dynamic track algorithm was calculated on surfaces has been improved, particularly along outside track edges.
- Fixed an issue where the visual display of some dynamic track data including dirt, marbles, and rubber was not functioning correctly on some track segments.
Race Control
- The algorithm for generating race splits based on car classes has been improved slightly.
- Short Parade Laps are now available for use at the following additional track configurations:
- - - Barber Motorsports Park - Full Course
- - - Brands Hatch Circuit - Indy
- - - Canadian Tire Motorsports Park
- - - Charlotte Motor Speedway - Roval, Roval - 2018, & Roval Long
- - - Circuit Park Zandvoort - Grand Prix
- - - Circuit Zolder - Grand Prix, & Alternate
- - - Daytona International Speedway - Oval - 2008, Road Course - 2008, & Moto - 2008
- - - Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg - PEC - Outer
- - - Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Oval - 2009, Open Wheel Oval - 2009, Road Course - 2009, & Bike
- - - Long Beach Street Circuit
- - - Mount Panorama Circuit
- - - Phillip Island Circuit
- - - Talladega Superspeedway
Qualifying Scrutiny
- The Qualifying Scrutiny system has been adjusted to better handle cases where cars needed time to get up to speed after leaving their starting location.
Dirt Racing
- A variety of updates as a result of the Dirt Refresh Project have been enabled!
- - - This project enlisted a focus group of developers, vehicle dynamicists, and testers who did a deep dig through everything that makes our Dirt Racing tick, and they’ve emerged with some sweeping improvements and updates.
- - - Dirt track parameters as a whole have been updated, including:
- - - - - Racing dirt properties at all levels of wear and wetness
- - - - - Dirt height variance, depth, and hardpan behavior
- - - - - Track wear parameters
- - - - - Tire rubber accumulation
- - - - - Dirt displacement from tires
- - - - - The formation of track roughness and perturbation
- - - - - The progression of dynamic track data has been updated for all dirt tracks
- - - All Dirt Racing tires have been updated with some of the following improvements:
- - - - - New wear rates based on the hardness and wetness of the dirt racing surface
- - - - - Dirt displacement parameters
- - - - - The manner in which tires calculate their contact on undulating dirt surfaces has been improved.
AI Racing
- AI Drivers have completed an extensive training course for participating in the Heat Racing format!
- - - Heat Racing is now available for Hosted Sessions using AI Rosters!
- - - This is a brand new feature implementation for both AI Racing and the Heat Racing format.
- - - - - It is important to note that this feature is only available for Hosted Racing events at this time. AI Drivers still need the support of real humans in their Sessions or artificial chaos would surely ensue.
- AI Drivers are now fully trained and capable drivers for the following new vehicles:
- - - Aston Martin DBR9 GT1
- - - Cadillac CTS-V Racecar
- - - Cadillac V-Series.R GTP
- - - Chevrolet Corvette C6.R GT1
- - - Ford GT GT2
- - - Ligier JS P320
- - - Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)
- - - Radical SR10
- AI Drivers have memorized and are ready to race for the gold at the following new tracks and configurations:
- - - Autodromo Nazionale Monza - GP without first chicane, Junior, and GP without chicanes
- - - Chicago Street Course - 2023 Cup and Prototype
- - - Circuit of the Americas - East and West
- - - Irwindale Speedway - ALL 5 Configurations
- - - MotorLand Aragón - ALL 7 Configurations
- - - Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway - Mini
- - - New Smyrna Speedway
- - - Twin Ring Motegi - East and Oval
- - - Willow Springs International Raceway
- AI Drivers have graduated from yet another season of advanced education classes. Training for 2023 Season 3 included the following programs:
- - - Kinesthetics for Preventing Pace Lap Panic
- - - [PHY-220] Drafting Speed Predictions
- - - White-Knuckle Door-to-Door Racing: A Retrospective
- - - Fast Cars Beware: Slow Cars
- - - Slow Cars Beware: Fast Cars
- - - AI Program Upgrade IV: Reaction Timing (Class: Pistol Shrimp)
- - - Danny S.’s Pre-School Seminar: Left-Hand Makes the “L”!
- - - The Technical Know-How Overlaps for GTP & Rocket Ship Piloting
- - - SuperTravel SuperProgram 2023: SuperSpeedways
- - - Lessons from Slot Car Racing on Racing Lines
- - - Tire Compound Connoisseur Magazine (Spring ‘23 Issue)
- - - Brake Pad Dissection - a Science Lab Qualified Course
- AI Drivers have improved their driving skills with the following vehicles:
- - -
NASCAR Cup Series Next Gen Cars - - -
NASCAR Trucks - - - BMW M Hybrid V8
- - - Dallara P217
- AI Drivers have improved their driving skills at the following track configs:
- - - Atlanta Motor Speedway - Oval
- - - Bristol Motor Speedway - Dual Pit Roads & Single Pit Road
- - - Canadian Tire Motorsports Park
- - - Daytona International Speedway - Oval
- - - Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle
- - - iRacing Superspeedway
- - - Talladega Superspeedway
- AI Drivers and their cars are now immediately removed from the world at the end of a Session. For safety.
- Fixed a handful of AI System issues including:
- - - Fixed an issue where custom Paint Schemes were not appearing on AI Drivers in Replays.
- - - Fixed an issue where AI Drivers could lag up to several seconds after the green before hitting the gas for standing starts in Hosted Sessions.
- - - Fixed an issue where AI Drivers could incur gain-time penalties while they were being towed back to their pit box. We don’t know what they were doing to Race Control staff to earn them, but it should be fixed now.
- - - Fixed an issue where multiple “Pitting In” notifications could be received.
- - - Fixed an issue with the display of AI Driver names on the Entries tab for Replays.
- - - Fixed an issue where AI Drivers appeared to be using the incorrect dive plane for the Dallara P217.
New Damage Model
- The New Damage Model is now active on the following additional vehicles:
- - - Cadillac V-Series.R GTP
- - - Dirt Late Model (ALL)
- - - Ligier JS P320
- - - NASCAR Truck Chevrolet Silverado
- - - NASCAR Truck Ford F150
- - - NASCAR Truck Toyota Tundra TRD Pro
- - - Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992)
- - - Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)
- - - Renault Clio R.S. V
- Some New Damage Model system code has been reorganized to make future development easier.
Auto Fuel
- Spotters and Team Members may now control their driver's Auto Fuel state.
Spotter
- The iRacing Spotter System has received some updates to help make it more accurate and dynamic. It is now better able to read Race Control events as they occur on the track, and a variety of new Spotter Calls have been added:
- - - Car in Front/Behind is Pitting
- - - Faster Car Approaching
- - - Gaining/Losing the car in front
- - - Leader Change
- - - Leader Lap Time
- - - Leader is Lapping You
- - - Session New Fastest Lap
- - - Your Personal Best Lap Time
- - - Time Remaining in Session 20/10/5 Minutes
- - - Settings for these new messages have been added to the “[SPCC]” section of the “app.ini” file.
- - - - - These messages will only play if “Chattiness” is set to MEDIUM or HIGH, and they are turned on in the “app.ini” file, which they are by default.
- A new “Silence” function has been added for the Spotter.
- - - In the Sound Options Menu, users can bind a key press that will interrupt and stop any current spotter message and temporarily disable future messages for a short duration. The duration of the hush may be adjusted via the “hushDuration” variable in the “app.ini” file, found in the “[SPCC]” section.
- “Leader Car” calls now returns the leader car in the same class as the player car. This means all spotter messages pertaining to the leader will now reference the leader in the same class as the player, instead of the outright leader.
- - - Messages include:
- - - - - Leader is pitting now
- - - - - Leader is at Start/Finish
- - - - - You're catching the leader
- - - - - One lap to win (if you are the leader car)
- Both Italian spotter packs have been updated and improved!
- - - Many thanks to Renzo A. Olivieri and Marco Arcidiacono!
- The Race Laps remaining spotter message logic has been updated.
- Fixed an issue with the fuel spotter calls when the pit entry location was dramatically different from the Start/Finish line location.
Graphics
- A new Graphics Option has been added: Hide Cockpit Obstructions.
- - - This option hides several visually obstructive elements from the world, including: Halo, A-Pillar, and Rock Screen.
- Vehicles that utilize the New Damage model have had their car model format adjusted to reduce video memory demands.
- Improved the accuracy of steering angles for viewing your opponents’ cars’ wheels.
- Adjust brake light exposure on some cars to try to prevent them from turning white when viewed from a distance.
- Updated the system which processes the hiding and displaying of halos for Replays.
- GGX blended dirt texture shaders have been improved.
- SpeedTree lighting has been updated.
- The graphics Option for SpeedTree self-shadowing has been removed.
- - - The visual benefits were minimal and the processing needs were demanding.
- Tooltips have been added for SSAO parameters.
- A new SDK for SpeedTree has been integrated.
- Fixed an issue where the reverse and unseen sides of some SpeedTree faces were being rendered, wasting processing time.
- Fixed an issue where distortion particles were not rendering properly unless they were inside the car.
- Fixed an issue where motion blur would trigger whenever the garage was visited.
- Fixed an issue where motion blur was appearing at different amounts on different parts of the same car.
3D Foliage System
- A new environmental graphics feature option has been added to the graphics options menu: Foliage!
- - - The new Foliage system procedurally generates 3D foliage of an appropriate biome type at specified tracks. Foliage may include grasses, shrubs, boulders, cacti, flowers, and other small environmental assets. 3D foliage has no impact on driving or physics, but should decorate the world much more realistically.
- - - In the Graphics Options menu, there are several levels of detail that may be selected for use by the 3D Foliage System which can customize your visual experience and your rendering performance. You may also select to disable the system entirely.
- - - With this release, only Willow Springs International Raceway has been seeded by the new 3D Foliage system so far, but Mother Nature always finds a way to spread!
Visual Effects
- Lighting for particle effects has been improved.
- The PopcornFX SDK has been updated to the latest version.
Audio
- Audio Hot Swap support has been added to iRacing!
- - - Forgot to plug in your headset before the race starts? iRacing now detects your device when it's plugged in, even during a race. If you've selected "System Default" from the sound options, audio automatically moves to the new device when the default changes. If you have selected a specific audio endpoint, it activates once it's available.
- - - Runtime audio device switching is now supported. When the default device is selected, a new default device can be chosen in Windows, and the Simulator will use the new device. If a specific device is selected, it will be used in the Simulator when it is activated in Windows.
- - - - - disableWindowsCoreAudio=0 When enabled (1), this option disables any Windows Core Audio integration (native windows audio).
- - - - - disableAudioDeviceChangedEvents=0 When enabled (1), this option disables dynamic audio device changing.
- - - Please note: Audio Hot Swapping is enabled by default.
- A new Audio Options setting has been added which allows you to assign a System Communication Default Device.
- A new audio option, “ambientMusicDisabled”, has been added to the “app.ini” file.
- - - 0 is the default value. Setting this parameter to 1 will disable all environment music that is normally played over the PA system while in the Simulation.
- Dynamic brake sounds have been rebalanced.
- Audio for load transmission on a variety of cars has been improved.
- The engine audio for all Pace Cars has been adjusted and optimized.
Environment
- New color and texture variations have been added for a variety of parked vehicles found around the tracks.
Interface
- Enhanced the right-click pop-up menus on the Session/Replay screen, and the Driving screen, to provide the option for private messaging (PM-ing) an individual user, the current driver of a car, or a car's entire Team (which includes a driver's spotters/crew in non-team sessions).
- - - Existing Admin/Race Control operations applied to a car that would have PM-ed someone on the team have been updated to message the whole team, instead of just one team member.
- - - Manually PM-ing a car number using "/#N", with N being the displayed car number, including leading zeros if shown, will now PM the whole team.
- - - To PM just the team member that's currently driving the car, use "/#N@" (add the @ symbol immediately after the car number). If the team's car is in its pit stall but the driver has gotten out of the car, that user is still PM-ed. If the team's car is not even in the world, no PM is sent when attempting to message its current driver, and you will be informed of this.
- - - - - To prevent receiving duplicate messages, if you would receive a chat message you sent because the target includes you (you're on the target team, you're the target team's driver, or you're talking to yourself!), you only receive the message due to being associated with the target of the message. That is, the message is not separately echoed directly back to you.
- - - You can continue to manually PM an individual using the existing mechanism of specifying their name after the "/".
- Text chat responses to Race Control Admin commands now identify the targeted entry with the team name and car number, instead of the name of the driver. In non-driver-swap events, the “team name” is the driver's name.
- An option for the units selection has been updated to “English (USA)” for clarity.
Camera
- A new highest option level, “Ultra”, has been added for Motion Blur.
- Fixed an issue with Driver View Pitch/Roll chassis effects so that when the view is locked to the horizon the car can now roll farther without the camera following the position of the car. This should help reduce motion sickness in VR if you use this feature.
- Fixed an issue for whenever a car’s center-of-mass left the camera frame, all motion blur on the car was lost.
- Fixed an issue where the focus of the camera was getting unwanted motion blur for cockpit cameras.
- Fixed an issue with motion blur on cars when using multiple displays.
Controls
- The automatic parking brake that holds a car still when you come to a stop will now fully apply itself anytime the car comes to a stop, rather than waiting for the user to hold the brake pedal down once stopped. This should help prevent cars from accidentally rolling away when you come to a quick stop but fail to fully engage the brake pedal.
- The Reset Button now prevents users from putting you into the car if your steering wheel needs assignment. Doing this now will take you to the Controls Wizard and allow you to assign and calibrate your driving controls.
- The test for XInput devices has been simplified.
- Fixed an issue that could cause some joysticks to fail to calibrate properly if the previous calibration was similar enough to the new calibration.
- Fixed an issue in the Options screen where the inputs (shifter, wheel, etc) would not respond if a button was held down on a wheel.
Force Feedback
- When calibrating a wheel, iRacing now checks that your selected maximum wheel angle and Force Feedback status match what we expect based on your detected hardware. A notification will appear if these do not match.
- - - This is an effort to detect common errors with certain wheels, either that do not have the correct drivers installed or that have a maximum wheel angle set to a very low value by default. If you receive this notification, or need help setting up your racing wheel, please reach out to Customer Support.
- iRacing will now try to automatically detect your racing wheel’s maximum force, and adjust the wheel force slider accordingly. This is used to help us safely and automatically calculate the force levels to send to your wheel. We can't always know how your wheel is set up, so this may be an overestimate of your maximum force level. This is the safer guess, but in some instances it may limit how strong of a force you can request from the simulation. In those cases you can turn off the “auto-mode” and manually set your wheel’s peak value, if known.
- Improved the force auto tune button so that it takes the wheels maximum force into account. This will lighten up the auto tune as the wheel force increases.
- - - There is a new scaling parameter in the “app.ini” file, “autoForceFactor”. This value defaults to 0.5, and allows you to adjust the aggressiveness of the reduction. Setting “[Force Feedback] autoForceFactor=1” will remove all reduction, giving you a 1:1 force output. Setting it to 0 will effectively always give you 6 Nm of peak force at the wheel. Any value in between will blend between these two extremes. The default value of 0.5 should be a good value for most users.
- A mappable button (Ctrl-A) has been added to apply the Auto Force adjustment found in the F9 Black Box.
- For the Auto Force Feedback peak force detection, data collected when the car is out of control will now be suppressed. Also, data collection will be paused for several seconds immediately after an incident. The goal is to make this system more stable and consistent, even if you wreck.
- For Force Feedback, a safety check has been added to detect if the wheel jumped in position (ie: we lost/gained communication with the wheel). If a communication interruption is detected, Force Feedback will be suppressed momentarily for safety.
- A new slew rate limiter filter that is controlled via the smoothing slider is now available in the Force Feedback options tab.
- - - This filter limits the rate of change of the force feedback signal so your wheel can't accelerate beyond a fixed value. In essence it smooths out the large jolts while leaving the rest of the signal alone. A value of 25% will have almost no impact on your regular driving, while softenting out curb or wall impacts, and a value of 75% will smooth out most rumble strips and make curb hits almost invisible. If you find that you have to turn down the FFB forces below the level you would like because the jolts from curbs or accidents are too large, then try turning this filter up instead. Try a value of 50% to start, and turn it down to 25% if you feel it is too much.
- - - - - You can go back to the old boxcar filter via the “[Force Feedback] smoothingFilterType=1” entry in the “app.ini” file.
Replays
- Chat messages and incident point accruement are now saved and viewable with Replays.
- Fixed an issue where custom Paint Schemes were not appearing on AI Drivers in Replays.
Telemetry
- Live brake line pressure (LFbrakeLinePress) has now been zeroed out and will no longer show a value.
- - - Disk based brake line pressure is still available (LFbrakeLinePress), and now has any ripple from the abs modulation included in its value.
- - - A new BrakeABSCutPct value has been added to the disk based telemetry that shows the percent of brake force reduction being applied by the ABS system.
- Driver suit, body, face, and helmet type ids have been added to the session string.
Official iRacing Sporting Code
- A variety of updates have been made to the Official iRacing Sporting Code, including:
- - - A new section 6.8.3. has been added which describes the correct behavior for Starting from Pits.
- - - Restructured the paragraphs describing Rolling Starts for improved clarity for both Oval and Road racing.
- - - Better explained how multiclass cars grid, and defined what starts a multiclass race.
- - - License Class images have been updated.
- - - Identified that Joker Laps may not be used for time-based competitions at Rallycross Tracks.
- - - A reminder has been added that it is unacceptable for suspended or restricted Members to use alternate accounts.
- - - Identified that nefarious tactics may also not be used during Races, and removed a poor example of nefarious behavior.
- Review the latest version of the Official iRacing Sporting Code here:
- - - https://www.iracing.com/iracing-official-sporting-code/
2023.06.04 03:32 L1CKx Car jolts and is very aggresive when going from 0-X speed, eapcially when pressing down quickly on the pedal
Feels super weird and a little scary espcaully since my first car I could floor it and it was so smooth but this ford fusion 2014 anytime I'm going from 0 to any speed is super like shaky and rough. I just bought it and kinda freaking me out.
submitted by L1CKx to fordfusion [link] [comments]
2023.06.04 02:19 ruthiess18 Help me find out what’s wrong please
I have a 2014 Ford Taurus SHO this has happened twice in a period of 6 months. I’ll turn on my car and everything is on and as I wait for the car to cool off my car will go silent like it turned off. The first time it happened I tried to shift gears and the car wouldn’t move. The second time I pressed the push to start button and even though all screens and lights were on the car made the sound like it turned on again. What could be wrong with the car?
submitted by ruthiess18 to autorepair [link] [comments]
2023.06.04 01:20 ruthiess18 Help me find out what’s wrong please
I have a 2014 Ford Taurus SHO this has happened twice in a period of 6 months. I’ll turn on my car and everything is on and as I wait for the car to cool off my car will go silent like it turned off. The first time it happened I tried to shift gears and the car wouldn’t move. The second time I pressed the push to start button and even though all screens and lights were on the car made the sound like it turned on again. What could be wrong with the car?
submitted by ruthiess18 to FordTaurus [link] [comments]
2023.06.03 23:40 Acrobatic_Seaweed_17 1 night of non stop playing,and two colas,it finaly paid off
 | Each costed me 5k,some 10-24k but i had to fight bots to get them Screenshot from my xbox app submitted by Acrobatic_Seaweed_17 to ForzaHorizon [link] [comments] |
2023.06.03 20:30 RohitAkki AI Weekly Rundown (May 27 to June 2)
This week was packed with small but impactful AI developments.
submitted by RohitAkki to ArtificialInteligence [link] [comments]
- NVIDIA uses AI to bring NPCs to life- NVIDIA has announced the NVIDIA Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE) for Games. This cloud-based service provides developers access to various AI models, including natural language processing (NLP) models, facial animation models, and motion capture models.- ACE for Games can create NPCs that can have intelligent, unscripted, and dynamic conversations with players, express emotions, and realistically react to their surroundings.- It can help developers in many ways:
- To create more realistic and believable NPCs with more natural and engaging conversations with players.
- To save time and money by providing them access to various AI models.
- BiomedGPT: The most sophisticated AI medical model?- BiomedGPT is a unified and generalist Biomedical Generative Pre-trained Transformer model.- BiomedGPT utilizes self-supervision on diverse datasets to handle multi-modal inputs and perform various downstream tasks.- Extensive experiments show that BiomedGPT surpasses most previous state-of-the-art models in performance across 5 distinct tasks with 20 public datasets spanning over 15 biomedical modalities.- The study also demonstrates the effectiveness of the multi-modal and multi-task pretraining approach in transferring knowledge to previously unseen data.
- Break-A-Scene: AI breaks down single image into multiple concepts- If given a photo of a ceramic artwork depicting a creature seated on a bowl, humans can effortlessly imagine the same creature in various poses and locations or envision the same bowl in a new setting. However, today's generative models struggle to do this type of task.- This research from Google (and others) introduces a new approach to textual scene decomposition. Given a single image of a scene that may contain multiple concepts of different kinds, it extracts a dedicated text token for each concept (handles) and enables fine-grained control over the generated scenes. The approach uses textual prompts in natural language for creating novel images featuring individual concepts or combinations of multiple concepts.
- Roop: 1 click AI face swap software with no dataset & trainingRoop is a 1 click, deepfake face-swapping software. It allows you to replace the face in a video with the face of your choice. You only need one image of the desired face and that’s it- no dataset or training is needed.In the future, they are aiming to:- Improve the quality of faces in results- Replace a selective face throughout the video- Support for replacing multiple faces
- Voyager: First LLM lifelong learning agent that can continuously explore worlds- Voyager is the first LLM-powered lifelong learning agent in Minecraft that uses advanced learning techniques to explore, learn skills, and make discoveries without human input.It consists of 3 key components:
- Automatic curriculum for exploration.
- Ever-growing skill library of executable code for storing and retrieving complex behaviors.
- Iterative prompting mechanism for incorporating environment feedback, execution errors, & program improvement.- Voyager interacts with GPT-4 through blackbox queries, bypassing the need for fine-tuning. It demonstrates strong lifelong learning abilities and performs exceptionally well in Minecraft.- Voyager rapidly becomes a seasoned explorer. In Minecraft, it obtains 3.3× more unique items, travels 2.3× longer distances, and unlocks key tech tree milestones up to 15.3× faster than prior methods & they have open-sourced everything!
- LaVIN, for cheap and quick vision-language adaptation in LLMs- New research from Xiamen University has proposed a novel and cost-effective for adapting LLMs to vision-language (VL) instruction tuning called Mixture-of-Modality Adaptation (MMA).- MMA uses lightweight adapters, allowing joint optimization of an entire multimodal LLM with a small number of parameters. This saves more than thousand times of storage overhead compared with existing solutions. It can also obtain a quick shift between text-only and image-text instructions to preserve the NLP capability of LLMs.- Based on MMA, a large vision-language instructed model called LaVIN was developed, enabling cheap and quick adaptations on VL tasks without requiring another large-scale pre-training. On conducting experiments on ScienceQA, LaVIN showed on-par performance with the advanced multimodal LLMs, with training time reduced by up to 71.4% and storage costs by 99.9%.
- Top AI scientists and experts sign statement urging safe AI- In a bid to facilitate open discussions about the severe risks posed by advanced artificial intelligence (AI), a concise statement has been released, urging the global community to prioritize mitigating the risk of AI-induced extinction.- The statement highlights the importance of addressing this issue on par with other societal-scale risks like pandemics and nuclear war. The call has garnered support from a growing number of AI scientists and notable figures from various fields, including Sam Altman CEO-OpenAI, Dario Amodei CEO-Anthropic, Demis Hassabis CEO-Google DeepMind, and many more.
- Falcon topples LLaMA: Top open-source LM- Falcon 40B, UAE’s leading large-scale open-source AI model from Technology Innovation Institute (TII), is now royalty-free for commercial and research use. Previously, it was released under a license requiring commercial royalty payments of 10%.- The model has been updated to Apache 2.0 software license, under which end-users have access to any patent covered by the software in question. TII has also provided access to the model’s weights to allow researchers and developers to use it to bring their innovative ideas to life.- Ranked #1 globally on Hugging Face’s Open LLM leaderboard, Falcon 40B outperforms competitors like Meta’s LLaMA, Stability AI’s StableLM, and RedPajama from Together.
- Open AI’s latest idea can help models do math with 78% accuracy- Even SoTA models today are prone to hallucinations, which can be particularly problematic in domains that require multi-step reasoning. To train more reliable models, OpenAI trained a model by rewarding each correct step of reasoning (“process supervision”) instead of simply rewarding the correct final answer (“outcome supervision”).- It was found that process supervision significantly outperforms outcome supervision for training models to solve problems from challenging MATH datasets. The model in the experiment solved 78% of problems from a representative subset of the MATH test set.- Additionally, process supervision also has an important alignment benefit: it directly trains the model to produce a chain-of-thought that is endorsed by humans.
- Neuralangelo, NVIDIA’s new AI model, turns 2D video into 3D structures- NVIDIA Research has introduced a new AI model for 3D reconstruction called Neuralangelo. It uses neural networks to turn 2D video clips from any device– cell phone to drone capture– into detailed 3D structures, generating lifelike virtual replicas of buildings, sculptures, and other real-world objects.- Neuralangelo’s ability to translate the textures of complex materials — including roof shingles, panes of glass, and smooth marble — from 2D videos to 3D assets significantly surpasses prior methods. The high fidelity makes its 3D reconstructions easier for developers and creative professionals to rapidly create usable virtual objects for their projects using footage captured by smartphones.
- Google’s retrieval-augmented model addresses the challenge of pre-training- Large-scale models like T5, GPT-3, PaLM, Flamingo, and PaLI have shown impressive knowledge storage abilities but require massive amounts of data and computational resources. Retrieval-augmented models in natural language processing (RETRO, REALM) and computer vision (KAT) aim to overcome these challenges by leveraging retrieval techniques. And researchers have attempted to address these challenges using retrieval-augmented models.- This model, “REVEAL: Retrieval-Augmented Visual-Language Pre-Training with Multi-Source Multimodal Knowledge Memory,” can provide up-to-date information and improve efficiency by retrieving relevant information instead of relying solely on pre-training.- It learns to utilize a multi-source multi-modal “memory” to answer knowledge-intensive queries & allows the model parameters to focus on reasoning about the query rather than being dedicated to memorization.
- And there was more…. - JPMorgan developing a ChatGPT-like service to provide investment advice to customers - AI to help scientists predict whether breast cancer spread risk - IBM consulting launches generative AI center of excellence - PandaGPT: The all-in-one model for instruction-following - NVIDIA, MediaTek team up to bring AI-powered infotainment to cars - American Express will experiment cautiously with generative AI for fintech - BMW has begun experimenting with AI in designing - ChatGPT iOS app has been made accessible in 152 countries worldwide. - Vectara ensures the absence of hallucinations in Generative AI. - UAE rolls out AI chatbot 'U-Ask' in Arabic & English - Amazon trains AI to weed out damaged goods - Snapchat launches new generative AI feature, ‘My AI Snaps’ - Instacart launches in-app AI search tool powered by ChatGPT - SnapFusion enables a text-to-image diffusion model on mobile devices within 2 secs. - Accenture strengthens AI and ML Engineering through Nextira acquisition - Alibaba reveals its first LLM just like ChatGPT
2023.06.03 20:05 Rand0mness4 Trails of Our Hatred Ch. 5
Special thanks to u/SpacePaladin15 for allowing fanfiction and giving us Tilfish.
[First] [Prior] [Next]
.*~*.
Memory Transcription Subject: ? , run run run run run run.
Date: December 2, 2136
.~*~.
I'm tired. I'm so unbearably tired. I don't remember the fall or when my legs quit working, but I'm still denied the sweet release of sleep by the fires radiating from my muscles. It's sick and twisted, but I don't think I can move any more. I'm stuck here face down in the soil, unable or unwilling to do anything but wonder if a harvesting drone will roll over me and turn me into mist on the crops I'm lost in. My mouth itches. Some loose soil in my nose makes me hack, but there's nothing I can do but wheeze and pant. There's not a drop of moisture left in me. I'm all shriveled up. Everything's a haze.
I should've stopped for water. There was time. A few ponds that didn't look filmed over with vile algae blooms. The last town had a fountain on the outskirts. There were a few distant outbuildings that could've had a sink or a hose. Really, a few mouthfuls would've been enough to keep me from cramping up. Now I feel like I'm all dried out, like a stick of fruit jerky.
I should've taken a break. I've not been able to run in so long. I knew it was getting bad, but I ignored it. I'm paying for it now. I pushed way too far. Run until I black out. Wake up. Repeat. For days and days, or however long I've been free. I don't know. Every time I wake I can't tell if minutes have passed or days. I would push myself back to my feet and run. Because distance is all that matters. I made the right call avoiding the roads. The cameras. The soles of my feet are battered and wail in pain, but for every step I took was a minute longer I got to feel the sun kiss my scales and the gentle caress of the wind upon my neck. The cool soil seeping into my burning side. Fresh air in my lungs. Faint mist on my back.
I should've calmed down. I'm wasting what little time I have left stuck here in misery. I missed my chance to escape. My saviors were predators, but it would've been a better fate. And they're everywhere. Monsters and Predators alike. The whole planet is getting what it deserves. I made my choice, but now I'm squandering it. At least the soil is nice. Even as broken as I feel, it is only temporary. I know this is heaven. I wouldn't trade it for anything else. Even if my tongue is dried and bleeding.
I.
Just.
Need.
To.
Get.
Up.
no no no no no. Hurts. Hurts hurts hurts.
UP.
My body rebels. I settle on crawling. Dragging my tainted digits through the soil and forcing myself through the mud.
Puddle. Puddle Puddle Puddle.
I'm glad to be alive. I'm glad for this puddle. It's my whole world. I crawl to it as quickly as my body allows and beyond, but I'm too dehydrated to cry at the lancing pain in my joints. I slip and tumble into it face first, a cold shock making me freeze up. I don't even try to drink at first, my eyes closed as I lay partially submerged in this brackish water. It makes me feel slightly better as the cold gently eases my neck muscles, and I feel the rest of my body cramping up again.
Imagine drowning in a claw of water. I'm suddenly terrified that it's possible. I throw an arm out and dig it deep into the mud, clawing silt as I awkwardly pull myself in sideways. I roll, splashing the rest of the way in and feeling my poorly treated scales weep as the cold bleeds into them. I lay my head sideways and drink, gagging at the taste but unable to stop myself. I still can't cry, but my face is still trying to produce tears anyways.
In delirium, I notice the corner of a structure well above me. It's a pole, made of metal and towering well above me. Morning dew drips off of it and into my eye not currently submerged, and I blink it away.
Thank you pole. You're a life saver.
I don't plan on moving for a while, so I don't. The dew drips onto my snout several times, and my body rejoices at the cool water I've partially submerged myself in. The silt in my mouth is a necessary and tolerable evil from my desperate dive, and I angle my snout so that I can catch the fresh dew dripping from above instead. It tastes far better than the puddle, and for the first time in ever, I feel a smile creeping on my face.
.*~*.
I blink lazily, one eyelid operating a few seconds behind the other. I feel better. This blackout felt more natural, less forced. Like a gentle wave over my mind than the harsh crack of a baton. My mouth is still full of silt that I spit out, and a moment later I realize I can spit again. The bitter taste of blood in my mouth is faint now, and the joy of having a wet palate can't be described.
ow.
It hurts to move. I try again, but my flesh feels like it's been filled with concrete. My muscles are too tight on my bones. Stiffly, I try again, making little progress, but still progress. I edge out a claw at a time, barely getting my neck out of the pool before collapsing, the chilly waters leaving me shivering.
Where am I?
A very good question, I ask myself. I don't know. That's the cost of running without direction for so long. I think I'm in a field, judging by the crops looking over me and encompassing my wide vision of the vibrant sky overhead.
Yeah... that's it. I'm in a field. Brilliant observation skills.
I try again, but nothing new comes up. For the first time since I fled, I think about what I'm going to do. I'm free. I'm free. What am I going to do now that I'm free? How long do I have? I know the answer to that already. I have a long time. Everybody that knew me is dead and gone. I just need to be careful and not ruin this chance. I should try and find a town. Cities are too big, too many problems could come up. Too many exterminators. I could start over off the beaten path. Somewhere I can hide in plain sight.
This is Sillis. Being me shouldn't be an issue. I... I can get a labor job somewhere. Change my name. What can I do?
...
What can I do?
What is my name?
"Oh dear." I whispered quietly to myself, brows furrowing. Odd. How odd. I can move on from that. Makes starting a new life easier. Something that isn't four walls and a paper thin mattress. Something outside. I just... need to get... out of this darn puddle. No, still not happening. Ouch.
I splash my paw into the puddle in frustration, using about the full range of motion I seem capable of in a mild fit. I want to stay on the move, but the consequences of my poor decision making have come back to bite me right on the rear. At least I have some time to think.
I could try the lumber industry. That's usually away from people. I think I can figure out how to knock down trees, or at least fix up the machines that can. Maybe I can join a farm around here once I'm cleaned up. There's always something to do on a farm. Like counting shipments, or unloading shipments, or loading them. Maybe I can fix things around the property. Golly, I hope I know how to fix the automated machinery. That would really be nice.
Ooh! I could try and be a tram service maintenance operator. Wait, no no no. That requires background checks, I think. Darn it. Uuuh, road utility services? No, that'll take me into cities one way or another. There's a ton of work with drainage systems and water run off here. I could get good money for that since it's risky. Pollutants, constant thundering streams of water. I think I can go with that. There would be a lot of rural investigations that I could apply for. If not, I'm certain the underground construction projects would bear fruit. I'll miss the sun but nobody would bother me too much... no, still too many people. Drainage systems it is!
A faint whistle catches my ear and I freeze, tilting my head as something green flies just overhead. It clips several stalks and leaves as it passes, but seems unbothered as the severed branches fall to the ground and leaves gently cascade after. I follow its path with an eye and it vanishes between some tall plants, leaving me alone just as quickly as-
Nope, the same thing floats by again, darting between crops once more directly above me. It's odd, I can't hear wing beats or buzzing, or see anything keeping it airborne as it passed, and I wait with baited breath to see if it shows itself again. I don't know what I feel, but it isn't terror. It's... something. Curiosity? This time I hear a chirrup, but it's close. I don't see it float by, and painfully I crane my neck and look at the other side of the puddle.
It's an insectoid of some kind, strangely wide and flat. It looks pretty similar to the leaves on the many trees that I've seen since I got out, with uneven, tapered sides. It has a few pairs of legs, and it scuttles to the puddle and dips the front of its body towards the surface. It really does look like a large leaf, but my observation is cut short when the bug abruptly stops moving within barely a claw of the water, a pair of forward facing compound eyes snug against the stem near the tip of its body. It chirps again, and I see narrow maw under the front of this creature, a slim set of fangs briefly glinting in the sun before its mandibles hide them.
"Oh dear." I manage to whisper.
With remarkable dexterity it hops across the body of water and splashes down on top of me, and several legs grip my ribs and arms. My tail flicks under the water's surface, but I don't move as the thing's maw looms over my snout. A smaller set of feelers touch my scales and let it guide where it can't see, and it pecks at my nostril once. I smell ozone and feel a different fire burn in my core, and relax.
This isn't ideal. It really isn't. But it's still better that what once was. You won't hurt me for too long. You're better than they ever were.
Trading my cell for this... it's not that scary. Somehow, despite this predator straddling me and chewing on my snout, I'm not scared of it. I have alarms shrieking in my ears and ozone burning my nostrils and wrists. Bubbly poison twisting my insides and making me gag. I'm terrified of that, but that's long gone. That broken visage cuts deep, but it leaves me feeling empty. I'm alone with this thing pecking at my skull, occasionally chirping or hissing softly as it chews over my scales.
It's little mandibles flutter over my cheek and squish it, the fangs behind it pricking at my scales but never really puncturing. It's odd, almost exploratory. I hear a faint plip as some dew from the pole overhead drips onto the creature, and it leans back slightly to presumably look up. It lowers back down on me, and I wince as it gets a little rougher. It halts for a moment, mandibles still dancing over my scales, before I feel a set of legs slip past my arms and latch onto my back.
I grit my teeth, expecting it to finally lunge down and bite into my flesh as the rest of it's body tenses, but with a start it lifts me up with strength I didn't think it had. My back scrapes along the mud as it lifts me and drags me partially out of the muck. It lowers me down just as quickly as it started, leaving a bit of my upper body out of the water and in the warm air. I blink as it lowers its body down onto my own, legs tightening its grip on me as it presses itself against me. It chirrups again and resumes nibbling on my neck, and my mind absently puzzles over this change of events.
It's roosting on me. Is it my body heat? I feel cold, but maybe it's colder. I wish I knew what you were. I'm glad you're not really biting me. It tickles, stop!
I couldn't help but squeak out a laugh, despite the very present danger I was in. The bug tensed for a moment but didn't sink its fangs into my neck, and after a moment it resumed licking at me. Slowly, it's legs tightened on my body and it pressed itself against me further, and it hissed softly. I closed my eyes when it's maw pressed against me, but once again no bite split me open and drained my lifeblood. It's mandibles tickled my scales some more as the creature flattened out, the ridges of its body laying in the mud as it settled down. I was all but buried under the thing that was almost as big as me, and my tail swished lightly in the water.
Once again, I find myself stuck. I wasn't going anywhere anyways, but now I'm very stuck. Hopefully it doesn't get peckish. This thing could definitely eat me if it wanted to. It's funny that I'm supposed to fear it. All those training exercises failed. Every test and experiment. Maybe it enforced the wrong behavior. I think I might've been respectfully afraid of this creature once, but that part of me is all burned up. If it existed at all.
.~*~.
I've missed the novelty of clouds. Sillis has an overabundance of them, but so far I've been lucky that none of the ones passing overhead were angry. It's almost odd that no rain has come, but I'm glad. I faintly remember that the rains could become acidic if there's too long a pause between storms. Too much smoke or warp residue building up in the atmosphere.
So far I've counted two absolutely towering thunderheads and small storm systems roll by in all their stunning glory, and dozens of smaller offsets in their wake. Hundreds of individual clouds dot the skies, not quite blanketing it yet. It's pleasant, even within the grasp of a large, sleeping predator that's fully enveloped me. I can feel it's diaphragm shifting ever so slightly on my chest, and it twitches occasionally.
I don't mind. For now, things are peaceful. I'm enjoying that. At least, until something crunched a few rows over.
That sounds a lot bigger than this predator.
The creature shifts slightly but doesn't wake as whatever else is out there stalks through the crops. It has to be a predator, from how quiet it moves. Every little rustle and faint step happen far from each other, and my mind immediately jumps to an ambush hunter. Carefully, I move my head to catch a glimpse of the thing, trying not to disturb the slumbering creature that is currently resting it's mouth on my neck. My scales fade into a dirty black that matches the soil, and I squint to hide my eyes from whatever is out there.
There's movement on my left, something tall shifting between the crops a few rows down. I hear a rumbling noise- a deep based growl, and the back of my skull itches.
"...D-1?"
No no no no no. I don't want to go back. I want to be free.
I know what the thing is. It's a new predator. A sapient one. The same ones that freed me. The same ones that wanted to herd me onto a ship. I can't do this. Sapient predators are cruel, far crueler than the average ones. A normal predator wasn't personal about the kill. It could be reasoned with. Where did that come from? A sapient predator was ruthless for entertainment.
I owe them my life.
They'll just take it.
There's a rustle from a different direction, and a behemoth steps out of the crops far closer to me than I would prefer. It is armored like the many I've seen before, but I realize instead of a firearm it wields a bulky tool of some kind tightly in its paws. It dawns on me that it's colors are different, green and blue instead of solid blue, and there's a colorful flag of some kind pressed on the garments of its arm.
"Copy." It rumbled quietly.
"Crikey, you spooked me there!" the other predator whispered, changing course. Thankfully the closest one broke off to meet it, and they stopped one row over. It was best I stay still. Their hearing was better than they let on. "Okay, did you get it done?"
I can't see them clearly, but some non verbal communication must have occurred because the one predator continues speaking.
"Good. Look, trouble is coming. A fellow seppo noticed the ordinance went missing. He's suspicious. There'll be heat soon. Have you made any progress with the other front?" A pause. "Same. I've dealt with several of his goons, but none knew anything good."
"I'll have him tonight."
"...D-1?"
"An exterminator account and reversed polarity on some switches works wonders."
"...you seppos are terrifying."
"We're a world power for a reason."
"...yeah. Do you have the drive? Nice. You keep this up and we'll have everything we need from this planet before Christmas. We're going to make things right." There's an odd grunt, and one of them starts rumbling quietly in what translates as amusement. "Involved in peace. What do they really think this accomplishes?"
"Don't care. We find our whales and move on."
"Come on, we can have some more fun if we're careful! Don't act like that doesn't entertain you after that bomber plot of yours!"
"S-4," there's an undertone in that growl that makes my scales shrink, "remember the prize."
"...God, you're a hard ass. Fine. I'm certain you're carrying that giant wrench for peaceful reasons and not to crack open any skulls out here. I'll check the smuggling routes. Rig up something to keep these bugs under our thumb. You keep being you. I need to move before they notice I'm gone."
Faint footsteps leading away, and I sighed. While brief, just being around them made my scales crawl-
The crops right beside me parted, and the other predator stepped out. It's covered foot splashed into the puddle, and stirred the predator enveloping me. Much to my horror the thing chirruped and hissed, releasing me and spinning around. The apex predator looked down at the smaller thing and regarded it.
:)
The drawing on the mask was comical, and not at all what I was expecting. Most humans didn't wear masks, so blinding terror didn't sweep me away. I almost laughed at the absurdity of concealing one's face, only to make a lazy drawing of a face overtop of it.
The smaller predator didn't find it nearly as confusing or entertaining as I did, and hissed. The apex didn't falter, but surprisingly held its ground despite being threatened by a lesser predator.
Most predators would make a threat back and assert itself. Or lash out. What is this one up too? It's not acting submissive so it isn't backing down. But it isn't retaliating either. Does it need to? It's using it's own size as a deterrent.
My thoughts are interrupted when my toothy cover abruptly spins and flees, gaining air under its body and become airborne. It slashes through a row of crops and is gone, just like how it arrived. The apex still hasn't moved. It takes a few steps forward, nearing me. I can't tell if it's looking at me or not so I close my eyes tight, hoping that my eyes hadn't given me away. There's a thump right beside me and I flinch. I can feel it's presence. It has stopped walking.
It knows. Somehow it sees me. It knows it knows it knows.
Something warm grazes my neck and I flinch again, despite myself. I can't do it. I don't want to die with my eyes closed. I want to see the sun and the clouds and the crops, not this faux darkness.
I open my eyes and it's right there, crouched over me. I can't bother with wasting my energy by screaming. It saw through my camouflage and had a paw to my neck. I wished it to be merciful and just strike me down with the wrench it brought, but it doesn't. Instead it plunges its paw into the water, under my rump. It rips me out of the water and I gasp as its other paw slips down under my shoulders and lifts, but my mind catches up a moment later when it pressed me against it's chest instead of its mouth, forsaking my exposed stomach. It's grip loosens slightly and it adjusts, an arm under my shoulder blades and legs. I can feel the muscles rippling in it's grip, and how easily it could fold me over backwards and squish me. I've seen it first hand.
But it's so gently. So unbelievably gentle. I don't remember the last time I was touched like this. Something in a dark recess of my mind wavered, and I realized I'd curled my tail around the creature's arm without meaning to. It holds me a little closer, nowhere near enough to hurt, and my scales start to change to match the colors it wears. It's not looking at me, the mask is angled too far up. We're moving at a blinding pace suddenly, the rows of crops blurring in my vision. It doesn't stop. This apex runs like a machine, each breath consistent and calculated to a rhythm I notice. Its breathing labors but it keeps going, warm jets of air spitting out the bottom of its mask and onto my soggy, damp form.
It's so warm. I didn't realize the chill of the water until now but I'm shivering. My body takes over for my confused mind and curls into the predator's grasp, trying to get as much warmth from the human's rough garments as I can. I don't know what's come over me. I don't know where it's taking me. I don't care. I can't escape it, and if this thing kills me it was at least kind enough to be gentle.
The skies are so beautiful. I try and focus on them but all I can really see is the predator's mask. I can see the bottom of it's jaw, the taught muscles there. I dread what its face looks like in this moment under that mask. Its digits tighten on my shoulder and side in response to me curling into it, and absently I wonder how this predator is the same as the ones from days ago with their thundering bellows and ruthless firepower.
The apex thunders out of the field and I'm assaulted by new sights. There's a few dozen of them roving around a clearing by several vehicles.
I also spot an Exterminator's van, and my claws unsheathe. The predator winces and I realize I've nailed him with them, but he doesn't throw me down or bark at me. He sprints by the van without stopping, but I see several Tilfish locked inside and doomed to a terrible fate worse than being eaten.
"Ambulance!?" It barks sharply, out of breath. It skids to a stop beside one of the transports, clutching me firmly.
"Just left with the patient. Where the hell did this one come from?" An unmasked predator growled, eyes beady and looking over me. Mine made an odd jerking motion and continued.
"Get Doc."
"I will. What hospital are we calling?" The thought of a clinical space makes me flinch. White walls. White floors. Cold tiles. Needles. Beeping. Humming. Frying.
"None. Operational security."
The other predator screwed its face up and departed, and abruptly mine was sitting down on the back of one of the trucks. Gently I was plopped down on its lap, and I watched transfixed as it peeled its armor off, then its outer garment. There's an image of a veiled human on the back with its eyes closed, head craned down. Its hands are clasped together in thought, and the meaning of it goes over my head.
The predator is a lot smaller than I thought it was. It gently lifts me and set me in the garment, before it starts wiping me down with it. I'm too sore to fight it, and the cloth is exceptionally warm from the creature's body heat. It pulls me closer and holds me in a way that makes my chest hurt, and it looks out at an approaching predator. It rumbles softly.
"You're going to be okay."
My body relaxes despite my mind's warnings. I'm wrapped up in this garment it wore. I can't escape it. But it's warm. The material soaks up the water on my skin, and wipes away the grime and muck I've accumulated over the days. Slowly, my scales begin to shift again, bleeding back to my normal tan coloration.
"Did something finally bite you Sunshine? I haven't seen you run like that in- oh-kay." The approaching predator flinched when it got close and tensed up.
It wants to eat me. This one- Sunshine- it won't let it without a fight. Are they going to eat me? Sunshine won't. Right?
"I thought there was only one victim." The predator rumbled after a moment, creeping closer. I shrank into the material and took on it's color, only for a warm paw to settle on my arm.
"You're fine." Sunshine whispered. It looked up at the approaching predator and jerked its head awkwardly. "There is. Look at it. Do you see it too?"
Gently, it lifted my arm. I was too stiff to pull it back, not that I could've against its powerful grip. I was completely exposed to this other predator.
"Relax. Please." Sunshine whispered once more. The growl was soft, and I looked up at the mask above me. The grip on my arm was careful, I realized. I could pull away right now. Slowly, my scales lightened. The other predator leaned in closer and I flashed white and yellow briefly, but Sunshine propped me up a bit and started gently poking at sore parts of my body. My ribs. My neck. "Here. And... and here."
The other predator's eyes seemed to get bigger. Something deeper changed in its face. "Holy shit." It made to move forward and I reeled back, pressing myself further into Sunshine. The predator immediately froze and slunk back.
"He can help." Sunshine rumbled softly.
Oh dear. Oh dear.
It touched me. It's diminutive nails didn't rend into my scales as it touched my ribs, prodding them softly. Sunshine adjusted how it sat so that the other predator could have better access to me, and I couldn't help but focus on the skies again as it assessed what part of me it wanted.
Sunshine won't let it eat me.
I don't know where the thought came from, but it was firm. I believed it entirely. Even though Sunshine was a sapient predator, it wouldn't let it happen. Maybe it claimed me as its own already. I... I had doubts I would be eaten. The thoughts were there, but Sunshine had a perfect chance already. Unless it wanted to flaunt its catch first, which the Arxur did- but it was gentle. Sunshine was better than an Arxur.
"Malnourished, deep sores. Ulcers. There's bruising up and down the rib cage. Jesus- sorry."
"They're old. Persistent. Its feet."
"What about..." The predator got quiet. I felt my scales shift in worry as it gingerly lifted one of my legs. It remained quiet, but its face stretched further. "What happened?"
It was looking at me. Asking me. I shrank further into the fabric, but there was nowhere to go. The silence was unbearable, and I started trembling.
The silence continued.
"A runaway." Sunshine rumbled after forever. I didn't understand what that meant. My translator didn't pick it up quite right. Run-away? Like fleeing? Was that what these predators called their prey? No... no that didn't seem right. It was possible, but...
"Could have been kidnapped." Another word I didn't understand, but my translator worked on the other predator. Stealing a person by force? Using fear outside of the law? How did predators have such a word? "We need to get it to the hospital. Figure out what happened and how it ended up in this field."
NO NO NO NO NO
Sunshine's arms draped over me before I could escape, my attempt no better than a drunk Mazic trying to fit through a Venlil sized door. I couldn't stop the whine in my throat, but its soft digits down my back froze me. A subtle noise filtered out behind the mask, and it settled me back down in its garment. It picked up an edge lined with little metal teeth and draped it over me, blocking my sight from the other predator. I felt safe, suddenly. Sunshine's firm grip on my body didn't feel threatening. It felt like a promise, as it carefully pulled me against it's bulk. I was warm, despite my terror.
"Zuda will handle it. No hospitals. This stays with us."
"Sunshine," the other predator protested, "we need to figure out what happened!"
"Think, Doc." Sunshine growled, and this was no doubt a warning. I felt relief that the difference between the two growls was so obvious.
"What?"
"Think. Use your head."
There was a period of silence. "You don't... that can't be right." I didn't understand what conclusion it made.
"The injuries are uniform. Too clean to be anything else."
They can't know. How can they know?
"We need confirmation!"
"We already have it." Sunshine stated, and slowly the fabric was lifted off of my head. I blinked, and noticed that the other predator had changed a different shade.
That's odd. Are you predators like me?
That's terrifying. I'm not a threat. I'm me.
"It reacted to the van and mention of a hospital, Doc. Nobody outside the UN hears of this. Operational security."
It... does Sunshine know? How do they know?
"What the fuck is this planet, Sunshine?" The other predator lamented.
Sunshine didn't respond. He looked around at the surrounding encampment, and I realized it was shrinking. They were leaving. A few other predators were subtly watching as they worked, but I doubted they could hear the conversation with how quiet it was. I realize there's a few Venlil in their ranks, unbothered by their presence and even wearing garments similar to the predators around them.
A digit tapped the end of my snout and I flinched, looking up at Sunshine. It's paw retracted as the other predator withdrew a medical kit with a paw print on it and began to unclasp it. "You're safe. We're... we're going to help."
You know. You know what I am. And you're helping me anyway. Why are you helping me? I'm weak. I'm dangerous. But not to you. You're an apex. Is that why? Does your species stick together, unlike the Arxur? Do you uplift those around you, no matter if they're prey or dangerous? The Venlil are not afraid of you. You must not eat them. What do you eat? It has to be meat. But, it must be something that they can handle. Does what makes me dangerous fall away under your hierarchy? I hope it does. It doesn't seem real. I guess to you, what makes me a threat is meaningless.
I believe Sunshine. I really do. When the other predator comes forward with a healing gel, I surrender.
I am safe.
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.*~*.
Memory Transcription Subject: ? , run run run run run run.
Date: December 2, 2136
.~*~.
I'm tired. I'm so unbearably tired. I don't remember the fall or when my legs quit working, but I'm still denied the sweet release of sleep by the fires radiating from my muscles. It's sick and twisted, but I don't think I can move any more. I'm stuck here face down in the soil, unable or unwilling to do anything but wonder if a harvesting drone will roll over me and turn me into mist on the crops I'm lost in. My mouth itches. Some loose soil in my nose makes me hack, but there's nothing I can do but wheeze and pant. There's not a drop of moisture left in me. I'm all shriveled up. Everything's a haze.
I should've stopped for water. There was time. A few ponds that didn't look filmed over with vile algae blooms. The last town had a fountain on the outskirts. There were a few distant outbuildings that could've had a sink or a hose. Really, a few mouthfuls would've been enough to keep me from cramping up. Now I feel like I'm all dried out, like a stick of fruit jerky.
I should've taken a break. I've not been able to run in so long. I knew it was getting bad, but I ignored it. I'm paying for it now. I pushed way too far. Run until I black out. Wake up. Repeat. For days and days, or however long I've been free. I don't know. Every time I wake I can't tell if minutes have passed or days. I would push myself back to my feet and run. Because distance is all that matters. I made the right call avoiding the roads. The cameras. The soles of my feet are battered and wail in pain, but for every step I took was a minute longer I got to feel the sun kiss my scales and the gentle caress of the wind upon my neck. The cool soil seeping into my burning side. Fresh air in my lungs. Faint mist on my back.
I should've calmed down. I'm wasting what little time I have left stuck here in misery. I missed my chance to escape. My saviors were predators, but it would've been a better fate. And they're everywhere. Monsters and Predators alike. The whole planet is getting what it deserves. I made my choice, but now I'm squandering it. At least the soil is nice. Even as broken as I feel, it is only temporary. I know this is heaven. I wouldn't trade it for anything else. Even if my tongue is dried and bleeding.
I.
Just.
Need.
To.
Get.
Up.
no no no no no. Hurts. Hurts hurts hurts.
UP.
My body rebels. I settle on crawling. Dragging my tainted digits through the soil and forcing myself through the mud.
Puddle. Puddle Puddle Puddle.
I'm glad to be alive. I'm glad for this puddle. It's my whole world. I crawl to it as quickly as my body allows and beyond, but I'm too dehydrated to cry at the lancing pain in my joints. I slip and tumble into it face first, a cold shock making me freeze up. I don't even try to drink at first, my eyes closed as I lay partially submerged in this brackish water. It makes me feel slightly better as the cold gently eases my neck muscles, and I feel the rest of my body cramping up again.
Imagine drowning in a claw of water. I'm suddenly terrified that it's possible. I throw an arm out and dig it deep into the mud, clawing silt as I awkwardly pull myself in sideways. I roll, splashing the rest of the way in and feeling my poorly treated scales weep as the cold bleeds into them. I lay my head sideways and drink, gagging at the taste but unable to stop myself. I still can't cry, but my face is still trying to produce tears anyways.
In delirium, I notice the corner of a structure well above me. It's a pole, made of metal and towering well above me. Morning dew drips off of it and into my eye not currently submerged, and I blink it away.
Thank you pole. You're a life saver.
I don't plan on moving for a while, so I don't. The dew drips onto my snout several times, and my body rejoices at the cool water I've partially submerged myself in. The silt in my mouth is a necessary and tolerable evil from my desperate dive, and I angle my snout so that I can catch the fresh dew dripping from above instead. It tastes far better than the puddle, and for the first time in ever, I feel a smile creeping on my face.
.*~*.
I blink lazily, one eyelid operating a few seconds behind the other. I feel better. This blackout felt more natural, less forced. Like a gentle wave over my mind than the harsh crack of a baton. My mouth is still full of silt that I spit out, and a moment later I realize I can spit again. The bitter taste of blood in my mouth is faint now, and the joy of having a wet palate can't be described.
ow.
It hurts to move. I try again, but my flesh feels like it's been filled with concrete. My muscles are too tight on my bones. Stiffly, I try again, making little progress, but still progress. I edge out a claw at a time, barely getting my neck out of the pool before collapsing, the chilly waters leaving me shivering.
Where am I?
A very good question, I ask myself. I don't know. That's the cost of running without direction for so long. I think I'm in a field, judging by the crops looking over me and encompassing my wide vision of the vibrant sky overhead.
Yeah... that's it. I'm in a field. Brilliant observation skills.
I try again, but nothing new comes up. For the first time since I fled, I think about what I'm going to do. I'm free. I'm free. What am I going to do now that I'm free? How long do I have? I know the answer to that already. I have a long time. Everybody that knew me is dead and gone. I just need to be careful and not ruin this chance. I should try and find a town. Cities are too big, too many problems could come up. Too many exterminators. I could start over off the beaten path. Somewhere I can hide in plain sight.
This is Sillis. Being me shouldn't be an issue. I... I can get a labor job somewhere. Change my name. What can I do?
...
What can I do?
What is my name?
"Oh dear." I whispered quietly to myself, brows furrowing. Odd. How odd. I can move on from that. Makes starting a new life easier. Something that isn't four walls and a paper thin mattress. Something outside. I just... need to get... out of this darn puddle. No, still not happening. Ouch.
I splash my paw into the puddle in frustration, using about the full range of motion I seem capable of in a mild fit. I want to stay on the move, but the consequences of my poor decision making have come back to bite me right on the rear. At least I have some time to think.
I could try the lumber industry. That's usually away from people. I think I can figure out how to knock down trees, or at least fix up the machines that can. Maybe I can join a farm around here once I'm cleaned up. There's always something to do on a farm. Like counting shipments, or unloading shipments, or loading them. Maybe I can fix things around the property. Golly, I hope I know how to fix the automated machinery. That would really be nice.
Ooh! I could try and be a tram service maintenance operator. Wait, no no no. That requires background checks, I think. Darn it. Uuuh, road utility services? No, that'll take me into cities one way or another. There's a ton of work with drainage systems and water run off here. I could get good money for that since it's risky. Pollutants, constant thundering streams of water. I think I can go with that. There would be a lot of rural investigations that I could apply for. If not, I'm certain the underground construction projects would bear fruit. I'll miss the sun but nobody would bother me too much... no, still too many people. Drainage systems it is!
A faint whistle catches my ear and I freeze, tilting my head as something green flies just overhead. It clips several stalks and leaves as it passes, but seems unbothered as the severed branches fall to the ground and leaves gently cascade after. I follow its path with an eye and it vanishes between some tall plants, leaving me alone just as quickly as-
Nope, the same thing floats by again, darting between crops once more directly above me. It's odd, I can't hear wing beats or buzzing, or see anything keeping it airborne as it passed, and I wait with baited breath to see if it shows itself again. I don't know what I feel, but it isn't terror. It's... something. Curiosity? This time I hear a chirrup, but it's close. I don't see it float by, and painfully I crane my neck and look at the other side of the puddle.
It's an insectoid of some kind, strangely wide and flat. It looks pretty similar to the leaves on the many trees that I've seen since I got out, with uneven, tapered sides. It has a few pairs of legs, and it scuttles to the puddle and dips the front of its body towards the surface. It really does look like a large leaf, but my observation is cut short when the bug abruptly stops moving within barely a claw of the water, a pair of forward facing compound eyes snug against the stem near the tip of its body. It chirps again, and I see narrow maw under the front of this creature, a slim set of fangs briefly glinting in the sun before its mandibles hide them.
"Oh dear." I manage to whisper.
With remarkable dexterity it hops across the body of water and splashes down on top of me, and several legs grip my ribs and arms. My tail flicks under the water's surface, but I don't move as the thing's maw looms over my snout. A smaller set of feelers touch my scales and let it guide where it can't see, and it pecks at my nostril once. I smell ozone and feel a different fire burn in my core, and relax.
This isn't ideal. It really isn't. But it's still better that what once was. You won't hurt me for too long. You're better than they ever were.
Trading my cell for this... it's not that scary. Somehow, despite this predator straddling me and chewing on my snout, I'm not scared of it. I have alarms shrieking in my ears and ozone burning my nostrils and wrists. Bubbly poison twisting my insides and making me gag. I'm terrified of that, but that's long gone. That broken visage cuts deep, but it leaves me feeling empty. I'm alone with this thing pecking at my skull, occasionally chirping or hissing softly as it chews over my scales.
It's little mandibles flutter over my cheek and squish it, the fangs behind it pricking at my scales but never really puncturing. It's odd, almost exploratory. I hear a faint plip as some dew from the pole overhead drips onto the creature, and it leans back slightly to presumably look up. It lowers back down on me, and I wince as it gets a little rougher. It halts for a moment, mandibles still dancing over my scales, before I feel a set of legs slip past my arms and latch onto my back.
I grit my teeth, expecting it to finally lunge down and bite into my flesh as the rest of it's body tenses, but with a start it lifts me up with strength I didn't think it had. My back scrapes along the mud as it lifts me and drags me partially out of the muck. It lowers me down just as quickly as it started, leaving a bit of my upper body out of the water and in the warm air. I blink as it lowers its body down onto my own, legs tightening its grip on me as it presses itself against me. It chirrups again and resumes nibbling on my neck, and my mind absently puzzles over this change of events.
It's roosting on me. Is it my body heat? I feel cold, but maybe it's colder. I wish I knew what you were. I'm glad you're not really biting me. It tickles, stop!
I couldn't help but squeak out a laugh, despite the very present danger I was in. The bug tensed for a moment but didn't sink its fangs into my neck, and after a moment it resumed licking at me. Slowly, it's legs tightened on my body and it pressed itself against me further, and it hissed softly. I closed my eyes when it's maw pressed against me, but once again no bite split me open and drained my lifeblood. It's mandibles tickled my scales some more as the creature flattened out, the ridges of its body laying in the mud as it settled down. I was all but buried under the thing that was almost as big as me, and my tail swished lightly in the water.
Once again, I find myself stuck. I wasn't going anywhere anyways, but now I'm very stuck. Hopefully it doesn't get peckish. This thing could definitely eat me if it wanted to. It's funny that I'm supposed to fear it. All those training exercises failed. Every test and experiment. Maybe it enforced the wrong behavior. I think I might've been respectfully afraid of this creature once, but that part of me is all burned up. If it existed at all.
.~*~.
I've missed the novelty of clouds. Sillis has an overabundance of them, but so far I've been lucky that none of the ones passing overhead were angry. It's almost odd that no rain has come, but I'm glad. I faintly remember that the rains could become acidic if there's too long a pause between storms. Too much smoke or warp residue building up in the atmosphere.
So far I've counted two absolutely towering thunderheads and small storm systems roll by in all their stunning glory, and dozens of smaller offsets in their wake. Hundreds of individual clouds dot the skies, not quite blanketing it yet. It's pleasant, even within the grasp of a large, sleeping predator that's fully enveloped me. I can feel it's diaphragm shifting ever so slightly on my chest, and it twitches occasionally.
I don't mind. For now, things are peaceful. I'm enjoying that. At least, until something crunched a few rows over.
That sounds a lot bigger than this predator.
The creature shifts slightly but doesn't wake as whatever else is out there stalks through the crops. It has to be a predator, from how quiet it moves. Every little rustle and faint step happen far from each other, and my mind immediately jumps to an ambush hunter. Carefully, I move my head to catch a glimpse of the thing, trying not to disturb the slumbering creature that is currently resting it's mouth on my neck. My scales fade into a dirty black that matches the soil, and I squint to hide my eyes from whatever is out there.
There's movement on my left, something tall shifting between the crops a few rows down. I hear a rumbling noise- a deep based growl, and the back of my skull itches.
"...D-1?"
No no no no no. I don't want to go back. I want to be free.
I know what the thing is. It's a new predator. A sapient one. The same ones that freed me. The same ones that wanted to herd me onto a ship. I can't do this. Sapient predators are cruel, far crueler than the average ones. A normal predator wasn't personal about the kill. It could be reasoned with. Where did that come from? A sapient predator was ruthless for entertainment.
I owe them my life.
They'll just take it.
There's a rustle from a different direction, and a behemoth steps out of the crops far closer to me than I would prefer. It is armored like the many I've seen before, but I realize instead of a firearm it wields a bulky tool of some kind tightly in its paws. It dawns on me that it's colors are different, green and blue instead of solid blue, and there's a colorful flag of some kind pressed on the garments of its arm.
"Copy." It rumbled quietly.
"Crikey, you spooked me there!" the other predator whispered, changing course. Thankfully the closest one broke off to meet it, and they stopped one row over. It was best I stay still. Their hearing was better than they let on. "Okay, did you get it done?"
I can't see them clearly, but some non verbal communication must have occurred because the one predator continues speaking.
"Good. Look, trouble is coming. A fellow seppo noticed the ordinance went missing. He's suspicious. There'll be heat soon. Have you made any progress with the other front?" A pause. "Same. I've dealt with several of his goons, but none knew anything good."
"I'll have him tonight."
"...D-1?"
"An exterminator account and reversed polarity on some switches works wonders."
"...you seppos are terrifying."
"We're a world power for a reason."
"...yeah. Do you have the drive? Nice. You keep this up and we'll have everything we need from this planet before Christmas. We're going to make things right." There's an odd grunt, and one of them starts rumbling quietly in what translates as amusement. "Involved in peace. What do they really think this accomplishes?"
"Don't care. We find our whales and move on."
"Come on, we can have some more fun if we're careful! Don't act like that doesn't entertain you after that bomber plot of yours!"
"S-4," there's an undertone in that growl that makes my scales shrink, "remember the prize."
"...God, you're a hard ass. Fine. I'm certain you're carrying that giant wrench for peaceful reasons and not to crack open any skulls out here. I'll check the smuggling routes. Rig up something to keep these bugs under our thumb. You keep being you. I need to move before they notice I'm gone."
Faint footsteps leading away, and I sighed. While brief, just being around them made my scales crawl-
The crops right beside me parted, and the other predator stepped out. It's covered foot splashed into the puddle, and stirred the predator enveloping me. Much to my horror the thing chirruped and hissed, releasing me and spinning around. The apex predator looked down at the smaller thing and regarded it.
:)
The drawing on the mask was comical, and not at all what I was expecting. Most humans didn't wear masks, so blinding terror didn't sweep me away. I almost laughed at the absurdity of concealing one's face, only to make a lazy drawing of a face overtop of it.
The smaller predator didn't find it nearly as confusing or entertaining as I did, and hissed. The apex didn't falter, but surprisingly held its ground despite being threatened by a lesser predator.
Most predators would make a threat back and assert itself. Or lash out. What is this one up too? It's not acting submissive so it isn't backing down. But it isn't retaliating either. Does it need to? It's using it's own size as a deterrent.
My thoughts are interrupted when my toothy cover abruptly spins and flees, gaining air under its body and become airborne. It slashes through a row of crops and is gone, just like how it arrived. The apex still hasn't moved. It takes a few steps forward, nearing me. I can't tell if it's looking at me or not so I close my eyes tight, hoping that my eyes hadn't given me away. There's a thump right beside me and I flinch. I can feel it's presence. It has stopped walking.
It knows. Somehow it sees me. It knows it knows it knows.
Something warm grazes my neck and I flinch again, despite myself. I can't do it. I don't want to die with my eyes closed. I want to see the sun and the clouds and the crops, not this faux darkness.
I open my eyes and it's right there, crouched over me. I can't bother with wasting my energy by screaming. It saw through my camouflage and had a paw to my neck. I wished it to be merciful and just strike me down with the wrench it brought, but it doesn't. Instead it plunges its paw into the water, under my rump. It rips me out of the water and I gasp as its other paw slips down under my shoulders and lifts, but my mind catches up a moment later when it pressed me against it's chest instead of its mouth, forsaking my exposed stomach. It's grip loosens slightly and it adjusts, an arm under my shoulder blades and legs. I can feel the muscles rippling in it's grip, and how easily it could fold me over backwards and squish me. I've seen it first hand.
But it's so gently. So unbelievably gentle. I don't remember the last time I was touched like this. Something in a dark recess of my mind wavered, and I realized I'd curled my tail around the creature's arm without meaning to. It holds me a little closer, nowhere near enough to hurt, and my scales start to change to match the colors it wears. It's not looking at me, the mask is angled too far up. We're moving at a blinding pace suddenly, the rows of crops blurring in my vision. It doesn't stop. This apex runs like a machine, each breath consistent and calculated to a rhythm I notice. Its breathing labors but it keeps going, warm jets of air spitting out the bottom of its mask and onto my soggy, damp form.
It's so warm. I didn't realize the chill of the water until now but I'm shivering. My body takes over for my confused mind and curls into the predator's grasp, trying to get as much warmth from the human's rough garments as I can. I don't know what's come over me. I don't know where it's taking me. I don't care. I can't escape it, and if this thing kills me it was at least kind enough to be gentle.
The skies are so beautiful. I try and focus on them but all I can really see is the predator's mask. I can see the bottom of it's jaw, the taught muscles there. I dread what its face looks like in this moment under that mask. Its digits tighten on my shoulder and side in response to me curling into it, and absently I wonder how this predator is the same as the ones from days ago with their thundering bellows and ruthless firepower.
The apex thunders out of the field and I'm assaulted by new sights. There's a few dozen of them roving around a clearing by several vehicles.
I also spot an Exterminator's van, and my claws unsheathe. The predator winces and I realize I've nailed him with them, but he doesn't throw me down or bark at me. He sprints by the van without stopping, but I see several Tilfish locked inside and doomed to a terrible fate worse than being eaten.
"Ambulance!?" It barks sharply, out of breath. It skids to a stop beside one of the transports, clutching me firmly.
"Just left with the patient. Where the hell did this one come from?" An unmasked predator growled, eyes beady and looking over me. Mine made an odd jerking motion and continued.
"Get Doc."
"I will. What hospital are we calling?" The thought of a clinical space makes me flinch. White walls. White floors. Cold tiles. Needles. Beeping. Humming. Frying.
"None. Operational security."
The other predator screwed its face up and departed, and abruptly mine was sitting down on the back of one of the trucks. Gently I was plopped down on its lap, and I watched transfixed as it peeled its armor off, then its outer garment. There's an image of a veiled human on the back with its eyes closed, head craned down. Its hands are clasped together in thought, and the meaning of it goes over my head.
The predator is a lot smaller than I thought it was. It gently lifts me and set me in the garment, before it starts wiping me down with it. I'm too sore to fight it, and the cloth is exceptionally warm from the creature's body heat. It pulls me closer and holds me in a way that makes my chest hurt, and it looks out at an approaching predator. It rumbles softly.
"You're going to be okay."
My body relaxes despite my mind's warnings. I'm wrapped up in this garment it wore. I can't escape it. But it's warm. The material soaks up the water on my skin, and wipes away the grime and muck I've accumulated over the days. Slowly, my scales begin to shift again, bleeding back to my normal tan coloration.
"Did something finally bite you Sunshine? I haven't seen you run like that in- oh-kay." The approaching predator flinched when it got close and tensed up.
It wants to eat me. This one- Sunshine- it won't let it without a fight. Are they going to eat me? Sunshine won't. Right?
"I thought there was only one victim." The predator rumbled after a moment, creeping closer. I shrank into the material and took on it's color, only for a warm paw to settle on my arm.
"You're fine." Sunshine whispered. It looked up at the approaching predator and jerked its head awkwardly. "There is. Look at it. Do you see it too?"
Gently, it lifted my arm. I was too stiff to pull it back, not that I could've against its powerful grip. I was completely exposed to this other predator.
"Relax. Please." Sunshine whispered once more. The growl was soft, and I looked up at the mask above me. The grip on my arm was careful, I realized. I could pull away right now. Slowly, my scales lightened. The other predator leaned in closer and I flashed white and yellow briefly, but Sunshine propped me up a bit and started gently poking at sore parts of my body. My ribs. My neck. "Here. And... and here."
The other predator's eyes seemed to get bigger. Something deeper changed in its face. "Holy shit." It made to move forward and I reeled back, pressing myself further into Sunshine. The predator immediately froze and slunk back.
"He can help." Sunshine rumbled softly.
Oh dear. Oh dear.
It touched me. It's diminutive nails didn't rend into my scales as it touched my ribs, prodding them softly. Sunshine adjusted how it sat so that the other predator could have better access to me, and I couldn't help but focus on the skies again as it assessed what part of me it wanted.
Sunshine won't let it eat me.
I don't know where the thought came from, but it was firm. I believed it entirely. Even though Sunshine was a sapient predator, it wouldn't let it happen. Maybe it claimed me as its own already. I... I had doubts I would be eaten. The thoughts were there, but Sunshine had a perfect chance already. Unless it wanted to flaunt its catch first, which the Arxur did- but it was gentle. Sunshine was better than an Arxur.
"Malnourished, deep sores. Ulcers. There's bruising up and down the rib cage. Jesus- sorry."
"They're old. Persistent. Its feet."
"What about..." The predator got quiet. I felt my scales shift in worry as it gingerly lifted one of my legs. It remained quiet, but its face stretched further. "What happened?"
It was looking at me. Asking me. I shrank further into the fabric, but there was nowhere to go. The silence was unbearable, and I started trembling.
The silence continued.
"A runaway." Sunshine rumbled after forever. I didn't understand what that meant. My translator didn't pick it up quite right. Run-away? Like fleeing? Was that what these predators called their prey? No... no that didn't seem right. It was possible, but...
"Could have been kidnapped." Another word I didn't understand, but my translator worked on the other predator. Stealing a person by force? Using fear outside of the law? How did predators have such a word? "We need to get it to the hospital. Figure out what happened and how it ended up in this field."
NO NO NO NO NO
Sunshine's arms draped over me before I could escape, my attempt no better than a drunk Mazic trying to fit through a Venlil sized door. I couldn't stop the whine in my throat, but its soft digits down my back froze me. A subtle noise filtered out behind the mask, and it settled me back down in its garment. It picked up an edge lined with little metal teeth and draped it over me, blocking my sight from the other predator. I felt safe, suddenly. Sunshine's firm grip on my body didn't feel threatening. It felt like a promise, as it carefully pulled me against it's bulk. I was warm, despite my terror.
"Zuda will handle it. No hospitals. This stays with us."
"Sunshine," the other predator protested, "we need to figure out what happened!"
"Think, Doc." Sunshine growled, and this was no doubt a warning. I felt relief that the difference between the two growls was so obvious.
"What?"
"Think. Use your head."
There was a period of silence. "You don't... that can't be right." I didn't understand what conclusion it made.
"The injuries are uniform. Too clean to be anything else."
They can't know. How can they know?
"We need confirmation!"
"We already have it." Sunshine stated, and slowly the fabric was lifted off of my head. I blinked, and noticed that the other predator had changed a different shade.
That's odd. Are you predators like me?
That's terrifying. I'm not a threat. I'm me.
"It reacted to the van and mention of a hospital, Doc. Nobody outside the UN hears of this. Operational security."
It... does Sunshine know? How do they know?
"What the fuck is this planet, Sunshine?" The other predator lamented.
Sunshine didn't respond. He looked around at the surrounding encampment, and I realized it was shrinking. They were leaving. A few other predators were subtly watching as they worked, but I doubted they could hear the conversation with how quiet it was. I realize there's a few Venlil in their ranks, unbothered by their presence and even wearing garments similar to the predators around them.
A digit tapped the end of my snout and I flinched, looking up at Sunshine. It's paw retracted as the other predator withdrew a medical kit with a paw print on it and began to unclasp it. "You're safe. We're... we're going to help."
You know. You know what I am. And you're helping me anyway. Why are you helping me? I'm weak. I'm dangerous. But not to you. You're an apex. Is that why? Does your species stick together, unlike the Arxur? Do you uplift those around you, no matter if they're prey or dangerous? The Venlil are not afraid of you. You must not eat them. What do you eat? It has to be meat. But, it must be something that they can handle. Does what makes me dangerous fall away under your hierarchy? I hope it does. It doesn't seem real. I guess to you, what makes me a threat is meaningless.
I believe Sunshine. I really do. When the other predator comes forward with a healing gel, I surrender.
I am safe.
2023.06.03 19:27 TheRoofIsNotMyChild Career Change - looking to highlight overlapping skills. See comments for job posting information.
submitted by TheRoofIsNotMyChild to resumes [link] [comments]
2023.06.03 18:13 DBSdidnothingwrong Counterpoint to 20k cap, ll z power capped, and the argument that is running around. IS THIS BAD?
Short answer, yes, maybe BUT
I've read a lot of debate here about this stuff, i relation also to goresh posting and such.
But we are fighting against the very nature of this game. Complaining that you HAVE TO save, that you HAVE TO get a lot of stars on a unit, and that you HAVE TO focus on just one team to be competitive, goes against the very nature of Dragonball Legends.
Its not FIGHTERZ, it's not Street fighter 6.
It's a Gatcha, where PVP wil always favor at high ranks, whoever has most stars, has more recent units, has a lot of teams, maybe maxed out. U won't ever compete as a f2p unless you get lucky. Let's break it down a little.
You are a fusion main, let's say, you save a lot only to summon on hype fusion units. Do you need that 600 z power capped for those under 20k? Probably not. But you still want it. As you still want the fusion units with the most chances to max them out, to use them. Good. You saved 100k for Ultra vegito blue. But it won't help you get at the top of pvp, cause there will always be someone who 14 stars him, or 14 stars the next best team. If you summon only for fusion, and get a high starred team, you ll still be under those that keep up with the meta. That's a fact.
You just are a saver, that wants to star up a unit and u can'tcause of the cap. If you aren't chasing the meta, and you are just saving for a unit u really like (let's say ultra ssj2 gohan), you can afford to skip 600 lf z power, and you can also afford to summon every now and then on banners, getting stars on your units by chances. If you get a lf in a regular banner, you ll get 1200 lf z power, 600 now is basically pointless.
Basically, if you save a lot, and you have 50k.100.k of ccs, you don't need those extra 20k a year for being under the cap. Those are for the players that actually play the game (which include a regular support of releasing character that you don't care about and never use, locking yourself out of half the game). And you also don't need that 600 lf z power, cause that's pointless, you won't improve much with just that.
But, you say, i need every ounce of cc and every scrap of lf z power to keep up with the meta, with my single tag team i put all my resources into, cause i'm f2p and i'm focusing on one team to keep up. They are punishing me for saving!!!!. Yes they are. Cause that's not how you play the game. Why? cause u as a f2p aren't suppose to be able to compete in the meta, you aren't supposed to get all the rewards, and you aren't supposed to focus on one team.
Basically, you arent the playerbase they are catering to. The game will always be against you. Every mechanic, every system, will be against the way you are playing. Just accept it.
submitted by DBSdidnothingwrong to DragonballLegends [link] [comments]
I've read a lot of debate here about this stuff, i relation also to goresh posting and such.
But we are fighting against the very nature of this game. Complaining that you HAVE TO save, that you HAVE TO get a lot of stars on a unit, and that you HAVE TO focus on just one team to be competitive, goes against the very nature of Dragonball Legends.
Its not FIGHTERZ, it's not Street fighter 6.
It's a Gatcha, where PVP wil always favor at high ranks, whoever has most stars, has more recent units, has a lot of teams, maybe maxed out. U won't ever compete as a f2p unless you get lucky. Let's break it down a little.
You are a fusion main, let's say, you save a lot only to summon on hype fusion units. Do you need that 600 z power capped for those under 20k? Probably not. But you still want it. As you still want the fusion units with the most chances to max them out, to use them. Good. You saved 100k for Ultra vegito blue. But it won't help you get at the top of pvp, cause there will always be someone who 14 stars him, or 14 stars the next best team. If you summon only for fusion, and get a high starred team, you ll still be under those that keep up with the meta. That's a fact.
You just are a saver, that wants to star up a unit and u can'tcause of the cap. If you aren't chasing the meta, and you are just saving for a unit u really like (let's say ultra ssj2 gohan), you can afford to skip 600 lf z power, and you can also afford to summon every now and then on banners, getting stars on your units by chances. If you get a lf in a regular banner, you ll get 1200 lf z power, 600 now is basically pointless.
Basically, if you save a lot, and you have 50k.100.k of ccs, you don't need those extra 20k a year for being under the cap. Those are for the players that actually play the game (which include a regular support of releasing character that you don't care about and never use, locking yourself out of half the game). And you also don't need that 600 lf z power, cause that's pointless, you won't improve much with just that.
But, you say, i need every ounce of cc and every scrap of lf z power to keep up with the meta, with my single tag team i put all my resources into, cause i'm f2p and i'm focusing on one team to keep up. They are punishing me for saving!!!!. Yes they are. Cause that's not how you play the game. Why? cause u as a f2p aren't suppose to be able to compete in the meta, you aren't supposed to get all the rewards, and you aren't supposed to focus on one team.
Basically, you arent the playerbase they are catering to. The game will always be against you. Every mechanic, every system, will be against the way you are playing. Just accept it.
2023.06.03 17:14 Proletlariet Spy Fox
"Oh, Spy Fox? You're going to be busy on this rescue mission. Should I call the Spy Academy and tell them to cancel the weapons class you're going to teach?" "What? You're going to tell them that Spy Fox doesn't have class? They'll never believe you."
A spy working for Spy Corp, Spy Fox is one of several agents sent into the field to foil the schemes of supervillains, be they seeking to rid a certain food from the market, bring governments to their knees with an enormous robot dog, destroy the ozone layer so they can profit on incredibly strong sunscreen, or just thieves stealing cheese from a museum. Alongside the administrative help of Monkeypenny and the various gadgets of Professor Quack, Spy Fox inevitably saves the day while barely ever opening his eyes more than halfway or removing his hands from the pockets of his white suit.
2 - Spy Fox 2: Some Assembly Required
3 - Spy Fox 3: Operation Ozone
CC - Spy Fox in: Cheese Chase
HtM - Spy Fox in: Hold the Mustard
Web - Spy Fox promotional content from the Humongous Entertainment website accessed through the Wayback Machine, accessible here
Combat-Focused
Physicals
Physicals
Blaster
The main weapon, capable of destroying large robots with a single blast.HtM With a significant amount of blasts, it can destroy:
submitted by Proletlariet to u/Proletlariet [link] [comments]
A spy working for Spy Corp, Spy Fox is one of several agents sent into the field to foil the schemes of supervillains, be they seeking to rid a certain food from the market, bring governments to their knees with an enormous robot dog, destroy the ozone layer so they can profit on incredibly strong sunscreen, or just thieves stealing cheese from a museum. Alongside the administrative help of Monkeypenny and the various gadgets of Professor Quack, Spy Fox inevitably saves the day while barely ever opening his eyes more than halfway or removing his hands from the pockets of his white suit.
Legend
1 - Spy Fox in: Dry Cereal2 - Spy Fox 2: Some Assembly Required
3 - Spy Fox 3: Operation Ozone
CC - Spy Fox in: Cheese Chase
HtM - Spy Fox in: Hold the Mustard
Web - Spy Fox promotional content from the Humongous Entertainment website accessed through the Wayback Machine, accessible here
Strength
Striking- Claims he normally karate chops doors open, but can't do it to one made of steel1
- Knocks away a rhino and an elephant by spinning with skis as he passed them2
- Crumples the roof of a car by jumping onto itCC
- Lifts a large rooster over his head and swings him about1
- Holds up a 'Really Big Award' at arms length3
- Holds an anvil, a safe, and an anchor at arm's length while falling1
- Catches himself from falling with one hand before throwing himself into the air with that hand2
- Catches himself from falling by biting onto a platform3
- Ski jumps a great distance onto a passing plane2
- Unaffected by a net as he skis through it2
Durability
Blunt Force- Is seemingly beaten up off-screen and thrown away1
- Rides a rocket skateboard through a door3
- Launched through a ceiling, causing a large amount of clatter through other obstacles off-screen after2
- Repeatedly slammed against a table while having a massage2
- Bounces off of his head without reacting2
- Kicked high into the air by a robot and falls back to the ground1
- Hit by a giant sticky object and is trapped to it while it bounces / rolls along with enough force to shatter stone pillars, before falling down the stone steps outside the temple3
- Repeatedly slammed by an enormous powder puff3
- Skis down a sheer surface, on a short roof, and along the ground without any reaction2
- Drops from a gyrocopter onto his scooter held within a dumpsterCC
- Jumps from cable car to the ground below, rolling down a hill as a snowball, before hitting the doorway of a cabin and emerging unharmed2
- Slides down a ladder from the mouth of a mech dog before jumping off at the end, landing unharmed2
- Falls down a great distance onto a caravan, crumpling it, and is unharmedCC
- Unaffected by his ice skates exploding while being worn2
- Gets whipped, folded into a paper airplane, and bundled into a ball while being given a massage2
- Blown back by sound without harm3
Speed
- Whisks his foot away before a snapping turtle can bite it1
- Dodges a boxing glove defense system when the direction it would punch in wasn't clear until it fired2
- Dashes short distances quickly3
- In an instant runs from the Caped Cod, picks up a child fan, and runs back2
- Runs in the air to get back to land before falling in water1
Skill
- Briefly juggles2
- Bowls a strike3
- Has the agility to flip about1
- Balances on a tiny flying device2
- Flips a switch on the ground into his pocket2
- Somehow steals the remote for King Konglomerate's rocket while going straight from his ship to a lift into the rocket's roomHtM
- Using an instructional book, defeats a Cock-A-Doodle-Fu master with a counter move, then ties him up while holding him above his head1
- Won the Spy Corp Freestyle Ski Jump Competition2
- Can dance the foxtrot, waltz, and tango2
Suit
- His suit has deep pockets, described as being able to hold 'a nearly unlimited number of items' in Operation Ozone3
- One of his suits has a parachute in it1
Spy Watch
- Allows him to contact and be contacted by Monkeypenny back at their mobile base1
- Connects to a bug he placed in a cat's handbag as she speeds away in a sports car1
- Records and sends a villain's monologue about his plan2
- Gets sent and stores coordinates1
- Prints a three fruit code transmitted to it2
- Can play games2
- Also functions as a watch3
Spy Gadgets
Spy Fox can carry up to four of these at a time.Combat-Focused
- The Spy Trap, a coin which traps explodes into a net to trap three or more enemies on the ceiling1
- Sticky Stun Bun, which explodes to stun everyone within ten feet, "Leaving them dazed ad confused for weeks" according to the inventor3
- Bagpipes which spray a large amount of smoke. This smoke appears to have an adverse affect on people inhaling it, possibly stunning them, as Spy Fox dons a gas mask before walking through3
- Duck Blind, a hat which renders the wearer invisible to ducks3
- Night Vision Shoe, a shoe that acts like night vision goggles1
- Hush-Hush Moccasians, shoes which allow him to walk extremely quietly so even a room full of goons with 'oversized ears' don't notice himWeb
- Dehydrated Skis, a pair of skis inside a tiny pill which grow when put in water2
- Spy Skates, a pair of ice skates which allow the user to perform any ice skating routine when their instructions are placed within the skates2
- Gopher Guise equipped with Extra-Strength Earth Moving Claws, letting him quickly dig through overhanging roots and caved in tunnels undergroundWeb
- Suction Cufflinks, tiny suction cups for climbing across non-porous metal surfaces1
- Alarm Deactivator, an elaborately described piece of equipment for ensuring alarms don't go off which is actually just two alligator clips connected by a wire2
- Cheese and Safe Cracker Kit, which uses very scientific processes to determine the combination of a safe1
- Fingerprint Replicator Utensil Kit, a fork which copies the fingerprints of whoever wields it and sends them to the paired spoon2
- Spy Key Replicator Kit, a camera which takes a photo of a key, the photo being put into an oven to shrink and take the form of that key. If the wrong key is made, it can be inserted back into the camera and turned back into film, as it can only store one shot at a time2
- Stealth Vac, a silent vacuum2
- Spy Toaster, which launches whatever spy is within it 20 feet into the air3
- The Insta-Jack, a tiny red pill which turns into a hydraulic lift when thrown to the groundWeb
- The Artful Articulator device, which would allow him to understand a person muffled due to being trapped with cotton candy and maple syrupWeb
- Rocket Powered Origami Skateboard, which originally takes the form of a single piece of paper but with three simple steps folds into a skateboard propelled by a rocket with enough force to break a Spy Fox hole in a door3
- Spy Pearl Detector, which scans over a bed of oysters, the light on top flashing faster the closer it is to a pearl3
- Spy Bowling Ball, rolled towards a bowling pin to capture it and whatever's attached to it, bringing it back to Spy Fox3
- Laser Toothbrush and Minty Fresh Laser Gel, used together to cut through thick steel1
- Termite Grenade, a grenade with termites for destroying a wooden object2
- Rust Buster, a one-use spray can which makes whatever metal object it covers become rusted and brittle to the point of falling apart3
- A drilling device made of extra-strength paper-mâché and coated with a hi-tech polymer, used to drill through multiple feet of iceWeb
- Grappling Granny, a grappling hook which latches onto wood with a pair of false teeth3
- Swiss Spy Knife, containing a fork, a toothpick, and a pair of chromium-alloy high tensile strength wire cutters that can cut through sheer metal3
- Spy Putty, used to create a perfect copy of whatever it's pressed against1
- Beef Flavour X-Ray Gum which is held up against 'something beefy' to show inside it1
- Spy Heat, heat in a can2
- Canned Laughter, a grenade which fills the area its thrown into with laughter3
- Handcuffs disguised as a large, frosty beverageCC
- Hair growing creamWeb
- Extra-Glittery Ball o' Foil Stuffed with Catnip, an extra-glittery ball of foil stuffed with catnip used to distract a cat supervillain while syllables away from world dominationWeb
- Spy Mint, a minty fresh mint which glows in the dark to light areas up, also working underwater3
- Spy Ear, a glass which allows the user to listen through solid glass3
- His organization used a device to create a smoke screen or mirage of a fake factory in front of every limburger cheese factory in the world, though it's unclear whether Spy Fox himself helped use itWeb
Pens
A variety of items potentially held within pens in the opening of Dry Cereal. He holds four in his suit pocket.- Balloon filled with something that isn't helium1
- A whoopie cushion which is thrown to the ground beneath him, allowing him to land without any injury1
- A pogo stick, nullifying any harm from falling by landing on it, though it rockets back into the air once Spy Fox steps off1
- A cake1
- Fishing rod used to slow his descent by latching onto a nearby helicopter1
- An anvil1
- An anchor1
- A safe1
- A taxi cab1
- A small tank1
Other Items
- Owns Goldi-lock pickers, which he claims would let him easily open a locked metal door he'd find impossible to unlock without2
- A digital make up compact intercepted by Spy Corp, which displays the required response to a stated codephrase when the appropriate section is pushed down3
- A jackhammer, a crowbar, and a blowtorch3
- A rabbit and his Spy Corp I.D.3
- An oven glove2
- A Gyrocopter, flown by him and Professor Quack with a spotlightCC
Spy Car
A car with a variety of functions driven in Dry Cereal and Operation Ozone.Physicals
- Bounces off from a fall1
- Drops from Spy Corp's mobile base after being repaired3
- Can drive between continents in a short span of time. Exactly how it does this is unclear, but it's seen dropping from the sky and driving directly vertically3
- Becomes a jet to fly off1
- Becomes a helicopter1
- Becomes a boring machine with a drill appearing from the front, creating a tunnel through rocks blocking off a road1
- Turns into a submarine, complete with periscope, before jumping out of the water1
- A long arm to pick up and drop off Spy Fox1
- Inflates padding beneath it after falling off a cliff1
- A parachute1
- A radar which follows a trail left by another spy1
Super Duper Spy Scooter
A multi-environment scooter which is initially stored within a dumpster before being used throughout Cheese Chase.CCPhysicals
- Breaks wooden barriers by riding through themCC
- Shatters fences by driving into themCC
- Rides through barrels, shattering themCC
- Badly dents metal pipes by hitting themCC
- Knocks other vehicles aboutCC
- Travels over whirlpools, just making the scooter spin a bitCC
- Covers a notable distance after riding up a rampCC
- Quickly drives down a building and speeds from it into the foregroundCC
- Shifts from a land scooter to a speedbikeCC
- Turns from a jet ski to a snowmobileCC
- Goes from being a snowmobile to a jet flying through the airCC
- Transforms between its flying and scooter formsCC
- Can pick up from crates and fire forwards plungers, pies, and two bananas simultaneously. All of these are capable of the same strength featsCC
- Topples over quad bikesCC
- Sinks a small enemy shipCC
- Buries twin tread snowmobilesCC
- Takes down larger snowmobiles with a front ski and two large back treads, burying them in the snowCC
- Shoots similar jets out of the skyCC
M.E.S.S.
The Multiple Environment Spy Ship, a mobile ship Spy Fox uses to fly around in Hold the Mustard.Blaster
The main weapon, capable of destroying large robots with a single blast.HtM With a significant amount of blasts, it can destroy:
- A large metal transmitterHtM
- A significant amount of stoneHtM
- The front of an airshipHtM
- The enormous metal jaw of a shipHtM
- Homing missilesHtM
- A shorter range blast which releases a burst of red energy around it, destroying all nearby robotsHtM
- Makes the ship invincible for a period, capable of running through robots without injury but still risking damage and destruction from wallsHtM
- One token fully heals the M.E.S.S.HtM
- Extra livesHtM
- Highly maneuverableHtM
- Bashes off of walls, but takes damageHtM
- Can travel underwater, using air instead of fuel, which replenishes on breaching the surfaceHtM
- Through booster rockets, can travel to and fly about in spaceHtM
- Refuels by flying through floating gatesHtM
- On the ship's destruction, ejects Spy Fox in a floating capsuleHtM
- Had an upgrade, the Super M.E.S.S., which repeatedly bashes against a force field with seemingly no injury, has enough space for multiple agents, and is equipped with a can opener to cut open a space base3
Other
- Translates hieroglyphics from an ancient language, though what they translate to is rather self-evident1
- Doesn't shift gears in his cars while in pursuit of bad guys because he can't be bothered with that sort of thing3
- Quickly changes outfits1
- Disguises himself as a tumbleweed, using it as cover to getting into the middle of an area without being seen and letting it blow off without him after3
- Is a terrible secret agent3
- I mean seriously, he just tells everyone what he is3
- This isn't even a spy thing in this universe, a Canadian spy tells him to cut out using her name too often2
- He even was presented the highest award the President of the United States could give to him in a highly publicized and reported event, isn't that the exact opposite of what he should want1
- Even some slight competency stops him from foiling the villain's plans due to how he announces himself first how is this guy still hired3
2023.06.03 17:12 Proletlariet Big O
Special thanks to u/That_guy_why for letting me remake this thread
Roger Smith is a Negotiator in Paradigm City, a city whose residents lost all memories 40 years ago. He will negotiate nearly anything, from kidnappings to pet ownership, for nearly anyone, provided both sides of the negotiation play fair. However, he refuses to work with the Paradigm Corporation unless absolutely necessary. Roger is also the pilot of the Big O, one of the giant robots known as Megadeuses. Whenever the city is threatened by another Megadeus or a giant monster, Roger calls in Big O to save the day.
Hover over the feat for the episode number.
submitted by Proletlariet to u/Proletlariet [link] [comments]
Roger Smith and The Big O
"Big O! Showtime!"Opening
Roger Smith is a Negotiator in Paradigm City, a city whose residents lost all memories 40 years ago. He will negotiate nearly anything, from kidnappings to pet ownership, for nearly anyone, provided both sides of the negotiation play fair. However, he refuses to work with the Paradigm Corporation unless absolutely necessary. Roger is also the pilot of the Big O, one of the giant robots known as Megadeuses. Whenever the city is threatened by another Megadeus or a giant monster, Roger calls in Big O to save the day.
Hover over the feat for the episode number.
Roger Smith
"My name is Roger Smith. My other name is Negotiator, a much-needed job here in Paradigm City, a city that has lost its memory"
The Watch
- Used to call Big O to his location
- Alerts Roger that he has been locked onto with a missile launcher
- Has a grappling line
- Has a radar that shows Big O's position
- Communicates with Norman
- A laser that cuts through a metal cuff
The Griffon
- Armors itself to prevent theft
- Roger uses the watch to have the car fire missiles
- Has a radio and video screen inside
- Has machine guns on the front that tear through wooden signs
- Can self-drive
- Picks up police radio and changes its color
- Drives through a brick wall
- Bulletproof with the armor activated and drops mines to blow up robots
- The guns, missiles, and mines destroy robots and a road barricade
- Warns Roger of danger
Physicals
Strength
- Pulls Dorothy free from wiring and carries her
- Throws a chair through the window of a submerged building
- Snaps the device controlling Dorothy in half
- Breaks out of metal cuffs
Durability
- [Limit] Gets knocked out by a taser
- [Limit] Gets knocked out by a blow to the head with a rifle
- Jumps out of a window unharmed
- Falls off a ladder
- Runs through fire
- Shrugs off getting knocked back by an explosion at his feet
- Gets smashed through the top of a stone column
- Gets crushed by Dorothy for a time
Speed/Agility
- Catches up to a small submarine on foot
- Dodges bullets
- Jumps a fair distance through a window and lands in his car as its driving
- Dodges a crane
- Dodges swipes from an android
- Blocks a surprise stab from behind with a book
Skill/Misc
Resources
Skill/Intelligence
- Can tell that the Griffon's break efficiency has dropped by 1/8th
- Uses Dorothy as a decoy to draw enemy fire
- Repositions Big O so that the Megadeus trying to reel him in is pushed back
- Gets out of the ropes he's tied up in
- Though he doesn't carry a gun and refuses to shoot people, he's a fairly accurate marksman
- Explains how to negotiate kidnappings
- Blinds Big Duo with the Chrome Buster, allowing him to dodge his attack unseen
- Uses his jacket as a decoy while fleeing a pursuer
- Hears Alan ready his gun from a distance away
- Grabs a pipe (from somewhere) to counter Alan rushing him with a sword
- Throws Alan over his shoulder
Misc
Misc Gear
- Activates a briefcase with jets attached to it using a remote
- A key mold pen
- A flashlight
- Binoculars
- A zipline briefcase
- His house has a defense system
Big O
"Cast in the name of God, ye not guilty"
Physicals
Strength
Striking
- Sticks its hand through a parking structure to catch a van driving away from it
- Stomps through the street to reach underground
- Breaks a Megadeus' faceplate with a punch
- Tackles a giant chimera through a laboratory complex
- Punches through a giant sword and knocks back a Megadeus
- Knocks the Leviathan down the street
- Punches through a wall and destroys two robots
- Clashes with Big Duo's diving punch, making a shockwave that shatters the windows on a nearby building and tosses cars, though it ends up with a damaged arm
Lifting/Throwing
- Tosses aside a smaller Megadeus
- Yanks a Megadeus to him using the Mobydick Anchors and lifts it with one arm
- Throws a giant robot high into the air
- Lifts the Behemoth, a massive Megadeus and destroys it off-screen
Pushing/Tearing
- Pushes a Megadeus into a building hard enough to shift it back
- Tears apart a giant sea monster's tongue
- Tears apart the chimera's tendrils and rips off its arm
- Tears off the plating covering Big Duo's pilot area
Other
Durability
Impact
- Blocks a bunch of blows from a Megadeus with its arm plating
- Gets hit by a glancing attack from a Megadeus
- Gets tackled by a smaller Megadeus
- Gets knocked over by a smaller Megadeus after throwing it
- Gets continuously blasted by a Megadeus' sonic weapon
- Gets tackled across a dome and through a building by Big Duo
- Blocks a dropkick from a Megadeus
- Gets thrown into a building by a Megadeus
- Gets tackled by the same Megadeus
- Blocks more punches from the Megadeus with its arm plating until it gives up
- Gets tackled through a bridge by the Hydra
Piercing
- Takes a hit from a Megadeus' drill
- The Megadeus' drills bounce off its arm plating
- Blocks Big Duo's machine guns with its arm plating
- Blocks Big Duo's drills with its arm plating
- Blocks Big Fau's saw with its arm plating
- Big Fau's saw shaves off its crown, but doesn't damage the head underneath
- Takes a hit from Big Fau's saw to the torso
Energy
- Gets shocked by a sea monster - Again
- Gets hit by a bunch of fireballs from a Megadeus
- Lasers that carve through buildings and a dome just bounce off its arm plating/crown
- Takes electricity from three Megadeus
- Blocks a Megadeus' laser with its arm plating
- Gets hit with the Hydra's electricity
- Blocks several laser blasts from Big Fau
Explosives
- Blocks missiles with its arm plating
- Tanks missiles from a Megadeus
- Blocks Big Duo's missiles with its arm plating
Limits
Speed
- Uses the Mobydick Anchors to dodge explosive fireballs
- Intercepts missiles
- Grabs a giant chimera as it leaps at him then slams it down
- Avoids finger lasers from a Megadeus
- Blocks Big Fau's laser blast
Misc
- Big O is 30 m tall
- Escapes a Megadeus' tendrils after being lifted into the air
- Destroyed a power plant off screen
- Either tanks or avoids two missiles from Big Duo
- Moves on its own to come to Roger's rescue
Equipment
Sudden Impact
- Uses the pistons on its arms to enhance the strength of its punches, blowing a hole through a Megadeus' torso
- Gives a van a good shake
- Pulling back the piston knocks the sea monster entangling it off
- Boosts itself back to the surface while underwater
- Destroys a Megadeus' head
- Beheads a Megadeus without harming the people inside
- Punches a hole in a giant tree and the building it enveloped
- The air pressure punches through two skyscrapers
- Destroys Big Duo's head and makes a large crater in the ground beneath it
- Knocks back two Megadeus, leaving craters in their chests
- Destroys a piece of space debris
- Blows a hole through the chest of a giant construction robot
- Punches a Megadeus through a very thick concrete wall
Mobydick Anchors
- Fires a hip-mounted chain-linked anchor that stabs into a Megadeus
- Catches Big Duo as it's flying away
- Hooks to the top of a dome
- Fires anchors in a spread around it, piercing through three Megadeus, though they were previously damaged by Sudden Impacts, as well as a ship
- Have claws and can be finely controlled for delicate operations
- Lift Big Duo into the air
- Stops itself from falling over
- Pulls Big Fau into the water as it's falling in
Missile Party
- Launches a bunch of missiles from its abdomen, lifting a smaller Megadeus into the air and destroying it in the explosion, which also damages the area above ground
- Precisely blows off just a Megadeus' sonic weapons while leaving the pilot unharmed
- A few missiles damage a giant tree and the building it enveloped
Cannon Party
- Fires machine guns out of its chest, exploding and burning off Big Duo's bandages
- Breaks part of Big Duo's armor
O Thunder
- Fires an array of machine guns in its arm to destroy a Megadeus
- One shots Beck's Megadeus
- Blows off Big Duo's head and blows a hole through the line of skyscrapers behind it
Arc Line
- Shoots beams out of its eyes that destroys chunks of buildings
- Blows a hole in a Megadeus
- Blows up a giant robot containing bombs
- Cuts through part of a giant tree
Chrome Buster
- Fires a beam of energy from its head that tears through a giant sea monster
- Blows a hole in a dome
- Destroys the Leviathan's head
- Cuts off and destroys two of the Hydra's heads
Plasma Gimmick
Final Stage
- Produces an energy cannon that does massive damage to Big Fau and the surrounding area of the dome
- This attack requires Dorothy to perform and appears to break after being used once
Misc
- Travels the city via an abandoned railway system and rises through the ground
- Tracks down the location of a man who was remotely piloting the Megadeus he just fought
- Determines the position of a Megadeus using holograms by tracking the path of the projectiles it fired
- Has a compartment in its hand that holds Angel
- Identifies that a giant robot is carrying bombs
- Has a garage in its foot for the Griffon
- Releases a smokescreen
2023.06.03 15:13 ruthiess18 Help me find out what’s wrong please
I have a 2014 Ford Taurus SHO this has happened twice in a period of 6 months. I’ll turn on my car and everything is on and as I wait for the car to cool off my car will go silent like it turned off. The first time it happened I tried to shift gears and the car wouldn’t move. The second time I pressed the push to start button and even though all screens and lights were on the car made the sound like it turned on again. What could be wrong with the car?
submitted by ruthiess18 to AskMechanics [link] [comments]
2023.06.03 15:00 Acceptable_Egg5560 Persistence Journalism [15]
Thanks again to u/TheManwithaNoPlan in all their help in co-writing this story! They are a fountain of inspiration!
[First-[Prev]-[Next]
Memory transcript: Sharnet, Venlil Journalist. Date: [Standardized human time] September 19th, 2136
I had been correct. When Tagleb had described Unzekep’s behavior, I had thought she couldn’t possibly be one of the Overseers. Too descriptive. Too many features that stood out to be remembered. But I had to see. I needed to see what she was like.
I didn’t want to treat her like a monster. Like everyone else.
Unzekep was curled up in a ball on the ground, her sobs echoing off the enclosing walls. They clashed with the constant hum of the pumps, each dampening the other slightly. Her colors kept shifting between the gray of the walls and her natural green, as if she was barely trying to hide.
She just continued to sob. “I don’t want to go. P-please… I don’t… please…”
My legs started walking. On their own. Closer. I’m kneeling next to her. She’s hurting. I…
I gently placed my paw on her back. She shrinks back at the touch, but I keep my paw in place as she cries. “It’s okay,” I say, trying to be heard over the pumps, “we mean you no harm. We wish to h…” The facility said they helped. “We wish to keep you away from the monsters of the facility.”
Her chest shuttered as one eye peered out at me. “Y-you… you hate me. Fear me. Everyone… everyone does…”
“I am not everyone,” I reply. “Come, please, let’s get out of this room so we can hear each other. We only wish to talk.”
Unzekep began rising to her feet, but it still felt off. Her movements brought to mind the Venlil I had seen in the Arxur fear videos. The movement of someone who believed that they were being sent to their death and had given up all hope of its avoidance. Vekna stood by as I led her out of the room, unsure of how to act in the face of this situation.
The scaffolding outside the room groaned from the stresses put upon it by those far above as we walked out. The distant sounds of reactors whirring and people talking replaced the constant hum of the turbines as the backdrop to our situation. I saw Vekna take a small sigh of relief as she closed the door behind us. I saw how she had started to tense up the longer we were in there, this was more for her than Unzekep. Speaking of, the Harchen was still curled up in a defensive stance. “So…why do you bring me out? Are you…going to throw things at me?” She looked down, staring at a small discarded wrench set against the wall. “Please… don’t do hard.”
“We are not going to do that.” She was so scared of us. Like she was standing before an Arxur. “You were in Dawn Creek. The correctional facility there.”
Her colors shifted in fear again. “They-they tossed out! I didn’t- it wasn’t an escape! I’m not- not bad. I’m good! I promise! I-I…” I could see her eyes start to wet again. “Please…I’m sorry…”
Vekna, who had been behind me, knelt forward, keeping her paws to herself. “We know, we know. We’re not going to send you back there, or anywhere else. It’s okay, we’re friends.” I could hear something in her voice I couldn’t quite discern. Sadness? Anger? Both?
Unzekep looked up at her, at us, and she finally started to uncurl. “You’re…friends? Why?” The very fact she asked that at all sent a pang of sympathy through my heart. Is she really so isolated out here that she has to ask why someone wants to be friends with her?
I shook my head to focus. “Because the people who ran that place were evil. They tortured people, and we want to make sure that they don’t do such things to anyone else.”
Unzekep looked at me in confusion, her complexion only slightly changing to a bluish tint. “People don’t call it torture. It’s treatments. Bad treatments. They didn’t help change color. That’s how you spot me, right? The dots.” She ran a hand over her temple, right where the splotches were.
I nodded. “Yes, we did. You did a good job hiding otherwise, though.”
“Thanks. I learned how to ca…cam…hide very well. Sometimes I could make the guards miss me, but then I got in trouble for my next treatment.” I saw her shudder at the memories of that. Why did we ever think this was a good idea? “They had me take stuff. Said… it would make me hide better. Didn’t. It- it made me worse.”
So she was drugged. I guess my theory about the Harchen drug was somewhat correct. “Yes. The people there lied. They lied a lot…” I leaned forward, trying to keep my voice comforting, “do you remember a giant Venlil?”
Her tail flicked in worry as Vekna looked over to me in confusion. “They said.. it was dangerous. That it was going to destroy everything. But… they said they were throwing us out because of it.”
“They were lying again,” I told her, “they were throwing you out to hide themselves. The overseers feared we would find out that they were torturing people, so they ran.” I gestured to me and Vekna. “We are looking for them. We want to make sure they never hurt anyone again. Please, can you help us?”
A new flash of fear flows across her body as she shrinks back. “I- I can’t! They- they’ll know. They will hurt me. Find me and hurt me.” She shivers to herself despite the warmer air down here. Is this the kind of pain Tarlim was hiding all along? By the stars…
Vekna stepped in, her voice similarly soothing. “Why do you think that? You’re a long ways away from Dawn Creek. Do you think that someone from there is here?” She looked between us for a moment before she took on a yellow underhue in confirmation. I had to stop myself from celebrating then and there. After three misses, I was starting to think that this was nothing more than another ruse. At least we’re not doing this for nothing! I leaned in a little closer, causing the Harchen to focus on me. “Do you know who they are? What they look like? Where they might be?” Unzekep whined at my inquiries and covered her ear holes. “Please, not so loud. You’re hurting my ears.” I immediately retracted, doing my best to lower my volume. I flicked my ears in the affirmative, but she didn’t stop. Confused, I flicked them again, but she just continued to look at me as if I was going to restart my questions as soon as she took her hands away. Vekna stepped in and spoke. “She won’t be as loud anymore.” At that, Unzekep finally took her hands away. Difficulty with nonverbal cues. Of course they’d lock her up for that. “Okay. I…saw their back. I don’t know where they are. I know that they did something bad in the caves. They left when I came. Someone else was there, a Venlil. Shocked. It looked like what they did to me, but worse. More sloppy.”
That piqued my interest. Perhaps that’s the reason she spends most of her time down here? I had to ask. “Is that why you stay down here in the bowels of the reactors? In the tunnels under the city?”
She tapped her fingers together. “They… are safe. No eyes. No people who…less people who hurt me. I can hide. I have a house on the top, but… they are top, too. I can hide better down here.”
She looked to be getting scared again at the memory, so I took a soothing tone again. “Thank you. Please, can you tell me where you saw them? What caves?”
She fidgeted with her tail, which had curled around to her front. “Up in the mountains. Old iron mines that ran out a long time ago. Nobody but me ever went up there…and them now.” She clenched her tail. “I don’t go up there anymore.”
Iron mines. We had a location. A place that our target likely frequented. “Thank you. You have helped us so much by telling us that.” I bowed to her, “I promise, we will take them away from this place. You won’t have to hide anymore.”
She didn’t seem to calm down much at that, though. Instead, she looked…sad. “I do have to, I always have to….” She sighed. “People see me. Hate me. They… they will try to send me to another… they will hurt me again. Zap me… here.” She pointed to the spots on her head. The ones that never change their color.
I wanted to say she was wrong. I wanted to reassure her that things would be fine once the heads were captured. But so many would fear her. So many would… wait… “How did you get here?”
Unzekep looked at me in confusion, her color shifting bluish.
“When you were tossed out,” I explain, “you moved here. You had a house. You must have had people who helped you. Who don’t fear you.”
“My… my mom.” Her tail curled around her legs as she sat on the ground. “She found me. She’s in the gov…gover…she has power, covered for me all she could. She…she put me in at first, but when these showed up,” she pointed to her dead spots, “she tried to get me out. Didn’t work, but then they threw us out. It was…a long, long walk.”
Vekna gasped at that. “Wait, you mean to say you walked here? All the way from Dawn Creek? Why didn’t you take a…oh. No money, right?”
Unzekep shifted her underhue in confirmation. “No, no money. When I got here, I was so tired. But…now I have a job. And people usually don’t bother me. Not unless its-”
“Oy!” A voice echoed in the tunnels, “what are you lazy brahkasses doing?”
I looked over my shoulder at the source of the noise. A lanky off-white Venlil woman, most certainly past her prime, walked out of the cargo elevator and approached us. Upon seeing her, Unzekep tried her best to camouflage against the surface, but it wasn’t working all too well. “And quit with the color changing, you speh-licking lizard! I can still see your spots a [mile] away! What are you doing off the job, your shift isn’t over yet!”
I heard Unzekep whimper and shrink away towards the door. “Please, I’m sorry, they came! I was just-”
“You were just not working! Herd, you must love giving me excuses, huh?” To my horror, she picked up the unattended wrench in her paw and held it menacingly. Wait…Unzekep thought that…no. No no no, please let me be wrong.
Vekna stood to try and stop her, most likely coming to the same conclusion I had. “Ma’am, please, we only wanted-”
“Wanted to be rid of this useless Freak!” The woman interrupted, waving the wrench like a pointer, “about time someone got sent to deal with her!”
I flick my ears up in surprise. “Deal with her?” No, please no.
Unzekep was desperately trying to get back into the room but the door was jammed shut. She pulled on the handle as the other worker drew nearer. “Yeah. Chief engineers deal with problems, but this one’s my favorite!” Then, before either of us could react, she pulled her arm back and chucked the heavy metal wrench at Unzekep. It hit her squarely between her shoulders, and she flashed a myriad of different colors in an instant as she cried out in agony.
Wrong! No!
What followed was unrestrained chaos. I was next to the Harchen, seeing if her injury was severe. Before the same second was up, Vekna stepped up to the “chief engineer” and punched her squarely in the jaw. The poor imitation of a Venlil staggered to the side, stopping herself on the balcony as orange blood dripped from her, no, its mouth. “Wha-”
Vekna didn’t hesitate, grabbing it by the collar of its uniform and landing another square hit against its jaw, baring her teeth at the enemy. “What the sprak is wrong with you? Throwing a wrench at her like that? What did she ever do to you!?”
I barely heard her words. The world was orange. It wasn’t nearly orange enough. I got up, and moved over to where Vekna was holding it. I placed a paw on her shoulder as I glared at it. She looked back at me, and soon let it go, leaving it to me. I wasted no time, slamming an open paw against its snout and knocking it over the ledge of the catwalk. I heard gasps behind me, I didn’t care. I grabbed it by its scruff over the chasm. I heard it try to cry out like a Venlil. Not convincing.
I shook. Shook hard. I heard a clunk. Less resistance. The railing had decoupled. The thing was now hanging over the steep drop with nothing to hold it back from falling. Nothing but my grip on its scruff. It was screaming. Pleading. Sobbing. Orange. Now it’s real.
I shook its scruff, feeling one of its feet slip and scramble to find purchase again on the scaffold floor. “Do you feel powerful?” I am shouting. “Do you feel Safe?? Beating people with tools? Forcing them to work alone?! Look down there! Look!!” I used my other hand to grab its head and force it to turn one eye to the drain pit and the small layer of water far beneath. “If someone were to fall down there, how long would it take for them to be rescued? Huh? How Long?? HOW SPEHKING LONG?!”
It was crying. It wasn’t enough. “ANSWER ME!!!”
My vocal chords hurt. I didn’t care. So much orange. All around me orange. I felt something on my shoulder. A voice spoke from behind me. “Sharnet! That’s enou-”
My paw moved before I could think, releasing from its head and smacking the source of the voice away. Now I could focus, I could make it feel what Unzekep felt, what Tarlim felt, what Vekna…
A whine.
I looked back. Vekna was on the ground, an eye shut and orange on the ground.
Wrong orange. Her orange. Oh… oh Stars…
I was hanging a woman over the edge of a meltwater drain pit. She was bleeding. She was crying and shaking. My paw was all that stood between her and death. I quickly pulled her back to safety, tossing her to the ground as I rushed over to Vekna. “Vekna! Are you-” She shrunk away from me, a terrified look in her one open eye. No, no no no no. Please, no! I lowered my paws to the ground to show that I wasn’t a threat. She calmed down a little, rubbing at the side of her snout. “Sharnet, what was that? What happened?”
I had been about to kill somebody. That’s what happened. I had promised to be better, but I just took everything out in someone again. I… I… “I’m sorry…”
“You…” it was the woman again, “you were- you were going to…”
I had been. I wanted to. Stars, I STILL wanted to! How long had Unzekep been tormented by her? How many wrenches had been thrown?? What injuries did she have that this creature caused?? I- I- I Can’t!!! I can’t let them get away with it! I can’t let them take this out on Unzekep! I am a monster, but I will NOT let another monster hurt someone innocent! Not…Not like they did to Tarlim!!
“Do you even know who we are?” I am panting from the adrenaline, “Why we’re here?”
The woman just stuttered, crawling backwards as I stomped towards her. “I- I don’t - I-”
“We were sent here to look at the safety of this place,” I interrupted, “And you know what we found? A worker all alone on a job that requires more! Insufficient lighting!” I pointed to the broken scaffolding that I had hung her off, “railing that falls apart when leaned on! Deep pits with their emergency ladders missing! And You!” I pointed a claw right at her snout. A threat to the herd being signaled. “A-A puddle of Speh who beats their coworkers with metal wrenches!!” I leaned over her cowering form, teeth bared, claws braced. “Unless you leave the Harchen alone, and grovel before the safety board, I will make you WISH. I. Had. Let. Go.”
“Yes! Yes!” She sobbed, “By Solgalick, I promise! Don’t hurt me!”
I am a monster. So I play the part. “Then Leave!!”
I watch the white form scramble down the path out of sight, the scaffolding rattling as she runs practically on all fours. I don’t regret seeing her disappear. I turned back to Unzekep. She looked at me fearfully. As she should. “They shouldn’t bother you again,” I panted, “we will… find the overseer. You… you will be able to go up top soon. I promise.”
She looked up at me, her tail curled beneath her legs in fear. “Th… thank you. N-nobody ever p-protected me before.”
She is thankful. How can she be thankful? I am a monster. The only thing that made me different was I was attacking another monster. How can she do more than just fear me? “Is… is where she hit you… okay?”
“It… it hurts,” she whined, “but… less than last time.”
So she would be okay. I wanted to stay and help her. Get her somewhere to treat the bruises but… but I would just hurt her. I was still so angry, so upset. I would just take it out on her. I-I have to leave. They aren’t safe around me. Go!
I stood, eyeing the still open cargo elevator. “Good. I’m sorry, I must leave.” I began walking towards the elevator, my legs wobbling as the adrenaline began to fade. My paw found the buttons on their own, and I pressed the one to take us to the top. Faster. Please. I need to get away from them. I don’t want to hurt them. I-
“Sharnet!”
I jolted. My fur flared out. It was Vekna. She was in here with me. She was panting. One of her eyes was partially closed. My doing. “Hey, wait up! I need to get back up to the surface, too!”
I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to say anything. I don’t deserve to speak. I pressed myself into the wall, slumping against it as we ascended. Vekna panted, occasionally putting a paw over her eye and wincing. My doing. She looked at me and tried to put on a smile. “Well, that was a close shear, huh? I-I mean, when I…and then you…and then we…hah, I’m tired.”
I moved so I stood in the corner opposite of her. “You could sit as this takes us to the surface.” My voice felt monotone. I couldn’t gain the energy to emote. “It… a wrench… threw a wrench…”
I saw Vekna’s expression darken. “Yeah, she…she did. I don’t get why. It just seems so… unnecessary. So… cruel.”
“It is,” I stated. “They have to do it. They have to hurt others.”
I saw a veil of sadness fall over her body. “But why? Why do people… have to?”
The cargo elevator came to a stop. The door opened to the bare concrete floor of a power plant. I sighed as I exited. “Because we are monsters.”
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Memory transcript: Sharnet, Venlil Journalist. Date: [Standardized human time] September 19th, 2136
I had been correct. When Tagleb had described Unzekep’s behavior, I had thought she couldn’t possibly be one of the Overseers. Too descriptive. Too many features that stood out to be remembered. But I had to see. I needed to see what she was like.
I didn’t want to treat her like a monster. Like everyone else.
Unzekep was curled up in a ball on the ground, her sobs echoing off the enclosing walls. They clashed with the constant hum of the pumps, each dampening the other slightly. Her colors kept shifting between the gray of the walls and her natural green, as if she was barely trying to hide.
She just continued to sob. “I don’t want to go. P-please… I don’t… please…”
My legs started walking. On their own. Closer. I’m kneeling next to her. She’s hurting. I…
I gently placed my paw on her back. She shrinks back at the touch, but I keep my paw in place as she cries. “It’s okay,” I say, trying to be heard over the pumps, “we mean you no harm. We wish to h…” The facility said they helped. “We wish to keep you away from the monsters of the facility.”
Her chest shuttered as one eye peered out at me. “Y-you… you hate me. Fear me. Everyone… everyone does…”
“I am not everyone,” I reply. “Come, please, let’s get out of this room so we can hear each other. We only wish to talk.”
Unzekep began rising to her feet, but it still felt off. Her movements brought to mind the Venlil I had seen in the Arxur fear videos. The movement of someone who believed that they were being sent to their death and had given up all hope of its avoidance. Vekna stood by as I led her out of the room, unsure of how to act in the face of this situation.
The scaffolding outside the room groaned from the stresses put upon it by those far above as we walked out. The distant sounds of reactors whirring and people talking replaced the constant hum of the turbines as the backdrop to our situation. I saw Vekna take a small sigh of relief as she closed the door behind us. I saw how she had started to tense up the longer we were in there, this was more for her than Unzekep. Speaking of, the Harchen was still curled up in a defensive stance. “So…why do you bring me out? Are you…going to throw things at me?” She looked down, staring at a small discarded wrench set against the wall. “Please… don’t do hard.”
“We are not going to do that.” She was so scared of us. Like she was standing before an Arxur. “You were in Dawn Creek. The correctional facility there.”
Her colors shifted in fear again. “They-they tossed out! I didn’t- it wasn’t an escape! I’m not- not bad. I’m good! I promise! I-I…” I could see her eyes start to wet again. “Please…I’m sorry…”
Vekna, who had been behind me, knelt forward, keeping her paws to herself. “We know, we know. We’re not going to send you back there, or anywhere else. It’s okay, we’re friends.” I could hear something in her voice I couldn’t quite discern. Sadness? Anger? Both?
Unzekep looked up at her, at us, and she finally started to uncurl. “You’re…friends? Why?” The very fact she asked that at all sent a pang of sympathy through my heart. Is she really so isolated out here that she has to ask why someone wants to be friends with her?
I shook my head to focus. “Because the people who ran that place were evil. They tortured people, and we want to make sure that they don’t do such things to anyone else.”
Unzekep looked at me in confusion, her complexion only slightly changing to a bluish tint. “People don’t call it torture. It’s treatments. Bad treatments. They didn’t help change color. That’s how you spot me, right? The dots.” She ran a hand over her temple, right where the splotches were.
I nodded. “Yes, we did. You did a good job hiding otherwise, though.”
“Thanks. I learned how to ca…cam…hide very well. Sometimes I could make the guards miss me, but then I got in trouble for my next treatment.” I saw her shudder at the memories of that. Why did we ever think this was a good idea? “They had me take stuff. Said… it would make me hide better. Didn’t. It- it made me worse.”
So she was drugged. I guess my theory about the Harchen drug was somewhat correct. “Yes. The people there lied. They lied a lot…” I leaned forward, trying to keep my voice comforting, “do you remember a giant Venlil?”
Her tail flicked in worry as Vekna looked over to me in confusion. “They said.. it was dangerous. That it was going to destroy everything. But… they said they were throwing us out because of it.”
“They were lying again,” I told her, “they were throwing you out to hide themselves. The overseers feared we would find out that they were torturing people, so they ran.” I gestured to me and Vekna. “We are looking for them. We want to make sure they never hurt anyone again. Please, can you help us?”
A new flash of fear flows across her body as she shrinks back. “I- I can’t! They- they’ll know. They will hurt me. Find me and hurt me.” She shivers to herself despite the warmer air down here. Is this the kind of pain Tarlim was hiding all along? By the stars…
Vekna stepped in, her voice similarly soothing. “Why do you think that? You’re a long ways away from Dawn Creek. Do you think that someone from there is here?” She looked between us for a moment before she took on a yellow underhue in confirmation. I had to stop myself from celebrating then and there. After three misses, I was starting to think that this was nothing more than another ruse. At least we’re not doing this for nothing! I leaned in a little closer, causing the Harchen to focus on me. “Do you know who they are? What they look like? Where they might be?” Unzekep whined at my inquiries and covered her ear holes. “Please, not so loud. You’re hurting my ears.” I immediately retracted, doing my best to lower my volume. I flicked my ears in the affirmative, but she didn’t stop. Confused, I flicked them again, but she just continued to look at me as if I was going to restart my questions as soon as she took her hands away. Vekna stepped in and spoke. “She won’t be as loud anymore.” At that, Unzekep finally took her hands away. Difficulty with nonverbal cues. Of course they’d lock her up for that. “Okay. I…saw their back. I don’t know where they are. I know that they did something bad in the caves. They left when I came. Someone else was there, a Venlil. Shocked. It looked like what they did to me, but worse. More sloppy.”
That piqued my interest. Perhaps that’s the reason she spends most of her time down here? I had to ask. “Is that why you stay down here in the bowels of the reactors? In the tunnels under the city?”
She tapped her fingers together. “They… are safe. No eyes. No people who…less people who hurt me. I can hide. I have a house on the top, but… they are top, too. I can hide better down here.”
She looked to be getting scared again at the memory, so I took a soothing tone again. “Thank you. Please, can you tell me where you saw them? What caves?”
She fidgeted with her tail, which had curled around to her front. “Up in the mountains. Old iron mines that ran out a long time ago. Nobody but me ever went up there…and them now.” She clenched her tail. “I don’t go up there anymore.”
Iron mines. We had a location. A place that our target likely frequented. “Thank you. You have helped us so much by telling us that.” I bowed to her, “I promise, we will take them away from this place. You won’t have to hide anymore.”
She didn’t seem to calm down much at that, though. Instead, she looked…sad. “I do have to, I always have to….” She sighed. “People see me. Hate me. They… they will try to send me to another… they will hurt me again. Zap me… here.” She pointed to the spots on her head. The ones that never change their color.
I wanted to say she was wrong. I wanted to reassure her that things would be fine once the heads were captured. But so many would fear her. So many would… wait… “How did you get here?”
Unzekep looked at me in confusion, her color shifting bluish.
“When you were tossed out,” I explain, “you moved here. You had a house. You must have had people who helped you. Who don’t fear you.”
“My… my mom.” Her tail curled around her legs as she sat on the ground. “She found me. She’s in the gov…gover…she has power, covered for me all she could. She…she put me in at first, but when these showed up,” she pointed to her dead spots, “she tried to get me out. Didn’t work, but then they threw us out. It was…a long, long walk.”
Vekna gasped at that. “Wait, you mean to say you walked here? All the way from Dawn Creek? Why didn’t you take a…oh. No money, right?”
Unzekep shifted her underhue in confirmation. “No, no money. When I got here, I was so tired. But…now I have a job. And people usually don’t bother me. Not unless its-”
“Oy!” A voice echoed in the tunnels, “what are you lazy brahkasses doing?”
I looked over my shoulder at the source of the noise. A lanky off-white Venlil woman, most certainly past her prime, walked out of the cargo elevator and approached us. Upon seeing her, Unzekep tried her best to camouflage against the surface, but it wasn’t working all too well. “And quit with the color changing, you speh-licking lizard! I can still see your spots a [mile] away! What are you doing off the job, your shift isn’t over yet!”
I heard Unzekep whimper and shrink away towards the door. “Please, I’m sorry, they came! I was just-”
“You were just not working! Herd, you must love giving me excuses, huh?” To my horror, she picked up the unattended wrench in her paw and held it menacingly. Wait…Unzekep thought that…no. No no no, please let me be wrong.
Vekna stood to try and stop her, most likely coming to the same conclusion I had. “Ma’am, please, we only wanted-”
“Wanted to be rid of this useless Freak!” The woman interrupted, waving the wrench like a pointer, “about time someone got sent to deal with her!”
I flick my ears up in surprise. “Deal with her?” No, please no.
Unzekep was desperately trying to get back into the room but the door was jammed shut. She pulled on the handle as the other worker drew nearer. “Yeah. Chief engineers deal with problems, but this one’s my favorite!” Then, before either of us could react, she pulled her arm back and chucked the heavy metal wrench at Unzekep. It hit her squarely between her shoulders, and she flashed a myriad of different colors in an instant as she cried out in agony.
Wrong! No!
What followed was unrestrained chaos. I was next to the Harchen, seeing if her injury was severe. Before the same second was up, Vekna stepped up to the “chief engineer” and punched her squarely in the jaw. The poor imitation of a Venlil staggered to the side, stopping herself on the balcony as orange blood dripped from her, no, its mouth. “Wha-”
Vekna didn’t hesitate, grabbing it by the collar of its uniform and landing another square hit against its jaw, baring her teeth at the enemy. “What the sprak is wrong with you? Throwing a wrench at her like that? What did she ever do to you!?”
I barely heard her words. The world was orange. It wasn’t nearly orange enough. I got up, and moved over to where Vekna was holding it. I placed a paw on her shoulder as I glared at it. She looked back at me, and soon let it go, leaving it to me. I wasted no time, slamming an open paw against its snout and knocking it over the ledge of the catwalk. I heard gasps behind me, I didn’t care. I grabbed it by its scruff over the chasm. I heard it try to cry out like a Venlil. Not convincing.
I shook. Shook hard. I heard a clunk. Less resistance. The railing had decoupled. The thing was now hanging over the steep drop with nothing to hold it back from falling. Nothing but my grip on its scruff. It was screaming. Pleading. Sobbing. Orange. Now it’s real.
I shook its scruff, feeling one of its feet slip and scramble to find purchase again on the scaffold floor. “Do you feel powerful?” I am shouting. “Do you feel Safe?? Beating people with tools? Forcing them to work alone?! Look down there! Look!!” I used my other hand to grab its head and force it to turn one eye to the drain pit and the small layer of water far beneath. “If someone were to fall down there, how long would it take for them to be rescued? Huh? How Long?? HOW SPEHKING LONG?!”
It was crying. It wasn’t enough. “ANSWER ME!!!”
My vocal chords hurt. I didn’t care. So much orange. All around me orange. I felt something on my shoulder. A voice spoke from behind me. “Sharnet! That’s enou-”
My paw moved before I could think, releasing from its head and smacking the source of the voice away. Now I could focus, I could make it feel what Unzekep felt, what Tarlim felt, what Vekna…
A whine.
I looked back. Vekna was on the ground, an eye shut and orange on the ground.
Wrong orange. Her orange. Oh… oh Stars…
I was hanging a woman over the edge of a meltwater drain pit. She was bleeding. She was crying and shaking. My paw was all that stood between her and death. I quickly pulled her back to safety, tossing her to the ground as I rushed over to Vekna. “Vekna! Are you-” She shrunk away from me, a terrified look in her one open eye. No, no no no no. Please, no! I lowered my paws to the ground to show that I wasn’t a threat. She calmed down a little, rubbing at the side of her snout. “Sharnet, what was that? What happened?”
I had been about to kill somebody. That’s what happened. I had promised to be better, but I just took everything out in someone again. I… I… “I’m sorry…”
“You…” it was the woman again, “you were- you were going to…”
I had been. I wanted to. Stars, I STILL wanted to! How long had Unzekep been tormented by her? How many wrenches had been thrown?? What injuries did she have that this creature caused?? I- I- I Can’t!!! I can’t let them get away with it! I can’t let them take this out on Unzekep! I am a monster, but I will NOT let another monster hurt someone innocent! Not…Not like they did to Tarlim!!
“Do you even know who we are?” I am panting from the adrenaline, “Why we’re here?”
The woman just stuttered, crawling backwards as I stomped towards her. “I- I don’t - I-”
“We were sent here to look at the safety of this place,” I interrupted, “And you know what we found? A worker all alone on a job that requires more! Insufficient lighting!” I pointed to the broken scaffolding that I had hung her off, “railing that falls apart when leaned on! Deep pits with their emergency ladders missing! And You!” I pointed a claw right at her snout. A threat to the herd being signaled. “A-A puddle of Speh who beats their coworkers with metal wrenches!!” I leaned over her cowering form, teeth bared, claws braced. “Unless you leave the Harchen alone, and grovel before the safety board, I will make you WISH. I. Had. Let. Go.”
“Yes! Yes!” She sobbed, “By Solgalick, I promise! Don’t hurt me!”
I am a monster. So I play the part. “Then Leave!!”
I watch the white form scramble down the path out of sight, the scaffolding rattling as she runs practically on all fours. I don’t regret seeing her disappear. I turned back to Unzekep. She looked at me fearfully. As she should. “They shouldn’t bother you again,” I panted, “we will… find the overseer. You… you will be able to go up top soon. I promise.”
She looked up at me, her tail curled beneath her legs in fear. “Th… thank you. N-nobody ever p-protected me before.”
She is thankful. How can she be thankful? I am a monster. The only thing that made me different was I was attacking another monster. How can she do more than just fear me? “Is… is where she hit you… okay?”
“It… it hurts,” she whined, “but… less than last time.”
So she would be okay. I wanted to stay and help her. Get her somewhere to treat the bruises but… but I would just hurt her. I was still so angry, so upset. I would just take it out on her. I-I have to leave. They aren’t safe around me. Go!
I stood, eyeing the still open cargo elevator. “Good. I’m sorry, I must leave.” I began walking towards the elevator, my legs wobbling as the adrenaline began to fade. My paw found the buttons on their own, and I pressed the one to take us to the top. Faster. Please. I need to get away from them. I don’t want to hurt them. I-
“Sharnet!”
I jolted. My fur flared out. It was Vekna. She was in here with me. She was panting. One of her eyes was partially closed. My doing. “Hey, wait up! I need to get back up to the surface, too!”
I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to say anything. I don’t deserve to speak. I pressed myself into the wall, slumping against it as we ascended. Vekna panted, occasionally putting a paw over her eye and wincing. My doing. She looked at me and tried to put on a smile. “Well, that was a close shear, huh? I-I mean, when I…and then you…and then we…hah, I’m tired.”
I moved so I stood in the corner opposite of her. “You could sit as this takes us to the surface.” My voice felt monotone. I couldn’t gain the energy to emote. “It… a wrench… threw a wrench…”
I saw Vekna’s expression darken. “Yeah, she…she did. I don’t get why. It just seems so… unnecessary. So… cruel.”
“It is,” I stated. “They have to do it. They have to hurt others.”
I saw a veil of sadness fall over her body. “But why? Why do people… have to?”
The cargo elevator came to a stop. The door opened to the bare concrete floor of a power plant. I sighed as I exited. “Because we are monsters.”
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