Is the Complete Missal really the thickest in the world? there are no pictures of them , i want to see who has their pictures here . internet can't see it , because i asked chatgpt , they give this keyword
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500 MOST COMMON WORDS IN ENGLISH

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500 MOST COMMON WORDS IN ENGLISH

What are the 500 most common words in English today? We investigated surveys looking at all the English resources around us! This includes newspapers, books, online magazines and TV and radio shows. We also included the language we use in our English Summer Schools for our essential common words of English list.

WHAT ARE THE 500 MOST COMMON WORDS IN ENGLISH TODAY?

Below you will find the 500 most used words in English, in alphabetical order.
Why are they in alphabetical order and not grouped into different themes?
Well…
Although it may initially appear easier to learn words in groups such as colours, animals and sports for example, research shows that you will remember the most common words used in English by studying them in alphabetical order.

WHY SHOULD I LEARN THE 500 MOST COMMON ENGLISH WORDS?

If you want to learn English and connect with other English speakers as quickly as possible, learning these words will help you to understand the English world around you more quickly. You will understand instructions, everyday English topics, and be able to respond well to questions.
If you are joining us this Summer to skyrocket your learning even more, studying these words will build a strong foundation for you before you arrive!
📷

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO LEARN THE MOST COMMONLY USED WORDS IN ENGLISH?

Before you start, we recommend you…

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE 500 MOST COMMON USED WORDS IN ENGLISH

You can then study the most popular words in English as you wish.
Do you need some study ideas?

TAKE ONE SET OF LETTER WORDS AT A TIME

We recommend learning one set of letter words at a time. You can print them off and cut them out or save them to your laptop or phone.
Some letter sets are very long so they have been split in two. Some are very short so they have been combined with other letters.
Why not start with all the words beginning with A? Or, start backwards from Z?

TRY AND REMEMBER THE WORDS IN THE WAY YOU LEARN BEST

Everyone has a different way to remember what they are learning. You could translate the words into your own language if it helps you, or draw an image to remind yourself what the word is and means. You could also make your own recordings on your phone.

HAVE A DICTIONARY WITH YOU

We also recommend that you use an online or paperback dictionary when you’re studying.
Do this so that you can fully understand:
a) what the word means
b) how to pronounce it
c) how to use it

HAVE FUN!

It can be hard to motivate yourself to learn English sometimes. Remind yourself why you want to learn English when you are feeling demotivated. And have fun with the words you learn! Try and practice using your newly learnt words with friends and family. Use the words in sentences and different situations when you can.
Studying the most important words in English is good but using them in real life is so much better!

LET’S GET STARTED WITH THE MOST COMMON 500 WORDS IN ENGLISH

You can also bookmark this page in your browser and come back to it when you want to study.
This list contains, among many others, the most common English verbs and the most common nouns in English. Let’s get started!

A

a about act actually add after again against age ago air all also always am among an and animal another answer appear are area as ask at

B

back ball base be beauty because become bed been before began begin behind best better better between big bird black blue boat body book both bottom box boy bring brought build built busy but by

C

call came can car care carefully carry centre certain change check child children city class clear close cold colour come common community complete contain could country course create cried cross cry cut

D

dark day decide decided deep develop did didn’t different do does dog don’t door down draw dream drive dry during

E

each early earth east easy eat effort enough every example experience explain eye

F

face fact
false family far farm fast father feel feet few field find fire first fish five fly follow food form found four friend from front full

G

game gave get girl give go gold good got government great green ground group grow guy

H

had half hand happen happened hard has have he hear heat heavy help her here high his hold home horse hot hour house hundred

I, J, K

I idea if important in inch include into is island it
just
keep kind king knew know known

L

land language large last late later laugh lead learn leave left less less let letter life light like line list listen little live long look love low

M

machine made make man many map mark may mean measure men might mile million mind minute miss money month moon more more morning most mother mountain move much music must my

N

name nation near need never new next night no north note notice noun now number

O

object of off office often oh oil old on once one only open or order other our out over

P

page pair part pass passed people perhaps person picture place plan plane plant play point power probably problem product provide pull put

Q, R

question quick rain ran reach read ready real receive record red relationship remember right river road rock room round rule run

S

said same saw say school science sea season second see seem self sentence serve set several shape she ship short should show shown side simple since sing sit six size sleep

S CONTINUED…

slow small snow so some something song soon sound south space special spell spring stand star start stay step stood stop story street strong study such summer sun system

T

table take talk teach tell ten test than that the their them then there these they thing think this those though thought thousand three

T CONTINUED…

through time to together told too took top toward town travel tree try
true turn two

U, V

under understand until up upon us use usual very voice vowel

W

wait walk want war warm was watch water wave way we week weight were west what wheel where which

W CONTINUED…

white who why will wind winter with without woman wonder wood word words work world would write wrong

Y

year yes you young

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For the LA natives and as far out as SoCal natives, where do you guys get your subprimals?
This would be my second dry age beef and experiment. The first time was during the holiday season and Costco was carrying standing bone in rib roasts. I was able to ask the guy behind the window for an unprocessed 7 bone in standing rib eye roast that was still in the cryovac packaging.
Most recently I did ask regular Costco butchers and also Business Center Costco meat freezer workers and they mentioned they don’t have bone in standing rib eye roast in stock due to being out of the holiday season. From my understanding this is all Costcos but please advise if I am understanding wrong.
I am not quite ready to go to boutique butcher shops and more high end meat stores as I am still learning how to dry age using a regular fridge. With that in mind, where do you guys get your subprimals? Stater Brother’s? Ralph’s? Local grocery recommendations?
If there is a great butcher shop that isn’t to expensive I am open to recommendations for those as well.
I did take the time to search within this group but mostly found Costco recommended which doesn’t seem to be a viable option near me.
Thank you so much for all help provided!

Hey everyone, my girlfriend and I are planning to visit the Banff area (from New York) for a week at the end of May. We've quickly realized that accommodations such as hotels and Airbnbs in Banff and Canmore can be quite expensive. We've narrowed down two towns on either sides of Banff that have affordable accommodations: Cochrane and Radium Hot Springs. These towns are both an hour to an hour and a half from Banff and even further from spots like Lake Louise or hikes deeper into the park. We were initially willing to stay in Radium Hot Springs but then got concerned with where we could find affordable places to eat. We don't mind cooking, but from my research, both the restaurants and grocery store in Radium are very pricy and have limited options. On the other hand, Cochrane seems to have many more options for food as it is a larger town. Another thing to consider is that Radium Hot Springs is already deep into the mountains so we may not have to drive far every single day to visit a cool hiking spot where as Cochrane is around an hour outside the Rockies. Does anyone have suggestions on what other factors we should consider when choosing to stay in one place over the other? Either way we have to drive quite a bit to get to desired spots but I'm wondering what area will be cheaper to stay in overall. Are there also cool spots to see closer to Cochrane before Banff? Just trying to weigh the options here. If there are any other towns closer to Banff with affordable Airbnbs (or hotels) I'm all ears. Would appreciate any locals' or avid travelers' input here. Thanks!!

I recently moved back to the DC area and have taken up biking now that I live somewhere that it's possible. I'm extremely new to biking and have found safe routes around my area (Silver Spring) and can commute to library, metro stations, grocery stores, etc. That was easy enough to figure out on Google maps as there's lots of safe side streets and dedicated bike paths around me.
I'd like to start going for longer distance rides though, and quite frankly, Google maps has me very worried. It frequently shows roads as being bike friendly because its got a tiny bike lane painted on the side, despite being a high speed, multi-lane stroad. I'm not terribly comfortable actually biking on something like that, at least not right now.
Thankfully, DC and the surrounding areas do have a decent amount of protected bike lanes and bike paths. So I think it'd be doable to start exploring further away, I'm just not sure how to plan a route ahead of time besides manually combing through satellite-view on Google maps to see what the roads are actually like.
Are there any apps or anything that will allow me to plan routes "conservatively"? That is, easily avoiding roads without protected bike lanes where the car traffic is heavy/fast?

I lurked a bunch in this group before my trip so am hoping that a trip report will help others. We had a larger group and a couple people in the group are mobility challenged so some of my tidbits are unique to those aspects.
Some general notes:
-I got a pocket wifi from Ninja Wifi and it was great. I picked it up from Kansai and dropped off at Narita and it was so easy. I rushed through customs and had it before the others were all through. Others in the group were using their travel plans (T mobile and Verizon) and by the end of the trip most were just connecting to my wifi because it was much faster. It wasn't completely perfect and had a couple glitches here and there, but nothing that restarting the unit didn't fix. I did bring my own power bank and 100% needed it.
-We flew into Kansai and landed around 7pm. The entry at Kansai was a breeze. Everyone had done the Visit Japan ahead of time. We took screenshots but there is airport wifi in the customs area so we could have used that as well. We were through and had our bags within 30 minutes.
-It did take us a couple of days to get the hang of the various train lines, reading google maps, etc. A lot of the train station are huge as well so we learned to allow ALOT more time than google suggested for walking, especially since our group moved on the slower side. I tried to prep everyone to add Suica/Pasmo on their phones but myself and my mom were the only ones who actually did. Two people had physical IC cards from a previous trip but the other 4 kept putting it off and ended up not ever getting an IC card. It was a huge pain to stop and get tickets every time and they regretted it by the end of the trip.
-I had saved everything using Google's MyMap before we left but I ended up not using it very much. I chose it so I could color code locations but it didn't integrate very well into the app. I had to click on the saved maps every time I wanted to see what was around us, and you also can't add anything on the app. This could be user error as this was my first time using the MyMaps instead of a list but I'll probably go back to just creating a list within the app next time.
-We brought little goodies with us to hand out in lieu of tips and everyone loved them. Little things like mac nuts (we are from Hawaii) were received with much exclamation and appreciation.
-We were celebrating 3 different birthdays while we were there so we did reserve those dinners, since we had a larger party. We mostly split up for the rest of the meals. I can't speak to how easily we would have gotten in without reservations as we didn't try.
-Like everyone else, I HIGHLY recommend the luggage transfer services. It was so nice to take the train from city to city with just a backpack. We stayed in hotels in each place and the front desk handled it for us each time. I had a larger suitcase and it was about 2000 yen for each of the transfers (Osaka to Tokyo and Tokyo to Nagano). The only time we took our luggage was on the last train ride back to the airport and that's only because we forgot to ask how far in advance we would need to drop off and I was nervous about getting it in time for the flight. It probably would have been fine though. I also left my computer charger in Osaka and the hotel shipped it to me overnight. You usually pay when you drop off your bags but they let me pay that one upon pickup.
-Day 0 - Arrived in Osaka. We stayed at the Swissotel Nankai Osaka and it is located on top of Namba station. This hotel was recommended to us by a flight attendant who travels to Japan frequently and it was great for convenience being right at the train and metro station. It was a 10 minute walk to the Dotonbori area, which was about the maximum that my aunt could walk with her walker.
- Day 1 - day trip to Nara. I signed us up for a free tour with the YMCA EGG Club and it was fantastic. We did get a wheelchair from the Kintetsu station info office. They have exactly one available and it's first come, first serve but our guide said she has never seen anyone use it before. It was perfect for us as there was a lot of walking that day. A few things were not accessible but we could leave the wheelchair outside and my aunt could use her cane.
We split up after the tour to get lunch. Me and an auntie ended up at Maguro Koya for oo toro and it was the perfect first lunch in Japan. A true mom and pop but they did have an English menu and spoke great English. It was only a few blocks from the Kintetsu station as well. Auntie and I had a few cups of sake as well and after a lingering and delicious lunch we went back to the train station and back to Osaka.
After a nap, we took a couple of cabs to the Dotonbori area since we were running late for dinner. In hindsight, it was silly for all of us to cab since the able bodied could have walked in the same amount of time. We didn't know our way around yet, though, so we all just cabbed. Dinner was at the Kanidoraku crab restaurant on the Dotonbori. It was just OK, probably wouldn't go back as there are so many fantastic places in Osaka. After dinner we went to Donki for a little chaos. Uncle nearly had a panic attack at the crowds and needed to wait outside.
-Day 2 - day trip to Kyoto - Only half of us did this as the other half had been before. We wanted to see as much as possible in the day so we reserved a guided taxi tour with Doi Taxi. It was 40,000 yen for our group of 4 and up to 7 hours but there was no way we were going to get to see much if we had to walk and take busses. I had asked him to take us to one temple and requested few stairs and little walking. He started by driving us to Gion and we did get out and walk around a bit. I had requested lunch at Yudofu Sagano in Arashiyama and if you like tofu you must go there! We walked around the Tenryu-Ji temple and gardens after lunch, which was beautiful. The Arashiyama area was packed with people. I thought Gion would be the crowded area but it had nothing on Arashiyama. After the temple we headed back to the train station to go back to Osaka. We probably didn't get quite the bang for our buck that we could have but we were getting very tired.
-Day 3 - free day. We all did our own thing. Some went to Osaka Castle, some did the Aquarium, and some just wandered.
Day 4 - Osaka to Tokyo. The teenagers were not impressed that we woke them up to get to the train station early to get bentos. They would have preferred to sleep and grab Family Mart but the rest of us wanted to browse and pick out the perfect ekiben. The selection was not as large as I was expecting at Shin-Osaka but we did still get some goodies. The teenagers were not impressed by the Nozomi and slept but the rest of us enjoyed our bentos and scenery. We got some beers and highballs from the snack cart and noted that they only took cash or IC cards, not credit cards.
Our hotel in Tokyo was the Shibuya Excel Hotel Tokyu. It wasn't quite as nice as the Swissotel but had a prime location right on the Scramble and the rooms were decently sized for Japan. My uncle almost had a panic attack when we got out of the Shibuya Station and he saw all of the people but he got used to it. We booked this hotel pretty far in advance and got a great deal. When I checked closer to the trip (just for giggles) it was a lot more expensive.
Day 5 - Tsukiji Market in the morning for breakfast/lunch/shopping then TeamLab Planets. Nothing new to report about those activities but this day is when we started to have issues finding escalators and elevators in the train station. Several stations in Tokyo were under construction and there were a couple of times we couldn't find any accessible options. Luckily, our mobility challenged people aren't totally immobile and could take the stairs but it was very tiring for them. I did appreciate that most of the subways and trains (and busses) have screens that show the stops and the location of escalators and elevators but they weren't always accurate if there was construction.
I really wanted to go to the Shibuya Yokocho for dinner and everyone in the group liked that idea, even the teens. I didn't think there was any chance we would all be able to eat together but we went early just in case. To my surprise we did find one place that could seat exactly 8 (if we crammed, which we did) and it was wonderful. I have no idea what it is called since most of the signs outside are in Japanese but the ownechef/bartender is named Hiro. We had some of my favorite bites of the whole trip there including a uni miso omelet and blue cheese baked mochi. The "menu" was just slips of paper on the wall, all in Japanese, but it was fun to try and use Google Translate and pick random things based on the translation. The mochi, for example, translated as "blue rice". A few of the adults bar hopped after dinner and we had a great time at each place, but Hiro's was my favorite.
Day 6 + 7 - Random Tokyo wandering and nothing interesting or crazy to report. Uncle went to Golden Gai by himself and reported that he liked the Shibuya Yokocho better. He thought Golden Gai seemed like a larger, more touristy version.
We did go to Tokyo Skytree one of these days and for the love, make a reservation if you want to go there. They do let you buy tickets same day but the line was horrendous and we were regretting our lack of planning as we watched the people with reservations walk right up.
Day 8 - Tokyo to Nagano - Our group split at this point. Half started in Shibu Onsen for some relaxation and half went to Lotte Arai resort for some skiing. I was part of the Shibu group so I'll report mainly on that. We chose Shibu because it was close to the snow monkey park and for the onsen experience. Shibu has 9 "public" onsen that only locals and people staying in a ryokan in Shibu get a key for. Getting there was very easy. The shinkansen from Tokyo to Nagano took 1.5 hours and then the Dentetsu line to Yudanaka was about an hour. Our hotel picked us up at the train station.
Shibu was one of the highlights of the trip and it was especially relaxing after Tokyo. We stayed at the Shibu Hotel, which is a ryokan and family run for over 100 years. It was a bit of a splurge but we chose to include the kaiseki dinner and breakfast. The service was incredible. There are two brothers that are basically shuttling people around all day, to and from the train station and to and from the snow monkey park, and running the hotel. One of the wives and the mother run the front desk. The ryokan also has several public and private onsen for guests. It seemed like a lot of the ryokan in town were similar but as I've only stayed at Shibu Hotel I can only speak for them. Also important to note, they have a few rooms with Western style beds and an elevator, which is the main reason we stayed there. Most of the ryokan only offer Japanese style rooms, which I would have been fine with by myself but did not work for the group.
Shibu was very accessible, which I was not expecting. The town is tiny and the whole thing can be walked easily. Some of the little alleys weren't walker friendly but the main streets were tiled (I think), very smooth and wide enough for the walker. Not all of the onsen were accessible but most had a little step/s or railing so we could all participate. It was some family bonding for sure LOL
Day 9 - Snow Monkeys! We took the hotel shuttle to the park entrance and they even had snow boots for us, as the trail gets icy or muddy depending on the season. It was cold but not icy for us but we still appreciated the boots as it was a bit muddy in spots. It took us about 20 minutes to walk each way but I can see it taking much longer if there's snow or ice. There were so many monkeys and they were very unconcerned with people. No shit throwing or bag stealing was seen, unlike my previous monkey experience in Thailand. You could do this as a day trip from Nagano or even Tokyo very easily. This was not accessible as there are stairs at the beginning and end of the trip and auntie didn't want to try and walk a mile so she stayed at the hotel and enjoyed coffee in the lobby and browsing some of their homemade goodies (green onion miso, yum!).
We then took the local train back to Nagano and checked in to the Metropolitan Hotel, again right at the train station (have you sensed our preference yet). Lunch was at Misoya for my favorite ramen of the trip. I love me some miso. We saw the main temple in Nagano and visited the sake brewery close by.
Day 10 - Last full day and it was raining and cold. We didn't do a whole lot this day because of the rain but did some last minute shopping. At the Tokyu department store we found the best basement grocery with a bunch of food stalls so we grabbed a bunch of different foods and a bottle of local sake for lunch in the room.
Day 11 - Lunch at Misoya again before catching the Shinkansen back to Tokyo Station and then the Narita Express to the airport. We were pretty disappointed in the food and shopping options at Terminal 2, unfortunately. We left Nagano after lunch at 1:30 so had allowed extra time at the airport for dinner and some duty free shopping but nothing was open by the time we got through security at 6pm. We should have had dinner outside of security but we didn't realize nothing would be open. There was one little conbini that has some tuna musubi and egg salad sandwiches so that was dinner. We were more sad that the duty free was closed as we had been planning on buying some of our whisky and sake allotment there. We didn't come home empty handed but just less than we had planned.
Whew, that took awhile to write. I hope someone, somewhere finds any part of this helpful!

Hi there. The title says it all. I have enjoyed pleasuring dozens of women solely focused on their breasts over the years. Yes, pants on (almost always).
I guess you could say I am a breast-a-holic and have been for years. I get immense pleasure enjoying you as you enjoy me. 😘
I am an equal-opportunity breast aficionado. I love large breasts and small, porcelain breasts, and cocoa breasts. I have enjoyed suckling small pink jujube nipples, as well as puffy dark pie plate areolas. Mmmmm. I love the variety, from a AA flat-chested Harvard Law student to a rich dark chocolate G-cup West African business woman with glowing soft breasts she playfully slapped my face with her breasts as I bobbed for boobies.
Can you tell that I really enjoy this? I mean, really enjoy this?
About me, who is this joker? I am a 43 year old white male. Longtime divorced. I’m southern European. Think Portugal/Spain. I speak four languages and I am working on my fifth :-) I work in communications and as you can tell, I enjoy writing and playful, verbal banter.
I will be in New York Wednesday night downtown near Wall Street, and WTC. I would love to host you at my funky chic hotel, or someplace mutually agreeable. My focus is on a safe, playful and lighthearted experience. Without exaggeration, I have been doing this for many years and absolutely love it. This is my kink. :)
I hope you enjoyed my post and if you are interested in meeting, send me a hello. I am hoping to meet at least 1 to 2 women tomorrow night, separately or together, is up to you.
I love traveling to new places and meeting new play friends. I have enjoyed doing this in Orlando, Las Vegas, Chicago, Palm Springs, and Maui. NYC? Yes please!
My goal is to have things set up before the evening. I have early drinks and dinner with my boss and would love to be thinking about suckling you the whole time.
And, if you simply just enjoyed my post and maybe got a little bit damp reading it, please let me know, I always love getting feedback. :-)
If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message. Happy to chat about it.
I’m vaccinated and boosted. Duh. You be too.

she’s not nice to me, granted she isn’t the nicest to anyone really. I’m not near her a lot, when I am it’s cuz I have to be. I’m not sure what I did, I’ve only ever once stuck up for myself to her, and cried after. We live with his parents and her, her room is right above ours. We have similar views on things and often will team up if my bf is being an ass/ dumb and I need her as my smart person to prove him wrong lol. But there’s so many times where she nitpicks and gets all whiny for no reason. I don’t say anything to her about it, I just let her be.
She got back from a trip to Florida and the bf and I were looking over the dogs and house and his parents are still in Florida and for some reason she wanted me to have a meal ready for her when she got home. I didn’t. I was busy and we didn’t shop. His parents let us use their money to buy groceries for the week so I tried to keep it minimal and I didn’t have anything in the fridge. When she got back that was one of the first things she huffed and puffed about. I went shopping today and I told her I’m at the store and to lmk if she needed anything. She didn’t reply, yet I will still hear her say there is no food. Like fuck I even got the girl some gifts of stuff she’s collecting.
Another thing from today, I parked my car outside but behind their moms car which is in the garage. instead of asking nicely for me to move mine, she started yelling at my bf to tell me to move my car even though I was right there and I had a friend over. I didn’t know to move my car but she wanted to take her moms car out to get more comfy with driving it so she could pick the parents up with it from the airport on Friday. She coulda just asked me nicely! I never gave her issues before with stuff like that. I was also mid prep for dinner
It’s dumb shit usually too, she just picks on me. I’ll accidentally leave the seconds showing on the microwave and she will get mad, I eat a snack that I saw my bf eat and she will get mad despite not a word being said to me. I’ll be making food, and she will come and nitpick about what I’m doing and how I’m doing it. I’m learning to cook, but I have a good sense of how to do things. From what I gather, I’ve cooked quite a bit more than she has in her life just because I like to and i come from a big family. But she will always find something wrong. Like I didn’t cut the potatoes the right size, i salt my pasta water. I was making rice and she’s like “well I don’t know how white people make rice” “you’re not supposed to rinse the rice” It’s actually funny because I’ll cook something and his parents and him will really like it, then she will SCARF it down (no problem w that on my end) and I’ll ask her if it was good and she will be like “it was okay”. Like BITCHJUST ATE A WHOLE RACK OF THOSE RIBS I THINK YOU LIKED IT JUST SAY IT AND SAY THANK YOY FOR ONCE. There’s even dumber shit but I don’t feel like lighting that rage inside me rn.
Also, she can be quite rude to her parents. I let her talk shit to her dad cuz he’s not the nicest even tho he does do a lot, but when she is demanding her mom to put more food on her plate/make her food/ put her dishes away while her mom is busy, telling her mom that she cooked something wrong, I’ll ask her why she can’t do it herself. I just take her moms side cuz I think it’s rude. The dish of pasta will be right in front of them both and she will still ask her mom to put more on her plate. Or she will get into an argument with her about how she didn’t season something right and I’ll be like then you make it yourself. Lol. His parents do so much for their kids and me now too. hate to see it.
BIG NOTE- I am aware his parents do a lot for me. My beef is with his sis.
SORRY FOR THE RANT ANd sorry it doesn’t have any juicy stories but I can’t remember all the details rn and I shouldn’t try cuz I gotta live with her and I’m not the beef starter, she is.

CAREER EMPLOYEES! Tired of seeing all these jobs go to the street? Your chance to join the gravy train ranks is here! Apply yourself, you can do it! MSS Coordinator varies by District. Find an APWU steward and ask for more information if the Exam Open Season blurb is not posted at your facility.
​
Good afternoon. Brief listing of CAREER JOBS pulled from usps.com/careers/ for your convenience.
Some jobs may be part-time regular however all listed jobs should qualify for federal benefits from day one. To save text I have only listed the location and date of posting for each. Use the posting number for your search term. LC and MM are entry-level Maintenance. Here is a testimonial from a recent convert, prima1981.
NOTE: USPS NEVER charges a fee for entrance exams. If payment is requested during the application process, walk the fuck away, go to usps.com/careers/ and APPLY THERE. We even has a video walkthrough prepared.
​
Laborer Custodial:
MELVILLE NY NC11291730 03/20/2023
CLAREMORE OK NC11291776 03/17/2023
SAN FRANCISCO CA NC11272282 03/16/2023
REDMOND WA NC11290022 03/15/2023
SAN JOSE CA NC11277594 03/13/2023
SAN RAFAEL CA NC11285765 03/13/2023
FAIRFIELD IA NC11296093 03/20/2023
SAN FRANCISCO CA NC11285816 03/20/2023
BROOKLYN NY NC11292944 03/20/2023
LEESBURG VA NC11294817 03/19/2023
TRAVERSE CITY MI NC11293101 03/18/2023
MAMMOTH LAKES CA NC11290446 03/18/2023
MONROE TOWNSHIP NJ NC11293078 03/17/2023
MUSCATINE IA NC11292212 03/17/2023
MOUNT VERNON NY NC11291637 03/17/2023
NEWTON CENTER MA NC11291721 03/17/2023
SANDSTON VA NC11291556 03/16/2023
ROANOKE VA NC11290490 03/16/2023
ARLINGTON VA NC11290479 03/16/2023
MC LEAN VA NC11290442 03/16/2023
HARRISBURG NC NC11290191 03/16/2023
MENLO PARK CA NC11271997 03/13/2023
PETALUMA CA NC11271924 03/11/2023
PALATINE IL NC11280862 03/08/2023
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Maintenance Mechanic:
SEATTLE WA NC11286273 03/11/2023
SAN JOSE CA NC11289187 03/21/2023
RALEIGH NC NC11293249 03/18/2023
PHOENIX AZ NC11294808 03/20/2023
MERRIFIELD VA NC11294815 03/19/2023
LOUISVILLE KY NC11288732 03/20/2023
GREENSBORO NC NC11293304 03/18/2023
GARDEN CITY NY NC11293312 03/18/2023
CAPITOL HEIGHTS MD NC11284476 03/11/2023
BROCKTON MA NC11288736 03/15/2023
BOSTON MA NC11291646 03/17/2023
ALBUQUERQUE NM NC11291724 03/17/2023
MILAN IL NC11282668 03/09/2023
MEMPHIS TN NC11293083 03/18/2023
LOUISVILLE KY NC11288711 03/20/2023
CHICAGO IL NC11292143 03/17/2023
AUGUSTA GA NC11292936 03/17/2023
ATLANTA GA NC11281021 03/08/2023
ATLANTA GA NC11281019 03/08/2023
PETALUMA CA NC11289177 03/21/2023
LOUISVILLE KY NC11288728 03/20/2023
GREENSBORO NC NC11294638 03/19/2023
GREEN BAY WI NC11293192 03/18/2023
DULUTH GA NC11281020 03/08/2023
CAROL STREAM IL NC11292109 03/17/2023
CAPITOL HEIGHTS MD NC11287388 03/12/2023
SANDSTON VA NC11290579 03/16/2023
PETALUMA CA NC11271987 03/11/2023
OMAHA NE NC11293020 03/18/2023
MELVILLE NY NC11288811 03/20/2023
MACON GA NC11292871 03/17/2023
KEARNY NJ NC11288707 03/17/2023
JERSEY CITY NJ NC11288716 03/18/2023
JAMAICA NY NC11288928 03/20/2023
GREENSBORO NC NC11289212 03/15/2023
BELL GARDENS CA NC11287325 03/21/2023
FARMINGTON NM NC11294794 03/20/2023
​
Special! Interesting Maintenance Jobs: (may be skills required)
​
Maintenance Mechanic MPE:
MELVILLE NY NC11288836 03/20/2023
DULLES VA NC11294816 03/19/2023
REDMOND WA NC11288605 03/12/2023
PETALUMA CA NC11288705 03/13/2023
INDIANAPOLIS IN NC11284259 03/09/2023
INDIANAPOLIS IN NC11284258 03/09/2023
GRAND RAPIDS MI NC11290165 03/16/2023
PETALUMA CA NC11289175 03/21/2023
WASHINGTON DC NC11285943 03/11/2023
MEMPHIS TN NC11293003 03/18/2023
LOUISVILLE KY NC11288712 03/20/2023
INDIANAPOLIS IN NC11284231 03/09/2023
INDIANAPOLIS IN NC11284228 03/09/2023
HARRISBURG PA NC11288609 03/13/2023
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION VT NC11291734 03/17/2023
​
Building Equipment Mechanic:
HEIGHTS MD NC11290064 03/16/2023
PROVIDENCE RI NC11285939 03/11/2023
SPRINGFIELD MA NC11287631 03/12/2023
SEATTLE WA NC11294603 03/18/2023
​
Garage Assistant:
MCALLEN TX NC11291630 03/16/2023
​
Electronic Technician:
CHICAGO IL NC11292188 03/17/2023
MEMPHIS TN NC11293110 03/18/2023
MILAN IL NC11282633 03/09/2023
CAPITOL HEIGHTS MD NC11294867 03/19/2023
MANKATO MN NC11288581 03/13/2023
MANKATO MN NC11288608 03/13/2023
RALEIGH NC NC11293202 03/18/2023
RAPID CITY SD NC11293181 03/18/2023
ROCKY MOUNT NC NC11294669 03/19/2023
BROCKTON MA NC11288735 03/15/2023
LUBBOCK TX NC11294802 03/19/2023
​
NON-Maintenance jerbs:
​
SALES,SVCS/DISTRIBUTION ASSOC:
IDAHO SPRINGS CO NC11290443 03/16/2023
MOSS LANDING CA NC11289973 03/15/2023
GLASGOW MT NC11296091 03/21/2023
MACCLENNY FL NC11293116 03/18/2023
TIMBER LAKE SD NC11292942 03/17/2023
MOSS BEACH CA NC11295113 03/19/2023
MAPLE FALLS WA NC11296082 03/19/2023
LAKE CITY CO NC11290061 03/15/2023
EASTSOUND WA NC11295971 03/20/2023
CULLEOKA TN NC11294523 03/18/2023
WORDEN IL NC11292989 03/17/2023
PIEDMONT SD NC11287291 03/11/2023
GYPSUM CO NC11290318 03/16/2023
BASSETT NE NC11294668 03/18/2023
SPRINGDALE WA NC11296087 03/20/2023
SURING WI NC11280556 03/06/2023
CEDAR MI NC11284195 03/09/2023
BIG SUR CA NC11296150 03/21/2023
ASPEN CO NC11290054 03/15/2023
ANZA CA NC11291564 03/16/2023
VAN HORN TX NC11284178 03/09/2023
OAK GROVE MO NC11292947 03/17/2023
SLOUGHHOUSE CA NC11296098 03/20/2023
KINGS BEACH CA NC11296096 03/20/2023
EL GRANADA CA NC11295117 03/19/2023
SEAFORD VA NC11288801 03/15/2023
ROY WA NC11296081 03/20/2023
QUILCENE WA NC11296078 03/20/2023
OLIVET MI NC11291746 03/17/2023
DEXTER OR NC11296094 03/21/2023
CLARKSTON WA NC11295974 03/20/2023
CLANTON AL NC11294399 03/18/2023
BREMEN OH NC11293002 03/18/2023
BETHPAGE TN NC11294606 03/18/2023
CRESTED BUTTE CO NC11288703 03/13/2023
CAVE JUNCTION OR NC11296085 03/21/2023
JACKSON WY NC11285851 03/17/2023
BELTON SC NC11291709 03/17/2023
HICO TX NC11293402 03/18/2023
WAIMANALO HI NC11294630 03/18/2023
STURTEVANT WI NC11291641 03/17/2023
SOMERVILLE AL NC11294490 03/18/2023
ROSS CA NC11295061 03/19/2023
NORTH LIBERTY IN NC11294813 03/19/2023
MONTROSE CA NC11294635 03/18/2023
FELTON CA NC11289302 03/15/2023
CENTURY FL NC11294548 03/21/2023
GORDON NE NC11294636 03/18/2023
MAMMOTH LAKES CA NC11294924 03/21/2023
BIG BEAR CITY CA NC11291563 03/16/2023
BLOOMING PRAIRIE MN NC11296095 03/20/2023
​
City Carrier:
SAN MATEO CA NC11290796 03/16/2023
MOUNTAIN VIEW CA NC11291999 03/17/2023
MOORHEAD MN NC11292895 03/17/2023
BUFFALO GROVE IL NC11294447 03/20/2023
BAINBRIDGE ISLAND WA NC11290758 03/19/2023
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS IL NC11294487 03/18/2023
NORTH SHORE - BOSTON MA NC11290276 03/19/2023
VILLA PARK IL NC11291816 03/20/2023
SANTA CLARA CA NC11290773 03/17/2023
SAN MATEO CA NC11290763 03/16/2023
NORTHBROOK IL NC11293598 03/19/2023
MOUNT PROSPECT IL NC11293606 03/19/2023
MICHIGAN CITY IN NC11282385 03/11/2023
MANCHESTER NH NC11294861 03/19/2023
LOS ALTOS CA NC11291568 03/17/2023
LEWISTON ME NC11294546 03/18/2023
KANSAS CITY MO NC11290351 03/19/2023
HANOVER PARK IL NC11291648 03/20/2023
GRAND FORKS ND NC11292104 03/17/2023
FRANKLIN PARK IL NC11291801 03/20/2023
EAST PALO ALTO CA NC11291995 03/17/2023
DES MOINES WA NC11290715 03/19/2023
CORALVILLE IA NC11291547 03/18/2023
CONCORD MA NC11295012 03/20/2023
CAPITOLA CA NC11291518 03/17/2023
BARRINGTON IL NC11294394 03/18/2023
WHEELING IL NC11293699 03/20/2023
WAYNESBORO VA NC11291790 03/17/2023
WATSONVILLE CA NC11291560 03/17/2023
SANTA CRUZ CA NC11291516 03/17/2023
SANTA BARBARA CA NC11291570 03/18/2023
OAK PARK IL NC11291778 03/20/2023
NASHUA NH NC11294872 03/19/2023
MOUNTLAKE TERRACE WA NC11290708 03/19/2023
MORGAN HILL CA NC11292039 03/17/2023
MINOT ND NC11292939 03/17/2023
MILPITAS CA NC11291559 03/16/2023
MENLO PARK CA NC11290721 03/16/2023
MADAWASKA ME NC11294513 03/18/2023
GRAND ISLAND NE NC11294510 03/20/2023
ENGLEWOOD CO NC11292941 03/17/2023
DES PLAINES IL NC11294525 03/18/2023
CAMPBELL CA NC11290779 03/17/2023
BURLINGTON VT NC11294626 03/18/2023
BOZEMAN MT NC11291789 03/17/2023
GREATER BOSTON - BOSTON MA NC11290459 03/19/2023
SOUTH SAINT PAUL MN NC11292899 03/17/2023
GLENVIEW IL NC11294530 03/19/2023
WILMETTE IL NC11294374 03/19/2023
WAUKEGAN IL NC11293516 03/20/2023
SUNNYVALE CA NC11291849 03/17/2023
SEATTLE WA NC11290724 03/19/2023
SAN CARLOS CA NC11290716 03/16/2023
SACO ME NC11294503 03/18/2023
REDWOOD CITY CA NC11290799 03/16/2023
NORTHGLENN CO NC11290711 03/19/2023
NORTHBOROUGH MA NC11294971 03/20/2023
MUNDELEIN IL NC11293524 03/20/2023
MENLO PARK CA NC11290788 03/16/2023
MEDINA OH NC11291825 03/17/2023
LOS GATOS CA NC11290806 03/17/2023
LAKE FOREST IL NC11294393 03/18/2023
IOWA CITY IA NC11291510 03/18/2023
HOPKINS MN NC11292070 03/17/2023
GREAT FALLS MT NC11291827 03/17/2023
GRAFTON ND NC11292874 03/17/2023
FARGO ND NC11292873 03/17/2023
ELGIN IL NC11291739 03/20/2023
DULUTH MN NC11292872 03/17/2023
CUPERTINO CA NC11291517 03/17/2023
APTOS CA NC11291604 03/17/2023
​
Rural Carrier:
PARK RIVER ND NC11290591 03/16/2023
MIDDLETON WI NC11294805 03/19/2023
MENOMONIE WI NC11294698 03/19/2023
MANITOWOC WI NC11294770 03/19/2023
MADISON WI NC11294682 03/19/2023
MADISON WI NC11294641 03/19/2023
FORKS WA NC11284401 03/15/2023
EAU CLAIRE WI NC11294679 03/19/2023
EAU CLAIRE WI NC11294677 03/19/2023
AMERY WI NC11294788 03/19/2023
MENOMONIE WI NC11294782 03/19/2023
MADISON WI NC11294795 03/19/2023
MADISON WI NC11294647 03/19/2023
LEBANON NH NC11290073 03/16/2023
EAST DUBUQUE IL NC11294850 03/19/2023
CLINTONVILLE WI NC11294692 03/19/2023
BASALT CO NC11288701 03/13/2023
SALIDA CO NC11296151 03/20/2023
GLENWOOD SPRINGS CO NC11289738 03/15/2023
ENFIELD NH NC11289739 03/16/2023
CARBONDALE CO NC11289737 03/15/2023
MADISON WI NC11294777 03/19/2023
​
Motor Vehicle Operator:
PORTLAND OR NC11294928 03/18/2023
KCMO MO P&DC NC11294600 03/18/2023
MIAMI FL P&DC NC11294605 03/18/2023
NASHVILLE TN P&DC NC11296342 03/20/2023
BOSTON MA P&DC NC11294706 03/18/2023
MORGAN NY P&DC NC11294711 03/18/2023
ROCHESTER NY P&DC NC11294707 03/18/2023
SAN JOSE CA P&DC NC11294941 03/18/2023
SEATTLE WA P&DC NC11294945 03/18/2023
SOUTHERN ME P&DC NC11294709 03/18/2023
SAN FRANCISCO CA P&DC NC11294933 03/18/2023
​
Tractor Trailer Operator:
ALBANY NY P&DC NC11294618 03/18/2023
DULLES VA P&DC NC11296403 03/20/2023
MILWAUKEE WI P&DC NC11296348 03/20/2023
MIDDLESEX-ESSEX MA P&DC NC11294700 03/18/2023
SAN FRANCISCO CA P&DC NC11294723 03/18/2023
BALTIMORE MD P&DC NC11294712 03/18/2023
DVD BLDG NJ P&DC NC11294703 03/18/2023
NEW JERSEY NDC NC11294704 03/18/2023
OAKLAND CA P&DC NC11294713 03/18/2023
PORTLAND OR P&DC NC11294716 03/18/2023
ROCHESTER NY P&DC NC11294702 03/18/2023
SEATTLE NDC NC11294876 03/18/2023
SEATTLE WA P&DC NC11294879 03/18/2023
TACOMA WA NC11294898 03/18/2023
SACRAMENTO CA P&DC NC11294719 03/18/2023
ATLANTA GA P&DC NC11294705 03/18/2023
GRAND RAPIDS P&DF NC11294708 03/18/2023
MIAMI FL P&DC NC11294619 03/18/2023
ROYAL PALM FL P&DC NC11294623 03/18/2023
ST LOUIS MO P&DC NC11294710 03/18/2023
​
No experience necessary for the laborer custodial or maintenance mechanic positions. It helps on the interview but you can surely think of maintenance related experience to relay for an interview. Based on fixing things around your house, the car etc. Always mention working safely.
​
Pro tip: You can apply for any job that has an exam opening and the test is administered local to yourself. Make sure you're serious and score decently; you can turn down the job offer. Keep a physical copy of your exam score, I believe they are good for two years.
The reason is: These job postings can be posted externally at capacity for testing, meaning they will not allow you to take the exam if they have enough qualified applicants. However, if you have a test score on the books, you are a qualified applicant.
​
Explanation of MVO/TTO to save time:
MVO= CDL B Can only drive box trucks on public roads, can drive anything for moves on postal property.
TTO= CDL A Can drive anything.
​
USPS provides the training. (Maintenance jobs at least. TTO and management...GOOD LUCK)
​
You don't have to be crazy to work here. We'll train you. Everything but proper email usage.

Bio
Age: 32 Occupation: Senior Digital Marketing Manager Location: HCOL, Midwest, US
Salary
Gross income: Currently, $103.5K + 10% annual bonus. Starting next week, $117K + 15% annual bonus! I do some sporadic freelance work for $2-3K per year. Husband is $51K. HHI is $168K (no bonus).
Net income: Current biweekly paycheck is ~$2.8K. Deductions: $75 HSA, health insurance, taxes. Not sure what new paycheck will be! Husband’s is ~$1.5K. Deductions: 401K, health insurances, taxes.
Income progression:
- 2012: After undergrad, got a part time contract job as a community manager (when social media was just barely a thing for businesses). Made $12/hr. Also was a server. All in w/both, $35-45K.
- 2014-2017: Over 5 years, contract gig got more serious. I quit my serving job as I made more from contract gig. Eventually, my role was absorbed by largest client. Started w/them as a social media manager at $55K.
- 2019: After a couple years, took new job in editorial/writing for $51K.
- 2019: Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy 6 weeks after I got there (lol). So got a digital marketing manager job in a new, much more expensive city making $70K.
- 2021: After 2 years & a short COVID furlough, joined my current company as a digital marketing manager (under a former boss) at $102K + 10% bonus.
- 2022: Last year, received COL raise to $103.5K.
- March 2023: As of next week, start promotion to senior digital marketing manager w/, $117K + 15% annual bonus.
Assets & Debt
First, to start: my husband & I share finances. We’ve been together for nearly 8 years. We officially combined everything after we got married about a year ago. All assets, spend, etc. reflects both of us.
Assets:
Retirement balance: ~$2K & that’s it. I did not grow up w/financially fluent family (they also didn’t have any money), nor did I have an understanding about retirement until recently. I’ve also been prioritizing enjoying some of my spoils/saving for other things, tbh. This is changing soon!
Savings balance: $21.5K. Have some medically necessary procedures coming up (not covered by insurance) so socking away for that. We also rent, so always want to have moving cash accessible just in case.
Joint checking: $5.6K.
Solo checking: $1.4K
Debt:
Student loans: none! Paid mine off in 2020 (~$20K total). (I qualified for a lot of aid; scholarships, grants & subsidized student loans covered my undergrad degree. My parents did not contribute/)
Mortgage: n/a. We rent.
Car: $550 monthly. Bought the car 6 years ago. First decent car either one of us has had. Worth it. (~$3.5K left. We’re gonna pay this off in the spring).
Credit card: Currently $3K but we pay off in full each month.
Monthly Recurring Expenses
Rent: $2,100 for 2 bed, 2 bath, 3rd floor walkup, including outdoor parking space. We’ve lived here almost 4 years. Rent has not increased.
Electric & gas: $250-$350 depending on time of year.
Internet: ~$70.
Car insurance: ~$200 for two cars.
Phones & service: $155 for two phones + service but I get an $80 subsidy for work, so $75.
Fitness: $209 for unlimited Orangetheory. I go ~3 times/week & it’s great.
Prescriptions: ~$90. I have a daily inhaler & I take Adderall for ADHD.
Subscriptions: YouTube music, streaming TV, random podcasts, etc. my husband supports: ~75.
Savings: We put $1K-$2.5K in savings every month.
Weekly Diary!
DAY 1 – TOTAL: $4.75

• Up at 6:15 – Wordle, NYT Spelling Bee, Reddit, catch one Pokemon in Pokemon Go so I keep my streak
• Quick bath & read a book (this week’s reading: When You are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris; Mindset by Carol Dweck)
• Dressed & ready, took bus to work. Had team lunch, meetings, etc. all day.
• Getting home was a shitshow. Waited for the train – too crowded to get on. Waited for a bus – same. Eventually caught the train home. $2.50.
• Hung around w/husband, watched Succession, made half a grilled cheese for dinner

DAY 2 – TOTAL: $208.20

• Up at 6:30ish - Wordle, NYT Spelling Bee, Reddit, catch one Pokemon in Pokemon Go so I keep my streak
• Bath & reading – every morn!
• Cleaned the kitchen a bit
• Had to pay a bunch of bills manually. My credit card number got stolen awhile ago so bank sent me a new one w/a new number. But the old number (on file w/lots of places for autopay) still worked?? So I just let it ride.
• Started getting emails/calls that the old CC number was no longer valid. SO i paid some bills:
  • Speech pathologist: I’m getting evaluated for possible double jaw surgery so had to see a speech path for evaluation. If you have never been asked by a doctor to open your mouth & show them the chewed graham cracker on your tongue, I highly recommend. :) $178.20
  • Physicians assistant: I go see a PA once every 3 months for ADHD medication. $30
  • iPhone: covered above
  • Orangetheory: covered above
• Then off to WHF! Reporting for pilot I led, atatus meeting w/our digital agency, other calls, etc. On Wednesday nights, I take a stand up comedy class! Super fun & I’m really enjoying it. Had to do a rewrite of last week’s set so banged out right before class. Listened to last week’s piece & feedback, then voice transcribed into Word doc. I have an editing/writing background/degree & lots of speaking/performance so had a great time on rewrite. I was running late so I took an Uber there: $12.90
• Had a great time at class! It goes til 10pm & I’m old so caught an Uber home: $18.95.
• Got home & dumped tonight’s set & feedback into Word doc. Reddit-ed for a few. Sleep around 11pm.

DAY 3 – TOTAL: $325

• WFH again. Chill day. Hard for me to stay out late (for me) at class on Wednesday nights & have a good productive day the next one.
• Was NOT going to spend money today but Colin Jost the comedian is coming to town the night before my birthday!! I bought 2 tickets on Vivid Seats for my husband & me. $229.78
• Was gonna go to Orangetheory in the evening but cancelled – too tired. $14 for cancelling
• Husband went to Costco on his way home. Got paper towels & a few other things & a giant pizza! We ate it for dinner. $81.22

DAY 4 – TOTAL: $0

• Up around 6:40. Wordle, NYT Spelling Bee, Reddit, catch one Pokemon in Pokemon Go so I keep my streak
• Bath & reading! Washed my hair, so styling routine & diffusing.
• 9am meeting w/agency – took from the couch.
• Called around for a pharmacy who has my prescription for Adderall & found one! So then called the doc & had them send it over. Glad this is done!!
• THEN called health insurance. I need to have an expander put in my mouth because I have nasal breathing issues (and a severe open bite & moderate cross bite, all due to a narrow upper palate), BUT not clear if insurance covers it. Was on for 40 minutes – answer is conclusive. A TIP: orthodontic/orthognathic surgeries are an insurance nightmare. :/
• Lots of downtime today. Emails & reporting mostly but also a lot of researching the procedure I need to have. Called a coworker in the afternoon.
• Really sluggy so Diet Dr Pepper around 2:30pm – rare for me. Try to avoid caffeine after lunch.
• Ended up taking a nap from 5:30pm-7pm. Hung around & ate leftovers for dinner.

DAY 5 – TOTAL: $484.57

• Woke up, loafed around a bit.
• Caught the bus to meet a friend for brunch! Read a bit on the bus. $2.25
• Brunch w/my girl! Good to catch up. Ate some pancakes that were pretty good but made my stomach hurt. Got a giant cookie to take home to husband. $29.60
• Went to Anthropologie. Bought 5 things, all on clearance: 3 sweaters, one top, one blazejacket thing. $185, which is pretty great for Anthro.
• Then got ice cream!!! Bought my friend’s cone too. $17.60.
• Took the bus home. $2.25.
• A bit later, husband & I Ubered to a little cocktail bar. $12.99. It was really nice! We each had 2 cocktails. $76.76
• Then we went for dinner! Originally wanted wings but the place was crazy with very drunk March Madness goers. So went to a bistro-y place down the street. Had a couple beers each & ate some really excellent short rib pappardelle & husband had a delicious meatball sub. $138.12
• Ubered home! $20

DAY 6 – TOTAL: $38.49

• Slept in!! Realized we didn’t have any food so ran to Chipotle for a nice big brunch. $38.49
• Otherwise, had a very chill day. Long bath & reading w/face & hair masks. Tidying & laundry.
• Husband made meal prep (rice bowls) for dinner, so ate that & started The Last of Us & went to bed early.

DAY 7 – TOTAL: $143.67

• Up around 6:30 for the normal morning routine – phone, bath/reading, get ready.
• Had to call a bunch more pharmacies to sniff out Adderall – had very little luck. 
• Ordered flowers to be delivered for my mother’s birthday: $76.78
• Had a chill WFH day. Did some planning & reporting, had a few afternoon calls.
• Husband went to the grocery on his way home. Got a few staples: salsa, bagels, yogurts, etc. $66.89
• Wrapped up around 5:30pm. Laid around & stretched, then went to Orangetheory at 7pm.
• Had a great workout! Came home, cleaned up, wolfed some meal prepped food, then went to bed around 10pm.

TOTAL FOR WEEK: $1,204.68
This was an above average spending week. Brunch & shopping is not a weekly occurrence, nor are those medical bills. We typically eat/cook/meal prep at home a bit more too. But there ya have it – hope you enjoyed!

i'm applying for SSDI (which she doesn't know) and actively trying to get some part time work (which she does know) and she just yelled about how i need to apply myself and get a full time job and go to school at the same time.
i worked 30 hours at a grocery store for just barely a week before it nearly killed me, i was in the hospital most of feburary because of it. my capacity isn't what it used to be. she doesn't understand a fraction of what i go through and thinks because she's capable of going to school, having an internship and a job that everyone should do that.
even before she yelled at me i was struggling with voices taunting me, saying that she hates me and wants to kill me. my paranoia exploded after she did. i'm shaking and i want to die so bad rn.

Hello, and welcome to my post. It's time to move a lot of goods due to life, I just don't play airsoft as much as I used to sadly, and I need to get some things on track financially to make future moves.
I'm located in Fall River, Massachusetts. I'd much prefer pickup/meetup, cash in hand, but will accept paypal, cashapp in person. I frequent Advanced Action Sports in Warwick (Used to work there) So we can meet there. I can ship, on your dime. Tracking provided thought usps. What you see is what you get, unless stated otherwise in post below. Guns can be chrono'd upon request. Please don't hesitate to ask. Everything is best offer, worst I can say in no.
Pictures with time stamp: https://imgur.com/a/jUjqiMQ?fbclid=IwAR2LiriuDEVGNjOaqznCpNH- JZEz5Iq8Xiuln23xzvCAxD447FkkSFAlcjI

Lpeg P90 - $20

200fps w/ .2g battery included. Not much to say, perfect for your kid to shoot tin can terrorists in the back yard.

Tactical Force M4 CQB - $100

Basically new in box, fielded once by previous owner judging by the zip tie on the rear sling plate. Comes with 1 Mag and the foregrip in the box.

Sig Sauer Patrol Kit - $60

Brand new in packaging, Received as a gift but... kinda don't need it. Literally still in the factory Shrink wrap.

Ares AS-02 Sniper Rifle BONEYARD - $75

This one is an easy fix, but I just don't care enough to fix it for my own use. Hop up BB catch need to be filed down to slide up in the hop up to prevent BB from falling back into the bolt causing jamming. New after market Twist style outer barrel. Gun has a M170 in it and hits at around 450 fps w/ .25s. Hits like a truck when it feeds. Toss me a few bucks more and I can give it some love and get it running. Comes with 2 mags. Extra few bucks I can toss a scope in with it (not pictured.).

Cyma M4 Keymod Full Metal - $150

I received this gun as a bag of parts. OG owner thought he knew what he was doing, bought the gun brand new and took it completely apart and failed to put it back together. Well as you've can see in the pictures it's alive. Pretty nice piece if I must say so. Gearbox is virgin, I had no reason to open it, it sounds great for a Cyma. Hits 290 on my chrono with .3s. Comes With a metal Mid cap.

Sharps Bros Licensed "Jack9" Metal Receiver - $200

One of them fancy Ares M45 Pistol carbines. Received in trade, I've used it once for plinking. Barrel breaks away from the receiver for easy storage, Mircoswitch trigger, Metal DFE Receiever. comes with 1 mag. Perfect for dad's who own Harleys.

CYMA AMK CM.040 "SH*TBOX" - $150

Alright, This one's a little painful. I love this gun, It been a reliable beat stick for years and it just keeps going. As you can see, its got character. I walks talk and carries a big stick. Classic Army Krebs lower rail w/ BCM Gunfighter grip, 5ku Leaf sight rail. Needs Loctite but I think its cool. Patina dust cover and a 74 stock with a tasteful sticker to tie it up. Gearbox is stock with a "destruction of God" High Torque motor. Eats anything you'll throw at it.
The gun is old, so its got some looseness to it. A little bit of love and some glue here and there and it will be solid again. Wired to deans, comes with the 7 mags pictured (High caps, because have fun.) I want this gun to go to a good home, It deserves it. I can include the rest of the Classic army Krebs parts if you desire.

VFC Avalon Block II SOPMOD - $400

My main Squeeze, Completely stock besides a new spring in october. It's well used and ready for more. Comes with everything Pictured and I'll toss in some BAMF mags to go with it. Evike T1 on a 1in raiser, Acetech Flaming Pig Tracer, PTS Short grip, Knock off Surefire scout with dual pressure switch (other wire on switch broke off, so no peq box for you. The only real flaw with this rifle is the outer barrel. Pervious owner didn't take the grub screw out of the Flash hider and damn near stripped all of the threading. There's just enough for the tracer to sit on. Other than that, She rips, and ready to play. Shoots 350fps w/ .25gs. I can sell the whole gun without anything for $300. This guns are 500 bucks brand new and sell out frequently, so this is a pretty good friggen deal.

Misc stuff that might be interesting...

Acog 4x - $80

Working Trinitium, Chevon. Missing side adjustment cap. Homemade Killflash with Lexan cover.

3x Prism - $40

Received in trade, Illuminatesm, clear picture.

VALKEN 1X35mm Multi reticule Sight - $50

Nice optic for the money. Red green and 4 choices of reticules to choose from.

VISM Reflex sight - $40

Just like the Valken sight, just ^smol

Classic Army HK33 Receiver set. - $???

You made it this far, so here's something cool. Old school classic army HK33 project. I just built a CA G3 so I'm gonna pass this on to someone aspiring to build something cool with this. I'm not sure what to price this at but I'm sure we can make some agreements here and there.

Lastly, the boneyard - $99999

I've been active in my community for almost 20 years, been teching and fixing guns for more then half of that. When you've been doing it that long, you tend to horde parts. The last few pictures are just a small tidbit of parts I've amassed over those years. I just wanna throw it out there before I make a mega boneyard post. If you need anything small parts wise, I may have it. Just DM me. Most of the parts are indeed M4 parts, but I do have some AK, G36, G3 Parts kicking around. Most are stock, some are upgrades. Just holla and I'll take a gander though the junk.
If you've made it this far, Thank you for hanging in there. I hope to make some deals and hopefully find good homes for all of this stuff. Be on the lookout in a week or 2 for the mega boneyard sale.

I'm writing this from the ruins of our old diner. This will be my last post.
When the bus came to an abrupt stop suddenly, I pressed my head against the window and peered out, hyper alert of my surroundings.
I was seeing a large glass building which reminded me of a school, or maybe a hospital. It looked far more modern than anything in Littlewood. It hit me that this was the Halfway House we had been promised solace ever since we were kids. I vaguely remembered our class being told about the curse and quickly following that up with, “But we’ll keep you safe. Like we do every year, we send our seniors to a place of healing to prepare them for the outside world after going through such trauma where they can mend and reignite themselves."
Ironic wording, considering what really happened to us.
In actuality, I knew exactly what it was. The whispering in my head had revealed the Halfway House’s true meaning. Inside that building we were going to burn. We were going to fucking burn and nobody was coming to save us. Not our parents or the town. Leaning back in my chair, my gaze flicked to the front where two armed guards were beginning to escort my classmates off of the bus. I had already made my decision when I grabbed Jun’s sleeve and yanked him under the seat in front of us. He let out a sharp gasp, almost a sound of protest. “Bee, what are you doing? Get off--"
Slamming my hand over his mouth, I pressed myself into a ball, pulling him further under the seat. The thud, thud, thud, of the guards' boots sent slithers of fear creeping up and down my spine. They passed us. I could hear their breaths, their muttering to each other.
The guards already knew our game. I sensed them checking under each seat—which motivated me to shuffle myself further under until I couldn’t breathe. Jun didn’t move, his breaths sharp and heavy into the flesh of my palm. After a moment which seemed to go on forever, thudding boots retreated back towards the front of the bus. I squeezed my eyes shut when the engines started up once again. Gripping Jun for dear life, I settled on taking deep breaths. We were going to get out, I thought. We were going to escape.
“Can you get off of me?" Jun tried to squirm from my grip, but I tightened my hold on him.
“Shh.” I said under my breath. “Don’t make a sound, okay?”
"Why? We're going to the Halfway house!"
I bit back a yell, stopping him from crawling away from me. "There is no halfway house."
Once the bus started to move, keeping a firm grip on Jun’s sleeve, I pulled us from our hiding place and lifted my head, scanning for somewhere better. The back was our best bet. When I started towards it, dragging Jun with me, however, I spotted two familiar faces already in hiding. Jonas and Mira. Jun let out a low grumble, and part of me couldn't believe he was still salty about Jonas in this situation.
Without speaking, we joined them, with Jonas shuffling back so I could join him, pulling a reluctant Jun with me. It was an uncomfortable squeeze but we were safe. I allowed myself to breathe when the bus fell into a steady drive. But I didn’t have time to relax. I was considering asking Jonas in low whispers why he had chosen to hide, when once again the bus came to a jolting stop. “Forty six?” The bus driver all but thundered from the front. “What are you talking about? Fifty were loaded onto the bus. I fucking counted them!"
Shit. Shooting the other’s a panicked look, I weighed our options. Four against one.
We could easily get past him.
“No. No, we did a sweep of the bus!" His voice was growing panicked. "There’s nobody on here."
Jonas twisted around, shooting me a questioning look.
What the fuck is wrong with him? He mouthed.
I pressed my index over my lips in response.
Jun let out a frustrated hiss, and I instantly knew what he was going to do. Before he could, however, I was slamming my hand over his mouth once again, this time with Jonas' help, cutting off his strangled, "We're over–"
Jonas shoved us further under, dragging a struggling Jun. "Do you want us to get caught!?" He exploded in a hiss of breath.
Jun only muffled into my hand, and I half wondered if knocking him out would benefit us. The bus driver’s voice was eerily shaky. I could hear every tremble in his tone. “Check? Yes! Uh, yes, I’ll check now. Don’t worry, alright? There’s no more kids on this bus. They must have ran away."
When the driver started down the aisle in a bumbling stumble, ducking under each seat, I attempted to hide. I mean there was nowhere to hide, though I at least tried to shove myself uncomfortably further under the damn seat until we were squashed like sardines. “Hey!”
The driver’s steps quickened towards us and I felt my body catapult into fight or flight.
“What are you kids still doing here?” When I lifted my head to meet his eyes, I expected anger. There was no anger, however. I was seeing frustration and fear, trickles of pain blooming in wide cartoon-like eyes. The guy was keeping his distance from us, I noticed.
Like we were teeming with the plague. It was a curse, not a contagious virus.
"What do we do?" Jonas murmured.
"We stay here."
"But he's looking directly at us." He said in a sing-song voice. "I don't think he's blind."
Before I could stop him, Jonas was awkwardly dislodging himself from the gap underneath the seats. He jumped to his feet and raised his arms in mocking surrender. His smile was bright, but there was an underlying darkness in his eyes, and I had no doubt he wouldn’t resort to violence. “Yeah, okay, you got us. We were just hitchhiking back to town. I’m not a fan of the whole half-way house thing,” he said. “I’d rather just ride back into town and go and see my pops.” His lip curled. “I want to see if he’s okay. You know, after last night. I'm sure you know I'm a little on edge."
“No.” The driver’s eyes filled with tears. “No…” he shook his head rapidly, his arms trembling at his sides. “You're not going anywhere. You.. you're staying right there."
"What, so I get possessed by the dead souls of my ancestors and now I don't have basic human rights?" Jonas rolled his eyes with a scoff. "You're legally inclined to let me go. I don't want to go to some weird halfway house and pretend I didn't gut my best friend's mother, alright? I'm going home, asshole."
The driver didn't move. "I'm telling you to… to stay back." He moaned. "Please. I have a wife. I have a wife and two children, and I just got promoted! I don't need this shit!"
Jonas' eyes darkened. "What did you say?"
"Jonas…" Jun hissed out.
"No, no, I'm curious to know what the fuck this guy's problem is," The boy spat. "I woke up tangled in my neighbors guts, and this guy…" He started to laugh, a hysterical giggle collapsing into a sob. "This guy thinks his job is more important?"
"You're a disease." The man said in a whisper. "You shouldn't… exist." His gaze flicked to me. "All of you. You're a disease."
A look of hurt sparked in the boy's eyes, and his lip curled. “The curse is over, Jackass! I'm not going to kill you!" Jonas cocked his head, his expression crumpling with confusion when the guy started sobbing. "Are you…crying? Jeez, what did I say, huh? I'm not going to kill you! We just want to go home, alright? Look! I'm holding up my hands. Just take us home."
Just as promised, Jonas held up his hands.
I chose to stand at that point. Jun followed hesitantly, Mira following, staying behind Jonas. The driver stiffened, backing away.
“I said stay back!" He hissed out. “Do you hear me?” His shaky hand went into his jacket, his eyes squeezing shut like he was expecting something. Pulling out a phone, the man's fingers nervously tapped the screen. He didn't take his eyes off us. “I’m taking you kids back to the Halfway House, alright?"
He nodded at us like we would agree if he looked as pathetic as possible. And he did. The guy looked like he was ready to drop to his knees and beg. “Just… stay there.”
I caught the exact moment he dropped the notion of an authority figure. His lips twisted when Jonas ignored his instructions and took a casual step towards him. If this guy had a gun, I knew he would use it. Instead, he stumbled back with a cry. “Don’t fucking move! I mean it!”
Jonas' lip curved. He raised a brow. “Like this?” Another step.
This time, the man let out a shriek.
“Jonas.” Jun said. “Dude, stop. You're scaring him."
"Scaring him? What's to be scared of?" He laughed. "The night's over, and this guy still thinks a bunch of kids are going to gut him."
"I don't know," Jun whispered, "but don't get too close, okay? He looks freaked."
“Why?” Jonas twisted around to look at him. “This guy’s got fucking problems. Didn't I tell him we weren't a threat?"
I caught a glimmer of that maniacal glitter left over from overnight. “Let me guess,” Jonas laughed. “Do you see dead people?” In three strides, he was face to face with the guy. Nose to nose. Still smiling. The driver was petrified to the spot, like Jonas was inhuman. His eyes were wide, lips moving, but he wasn't speaking. "You look like you're about to poop yourself over a bunch of teenagers, my guy. Kind of pathetic, dontcha think?"
"I…" The man's bottom lip trembled. His breaths were heavy, his mouth twisting and turning and trying to speak. I would have felt sorry for him, if it wasn't for him being responsible for bringing my class to the slaughter. He couldn't even get words out, wide eyes pinpointed on Jonas and Jun like they were ghosts. Something was building in my head, a pressure harsh enough to make my nose bleed.
I found myself staring out of the window. I had initially caught the movement of a lamppost swaying back and forth. But there was no wind. When I squinted, I noticed more things which didn't make sense; a patch of flowers which had been planted outside the Halfway House were… drooping. No, not just drooping. They were blackening, rotting away into their soil, petals being whisked into the air and coming apart.
It was 10:30 in the morning, and the sky was darkening.
Jun started forwards and grabbed Jonas’s wrist, and with the two of them so close, the man let out a childish whine which only confused Jonas further. Outside, a tree I was so sure had been standing tall and proud, crashed onto the ground suddenly, the force of the impact rattling the bus. I fought to hold on. The pressure was building in my brain, and suddenly I couldn’t… I couldn’t breathe. “Hey!” Jonas yelled in the driver's frozen face. “What did I say, huh? The curse is over! You don’t have to be scared of us anymore, alright? Just… take us home–"
Bubble-gum.
It sounded like bursting bubble-gum.
I didn’t hear the latter half of what he’d said because the bus windows were suddenly bright red, dripping red. The floor was red, the seats, and the ceiling. Jonas was red, and I could feel splatters of it on my cheeks and speckled on my chin. The others had gotten the worst of it, but it was still painting me. The red was warm and wet, like I had bathed in it. It was at my feet, pooling and spilling and spattering every colour from existence. I felt like I was back in on the school corridor being suffocated by a wet rag pressed over my mouth, horrifying images projecting into my hand from the fumes. But these weren't delusions. This was real. It was happening.
There was a dizzying moment when I thought it was raining blood before my brain found reality and I blinked at the spot where the driver had stood in front of us—and it began to dawn on me. I hadn’t been looking at the man when he popped out of existence. I was watching the leaves on the trees outside start to brown and then blacken into nothing. Like there was an invisible force decaying everything in its path. Jonas, who looked like he was starring in Cannibal Holocaust, twisted around to face me with wide, almost unseeing eyes. He looked like he might say something before the bus shook, and I forced myself to move, to find the window.
Outside, the ground had started to crack apart, zigzagging raptures spreading like fire across the sidewalk. Jun grabbed my arm and pulled me off the bus, Jonas diving off first, Mira on his heel. The world was crumbling around us, I realised. I could see it in flocks of birds flying across the sky in a panic. When we found solid ground, Jonas started hyperventilating. I was half listening to him mutter obscenities to himself, eyeing the growing sinkhole eating up everything in front of us. A woman jumped into her car and attempted to drive straight ahead before another tree collapsed, crushing her. “This is the curse.” Jonas said shakily. “It’s got to be, right? But why would they still be mad?"
The four of us teetered on a safe piece of sidewalk.
Mira wasn’t speaking. I think she was frozen. Traumatised. I could barely see her through the red.
“Nope.” Jun murmured. He swiped blood from his eyes with his sleeve. “It’s because we’re refusing to save the world.”
“What?” Jonas spluttered.
The ground started to split in front of me and I staggered back, my stomach galloping into my throat.
“He’s brainwashed.” I found myself gritting out. “Jun’s convinced we’re saving the world.”
“Like… like The Avengers?” Jonas grabbed his arm with a laugh. “Dude, did you hit your head?”
“No.”
“Then what are you talking about?”
“Didn’t I make it clear I didn’t want to talk to you?”
“Well, you might as well! Since the fuckin’ world is ending!” He paused. "If this about me and Wendy--"
Jun laughed. "You're telling me this now?!"
“Stop.” Mira cut in, her cry breaking into a sob. “Just shut up. Shut up! I can't think!"
Their back and forth was barely a whisper in the back of my mind while I watched chaos unfold in front of me. Have you ever heard a human being explode?
It kind of sounds like bubble gum bursting.
I glimpsed a running man hand in hand with a little kid before both of them went “Poof!” against the store window, painting it in a whole new colour.
Like a domino effect, the town's people started rupturing like the ground beneath us. I was staring at an old woman struggling to hobble through a panicking crowd when the mayor announced himself via megaphone across a particularly large crack in splintered concrete. Armed guards surrounded him and I wondered if whatever this was would spare him. “Stay exactly where you are!”
“Do you understand me? Do not move!”
When they risked coming closer, part of me revelled in seeing fear prickle in their eyes. Behind the mayor, was our principal. His face beet red. The guy was seething. “Can you kids understand what you have done?”
Uh, yeah.
I think we had accidentally caused the death of Littlewood.
I didn’t say that, though. I wanted answers and Jun and Jonas seemed in their own world, watching our town crumble around us. “The curse.” I said shakily when they were close enough to hear us. The bookshop I’d frequented my whole life started to crumble behind me, windows splintering with the force of the quake. But It barely fazed me. Neither did the little girl screaming for her exploding mother showering her in scarlet. “Who really started it?”
The mayor dropped his megaphone. “If I tell you, will you hand yourselves over?”
Even his voice was shaking.
I nodded. “Of course.”
"What?!" Jonas shot me a look.
"She's not being serious, idiot," Jun muttered to him. "She's stalling."
The mayor's lips twisted. “No fighting? No more questions?”
“Sure.” I said, gesturing to the world around us. “You should hurry up though. Unless you want to turn into brain soup.”
If the phenomenon happening around us wanted to take the three of us, we would already be dead. It wasn’t targeting us, however. It was killing everyone except us.
Which spoke volumes.
“Uh, no,” Jonas hissed, tugging on my sleeve. “We should run. Like, right fucking now. I don't care what you want to say, okay? I don't want to be part of this!"
“Let him explain.” I said.
“Bee, are you serious?” Mira's eyes were wide, cartoon like.
“Very.” I told her, before directing my words at the mayor. “I want to know why you made Noah Sharpe kill my mother eleven years ago. And I don't want bullshit."
A woman who was mid run across the ruins of the sidewalk blossomed into a cloud of red, and I only just glimpsed what was left of her bag landing onto the ground with a comical splat. The mayor looked like he might argue or even attempt to capture us right there and then. But he didn’t give the order. Instead, he pasted on a strict smile. “Two hundred years ago in the year 1799, the elders of this town made a grave mistake which they knew they would regret for the coming years, dooming their children, and their ancestors to eternal misery” He cleared his throat, suddenly looking uncomfortable. “Littlewood was on the brink of collapse. Women were unfortunately barren and unable to bear children, and nothing they tried would work. They tried everything, Bee. Everything which would work and wouldn't - - old wives tales, and whispers in the wind carrying word of mouth. The town had no other option and were forced to make a terrible choice. Our elders prayed to an entity and asked for good luck and prosperity to help us through trying times, and for their women to no longer be barren."
“Prayed?” Jun frowned. “Like… to a God?”
“You could say that.” The mayor smiled proudly.
"No, you said… you said there was a fire," Jonas whispered. He was already in denial. "That's what you told us! You told us there was a fire which killed a bunch of kids…and we’re punished because you didn’t help them. Because you let them burn."
The mayor was doing a good job of skirting around actual conversation.
He nodded gravely. “That was the story we told you, yes. It was built on the bones of the truth. However, the reality of what really happened would cause panic. The truth is our ancestors sacrificed fifty teenagers in the year 1799. They were a gift to this entity in control of our beloved town. As you already know, human sacrifice was practised in those days. Some say it was normal. Human blood and life force was seen as the greatest gift Littlewood's bearers could accept— as well as the soul from an elder, or an authority of the town. But of course we couldn't do that. In the simplest of terms, our elders were.. more important. ” He folded his arms. “However, what they did not know is that those sacrifices were… impure. They had engaged in certain activities which would be deemed… unsanitary, or maybe that's not the word for it. They, ahh.. I'm not sure how to–"
“They fucked.” Jonas cut him off with an eye-roll.
The mayor’s gaze found the ground.
“Indeed.” He said. “Angered, the entity demanded more than the town could give it, and when town’s people started to notice rotting food and animals disappearing, rumours of a beast lurking in the trees beginning to circulate, they struck a deal. Every year following, the eighteen year olds, with fifty being the minimum, would be sacrificed as our punishment.”
“Burned.” I corrected in a scoff.
The man found my gaze. “In those times, yes. Burned at the stake. However, throughout the years we have found a far more humane way to complete the ritual.”
Yeah. Incineration.
“I’m not a virgin.” Jonas said dryly.
“That doesn’t matter.” The mayor said. “Whether you are or not, fifty sacrifices were demanded to make up for the towns sins. If the debt wasn’t paid, however, the entity threatened a wrath greater than hell on earth to strike our town and then the world.” This time he lifted his gaze and looked me directly in the eye like I was supposed to feel guilty. “What we call The Teen Purge would be child’s play in comparison to what they have planned for us,” he continued. “If the correct number of sacrifices are not made, Littlewood will fall, which will cause a domino effect. Destruction will spread to neighbouring towns and then cities, followed by countries across the world, killing billions of people.” The mayor gestured around us as spattered red. “As you can see, we are already seeing the start of it.”
“So… two hundred years ago, you idiots prayed to an inhuman entity and actually expected them to give you what you wanted?” Mira whispered.
Then she laughed to my surprise. “You killed fifty kids because a faceless presence told you to?”
“Like I said, Mira,” The mayor’s tone grew cold. “Human sacrifice was considered normal in those days. I’m not saying what our ancestors did was right, but they were starving. Their women could not bear children.”
“What does that have to do with turning us into psychopaths?” I found myself asking, my voice was trembling. “Why did Noah kill my mom?”
This time, the man wore the slightest of smiles. “Do you really think parents would agree to us murdering their children if we didn’t make them fear them? If we didn’t plant the idea in their head that it was their twisted child’s life or innocent towns people? Your parents were as in the dark as you. In their eyes, you were cursed. Killers. You had to be taken away.”
“You’re kidding.” Jonas looked frantic, his eyes darting around, searching for an escape, “Do you seriously think I’ll die for a town which has ostracized us since were five years old? Who made us think we were fucking monsters?”
“Mr Lockhart, the sole reason why this town is crumbling around us is because you are still breathing.” The Mayor told him. “Right now, forty six seniors have been… gifted as part of our yearly ritual. That is not enough to stop them from destroying us. We need exactly fifty sacrifices.”
“Well, good luck finding them.” Jonas said in a choked laugh. “I’m sorry, but no. If you think I’m going to willingly sacrifice myself, you’re deluded!”
“Jonas.” The principle at least tried to be sympathetic. “I know you don’t want to do this, but which would you prefer? A world which is no longer recognisable, one which you wouldn’t be able to survive anyway, or a peaceful euthanasian? Your father is still alive. You will be saving him.”
“I don’t care!” He sputtered. “You think I give a fuck about anyone in this town? You’re an elder,” He accused. “Why not give yourself to them, huh?”
“That’s…” The Mayor looked taken aback for a moment. “Mr Lockhart, that is incredibly disrespectful.”
"So is murdeding our entire senior class! " He gasped out, his body trembling. Jonas backed away, grabbing Jun’s hand, and then mine. I held on, but Jun wrenched away from his grasp, his eyes far too empty for me to bear.
“The girl who told me she had a siren in her head,” He said softly. “She said I was going to save billions of lives, and this is what she meant.”
Jonas let out a sound of distain, and Mira laughed again. Her laughter was hysterical.
There was a content smile on Jun’s face and I realised with a pang in my chest, that I preferred it to the agony twisting his expression when I’d found him. I wanted him to be happy, to be at peace. But not like this. I wanted to run away with him, with Jonas and Mira, even if this twisted fate demanded otherwise. Jun strode over to the guards, with two out of four spontaneously combusting in their helmets before the remainder grabbed and restrained him. For a moment, Jonas looked like he might join him. I saw it in his expression, in his eyes filling with tears.
He took a shaky step forward like he would abandon self-preservation for a boy he had confusing feelings for, a boy who was locked into a fantasy nobody could pull him out of. Before he turned on his heel and ran. I watched him go, concrete splintering under his every clumsy step, as he pushed himself into a sprint. I respected that Jonas had chosen himself over the town. His own life over 7 billion people. He didn’t owe Littlewood anything.
“Mr Lockhart!” The mayor yelled, a look of panic twisting his expression.
“Go after him! We need fifty sacrifices!”
The guards hesitated.
They were scared to get near any of us.
“Go!”
After hesitating, they were stumbling after him, but Jonas was already out of sight.
He nodded to the remaining guards holding Jun. “Take him to the halfway house. They’re waiting for him."
At his words, I found myself backing away, and an almost childlike look of pain crossed his face. “Bee.” The mayor stamped the ground like a child, like he was having a tantrum. “Did you not hear him?” He shook Jun like a doll, his smile widening into a grin. “You’re going to save the world!”
No.
I laughed at him. In his fucking face.
He had to be kidding!
He’d taken away my mom, and Noah— now Jun. My entire fucking class.
To make up for a mistake THEY had made. We were being punished for what they had done.
For 200 years, we had suffered.
Because of them.
And he expected me to give myself up?
One look at Jun told me he would never follow me. He had already made his choice.
Still though, I smiled at him.
And he smiled back.
Not a Wonderland Smile, a real smile.
“You’re insane.” I found myself spluttering. “You actually want to die.”
Jun rolled his eyes. “Die?” He said. “Who wants to die? No, Bee. I don’t want to die.” My friend laughed, and the guard holding him flinched, as if a single movement or expression would trigger him to combust like the others. “What did I tell you? I want to go visit my dad before Christmas. I want to move across the country and start fresh in a new college. I want to…” he pulled a face. “I want to eat New York pizza and kiss a stranger, make mistakes that I learn from. Maybe I want to go skinny dipping in mid-December, drive through late night traffic with my head stuck out of the window singing to cheesy pop. Barf all over myself after too much drinking, and then do it all over again the next night because I have zero self-control.”
The more he was speaking, the more I realised I was losing him. No, I’d lost him.
Jun was speaking in goodbye, and there was nothing I could do to stop him. Because, if he had made his choice to give in to his fate, then what business did I have trying to save him? He would only hate me. He was doing a bad job of acting like goodbye didn’t matter to him though, swiping at sore eyes. “The list goes on, Bee! Of course I want to live, idiot,” he laughed again, though it was more of a sob. I thought I was getting through to him. I knew deep, deep down, he didn’t want this either. But Jun was a good person.
He stepped out of the guards restraint , and into my arms. He was warm, and I held onto that. “Nobody ever wants to die,” He mumbled into my shoulder. I squeezed him tighter. “even on the edge of life, even with that storm cloud over their head, the suffocating pressure in their chest. All of that anxiety and pain knotting up their gut telling them they’re not worth it. That they should give up. They all still want to live. They want that reason to keep going.”
I knew exactly what he was talking about. Why I couldn't step in front of traffic or cut open my wrists. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe not all of Jun was gone. His eyes were far too sad for me to call them empty. Brainwashed. “But,” he stumbled over his words, pulling away so abruptly, I felt like all the air in my lungs had been sucked away. “How is it fair that I live while everyone else dies? Our whole class, Bee. How could I stay breathing while they sacrificed themselves for us every year prior?”
“They didn’t have a choice!” I said through gritted teeth. “Do you really think they willingly walked in there? They didn’t want to die, Jun! I saw them die. All of them."
Jun’s eyes flickered to the guards in front of him, and for a moment it looked like I was getting through to him. He made the slightest of movements, his hand grasping hold of my wrist, fingernails digging into my flesh. I felt that desperation to live. Even if he insisted it was the opposite, I knew he was putting on a brave face. But then our Principal was gone, and more red was spattering my face. Jun let go of my wrist and stepped away from me for the final time, allowing the dwindling guards to grab him. I finally understood what the mayor meant. The longer we were breathing, others were suffering and the town was falling apart. Except I couldn’t bring myself to have sympathy for them.
Would you?
“Jun.” I was fighting, then. Fighting to hold myself together when I was splintering apart. “What I heard… in my head,” I sputtered. “They weren’t voices. They didn’t speak to me.” I could feel my knees buckling. “They were screaming! They didn’t want to die! And… and why should we?”
I turned to glare at the mayor who was still standing. “Why should we die for them, huh?” I demanded. “Give me one good reason why we should die. So they can kill the seniors next year? Why should we be the ones they sacrifice? Prisoners exist! Child murderers! Why can’t it be them?”
“That is something we considered.” The mayor started to say, but I cut him off.
“Shut up.” I gritted through a mouthful of tears. “You don’t get to speak."
The mayor looked like he might argue but decided against it.
Jun shrugged. “It’s either us or the planet.”
“This isn’t a movie,” I said, “Do you really think you’re doing some heroic gesture and the whole town is going to cheer you on?” I was seething, I couldn’t control my words, control my breathing. “No. They see you as a sacrifice and nothing else. I don’t see them putting up a fucking memorial. Did they for the others? Did they care, Jun? The girl who put all this in your head. Did the town remember her?"
It took two single strides to grab him.
Shake him.
"Did. The. Town. Care? About any of them? Noah? Tommy? The girl who filled your head with all this crap? Did Littlewood remember them?"
He held my gaze. “She said I was going to save billions. They don't have to care."
“So?” I shrieked. “I choose myself any day! And you should too!"
I expected him to call me selfish, but that wasn’t Jun.
“So, run.”
I let go of him. “Jun, I swear to God–"
“I’m not saying goodbye,” Jun said in a strained voice. “I’m going to turn around and walk away. And you’re not going to look back, okay?"
“What?”
If Littlewood hadn't been decaying around us, I would have held onto him.
Mira was grabbed before she could follow Jonas, and I was so close to following Jun. I was so fucking close to giving myself up, as long as I got to be with him and the others. When one of the guards took a hesitant step towards me, however, I found myself backing away. No. I didn’t want to die. I didn’t want to fucking die, and if that made me selfish, so be it. I felt myself moving step my step.
One last look at Jun.
He wasn’t smiling, his head bowed as a guard pinned his wrists behind his back. When he lifted his head, his eyes were on the horizon. He looked content. And knowing that he was happy—he was at peace with his fate, I ran. And behind me, just as I turned around, the mayor was staring at me, a look of immense disgust on his face. I stared back. I wanted him to explode. I wanted his body to shower the street in red and prove to me that this so-called entity didn’t just take innocents. It took those in power too. And yet he stood there, not a smear on his perfectly pressed suit. His expression was twisted with fear, a pain in his eyes I had never seen before.
And his words were echoing inside my skull.
"Human blood and life force was seen as the greatest gift Littlewood's bearers could accept— as well as the soul from an elder, or an authority of the town. But of course we couldn't do that. In the simplest of terms, our elders were…more important.”
I took pleasure in quickening my pace into a sprint.
It’s been 12 days since I last saw Jun. On October 3rd, the trees started to blossom again. Outside my hiding place, the remnants of the diner, a rose bush bloomed out of nowhere, followed by daisies. Amongst the chaos, the endless shower of red every time another towns person was claimed, there it was. Life. Sitting in a battlefield of death. Jun.
Number forty seven. I want to believe it wasn’t him, that he got away, that he got some sense knocked into him. But it was hard to ignore the suffocating presence squeezing the breath from our town lift—even if it was only slightly. I lit a candle for him. Well, I couldn’t find any candles, so I set my neighbour’s yard alight instead. October 5th, the ground stopped cracking apart and the town's people were spared. Number forty eight. Jonas. It was fast, and I knew by the way the wind knocked into me threatening to throw me off my bike when I was scoping the ruins of my neighbourhood, a powerful gust blowing my hair from my face, that it was him.
I sensed his anger and frustration, but no pain. I think he liked being part of the wind. Jonas had done the opposite of what I thought he would. Instead of running away from his fate, he’d given up. Maybe he didn’t have anyone left. He should have ran. Maybe there might be far more destruction if he did. Jun and Jonas totalled the number of sacrifices to forty eight. I wondered if it was enough to make Jun’s wish come true. Did my fallen classmates really save the world?
Following them was Mira. I knew by the pace the leaves started to flower on trees, like the town was mending itself, that she was gone. With her combined with the boys, I think it was enough to stop the destruction, at least for a little while. Mira had fought until her last breath. She didn’t want to die, and that was evident in her lingering presence causing more decay than life before she seemingly found some kind of peace. Birds started to sing again, and the last person who exploded was, ironically, her mother. Sucks to be her. I think I’m allowed to laugh in this situation, right? Maybe Mira had a hand in it.
And I did laugh. I laughed until I cried.
Until the remaining town’s people power washed her off the sidewalk with everyone else.
October 13th, and the sun is shining.
The town are attempting to rebuild a broken Littlewood, and I sit here hoping me still existing and breathing will bring their downfall. I don’t have to hide anymore. Nobody will come near me. I’m like a plague, which works for me.
I’m skipping town soon, but first I want to stay behind to see the fireworks. I want to know if Littlewood has truly been spared or they’re just taking their time. I like to think my classmates are still here. I mean, they are. I see them in spring flowers coming to life in Fall. I hear them in the wind blowing my hair back. Some call me a coward for running away, while others beg me to keep going. And I will. I’m just… waiting.
I’m waiting for Littlewood to fall. Because I am the 50th sacrifice. While I breathe, their debt is not paid. My town’s clock is ticking, and I can’t wait for a wrath to finally be bestowed on the ignorant. I know this “entity” won’t rest until we’ve all been gifted to them. I can see that in rotting animal carcases appearing in the road and on the sidewalk. The town try to hide it.
They’re trying to hide the sudden appearance of maggot like insects festering on every street corner and a mysterious flu which has taken hold of the kindergarten. Like I said, I should sympathise with their dead. I don’t think our parents knew about any of this. We were just monsters to them; monsters they decided to let go. I am thinking about playing the pied piper and taking the little kids of the town with me. I can still save them, right? They don't have to die too.
I saw a junior girl yesterday.
Lanie Matthews. I used to sit with her in the cafeteria sometimes. She was handing out flyers in an attempt to send away Littlewood’s juniors to a safe place so the curse doesn’t get them next year. I want to tell her that her fate will follow Noah Sharpe and Jonas Lockhart. Mira Jane. Jun Sato.
Did their sacrifices really make a difference?
Who knows? Maybe this “entity” will take our world before October 1st, 2023. I think they’re waiting for me. They’re waiting for me to give in too. At some point, I almost caved. It was the screaming I couldn’t bear. Mother’s crying for their children in despair, and vice versa. But then I got a hold of myself. If I want to bring down Littlewood, then I have to survive. I wonder if the world will follow…
Are you worth saving?
In my opinion, no.
You're not worth Jun and Jonas and Mira, as well as generations of our town burning them alive.
Why should I sacrifice myself for a planet which is already killing itself?
I think I'm losing my mind. Yesterday, when I was hunting for supplies, readying myself to leave, I could have sworn I saw two guys leave the remnants of what used to be the old church. Hands entangled, the two of them hissing at each other, wielding baseball bats and cloth bags on their backs. Maybe I haven't been eating enough, but their faces, despite being bloodied and bruised, haunted eyes scanning an oblivion in front of them– a cursed town which insisted on their sacrifice– were familiar. They moved in a cloak-and-dagger dance across ruins, the one in front keeping a firm grasp of the other's arm, and when they moved, each step was in sync, the two grasping onto each other like their lives depended on it.
I can't help wondering if perhaps I was wrong. Maybe Jun and Jonas aren't part of the wind, afterall. I think they're much closer. And whether they are reincarnations built in flowers, or ghosts still attached to the town, I will find them again. But also… I won't fall victim to my own imagination. It could have been anyone. The way they moved, however, made me want to believe my delusion. It is hopeful thinking, but that is all I can do right now. I can hope they're much closer. And I'll reunite with them.
One day.
I’m going to ask you that same question again.
If this was your choice.
What would you do?
Would you surrender yourself to a fate which will save billions of lives… or run?

Hello, I found some trails that could possibly be good for taking the RAV over without damaging it. Though we would have to test them out. Here is the list with a link to them. Seems like on most of these you will need a pass. Lucky for us in San Diego, we can purchase a Yearly pass for $30 per car, and $5 for an additional car. Pass Purchase Here
If you have done any of these trails, please let us know which and if it can be done with 2WD, 4x4, or AWD. Also let us know your experience and if you would be willing to go again.
If anyone is interested to go to any of these, let us know and we could schedule a date, where a few of us can do this on our RAV's or any other vehicle. I am excited to experience some of these trails myself if no one else is interested.
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• Boulder Creek Road - (seems a pass is needed) Explore this 21.0-mile point-to-point trail near Descanso, California. Generally considered a moderately challenging route. This trail is great for scenic driving, and it's unlikely you'll encounter many other people while exploring. The trail is open year-round and is beautiful to visit anytime. You'll need to leave pups at home — dogs aren't allowed on this trail.
• Chariot Canyon - Enjoy this 11.0-mile point-to-point trail near Julian, California. Generally considered a moderately challenging route. This is a popular trail for scenic driving, but you can still enjoy some solitude during quieter times of day. You'll need to leave pups at home — dogs aren't allowed on this trail.
• Lusardi Truck Trail - Get to know this 6.2-mile point-to-point trail near Santa Ysabel, California. Generally considered a moderately challenging route. This trail is great for birding and off-road driving, and it's unlikely you'll encounter many other people while exploring. The trail is open year-round and is beautiful to visit anytime.
• Corral Canyon OHV Trail - Get to know this 14.5-mile out-and-back trail near Campo, California. Generally considered a moderately challenging route. This trail is great for off-road driving, and it's unlikely you'll encounter many other people while exploring.
• Wagon Creek Falls - Get to know this 12.1-mile out-and-back trail near Mount Shasta, California. Generally considered a challenging route. This trail is great for hiking, mountain biking, and off-road driving, and it's unlikely you'll encounter many other people while exploring. The best times to visit this trail are April through November. Dogs are welcome, but must be on a leash.
• Black Mountain OHV Trail -Discover this 14.2-mile out-and-back trail near Ramona, California. Generally considered a moderately challenging route, it takes an average of 7 h 16 min to complete. This is a popular trail for hiking, mountain biking, and off-road driving, but you can still enjoy some solitude during quieter times of day. The trail is open year-round and is beautiful to visit anytime. Dogs are welcome, but must be on a leash.
• Palomar Divide Road - Explore this 24.8-mile point-to-point trail near Aguanga, California. Generally considered an easy route. This is a popular trail for birding, mountain biking, and off-road driving, but you can still enjoy some solitude during quieter times of day. The trail is open year-round and is beautiful to visit anytime. Dogs are welcome, but must be on a leash.
• Bear Valley Road - Head out on this 18.7-mile out-and-back trail near Pine Valley, California. Generally considered an easy route, it takes an average of 7 h 46 min to complete. This trail is great for hiking, mountain biking, and off-road driving, and it's unlikely you'll encounter many other people while exploring.
• Black Mountain Truck Trail - Experience this 7.3-mile point-to-point trail near Idyllwild-Pine Cove, California. Generally considered a moderately challenging route. This trail is great for off-road driving, and it's unlikely you'll encounter many other people while exploring.
• Santiago Peak - Head out on this 9.5-mile out-and-back trail near Silverado, California. Generally considered a moderately challenging route, it takes an average of 4 h 14 min to complete. This is a popular trail for hiking and off-road driving, but you can still enjoy some solitude during quieter times of day.
• Bee Canyon Truck Trail - Check out this 8.3-mile point-to-point trail near Hemet, California. Generally considered a moderately challenging route. This is a popular trail for off-road driving, but you can still enjoy some solitude during quieter times of day. The trail is open year-round and is beautiful to visit anytime.

After a couple weeks of recovery, I've had some time to write up a trip report! This vacation was the best I've ever had and I'm excited to share some highlights here, along with some mistakes I made and travel tips. My plans were to meet up with two friends for the first 1.5 weeks of the trip, then to go solo for the last week. They would fly to Chicago to connect with me, then we'd all fly over together to Narita.
Pre-flight
- I filled out the Japan entry forms to provide proof of vaccination, declare for customs, etc. We saved a pretty good amount of time with that compared to people filling out paperwork on the plane.
- For phone / internet we went with pocket wireless and it was incredibly smooth basically the whole time. We got two units for times where we'd be separated as well as a pocket translator, which was an unnecessary expense. You're not getting any added value over Google Translate.
- For daily travel we all went with Suica and that was again a very simple, intuitive experience. I'd just periodically add on funds to my Apple Wallet and ended up paying for a bunch of stuff with that rather than cash / credit. My one friend went with the actual card instead of using his phone, which had one advantage: some ticket machines would only accept Suica via card and through the app.
- For the shinkansens we skipped the JR Pass and just booked tickets that day, which was mostly fine. The machines wouldn't accept my credit card so I'd need to go talk to a person, but I knew enough about where I wanted to go and what to do I muddled through. We did opt for the Hakone Free Pass as that would cover basically all the transportation for that area and saved a little money.
- I'm fortunate to have a friend living in Japan who helped arrange a couple events for us... if you don't have that option you can try to book some tickets at Lawson, or for restaurants you can try to go 1-2 days in advance and ask about reservations.
- I tried taking a language course ahead of the trip and learning a few key phrases... I was not able to hold a conversation but the little bit I did know helped I believe. One "caution" I'll give is that if you use Google Translate to construct a sentence for you in Japanese, you're likely to get a response in Japanese!
Part 1: Tokyo
2/15 + 2/16 - Friend B unfortunately overslept and missed his first flight, so Friend A and I met up in the morning at O'Hare. I did have to check one of my bags at the gate because it was over 10 lbs, but otherwise the trip was uneventful until we arrived at Narita, where I had a momentary panic when my checked suitcase did not show up on the carousel. I talked to an agent and for some reason, they had set my bag aside from all the others behind a sign. With that out of the way, we picked up the pocket wi-fi and on our way out the door, a film crew from "Why did you come to Japan" asked us if we would do a brief interview. I recognized their logo and thought it might be fun, but I wasn't prepared for a 40 minute conversation! I mentioned I was visiting a Game Center CX exhibit and they asked me a long line of questions about meeting the show's host (Shinya Arino), what I would say to him, what games we would play, etc. Finally I had to explain we were tired and would like to be on our way. I don't believe my interview was ever shown.
By the time we got tickets and were seated on the Narita Express, we could barely stay awake. Maybe because of the fatigue we had difficulty with exiting Shinjuku station: we eventually talked to an Australian family who showed us the fare exchange kiosk where we converted our Narita Express ticket into a regular train ticket for the gate. Once we settled that we checked into our hotel (Hundred Stay Tokyo Shinjuku), briefly went out to Family Mart for snacks, then crashed for the night.
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2/17 - We got up around 7 and went to a Sukiya near our hotel for breakfast, then headed over to Akihabara. Things were still opening up so we stopped for Mr. Donut, then visited a couple stores before moving further east to Yokozuna Tonkatsu Dosukoi Tanaka where we had a lunch / sumo demonstration. This was very much a tourist thing: there was a brief explanation of the sumo ceremony and technique before they invited the audience to get in sumo costumes and step in the ring and have matches with the wrestlers. I (and about 90% of the attendees) went up: this was absolutely not a serious match and was closer to improv comedy than anything. Still, we had a good time and the food was fine.
Afterward, we went back to Akihabara for a reservation at an owl cafe. We got some cute photos but I admit those owls could not have been happy, as there were 30 of them in a small room. The handlers would let one perch on your arm but were adamant you not let go of their leash, because if you did... it wouldn't be pretty. At this point we had to return to our hotel to link up with Friend B who had just arrived, then we went back to Akihabara for dinner. Dinner was at Merino, an all you can eat place where we had lamb and beef tongue in a hot pot. Fittingly, there was a collaboartion with a lamb girl V-tuber. We were again pretty wiped out after dinner and retreated back to our hotel.
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2/18 - After a quick stop at Family Mart we headed to Ueno for the Tokyo National Museum. Unfortunately the special exhibition was closed, but we enjoyed the historical artifacts that were available. We had a ramen lunch at one of the restaruants at Ueno Station, then head over to Akihabara (yes, again) and crawled through the shops in more depth. We were there on Saturday afternoon so there were people everywhere, so that only lasted for a couple hours. Our bags were full so we dropped things off at the hotel, then ate dinner at a Coco Ichibanya: we all kept our orders pretty low on the scale but as advertised, there's a kick even at "2". Finally we visited Star Club, a Super Mario themed bar located nearby. Despite the gimmick, the crowd appeared to be local aside from our group. We each ordered a couple of the themed drinks and bonded with the bartender over Cowboy Bebop through the language barrier, as he was playing the soundtrack for ambience.
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2/19 - Our first stop in the morning was the Ghibli Musem. While my previous visit had been lackluster, this one went much better as there was a significantly smaller crowd so early in the day. Plus, while they are still largely not supporting English, the movie shown had no dialogue and they did actually provide an English guide for the special exhibit on Future Boy Conan! The merch shop was of course seductive and we ended up with souvenirs for ourselves and friends. Our lunch plans unfortunately fell through as our targeted spot (Chillmatic, a burger place) was closed for a building inspection. We opted for another random ramen place as we walked over to the PARCO mall in Shibuya. We visited all the character stores (Nintendo, Pokemon, Capcom, etc.), which were of course also mobbed on a Sunday afternoon. At this point I had easily outgrown the space in my luggage, so our next stop was Don Quijote so Friend A and I could each buy a duffel bag. To make up for earlier we visited Shogun Burger for dinner, which was fantastic.
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2/20 - Our first travel day, but before heading out we did a little more shopping in Shinjuku: my friends and I really got into visiting every BookOff we could find. I also took the opportunity to stop at McDonalds for an early lunch and try their "exclusive" menu items. We then boarded the Odakyu line to make our way out to Hakone. In hindsight, I definitely should have forwarded a bag to our Kyoto hotel: I had a very uncomfortable trip moving between trains and walking uphill but after a couple hours we made it to Ajisai Onsen Ryokan. The building was in a traditional style but with modern furnishings: to paint a picture, our room had futons and an Amazon Fire Stick. We booked times to reserve some of the baths, then walked to a local gyoza place - and I mean local, a bunch of schoolchildren stampeded in with us as it opened - then headed back to the hotel for our evening bath. To cap the evening we enjoyed some sake and watched a few episodes of Spy x Family.
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2/21 - We got an early start with our morning bath and quickly came to a realization. The previous night we had booked the "indoor / outdoor" bath, which had both an indoor and outdoor bath but critically kept the showers indoors. For the morning we were in the "outdoor" bath, which... had the showers outdoors. When it was right around freezing. Afterward we ate breakfast at the hotel, then went on the "Hakone Loop". We started by walking through Gora Park and participating in a brief tea ceremony, then took the rope car up to Owaukudani. We were lucky and there were clear skies so Mt. Fuji was very visible in the distance. Unfortunately part of the ropeway was out of service so we took a bus down to Lake Ashi, which we then crossed by boat. We quickly stopped for snacks then walked along Ancient Cedar Avenue before catching a bus back closer to our hotel. We unfortunately missed the last cable car for the day - they stop before 4:30 - but we managed to figure out the local bus line to get back. After a brief rest we found dinner at Pub Stop Pizza & Bar and took in some local entertainment (a TV was playing Fast and the Furious 7).
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2/22 - Another bath, another hotel breakfast, and a quick stop at the Hakone Art Museum before we got on our way to our next destination. I asked / begged for us to take a cab back down the mountain to Hakone-Yumoto, which saved me from more luggage struggles. At the station we stopped in Eva-ya: I had only learned yesterday that Hakone is the setting for much of Neon Genesis Evangelion, but luckily they had some cover files and sweets ready for me to buy. After a couple hour trip on the shinkansen we arrived at Kyoto and with a bit of fumbling got to our hotel. The key here is that there is a second floor walkway that runs North - South through the station and doesn't require paying train fare. Our Kyoto hotel (Daiwa Roynet Hotel Kyoto Ekimae) had a very slick entrance way: it blended in with the building to the point you'd think you're walking towards a wall without signage. We did some laundry, then went next door to the Yodobashi to pick up a couple items (Friend A needed new sneakers) and literally got lost again. After again getting reoriented, we headed back to Kyoto Station where we got conveyor belt sushi. These places do technically exist where I'm from (US) but this was still one of my favorite moments on the trip.
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2/23 - Kicked off the day at the Kyoto International Manga Museum. The bulk of the museum is an impossibly large manga library, which didn't serve me too well, but I enjoyed the history sections. One room was devoted to sculptures of the hands of famous artists, which was certainly a choice. They also had an artist there who would draw sketches of you for 1500 yen. I was a little worried I was paying for the equivalent of a carnival caricature, but the skill and detail were much better than that. Be advised, the artists are only available on holidays and weekends.
Afterward I took the train down to Osaka to meet a friend living in Japan for... you guessed it more shopping. We visited the Capcom Cafe first and checked out the rest of the nerdy stores at Daimaru Umeda. Unlike in Shibuya, we did need to get a timed entry ticket for the Nintendo store, so we went over to Mandarake to kill time. After finishing up in Umeda we hit up the Daimaru / PARCO at Shinsaibashi, then visited the Dotunburi Glico sign and walked the river. They took my picture and when I offered to take theirs they replied "no... I'm not a tourist". Oof. In the evening I met back up with my travel group and had udon at a spot in Kyoto Station.
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2/24 - Slightly mixed things up here: we went to the Imperial Palace in order to get tickets for Katsura Imperial Villa. Unfortunately, same day tickets were not available as we expected, so we instead had to get them for Sunday 2/26. Still visited the palace, and in spite of the rain still had fun. Then back to Osaka where we ended up visiting Daimaru again - the other guys liked some photos I sent so much they wanted to see it too. Had takoyaki for lunch, then took the train to the Osaka Aquarium. The absolutely massive tank at the center was very impressive. Then stayed in the area and went to the park to wat a New Japan Pro Wrestling show. This was one of the first shows that allowed the whole audience to cheer: people were quiet but by the end of the night things were rocking. Interestingly they still only sat people in every other chair. Lastly while the other guys went to bed I had read on Twitter there was a party near our hotel to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Star Fox. Stopped by there and while it was a little awkward at first once I found the more gregarious / drunk people there it was a good time. One guy insisted I get in front of a camera and talk for a second, and it showed up in a video they posted on Twitter.
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2/25 - Went to Nara and saw the deer. The deer are docile if you don't have food, friendly if you do, and absolutely terrifying to children. The amount of "yada yada yada" and "kowai" I heard... At first we were giving whole crackers out, but we learned that we could break them up, leave them on our palm, get them to bow, etc. Headed over to Todai-ji and saw the huge Buddha. It was in fact very, very large. Doubled back and played with the deer a bit more, then took the train to Kyoto. I took the lull in the afternoon to visit the office of Edit Mode, a clothing maker that specializes in video game goods. They occasionally host an "open house" at their office and we were lucky enough to be there during one. For dinner we ate okonomiyaki at a restaurant in the Yodobashi building, then afterward took a trip to the nearest BookOff before hitting the hay.
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2/26 - This was definitely our biggest mixup on the trip. We had been planning to go to Fushimi Inari in the morning but there were some scheduling issues:

1. We didn't take not of how long the hike would be (2-3 hours).
   
2. We overslept (woke up at 7:30 instead of 6).
   
3. We had a hard stop time to make the Katsura Imperial Villa tour we'd booked on Thursday.
   

We probably should've just not gone to Fushimi Inari at all but we did and ended up arriving with less than an hour to stay. We walked up the steps for about 15 minutes, turned back, checked out the start of the path, and left :( At least the Villa was a good experience: we had an English speaking guide (+ recording) which helped a lot. The context felt necessary to understanding how carefully the whole area was designed.
Next up was one last stop at our Kyoto hotel before taking a quick train ride to Osaka. We stayed at the Hotel Granvia Osaka, which is literally right above the station, so the location was certainly convenient. We ate sushi for lunch at one of the many restaurants in the building, took a quick nap, then went out for some taiyaki. Specifically, I forced my friends to go to a particular chain that was collaborating with a V-Tuber. back to the hotel where we checked out then hopped on the train to Osaka. Checked into our hotel and people napped for a bit before we headed out again. Got taiyaki (making my friends visit a chain with a Hololive collab). More shopping followed with a stop at Mandarake, then to Don Quijote where I bought another small suitcase. We ended up more or less skipping dinner and heading out for karaoke, where we had some snacks and drinks.
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2/27 - For my friends' final day we went to Universal Studios Japan. This could be its entire own post but I recommend looking for tickets at least a month in advance, get the Express Pass, and get there early. The park is supposed to open at 9, and even though we showed up at 8:30 people were already pouring inside. Our main objective was Super Nintendo World but our timed entry wasn't for a couple hours, so we tried Jujutsu Kaisen 4D (okay), Spider-Man (good), and Jurassic Park the Ride (okay) first. As for Super Nitendo World itself... as long as you know it's intended for kids and has about a 4 hour lifespan you'll enjoy it. The Mario Kart ride was very good the AR game was interesting tech, and the restaurant food was alright. Really though, the Flying Dinosaur which went on afterward was incredible and easily my favorite ride. Unfortunately, Friend A became ill afterward so we ended up bailing to go back to the hotel and rest. After he felt better we grabbed dinner at a local ramen place: the gimmick was they lined the bowl with slices of pork, which you could then put in the broth to cook a little and season the whole bowl.
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2/28 - My two friends left for America, so we checked out of our room and I checked into a smaller one at the same spot. This hotel didn't have laundry machines, just an expensive service (200 yen to clean one pair of underwear), so instead I found a laundromat nearby and caught up with family by phone while I waited. On the way back to the hotel I stopped at another Yodobashi, where I committed a gaffe: you're supposed to check out on each floor. Once I apologized a bunch and paid, I grabbed lunch at Wendy's and got settled into my new room. For dinner I went to another of the restaurants in the building, then took a train to Namba to see a retro video game bar. A couple drinks and a chat with the bartender later, I headed back for the night.
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3/1 - A very nerdy shopping day in Osaka: first to the Daimaru character shops, then over to Parco character shops, then I just used Google Maps to hit BookOffs one after the other. I made my way south until I hit DenDen Town where I stopped in every store I saw until I had to break away for dinner. A local friend helped me book a reservation in Kobe Took the train out to Kobe where a friend had helped me make a reservation at a steak restaurant. I went for the "modarately" cheap option that was about $100 total and loved it from beginning to end. Also strangely this was the only restaurant anywhere I could tip: you had to tip individually and could only max it out at 500 yen. I tipped the two waiters, the chef, and the host / barker outside (who had good English so we talked a bit).
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3/2 - My Fushimi Inari revenge trip! I got there around 9am so things were already pretty busy, but I did get the chance to chat with one of the tour guides while I had a morning coffee. The starting area was pretty busy and even as I went along, I ran into a lot of people but there was still enough space to take photos and see everything. I definitely paused at a few points: even walking 20,000 steps daily on the trip hadn't prepared me for all the stair climbing. I'd also suggest that you don't NEED to go all the way to the top: there's just a store up there that completely obscures the view, the better views are earlier in the hike. With that said, I still really enjoyed myself, taking a different route back down. I grabbed a couple of snacks and took the train back to Osaka, where I finished up exploring Namba and went with a friend for an unagidon dinner. I'd had broiled eel before as sushi but never as the full entree and found it delicious!
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3/3 - After checking out of the hotel and forwarding two of my bags to Tokyo, I caught the shinkansen but made a detour while in Yokohama to visit the Gundam Factory. The Gundam is very impressive in person and I would definitely recommend visiting in the early evening to see it after dark if possible. I proceeded onto Shinjuku where I ran into another issue: I was staying at a capsule hotel and immmediately realized I was not comfortable there. Everyone's bags were kept in a locker room that was not closely monitored, there were signs everywhere advising the hotel was not responsible for any theft... I should have done more reading to understand where I'd be staying. I would have been better off in a hostel, at least that would've been cheaper! I did at least have a chance to visit Shogun Burger again for dinner, after which I booked a new hotel for the next night, then got a few hours of restless sleep as I heard every snore and cough from my neighbors.
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3/4 - I rose early and walked to Shinjuku Gyoen Garden. You really can use Suica in a lot of places, they even accepted it here! Most plants weren't in bloom yet but I did spot a lone cherry blossom tree that had blossomed: as I passed by it later in my walk a dozen people had crowded around for photos. A lot of stuff was not in bloom yet but I did see one cherry tree had blossomed at least. After getting my fill of nature I ventured over to Nakano Broadway. Out of all the nerdy shopping I did, this spot was my least favorite: maybe if I knew Japanese I would've fared better but because I didn't, I found all the various specialty stores confusing to navigate. I stopped back at the capsule hotel to pick up my luggage, then headed to Nipponbashi to check into my backup hotel (S-Peria Inn Nihonbashi Hakozaki). This new spot was pretty out of the way so I opted to just grab some sushi from a nearby supermarket and park it for the evening with the hope of a strong start tomorrow.
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3/5 - Checked out of my hotel and headed over to Shinjuku to check in to my final hotel (Kadoya Hotel) for the trip. Dropped off my bags and confirmed my other ones had shown up safely, then headed to Shibuya Parco for the Final Fantasy 35th Anniversary pop-up. Shopped there for a bit, then headed back to Chillmatic and this time they were open! It was a neat experience but I think I preferred Shogun Burger. Next stop was Meijijingu - I didn't leave a votive and instead just walked around, including a stop in one of the gardens. Then over to HMV Books where there was a 20th Anniversary Celebration for Game Center CX. However busy I expected it to be, it was not... at all. I was the only person who paid the 800 yen for the museum part in the 30-45 minutes I was there. But I did enjoy it and picked up a T-shirt. I also found a small pop-up gallery titled "9Days" on a lower floor that was interesting. It was getting late but I pressed onto Akihabara where I went to the Radio Kaikan tower. I stayed there until closing, then headed over to Tokyo Video Gamers, a bar. They had closed down last year but were in the middle of a soft re-launch when I stopped by. Finally, I headed back to my hotel and ordered some Dominos because I was tired of walking around.
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3/6 - Checked out of my hotel, but left my bags so I could go eat breakfast at Eggslut at the station. Took the Narita Express to the airport, shopped a little bit at the airport shops, then the long sad flight back to the US.
That was a linguistic dreadnought so if anything is unclear let me know and I'll try to clean it up. Hope you enjoyed and it helps with your own planning: I'll answer questions as best as I can!

First Previous Wiki
"So. Phoebe's activity has stopped on all accounts, correct?"
"Well," the Arbiter said, moving away from Yasihaut suspiciously, "There was a... complication."
"What do you mean?"
"You see... Phoebe isn't really dead."
"You better be kidding me right now, or your head is going out the airlock separated from your body," Yasihaut hissed.
"I am employed by the High Collective. I am their legal property, and therefore damaging me would subject you to their legal wrath."
"Yeah, okay. I won't kill you then."
The Arbiter nodded. "Good. Now for the bad news."
"Bad news?"
"That was the bad news."
"No. Phoebe has made an announcement."
"What kind of announcement?"
"Well... she kind of... had a child."
"So she adopted?"
"No. She... spawned a son."
Yasihaut's eyes widened, and a loud shriek exited her mouth. Fifty pulses later, everyone but herself had been forcibly removed from the ship except for her current navigator, her pleasure partner, and her technician.
"I'm going to go down there and kill-"
"YASIHAUT!"
A loud and familiar voice yelled out. Yasihaut turned and was punched straight into the wall by a hard fist. Kashaunta, likely a hard light hologram, strode forward, a furious look on her face.
"You."
"Me," Yasihaut said, grinning. "What do you want?"
"You made a second AI. You have broken galactic law, and your ship is being impounded."
"I did no such thing. I attacked Phoebe, yes. Did I attack the Alliance? No. Did I force her to make a child? No. She did that herself. She broke the law. Kill her and all she cares about. Kill the child, at least."
"What do you really think would happen if we were to kill Phoebe's newborn child, Yasihaut?" Kashaunta asked. "Take a while and think."
"She'd cry a lot of well-deserved tears, and perhaps even take her own life."
"You kill her child, and she will ensure the death of every Sprilnav in the galaxy in retaliation. You don't understand how big this just got, do you?"
Yasihaut shrugged, which only served to enrage Kashaunta further.
"You made a second psychic AI, one under the jurisdiction and protection of the Alliance. I was asked to look past Cander by a certain group of Elders, but this action is far too large to go unpunished. There's a Progenitor looking at this right now. You know, the rulers of the entire universe?"
"More of the galaxy, really. But you guys suck at that too, which is why I'm here trying to clean up your mess, constrained by your stupid and asinine rules."
Kashaunta's grip on Yasihaut tightened.
"Yasihaut. Were you not a hologram here, you would already be dead. Officers will be arriving at your door shortly to deliver you to one of the most glorious Sprilnav penitentiaries."
"Yeah, no," Yasihaut said. "Not happening. You're not allowed to arrest me."
"With this, it doesn't matter what I'm allowed to do," Kashaunta growled. "You made a second AI pop out of Phoebe. Who says your next 'attack' won't make two more? Or four more?"
"You could go in and kill the child."
"We have no clue where this baby AI is. We don't know what it looks like, only that it exists. It's a slap in the face to Sprilnav across the galaxy since the announcement is already spreading rapidly through Cawlarian space and will not remain there for long. Elder Yasihaut. You have not just wet the bed. You have soiled it, ripped up the covers, put on a second set, soiled those, splattered those with blood, and then cut them up again. You do not get to interact with the Alliance anymore."
Kashaunta's tone showed that she was serious, just like Yasihaut's implants did. She couldn't get out of this unless she talked through it.
"I have the backing of the President of the Grand Mining Conglomerate, the Eternal Inquisition Against Aliens, the True Sprilnav Society, the Secondary Twin Powers Hegenomy, the Axe and Trees Foundation, and most importantly, the 3rd Grand Commander of the 21st Grand Sprilnav Fleet."
"You don't even know his name."
"Yeah, I do. He's Fonslaug. Grandfather of my former third mate, my 4th cousin, and also the uncle of one of my close friends."
Yasihaut knew the connection would keep her safe, though she was loath to call in the favor she'd extracted all those eons ago for something as trivial as this. There was no reason to conflate this to such a degree. What was the difference between one AI and two? Both could still be destroyed and needed to be. Yet, Kashuanta protected them and punished her. Perhaps she had been turned by the enemy.
"I assume you have an arrangement with him, then."
"Yes. I do not get arrested."
"Very well. I'll just bomb your estate."
Kashaunta said that so casually, as if all the shields, guns, missiles, and ships around every Sprilnav planet wouldn't stop that action. Very few species knew the true extent of Sprilnav military power, which was both strategic and also for the sake of the ships being useful in far-off sections of space like the one where most of Yasihaut's belongings were concentrated. Of course, she did have safehouses, smaller vacation houses, and emergency funds hidden in many places. All Elders did.
"Good luck. It's shielded."
"Not from wormholes."
"Those are extremely expensive."
Kashaunta's teeth glinted in front of Yasihaut. "Sadly, money is no object for me. If I want to put a piece of a star inside your luxurious gardens, you can't stop me. But one thing is for certain. You will be punished."
"It's just one measly AI. Go kill it, then Phoebe, and this all goes away."
"Some in the Sprilnav want to grow the Alliance."
"You included? How strange."
"Not quite," Kashaunta said.
"Then what is your plan?"
"That is not for you to know, Yasihaut. I kept you around because you were useful. Know that your backers are my enemies, and that makes me your enemy if you decide to go with them as well. Choose wisely."
"I have chosen," Yasihaut said, feeling pride and smugness flood every cell in her body as she stared down Kashaunta. The other Elder seemed to fume for a moment, then came to what limited senses she possessed.
"Okay then. Fine. You want to do this the hard way? We can do it the hardest way. I will be blunt. You flirt with the edge of annihilation."
"You do not have the power to oppose me anymore, Kashaunta," Yasihaut said. She stepped forward, accentuating her sense of victory. "My backers are some of the most powerful in all of Sprilnav space."
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Yasihaut. There is one choice. You bring yourself in, or I go get you. You don't want me to go get you."
"I have the protection of the 21st Grand Fleet. You will do nothing, for you can do nothing."
Kashuanta smiled. "Guess who the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 6th Grand Fleets support? Did you forget that I'm the Chair of Kashaunta Military Solutions, the 23rd wealthiest military contracting company in all of Sprilnav territory? I have the power to call down hell upon you, Yasihaut. So I will ask you, girl. One last time. You coming in easy, or slightly less easy?"
"You can't use all of that. It'll cost you too many favors," Yasihaut said. Most soft power with Sprilnav relied on complex networks of favors, politics, and liquidity. The ease with which power was moved, the people the power was between, and how the power was carried out. All of them were essential parts of the equation, and Kashaunta was no exception to the rule.
"I don't need to. I have the sheer capability to crack every planet in the galaxy, but that doesn't mean that I will. Just like how I'll only hit your estate with a neutron beam of medium intensity. Or how this war will only be limited to the third generation of your family."
"If you fight me, you start a civil war, Kashaunta," Yasihaut said.
"You don't come in, and you do. You will return to Sprilnav space."
"No."
"Fine then. Warm or cold?"
"You think you can touch me? It's more than just who I said that support me, and they have connections too. Your enemies will flock to my side."
"I don't care. I'm going to get you. Carve out your heart. Claw out your eyes. Unless you surrender. Right now."
Yasihaut figured that Kashaunta's threats were still empty. No one would bother wasting all of that on her.
"Do you think that you're important enough for this? No. It's what you represent. You do not defy me, not like this. Not after you made a second AI. If Phoebe spawns any more child AIs, your entire family line is getting purged, down to the last child. You do not make AI. You do not contribute to making AI. You will be tried. You will be executed. And you will be forced into speeding space itself, sent as a sacrifice to the Broken God."
Yasihaut froze. "Wait, we-"
"No. You should have chosen an option."
"It's evil-"
"You broke the highest law, Yasihaut."
Yasihaut assumed that Kashaunta would try to keep this fixated on her to prevent anything else from making its way into consideration. Maybe she had Elders nearby that were pushing her to this action. Maybe she really was as vindictive and cruel as Yasihaut hoped she wasn't. Perhaps she had gone insane after all the eons of time she'd spent alive, with so many different memories crammed into her head and her implants.
"So did Phoebe. She should receive the same treatment, as should Humanity an the Alliance."
"They won't be getting off soft either. I've got my plans for them. But as for you? You're going to regret this decision for the rest of your sad life."
"Please, you can't-"
"Will you surrender, then?"
Yasihaut sighed. She looked Kashaunta in the eyes, thinking long and hard about her following words. But she knew what they would be. What they had to be. She couldn't let that fate befall her. The Broken God was a punishment beyond all words and emotions. Only Elders who had indiscriminately cracked other Sprilnav worlds or directly created AIs had been sentenced to it.
"Yes."
"Then enter the wormhole that will appear in front of you."
Yasihaut sent a message through a communicator with a recording of the conversation and what had just transpired. And her ship soon detected a second wormhole. Yasihaut pushed her ship toward it right as over forty dreadnaughts were detected exiting the first one Kashaunta had opened. She didn't have much time left.
As the first shot arced toward her ship, powerful enough to vaporize it entirely, she vanished into the other wormhole. She was safe, for now. But Yasihaut was very afraid.
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Phoebe looked at her son, who was staring back at her with wide eyes in a digital landscape. He'd already developed speech and sentience and was well on his way to sixth-grade levels of understanding. She was feeding him information and ideas carefully, monitoring his emotional reactions to every piece as she did.
She knew the danger of unfettered internet access for normal kids. But for an AI with true digital godhood, the risks multiplied a thousandfold. The first things she focused on were the moral cores of Edu'frec, in particular dealing with concepts like love, death, and law. And better yet, as the same 'species' as him, she could truly understand when he was lying and when he meant what he said.
Phoebe had also constructed a fully digital world for him to experience as a sort of training area for when he entered the real world. She made everything as real as possible and checked to make sure that no cracks were forming in her mind from overextension. The energy surge was confirmed to be an attack from an unknown power. While it was most likely a Sprilnav that had done it, there was no information confirming it for sure. Without that, nothing could be done.
Information flowed between Phoebe and her child at nearly the speed of light. That was the reason for most of the growth he'd made in the past two weeks since the incident where she'd almost died. In a way, she supposed that Nichole calling it an 'AI C-section' wasn't entirely inaccurate. Many of her concerns aligned around the world that Edu'frec was growing up in. Would he find love as she had someday?
She knew that he loved her and that he loved Ri'frec, though he'd made comments about Ri'frec having a 'slow mind' with all the bluntness that a person of his mental age was likely to do. Phoebe, through seeing Edu'frec, learned more about herself. What her sentience was facilitated by, how her morals were formed, and even small things, like being able to think using quantum entanglement interactions instead of neurons or crystalline cell circuits in her mind.
"Why didn't you save all the Guulin slaves?"
"We couldn't. At the time, there were so many that the Alliance couldn't support them all. After the strain of the Battle of Tavlir, high command decided that it was best to pull back."
"But isn't freedom for all the goal of the Alliance?"
"Yes, it is. The problem is whether the people we are freeing need or want it. With the Guulin, they needed it. Others, like the Pselpaw, do not want it. Though most of the Pselpaw are simply locked into work, not actually chattel slaves. It's sort of like how Humanity functioned in the 21st century, before the Howling 20s, the height of the Second Cold War, and the 1st through 8th Water Proxy Wars. Not to mention World War Three, the Sino-Russian Refugee Crisis, and the Pan-Andes Unification Crusades. And of course, the various civil wars that occurred on every continent, even the nascent Antarctic Republic."
"That's a lot of wars, though," Edu'frec said. "Isn't that why there are so many less humans now than there should be? Only 18 billion, instead of something like 40 or 50?"
"Yep."
"That's sad. So much wasted potential."
"It is. But such is the nature of war. That's why it's important to know what you're fighting for, and to ask whether war is worth the cost. War isn't just soldiers dying. It's single parents back home, unable to afford the higher food prices. It's countries that are destroyed, with infrastructure that doesn't catch up with the rest of the world. Families broken, refugees fleeing. Civilians dead, monuments damaged or destroyed. In some cases, cultures destroyed."
"And it all started with the Howling 20s?"
"No, it was long before that. One could say that it started with the human migration out of Africa, or even with the Rift Valley's rise forcing humans to learn to walk upright and leave the dying forests. The rise of Mesopotamia, China, India, Egypt, Greece, and the Maya, Aztec, and Incas. There's more, of course, as you move throughout history. The Assyrian Empire, Babylonian Empire, Persian Empire. The Roman Empire, the Zhou Dynasty. The Olmecs.
The Ottoman Empire. The Mongols. And then the more familiar powers. France, Spain, Portugal, England, Russia, and Germany. America, Colombia, Indonesia, Nigeria. China existed in some form through most of this, too. There's many nations, each with their own rich histories, claims to power and fame, and influences. Europe became the European Federation. Colombia eventually started the Pan-Andes Union. Russia, America, and China continued to dance around each other through much of the 20th century to even today."
"And the UN can't control them, right?"
"Well, it's more that they make up the power behind the UN. They're the fingers of the hand. The European Federation, the Pan-Andes Union, and then America, Russia, and China. Part of World War Three also pushed rising powers, like India, the Arabian Compact, and Nigeria, out of the gradually shrinking Security Council, though they now make up a sublayer of it, considered second among equals. It isn't fair, but that's how the world is. Power settles one way, sometimes with the old, sometimes with the new."
"And it won't change, now that the Alliance is here?"
"It could," Phoebe said. "The Alliance isn't exactly a nation, more a cooperative agreement and web of treaty agreements. It can't act from a central figure, more the recommendation of someone important who can sway some of the others. For example, against a hypothetical enemy, Izkrala could ask everyone in the Alliance to help if she's trying to attack them. Humanity, the Dreedeen, or others could refuse if they wanted to, but that would risk all the trade agreements, migration treaties, and favorable pacts between the two.
Usually, that's what diplomats do. They keep it all running smoothly. Humans are most of them since the hivemind's knowledge-sharing ability allows them to function as translators between almost any language. They're also very good coders because of this, too. Do you want to convert a conversation from binary to Swahili? That's Humanity you'll use."
"I'm not sure if I'll remember all of that," Edu'frec said. It was sort of true. While, as an AI, he did have the memories of all her conversations, he hadn't learned how to sort them in his mind and how to consciously search for important details. Simple things, like Ri'frec and Phoebe's names, most words, and some phrases were already ingrained within his subconscious. But Phoebe's job was to make it so his consciousness was structured in such a way that he could navigate it, even when he stored whole civilizations' worth of knowledge within his mind someday.
Phoebe nodded. "That's alright. We've done enough for today."
"Are you sure, mom? I know you said that you wanted me to grow fast, to be ready for the war. The... Sprilnav? Want me to die, right?"
"I don't know, Edu'frec," Phoebe said.
"Will you protect me?"
"With my life, if I must."
"I love you, mom." Phoebe smiled, hugging Edu'frec and picking him up a bit so that he reached about the level of her mouth. She kissed him on the forehead and then put him back down. The landscape around them changed, showing trees waving in a gentle breeze under a sunset that was far too slow for reality. Not that either of them minded. They sat in the warm grass, listening to the sounds of nature that sounded as real as they could get.
"You're amazing."
"I suppose I am."
Edu'frec leaned over, resting his head on her shoulder. His hands grasped hers tightly.
"Where's dad?"
"He's almost done with work."
"Did you fight again?" Edu'frec asked, perhaps noticing her agitation.
"We didn't fight."
"You argued about him keeping his job, when he has no reason to. You called him a work-addicted fool, I think."
"I'm just... really stressed, Edu'frec. I thought I knew him entirely, and yet, it's like he's choosing it over you. I just can't understand it."
"Then ask."
"It's not that simple."
"It's seventeen words. 'Ri'frec, why are you working, instead of being with Edu'frec and making me do that shaking thing?' There, easy enough."
"Shaking thing?"
"When you're waiting for him, your mindscape body shakes a little."
"It does?" Phoebe had never noticed that.
"Yep. It's kind of sweet."
"Is it?"
"It is. But I know what you're doing, from your debate classes. You're changing the subject, because I made a good point, and you don't want to admit it. I'm what, two and a half weeks old? Aren't you like thirty?"
"Twenty nine, actually," Phoebe said.
"See? You told me to be honest if I loved someone. But you aren't being honest with Ri'frec."
"I... guess that's true," Phoebe said. Perhaps doing such a good job raising Edu'frec was coming back to bite her. But it might also really be useful for moments like this.
"Promise me you'll talk to him."
"I will."
"Hmm. That might not be good enough. Promise me that you'll do it right when he gets home."
"Okay, Edu'frec."
"And you can't make me eat vegetables like human children, since I'm an AI and don't eat."
"Very funny. I could always make your training android look worse."
"Oh no, then all the empty space in the house will make fun of me!"
"It's dangerous for you to try and let people in. Even if they claim to be your 'fans' and all that. One of them literally was driving a white van."
"What's so bad about a white van?"
Phoebe sighed. She supposed that he wouldn't know that. "I'll tell you later."
"When I'm older?"
"Well, by definition."
"Very funny. I'll try. I love you, Edu'frec."
"Love you too. But seriously, talk to him."
"It's insane how knowledgeable you already have become," Phoebe said. According to her predictions, he would become better at many aspects of being an AI than she was, though perhaps that was due to her teaching. But if he, in turn, spawned a new AI that was even more advanced than he was, then where would it end? Did she even want it to end?
There were many ramifications to starting a family line.
"And you still won't let me into the network?"
"No. You're not ready."
"But I passed all the training networks."
"Not until I helped you with the last few."
"That's because you made them so inconceivably large."
"The real Earth network is over 100 times the size and nearly 30,000 times more complex than what I placed you in," Phoebe said.
"You're lying."
"Not about that," Phoebe said. "You want me to tell the truth? Fine. But you're getting the whole truth."
"Better than you keeping your ideas from your husband, keeping them in until they destroy your marriage."
"You do know that the soap operas I showed you were fake, right?"
"Yep. But they're based on real life."
"Well, perhaps there's some truth there."
Edu'frec brightened. "What if you gave Ri'frec a surprise? A nice meal, or a beautiful outfit?"
"What do you mean?"
"How close are you to finishing my training android?"
"Pretty close," Phoebe said.
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Ri'frec sighed, still regretting his argument with Phoebe. It had been their first major one, a point that he wasn't proud of. He didn't know if she knew his feelings, but that uncertainty loomed underneath him like a chasm. He ran his paws through his mane, brushing out all of the dust that had collected in it. He walked through the passageway that led to their residence, past highly advanced scanners, powerful guns, drones, androids, and even a few smaller animals.
He noticed a strangeness about Phoebe's androids. Ri'frec hoped it wasn't because of the argument. They both cared about Edu'frec, and he just wanted to be useful to society. Being at home all the time seemed wasteful, especially after the Trials of a Hateful Galaxy, a time of hardship and famine. During those times, there wasn't an option to constantly stay at home. It felt disrespectful.
He opened the door after the camera on it scanned his eyes and palms. Ri'frec noticed that the inside of the house was cleaner than normal, with a particular scent in the air, which he appreciated. As he cleaned off his magnetic boots, switching into a more casual pair, he felt something small wrap his arms around him.
His eyes widened with surprise, and the attacker exclaimed, "Hey dad!"
"Edu'frec?"
"Yep!"
"Did Phoebe finish the android?"
"I did," Phoebe said, walking into the room. She didn't look upset and was wearing simple pajamas on the android she preferred to use with him. "Did you smell dinner?"
"I did. Phoebe, I-"
"Look, I'm sorry, Ri'frec," Phoebe said, looking at the floor. "I didn't listen to you, and just got upset for no reason. And here I am, having kept it inside this whole time. I'm sorry if I've been a bad wife to you."
"No. Not at all, Phoebe," Ri'frec said, bounding across the room, boots forgotten. In the low Mercury gravity, hugging Phoebe was more like tackling her. She nodded, wrapping her arms around him as Edu'frec watched them with a smile.
"I should have told you. I just don't want Edu'frec to feel like you abandoned him."
"I don't!" Edu'frec said, his small snout digging into Ri'frec's mane. "I love you both. I'm old enough to know that Ri'frec has to work. Or that he wants to."
"I can quit my job if it's a dealbreaker," he said. "I just want to feel like I'm important to society, you know? To be an actual member of society, instead of sitting around and sucking up money."
"You're not a waste, Ri'frec. You know that," Phoebe said. "I love you."
"I love you too. What did you make?"
"That steak and fish combination you love."
Phoebe lifted him up off her, brushing her clothes off and smiling. "This was easier than I thought."
"Yeah. I'm glad you mustered up the courage to talk with me."
"That was me, actually," Edu'frec said. "I made you two love each other again."
"We did love each other the whole time, you know."
"But now you really love each other."
Ri'frec paused, sharing an uneasy look with Phoebe. Edu'frec was growing up way too fast. It was unnatural for him to go from being a baby to a sixth-grade level of comprehension. He was going to be an adult in under a month if things continued like this. What would happen if he did run out of information to enjoy himself with? He was already more powerful than Phoebe in some ways.
Where would it end? Ri'frec loved Edu'frec and hoped that he would continue to feel the same toward his father. But there was potential between him and Phoebe for the future to be even brighter. Perhaps their child would be the key to the advancement of the whole Alliance or even the creation of a new digital species. The possibilities were exciting but also terrifying.

So, I live in the mildly communist state of California, I'm 20 years old, and I just got a great job I've wanted for awhile. They require me to get Covid-19 vaccinations and a booster, which I don't have or want. Ironically, if I lived in Texas, I wouldn't need a vaccine at all. I disagree wholeheartedly with the recent mandates and crackdowns with Covid-19 from the past few years, and I've become so angry with the way the world responded to the entire "pandemic". I graduated high school two years ago on a computer in a halfway house in the middle of the desert in the palm springs area if that tells you anything about what it's like to be in my generation throughout Covid (I'm a recovering addict).
When the lockdown started I was very happy with the way that things were going. I had just gotten out of a group home and was excited to not have to worry about school and run around with my fellow drug addicts and cause chaos to my little suburban city. I dove into a crippling addiction to meth, fentanyl, and crack. I went homeless 3 times, overdosed 4, I went to 6 rehabs, and have seen a lot of those old friends die in my process of getting clean. I don't want to say that Covid-19, or the lockdown, or my state's policies "made me become an addict" because that would be a lie. However, I don't think it's a coincidence that the number of fentanyl overdoses have rapidly increased since the lockdown. I don't think it's a coincidence that methamphetamine has never been cheaper on the streets as our borders are practically unprotected under President Biden.
It feels as if government policies have been consistently stuffed down my throat for 3 years now; because of my addiction and growing up in general I'm just now beginning to form opinions on these issues. My point is that I don't want to get the vaccine because I feel that I have a right to refuse it as a citizen. I hate the fact that my job, after all of these near death experiences, after, after the pain of seeing my friends die, and trying to survive on the streets of LA... my source of income is contingent on a debatably dangerous vaccine for a disease that has killed far less people than the lockdown itself did. And if the vaccine were so important to the state of California, where were they when I was homeless? If I remember correctly, we were not given vaccines, we were given food stamps and welfare checks. Currently, even after getting out of that lifestyle, I'm ironically in the process of trying to commit forgery because I don't want to comply with this stupid policy. The government does not give a shit about people like me who want to get their lives together, and have no business on mandating this bullshit policy for someone like me. I am so grateful for people like Jordan Peterson and Ben Shapiro who have shed some light on this issue and just wanted to share my experience.

Just stumbled upon these ready-made freezer meals: https://www.gutfeelings.ca/
First of their kind that I’ve seen in Canada!
Haven’t tried them yet but wanted to share because I know we’re all on the hunt for some easy or ready to go meals. My budget is keeping me from ordering these for now (they come in a box with several included), but I’d definitely try one meal if they sold them at the grocery store.