Girder front end motorcycle
A review of You Were Made to be Mine by Julie Anne Long
2023.06.02 13:48 wyanmai A review of You Were Made to be Mine by Julie Anne Long
First, I must say the title made me swoon. I love it when a romance makes it clear that the two MCs are similar in the right ways but then also make up for the things the other is lacking in their lives, and this book portrayed that pretty well.
I gave it a 4/5 stars on my Goodreads, but it’s really more a 3.5. It’s the first Julie Anne Long book I’ve ever finished. I’ve previously tried a couple of her Pennyroyal Greene books, but couldn’t get into them, so the premise really gripped me to me to give her another try.
I’m not sure I’ll really get into her backlist, but the series this one is in—the Palace of Rogues—is a fun concept with a unique set of circumstances and side characters, so I might read some others in the series.
The premise is that Christian Hawk, former spy who’s just been released from a French prison and is now penniless, has been hired by the Earl of Brundage to find his missing fiancé, Aurelie Capet.
Aurelie has escaped Paris and her engagement and found her way to the Grand Palace on the Thames, a cozy boarding house, to secure passage to life with her brother in Boston.
Christian finds out her location, but through romance shenanigans, he shows up at the door of the Grand Palace with a knife wound. Aurelie insists on taking care of him—she doesn’t want him to be alone whether he lives or dies 🥺🥺—and they are instantly attracted to each other, physically and personality-wise.
It soon becomes apparent to us and to Hawkes that Brundage is a no good horrible phlegmwad of a human, and that Aurelie escaped him because he did horrible things to her.
Hawkes decides pretty early on that he has zero intention of giving Aurelie back to Brundage, but he holds off on coming clean to her, and eventually she finds out through other means, triggering her to run away.
(Rest assured though, that this “secret” isn’t the major drive of conflict between the two, at least not in the “you lied and now I hate you” sort of way.)
In fact, there’s basically zero conflict between the two MCs, so if you’re into that kind of romance—which I am—this will be great.
Overall, I had a good time reading this book, but I came away feeling generally underwhelmed by it.
Both the plot and the romance had a lot of potential to be very exciting and tension-filled, but the actual story didn’t deliver that to the fullest, or even close. There were a lot of high stakes in the plot on paper, but I didn’t feel those high stakes in the execution.
The romance also has a lot of high emotional stakes for the characters, and they did have chemistry, but somehow, it didn’t translate into the fast and deep emotional bond I was hoping for.
It wasn’t dull by any means, but everything just felt kind of fluffy and calm, and that’s not what I was expecting from a book with characters experiencing a boatload of past trauma.
I also had an issue with the pacing. At the beginning, there was a lot of time dedicated to the side characters in the Grand Palace, with POVs from the FMCs of previous books in the series.
This dragged on so long that the two MCs hadn’t event met until chapter 9 or something, and that I am not a fan of. If the side characters weren’t as charming as they were, I’d have dnf’d long ago. As it stands, I still feel like the book wasted some of my time.
(I generally like the two MCs to meet in the very first scene or as close to it as possible.)
More on pacing—the entire book felt a bit strange on that front. I couldn’t really put my finger on the character arcs of the MCs, and overall the plot progression felt kind of messy. The climax wasn’t really high stakes enough to feel like a climax, and overall, I didn’t feel there was any uncertainty about what would happen. No real surprises, and no hard decisions for the characters. Again, the stakes to everything just felt too low.
But overall, the romance was very sweet, and at times the MMC said some pretty swoon-worthy things🥲. The two MCs were both highly likeable and interesting people, and I enjoyed being in their heads.
The side characters were all very lively and distinct, and the entire atmosphere of the Grand Palace was inviting and cosy.
The book was also HILARIOUS at some places. Circumstantial humour, mostly, but I definitely laughed out loud more than once. We’re not talking Tessa Dare level humour—it’s not as light hearted and rom-com-esque—but despite the dark trauma both the MCs have faced, it feels pretty light and fun.
In terms of sexy times, I was very shocked to find there was only ONE sex scene toward the end of the book. ONE. Idk what the norm is for this author, but I was expecting many more. They kissed maybe three times total on page, and there was not any physical sexual build-up to speak of. (Like no hand holding or errant touches or deep make-out stuff leading up to the sex.)
If someone can tell me if this is normal for this author I’d appreciate it. I don’t mind either way, because the physical connection was still there throughout, but I was just expecting a lot more sex.
Anyway, basically, if you’re looking for a low stress, cosy, comforting read, I’d highly recommend this. I’ll probably only come back to it for the fun vibes and hilarity of the Grand Palace setting, but if you’re usually more into rom-coms but are open to something a bit more serious, this is perfect for you.
submitted by wyanmai to HistoricalRomance [link] [comments]
I gave it a 4/5 stars on my Goodreads, but it’s really more a 3.5. It’s the first Julie Anne Long book I’ve ever finished. I’ve previously tried a couple of her Pennyroyal Greene books, but couldn’t get into them, so the premise really gripped me to me to give her another try.
I’m not sure I’ll really get into her backlist, but the series this one is in—the Palace of Rogues—is a fun concept with a unique set of circumstances and side characters, so I might read some others in the series.
The premise is that Christian Hawk, former spy who’s just been released from a French prison and is now penniless, has been hired by the Earl of Brundage to find his missing fiancé, Aurelie Capet.
Aurelie has escaped Paris and her engagement and found her way to the Grand Palace on the Thames, a cozy boarding house, to secure passage to life with her brother in Boston.
Christian finds out her location, but through romance shenanigans, he shows up at the door of the Grand Palace with a knife wound. Aurelie insists on taking care of him—she doesn’t want him to be alone whether he lives or dies 🥺🥺—and they are instantly attracted to each other, physically and personality-wise.
It soon becomes apparent to us and to Hawkes that Brundage is a no good horrible phlegmwad of a human, and that Aurelie escaped him because he did horrible things to her.
Hawkes decides pretty early on that he has zero intention of giving Aurelie back to Brundage, but he holds off on coming clean to her, and eventually she finds out through other means, triggering her to run away.
(Rest assured though, that this “secret” isn’t the major drive of conflict between the two, at least not in the “you lied and now I hate you” sort of way.)
In fact, there’s basically zero conflict between the two MCs, so if you’re into that kind of romance—which I am—this will be great.
Overall, I had a good time reading this book, but I came away feeling generally underwhelmed by it.
Both the plot and the romance had a lot of potential to be very exciting and tension-filled, but the actual story didn’t deliver that to the fullest, or even close. There were a lot of high stakes in the plot on paper, but I didn’t feel those high stakes in the execution.
The romance also has a lot of high emotional stakes for the characters, and they did have chemistry, but somehow, it didn’t translate into the fast and deep emotional bond I was hoping for.
It wasn’t dull by any means, but everything just felt kind of fluffy and calm, and that’s not what I was expecting from a book with characters experiencing a boatload of past trauma.
I also had an issue with the pacing. At the beginning, there was a lot of time dedicated to the side characters in the Grand Palace, with POVs from the FMCs of previous books in the series.
This dragged on so long that the two MCs hadn’t event met until chapter 9 or something, and that I am not a fan of. If the side characters weren’t as charming as they were, I’d have dnf’d long ago. As it stands, I still feel like the book wasted some of my time.
(I generally like the two MCs to meet in the very first scene or as close to it as possible.)
More on pacing—the entire book felt a bit strange on that front. I couldn’t really put my finger on the character arcs of the MCs, and overall the plot progression felt kind of messy. The climax wasn’t really high stakes enough to feel like a climax, and overall, I didn’t feel there was any uncertainty about what would happen. No real surprises, and no hard decisions for the characters. Again, the stakes to everything just felt too low.
But overall, the romance was very sweet, and at times the MMC said some pretty swoon-worthy things🥲. The two MCs were both highly likeable and interesting people, and I enjoyed being in their heads.
The side characters were all very lively and distinct, and the entire atmosphere of the Grand Palace was inviting and cosy.
The book was also HILARIOUS at some places. Circumstantial humour, mostly, but I definitely laughed out loud more than once. We’re not talking Tessa Dare level humour—it’s not as light hearted and rom-com-esque—but despite the dark trauma both the MCs have faced, it feels pretty light and fun.
In terms of sexy times, I was very shocked to find there was only ONE sex scene toward the end of the book. ONE. Idk what the norm is for this author, but I was expecting many more. They kissed maybe three times total on page, and there was not any physical sexual build-up to speak of. (Like no hand holding or errant touches or deep make-out stuff leading up to the sex.)
If someone can tell me if this is normal for this author I’d appreciate it. I don’t mind either way, because the physical connection was still there throughout, but I was just expecting a lot more sex.
Anyway, basically, if you’re looking for a low stress, cosy, comforting read, I’d highly recommend this. I’ll probably only come back to it for the fun vibes and hilarity of the Grand Palace setting, but if you’re usually more into rom-coms but are open to something a bit more serious, this is perfect for you.
2023.06.02 13:48 _Anonymous_one Your favourite Past Corrie Character or Pet (2000s and 2010s)- Top 15 scores of Round 3!
With round 3 finished in a few hours (you can still vote on heat 6 til 3!) and the Semi finals kicking off at 3, it’s time for a new leaderboard, the Round 3 leaderboard! Let’s see how much things have changed since Round 2!
First of all, here’s a link to the Round 2 leaderboard, the top 20!
https://www.reddit.com/coronationstreet/comments/13nr5v9/your_favourite_past_corrie_character_or_pet_2000s/
And here’s the Round 1 one, the top 25!
https://www.reddit.com/coronationstreet/comments/130js57/your_favourite_past_corrie_character_or_pet_2000s/
Now for a look at Round 3!
1st- Deirdre Barlow- at least 110 points in heat 6 (1st in heat)- UP 5
2nd- Mike Baldwin- at least 73 points in heat 6 (2nd in heat)- RE ENTRY
3rd- Liz McDonald- 72 points in heat 2 (1st in heat)- UP 2
4th- Eva Price- 71 points in heat 3 (1st in heat)- UP 3
5th- Becky GrangeMcDonald- 71 points in heat 4 (1st in heat)- DOWN 3
6th- Rosie Webster- 70 points in heat 2 (2nd in heat)- RE ENTRY
7th- Karen Phillips/McDonald- 66 points in heat 1 (1st in heat)- UP 7
8th- Blanche Hunt- 66 points in heat 5 (1st in heat)- DOWN 8
9th- Fred Elliott- 58 points in heat 2 (3rd in heat)- DOWN 2
10th- Jason Grimshaw- 57 points in heat 1 (2nd in heat)- UP 2
11th- Hayley Cropper- 57 points in heat 5 (2nd in heat)- DOWN 10
12th- Schmeichel the Great Dane- 55 points in heat 1 (3rd in heat)- RE ENTRY
13th- Martin Platt- 55 points in heat 3 (2nd in heat)- NEW ENTRY
14th- Kylie TurnePlatt- at least 51 points in heat 6 (3rd in heat)- DOWN 8
15th- Lloyd Mullaney- 44 points in heat 4 (2nd in heat)- DOWN 6
Congratulations to Deirdre, who has got the biggest score of Round 3 so sits on top of the new Round 3 leaderboard, replacing mum Blanche just one round later! She’s the only contender this round to finish with more than 73 points and cracked more than 100 too. Watch out Blanche! D is our 3rd leaderboard winner in 3 rounds! Can Deirdre keep this up in the Semi finals? We’ll find out after they’ve dropped!
How are the current top 15 looking after Round 3?
First of all, 11 of these names have all stayed on the leaderboard since Round 2, returning for Round 3! They are: Deirdre, Liz, Eva, Becky, Karen, Blanche, Fred, Jason, Hayley, Kylie, and Lloyd!
Karen and Fred only finally came into their own in Round 2, but Deirdre, Liz, Eva, Becky, Blanche, Jason, Hayley, Kylie, and Lloyd have never ever fell off any leaderboards yet so as we head into the Semis, you should keep a eye on these 9, who stand a really good chance of making the Final, but especially Liz, Eva, and Jason, these 3 have just got better and better since Round 1, despite scores worsening for them all in Round 3, they haven’t ever dropped down the board!
Interestingly enough, we also have some returning names on the leaderboard this round which hasn’t happened yet! Rosie Webster, Schmeichel the Great Dane, and Mike Baldwin have all gone back on the leaderboard. All 3 of them were able to reach the Round 1 leaderboard, in 3rd, 16th, and 12th respectively, but in Round 2 they failed to rejoin. Now with the Semi finals just hours away from kick off, their timing couldn’t have been better, as all 3 are back on the leaderboard in Round 3, and they mean business! Mike has done the best though, he’s peaked at runner up!
We’ve also got a new entry, as Martin Platt has entered the leaderboard for the first time at number 13. But how long can he stay there? Can he make the final leaderboard of the game too? Find out after the Semi finals!
Exits from leaderboard since Round 2
Gone from the leaderboard since Round 2 are Curly Watts, Bethany Platt, Graeme Proctor, Ashley Peacock, Eccles the Border Terrier, and Les Battersby, who were all eliminated in Round 3! Cerberus, Shelley, and Tina have also been booted out of the leaderboard, the first time this has ever happened for Cerberus and Tina, despite them all going through to the Semis
The benchmark score to beat has changed again since Round 2, back in Round 2 to reach the top 20 you would need at least 56 points. This round it is 44!
Now let’s see whose performance or score has improved or worsened the most in Round 3!
Biggest climber- Karen Phillips/McDonald- up 7
Biggest faller- Hayley Cropper- down 10
After winning two heats back to back, and remaining on the leaderboard one Round later, Karen is continuing to improve since Round 2, where she entered the leaderboard for the first time ever! She has ended the round a peak position of 7, 7 places higher than her original ranking of number 13 back in Round 2. At 13, back in Round 2 Karen was close to leaving the leaderboard. But she’s pulled it back this round, as despite her winning score being lower than her first winning score, she has managed to beat 8 other names with less points, explaining her climb
Also on the rise at the end of Round 3 is Deirdre, who moves up the leaderboard 5 places, all the way to the top of the board for the first time ever, after knocking off her mum Blanche. Deirdre also remains with a perfect game, having won all 3 of her heats so far!
Eva continues to rise too, peaking at fourth now after a 3 step climb and yet another victory under her belt. Liz has risen 2 places too, to 3rd, also with another win, while Jason has got 2 jumps despite still not winning a heat yet. With the Semi final just round the corner, these rises have put Karen, Deirdre, Eva, Liz, and Jason in good stead to potentially make the final, especially since the last two leaderboard winners have dropped! We’ll get to that in a sec
Yep, on the fallers front, past leaderboard toppers Blanche and Hayley have both dropped down each! This is a major shock to me, Hayley topped the Round 1 leaderboard by a landslide, while Blanche was at the top of the Round 2 leaderboard, with Hayley just below her. I thought these two were shoe ins for top 2 of the whole game. Now I’m not so sure anymore. Hayley is the biggest faller of the round, dropping 10 places. And with the first Semi final coming today, things don’t bode well for these two legends at all atm. Round 3 saw Hayley lose her first ever heat, while Blanche won her third consecutive heat, but her winning score is really underwhelming compared to some other heat winners, which is not good. This is really not the time for falling!
Kylie has also fallen down the board yet again, after peaking at 4 in Round 1 she’s been going downhill ever since, but this is her biggest drop yet, she’s down 8! Her timing couldn’t have been worse. Big sister Becky is down 3 from Round 2, while Fred has dropped 2 too
And let’s not forget about Lloyd, he’s down 6 after peaking at number 16. Lloyd is yet another one who needs to get his finger out if he is wanting to make the Final, cos it’s not looking good for him at all!
Perfect Gamers
3 rounds later, we’ve now only got just 4 names on here. And they are:
Liz McDonald
Eva Price
Blanche Hunt
Deirdre Barlow
These 4 ladies are the 4 strongest players of the whole game, and as well as all being women, they all have something else in common too- all of them have won all heats they’ve had so far. Who can stay a perfect gamer after the Semi finals? Can any of them reach the Final?
Hope you enjoyed reading the newest leaderboard and seeing how much things have changed in round 3. If there’s anything at all you want to say, feel free to comment! We love hearing from you!
That’s us done now til 3, when I’ll be back with the first Semi! If I can’t post it, my fiancé u/Swimming_Yoshi will!
submitted by _Anonymous_one to coronationstreet [link] [comments]
First of all, here’s a link to the Round 2 leaderboard, the top 20!
https://www.reddit.com/coronationstreet/comments/13nr5v9/your_favourite_past_corrie_character_or_pet_2000s/
And here’s the Round 1 one, the top 25!
https://www.reddit.com/coronationstreet/comments/130js57/your_favourite_past_corrie_character_or_pet_2000s/
Now for a look at Round 3!
1st- Deirdre Barlow- at least 110 points in heat 6 (1st in heat)- UP 5
2nd- Mike Baldwin- at least 73 points in heat 6 (2nd in heat)- RE ENTRY
3rd- Liz McDonald- 72 points in heat 2 (1st in heat)- UP 2
4th- Eva Price- 71 points in heat 3 (1st in heat)- UP 3
5th- Becky GrangeMcDonald- 71 points in heat 4 (1st in heat)- DOWN 3
6th- Rosie Webster- 70 points in heat 2 (2nd in heat)- RE ENTRY
7th- Karen Phillips/McDonald- 66 points in heat 1 (1st in heat)- UP 7
8th- Blanche Hunt- 66 points in heat 5 (1st in heat)- DOWN 8
9th- Fred Elliott- 58 points in heat 2 (3rd in heat)- DOWN 2
10th- Jason Grimshaw- 57 points in heat 1 (2nd in heat)- UP 2
11th- Hayley Cropper- 57 points in heat 5 (2nd in heat)- DOWN 10
12th- Schmeichel the Great Dane- 55 points in heat 1 (3rd in heat)- RE ENTRY
13th- Martin Platt- 55 points in heat 3 (2nd in heat)- NEW ENTRY
14th- Kylie TurnePlatt- at least 51 points in heat 6 (3rd in heat)- DOWN 8
15th- Lloyd Mullaney- 44 points in heat 4 (2nd in heat)- DOWN 6
Congratulations to Deirdre, who has got the biggest score of Round 3 so sits on top of the new Round 3 leaderboard, replacing mum Blanche just one round later! She’s the only contender this round to finish with more than 73 points and cracked more than 100 too. Watch out Blanche! D is our 3rd leaderboard winner in 3 rounds! Can Deirdre keep this up in the Semi finals? We’ll find out after they’ve dropped!
How are the current top 15 looking after Round 3?
First of all, 11 of these names have all stayed on the leaderboard since Round 2, returning for Round 3! They are: Deirdre, Liz, Eva, Becky, Karen, Blanche, Fred, Jason, Hayley, Kylie, and Lloyd!
Karen and Fred only finally came into their own in Round 2, but Deirdre, Liz, Eva, Becky, Blanche, Jason, Hayley, Kylie, and Lloyd have never ever fell off any leaderboards yet so as we head into the Semis, you should keep a eye on these 9, who stand a really good chance of making the Final, but especially Liz, Eva, and Jason, these 3 have just got better and better since Round 1, despite scores worsening for them all in Round 3, they haven’t ever dropped down the board!
Interestingly enough, we also have some returning names on the leaderboard this round which hasn’t happened yet! Rosie Webster, Schmeichel the Great Dane, and Mike Baldwin have all gone back on the leaderboard. All 3 of them were able to reach the Round 1 leaderboard, in 3rd, 16th, and 12th respectively, but in Round 2 they failed to rejoin. Now with the Semi finals just hours away from kick off, their timing couldn’t have been better, as all 3 are back on the leaderboard in Round 3, and they mean business! Mike has done the best though, he’s peaked at runner up!
We’ve also got a new entry, as Martin Platt has entered the leaderboard for the first time at number 13. But how long can he stay there? Can he make the final leaderboard of the game too? Find out after the Semi finals!
Exits from leaderboard since Round 2
Gone from the leaderboard since Round 2 are Curly Watts, Bethany Platt, Graeme Proctor, Ashley Peacock, Eccles the Border Terrier, and Les Battersby, who were all eliminated in Round 3! Cerberus, Shelley, and Tina have also been booted out of the leaderboard, the first time this has ever happened for Cerberus and Tina, despite them all going through to the Semis
The benchmark score to beat has changed again since Round 2, back in Round 2 to reach the top 20 you would need at least 56 points. This round it is 44!
Now let’s see whose performance or score has improved or worsened the most in Round 3!
Biggest climber- Karen Phillips/McDonald- up 7
Biggest faller- Hayley Cropper- down 10
After winning two heats back to back, and remaining on the leaderboard one Round later, Karen is continuing to improve since Round 2, where she entered the leaderboard for the first time ever! She has ended the round a peak position of 7, 7 places higher than her original ranking of number 13 back in Round 2. At 13, back in Round 2 Karen was close to leaving the leaderboard. But she’s pulled it back this round, as despite her winning score being lower than her first winning score, she has managed to beat 8 other names with less points, explaining her climb
Also on the rise at the end of Round 3 is Deirdre, who moves up the leaderboard 5 places, all the way to the top of the board for the first time ever, after knocking off her mum Blanche. Deirdre also remains with a perfect game, having won all 3 of her heats so far!
Eva continues to rise too, peaking at fourth now after a 3 step climb and yet another victory under her belt. Liz has risen 2 places too, to 3rd, also with another win, while Jason has got 2 jumps despite still not winning a heat yet. With the Semi final just round the corner, these rises have put Karen, Deirdre, Eva, Liz, and Jason in good stead to potentially make the final, especially since the last two leaderboard winners have dropped! We’ll get to that in a sec
Yep, on the fallers front, past leaderboard toppers Blanche and Hayley have both dropped down each! This is a major shock to me, Hayley topped the Round 1 leaderboard by a landslide, while Blanche was at the top of the Round 2 leaderboard, with Hayley just below her. I thought these two were shoe ins for top 2 of the whole game. Now I’m not so sure anymore. Hayley is the biggest faller of the round, dropping 10 places. And with the first Semi final coming today, things don’t bode well for these two legends at all atm. Round 3 saw Hayley lose her first ever heat, while Blanche won her third consecutive heat, but her winning score is really underwhelming compared to some other heat winners, which is not good. This is really not the time for falling!
Kylie has also fallen down the board yet again, after peaking at 4 in Round 1 she’s been going downhill ever since, but this is her biggest drop yet, she’s down 8! Her timing couldn’t have been worse. Big sister Becky is down 3 from Round 2, while Fred has dropped 2 too
And let’s not forget about Lloyd, he’s down 6 after peaking at number 16. Lloyd is yet another one who needs to get his finger out if he is wanting to make the Final, cos it’s not looking good for him at all!
Perfect Gamers
3 rounds later, we’ve now only got just 4 names on here. And they are:
Liz McDonald
Eva Price
Blanche Hunt
Deirdre Barlow
These 4 ladies are the 4 strongest players of the whole game, and as well as all being women, they all have something else in common too- all of them have won all heats they’ve had so far. Who can stay a perfect gamer after the Semi finals? Can any of them reach the Final?
Hope you enjoyed reading the newest leaderboard and seeing how much things have changed in round 3. If there’s anything at all you want to say, feel free to comment! We love hearing from you!
That’s us done now til 3, when I’ll be back with the first Semi! If I can’t post it, my fiancé u/Swimming_Yoshi will!
2023.06.02 13:47 destansen I am confused guys...
Me M/22 years old she F/20 Hello guys first I want to apologize for this long text, also English is not my native language but I have something on my heart that bothers me a lot and I need answers...
I started texting occasionally (for 1 month) with this girl who I met on a dating app, first none of us took it seriously we sometimes answered to texts a few days later.... After a while we started texting more frequently and I asked her if she wanted to meet on the weekend, she told me she had already something planned (which was not sure) and that she will text me in the following days to tell me if she had time. A few days later she told me that she had time on afternoon, so we made plans and she told me if it started raining we could go to her flat (she lives alone) She said that she had no bad intentions she just did not want Rain to ruin our first date because I have an hour to drive there.
So I drove there on Saturday(without any expectations), I came 15 minutes late because of traffic, she was already in front of the door waiting for me. My heart immediately skipped a beat because she was very beautiful and I never had somebody keep so much eye contact (usually iam the one with very long eye contact) so we started walking had a very good chat and after one or two hours it started raining lightly so we got back to her flat, where we had very very deep talk, later we played some Mario kart on her bed. At this point I was very nervous because we were laying next to each other and having a lot of eye contact. After a while we stopped playing and she showed me her books at this point I have had build up the courage to finally kiss her. As already said I was extremely nervous because she was very attractive and I had never kissed a girl on the first date. So we made out for a while but I was actually way to nervous to bring a satisfying perfomance:)
But nonetheless we still cudled, during the cudling we also had a very good conversation before her girlfriend came to pick her up. She came a bit early which surprised us both why I had to leave earlier. While driving back i had extremely mixed feelings, she absolutely took away my breath but at the same time I felt very very uneasy about her (a bad stomach feeling) While I was driving home she apologized to me per whatsapp for the abrupt ending etc. She wanted to meet again the next day which kinda surprised me, during our date we alked about a big amusement in the region where we live. I had never gone there because I have a fear of heights but she was absolutely obsessed with it and she suggested we go there so we made plans. To cut it short I got sick in the evening and we couldn't go. On Sunday evening she texted me that she really enjoyed the time with me and that I was very cute but my shy and insecure type is something she is not into,which I understand so I explained her that iam not like that usually so she agreed to meet again
The weeknd was over and she asked on which weekdays I had time to meet? I told her I get off work earlier on Monday, she suggested we met at her flat and that she cooks for us both. She told me beforehand that she did not want to get intimate yet which was okey for me because I need time for that as well. So we met on Monday and drank a bit of wine and had very good deep talk again, she told me that she lost her virginity at 16 to her boyfriend who rpd her and that she also got into therapy because of that. She also told me that she left her boyfriend 6 months ago because he was toxic and she was also very depressed afterwards. She asked me if I wanted to cuddle a bit, so we cudled and made out again, this time I was very sure of myself and she really enjoyed is as well, she gave compliments to my smell and my looks. She also got a bit touchy even tho she did not want to get intimate.
We ate something during which she asked me about my bad character traits and if i have ever got loud towards my mother, I answered (very honestly) that iam jealous and don't forgive easily and that I have also gotten loud with my mother. Afterwards we lay into bed again, she brought up the topic of what's gonna become of us? I answered her that I could imagine a serious relationship and that my main goal is always marriage (I knew she was very into career which is why I said it) she told me that she also could imagine a relationship with me as well, so we talked about marriage and family plans for a very long time, she asked me if I wanted to spend the night at her place what I rejected because I had work next morning and I did not want to drive for an hour in the morning.
I have to mention that she was always extremely kind and gave extreme amount of compliments which was very unusual for me
The next days we only texted and we also had no plans for meeting because she would spend the weekend at her parents place and would go to a party there. On Tuesday evening she texted me that she was unsure about a relationship because I had the same traits why she left her ex. I immediately answered and asked her which traits she meant and if she wanted to talk on the telephone about it, which she didn't answer that night. That was an common theme with her, she always answered late, even if I answered directly to her texts. She sometimes answered hours later without any excuse which I always found weird.
During this time I had trouble eating and sleeping because I was very obviously falling in love (my first time) she was always on my mind and also I had an very uneasy stomach.
We texted the next day and agreed to talk on the telephone but somehow she only found time around midnight even tho that topic bothered me a lot. I answered all her questions and assured her I would never get violent with her etc. But i was also very unsure about a relationship already, on Monday evening while we were cudling and having the conversation about a potential relationship I asked her if she talked with other people on the dating app, which she answered with yes, I asked her If one of the dudes on the app asked her for a date if she would meet with them and she also answered yes to that and reasoned that she is still single, which I found very weird and upsetting because we were just talking about a serious relationship? So I asked her about that on the telephone call and she told me that she likes having a backup in case things don't work out because that makes her feel better or something?
She actually deleted her dating app a few days later and told me that, that also made me very happy. The next days we texted normally and also made plans to meet on the next Monday which she claimed she was looking forward to. She canceled this meeting because she stayed with her parents a day longer to meet her grandmother. She already told me that her family has a lot of drama.... and apparently the meeting with her grandmother was extremely bad She wanted to meet and asked me on which days I had time, I told her that I could spend the night on Wednesday at her place or we could meet at Saturday. She told me that it would be better if I don't spend the night at her place yet because she doesn't know if she can control herself because she feels that secure and well next to me, even to she offered it the week before? On the same day she also texted me that she can't imagine herself in a relationship currently.
We agreed meeting on Saturday but the next day out of the blue she asked if I could spend the night at her place on Wednesday which made me jump out of bed in joy. So i agreed but the next day she sent me an voice message on what's app where she sounded like she was crying, she explained me that she felt very uneasy because of what happened with her grandmother (some drama she didn't want elobarte further on) and that she just want to stay in bed and stuff and that I couldn't spend the night at her place and apologized, I offered her to talk on the telephone to help her but she did not wanna bother me with her family drama?
The same night I get a call from her and we talked a bit, it was an extremely good conversation she was very sweet and we got along very well, also we made plans week for the weekend. She told me that she couldn't wait to see me...
On Thursday I was on a business trip where we also texted and we got well along very well, but since meeting her the first time I had this uneasy feeling that destroyed me from inside and especially on this day I kinda knew that things were coming towards an end. At 8 p.m I got a 2 minute long voice message and I already knew what was about to come. In the message she talked about what a good guy iam and how much she enjoyed the time with me but that she can't meet somebody which could lead to an relationship because she has commitment issues? She also apologized for breaking contact on whatsapp because apparently I don't deserve it I sent her an answer in which I explained that I also wanted to finish this the next time we met but I wanted to do it personally etc.
We talked it out and finished it like two grownups, the last thing she said that the world is small and maybe well meet again one day. We broke up in good terms.
The next days were weird for me, I thought about her all day and was empty inside. We had no contact at all expect that she liked my instagram story.
5 days later before going to sleep i saw that she followed new guys on Instagram(she only followed like 4 guys one of which was me before) which made me extremely jealous and i blocked her everywhere. The next day I got curious and decided to confront her(In a very humane way) if our relation meant her something which she answered with: yes otherwise I wouldnt treat you like that So I asked her why she already started following other guys on Instagram. She replied that these are only friends of her girlfriend and she already deleted them, and when I checked she really had deleted them, I apologized and she said that there is nothing to apologize. We talked about the last few days and she told me that she thought about me a lot...
Next Day she texted that it's not a good idea that I follow her on Instagram, I told her that I did not want to remove her from my life completely. She answered that she understands but doesn't want any contact at this moment I replied that I will respect that, she replied with a heart and blocked me everywhere When I checked with an fake acc her insta was deactivated. It has been deactivated for almost 3 weeks after last conversation
Guys sry for this long ass text and thank you for your patience. Writing this down helped me a lot, what is your opinion on what happened? I think she is not over her Ex-bf yet and just used me to waste her time and when it got serious she got cold feet...
What I forgot to mention, she has daddy-issues which she told me herself, because she didn't have a good relationship with him at all. Also she told me she likes do being degraded and used during sex?
submitted by destansen to dating_advice [link] [comments]
I started texting occasionally (for 1 month) with this girl who I met on a dating app, first none of us took it seriously we sometimes answered to texts a few days later.... After a while we started texting more frequently and I asked her if she wanted to meet on the weekend, she told me she had already something planned (which was not sure) and that she will text me in the following days to tell me if she had time. A few days later she told me that she had time on afternoon, so we made plans and she told me if it started raining we could go to her flat (she lives alone) She said that she had no bad intentions she just did not want Rain to ruin our first date because I have an hour to drive there.
So I drove there on Saturday(without any expectations), I came 15 minutes late because of traffic, she was already in front of the door waiting for me. My heart immediately skipped a beat because she was very beautiful and I never had somebody keep so much eye contact (usually iam the one with very long eye contact) so we started walking had a very good chat and after one or two hours it started raining lightly so we got back to her flat, where we had very very deep talk, later we played some Mario kart on her bed. At this point I was very nervous because we were laying next to each other and having a lot of eye contact. After a while we stopped playing and she showed me her books at this point I have had build up the courage to finally kiss her. As already said I was extremely nervous because she was very attractive and I had never kissed a girl on the first date. So we made out for a while but I was actually way to nervous to bring a satisfying perfomance:)
But nonetheless we still cudled, during the cudling we also had a very good conversation before her girlfriend came to pick her up. She came a bit early which surprised us both why I had to leave earlier. While driving back i had extremely mixed feelings, she absolutely took away my breath but at the same time I felt very very uneasy about her (a bad stomach feeling) While I was driving home she apologized to me per whatsapp for the abrupt ending etc. She wanted to meet again the next day which kinda surprised me, during our date we alked about a big amusement in the region where we live. I had never gone there because I have a fear of heights but she was absolutely obsessed with it and she suggested we go there so we made plans. To cut it short I got sick in the evening and we couldn't go. On Sunday evening she texted me that she really enjoyed the time with me and that I was very cute but my shy and insecure type is something she is not into,which I understand so I explained her that iam not like that usually so she agreed to meet again
The weeknd was over and she asked on which weekdays I had time to meet? I told her I get off work earlier on Monday, she suggested we met at her flat and that she cooks for us both. She told me beforehand that she did not want to get intimate yet which was okey for me because I need time for that as well. So we met on Monday and drank a bit of wine and had very good deep talk again, she told me that she lost her virginity at 16 to her boyfriend who rpd her and that she also got into therapy because of that. She also told me that she left her boyfriend 6 months ago because he was toxic and she was also very depressed afterwards. She asked me if I wanted to cuddle a bit, so we cudled and made out again, this time I was very sure of myself and she really enjoyed is as well, she gave compliments to my smell and my looks. She also got a bit touchy even tho she did not want to get intimate.
We ate something during which she asked me about my bad character traits and if i have ever got loud towards my mother, I answered (very honestly) that iam jealous and don't forgive easily and that I have also gotten loud with my mother. Afterwards we lay into bed again, she brought up the topic of what's gonna become of us? I answered her that I could imagine a serious relationship and that my main goal is always marriage (I knew she was very into career which is why I said it) she told me that she also could imagine a relationship with me as well, so we talked about marriage and family plans for a very long time, she asked me if I wanted to spend the night at her place what I rejected because I had work next morning and I did not want to drive for an hour in the morning.
I have to mention that she was always extremely kind and gave extreme amount of compliments which was very unusual for me
The next days we only texted and we also had no plans for meeting because she would spend the weekend at her parents place and would go to a party there. On Tuesday evening she texted me that she was unsure about a relationship because I had the same traits why she left her ex. I immediately answered and asked her which traits she meant and if she wanted to talk on the telephone about it, which she didn't answer that night. That was an common theme with her, she always answered late, even if I answered directly to her texts. She sometimes answered hours later without any excuse which I always found weird.
During this time I had trouble eating and sleeping because I was very obviously falling in love (my first time) she was always on my mind and also I had an very uneasy stomach.
We texted the next day and agreed to talk on the telephone but somehow she only found time around midnight even tho that topic bothered me a lot. I answered all her questions and assured her I would never get violent with her etc. But i was also very unsure about a relationship already, on Monday evening while we were cudling and having the conversation about a potential relationship I asked her if she talked with other people on the dating app, which she answered with yes, I asked her If one of the dudes on the app asked her for a date if she would meet with them and she also answered yes to that and reasoned that she is still single, which I found very weird and upsetting because we were just talking about a serious relationship? So I asked her about that on the telephone call and she told me that she likes having a backup in case things don't work out because that makes her feel better or something?
She actually deleted her dating app a few days later and told me that, that also made me very happy. The next days we texted normally and also made plans to meet on the next Monday which she claimed she was looking forward to. She canceled this meeting because she stayed with her parents a day longer to meet her grandmother. She already told me that her family has a lot of drama.... and apparently the meeting with her grandmother was extremely bad She wanted to meet and asked me on which days I had time, I told her that I could spend the night on Wednesday at her place or we could meet at Saturday. She told me that it would be better if I don't spend the night at her place yet because she doesn't know if she can control herself because she feels that secure and well next to me, even to she offered it the week before? On the same day she also texted me that she can't imagine herself in a relationship currently.
We agreed meeting on Saturday but the next day out of the blue she asked if I could spend the night at her place on Wednesday which made me jump out of bed in joy. So i agreed but the next day she sent me an voice message on what's app where she sounded like she was crying, she explained me that she felt very uneasy because of what happened with her grandmother (some drama she didn't want elobarte further on) and that she just want to stay in bed and stuff and that I couldn't spend the night at her place and apologized, I offered her to talk on the telephone to help her but she did not wanna bother me with her family drama?
The same night I get a call from her and we talked a bit, it was an extremely good conversation she was very sweet and we got along very well, also we made plans week for the weekend. She told me that she couldn't wait to see me...
On Thursday I was on a business trip where we also texted and we got well along very well, but since meeting her the first time I had this uneasy feeling that destroyed me from inside and especially on this day I kinda knew that things were coming towards an end. At 8 p.m I got a 2 minute long voice message and I already knew what was about to come. In the message she talked about what a good guy iam and how much she enjoyed the time with me but that she can't meet somebody which could lead to an relationship because she has commitment issues? She also apologized for breaking contact on whatsapp because apparently I don't deserve it I sent her an answer in which I explained that I also wanted to finish this the next time we met but I wanted to do it personally etc.
We talked it out and finished it like two grownups, the last thing she said that the world is small and maybe well meet again one day. We broke up in good terms.
The next days were weird for me, I thought about her all day and was empty inside. We had no contact at all expect that she liked my instagram story.
5 days later before going to sleep i saw that she followed new guys on Instagram(she only followed like 4 guys one of which was me before) which made me extremely jealous and i blocked her everywhere. The next day I got curious and decided to confront her(In a very humane way) if our relation meant her something which she answered with: yes otherwise I wouldnt treat you like that So I asked her why she already started following other guys on Instagram. She replied that these are only friends of her girlfriend and she already deleted them, and when I checked she really had deleted them, I apologized and she said that there is nothing to apologize. We talked about the last few days and she told me that she thought about me a lot...
Next Day she texted that it's not a good idea that I follow her on Instagram, I told her that I did not want to remove her from my life completely. She answered that she understands but doesn't want any contact at this moment I replied that I will respect that, she replied with a heart and blocked me everywhere When I checked with an fake acc her insta was deactivated. It has been deactivated for almost 3 weeks after last conversation
Guys sry for this long ass text and thank you for your patience. Writing this down helped me a lot, what is your opinion on what happened? I think she is not over her Ex-bf yet and just used me to waste her time and when it got serious she got cold feet...
What I forgot to mention, she has daddy-issues which she told me herself, because she didn't have a good relationship with him at all. Also she told me she likes do being degraded and used during sex?
2023.06.02 13:46 Holiday-Carry-9654 Big Altima energy VS cops ends in drunk get togethers front yard
 | submitted by Holiday-Carry-9654 to NissanDrivers [link] [comments] |
2023.06.02 13:46 maximusaemilius Empyrean Iris: 2-13: Size Six (by Charlie Star)
FYI, this is a story COLLECTION. Lots of standalones technically. So, you can basically start to read at any chapter, no pre-read of the other chapters needed technically (other than maybe getting better descriptions of characters than: Adam Vir=human, Krill=antlike alien, Sunny=tall alien, Conn=telepathic alien). The numbers are (mostly) only for organization of posts and continuity.
OC Written by Charlie Stastarrfallknightrise,
Typed up and then posted here by me.
Proofreading and language check for some chapters by u/Finbar9800
Future Lore and fact check done by me.
Okay this is weird. So, this story is a long time ago, like 6-7 years ago, but its also in the future for us…
German has a specific tense for this, but English has no tense for this…
So, I guess welcome to the close past of the far far future?
Previous First [Next](link)
Want to find a specific one, see the whole list or check fanart?
Here is the link to the master-post.
The bus bumped and jostled over the lumpy dirt road.
Inside bodies swayed and juggled back and forth, ramming into walls and steadying themselves against the antiquated seats before them. The bus was old, older than a large portion of dirt, old enough to have rubber tires, shitty suspension, and foam back seats, nothing like the sleek magno buses they used these days.
Clearly their program wasn't important enough to acquire a real transport vehicle.
Their ride from the airport had been nerve wracking to say the least, and only some of it had come from the imminent threat that the bus would disintegrate into its component parts, most of the rest of it had come from the slow building of nervous energy felt by all the young teens as they waited to begin their first day at training.
There were forty of them in all, though less than half of that was predicted to make it through the training and actually become pilots from the program at Trans Space Combative Aviation Academy. Of course, the Academy didn't have its own location, as new as it was and untested as it was, the burgeoning UNSC wasn't likely to spend a ton of funds on a group of untested children. So, they had been shipped onto Del Rio, Texas where the air force flight academy was located, and had been allocated space, some instructors, and a few classrooms to get started.
Adam had found the other recruits from the program nervously waiting outside with their duffel bags and clothing. None of them were over the age of fifteen, and they consisted almost equally of boys and girls.
Adam was displeased to find himself the shortest among the boys, and about mid pack among the girls, a good portion of them probably weighing a good ten pounds more than he did, though none of them were out of shape.
He tried to ignore that, doing his best to make friends with the other nervous recruits, determined not to be the loser this time. Just as long as he didn't show his weirdness to them straight off, maybe he was going to be fine.
It seemed to be working, at least until the bus pulled up, and the group of them stared on with shock and disappointment at the monstrosity before them.
A centuries old bus.
They sort of hoped it wasn't for them, but the ACU clad, army man stepping out of the door and onto the pavement dashed their hopes.
And soon they were on their way, jostling down the highway, eventually cutting through manned security gates, patrolled by armed guards, and finally onto the backroad that was taken around the airfield. Adam had his face pressed up against the window, watching as a set of jets took off, leaving trails of white behind them in the great blue sky above.
The implant in his arm buzzed, and he looked down to see a text from his mother asking if they had landed yet.
He had to apologize for forgetting and assured her that he was, indeed, landed and on his way.
The further they went onto the base, the more people they could see, large muscular men and women running in formation, wearing the same light grey T-shirts tucked into blue canvas shorts.
Voices roared past them as the men chanted in time with their cadence.
Low lying buildings pulled up on the horizon in front of them, crouched together in stumpy lines. Yelled commands wafted through open windows as more recruits rolled past kicking up dirt clouds as they went.
Adam grew nervous upon seeing them, big and adult.
He glanced down at himself and his baggy T-shirt, and jeans held up only by a belt, the cuffs folded up over his shoes.
They belonged to his brothers, but were still too big for him.
The bus rolled to a stop just then, jostling him forward so his face nearly rammed into the seat in front of him. A dust cloud billowed up around them obscuring his vision for a moment. At the front of the bus, the driver reached out and cranked the handle to the door, manually forcing it open.
"Wow, this thing is a real piece of shit."
Someone muttered, while boots thudded onto the stairs, and the entire bus went quiet as a man stepped onto the front of the bus. He was tall, and serious faced with thick eyebrows and what appeared to be a shaved head, though it was mostly covered by a wide brimmed dumbass hat in dark, clashing seriously with his patterned ACUs.
They all waited on the edge of their seats.
Adam shrunk down into his expecting to get yelled at.
That's what all the old army movies told him was going to happen.
Instead, however, the man smiled.
Adam didn't buy it for one second.
"Welcome recruits to the first TSCA Academy class of 4013. I am Master Sergeant Kimball, and I will be one of your MTI (military training instructor) during this program. If you need to address me at any time during this course, you will call me Sir or Master Sergeant Kimball. Now I understand that you may all be tired from your flight. We have recruits here from all across the world coming in right now, so hopefully, today will be easy and relaxing."
Adam eyed the group around him, watching as the others began to relax.
Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all?
Perhaps because they were kids, they had been given some leeway during the training process?
I mean, were they really going to yell at a group of kids barely out of their teenage years?
Surely, they wouldn’t…
"Alright everyone, Unload!"
There was a collective shuffling around the bus as the group of them took to their feet and began slowly shuffling towards the exit. Adam pulled his bag over his back, nearly tipping over backwards as the weight pulled his small frame off balance. Someone put a hand on his shoulder,
”Whoa."
He glanced over and thanked the girl who had helped him, hurrying off the bus and down the stairs into the hot as hell Texas heat.
Stepping off the bus he found Master Sergeant Kimball standing next to two other MTIs, who were smiling at them, though their smiles seemed more wolfish than reassuring.
My what big teeth you have, he thought idly to himself, stepping to the side so the others could walk through.
One boy came trudging down the steps last, lugging an absolutely massive suitcase as a few of the others flopped to the ground, resting against their bags, eyes closed, basking like lizards in the sun.
Sgt. Kimball stepped forward towards the last young man.
"Here let me help you."
The boy seemed rather grateful, handing his bag down to the MTI, taking some weight off his shoulders.
That was until Sgt. Kimball grabbed the zipper, opened the bag and dumped the entire contents of the suitcase into the dirt. He then got right up in the boy's face and shouted.
"NOW WHAT THE EVER LOVING FUCK DO YOU NEED A BAG LIKE THAT FOR!? CHRIST SON, I COULD USE IT TO SMUGGLE YOUR CORPSE OUT WHEN I'M DONE WITH YOU."
The entire group jolted with surprise, all of them bolting upwards.
Even Adam was startled, and he had been expecting it. The poor kid was scrambling around in the dirt trying to collect his things,
"GET YOUR ASS OFF THE GROUND YOU SORRY PIECE OF SHIT."
The two other MTIs bore down on them, their charming smiles revealed for what they really were.
Wolf in sheep's clothing, snarling ravening beasts.
More bags were dumped on the ground, turned over, emptied until the contents mingled with the dust on the ground. The female MTI leaped over, ripping Adam's bag off the ground and tossing its contents into the dust. She reached down, picked up a book and chucked it at him, hitting him in the chest as he stumbled back.
"YOU THINK YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TIME FOR READING!?”
She moved on to the next student.
One of the recruits had burst into tears, and the MTI's descended like vultures. One of them grabbed a water bottle from the ground and shoved it at the crying student.
"BETTER GET STARTED ON CRYING ME A RIVER!"
Adam was scrambling to pick up his stuff and shove it back in his bag.
"GET ON YOUR FEET!"
He bolted upright to find Sgt. Kimball in his face, or more looking down on him. His face was red and as he screamed, little droplets of spit flew from his tongue. He gave Adam one long look over.
"GOOD LORD BOY, I'VE TAKEN SHITS MORE SUBSTANTIAL THAN YOU!"
"GO ON CLEAN UP THIS SHIT, IT'S FILTHY! WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN DOING!? THEN GET YOUR ASSES DOWN TO INTAKE."
He scrambled to put his things in his bag, the MTI's shouting at him the entire time. He nearly tripped over himself multiple times, falling flat on his face in the dirt much to the amusement of the MTIs.
"LEAVE YOUR SHIT HERE!"
He tripped and wobbled, running after the others as they ran towards the building that had been pointed out to them by the screaming MTIs. A few of the other recruits were crying, but Adam, well he had sort of expected it, and honestly, he would have been disappointed if they hadn't. In fact, he found himself grinning from ear to ear as he walked into the equipment room behind a line of other recruits.
The equipment officer turned around from his desk to glare at them. He was a heavy-set man in his late forties with biceps as big around as tree trunks.
He looked them over with a frown before jabbing his finger at Adam.
"You there, smiley. Small or extra small?”
He blushed,
"Errr... Extra... Small?”
"At least he's honest."
The man grouted, turning around to rifle through his equipment, coming back with two pairs of everything in stock. He stacked it on the counter in front of him.
"Two PT uniforms, Two ACUs, two shirts, sweatpants, jacket, gloves, hat, and…"
He pulled up a set of tan combat boots then glanced him up and down.
"What is your shoe size?"
"Er..."
More blushing,
"Six."
The man grunted, ducked back behind the counter,
"We only carry eight plus in men’s, but a seven in women's should work."
He tried not to wilt at the reminder of how small he was.
The man turned away again and motioned him off. He clambered to pick up everything he needed and wobbled away, juggling the boots the pants and the jacket with some difficulty, dropping a glove on the floor and nearly dropping everything else when he went to pick it up.
Walking outside he was met by another MTI, who yelled at him to get his ass to the barracks to change and put all his shit away. He hurried to do as he was told, running and nearly dropping everything again as he made his way through the doors into a large room, lined along either side with beds, a single trunk at the base.
He ran to one of the beds at the far end, opened the crate and placed his things inside, struggling to pull on one of the PT uniforms as the others ran into the room to do the same, throwing their things in the lockers at the base of the beds, as the MTIs continued to scream at them.
It was only as he was running out of the room that he noticed the horrible terrible thing.
Oh no…
Please no…
The extra small pants...
They…
They were too big.
He tried looking for a drawstring to make them tighter, but they were canvas with an elastic waist, and they did not go any tighter. He turned in his spot, trying to figure out what to do, but as soon as he slowed down, another MTI was screaming at him to get back onto the field and line up.
So, he chickened out, holding onto his pants for dear life, as he raced back to the training ground.
Upon making it there he helped the other students line up into evenly spaced rows, thinking that the MTIs might be impressed with them if they were to do that.
They did their best to stand like they were supposed to, though all of the instruction they had ever gotten was from old war movies, and they were all doing it horribly wrong, a fact for which the MTIs noticed and yelled at them for with great glee as soon as they noticed. Of course, they were eventually whipped into shape, standing in line in straight rows, heels together hands at sides, shoulders back.
He could feel his pants slipping, though he was too embarrassed to say anything.
Sgt Kimball stepped out in front of them, hands behind his back.
"What did I say!? Didn't I say we were going to have a fun relaxing day!? Are you having fun!?"
He was right in one of the recruits face, now bellowing almost at the top of his lungs. He moved onto the next student.
"Aren’t you relaxed!?”
Adam didn't think the kid looked particularly relaxed. In fact, he looked so tense, that if he squeezed any harder his spine was going to go shooting out of his ass.
"Well!?”
There was silence on the grounds.
"WELL!?”
Adam scrambled his brain not entirely sure what to do before squeaking out.
"Yes sir."
The MTI leaned in.
"Why don't you try and communicate in normal ranges of human hearing, son. I am not a bat!"
He looked back up at the rest of the group.
"WELL!?"
"YES SIR."
"That's better."
He turned to stalk away from Adam, pacing up and down the line.
"I will be straight with you when I say that today IS going to be fun and relaxing compared to what you will be going through in the next few years. If you manage to make it into this program, I promise you we will destroy your social life, you will have time for nothing other than this program and sleeping, if I decide to allow you to sleep, that is."
Adam was grinning.
Unfortunately, that caught the Sgt's eye.
"THE FUCK ARE YOU SMILING AT!?”
He waited.
Adam just stood there.
"ANSWER THE QUESTION GODDAMMIT!"
"Yes sir, sorry sir! I thought it was a rhetorical question."
"HEAVENS ABOVE HAVE MERCY ON MY SOUL. I SAID ANSWER THE QUESTION!"
His mouth opened then closed,
"Er..."
"THE HELL KIND OF ANSWER IS THAT!"
"Um."
"Sweet Jehova did you come out this stupid or is it a family tradition, a side hobby?"
"I'm sorry sir, I forgot the question."
He lowered his head with an exaggerated sigh rubbing his temples,
"Forgot the question. FORGOT THE QUESTION!? I'VE MET GOLDFISH WITH BETTER MEMORIES THAN YOU! I SAID WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SMILING!?"
He blushed,
"Oh... Um."
"HURRY UP!!!”
"BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE A SOCIAL LIFE FOR YOU TO RUIN, SIR."
That seemed to take the man back, and he simply sat there, staring at Adam with a bemused expression.
*"If you were any more pathetic, smiley, I might just cry for you. Honest to god, if you get any more pathetic, I will cry real tears for your shame." *
He turned away.
"Now everyone get on the ground and give me FIFTY."
At least everyone seemed to know what that meant, though pathetically enough his arms were wobbling at twenty.
"JUMPING JUPITER RECRUIT, I DIDN'T EXPECT YOU TO MAKE ME CRY IN THE FIRST HALF HOUR. MY COUSIN COULD DO MORE PUSH-UPS THAN YOU AND HE'S GOT NO ARMS!"
The Sergeant seemed to have a lot of disabled relatives.
A blind granny, an armless cousin, a nephew with a pole up his ass from a tragic fishing accident.
By the time they were done, Adam was quite nearly ready to throw up.
"ALRIGHT FIFTY BURPIES GO,GO GO."
Oh no, anything but that!
He paused, but was almost immediately screamed at to get his ass in gear. He knew what was coming before it happened, but he couldn't stop it.
So he accepted his fate…
So long self worth!
As he jumped down into his first plank and then back up, he could feel the waist on his pants slipping, at first just a little, but then, as his feet left the ground there, they went right down around his ankles.
At first, he thought he was at least lucky to be in the back row, but then scrambling to pick his pants back up, he realized none of that was going to matter.
Sgt. Kimball was staring at him, cheek twitching.
He himself was blushing excessively.
He was quiet for a very long time before.
"CONTROL YOURSELF RECRUIT, THE LAST THING I NEED TO SEE IS YOUR CHICKEN LEG FLAT ASS KIDDIE JUNK ON MY TRAINING FIELD. Fuck, as small as you are I'll probably be indited for CP. Now go get some new fucking pants before you blind us all for a second time. And, since it seems you've never seen leg day, I want you to cluck like a chicken all the way there. Let everyone know the pantsless chicken boy is coming!”
He did as he was told, rose red the entire time and beat red on his way back, seeing as, they had given him the smallest size available in mens, so instead he had been given a pair of woman's shorts, which, due to the cut, tended to ride up in very uncomfortable places of his anatomy.
It was a very good thing he was used to embarrassment.
Or this was going to be a very long couple of years…
Hell even with being used to embarrassment this would probably be some interesting years..
[…]
Commander Adam Vir blinked and put a hand to his head, boots throwing up little puffs of dust in the Texas heat.
"You ok Commander?"
He sniffed at the air and took in a deep breath, hands on hips.
"Ah, the memories!"
”What are you remembering Sir?”
”Good times… good times…”
And with these words he stepped out of the hovercar, mumbling to himself.
”I wonder what’s up with Sgt. Kimball, is he still training new recruits? Maybe I’ll see him again…”
Previous First [Next](link)
Want to find a specific one, see the whole list or check fanart?
Here is the link to the master-post.
Intro post by me
OC-whole collection
Patreon of the author
Thanks for reading! As you saw in the title, this is a cross posted story written by starrfallknightrise and I'll just upload some of it here for you guys, if you are interested and want to read ahead, the original story-collection can be found on tumblr or wattpad to read for free. (link above this text under "OC:..." ) It is the Empyrean Iris story collection by starfallknightrise. Also, if you want to know more about the story collection i made an intro post about it, so feel free to check that out to see what other great characters to look forward to! (Link also above this text). I have no affiliations to the author; just thought I’d share some of the great stories you might enjoy a lot!
Obviously, I have Charlie’s permission to post this and for the people already knowing the stories, or starting to read them: If you follow the link and check out the story you will see some differences. I made some small (non-artistic) changes, mainly correcting writing mistakes, pronoun correction and some small additional info here and there of things which were not thought of/forgotten or even were added/changed in later stories (like the “USS->UNSC” prefix of Stabby, Chalar=/->Sunny etc). As well as some "biggemajor" changes in descriptions and info’s for the same stringency/continuity reason. That can be explained by the story collection being, well a story collection at the start with many standalone-stories just starring the same people, but later on it gets more to a stringent storyline with backstories and throwbacks. (For example Adam Vir has some HEAVY scars over his body, following his bones, which were not really talked about up till half the collection, where it says it covers his whole body and you find out via backflash that he had them the whole time and how he got them, they just weren't mentioned before. However, I would think a doctor would at least see these scars before that, especially since he gets analyzed, treated and goes shirtless/in T-shirts in some stories). So TLDR: Writing and some descriptions are slightly changed, with full OK from the author, since he himself did not bother to correct these things before.
submitted by maximusaemilius to HFY [link] [comments]
OC Written by Charlie Stastarrfallknightrise,
Typed up and then posted here by me.
Proofreading and language check for some chapters by u/Finbar9800
Future Lore and fact check done by me.
Okay this is weird. So, this story is a long time ago, like 6-7 years ago, but its also in the future for us…
German has a specific tense for this, but English has no tense for this…
So, I guess welcome to the close past of the far far future?
Want to find a specific one, see the whole list or check fanart?
Here is the link to the master-post.
Inside bodies swayed and juggled back and forth, ramming into walls and steadying themselves against the antiquated seats before them. The bus was old, older than a large portion of dirt, old enough to have rubber tires, shitty suspension, and foam back seats, nothing like the sleek magno buses they used these days.
Clearly their program wasn't important enough to acquire a real transport vehicle.
Their ride from the airport had been nerve wracking to say the least, and only some of it had come from the imminent threat that the bus would disintegrate into its component parts, most of the rest of it had come from the slow building of nervous energy felt by all the young teens as they waited to begin their first day at training.
There were forty of them in all, though less than half of that was predicted to make it through the training and actually become pilots from the program at Trans Space Combative Aviation Academy. Of course, the Academy didn't have its own location, as new as it was and untested as it was, the burgeoning UNSC wasn't likely to spend a ton of funds on a group of untested children. So, they had been shipped onto Del Rio, Texas where the air force flight academy was located, and had been allocated space, some instructors, and a few classrooms to get started.
Adam had found the other recruits from the program nervously waiting outside with their duffel bags and clothing. None of them were over the age of fifteen, and they consisted almost equally of boys and girls.
Adam was displeased to find himself the shortest among the boys, and about mid pack among the girls, a good portion of them probably weighing a good ten pounds more than he did, though none of them were out of shape.
He tried to ignore that, doing his best to make friends with the other nervous recruits, determined not to be the loser this time. Just as long as he didn't show his weirdness to them straight off, maybe he was going to be fine.
It seemed to be working, at least until the bus pulled up, and the group of them stared on with shock and disappointment at the monstrosity before them.
A centuries old bus.
They sort of hoped it wasn't for them, but the ACU clad, army man stepping out of the door and onto the pavement dashed their hopes.
And soon they were on their way, jostling down the highway, eventually cutting through manned security gates, patrolled by armed guards, and finally onto the backroad that was taken around the airfield. Adam had his face pressed up against the window, watching as a set of jets took off, leaving trails of white behind them in the great blue sky above.
The implant in his arm buzzed, and he looked down to see a text from his mother asking if they had landed yet.
He had to apologize for forgetting and assured her that he was, indeed, landed and on his way.
The further they went onto the base, the more people they could see, large muscular men and women running in formation, wearing the same light grey T-shirts tucked into blue canvas shorts.
Voices roared past them as the men chanted in time with their cadence.
Low lying buildings pulled up on the horizon in front of them, crouched together in stumpy lines. Yelled commands wafted through open windows as more recruits rolled past kicking up dirt clouds as they went.
Adam grew nervous upon seeing them, big and adult.
He glanced down at himself and his baggy T-shirt, and jeans held up only by a belt, the cuffs folded up over his shoes.
They belonged to his brothers, but were still too big for him.
The bus rolled to a stop just then, jostling him forward so his face nearly rammed into the seat in front of him. A dust cloud billowed up around them obscuring his vision for a moment. At the front of the bus, the driver reached out and cranked the handle to the door, manually forcing it open.
"Wow, this thing is a real piece of shit."
Someone muttered, while boots thudded onto the stairs, and the entire bus went quiet as a man stepped onto the front of the bus. He was tall, and serious faced with thick eyebrows and what appeared to be a shaved head, though it was mostly covered by a wide brimmed dumbass hat in dark, clashing seriously with his patterned ACUs.
They all waited on the edge of their seats.
Adam shrunk down into his expecting to get yelled at.
That's what all the old army movies told him was going to happen.
Instead, however, the man smiled.
Adam didn't buy it for one second.
"Welcome recruits to the first TSCA Academy class of 4013. I am Master Sergeant Kimball, and I will be one of your MTI (military training instructor) during this program. If you need to address me at any time during this course, you will call me Sir or Master Sergeant Kimball. Now I understand that you may all be tired from your flight. We have recruits here from all across the world coming in right now, so hopefully, today will be easy and relaxing."
Adam eyed the group around him, watching as the others began to relax.
Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all?
Perhaps because they were kids, they had been given some leeway during the training process?
I mean, were they really going to yell at a group of kids barely out of their teenage years?
Surely, they wouldn’t…
"Alright everyone, Unload!"
There was a collective shuffling around the bus as the group of them took to their feet and began slowly shuffling towards the exit. Adam pulled his bag over his back, nearly tipping over backwards as the weight pulled his small frame off balance. Someone put a hand on his shoulder,
”Whoa."
He glanced over and thanked the girl who had helped him, hurrying off the bus and down the stairs into the hot as hell Texas heat.
Stepping off the bus he found Master Sergeant Kimball standing next to two other MTIs, who were smiling at them, though their smiles seemed more wolfish than reassuring.
My what big teeth you have, he thought idly to himself, stepping to the side so the others could walk through.
One boy came trudging down the steps last, lugging an absolutely massive suitcase as a few of the others flopped to the ground, resting against their bags, eyes closed, basking like lizards in the sun.
Sgt. Kimball stepped forward towards the last young man.
"Here let me help you."
The boy seemed rather grateful, handing his bag down to the MTI, taking some weight off his shoulders.
That was until Sgt. Kimball grabbed the zipper, opened the bag and dumped the entire contents of the suitcase into the dirt. He then got right up in the boy's face and shouted.
"NOW WHAT THE EVER LOVING FUCK DO YOU NEED A BAG LIKE THAT FOR!? CHRIST SON, I COULD USE IT TO SMUGGLE YOUR CORPSE OUT WHEN I'M DONE WITH YOU."
The entire group jolted with surprise, all of them bolting upwards.
Even Adam was startled, and he had been expecting it. The poor kid was scrambling around in the dirt trying to collect his things,
"GET YOUR ASS OFF THE GROUND YOU SORRY PIECE OF SHIT."
The two other MTIs bore down on them, their charming smiles revealed for what they really were.
Wolf in sheep's clothing, snarling ravening beasts.
More bags were dumped on the ground, turned over, emptied until the contents mingled with the dust on the ground. The female MTI leaped over, ripping Adam's bag off the ground and tossing its contents into the dust. She reached down, picked up a book and chucked it at him, hitting him in the chest as he stumbled back.
"YOU THINK YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TIME FOR READING!?”
She moved on to the next student.
One of the recruits had burst into tears, and the MTI's descended like vultures. One of them grabbed a water bottle from the ground and shoved it at the crying student.
"BETTER GET STARTED ON CRYING ME A RIVER!"
Adam was scrambling to pick up his stuff and shove it back in his bag.
"GET ON YOUR FEET!"
He bolted upright to find Sgt. Kimball in his face, or more looking down on him. His face was red and as he screamed, little droplets of spit flew from his tongue. He gave Adam one long look over.
"GOOD LORD BOY, I'VE TAKEN SHITS MORE SUBSTANTIAL THAN YOU!"
"GO ON CLEAN UP THIS SHIT, IT'S FILTHY! WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN DOING!? THEN GET YOUR ASSES DOWN TO INTAKE."
He scrambled to put his things in his bag, the MTI's shouting at him the entire time. He nearly tripped over himself multiple times, falling flat on his face in the dirt much to the amusement of the MTIs.
"LEAVE YOUR SHIT HERE!"
He tripped and wobbled, running after the others as they ran towards the building that had been pointed out to them by the screaming MTIs. A few of the other recruits were crying, but Adam, well he had sort of expected it, and honestly, he would have been disappointed if they hadn't. In fact, he found himself grinning from ear to ear as he walked into the equipment room behind a line of other recruits.
The equipment officer turned around from his desk to glare at them. He was a heavy-set man in his late forties with biceps as big around as tree trunks.
He looked them over with a frown before jabbing his finger at Adam.
"You there, smiley. Small or extra small?”
He blushed,
"Errr... Extra... Small?”
"At least he's honest."
The man grouted, turning around to rifle through his equipment, coming back with two pairs of everything in stock. He stacked it on the counter in front of him.
"Two PT uniforms, Two ACUs, two shirts, sweatpants, jacket, gloves, hat, and…"
He pulled up a set of tan combat boots then glanced him up and down.
"What is your shoe size?"
"Er..."
More blushing,
"Six."
The man grunted, ducked back behind the counter,
"We only carry eight plus in men’s, but a seven in women's should work."
He tried not to wilt at the reminder of how small he was.
The man turned away again and motioned him off. He clambered to pick up everything he needed and wobbled away, juggling the boots the pants and the jacket with some difficulty, dropping a glove on the floor and nearly dropping everything else when he went to pick it up.
Walking outside he was met by another MTI, who yelled at him to get his ass to the barracks to change and put all his shit away. He hurried to do as he was told, running and nearly dropping everything again as he made his way through the doors into a large room, lined along either side with beds, a single trunk at the base.
He ran to one of the beds at the far end, opened the crate and placed his things inside, struggling to pull on one of the PT uniforms as the others ran into the room to do the same, throwing their things in the lockers at the base of the beds, as the MTIs continued to scream at them.
It was only as he was running out of the room that he noticed the horrible terrible thing.
Oh no…
Please no…
The extra small pants...
They…
They were too big.
He tried looking for a drawstring to make them tighter, but they were canvas with an elastic waist, and they did not go any tighter. He turned in his spot, trying to figure out what to do, but as soon as he slowed down, another MTI was screaming at him to get back onto the field and line up.
So, he chickened out, holding onto his pants for dear life, as he raced back to the training ground.
Upon making it there he helped the other students line up into evenly spaced rows, thinking that the MTIs might be impressed with them if they were to do that.
They did their best to stand like they were supposed to, though all of the instruction they had ever gotten was from old war movies, and they were all doing it horribly wrong, a fact for which the MTIs noticed and yelled at them for with great glee as soon as they noticed. Of course, they were eventually whipped into shape, standing in line in straight rows, heels together hands at sides, shoulders back.
He could feel his pants slipping, though he was too embarrassed to say anything.
Sgt Kimball stepped out in front of them, hands behind his back.
"What did I say!? Didn't I say we were going to have a fun relaxing day!? Are you having fun!?"
He was right in one of the recruits face, now bellowing almost at the top of his lungs. He moved onto the next student.
"Aren’t you relaxed!?”
Adam didn't think the kid looked particularly relaxed. In fact, he looked so tense, that if he squeezed any harder his spine was going to go shooting out of his ass.
"Well!?”
There was silence on the grounds.
"WELL!?”
Adam scrambled his brain not entirely sure what to do before squeaking out.
"Yes sir."
The MTI leaned in.
"Why don't you try and communicate in normal ranges of human hearing, son. I am not a bat!"
He looked back up at the rest of the group.
"WELL!?"
"YES SIR."
"That's better."
He turned to stalk away from Adam, pacing up and down the line.
"I will be straight with you when I say that today IS going to be fun and relaxing compared to what you will be going through in the next few years. If you manage to make it into this program, I promise you we will destroy your social life, you will have time for nothing other than this program and sleeping, if I decide to allow you to sleep, that is."
Adam was grinning.
Unfortunately, that caught the Sgt's eye.
"THE FUCK ARE YOU SMILING AT!?”
He waited.
Adam just stood there.
"ANSWER THE QUESTION GODDAMMIT!"
"Yes sir, sorry sir! I thought it was a rhetorical question."
"HEAVENS ABOVE HAVE MERCY ON MY SOUL. I SAID ANSWER THE QUESTION!"
His mouth opened then closed,
"Er..."
"THE HELL KIND OF ANSWER IS THAT!"
"Um."
"Sweet Jehova did you come out this stupid or is it a family tradition, a side hobby?"
"I'm sorry sir, I forgot the question."
He lowered his head with an exaggerated sigh rubbing his temples,
"Forgot the question. FORGOT THE QUESTION!? I'VE MET GOLDFISH WITH BETTER MEMORIES THAN YOU! I SAID WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SMILING!?"
He blushed,
"Oh... Um."
"HURRY UP!!!”
"BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE A SOCIAL LIFE FOR YOU TO RUIN, SIR."
That seemed to take the man back, and he simply sat there, staring at Adam with a bemused expression.
*"If you were any more pathetic, smiley, I might just cry for you. Honest to god, if you get any more pathetic, I will cry real tears for your shame." *
He turned away.
"Now everyone get on the ground and give me FIFTY."
At least everyone seemed to know what that meant, though pathetically enough his arms were wobbling at twenty.
"JUMPING JUPITER RECRUIT, I DIDN'T EXPECT YOU TO MAKE ME CRY IN THE FIRST HALF HOUR. MY COUSIN COULD DO MORE PUSH-UPS THAN YOU AND HE'S GOT NO ARMS!"
The Sergeant seemed to have a lot of disabled relatives.
A blind granny, an armless cousin, a nephew with a pole up his ass from a tragic fishing accident.
By the time they were done, Adam was quite nearly ready to throw up.
"ALRIGHT FIFTY BURPIES GO,GO GO."
Oh no, anything but that!
He paused, but was almost immediately screamed at to get his ass in gear. He knew what was coming before it happened, but he couldn't stop it.
So he accepted his fate…
So long self worth!
As he jumped down into his first plank and then back up, he could feel the waist on his pants slipping, at first just a little, but then, as his feet left the ground there, they went right down around his ankles.
At first, he thought he was at least lucky to be in the back row, but then scrambling to pick his pants back up, he realized none of that was going to matter.
Sgt. Kimball was staring at him, cheek twitching.
He himself was blushing excessively.
He was quiet for a very long time before.
"CONTROL YOURSELF RECRUIT, THE LAST THING I NEED TO SEE IS YOUR CHICKEN LEG FLAT ASS KIDDIE JUNK ON MY TRAINING FIELD. Fuck, as small as you are I'll probably be indited for CP. Now go get some new fucking pants before you blind us all for a second time. And, since it seems you've never seen leg day, I want you to cluck like a chicken all the way there. Let everyone know the pantsless chicken boy is coming!”
He did as he was told, rose red the entire time and beat red on his way back, seeing as, they had given him the smallest size available in mens, so instead he had been given a pair of woman's shorts, which, due to the cut, tended to ride up in very uncomfortable places of his anatomy.
It was a very good thing he was used to embarrassment.
Or this was going to be a very long couple of years…
Hell even with being used to embarrassment this would probably be some interesting years..
Commander Adam Vir blinked and put a hand to his head, boots throwing up little puffs of dust in the Texas heat.
"You ok Commander?"
He sniffed at the air and took in a deep breath, hands on hips.
"Ah, the memories!"
”What are you remembering Sir?”
”Good times… good times…”
And with these words he stepped out of the hovercar, mumbling to himself.
”I wonder what’s up with Sgt. Kimball, is he still training new recruits? Maybe I’ll see him again…”
Want to find a specific one, see the whole list or check fanart?
Here is the link to the master-post.
Intro post by me
OC-whole collection
Patreon of the author
Obviously, I have Charlie’s permission to post this and for the people already knowing the stories, or starting to read them: If you follow the link and check out the story you will see some differences. I made some small (non-artistic) changes, mainly correcting writing mistakes, pronoun correction and some small additional info here and there of things which were not thought of/forgotten or even were added/changed in later stories (like the “USS->UNSC” prefix of Stabby, Chalar=/->Sunny etc). As well as some "biggemajor" changes in descriptions and info’s for the same stringency/continuity reason. That can be explained by the story collection being, well a story collection at the start with many standalone-stories just starring the same people, but later on it gets more to a stringent storyline with backstories and throwbacks. (For example Adam Vir has some HEAVY scars over his body, following his bones, which were not really talked about up till half the collection, where it says it covers his whole body and you find out via backflash that he had them the whole time and how he got them, they just weren't mentioned before. However, I would think a doctor would at least see these scars before that, especially since he gets analyzed, treated and goes shirtless/in T-shirts in some stories). So TLDR: Writing and some descriptions are slightly changed, with full OK from the author, since he himself did not bother to correct these things before.
2023.06.02 13:44 MrArborsexual Stump Wildflower Gardens?
 | Saw someone posting their stump garden yesterday. When my wife and I moved to our house the Red Maple that had been out front had been cut down, and the stump partially burned, a few weeks before our closing date(it was a tree that had been topped by a "handyman" a few times over the decades and it rotted out and came apart in a storm). submitted by MrArborsexual to gardening [link] [comments] This past fall I planted a 2yo bare root Norway Spruce in the middle of the stump, mixing in chicken poop and years old walmart house brand potting soil I had found cleaning out our old house. The flower seed came from Amazon, searching wildflower seed and going with a company that was having a sale (had pretty packaging too). I ended up buying a bag of each of their variety packs and seeding the burned area in January (zone 6b-ish; appalachian valley, weather gets weird here). The Norway Spruce has put on about 7-8in of new vertical growth, and is mostly hidden by the flowers. The thistle in the photo is about 5'3" tall at the tippity-top, for reference. |
2023.06.02 13:43 EvrenselKisilik [Hiring] We're looking for skilled front-end dev and skilled C dev
Hi,
We are looking for two skilled devs:
The job is about developing game server management things and things like that.
For native dev position:
The job is about developing game server. Game dev skills are plus.
Things we are looking for:
submitted by EvrenselKisilik to Jobs4Bitcoins [link] [comments]
We are looking for two skilled devs:
- Frontend dev experienced in React/Next.js
- A skilled native dev experienced in C/C++
The job is about developing game server management things and things like that.
For native dev position:
The job is about developing game server. Game dev skills are plus.
Things we are looking for:
- Native development skills
- Good understanding on computer science concepts
- Good understanding on TCP serveclient implementations
- Experience on game development
2023.06.02 13:42 thegamerjedi Mythicals
(I've had this concept for a while and wrote a few versions for the first episode, settling on this version, I haven't wrote a lot so would love feedback on this, I want to execute this idea as well as I can)
Mythicals Ep1: The world's worst thief
Narrator: Welcome to the continent of Nova.A continent made up of seven separate islands with each one of having its own unique,biomes,climates,properties and laws.But this continent isn't perfect.40 years ago a strange race called mythicals appeared.They were similar to humans in every aspect except one.They had strange abilities called Zanes.With these Zanes,the power went to the mythical's head and they tried to take over the continent,starting a race war between the humans and mythicals.The humans won the war through sheer numbers.Mythical population dropped 75% and are now discriminated and oppressed by humans.
A young man is seen running along a white stone road.He had short,straight,black hair,wide red eyes and pale skin.He had a dirty grey trench coat,a black shirt with tears in it,black ripped jeans and grey boots.
Narrator: Meet Hiroshi Kita,an 18 year old,down on luck,mythical thief.
Hiroshi turns around and spots three people dressed in medieval knight armour chasing him.He smiled and continued running,soon running into an alleyway,the knights running in and cornering him.
Hiroshi: Come on guys,can't we talk this out?
The first knight draws a sword and slashes at Hiroshi.Hiroshi's chest becomes transparent as the sword goes through him.His chest turned back to normal as the sword left his chest.
Narrator: Hiroshi Kita,his Zane is called Umbra.It allows him to turn his body into a shadow form,the only issue is due to not having much mastery over this Zane,he can only transform one body part at a time.
Knight 1: He's a mythical!
The second knight took out a large axe
Knight 2: This will knock my mythical kill count to 15!
The second knight swung his axe down but Hiroshi quickly dodged backwards,the axe slams into the ground.Hiroshi smiled and jumped onto the axe handle.
Hiroshi: Thanks for the help fellas
Hiroshi jumped off the axe and onto the first knight's head,then the second one and then the third one before jumping towards a window sill.The third knight pulls out a revolver and quickly shoots at Hiroshi's head.Hiroshi turns his head into a shadow before climbing through the window,turning his head back to normal.The knights look up at the window sill,knowing they won't reach.They start leaving.
Knight 3: Who's gonna tell Akuhei?
The other two knights put the fingers on the helmet where their noses would be.
Knight 3: Come on guys,when did we start doing that?
Meanwhile Hiroshi made his way to a sewer cover in a dark alley.He smiled and lifted the cover up before climbing in and closing the cover.He walked through the sewers before reaching a metal door.In front of the door was a giant man.
Hiroshi: Hey,Duke,you gonna let me in?
Duke looked down at him and shook his head
Duke: Only the best thieves in the continent are allowed in here and as we all know,you've been ranked as the worst thief in the continent,so unless you can get a big score,you're not in so scram.
Hiroshi sighed and started walking away,leaving the sewer.
Hiroshi: Asami might know something about a big score,they have connections all over the continent.
Hiroshi ran off and soon entered an abandoned theatre outside the town.He looked around and saw someone on stage with short pink hair,pink eyes,a masculine body and peach skin.They were wearing a white tank top and black shorts.Hiroshi smiled and jumped on stage.
Hiroshi: Hey Asami!
Asami smiled and quickly hugged Hiroshi
Asami: Hold on a sec,you only come here when you want something,what do you want?
Hiroshi sighed,smiled and scratched the back of his head.Asami gained an annoyed expression as they crossed their arms.
Hiroshi: Ok,to be completely honest,I need to know about a big score.
Asami: How big?
Hiroshi: Big enough to get me into the largest thieves guild in the continent?
Asami: Going big aren't we?Well I can only think of one place nearby…
They walked past him,transforming into a femine figure as they did,their voice becoming more femine as well
Asami: Would be the nearby Mythical Hunter's Headquarters but you wouldn't be mad enough to do that,right?Right?
Hiroshi: Thanks Asami!
He quickly ran away
Asami: He's gonna get himself killed.
Hiroshi located the Mythical Hunter's Headquarters and climbed over the walls at nightfall but quickly went unconscious before he could get over the wall.He woke up in a dark room with someone standing in front of him.They were tall with shoulder length brown hair,narrow green eyes and light brown skin.They were wearing a black tank top and grey cargo pants.Hiroshi was bound by rope at his ankles and wrists.
Hiroshi: Who are you?
Daichi: Name's Daichi Gushiken and you're staying here while I go stop the Mythical Hunters.
Hiroshi: But why did you capture me?
Daichi: Can't have a lowly thief like you getting in my way.Some of these guys are strong enough to topple towns.
Hiroshi: Then why fight them,just run!
Daichi: Because if they aren't stopped,they'll try to topple the human government.
Hiroshi: Won't that…
Daichi stared down at Hiroshi as Hiroshi's eyes widened in shock.
Hiroshi: That will start another war!
Daichi: Exactly, and now you understand why I need to stop them.
Hiroshi: But how can you stop them alone, do you even have a Zane?!
Daichi: Nope, I'm just a regular human.
Hiroshi: How do you expect to win against people with Zanes that could take down entire towns if they wanted too!?
Daichi: Well, I've got methods.If humans won the war against the Mythicals, why can't I beat one?
Hiroshi: The humans won through numbers!Everyone knows that!Try them on me and see if you win!
Daichi shrugs and unties Hiroshi. Hiroshi stands up as the both of them put their fists up. Hiroshi throws the first punch, aiming for Daichi's head. Daichi slides to his left before kicking Hiroshi in the back of the knee, causing Hiroshi to fall onto one knee. He then elbows Hiroshi in the neck, knocking his opponent to the ground.
Daichi: What's your name, thief?
Hiroshi: H-Hiroshi Kita.
Daichi: Well Hiroshi Kita, listen to this message from Daichi Gushiken. Stay away from Mythical Hunters unless you want to get hurt,so leave the saving to everyone else.
Daichi leaves Hiroshi on the floor as he leaves the room. Hiroshi clenches his fists before slowly getting back up a few minutes later, wiping tears from his eyes as he ran out of the room. Meanwhile, Daichi had infiltrated the Mythical Hunters HQ. He was sneaking through hallways as he took out any knights in his path, soon reaching a large wooden door and pushing it open. On the other side of the door was a large man, muscular build with crimson hair,narrow eyes, peach skin, and sharp pointed teeth, wearing black tracksuit bottoms.
Daichi: You're dying, Akuhei Heru.
The man turns around and smiles.
Akuhei: Well if it isn't the famous fighting champ. Come to try and take down the strongest fist fighter in Nova?
Daichi: Not only will I try, I'll succeed.
Akuhei: You think ye worthless human body with ney a Zane can beat me perfect form with the fourth most powerful Zane in the World?!
Daichi quickly punches Akuhei in the gut, causing him to stumble backwards.
Daichi: Never underestimate the power and dedication of the human spirit.
Akuhei: Ye be training, this should be interesting!
Akuhei swings his arm at Daichi and sends him flying into a wall, cracking the wall and causing books to fall off a bookshelf. Daichi falls to the floor and before he can get back up, Akuhei grabs him by the neck and slams him against the wall again. He lifts him up higher with his right arm as he walks over to a desk. He goes to swing Daichi down on it but Daichi quickly pulls a knife out of his pocket and stabs Akuhei in the arm. Blood trickles down Akuhei's arm as he drops Daichi. Daichi lands on the desk and looks up. Akuhei goes to slam his left fist down on Daichi. He quickly rolls backwards off the desk as Akuhei slashes it in half. Daichi stands back up only to see a fist flying towards him.
He quickly ducks as the fist hits a set of steel armour behind him, the punch flattening the chest piece. Daichi quickly grabs the sword from the set of armour and goes to swing it at Akuhei's right arm. Akuhei rips the knife out of his right arm and swings it at the sword. As soon as the knife connects, both blades shatter. Daichi stumbles back as Akuhei just steps towards him and smiles. Akuhei lifts both fists up and swings down towards Daichi. Daichi rolls to his left as the fists hit the ground, cracking it. Daichi quickly rips a piece of wood off the desk and stabs it into Akuhei's left arm. He quickly grabs another piece of wood and stabs Akuhei in the back of the knee forcing him to fall down.
Daichi (in head): This is my chance to end him!
Daichi quickly runs and shoulder bashes into Akuhei, making him over and falls out of a window, shattering the glass. Daichi slowly gets up as blood trickles out of the side of his mouth. He turns to leave when suddenly a piece of glass flies into his leg, Daichi falls forward and onto the shattered desk, causing some pieces of stray wood to stab into his shoulder. Daichi yells out in pain before looking out the window and seeing Akuhei climb through.
Akuhei: Did ye really think that I wouldn't grab onto an edge?!
Akuhei limps towards Daichi as Daichi tries to desperately crawl away. Trying to grab onto anything to pull himself forward. Akuhei grabs his leg and a red glow emanates from his hand. Akuhei's injuries heal before blood spurts out from Daichi's arms and knee.
Narrator: Akuhei Heru.His Zane is called Contagin! If he manages to touch anyone he can transfer any injury,illness or ailment to the person he touches!
Akuhei: Ye really thought ye could beat me!?
Akuhei lifts Daichi by the leg and throwing him through the doors he came in. Daichi lands on the ground as blood trickles out of him.
Akuhei: Ye are as foolish as ye are weak!
Hiroshi: Back away!
Suddenly Hiroshi smashes through a window and kicks Akuhei in the head, causing him to stumble back against a wall, his nose begins to bleed as he smiles and glares at Hiroshi.
Akuhei: Perfect,yet another lamb for me to slaughter!
Daichi: Run you idiot!
Akuhei throws a punch at Hiroshi's head but Hiroshi quickly turns his head into a shadow and the punch goes through. Another punch connects with his stomach which sends him into the air. His back hits the ceiling before he starts falling towards the ground. Akuhei smiles and quickly punches Hiroshi mid air and sends him flying down the hallway. Hiroshi lands on the ground and tries to slowly stand up, he was coughing up blood.
Akuhei charges at Hiroshi and quickly kicks him in the gut. Hiroshi slams into the wall as the wall cracks. Akuhei grabs Hiroshi and throws him in the air before sending a barrage of punches at him before grabbing his leg and slamming him into the ground. Blood trickles out of Hiroshi's mouth as he coughs.
Glass shatters and Akuhei quickly turns around. He sees a hole in another window and Daichi laying there next to it. Akuhei charges towards Daichi but something suddenly wraps around his leg. He looks down and sees a rope with a kunai tied around his leg. He turns around and sees Hiroshi still on the ground while holding the rope. Akuhei smirks and quickly swings his leg forward. Sending Hiroshi flying and out of the window in the room Akuhei and Daichi were fighting in as the rope snaps.
Hiroshi(in head): Is that it? Is this where I die? Not even getting close to my dream? I don't want to die here but I can't do anything to save myself, I'm too hurt.
Tears swell up in Hiroshi's eyes as he falls towards the ground. His eyes close as he feels himself land in someones arms. He can feel himself be gently placed on the ground and his eyes open slightly. His vision is blurry but he can make out the shape of a woman looking over him.
Hiroshi: An angel?
Hiroshi passes out due to his injuries. Meanwhile Akuhei gets surrounded by vines which pin him to the ground. The faint sound of footsteps can be heard and the vines vanish. Akuhei stands up and looks around only to see Daichi is gone.
submitted by thegamerjedi to writers [link] [comments]
Mythicals Ep1: The world's worst thief
Narrator: Welcome to the continent of Nova.A continent made up of seven separate islands with each one of having its own unique,biomes,climates,properties and laws.But this continent isn't perfect.40 years ago a strange race called mythicals appeared.They were similar to humans in every aspect except one.They had strange abilities called Zanes.With these Zanes,the power went to the mythical's head and they tried to take over the continent,starting a race war between the humans and mythicals.The humans won the war through sheer numbers.Mythical population dropped 75% and are now discriminated and oppressed by humans.
A young man is seen running along a white stone road.He had short,straight,black hair,wide red eyes and pale skin.He had a dirty grey trench coat,a black shirt with tears in it,black ripped jeans and grey boots.
Narrator: Meet Hiroshi Kita,an 18 year old,down on luck,mythical thief.
Hiroshi turns around and spots three people dressed in medieval knight armour chasing him.He smiled and continued running,soon running into an alleyway,the knights running in and cornering him.
Hiroshi: Come on guys,can't we talk this out?
The first knight draws a sword and slashes at Hiroshi.Hiroshi's chest becomes transparent as the sword goes through him.His chest turned back to normal as the sword left his chest.
Narrator: Hiroshi Kita,his Zane is called Umbra.It allows him to turn his body into a shadow form,the only issue is due to not having much mastery over this Zane,he can only transform one body part at a time.
Knight 1: He's a mythical!
The second knight took out a large axe
Knight 2: This will knock my mythical kill count to 15!
The second knight swung his axe down but Hiroshi quickly dodged backwards,the axe slams into the ground.Hiroshi smiled and jumped onto the axe handle.
Hiroshi: Thanks for the help fellas
Hiroshi jumped off the axe and onto the first knight's head,then the second one and then the third one before jumping towards a window sill.The third knight pulls out a revolver and quickly shoots at Hiroshi's head.Hiroshi turns his head into a shadow before climbing through the window,turning his head back to normal.The knights look up at the window sill,knowing they won't reach.They start leaving.
Knight 3: Who's gonna tell Akuhei?
The other two knights put the fingers on the helmet where their noses would be.
Knight 3: Come on guys,when did we start doing that?
Meanwhile Hiroshi made his way to a sewer cover in a dark alley.He smiled and lifted the cover up before climbing in and closing the cover.He walked through the sewers before reaching a metal door.In front of the door was a giant man.
Hiroshi: Hey,Duke,you gonna let me in?
Duke looked down at him and shook his head
Duke: Only the best thieves in the continent are allowed in here and as we all know,you've been ranked as the worst thief in the continent,so unless you can get a big score,you're not in so scram.
Hiroshi sighed and started walking away,leaving the sewer.
Hiroshi: Asami might know something about a big score,they have connections all over the continent.
Hiroshi ran off and soon entered an abandoned theatre outside the town.He looked around and saw someone on stage with short pink hair,pink eyes,a masculine body and peach skin.They were wearing a white tank top and black shorts.Hiroshi smiled and jumped on stage.
Hiroshi: Hey Asami!
Asami smiled and quickly hugged Hiroshi
Asami: Hold on a sec,you only come here when you want something,what do you want?
Hiroshi sighed,smiled and scratched the back of his head.Asami gained an annoyed expression as they crossed their arms.
Hiroshi: Ok,to be completely honest,I need to know about a big score.
Asami: How big?
Hiroshi: Big enough to get me into the largest thieves guild in the continent?
Asami: Going big aren't we?Well I can only think of one place nearby…
They walked past him,transforming into a femine figure as they did,their voice becoming more femine as well
Asami: Would be the nearby Mythical Hunter's Headquarters but you wouldn't be mad enough to do that,right?Right?
Hiroshi: Thanks Asami!
He quickly ran away
Asami: He's gonna get himself killed.
Hiroshi located the Mythical Hunter's Headquarters and climbed over the walls at nightfall but quickly went unconscious before he could get over the wall.He woke up in a dark room with someone standing in front of him.They were tall with shoulder length brown hair,narrow green eyes and light brown skin.They were wearing a black tank top and grey cargo pants.Hiroshi was bound by rope at his ankles and wrists.
Hiroshi: Who are you?
Daichi: Name's Daichi Gushiken and you're staying here while I go stop the Mythical Hunters.
Hiroshi: But why did you capture me?
Daichi: Can't have a lowly thief like you getting in my way.Some of these guys are strong enough to topple towns.
Hiroshi: Then why fight them,just run!
Daichi: Because if they aren't stopped,they'll try to topple the human government.
Hiroshi: Won't that…
Daichi stared down at Hiroshi as Hiroshi's eyes widened in shock.
Hiroshi: That will start another war!
Daichi: Exactly, and now you understand why I need to stop them.
Hiroshi: But how can you stop them alone, do you even have a Zane?!
Daichi: Nope, I'm just a regular human.
Hiroshi: How do you expect to win against people with Zanes that could take down entire towns if they wanted too!?
Daichi: Well, I've got methods.If humans won the war against the Mythicals, why can't I beat one?
Hiroshi: The humans won through numbers!Everyone knows that!Try them on me and see if you win!
Daichi shrugs and unties Hiroshi. Hiroshi stands up as the both of them put their fists up. Hiroshi throws the first punch, aiming for Daichi's head. Daichi slides to his left before kicking Hiroshi in the back of the knee, causing Hiroshi to fall onto one knee. He then elbows Hiroshi in the neck, knocking his opponent to the ground.
Daichi: What's your name, thief?
Hiroshi: H-Hiroshi Kita.
Daichi: Well Hiroshi Kita, listen to this message from Daichi Gushiken. Stay away from Mythical Hunters unless you want to get hurt,so leave the saving to everyone else.
Daichi leaves Hiroshi on the floor as he leaves the room. Hiroshi clenches his fists before slowly getting back up a few minutes later, wiping tears from his eyes as he ran out of the room. Meanwhile, Daichi had infiltrated the Mythical Hunters HQ. He was sneaking through hallways as he took out any knights in his path, soon reaching a large wooden door and pushing it open. On the other side of the door was a large man, muscular build with crimson hair,narrow eyes, peach skin, and sharp pointed teeth, wearing black tracksuit bottoms.
Daichi: You're dying, Akuhei Heru.
The man turns around and smiles.
Akuhei: Well if it isn't the famous fighting champ. Come to try and take down the strongest fist fighter in Nova?
Daichi: Not only will I try, I'll succeed.
Akuhei: You think ye worthless human body with ney a Zane can beat me perfect form with the fourth most powerful Zane in the World?!
Daichi quickly punches Akuhei in the gut, causing him to stumble backwards.
Daichi: Never underestimate the power and dedication of the human spirit.
Akuhei: Ye be training, this should be interesting!
Akuhei swings his arm at Daichi and sends him flying into a wall, cracking the wall and causing books to fall off a bookshelf. Daichi falls to the floor and before he can get back up, Akuhei grabs him by the neck and slams him against the wall again. He lifts him up higher with his right arm as he walks over to a desk. He goes to swing Daichi down on it but Daichi quickly pulls a knife out of his pocket and stabs Akuhei in the arm. Blood trickles down Akuhei's arm as he drops Daichi. Daichi lands on the desk and looks up. Akuhei goes to slam his left fist down on Daichi. He quickly rolls backwards off the desk as Akuhei slashes it in half. Daichi stands back up only to see a fist flying towards him.
He quickly ducks as the fist hits a set of steel armour behind him, the punch flattening the chest piece. Daichi quickly grabs the sword from the set of armour and goes to swing it at Akuhei's right arm. Akuhei rips the knife out of his right arm and swings it at the sword. As soon as the knife connects, both blades shatter. Daichi stumbles back as Akuhei just steps towards him and smiles. Akuhei lifts both fists up and swings down towards Daichi. Daichi rolls to his left as the fists hit the ground, cracking it. Daichi quickly rips a piece of wood off the desk and stabs it into Akuhei's left arm. He quickly grabs another piece of wood and stabs Akuhei in the back of the knee forcing him to fall down.
Daichi (in head): This is my chance to end him!
Daichi quickly runs and shoulder bashes into Akuhei, making him over and falls out of a window, shattering the glass. Daichi slowly gets up as blood trickles out of the side of his mouth. He turns to leave when suddenly a piece of glass flies into his leg, Daichi falls forward and onto the shattered desk, causing some pieces of stray wood to stab into his shoulder. Daichi yells out in pain before looking out the window and seeing Akuhei climb through.
Akuhei: Did ye really think that I wouldn't grab onto an edge?!
Akuhei limps towards Daichi as Daichi tries to desperately crawl away. Trying to grab onto anything to pull himself forward. Akuhei grabs his leg and a red glow emanates from his hand. Akuhei's injuries heal before blood spurts out from Daichi's arms and knee.
Narrator: Akuhei Heru.His Zane is called Contagin! If he manages to touch anyone he can transfer any injury,illness or ailment to the person he touches!
Akuhei: Ye really thought ye could beat me!?
Akuhei lifts Daichi by the leg and throwing him through the doors he came in. Daichi lands on the ground as blood trickles out of him.
Akuhei: Ye are as foolish as ye are weak!
Hiroshi: Back away!
Suddenly Hiroshi smashes through a window and kicks Akuhei in the head, causing him to stumble back against a wall, his nose begins to bleed as he smiles and glares at Hiroshi.
Akuhei: Perfect,yet another lamb for me to slaughter!
Daichi: Run you idiot!
Akuhei throws a punch at Hiroshi's head but Hiroshi quickly turns his head into a shadow and the punch goes through. Another punch connects with his stomach which sends him into the air. His back hits the ceiling before he starts falling towards the ground. Akuhei smiles and quickly punches Hiroshi mid air and sends him flying down the hallway. Hiroshi lands on the ground and tries to slowly stand up, he was coughing up blood.
Akuhei charges at Hiroshi and quickly kicks him in the gut. Hiroshi slams into the wall as the wall cracks. Akuhei grabs Hiroshi and throws him in the air before sending a barrage of punches at him before grabbing his leg and slamming him into the ground. Blood trickles out of Hiroshi's mouth as he coughs.
Glass shatters and Akuhei quickly turns around. He sees a hole in another window and Daichi laying there next to it. Akuhei charges towards Daichi but something suddenly wraps around his leg. He looks down and sees a rope with a kunai tied around his leg. He turns around and sees Hiroshi still on the ground while holding the rope. Akuhei smirks and quickly swings his leg forward. Sending Hiroshi flying and out of the window in the room Akuhei and Daichi were fighting in as the rope snaps.
Hiroshi(in head): Is that it? Is this where I die? Not even getting close to my dream? I don't want to die here but I can't do anything to save myself, I'm too hurt.
Tears swell up in Hiroshi's eyes as he falls towards the ground. His eyes close as he feels himself land in someones arms. He can feel himself be gently placed on the ground and his eyes open slightly. His vision is blurry but he can make out the shape of a woman looking over him.
Hiroshi: An angel?
Hiroshi passes out due to his injuries. Meanwhile Akuhei gets surrounded by vines which pin him to the ground. The faint sound of footsteps can be heard and the vines vanish. Akuhei stands up and looks around only to see Daichi is gone.
2023.06.02 13:41 BlueFishcake Sexy Sect Babes: Chapter Sixty Five
“It’s not very iconic,” Jack mumbled to himself as he watched the frame of the newest variant of Crawler come together.
Though calling it a ‘Crawler’ was a bit of a misnomer, given that the vehicle didn’t actually crawl. Instead, it would move about on treads. Like a normal tank. Which, while practical, were rather boring to look at.
To make matters worse, Shui would be taking just over half of the iconic older variants of crawler that did actually crawl with her on her journey North. Doing so would allow her force to be entirely mechanized – or horseborne in the case of the cultivators – reducing a journey that would normally take months into one that would take weeks.
Plus, a mountain pass is actually a location where the mechanical legs might see some practical use, he thought.
Shui was certainly pleased about the extra support. While Jack wouldn’t go so far as to say she was giddy, there was certainly a degree of ‘pep’ to her steps as she rushed about the city organizing her new ‘army’. Even the mortal elements, which he got the feeling were normally an afterthought in these kinds of engagements.
She’d be taking fully one third of the militia that An had arrived with a few weeks ago. Ten thousand men and women. As well as fifteen cultivators – who Jack had made sure came from differing Sects. A move that would hopefully keep her from getting up to mischief by turning them against him.
Hopefully.
Ideally, he’d like to say that was why she was taking a contingent of homegrown Jiangshi ‘natives’ – for a given use of the word. The reality was that she was taking the militia because the alternative was a force of spear wielding sect troops, which would be like feeding meat into a grinder.
Which might have been just fine for the Empire, but mortals actually had some innate value to him. To that end, those sect troops still in the city – all fifty thousand of them - were going to be re-equipped and retrained as part of his new Ten Huo army.
Which was why five thousand militia members would be sticking around to train them in turn, while the remaining fifteen thousand returned to the very important task of guarding Jiangshi.
Which was a priority, given that An had all but stripped the province bare of soldiers to create her rescue force – and if they didn’t return soon their absence would be keenly felt.
Of course, this all relies on the Sects giving up their personal armies without a fight, Jack thought. Here’s hoping my most recent lesson in who holds the biggest stick will remain stuck in their mind when I make that announcement…
“Perhaps.” Elwin said from beside him, returning his thoughts to the mundane nature of his latest construct. Not that you’d know it from looking at Elwin. The elf’s arms were crossed as she watched with no small amount of awe as his workshop’s many pneumatic arms worked to bring the tank to life. “That will change though. I have oft found that the iconic nature of a soldier or weapon only grows with their success. And to hear little Lin go on about this machine, it will be very successful indeed.”
Jack hummed, conceding the point. Both Lin and Huang were down in his workshop with them – the two seemingly near inseparable these days for some reason – both huddled over a data-slate as they chatted animatedly about something related to the design.
They were a mismatched pair to be sure, but it seemed that Lin had chosen to take the former princess under her wing. Which was rather ironic, given that she was the goat-kin and Huang was the dragon-kin.
“Do you think Shui’s realized that she won’t actually be spending much of her time up north building her fortress?” he hummed.
“I would worry for her intelligence if she didn’t,” Elwin opined. “And the fact that she’s not battering down your door to demand changes to the manifest she’s been provided suggests she has.”
Jack hummed in agreement. He didn’t doubt that Shui had already noticed that her little taskforce was almost entirely devoid of building materials or craftsmen. Not that she’d want to be lugging stuff like stone or timber halfway across the province when there were plenty of natural resources at her destination.
Still, she’d want craftsmen trailing along with your supply chain though.
As well as nails.
To hear his advisor’s talk about them, you wanted nails by the barrel. To that end they had some. Gao, Ren and An had stressed that no army should ever be without things for even a moment, but they weren’t present in nearly the quantities required to build a mountain fortress like the one he hoped would soon block off the only remaining route into the province – if you ignored the ocean.
Which both Imperials and Instinctives were seemingly content to do.
No, the Pig-kin had probably known from the moment the plan was presented to her that Jack would be waiting for her to arrive at her destination before he flew over in his suit and built a fortress basically overnight.
That thought made him feel better about his decision to put her in charge of the job. It was an important job after all, sealing off the last ‘free’ entrance into his small empire.
I’ll probably want to head back to Jiangshi first to resupply basic building materials when I do head over there, he thought as he made a mental tally of what was currently floating around in his inventory. The thought made him sigh. The sooner I get a train network set up the better.
There was just so much that needed to be done…
He shook his head as he refocused on the task at hand, which was creating the prototype of the new Kang Barrel. A name that had created nothing but confusion for his underlings, but tickled his funny bone.
Not least of all because he hadn’t been the one to come up with the joke.
His microbots were. And while the fact that his microbots were currently capable of making jokes terrified him to his core, he couldn’t deny that they were good at them.
Because truth be told, he’d never wondered why tanks were called ‘tanks’. Though, to be fair, he never wondered why half a dozen other things were named as they were.
As it turned out, the reason tanks had been called what they were was because they’d been smuggled to Europe – or the irradiated zone as it was now known – disguised as water tanks.
Thus, Barrels had seemed an apt name for his own variant – even if no one but him got the joke.
Hell, that just made it funnier to him.
“So, how are things coming with your apprentices?” he asked the elf.
Smiling, the woman was about to respond when Ren rushed in, looking more frantic than usual. Which was a rather impressive feat given that she’d spent the last few weeks effectively running his city for him and was normally operating somewhere between totally overwhelmed and barely hanging on.
“Where are your formal robes, master!?” the merchant all but hissed. “I told you the ceremony would be starting in a few hours!”
Jack glanced over at a nearby clock.
“Ah… I knew I was forgetting something.”
Not that it mattered, he didn’t care what Ren said about tradition.
He was going in his armor.
--------------\
“With that, I present your new magistrate,” an older man called out to the crowds below.
The male cultivator was actually the oldest looking cultivator Jack had ever seen. The man was a craftsmen, a well respected one. And he was also the one who had been in charge of creating the staff that ostensibly controlled the city’s runic defenses.
And keying them to Jack.
Theoretically.
That wasn’t how it had gone down – and the other man had made it abundantly clear what he thought of this change in tradition.
Jack didn’t care then and he didn’t care now.
Which was why he ignored the other man’s stinkeye as he stood up from his throne and strode over to the balcony.
“The Empire has abandoned us.”
His first words were solemn, yet they rolled over the crowd below without trouble. A feat accomplished by a few carefully positioned loud speakers.
Which might have been why, despite the distance between him and the throngs of… not quite human mortals and cultivators below, he could almost hear the audible intake of breath that followed his statement.
Criticizing one’s superiors really wasn’t done in the empire, by virtue of the fact that said superior was usually your superior because they were entirely capable of lopping your head off. If they weren’t, you’d be the superior.
Again, certain parallels between the Instinctive hordes and the Empire leapt to Jack’s mind.
“The Empress has abandoned us. Time has dulled her edge. Corruption has infested her courts. Lethargy pervades her armies. And now, like an ape grasping for a branch as it plummets to its doom, the Empress pulls tight on her outer provinces in a desperate attempt to arrest her fall.”
It helped that what he was saying was mostly true. Or so he assumed. Because he’d yet to meet a system of power that wasn’t at least a little corrupt.
Silence was the only response he received to his words though.
Which, again, was to be expected. While the Empress wasn’t a ‘goddess’ in the religious sense of the word – the empire as a whole was surprisingly secular in that regard, focusing instead on something Jack would have described as Pseudo-Buddhism – she was also one of the founders of the Empire.
Again, not someone you criticized for long before you found yourself suddenly a few feet shorter from the top down.
Fortunately, Jack had a secret weapon.
“Yet Ten Huo only grows in power!”
That was the signal for the doors to the palace to open, and from them cart after cart of sizzling pigs, cows and whole chicken were wheeled forward. Prepared by the palace’s chefs, they’d done an incredible job with the task they’d been given. Even from his position up high on the balcony Jack found the smell intoxicating as it wafted up to him.
Fortunately, the line of sect troops guarding the front of the palace held steady as the crowd almost unconsciously surged forward at the sight of such a feast.
Really hope no one’s going to get crushed in that, he thought.
That was why he had a few cultivators on standby who would use directed burst of killing intent anywhere the press of bodies got too tight. The effectiveness of which Jack had been a little dubious of, but it was apparently a tried and tested method for ‘delicately’ dealing with unruly crowds.
Personally, Jack would have preferred to use his own troops, but Ren had quite reasonably pointed out that when it came to keeping crowds of agitated mortals in line, none were better than the personal armies of the sects.
…Or the Imperial army – but most of them were dead now.
That didn’t mean he’d come completely unprotected. His own troops had emptied out the palace of all courtiers and Sect guards hours ago in preparation for his speech. A feat that would have been impossible mere days ago, but it seemed that his little display to the Sect leaders had the effect he’d intended it to, because the cultivators present on the premises hadn’t even made a single peep of complaint as they were ordered out by a bunch of mere mortals.
Albeit, mere mortals who had An commanding them.
“We must cast off the shackles that have for so long held us back!” Jack announced. “This is not about power. Not about greed. Or pride. It is about survival!”
This time he got roars of approval – though whether that was down to his words or the food that was now being passed out to the crowd, he couldn’t say.
It didn’t really matter. It was about the optics of the thing. When people looked back on this moment, they would remember the cheering. And that would mean it had to have been a good thing, right?
“Ten Huo must grow. Must cultivate it’s strength. Must power through the troubles ahead,” he roared. “Which we have. Through our guards. Through our walls. Through our cultivators. And through our gonnes. Through those things we broke the back of the horde and slew their false dragon. And it is through the power of those things that we might beat back any foe that might threaten our home.”
He raised his fist high – and at the correct moment, his Red Dragon armor flared into being, the feathers atop fluttering proudly in the wind. “Ten Huo forever! Against all that might come! Together we are strong!”
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but that time the cheers felt more genuine. A chant even started.
“Ten Huo! Ten Huo! Ten Huo!”
“To that end, I intend to correct some of the failures of the old regime! Firstly, I shall be cutting the mortal guard force of our city’s sects down to one tenth their current size.”
That caused a stir, not just from the cultivators who were stood on the nearby pavilions, but from the rearmost ranks of the sect guard that were currently holding back the crowd while simultaneously handing out food.
Which made sense, he was currently discussing their livelihoods. The only thing that separated them and their families from the desperate crowds in front of them. Because while the city wasn’t quite close to starving as a result of the recent hostilities, it was true that a great many households were now tightening their belts.
Service in the Imperial Army or Sects provided some degree of protection from that reality.
“And from those men and women, I shall forge a new force. A grand Ten Huo army to rival that of the decrepit Empire. Well trained. Well armed. Professional soldiers. An expansion and revitalization of the Jiangshi militia that saved this city all those weeks ago.”
That seemed to silence much of the hesitation that had formed in the sect troops. The crowd though was all for it, whooping and hollering at the idea of more troops of the ilk that had so captured the city’s love with their arrival into it.
“I do this not out of contempt for the sects but out of love. With this I free them from the responsibility of policing the city. Of dealing with the mundane details of the mortal world. I free them to focus on their one true goal; the pursuit of cultivation and immortality.”
More importantly, it would make a coup significantly less likely to be successful later down the line. Or at least, less viable. Because as potent as cultivators were, they were still just individuals. They had more in common with fighter craft than infantry. They could take ground and destroy targets, but they couldn’t be expected to hold it without support.
Support Jack fully intended to cut out from under them while claiming he was doing them a favor. And while he could certainly see some idiots in the pavilion nodding along with the idea of ‘freeing themselves from the need to deal with mortals’, most of the leadership was rightly frowning at the thought of losing their ability to project power into the city.
Without mortal soldiers to form a buffer around them, they would effectively be besieged within their compounds.
Yet even as he could see them slowly considering raising some form of stink over it, he could also see them glancing over to the empty seat in their lineup where the Silver Paw sect might have stood.
No, they might make a perfunctory fuss, but they’d do as he told them. This was the ideal time for him to make a move like this. It was almost expected.
To be sure, he knew some would cause some form of trouble over this move, but that trouble would be a lot easier to deal with when he tripled the number of soldiers he had at his command within the city.
Down below, Jack could see the distant figure of Gao – and a small application of magnification showed the man was looking rather pale. Which made sense, given the massive task Jack had just slammed down in front of him. An, for her part, looked positively giddy about the whole thing. Ren just looked… tired and unsurprised, as if more work appearing on her lap was just to be expected where Jack was concerned. Elwin looked disinterested in the whole thing, which was par for the course.
Lin and Huang were… nowhere to be seen?
Huh, he thought.
For just a moment he was worried something might have happened, but a quick glance at the trackers attached to them – via some ‘gifts’ of jewelry – showed the pair were back at his compound. In the same room even.
Very close.
Probably caught up in some science experiment, he thought with a small smile.
“Yet what is a mortal army without a core of cultivators?” Jack continued. “Am I to demand a tithe from the sects that have already given so much? To both me and this city?” He shook his head. “Nay.”
He stretched out his arm, and with perfect timing a dozen figures dropped from the windows of the palace, landing perfectly behind the sects guards in a crouched position.
They were clearly cultivators – yet they didn’t look like them. For one thing, they were armored. From head to toe. Gleaming steel armor that was inlaid with protective runes.
It wasn’t as comprehensive as metal plate would be. Gaps existed to allow for great locomotion from the user. Yet it was still more armor than any cultivator would ever be caught wearing.
Because in the local parlance, armor was a sign of weakness. A lack of confidence in ones skills and cultivation.
Or at least, that had been the case until Jack showed up.
The next thing about them was that they were uniform. Perfectly so. Only the weapons were different. Some had glaives. Some had swords. Others axes. The only commonality there were the revolvers at their hips.
He didn’t doubt they looked absurd to the cultivators in the pavilions, each of them dressed differently to their fellows, with only a small adherence to their sect colors to mark their allegiance. Because cultivators didn’t do uniforms.
They were warriors. Heroes. Not soldiers.
Or at least, they weren’t, Jack smirked.
He raised both arms high above his head.
“I demand nothing of the sects, for volunteers have already shown up to be part of this great army. Ready to give their lives. Their souls. Their very identities to protect our great Ten Huo!”
Jack slammed his fist down onto the banister, letting the loud thud echo across the courtyard.
“I present to you, the Steel Paw!”
For the first time since they had arrived, the mystery cultivators stood up, their blue cloaks fluttering in the winds as they pulled back their hood to reveal not faces, but helms.
Helms shaped like a snarling tiger.
First / Previous / Next
Another three chapters are also available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bluefishcake
We also have a (surprisingly) active Discord where and I and a few other authors like to hang out: https://discord.gg/RctHFucHaq
submitted by BlueFishcake to HFY [link] [comments]
Though calling it a ‘Crawler’ was a bit of a misnomer, given that the vehicle didn’t actually crawl. Instead, it would move about on treads. Like a normal tank. Which, while practical, were rather boring to look at.
To make matters worse, Shui would be taking just over half of the iconic older variants of crawler that did actually crawl with her on her journey North. Doing so would allow her force to be entirely mechanized – or horseborne in the case of the cultivators – reducing a journey that would normally take months into one that would take weeks.
Plus, a mountain pass is actually a location where the mechanical legs might see some practical use, he thought.
Shui was certainly pleased about the extra support. While Jack wouldn’t go so far as to say she was giddy, there was certainly a degree of ‘pep’ to her steps as she rushed about the city organizing her new ‘army’. Even the mortal elements, which he got the feeling were normally an afterthought in these kinds of engagements.
She’d be taking fully one third of the militia that An had arrived with a few weeks ago. Ten thousand men and women. As well as fifteen cultivators – who Jack had made sure came from differing Sects. A move that would hopefully keep her from getting up to mischief by turning them against him.
Hopefully.
Ideally, he’d like to say that was why she was taking a contingent of homegrown Jiangshi ‘natives’ – for a given use of the word. The reality was that she was taking the militia because the alternative was a force of spear wielding sect troops, which would be like feeding meat into a grinder.
Which might have been just fine for the Empire, but mortals actually had some innate value to him. To that end, those sect troops still in the city – all fifty thousand of them - were going to be re-equipped and retrained as part of his new Ten Huo army.
Which was why five thousand militia members would be sticking around to train them in turn, while the remaining fifteen thousand returned to the very important task of guarding Jiangshi.
Which was a priority, given that An had all but stripped the province bare of soldiers to create her rescue force – and if they didn’t return soon their absence would be keenly felt.
Of course, this all relies on the Sects giving up their personal armies without a fight, Jack thought. Here’s hoping my most recent lesson in who holds the biggest stick will remain stuck in their mind when I make that announcement…
“Perhaps.” Elwin said from beside him, returning his thoughts to the mundane nature of his latest construct. Not that you’d know it from looking at Elwin. The elf’s arms were crossed as she watched with no small amount of awe as his workshop’s many pneumatic arms worked to bring the tank to life. “That will change though. I have oft found that the iconic nature of a soldier or weapon only grows with their success. And to hear little Lin go on about this machine, it will be very successful indeed.”
Jack hummed, conceding the point. Both Lin and Huang were down in his workshop with them – the two seemingly near inseparable these days for some reason – both huddled over a data-slate as they chatted animatedly about something related to the design.
They were a mismatched pair to be sure, but it seemed that Lin had chosen to take the former princess under her wing. Which was rather ironic, given that she was the goat-kin and Huang was the dragon-kin.
“Do you think Shui’s realized that she won’t actually be spending much of her time up north building her fortress?” he hummed.
“I would worry for her intelligence if she didn’t,” Elwin opined. “And the fact that she’s not battering down your door to demand changes to the manifest she’s been provided suggests she has.”
Jack hummed in agreement. He didn’t doubt that Shui had already noticed that her little taskforce was almost entirely devoid of building materials or craftsmen. Not that she’d want to be lugging stuff like stone or timber halfway across the province when there were plenty of natural resources at her destination.
Still, she’d want craftsmen trailing along with your supply chain though.
As well as nails.
To hear his advisor’s talk about them, you wanted nails by the barrel. To that end they had some. Gao, Ren and An had stressed that no army should ever be without things for even a moment, but they weren’t present in nearly the quantities required to build a mountain fortress like the one he hoped would soon block off the only remaining route into the province – if you ignored the ocean.
Which both Imperials and Instinctives were seemingly content to do.
No, the Pig-kin had probably known from the moment the plan was presented to her that Jack would be waiting for her to arrive at her destination before he flew over in his suit and built a fortress basically overnight.
That thought made him feel better about his decision to put her in charge of the job. It was an important job after all, sealing off the last ‘free’ entrance into his small empire.
I’ll probably want to head back to Jiangshi first to resupply basic building materials when I do head over there, he thought as he made a mental tally of what was currently floating around in his inventory. The thought made him sigh. The sooner I get a train network set up the better.
There was just so much that needed to be done…
He shook his head as he refocused on the task at hand, which was creating the prototype of the new Kang Barrel. A name that had created nothing but confusion for his underlings, but tickled his funny bone.
Not least of all because he hadn’t been the one to come up with the joke.
His microbots were. And while the fact that his microbots were currently capable of making jokes terrified him to his core, he couldn’t deny that they were good at them.
Because truth be told, he’d never wondered why tanks were called ‘tanks’. Though, to be fair, he never wondered why half a dozen other things were named as they were.
As it turned out, the reason tanks had been called what they were was because they’d been smuggled to Europe – or the irradiated zone as it was now known – disguised as water tanks.
Thus, Barrels had seemed an apt name for his own variant – even if no one but him got the joke.
Hell, that just made it funnier to him.
“So, how are things coming with your apprentices?” he asked the elf.
Smiling, the woman was about to respond when Ren rushed in, looking more frantic than usual. Which was a rather impressive feat given that she’d spent the last few weeks effectively running his city for him and was normally operating somewhere between totally overwhelmed and barely hanging on.
“Where are your formal robes, master!?” the merchant all but hissed. “I told you the ceremony would be starting in a few hours!”
Jack glanced over at a nearby clock.
“Ah… I knew I was forgetting something.”
Not that it mattered, he didn’t care what Ren said about tradition.
He was going in his armor.
--------------\
“With that, I present your new magistrate,” an older man called out to the crowds below.
The male cultivator was actually the oldest looking cultivator Jack had ever seen. The man was a craftsmen, a well respected one. And he was also the one who had been in charge of creating the staff that ostensibly controlled the city’s runic defenses.
And keying them to Jack.
Theoretically.
That wasn’t how it had gone down – and the other man had made it abundantly clear what he thought of this change in tradition.
Jack didn’t care then and he didn’t care now.
Which was why he ignored the other man’s stinkeye as he stood up from his throne and strode over to the balcony.
“The Empire has abandoned us.”
His first words were solemn, yet they rolled over the crowd below without trouble. A feat accomplished by a few carefully positioned loud speakers.
Which might have been why, despite the distance between him and the throngs of… not quite human mortals and cultivators below, he could almost hear the audible intake of breath that followed his statement.
Criticizing one’s superiors really wasn’t done in the empire, by virtue of the fact that said superior was usually your superior because they were entirely capable of lopping your head off. If they weren’t, you’d be the superior.
Again, certain parallels between the Instinctive hordes and the Empire leapt to Jack’s mind.
“The Empress has abandoned us. Time has dulled her edge. Corruption has infested her courts. Lethargy pervades her armies. And now, like an ape grasping for a branch as it plummets to its doom, the Empress pulls tight on her outer provinces in a desperate attempt to arrest her fall.”
It helped that what he was saying was mostly true. Or so he assumed. Because he’d yet to meet a system of power that wasn’t at least a little corrupt.
Silence was the only response he received to his words though.
Which, again, was to be expected. While the Empress wasn’t a ‘goddess’ in the religious sense of the word – the empire as a whole was surprisingly secular in that regard, focusing instead on something Jack would have described as Pseudo-Buddhism – she was also one of the founders of the Empire.
Again, not someone you criticized for long before you found yourself suddenly a few feet shorter from the top down.
Fortunately, Jack had a secret weapon.
“Yet Ten Huo only grows in power!”
That was the signal for the doors to the palace to open, and from them cart after cart of sizzling pigs, cows and whole chicken were wheeled forward. Prepared by the palace’s chefs, they’d done an incredible job with the task they’d been given. Even from his position up high on the balcony Jack found the smell intoxicating as it wafted up to him.
Fortunately, the line of sect troops guarding the front of the palace held steady as the crowd almost unconsciously surged forward at the sight of such a feast.
Really hope no one’s going to get crushed in that, he thought.
That was why he had a few cultivators on standby who would use directed burst of killing intent anywhere the press of bodies got too tight. The effectiveness of which Jack had been a little dubious of, but it was apparently a tried and tested method for ‘delicately’ dealing with unruly crowds.
Personally, Jack would have preferred to use his own troops, but Ren had quite reasonably pointed out that when it came to keeping crowds of agitated mortals in line, none were better than the personal armies of the sects.
…Or the Imperial army – but most of them were dead now.
That didn’t mean he’d come completely unprotected. His own troops had emptied out the palace of all courtiers and Sect guards hours ago in preparation for his speech. A feat that would have been impossible mere days ago, but it seemed that his little display to the Sect leaders had the effect he’d intended it to, because the cultivators present on the premises hadn’t even made a single peep of complaint as they were ordered out by a bunch of mere mortals.
Albeit, mere mortals who had An commanding them.
“We must cast off the shackles that have for so long held us back!” Jack announced. “This is not about power. Not about greed. Or pride. It is about survival!”
This time he got roars of approval – though whether that was down to his words or the food that was now being passed out to the crowd, he couldn’t say.
It didn’t really matter. It was about the optics of the thing. When people looked back on this moment, they would remember the cheering. And that would mean it had to have been a good thing, right?
“Ten Huo must grow. Must cultivate it’s strength. Must power through the troubles ahead,” he roared. “Which we have. Through our guards. Through our walls. Through our cultivators. And through our gonnes. Through those things we broke the back of the horde and slew their false dragon. And it is through the power of those things that we might beat back any foe that might threaten our home.”
He raised his fist high – and at the correct moment, his Red Dragon armor flared into being, the feathers atop fluttering proudly in the wind. “Ten Huo forever! Against all that might come! Together we are strong!”
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but that time the cheers felt more genuine. A chant even started.
“Ten Huo! Ten Huo! Ten Huo!”
“To that end, I intend to correct some of the failures of the old regime! Firstly, I shall be cutting the mortal guard force of our city’s sects down to one tenth their current size.”
That caused a stir, not just from the cultivators who were stood on the nearby pavilions, but from the rearmost ranks of the sect guard that were currently holding back the crowd while simultaneously handing out food.
Which made sense, he was currently discussing their livelihoods. The only thing that separated them and their families from the desperate crowds in front of them. Because while the city wasn’t quite close to starving as a result of the recent hostilities, it was true that a great many households were now tightening their belts.
Service in the Imperial Army or Sects provided some degree of protection from that reality.
“And from those men and women, I shall forge a new force. A grand Ten Huo army to rival that of the decrepit Empire. Well trained. Well armed. Professional soldiers. An expansion and revitalization of the Jiangshi militia that saved this city all those weeks ago.”
That seemed to silence much of the hesitation that had formed in the sect troops. The crowd though was all for it, whooping and hollering at the idea of more troops of the ilk that had so captured the city’s love with their arrival into it.
“I do this not out of contempt for the sects but out of love. With this I free them from the responsibility of policing the city. Of dealing with the mundane details of the mortal world. I free them to focus on their one true goal; the pursuit of cultivation and immortality.”
More importantly, it would make a coup significantly less likely to be successful later down the line. Or at least, less viable. Because as potent as cultivators were, they were still just individuals. They had more in common with fighter craft than infantry. They could take ground and destroy targets, but they couldn’t be expected to hold it without support.
Support Jack fully intended to cut out from under them while claiming he was doing them a favor. And while he could certainly see some idiots in the pavilion nodding along with the idea of ‘freeing themselves from the need to deal with mortals’, most of the leadership was rightly frowning at the thought of losing their ability to project power into the city.
Without mortal soldiers to form a buffer around them, they would effectively be besieged within their compounds.
Yet even as he could see them slowly considering raising some form of stink over it, he could also see them glancing over to the empty seat in their lineup where the Silver Paw sect might have stood.
No, they might make a perfunctory fuss, but they’d do as he told them. This was the ideal time for him to make a move like this. It was almost expected.
To be sure, he knew some would cause some form of trouble over this move, but that trouble would be a lot easier to deal with when he tripled the number of soldiers he had at his command within the city.
Down below, Jack could see the distant figure of Gao – and a small application of magnification showed the man was looking rather pale. Which made sense, given the massive task Jack had just slammed down in front of him. An, for her part, looked positively giddy about the whole thing. Ren just looked… tired and unsurprised, as if more work appearing on her lap was just to be expected where Jack was concerned. Elwin looked disinterested in the whole thing, which was par for the course.
Lin and Huang were… nowhere to be seen?
Huh, he thought.
For just a moment he was worried something might have happened, but a quick glance at the trackers attached to them – via some ‘gifts’ of jewelry – showed the pair were back at his compound. In the same room even.
Very close.
Probably caught up in some science experiment, he thought with a small smile.
“Yet what is a mortal army without a core of cultivators?” Jack continued. “Am I to demand a tithe from the sects that have already given so much? To both me and this city?” He shook his head. “Nay.”
He stretched out his arm, and with perfect timing a dozen figures dropped from the windows of the palace, landing perfectly behind the sects guards in a crouched position.
They were clearly cultivators – yet they didn’t look like them. For one thing, they were armored. From head to toe. Gleaming steel armor that was inlaid with protective runes.
It wasn’t as comprehensive as metal plate would be. Gaps existed to allow for great locomotion from the user. Yet it was still more armor than any cultivator would ever be caught wearing.
Because in the local parlance, armor was a sign of weakness. A lack of confidence in ones skills and cultivation.
Or at least, that had been the case until Jack showed up.
The next thing about them was that they were uniform. Perfectly so. Only the weapons were different. Some had glaives. Some had swords. Others axes. The only commonality there were the revolvers at their hips.
He didn’t doubt they looked absurd to the cultivators in the pavilions, each of them dressed differently to their fellows, with only a small adherence to their sect colors to mark their allegiance. Because cultivators didn’t do uniforms.
They were warriors. Heroes. Not soldiers.
Or at least, they weren’t, Jack smirked.
He raised both arms high above his head.
“I demand nothing of the sects, for volunteers have already shown up to be part of this great army. Ready to give their lives. Their souls. Their very identities to protect our great Ten Huo!”
Jack slammed his fist down onto the banister, letting the loud thud echo across the courtyard.
“I present to you, the Steel Paw!”
For the first time since they had arrived, the mystery cultivators stood up, their blue cloaks fluttering in the winds as they pulled back their hood to reveal not faces, but helms.
Helms shaped like a snarling tiger.
First / Previous / Next
Another three chapters are also available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bluefishcake
We also have a (surprisingly) active Discord where and I and a few other authors like to hang out: https://discord.gg/RctHFucHaq
2023.06.02 13:41 turfacct Tekno 1/8th buggy - Finding a body
Hi all, sorry for the super newbie question but I have a 1/8th Tekno electric buggy that I picked up used years ago and never got into the sport. I know nothing about the car, but it has various aftermarket parts. I'm now looking to get into racing and figured I'd learn with this car since I already have it.
The body is in really really bad condition (doesn't stay on) and I'm trying to find a new one, but the issue is the previous owner mentioned something about it's difficult to find one that fits due to the mounting points now being in a different location (if that sounds right?). The current body is from HB (no other identifying info on it aside from that) and the front/rear end center section, below where the body mounts are, are also parts from HB.
Does anyone know if I can take measurements between the two mounting points and possibly find a body that will fit, or would adding pictures here of the buggy and current body maybe help identify what is needed? Any help is appreciated!
submitted by turfacct to rccars [link] [comments]
The body is in really really bad condition (doesn't stay on) and I'm trying to find a new one, but the issue is the previous owner mentioned something about it's difficult to find one that fits due to the mounting points now being in a different location (if that sounds right?). The current body is from HB (no other identifying info on it aside from that) and the front/rear end center section, below where the body mounts are, are also parts from HB.
Does anyone know if I can take measurements between the two mounting points and possibly find a body that will fit, or would adding pictures here of the buggy and current body maybe help identify what is needed? Any help is appreciated!
2023.06.02 13:38 DepravedLust Why are USSR TD so useless against german anything.
My ISU122 is big, slow and has a decent gun but I only get pens on side shots and no matter where they shoot me I get 1 hit. My front sloped armor is useless. Ive felt totally hopeless and cant count the amount of tigers that have killed me. Is there a light at the end of this tunnel or am I beating a dead horse?
submitted by DepravedLust to Warthunder [link] [comments]
2023.06.02 13:35 Liberty-Prime76 Letter of Marque - A NoP Fanfic 10
As always, thank you to u/SpacePaladin15 for the wonderful universe that is NoP
Thank you to u/cruisingNW for proof reading and helping me out of some hang ups, you're the man! And for letting me use Barry, Borven and Tarva (No relation)!
First Prev. Next
---
Memory Transcription Subject: Christopher A. Dewey, Human Merchant Sailor, Venlil-Human Exchange Participant
Date [Standardized Human Time]: August 24th, 2136.
The door to Suite 4006 didn't look all that different from the door to our bunk room, though the walls around it lacked the friendly atmosphere of the exchange areas; guess admin offices are bland no matter the species. Taisa was beside me trying to appear confident; I noticed she did that a lot. Originally I had thought it was for my benefit, to make me feel like she wasn't scared of me; but I wasn't so sure of that anymore. It seemed that any time she was in a situation that made her feel small or scared she did her best to puff up and push through it. It was one of the things I liked best about her; but that didn't mean I'd ever stop giving her shit for fainting.
"Taisa," I started, placing my hand on her shoulder, her tail curling a little and resting against the side of my leg. "It'll be alright, I figure they wanna ask some questions about what happened earlier. Verify reports, get the story first hand. That sort of thing."
She took a deep breath as her ears flicked at my statement and her tail swayed off my leg. I think that one means she understands, or maybe it's agreement? Still tryin’ to figure those out.
"We tell 'em what happened, get it all cleared up on our end, easy and free 'fore too long. Once we got their questions outta the way we can drop our little 'research idea' on ‘em and see where it goes from there." I squeezed her shoulder gently at the end, she beeped a little but seemed to puff her chest out with a little extra confidence.
"Here goes nothin'." I raised my hand to rap against the metal door, I assume I looked a fool when the door opened up before I actually managed to knock.
"Christopher A. Dewey and Taisa, I presume?" A Venlil in the door stated, keeping the two of us in the span of his left eye. "Come in, have a seat."
He maneuvered his way around behind the desk, sitting down in a chair next to a Human at a shared desk as Taisa and I got situated. "I am Borven, and this is Barry." He stated, introducing himself and then the Human with his tail. "We are the liaisons for the exposure program. I assume that you know why we called you in this waking?"
I nodded, leaning back in the chair. "I'd wager a guess it has something to do with a certain upset Ensign, a bunch of angry Humans and a... pawful of scared Venlil?"
Barry nodded, pulling something up on the pad in front of him. I figured it was probably the report drafted by the guard that questioned us. "We wanted to confirm your side of the story as reported by Officer Gentry and Officer Jaisle, would you mind?"
I motioned with my hand for him to proceed. "I'd be happy to."
“Very good. To start, can you verify that this record of your account is accurate?" Barry queried, handing the pad off to me.
I sat for a few minutes, reading through the report and follow up answers that had been written down. Taisa took the pad as I offered it to her, "Looks good to me."
A few minutes longer, “Yeah, me too. Although two of the Venlil that had hidden behind Chris are missing, A female with white wool and a male with black wool with gray striping. I’m sorry I didn’t think to ask after their names.” She corrected, handing the pad back over to Barry.
“Thank you, we’ll be sure to correct that error.”
Taisa's ears perked up as she beeped out a question, her curiosity from earlier evidently not satisfied, "What does the UN intend to do with him?"
"Well, that depends, do you still decline to press charges, Mr. Dewey?" Barry asked, setting the pad back on the desk as he tapped a button to confirm the report.
I shook my head, "Nah, he needs help, not a lawsuit."
"Then in that case I am not at liberty to discuss an ongoing investigation beyond confirming your account. I apologize." Taisa's tail lashed in what I figured was annoyance at that before she took a breath and steadied it.
A few more questions were leveled at us, asking about the mood in the room just before and after the announcement, what individuals we could remember that looked the most agitated and if we could identify any of the pairs that had departed before the shouting began. Then Borven struck on a question that seemed to give Taisa pause.
"Taisa, what motivated you to intervene and guide the Venlil hiding behind your partner out of the altercation? You could have risked a stampede and caused far more problems than you were solving."
Her ears drooped for a moment, her tail coming to a standstill as she thought over the question. “I saw people in trouble, saw Chris doing something and I just… I had to help. I didn’t really think about whether it would cause a stampede until after I had already gotten them moving. After that I tried my best to stay calm; I’ve read that people at the front of a herd keeping a level head is what can start or stop a stampede.”
Borven’s tail flicked as he tapped something into his pad before swiveling his ears towards Barry. “I think that covers everything I have, Barry, any further questions?
Barry shook his head, tapping away at the pad before setting it back on its mount. “I believe that’s everything that I need. Unless the two of you have any further questions yourselves, you are excused. Thank you for your assistance.”
Taisa and I exchanged glances for a moment. “Actually, we did have one question.” “As I stated earlier, Mr. Dewey, unless you wish to press charges I cannot divulge information with regards to the Ensign’s punishment or prospects moving forward.” Barry sighed. “Please pose your question with that in mind.”
“And I understand that, this is about something else.” Barry raised an eyebrow as Borven fixed a single eyed gaze on me.
“Taisa and I were thinking that we’d, in the spirit of the exchange program, like to run an experiment.” “An experiment?” Borven asked, refocusing his ears on Taisa. She flicked her ears at him and tapped me with her tail, prompting me to continue.
“Yes. We’d like to run an experiment on Human-Venlil Business partnerships; see how we work together. Taisa is a trained ships engineer and I’ve spent the last 15 years hauling freight, organizing and working merchant ships all across Earth. I’d need some more targeted flight training and familiarization with rules and regs but I’ve spent plenty of time in simulators at home.”
A few moments of silence hung in the room before Barry shrugged. “That’s not under our department's purview but I can get you two in touch with the two people you’d likely need to… convince of the feasibility of your proposition.”
“Thank you, Gentlemen.” I said, standing from the seat before turning to walk out the door behind Taisa.
As the door closed I heard Barry and Borven bickering about how many of the pairs were going to want to stay together in one way or another. They seemed like fun, if maybe a bit stiff. After a minute or two of quiet walking down the hall our pads chimed, indicating we had received a message: Barry and Borven notified me that you and your partner have suggested an experiment. Please report to Conference Suite 4185. Sent by Thomas Ashforth, UN Liaison.
It wasn’t a terribly far walk around the station’s outer ring to arrive at the conference room, only a few minutes.
“Alright… 4185 it is.” Taisa spoke up next to me, taking a deep breath as her ears swiveled back a little; she looked worried.
“Hey, don’t worry. We got this.” I soothed while patting her on the back; trying to put a little pep back in her step. “It didn’t get sunk in the bay so we’ve got a chance at least!”
“I know,” She took another deep breath, puffing her chest up as we stepped up to the door. “I’m just scared they’ll say no. Or worse, find a reason to split us.” “We’ll just have to make sure that doesn't happen. You won’t be rid of me that easy.” I joked, putting a small twinkle of mirth in her eye as her tail lashed about.
I saw a retort brewing but it was cut off by a stern voice from beyond the door. “Enter.” Both of us stiffened a little as the door slid open to reveal a room with a small conference table, 6 chairs in total surrounding it. The two at the far end were occupied by a man wearing a UN dress uniform and a small union jack pinned to his lapel, while a very… very small ice-white Venlil sat on a cushion atop the table.
“Please be seated, we’ve got a few questions about your experiment. My name is Thomas Ashforth.” Said the man, gesturing across the table.
As Taisa and I sat down the small Venlil began. “And I am Professor Tarva, no relation. I’m head of the Integration efforts. You must be Taisa!” Taisa returned the enthusiasm with a flick of her ears before Tarva turned her ears towards me. “And you must be Christopher! Protector blessed, you’re certainly the largest Human I’ve seen so far!” I nodded in return. “My friend here is coordinating the fiscal side of the exchange program. So, why don’t you two tell us about this idea of yours?”
I took in a breath to steady my nerves, Taisa’s tail coiling around my ankle helped motivate my voice forward that little bit more. “We know that the recent blockades have caused issues for Venlil prime, and while Earth may not need anything from Venlil prime to get by there’s a lot of people who I’d bet would want plenty. Taisa also tells me a fair few of the freighter captains are still ‘bolty’ about trading directly with Humans; neither Taisa nor myself have that problem. From what she has said there’s a lot of surplus ships floating around VPs shipyards waiting for trade to open up again. The experiment would be to acquire a smaller freighter for Taisa and myself to crew, command, and operate so as to gather a better understanding of how Humans and Venlil work together in a civilian ship environment as well as the operation of an enterprise. Plenty of research is going to come up for military applications but I think opportunities to gain information on Civilian settings will be few and far between for some time.”
“An interesting theory! But what extra information do you think we can get from a civilian vessel that we can’t from a military vessel? What you’re suggesting could easily be replicated within the logistics corps instead!” Her tail was swaying slowly as her ears stayed pointed directly at me.
“Chaos.” I said, simply, shrugging at the statement.
That seemed to catch her off guard a moment, her tail falling still before her ears perked up and her eyes came alight with a fire of interest. “And why exactly would I want to include chaos in my experiments?”
“Military ships, combat and logi, all have an inherent order to them, in combat or out of it. They are specifically trained for, and sometimes raised in it. Civilian merchants and shippers don't have that training, which means the operating conditions, stresses and strains on the crew of a military ship are different than that of a civilian ship. Monitoring how Taisa and I work together, our responses to those stresses and strains could provide valuable insight into future workplace ‘integration’ efforts.” I leaned forward, bracing my elbows on the table as I looked over her head, trying to avoid spooking her.
Despite those efforts, her favored eye bore into mine, before she changed her tactic and tried again, “Ok, so the idea has merit. But why should we get a whole ship for the two of you? Why not register you with a freight company and have you work with them as well?” She countered, a gleam in her eye as she focused on my face.
“Please point us to a freight company that won't make a stink about having a human pilot, let alone one my size. Even if you did find a freighter willing to stomach my presence that doesn’t change the fact that baseline interactions would be easy enough to find examples of, and could be done with any pair of applicants in any setting. What we are proposing is the examination of a joint business venture. Taisa and I have experience: I was the first-mate on my last ship, and Taisa is a Venlil-trained and registered ships engineer. These are the backbone of any ship, giving you a clean sample to get readings, uncluttered by other people”.
“That comes to another question. Why the two of you? There’s plenty of running freight companies we could organize this same exchange with, without having to dig up the money for a ship.” She retorted, despite the wording and my still… developing understanding of tail signals, I was pretty sure she was enjoying this.
As I mulled over the question, trying to think of the best response, Taisa spoke up from the chair next to me, her ears peaked straight up, a confident look in her eyes with a voice as sure as steel. “Because we’re here. You already planned on something similar or ‘integration’ wouldn’t be on the table. I’d guess that you’ve got pairs picked for all sorts of ‘experiments’, and business is just one part of it.”
Atta Girl Taisa! Said it better than I ever could.
Tarva opened her mouth for another question; if I didn’t know better I’d think she loved this kind of back and forth. But before she could begin Thomas’ voice drifted in and I was reminded of the sharp cold of the Bering Straits. “I’m very pleased you work so well together. But how would that benefit the program? Why should the UN invest in your… ‘integration’.” His eyes passed between us, like we were being measured for a casket, it was clear that wasn’t a question, it was a statement.
Flipping open a ledger, Thomas pulled a pen from his breast pocket, the motion felt like it carried more weight than the drawing of any sword. “Firstly, this, as all business ventures must be, has to be profitable. To you, to the program and to the U.N. until you’ve paid back your debt, and more. How do you intend to actually make a profit? Have you considered fuel costs? Maintenance? Registration? Permitting?” His gaze felt like it could turn me to stone, I hated accountants, near as much as lawyers.
Taisa seemed not to have such hangups, someone had been thinking. “Fuel costs would be negligible when compared to the overall short trip and high margins that could be made by hauling higher value cargo. Maintenance would be handled by myself, limiting costs only to parts. I doubt that we will be acquiring a fresh off the line ship, and I know my way around a scrapyard. Registration and permitting are firm plan-able costs that can be included within the operating budget since they come up at regular intervals.”
Thomas nodded, writing in his ledger before looking back up at us. “And what do you intend to actually ship? The most profitable ventures have a plan and a consistent schedule.” I sat up a little straighter, I wasn’t going to let an accountant send me running like a dog with my tail between my legs. “My experience is with Tramp freighters, sir.” The use of the term earned a look of confusion from Tarva and a slight sigh from Taisa, while Thomas was clearly familiar with the term. “Charging higher rates for a slightly less consistent schedule would make up for the irregularity. I am of the opinion that limiting what is hauled to one type, brand or item of cargo would, in this case, be a poor decision at such a small scale. Bulk freighters at home only work because of their scale and the guaranteed regularity, to make such a thing work for that kind of enterprise the U.N. would have to invest far more into the ship just to get the idea off the ground. Taking bespoke contracts for individuals, or groups of them within the same city or province, would allow us to keep a more flexible margin for each run. As well, I already have a few old associates on Earth that are likely chomping at the bit to open a trade route with VP.”
His eyes narrowed a little as he wrote in his ledger again, that infernal brass pen making notes I couldn’t see. “What guarantees can you give us that this will last? How can the U.N. be sure that in a month’s time this doesn’t blow up in our faces and we’re left with an old freighter, a diplomatic incident, and an empty bag?”
To my surprise Tarva spoke up on our behalf. “Christopher's Empathy test puts him in the top 5th percentile of those tested. Taisa has been searching for a job since she graduated, and from her application wants very much to avoid returning home for work, that coupled with Christopher’s registered work history and their obvious compatibility I think it unlikely the experiment will ‘blow up’ in the U.N.s face.”
Thomas’s eyebrows scowled, like his ledger insulted his mother. He laid his pen down with a sigh, “The U.N. Reserves the right at any time, during the period in which the debt for the ship has not yet been paid, to requisition cargo space. Christopher, you will be completing a mandatory course to bring your capabilities inline with UN or Venlil freight pilot standards, failure of this course is unacceptable.” He let the ultimatum hang in the air… then continued, “Taisa, you will be tested on how much of your education you have retained in your time since graduation, as well as your efficacy in this role. Finally: any and all damages, maintenance, modifications and or ‘personalizations’ made to the vessel, beyond what is required by both species’ workplace safety requirements, will be done at your own expense. The U.N. will not be liable for these costs.”
“These are the terms of our little venture. And they are non-negotiable. Do you accept?”
Taisa and I exchanged a quick glance before responding “Yes.” In unison.
“With that concluded, hard copies of your agreement will be provided shortly. You both begin your respective written portions tomorrow. Congratulations! I look forward to seeing your ‘experiments’ results.” Thomas chuckled the last sentence, breaking the accountant’s stony demeanor, maybe he wasn’t that bad.
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “So, that means…”
“That means you’re approved.” Tarva beeped, her tail swaying happily. “We of course will need to work out your overall flight training schedule, lodging and a business plan but we can handle that. My counterpart here will need to source a ship, but none of that should be particularly difficult. For now, congratulations on your acceptance into the Integration program!”
I thought for a moment, weighing the last few days in my head, if there was something I could lay my head down under each night it would be that brilliant twilight sky. “What about Heartwood? For lodging, I mean; Taisa’s family lives there. She says it's a small town but I’m sure something could get worked out. Could also help with introducing the people there to Humans!”
Tarva paused, her ears swiveling in thought. “I think that could be arranged, if I remember correctly there is a small shuttle port there. Although I do want to make sure that you understand: rural communities are likely to be less accepting of Human presence, you will be met with some degree of prejudice. You may not get the welcome you’re hoping for.”
Taisa spoke up before I could respond, one eye focused on me while her ears were directed towards Tarva. “I think the people of Heartwood would come around. It might take a bit but if anyone could get through to them it’ll be Chris.”
I smiled a little, looking over to Tarva. “I’ve never met a farmer I couldn’t charm! I’m willing to give it a go, just gotta avoid gettin’ torched, apparently.” For the first time, for the briefest moment, that seemed to set Tarva off balance; Taisa did mention that Exterminators were a sensitive subject.
“W-Wonderful!” Clearing her throat, she regained her composure, “In that case we’ll see what we can work out. I’ll make sure to include an extra form for you to fill out to request any personal belongings you need from home! For now, though, I think the two of you should get a good rest, you’ve both got busy paws tomorrow!” She beeped excitedly and her tail swayed happily as she turned to Thomas and began discussing the arrangement.
Taisa and I took the cue and rose from the table, headed out the door, and walked back to the room in silence until the door to our space closed behind us; both of us releasing heavy held breath as it did.
“I can not believe that worked.” Taisa said, her tail wagging as she wrapped her arms around me. “We’re going to actually have a ship… I’m actually going to get to do what I trained to do, what I want to do.” I returned the hug. “We’ll both get to do what we want, but first we’re gonna have to get through those tests.” She giggled a little, the joy at the prospect evident in her voice. “We’ve got this, together.”
Confident as ever. I pulled her into the hug a little tighter.
“Together.”
---
First Prev. Next
submitted by Liberty-Prime76 to NatureofPredators [link] [comments]
Thank you to u/cruisingNW for proof reading and helping me out of some hang ups, you're the man! And for letting me use Barry, Borven and Tarva (No relation)!
First Prev. Next
---
Memory Transcription Subject: Christopher A. Dewey, Human Merchant Sailor, Venlil-Human Exchange Participant
Date [Standardized Human Time]: August 24th, 2136.
The door to Suite 4006 didn't look all that different from the door to our bunk room, though the walls around it lacked the friendly atmosphere of the exchange areas; guess admin offices are bland no matter the species. Taisa was beside me trying to appear confident; I noticed she did that a lot. Originally I had thought it was for my benefit, to make me feel like she wasn't scared of me; but I wasn't so sure of that anymore. It seemed that any time she was in a situation that made her feel small or scared she did her best to puff up and push through it. It was one of the things I liked best about her; but that didn't mean I'd ever stop giving her shit for fainting.
"Taisa," I started, placing my hand on her shoulder, her tail curling a little and resting against the side of my leg. "It'll be alright, I figure they wanna ask some questions about what happened earlier. Verify reports, get the story first hand. That sort of thing."
She took a deep breath as her ears flicked at my statement and her tail swayed off my leg. I think that one means she understands, or maybe it's agreement? Still tryin’ to figure those out.
"We tell 'em what happened, get it all cleared up on our end, easy and free 'fore too long. Once we got their questions outta the way we can drop our little 'research idea' on ‘em and see where it goes from there." I squeezed her shoulder gently at the end, she beeped a little but seemed to puff her chest out with a little extra confidence.
"Here goes nothin'." I raised my hand to rap against the metal door, I assume I looked a fool when the door opened up before I actually managed to knock.
"Christopher A. Dewey and Taisa, I presume?" A Venlil in the door stated, keeping the two of us in the span of his left eye. "Come in, have a seat."
He maneuvered his way around behind the desk, sitting down in a chair next to a Human at a shared desk as Taisa and I got situated. "I am Borven, and this is Barry." He stated, introducing himself and then the Human with his tail. "We are the liaisons for the exposure program. I assume that you know why we called you in this waking?"
I nodded, leaning back in the chair. "I'd wager a guess it has something to do with a certain upset Ensign, a bunch of angry Humans and a... pawful of scared Venlil?"
Barry nodded, pulling something up on the pad in front of him. I figured it was probably the report drafted by the guard that questioned us. "We wanted to confirm your side of the story as reported by Officer Gentry and Officer Jaisle, would you mind?"
I motioned with my hand for him to proceed. "I'd be happy to."
“Very good. To start, can you verify that this record of your account is accurate?" Barry queried, handing the pad off to me.
I sat for a few minutes, reading through the report and follow up answers that had been written down. Taisa took the pad as I offered it to her, "Looks good to me."
A few minutes longer, “Yeah, me too. Although two of the Venlil that had hidden behind Chris are missing, A female with white wool and a male with black wool with gray striping. I’m sorry I didn’t think to ask after their names.” She corrected, handing the pad back over to Barry.
“Thank you, we’ll be sure to correct that error.”
Taisa's ears perked up as she beeped out a question, her curiosity from earlier evidently not satisfied, "What does the UN intend to do with him?"
"Well, that depends, do you still decline to press charges, Mr. Dewey?" Barry asked, setting the pad back on the desk as he tapped a button to confirm the report.
I shook my head, "Nah, he needs help, not a lawsuit."
"Then in that case I am not at liberty to discuss an ongoing investigation beyond confirming your account. I apologize." Taisa's tail lashed in what I figured was annoyance at that before she took a breath and steadied it.
A few more questions were leveled at us, asking about the mood in the room just before and after the announcement, what individuals we could remember that looked the most agitated and if we could identify any of the pairs that had departed before the shouting began. Then Borven struck on a question that seemed to give Taisa pause.
"Taisa, what motivated you to intervene and guide the Venlil hiding behind your partner out of the altercation? You could have risked a stampede and caused far more problems than you were solving."
Her ears drooped for a moment, her tail coming to a standstill as she thought over the question. “I saw people in trouble, saw Chris doing something and I just… I had to help. I didn’t really think about whether it would cause a stampede until after I had already gotten them moving. After that I tried my best to stay calm; I’ve read that people at the front of a herd keeping a level head is what can start or stop a stampede.”
Borven’s tail flicked as he tapped something into his pad before swiveling his ears towards Barry. “I think that covers everything I have, Barry, any further questions?
Barry shook his head, tapping away at the pad before setting it back on its mount. “I believe that’s everything that I need. Unless the two of you have any further questions yourselves, you are excused. Thank you for your assistance.”
Taisa and I exchanged glances for a moment. “Actually, we did have one question.” “As I stated earlier, Mr. Dewey, unless you wish to press charges I cannot divulge information with regards to the Ensign’s punishment or prospects moving forward.” Barry sighed. “Please pose your question with that in mind.”
“And I understand that, this is about something else.” Barry raised an eyebrow as Borven fixed a single eyed gaze on me.
“Taisa and I were thinking that we’d, in the spirit of the exchange program, like to run an experiment.” “An experiment?” Borven asked, refocusing his ears on Taisa. She flicked her ears at him and tapped me with her tail, prompting me to continue.
“Yes. We’d like to run an experiment on Human-Venlil Business partnerships; see how we work together. Taisa is a trained ships engineer and I’ve spent the last 15 years hauling freight, organizing and working merchant ships all across Earth. I’d need some more targeted flight training and familiarization with rules and regs but I’ve spent plenty of time in simulators at home.”
A few moments of silence hung in the room before Barry shrugged. “That’s not under our department's purview but I can get you two in touch with the two people you’d likely need to… convince of the feasibility of your proposition.”
“Thank you, Gentlemen.” I said, standing from the seat before turning to walk out the door behind Taisa.
As the door closed I heard Barry and Borven bickering about how many of the pairs were going to want to stay together in one way or another. They seemed like fun, if maybe a bit stiff. After a minute or two of quiet walking down the hall our pads chimed, indicating we had received a message: Barry and Borven notified me that you and your partner have suggested an experiment. Please report to Conference Suite 4185. Sent by Thomas Ashforth, UN Liaison.
It wasn’t a terribly far walk around the station’s outer ring to arrive at the conference room, only a few minutes.
“Alright… 4185 it is.” Taisa spoke up next to me, taking a deep breath as her ears swiveled back a little; she looked worried.
“Hey, don’t worry. We got this.” I soothed while patting her on the back; trying to put a little pep back in her step. “It didn’t get sunk in the bay so we’ve got a chance at least!”
“I know,” She took another deep breath, puffing her chest up as we stepped up to the door. “I’m just scared they’ll say no. Or worse, find a reason to split us.” “We’ll just have to make sure that doesn't happen. You won’t be rid of me that easy.” I joked, putting a small twinkle of mirth in her eye as her tail lashed about.
I saw a retort brewing but it was cut off by a stern voice from beyond the door. “Enter.” Both of us stiffened a little as the door slid open to reveal a room with a small conference table, 6 chairs in total surrounding it. The two at the far end were occupied by a man wearing a UN dress uniform and a small union jack pinned to his lapel, while a very… very small ice-white Venlil sat on a cushion atop the table.
“Please be seated, we’ve got a few questions about your experiment. My name is Thomas Ashforth.” Said the man, gesturing across the table.
As Taisa and I sat down the small Venlil began. “And I am Professor Tarva, no relation. I’m head of the Integration efforts. You must be Taisa!” Taisa returned the enthusiasm with a flick of her ears before Tarva turned her ears towards me. “And you must be Christopher! Protector blessed, you’re certainly the largest Human I’ve seen so far!” I nodded in return. “My friend here is coordinating the fiscal side of the exchange program. So, why don’t you two tell us about this idea of yours?”
I took in a breath to steady my nerves, Taisa’s tail coiling around my ankle helped motivate my voice forward that little bit more. “We know that the recent blockades have caused issues for Venlil prime, and while Earth may not need anything from Venlil prime to get by there’s a lot of people who I’d bet would want plenty. Taisa also tells me a fair few of the freighter captains are still ‘bolty’ about trading directly with Humans; neither Taisa nor myself have that problem. From what she has said there’s a lot of surplus ships floating around VPs shipyards waiting for trade to open up again. The experiment would be to acquire a smaller freighter for Taisa and myself to crew, command, and operate so as to gather a better understanding of how Humans and Venlil work together in a civilian ship environment as well as the operation of an enterprise. Plenty of research is going to come up for military applications but I think opportunities to gain information on Civilian settings will be few and far between for some time.”
“An interesting theory! But what extra information do you think we can get from a civilian vessel that we can’t from a military vessel? What you’re suggesting could easily be replicated within the logistics corps instead!” Her tail was swaying slowly as her ears stayed pointed directly at me.
“Chaos.” I said, simply, shrugging at the statement.
That seemed to catch her off guard a moment, her tail falling still before her ears perked up and her eyes came alight with a fire of interest. “And why exactly would I want to include chaos in my experiments?”
“Military ships, combat and logi, all have an inherent order to them, in combat or out of it. They are specifically trained for, and sometimes raised in it. Civilian merchants and shippers don't have that training, which means the operating conditions, stresses and strains on the crew of a military ship are different than that of a civilian ship. Monitoring how Taisa and I work together, our responses to those stresses and strains could provide valuable insight into future workplace ‘integration’ efforts.” I leaned forward, bracing my elbows on the table as I looked over her head, trying to avoid spooking her.
Despite those efforts, her favored eye bore into mine, before she changed her tactic and tried again, “Ok, so the idea has merit. But why should we get a whole ship for the two of you? Why not register you with a freight company and have you work with them as well?” She countered, a gleam in her eye as she focused on my face.
“Please point us to a freight company that won't make a stink about having a human pilot, let alone one my size. Even if you did find a freighter willing to stomach my presence that doesn’t change the fact that baseline interactions would be easy enough to find examples of, and could be done with any pair of applicants in any setting. What we are proposing is the examination of a joint business venture. Taisa and I have experience: I was the first-mate on my last ship, and Taisa is a Venlil-trained and registered ships engineer. These are the backbone of any ship, giving you a clean sample to get readings, uncluttered by other people”.
“That comes to another question. Why the two of you? There’s plenty of running freight companies we could organize this same exchange with, without having to dig up the money for a ship.” She retorted, despite the wording and my still… developing understanding of tail signals, I was pretty sure she was enjoying this.
As I mulled over the question, trying to think of the best response, Taisa spoke up from the chair next to me, her ears peaked straight up, a confident look in her eyes with a voice as sure as steel. “Because we’re here. You already planned on something similar or ‘integration’ wouldn’t be on the table. I’d guess that you’ve got pairs picked for all sorts of ‘experiments’, and business is just one part of it.”
Atta Girl Taisa! Said it better than I ever could.
Tarva opened her mouth for another question; if I didn’t know better I’d think she loved this kind of back and forth. But before she could begin Thomas’ voice drifted in and I was reminded of the sharp cold of the Bering Straits. “I’m very pleased you work so well together. But how would that benefit the program? Why should the UN invest in your… ‘integration’.” His eyes passed between us, like we were being measured for a casket, it was clear that wasn’t a question, it was a statement.
Flipping open a ledger, Thomas pulled a pen from his breast pocket, the motion felt like it carried more weight than the drawing of any sword. “Firstly, this, as all business ventures must be, has to be profitable. To you, to the program and to the U.N. until you’ve paid back your debt, and more. How do you intend to actually make a profit? Have you considered fuel costs? Maintenance? Registration? Permitting?” His gaze felt like it could turn me to stone, I hated accountants, near as much as lawyers.
Taisa seemed not to have such hangups, someone had been thinking. “Fuel costs would be negligible when compared to the overall short trip and high margins that could be made by hauling higher value cargo. Maintenance would be handled by myself, limiting costs only to parts. I doubt that we will be acquiring a fresh off the line ship, and I know my way around a scrapyard. Registration and permitting are firm plan-able costs that can be included within the operating budget since they come up at regular intervals.”
Thomas nodded, writing in his ledger before looking back up at us. “And what do you intend to actually ship? The most profitable ventures have a plan and a consistent schedule.” I sat up a little straighter, I wasn’t going to let an accountant send me running like a dog with my tail between my legs. “My experience is with Tramp freighters, sir.” The use of the term earned a look of confusion from Tarva and a slight sigh from Taisa, while Thomas was clearly familiar with the term. “Charging higher rates for a slightly less consistent schedule would make up for the irregularity. I am of the opinion that limiting what is hauled to one type, brand or item of cargo would, in this case, be a poor decision at such a small scale. Bulk freighters at home only work because of their scale and the guaranteed regularity, to make such a thing work for that kind of enterprise the U.N. would have to invest far more into the ship just to get the idea off the ground. Taking bespoke contracts for individuals, or groups of them within the same city or province, would allow us to keep a more flexible margin for each run. As well, I already have a few old associates on Earth that are likely chomping at the bit to open a trade route with VP.”
His eyes narrowed a little as he wrote in his ledger again, that infernal brass pen making notes I couldn’t see. “What guarantees can you give us that this will last? How can the U.N. be sure that in a month’s time this doesn’t blow up in our faces and we’re left with an old freighter, a diplomatic incident, and an empty bag?”
To my surprise Tarva spoke up on our behalf. “Christopher's Empathy test puts him in the top 5th percentile of those tested. Taisa has been searching for a job since she graduated, and from her application wants very much to avoid returning home for work, that coupled with Christopher’s registered work history and their obvious compatibility I think it unlikely the experiment will ‘blow up’ in the U.N.s face.”
Thomas’s eyebrows scowled, like his ledger insulted his mother. He laid his pen down with a sigh, “The U.N. Reserves the right at any time, during the period in which the debt for the ship has not yet been paid, to requisition cargo space. Christopher, you will be completing a mandatory course to bring your capabilities inline with UN or Venlil freight pilot standards, failure of this course is unacceptable.” He let the ultimatum hang in the air… then continued, “Taisa, you will be tested on how much of your education you have retained in your time since graduation, as well as your efficacy in this role. Finally: any and all damages, maintenance, modifications and or ‘personalizations’ made to the vessel, beyond what is required by both species’ workplace safety requirements, will be done at your own expense. The U.N. will not be liable for these costs.”
“These are the terms of our little venture. And they are non-negotiable. Do you accept?”
Taisa and I exchanged a quick glance before responding “Yes.” In unison.
“With that concluded, hard copies of your agreement will be provided shortly. You both begin your respective written portions tomorrow. Congratulations! I look forward to seeing your ‘experiments’ results.” Thomas chuckled the last sentence, breaking the accountant’s stony demeanor, maybe he wasn’t that bad.
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “So, that means…”
“That means you’re approved.” Tarva beeped, her tail swaying happily. “We of course will need to work out your overall flight training schedule, lodging and a business plan but we can handle that. My counterpart here will need to source a ship, but none of that should be particularly difficult. For now, congratulations on your acceptance into the Integration program!”
I thought for a moment, weighing the last few days in my head, if there was something I could lay my head down under each night it would be that brilliant twilight sky. “What about Heartwood? For lodging, I mean; Taisa’s family lives there. She says it's a small town but I’m sure something could get worked out. Could also help with introducing the people there to Humans!”
Tarva paused, her ears swiveling in thought. “I think that could be arranged, if I remember correctly there is a small shuttle port there. Although I do want to make sure that you understand: rural communities are likely to be less accepting of Human presence, you will be met with some degree of prejudice. You may not get the welcome you’re hoping for.”
Taisa spoke up before I could respond, one eye focused on me while her ears were directed towards Tarva. “I think the people of Heartwood would come around. It might take a bit but if anyone could get through to them it’ll be Chris.”
I smiled a little, looking over to Tarva. “I’ve never met a farmer I couldn’t charm! I’m willing to give it a go, just gotta avoid gettin’ torched, apparently.” For the first time, for the briefest moment, that seemed to set Tarva off balance; Taisa did mention that Exterminators were a sensitive subject.
“W-Wonderful!” Clearing her throat, she regained her composure, “In that case we’ll see what we can work out. I’ll make sure to include an extra form for you to fill out to request any personal belongings you need from home! For now, though, I think the two of you should get a good rest, you’ve both got busy paws tomorrow!” She beeped excitedly and her tail swayed happily as she turned to Thomas and began discussing the arrangement.
Taisa and I took the cue and rose from the table, headed out the door, and walked back to the room in silence until the door to our space closed behind us; both of us releasing heavy held breath as it did.
“I can not believe that worked.” Taisa said, her tail wagging as she wrapped her arms around me. “We’re going to actually have a ship… I’m actually going to get to do what I trained to do, what I want to do.” I returned the hug. “We’ll both get to do what we want, but first we’re gonna have to get through those tests.” She giggled a little, the joy at the prospect evident in her voice. “We’ve got this, together.”
Confident as ever. I pulled her into the hug a little tighter.
“Together.”
---
First Prev. Next
2023.06.02 13:31 the_gutterati Living In The Dark (Live)
Song of the Week
Living In The Dark (Live Belladrum 2022)
Lyrics
Belladrum Festival 2022 Set
Song of the Week #274
Thank you to u/kyokocake for giving me the floor this week, and also huge apologies as she actually gave me the floor LAST week and I missed my slot! I’m hoping to make it up to you with my own take on Song of the Week - a love letter to Living In The Dark Live, and to the shows themselves. Strap in, and thank you for indulging me!
I have been very, very fortunate to have seen the band a good number of times post-pandemic - six to be precise! I made the decision to see them whenever and wherever I possibly could when the lockdowns lifted and live music came back to us. We all learned or reaffirmed that life is ridiculously short, and nothing is promised, so I was determined to make the most of my UK base and get out there. As such, I’ve witnessed this magnificent live performance several times and it truly never gets old! I began to really look forward to it, and moved past being ‘hopeful that it will be on the set list’ to ‘certain that it will’ by the end. My certainty was due to seeing what an incredible time the band, and in particular Jon, seemed to be having onstage whenever they played this beauty.
So onto it - I didn’t attend the Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, but we do have a lovely upload of it here thanks to Josh! It opens with the most beautiful jangly guitar. A little bit country, a little bit indie pop to my highly untrained ear. Then the fun really begins - Jon’s vocal is as exquisite as ever in this performance, and the addition of the horns and the Wild Tonics really does elevate the whole thing. When we first heard that this would become a regular addition I was very unsure, but I am completely sold now. In person it’s impossible to take your eyes off the Tonics during their solo here, which y’all who know me will recognise is a huge deal for me when The Fratellis are around. It’s a joyous performance all round, and I can’t get enough! I look forward to my European/US/rest of the world friends being able to enjoy it and experience it as I have.
Live or recorded, Living In The Dark is such a beautiful blend of music and lyrics I just can’t help but love. I hope to see the band back on the road soon - I'll be here waiting every day // Wild, wild horses couldn't keep me fromyour front the stage door, oh, I swear x
Comment below any ideas for Song of the Week for u/kyokocake, and I would like to know: What's your favourite song to hear live OR what would you love to hear live if you've not seen them before?
submitted by the_gutterati to TheFratellis [link] [comments]
Living In The Dark (Live Belladrum 2022)
Lyrics
Belladrum Festival 2022 Set
Song of the Week #274
Thank you to u/kyokocake for giving me the floor this week, and also huge apologies as she actually gave me the floor LAST week and I missed my slot! I’m hoping to make it up to you with my own take on Song of the Week - a love letter to Living In The Dark Live, and to the shows themselves. Strap in, and thank you for indulging me!
I have been very, very fortunate to have seen the band a good number of times post-pandemic - six to be precise! I made the decision to see them whenever and wherever I possibly could when the lockdowns lifted and live music came back to us. We all learned or reaffirmed that life is ridiculously short, and nothing is promised, so I was determined to make the most of my UK base and get out there. As such, I’ve witnessed this magnificent live performance several times and it truly never gets old! I began to really look forward to it, and moved past being ‘hopeful that it will be on the set list’ to ‘certain that it will’ by the end. My certainty was due to seeing what an incredible time the band, and in particular Jon, seemed to be having onstage whenever they played this beauty.
So onto it - I didn’t attend the Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, but we do have a lovely upload of it here thanks to Josh! It opens with the most beautiful jangly guitar. A little bit country, a little bit indie pop to my highly untrained ear. Then the fun really begins - Jon’s vocal is as exquisite as ever in this performance, and the addition of the horns and the Wild Tonics really does elevate the whole thing. When we first heard that this would become a regular addition I was very unsure, but I am completely sold now. In person it’s impossible to take your eyes off the Tonics during their solo here, which y’all who know me will recognise is a huge deal for me when The Fratellis are around. It’s a joyous performance all round, and I can’t get enough! I look forward to my European/US/rest of the world friends being able to enjoy it and experience it as I have.
Live or recorded, Living In The Dark is such a beautiful blend of music and lyrics I just can’t help but love. I hope to see the band back on the road soon - I'll be here waiting every day // Wild, wild horses couldn't keep me from
Comment below any ideas for Song of the Week for u/kyokocake, and I would like to know: What's your favourite song to hear live OR what would you love to hear live if you've not seen them before?
2023.06.02 13:31 AutoModerator [Download Course] Dan Koe – Digital Economics Masters Degree (Genkicourses.site)
![[Download Course] Dan Koe – Digital Economics Masters Degree (Genkicourses.site)](https://external-preview.redd.it/fOqn7KmDTJTq7osxTNYLmJrlQaiAm0ONKdlMY2W9LPw.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=c1038498d720da73db8a80b2f2e52d6a35364162 "[Download Course] Dan Koe – Digital Economics Masters Degree (Genkicourses.site)") | Get the course here: [Download Course] Dan Koe – Digital Economics Masters Degree (Genkicourses.site) submitted by AutoModerator to TheCoursePlace1 [link] [comments] Our website: https://www.genkicourses.site/product/dan-koe-digital-economics-masters-degree/ Phase 0) Digital Economics 101The Digital Economics 101 module will open 1 week prior to the cohort start date.This is an onboarding module that will get you up to speed so we can get straight into the material.This will be required to finish before the start date.
Phase 1) Creating A Meaningful NicheEvery day I hear people going on and on about trying to find their niche.I also hear people talking about how they don’t know how to combine what they love talking about with what will sell.You already have the answer. You just don’t have the clarity.
Phase 2) Content StrategyThere is one thing that separates those who make it in the digital economy and those who don’t.It’s the quality, articulation, and perceived originality of their content.The content you post has to make sense to the people you attract.Everyone has a different voice and tone that they resonate with. That they are congruent with and trust.It has to change their thought patterns or behavior — that’s what makes you memorable.That’s what separates you from the sea of people posting surface-level copy-cat style posts.Example and putting my money where my mouth is:
Phase 3) Crafting Your OfferMost people are sitting on a goldmine of skills, experience, and knowledge (that they can use to help people 1-2 steps behind them).That is what people pay for.Considering 95% of the market are beginners… if you are good at something, you can help them get to your level (no matter how “basic” you think the information is).Do you not watch basic content all day anyway? People don’t want new information, they want to be reminded of what works.
Phase 4) Marketing StrategyYou aren’t making money because you aren’t promoting yourself or your offer.That is literally the only way to make money. Have something desirable and consistently put it in front of peoples’ faces.In Phase 4, I will show you how to systemize, automate, and be consistent with simple promotions.You will be able to make money without having the chance of forgetting to do it (or letting fear of failure get in the way).
Bonus) The Creator Command CenterThe Creator Command Center is a Notion template that houses all of the systems.This is how you will manage your brand, content, offer creation, marketing strategy, and systemized promotions for consistent sales.Bonus) Live Product Build & LaunchIn the first Digital Economics Cohort, I built out my course The 2 Hour Writer.I have videos showing how I build it with the strategies in phase 3 and 4.There is a bonus module that shows how I had an $85,000 launch that resulted in my first $100K month.I did this to prove the strategies inside Digital Economics work if you stick to the plan.And, this past Black Friday, I blew my that monthly high out of the water in 4 days.That’s the power of these strategies if you stay consistent with your life’s work.@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ If you're wondering why our courses are priced lower than the original prices and are feeling a bit suspicious (which is understandable), we can provide proof of the course's contents. We can provide a screenshot of the course's contents or send you a freebie, such as an introduction video or another video from the course, to prove that we do have the course. Should you wish to request proof, we kindly ask you to reach out to us. Please be aware that our courses do not include community access. This is due to the fact that we do not have the authority to manage this feature. Despite our desire to incorporate this aspect, it is, unfortunately, unfeasible. Explore affordable learning at Genkicourses.site 🎓! Dive into a world of quality courses handpicked just for you. Download, watch, and achieve more without breaking your budget. |
2023.06.02 13:30 AutoModerator The Friday Sessions: It's a community-wide AMA, but for welding questions, Ask the questions you've never asked, we'll try to answer them as best we can.
This is open to everyone, both to ask questions and to offer answers.
If you're a regular here and have RES, please subscribe to the thread so you can offer assistance as well. Next to the comments there should be a 'subscribe' button. (the subscription will be in your Dashboard.)
Simple rules:
submitted by AutoModerator to Welding [link] [comments]
If you're a regular here and have RES, please subscribe to the thread so you can offer assistance as well. Next to the comments there should be a 'subscribe' button. (the subscription will be in your Dashboard.)
Simple rules:
- Unless it's a loaded question, it's fair game.
- No downvoting, this isn't a popularity thing, and we're not in high school, if someone doesn't know something, the only way to learn is to ask or do, sometimes doing isn't an option.
- No whining.
- Assume ignorance over stupidity. Sometimes we fail to see an answer in front of our faces.
- Try to back up your answers. If you're on mobile and you can't do it, say as much and try to remember to address it when you get to a terminal.
- Respect is always expected.
- if comments or questions are removed, assume it's for good reason.
- If your question isn't answered by the end of the day, either post it to the main community, or ask again next week.
2023.06.02 13:30 EchoJobs Connext is hiring Front-End Developer [Remote] [API React TypeScript JavaScript]
![Connext is hiring Front-End Developer [Remote] [API React TypeScript JavaScript]](https://external-preview.redd.it/9NKsNAuaGrJPT2pXg_53DLstCJRJStCV42fsl0_KjnQ.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=9825df83b135d50a5ea79476db1db5b2b9f37b1e "Connext is hiring Front-End Developer [Remote] [API React TypeScript JavaScript]") | submitted by EchoJobs to remoteworks [link] [comments] |
2023.06.02 13:28 Zarkopafilis About the durability of high end summer riding pants
I was on the lookout for some summer riding pant (on and slight off road). Here in Greece, temps can go up to slightly above 40C / 100F.
After spending a few days researching hot weather pants, I ended up with a small list of contenders, sorted from cheap to most expensive:
- Revit Eclipse 2 / ~100e
- Klim Outrider / ~200e
- Klim Marrakesh / ~400e
- MoskoMoto Kiger Mesh / ~ 420e
400eudollars are A LOT for motorcycle riding gear, so I'm basically asking if anybody uses those higher end pants, and how big the difference is between mid and high end.
- Are they durable enough to justify this huge cost? - How do those 1000D micromesh breathable higher end pants (~400e) compare to the middle end (~200e) "increased breathability" ones? - Are the cheaper revit ~100e mesh pants worth it if you're not doing hard off road things? I know that they are mesh and super breathable, and that they also come with ripstop fabric, but is it really durable to make it VFM for this cheap price?
submitted by Zarkopafilis to motorcycle [link] [comments]
After spending a few days researching hot weather pants, I ended up with a small list of contenders, sorted from cheap to most expensive:
- Revit Eclipse 2 / ~100e
- Klim Outrider / ~200e
- Klim Marrakesh / ~400e
- MoskoMoto Kiger Mesh / ~ 420e
400eudollars are A LOT for motorcycle riding gear, so I'm basically asking if anybody uses those higher end pants, and how big the difference is between mid and high end.
- Are they durable enough to justify this huge cost? - How do those 1000D micromesh breathable higher end pants (~400e) compare to the middle end (~200e) "increased breathability" ones? - Are the cheaper revit ~100e mesh pants worth it if you're not doing hard off road things? I know that they are mesh and super breathable, and that they also come with ripstop fabric, but is it really durable to make it VFM for this cheap price?
2023.06.02 13:27 OrganicSearchTraffic Do companies actually use pure Nodejs for backend?
This is probably a stupid question. But I have been learning backend using pure Nodejs and it is more difficult than using Nodejs-based frameworks such as Express or Nestjs.
But I'm seeing a lot of job postings and interview questions seemingly focusing only on pure Nodejs and it's rarer to see Express or Nest.
I'm a front-end dev currently learning backend to improve chances to get a dev job. To be honest I have no idea which framework to learn.
Can anyone give me some insights? Any help is appreciated.
submitted by OrganicSearchTraffic to node [link] [comments]
But I'm seeing a lot of job postings and interview questions seemingly focusing only on pure Nodejs and it's rarer to see Express or Nest.
I'm a front-end dev currently learning backend to improve chances to get a dev job. To be honest I have no idea which framework to learn.
Can anyone give me some insights? Any help is appreciated.
2023.06.02 13:22 Stupid-ForYou Does it get easier as you get older?
I’m 18 now and while i feel like i’ve made a lot of progress being comfortable leaving the house, i still get really embarrassed especially by my vocal tics in public. I want to hide when it’s bad and i’m at a restaurant or store or on the street. I thought i was doing way better because i was able to attend my classes at the end of this year instead of staying in the LRC all day but i realize now that was just because it was the same people every day, instead of me having all my tics in front of completely different people every day everywhere i go. Now that im done with highschool i realize im not actually that comfortable with my tourette’s syndrome. I just feel kind of hopeless knowing I’ll be like this and judged every day the rest of my life.
submitted by Stupid-ForYou to Tourettes [link] [comments]
2023.06.02 13:21 WM_WorldMania Own your morning. Elevate your life. World Mania WM #Making World More Livable #worldmania #wm #makingworldmorelivable Follow us on – Youtube: @WM.WorldMania Facebook: WM.WorldMania Instagram: wm.worldmania Pinterest: @WM_WorldMania
 | submitted by WM_WorldMania to u/WM_WorldMania [link] [comments] |
2023.06.02 13:14 jmobon88 Renathal Dancing Paladin to Legend with 63% Winrate (D5 to Legend)
 | Hey there everyone! Wanted to share this Renathal Dancing Paladin I made which has been tons of fun and winnable going towards legend, especially with cold feet and dance floor from the new miniset! I’ve been playing hearthstone 100% f2p on and off since release, and consistently hit top 200 legend until I get bored and decide to quit and return the next year. I really enjoyed Spell Hunter in Kobolds, and Libram/Pure in Outland, and this deck gave me that refined working deck feeling so I hope you all enjoy it! I also hit legend with a weaker version of this deck last month, and because it was my first time doing it with a homebrew deck, I hope others can try out something new! submitted by jmobon88 to hearthstone [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/5512fxx7tk3b1.jpg?width=219&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3c669f7659d60e7a936644ad3bfec78b998f382b Compared to the normal Dancing Paladin list, this deck has a lot more survivability and options to eventually play Front Lines and win the game, highroll minions especially Kangor and Reveler, or through Rivendare win-con. Against Aggro, you have to be clever with how to use board removal tools and when to target swing turns. Versus control a double front line depletes so much battlecry minion resources that they eventually lose on board or over time. Timing your healing with feast and famine + weapon and Kangor is also a major part of the winning strategy versus burn and combo decks. Overall, the main end goal of the deck is to control the board/minion wipe going into your front line turn, then activating a full front line with rush, winning on turn 9 or later if vs control. It's between a combo and control deck and has a lot of nuance into playing the deck optimally, which makes it a lot of fun! In-depth explanation for all card choices, match up notes, and alternatives below the deck list: ### Reformed Metabreaker # Class: Paladin # Format: Standard # Year of the Wolf # # 2x (1) Feast and Famine # 2x (1) Flight of the Bronze # 1x (1) Sir Finley, Sea Guide # 2x (2) Cold Feet # 2x (2) Dance Floor # 2x (2) Equality # 2x (2) Hand of A'dal # 2x (3) Consecration # 2x (3) Hammer of Wrath # 2x (3) Muster for Battle # 1x (3) Prince Renathal # 2x (3) Service Bell # 2x (4) Truesilver Champion # 1x (5) Kangor, Dancing King # 2x (6) Masked Reveler # 1x (6) Rivendare, Warrider # 1x (7) The Leviathan # 2x (9) Annoy-o-Troupe # 2x (9) Flesh Behemoth # 2x (9) Front Lines # 1x (9) The Sunwell # 1x (10) Amplified Elekk # 1x (10) Neptulon the Tidehunter # 2x (10) Stoneborn General # AAECAaToAgjlsASwsgS/zgSX7wTUoQXFpQXAxgXExwUQnJ8EnZ8E7p8EgeIErO0Ey+0E9fEEp5MF1JUFjZYFx8QFlPUF1oAG64AGtZ4GhqMGAAA= # # To use this deck, copy it to your clipboard and create a new deck in Hearthstone Card Explanation and Usage: Two major things out the way first: 1. Amplified Elekk is a temp card just because I was facing a lot of aggro decks and needed to tech even harder, usually you would run Thaddeus instead.
# 2x (1) Flight of the Bronze - Versatile card you can play early on for solid rush dragons or bronze explorer, or wait for the manathirst to easily clear the board and take tempo on turn 7. Also can find you just the right card like Anachronos, Alexstraza for burn, or Deathwing, also the 2 mana mistake # 1x (1) Sir Finley, Sea Guide - Recent addition that can revive your hand if you low rolled and drew all big minions, significantly increases chances that you highroll into powerful cards like Dance Floor,Kangor, Front Lines, or even Cold Feet # 2x (2) Cold Feet - Allows you to completely lock your opponent's board when you need to take tempo or play front lines the turn after, or stop them from playing game-changing minions like a steamcleaner vs your rivendare, svalna, or marrowgar for example. Cold Feet on turn 7 and 8, then Front Lines on 9 is near unstoppable. # 2x (2) Dance Floor - It's like broomstick but even better when combining with Kangor to really make him the dancing king, reveler's 2/2 summon, front lines, or you can have the card chill on board and activate it on your muster for battle turn, rivendare to kill him off, or (the dream which I was able to do once), get the 4 horsemen from the front, and make them charge into their death on the front lines to win the game. # 2x (2) Equality - Standard key removal tool for Paladin # 2x (2) Hand of A'dal - Best proactive cycle card for paladin alongside hammer of wrath. With muster for battle, renathal, flight, hero power etc. you can get enough minions for hand of adal to be usable early on. # 2x (3) Consecration - Standard removal tool, classic satisfying combo of consecration and equality, it's important to know though to be very picky with what to consecrate or not. As you play the deck, you will get a sense of when you can clear the board manually, or have to result to using consecration. # 2x (3) Hammer of Wrath - Solid cycle card with some reach and removal usage # 2x (3) Muster for Battle - Great for aggro matchups and taking some board control early to make control decks occupied with clearing tokens, delaying the game to your bigger 7-10 mana plays. # 1x (3) Prince Renathal - When I used the normal dancing paladin list, it felt like it was lacking a lot of survivability and alternatives if you can't draw Kangor by 5, even then priests or mages could shut down the deck as soon as they realised you weren't playing minions by turn 3. Renathal allows you to have more powerful options and switch the focus towards the dancing front line (needing to draw a card by turning 9 is much more likely). Also more cards more fun # 2x (3) Service Bell - Can require some real thought as to which cards (2 copies) you would want to draw. Typically priority goes Kangor, then front lines, or anti aggro if needed. If none of these are given, consecrate and equality are always nice to have in hand, and even double flight if near turn 7. # 2x (4) Truesilver Champion - Weapon with 4 attack takes out common board minions like spell teacher, and its healing is great especially when combines with feast and famine # 1x (5) Kangor, Dancing King - dancing king, give him the dance floor and let him go to work # 2x (6) Masked Reveler - best minion highroll option aside from kangor in standard, also really great with dance floor (after dying) or front lines to clear minions if you lack taunt # 1x (6) Rivendare, Warrider - provides a win condition which is accelerated by front lines and undead package w/ flesh behemoth, especially versus blood # 1x (7) The Leviathan - synergy with our minion summoning cards and simply a strong, fast card to have with draw and board removal # 2x (9) Annoy-o-Troupe - can be a wall in many burn and aggro matchups, from experience 2 of is the most optimal, but out of all the other big minions it is closest to being a 1 of # 2x (9) Flesh Behemoth - Undead package synergy with Rivendare, horsemen, and Thaddeus, big minion # 2x (9) Front Lines - 1. Make sure the opponents have less minions on board then you 2. Play front lines 3. "Your opponent left" or enjoy as you kill cards like astalor, ETC, svalna, azshara, kelthuzad, etc. which eventually makes you generate more value than other control decks # 1x (9) The Sunwell - Fun card, and generates surprising solutions. With the deck cycling and mana efficient approach of the deck, you do tend to find yourself with large enough hands to play sunwell early on if needed. # 1x (10) Amplified Elekk - Complete tech pick vs aggro, with strong effect even as 2/2, drop for Thaddeus if aggro not oppresive on pocket meta # 1x (10) Neptulon the Tidehunter - Extremely powerful big minion, can win the board by himself or deal 24 damage to face off a kangor. # 2x (10) Stoneborn General - Big minion w rush Mulligan Guide - You can generally safely keep any card from 1-3 mana, but can reroll more aggressively if you have Finley. - Kangor and Dance Floor must keep, with Reveler, Service Bell being decent - Muster for Battle is great against aggro and Front Lines can be a keep if against priest or blood dk Match Up Notes Overall the deck is favored vs control, and 50/50 against aggro, doing best against frost dk, and worse against minion centric boards like unholy and mech Paladin. The deck farms Blood Dk and feels surprisingly relaxing vs Priest Versus Aggro: The amount of wide boards an aggro deck can generate is their greatest issue. Enjoy having a control deck mindset and focus on cards like Muster for Battle, Feast and Famine, Cold Feet for swing turns, and Dance Floor to keep their minion numbers low. Mech paladin is your worst threat because they can make sticky wide boards with Bubblebot divine shields, to win you generally have to highroll into the anti aggro cards I mentioned. Versus Control: Chill match up, play cards on curve, remove minions here and there, then front lines to remove all those greedy battlecry minions (usually twice consecutively off the service bell). Consider saving cards for scenarios like Blood Dk's Banshee + Vampiric Blood, Priest's Blackwater Behemoth, Queen Azshara's Colossal, Countess' legendaries. Also only play Rivendare in a scenario where you can kill him off, and guarantee that you can punish the opponent if they spend mana on a Patchwerk, ETC + Steamcleaner, Silence, etc. This winning scenario typically happens after a Front Lines. Versus Combo or Burn: Decks that can pop off on singular turns like Miracle Rogue w/ their grave yards, big DH, big Warlock, Lightshow Mage, Skeleton Mage w/ Deathbornes etc. can be a bit tricky, but it's overall a toss up depending on how well you are able to prepare for their turns, like keeping an equality, or consecrate for the DH colossal with Stalks. Establishing a decent enough board to hold and clear by turn 9 wins the game. If the game reaches turn 9 in an even state, a Front Lines is enough to disrupt their gameplan or win on the spot. Card Alternatives - 1x Wild Pyromancer instead of 2x Annoy of Troupe: - Sometimes you may need to add a pyromancer, or an Elekk like what I most recently did in place of one of your bigger cards, just to serve as an extra consecration and clear vs aggro - 2x Horn of the Windlord: - Trying to make this card work, it feels amazing against Pure Pally as it negates disco maul, great against Big Riff Warrior, Big Warlock, and in general is definitely a strong card. I probably haven't found the right card to cut but it would probably be 1 from the top end and 1 from the low end of the deck because it's played on your midrange turns. Theoretically can deal 18 damage over 2 turns, so I'll definitely continue testing it! That's all, if you made it this far I hope you enjoyed reading and look forward to giving this deck a try! Have a good one! |
2023.06.02 13:12 Basator00 Best practices on retrieving data from DjangoAPI.
I'm building a Django API and I would like to know your opinion on how many endpoints should I do.
Some people recommend me to ask for separated data and then in the front (in my case an Angular website) mix all the objects and create one final object to display. But there is also people who tell that the best is to create those custom objects in the back-end and in the front-end just get the data and display it.
I don't know if I'm explaining my ideas correctly. If you need any further explanation, ask me.
submitted by Basator00 to django [link] [comments]
Some people recommend me to ask for separated data and then in the front (in my case an Angular website) mix all the objects and create one final object to display. But there is also people who tell that the best is to create those custom objects in the back-end and in the front-end just get the data and display it.
I don't know if I'm explaining my ideas correctly. If you need any further explanation, ask me.