Anyone who is currently in Japan or is about to go there, pay attention to the weather for your safety. Japan is officially in a rainy season, and typhoons are starting to come. It feels like getting worse and worse year after year. Be flexible with your itinerary. Ask your hotel to give you an update on the weather before you check out. Ask them to call JR or whatever your transportation is if they are running when heavy rain is expected. Sometimes, it’s better to extend your stay at the hotel you already are in than being stuck on a Shinkansen overnight. Okinawa, Kyushu, Shikoku and Tokai are usually most affected areas for the season.
Have a fun and safe trip, everyone!

Welcome to twenty-second weekly discussion of Gintama 2023 Rewatch

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<--- Embassy of previous discussion Index Embassy of next discussion -
Info - MAL Anilist Kitsu AniDB ANN
Legal streaming - Crunchyroll Amazon
OP6 - Anata Magic performed by Monobright
ED12 - Kagayaita performed by Shigi
Shinyaku Benizakura-hen - Bokutachi no Kisetsu performed by DOES Bakuchi Dancer performed by DOES
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SUMMARY OF WEEK 21:

CHARACTER POPULARITY

PLACE	CHARACTER	VOTES TOTAL
FIRST	Gintoki	107
SECOND	Kagura	105
THIRD	Katsura	60
FOURTH	Okita	50
FIFTH	Hijikata	41
SIXTH	Shinpachi	40
SEVENTH	Otae	39
EIGHTH	Madao	27
NINTH	Kondo	21
TENTH	Kyubei	16
ELEVENTH	Sacchan	16
TWELFTH	Elizabeth	11
THIRTEENTH	Yamazaki	10
FOURTEENTH	Jackie Chan	9
FIFTEENTH	Tama	8
SIXTEENTH	Zenzo	7
SEVENTEETH	Matsudaira	6
EIGHTEENTH	Umibozu	6
NINETEENTH	Sakamoto	6
TWENTY	Tsukuyo	5

• Shinpachi managed to climb from 7th place to 6th place, leaving Otae behind.
• And what about 20th place? The girl you instantly liked made her entrance and managed to secure for herself 20th place, leaving Sadaharu to fell of the poll.
• Characters which didn’t made it to poll like Kamui, Hosen, Seita and Hinowa managed to secure for themselves 2 votes each.

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EPISODE OF WEEK (POLL RESULTS)
​

WEEK 1	Episode 8
WEEK 2	Episode 13
WEEK 3	Episode 23
WEEK 4	Episode 25
WEEK 5	Episode 35
WEEK 6	Episode 42
WEEK 7	Episode 50
WEEK 8	Episode 61
WEEK 9	Episode 65
WEEK 10	Episode 72
WEEK 11	Episode 79
WEEK 12	Episode 87
WEEK 13	Episode 89 and 95 (TIED RESULT)
WEEK 14	Episode 99
WEEK 15	Episode 103 and 108 (TIED RESULT)
WEEK 16	Episode 110
WEEK 17	Episode 119
WEEK 18	Episode 124
WEEK 19	Episode 127
WEEK 20	Episode 138
WEEK 21	Episode 142

BEST EPISODES:
WEEK 1-7 - Episode 50
WEEK 8-14 - Episode 79,87 (Tied results)
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BEST COMMENT OF WEEK 21:
This one was a hard to choose. All of you were great with your comments about Yoshiwara in Flames and reading your comments was a pure joy to me. So this time there won’t be just one victor. Nor three or four victors.
NO!
There will be two victors.
First victor is u/TakenRedditName. I liked his analysis which was a good read.

The main message of the arc, being able to stand noble and tall is pure Gintama. Hinowa and Tsukuyo being able to stand tall is what inspires the rest of Yoshiwara. The element also of the shining sun of tomorrow will always come is also one that is true to Gintama and Gintoki as a character. The family aspect is also good. Like how Gintoki points it out, Seita and Hinowa are family despite having no blood connection nor having spent much time together in contrast to Kamui’s lack of love to his own blood family. Hinowa and Seita are just really sweet, I really like this little moment. Seeing Seita carry Hinowa.

Also liked some facts he pointed out:

It is funny in retrospect how this lines up with Kagura’s chunni backstory for her Monkey Hunter character back in that unassuming episode. Like her manly game avatar, when her back is against the wall. Kagura’s dark second personality comes out and she becomes a hard-nosed berserker and her mortal enemy is her older brother.

And most importantly this is another reason he won the comment of the week:

Originally, I was going to write how Hozen’s before-death moment doesn’t quite land despite liking when it happened with Ito, but watching and thinking about it, I’ve come to appreciate it. Now, the flashback is just him abusing a little girl who only shows and wished him kindness, but his talk with Kamui, I think presents something interesting. Hozen is much more morally black than Ito so going a similar route of final moment turnaround isn’t going to work, but Hozen is more like looking back at where he ended up. The thing about being unable to show love, always chasing yet never being able to embrace what he is after since he only knows violence, I think it speaks true to the Yato experience. Hozen has the element of building a big twisted form of a house, a paradise to call his home though one built with force and tyranny which is sorta tied to Umibozu, Kagura and Kamui. Umibozu wanted to have a home and family, but didn’t know how and ended up keeping his distance. Kagura wants to find a place away from the violent nature of the Yato while Kamui has abandoned it all for the sole purpose of living on the violent battlefield.

Now I mentioned that the comment of the week has another victor. And it’s u/KendotsX for pointing an interesting piece about Abuto which slipped past me when I was rewatching Yoshiwara in Flames.

He's far from the limelight of this arc, he's strong and experienced, but not the fearsome King of the Yato. He's brutal, but not the blood thirsty young-un coming here to mess with Hosen. And while he's hot, he's not topping Tsukuyo. Basically Abuto rides in the backseat, but he's the best person you could have in your backseat.
First off, Abuto is voiced by Houchu Ootsuka, his voice is like a melody that makes my head orgasm.
But really it's the performance, the way Abuto carries himself, the laid back, but responsible attitude always looking to clean up after others, the informal and snarky mannerism of speech, but careful wording.
Even his attitude towards his race is a paradox, he wants his race to embrace its bloodthirsty nature, while keeping as many alive as is possible. He's got so much bullshit, he doesn't get to call Kagura out.
Although his joke about the "outdated" nature sets him perfectly between Kamui, who's full on following the Yato blood, and Kagura who's going against it.
Abuto's main role in the arc is obviously fighting Kagura, bringing out the beast in her, and then becoming her punching bag. The fight itself is great, but realistically any strong enough Yato could've been her foe, so what does Abuto bring to the table? He's standing in the middle. Not just between Kagura and her brother, but even between Kagura and and her "dark side", giving her useful insight from his position. Even when she beats the shit out of him, he never goes all bloodthirsty, instead he sees it as a good thing for the Yato that's worth keeping alive, therefore sticking to his ideals. Basically he's a lot closer to Kagura's ideal than she is.
I love Tsukuyo, she's a good kid, a really good kid, and overall a better character, but in this arc, Abuto stands as my favourite! If this guy was in One Piece, he'd be the only one giving Zoro a challenge for best right hand man.

And as a prize for both of you, I prepared a special room for you. So enjoy yourself to your fullest, you have 72 hours to spend together there. Have fun!

WINNERS OF BEST COMMENTS	WEEK	PRIZE
u/sisoko2(2x) u/KendotsX u/TakenRedditName	1-4	NEO ARMSTRONG CYCLE JET ARMSTRONG CANNON
u/sisoko2	5	CURRY FROM CURRY NINJA
u/Shimmering-Sky	6	NAPO
u/KendotsX	7	MOM’S COOKING
u/Shocketheth	8	CAKE
u/sisoko2	9	MATSUTAKE SOUP
u/Vatrix-32	10	FREE SEAT
Everyone	11	GROUP HUG
u/Mecanno-man	12	ULTIMATE TECHNIQUE
u/KendotsX	13	GOLDEN BAKA-OJI
u/Stargate18A	14	A romance story written by me. (Not finished yet)
u/KendotsX	15	TWERKING SESSION
u/homewardbound100	16	FINEST SUSHI
u/sisoko2	17	FILTHY TOKEN
u/TakenRedditName	18	LOVE LETTER
u/Vatrix-32	19	BANANA
u/SpiceGirlsBlankIt	20	YOSHIWARA’S FINEST SAKE
u/TakenRedditName and u/KendotsX	21	ROOM FOR THOSE TWO

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QUESTIONS FOR YOU - WEEK 21:

1. What’s your opinion about Housen being redeemed in the end?

This one was a kind of a test from my side. All of you passed with saying he wasn’t redeemed because the point in his dying scene wasn’t about him but about Hinowa’s character.

1. Tsukuyo made her debut. How you liked her character so far? What’s your predictions about her? Also what do you think about her?

Everyone of you immediately liked her.

1. Also Kagura’s elder brother, Kamui, made his debut. Your thoughts about him and your predictions about him?

You quite liked him and you have a great expectations about his character in future.

1. Abuto. What do you think of him?

The most you liked about him is his voice, and u/KendotsX made interesting analysis about him (I referred that in Best comment of the week section)

1. The tastiest one. Kagura snapping. Your thoughts?

You were terrified, blursed, amazed, scared, sad, you found it raw and you found it to be quite good scene.
AND I LOVED TO READ EVERY COMMENT OF YOURS REACTING ABOUT IT.

1. Are you satisfied how Housen was defeated? I mean having Housen defeated not by Gintoki, but by sunlight.

You liked it by showing that Gintoki isn’t almighty in his verse and sometimes you need others help to win.

1. Also in the end, Yoshiwara has opened. Your predictions how opening of Yoshiwara will impact Kabukicho?

Not a strong answers to this question.

1. Btw. we had whole batch dedicated to single arc for first time. Was it a different experience for you than having mixed batches, or no?

Some of you found harder to write your comment about it, and some of you found easier to write your comment about it, as whole single arc is easier to write about than several mini-arcs mixed with comedy episodes.
Also u/KendotsX died twice as he was writing his comment. But he has spare lives so it’s okay.
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WEEK 22:

Episode/arc covered	Lesson(s) in manga
147	229
148 - Shinsengumi Death Game Arc	233, 234 (2/3)
149 - Shinsengumi Death Game Arc	Rest of 234, 235
150	Anime Original
Shinyaku Benizakura-hen movie	89-97

Best episode of current week - VOTE HERE
Character popularity - VOTE HERE
Best episode of weeks 15-21 - VOTE HERE
EPISODES GOING TO BE COVERED IN WEEK 23 - 151-156
QUESTIONS FOR YOU:
EPISODES 147-150:

1. Jigzaw told Hijikata that he saw Shinsengumi on television and we also saw Shinsengumi on television. So which one of you is Jigzaw?
2. Did you expect the twist at the end of episode 149?
3. Which of the fake ending of Gintama in episode 150 you liked the most?
4. For First Timers How would you imagine Gintama actually ending?

SHINYAKU BENIZAKURA-HEN (BENIZAKURA MOVIE):

1. Did you liked more the anime version of Benizakura or the Remaster movie of Benizakura arc?
2. What’s your opinion on alternative umbrella scene between Otae and Gintoki?
3. What about the cameos of Kamui, Kyubei and Shinsengumi?
4. There was extended scene of Bansai negotiating with Harusame Space Pirates. Did it improve your issues with Bansai appearing only in the end of the Benizakura?
5. The extended final fight scene. Did you like it?
6. Also a new song by DOES dropped. Bakuchi Dancer. Did you like the song?
7. Not a question tbh. Just fill any additional things you want to address with discussing this movie.

QUESTIONS FOR YOU WEEK 23:
I will add them after watching episodes 151-156. STAY TUNED!
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Regarding spoilers:
Rewatchers please dont talk without using spoiler tags [Spoilers] like this about events which still didn't happen in anime, don't name characters that weren't introduced yet, don't post pictures of characters yet to be introduced and try to refrain from using arcs and episodes names yet to be introduced.
DON'T EVEN TRY TO BE VAGUE THINKING YOU ARE SO CLEVER AND NO ONE WILL CONNECT TWO AND TWO TOGETHER LIKE SAYING IT WOULD BE SHAME IF YOUR LOCAL POST OFFICE SENT YOU A BOMBASTIC LIST. JUST. USE. SPOILERS TAGS. LIKE THIS [Spoilers] https://i.imgur.com/nojEEcg.png
There will be first watchers discussing it together with us and I believe nobody here wants them to be spoiled.
If you want to talk about something you noticed on your rewatch, which is hinting about future events hid it properly underneath the spoilers like the fact [Spoilers] that the information hidden in this spoiler is totally pointless.
Guidance in case of spoiling someone - Here

We are a family of 7 and looking to rent something temporary and furnished. Looked on Airbnb and the cheapest was around $4600 per month. Extended stays are even more! Any suggestions or ideas on where to find furnished temporary housing for 3-4 months?
We are looking in Plano, garland, sachse, Murphy, Wylie

First Previous Next
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SUBJECT-DESIGNATION: Admiral Marcus Miller
LOCATION: Earthen Orbit, Atlantic Citadel
DATE: EARTH-TIME [Wednesday, August 23, 2186]
---
I stood above Earth, gazing down upon her bright blue brilliance from the comfort of my personal quarters.
It was odd to think that just five hundred years ago, humanity had been scared of the darkness that lingered at the forest’s edge. I couldn’t imagine that those born during that time could have ever imagined the heights which we would rise to. My only hope was that our vast distance from the ground of primitivity wouldn’t lead to a devastating fall.
Already it felt like a lifetime ago that my crew and I had braved our own dark forest—the endless expanse of space beyond our system’s heliopause. Now we knew of the devils that rested at the edge of those shadows. The fires of Sol and the shield of our Oort cloud were all that now stood between us and them. At least in the process of our journey, we had met another group of weary travelers. We now knew that we were not alone.
The reaction to our discovery of the Khimrox—or perhaps their discovery of us—had actually gone over quite well with the global population, though some fringe groups chose to remain skeptical for reasons I couldn’t fathom.
Following the acceptance of the Khimroxian people as refugees, I was rather quickly promoted to the position of admiral. Despite it being an honorary title for the time-being, it was one that I wore with pride. Besides, considering how things were currently going among the leadership of the UEN, it was my guess that we would soon need all of the fleet commanders we could get.
Being separated from my crew though, it was certainly an ordeal. For over a year, we had trained and prepared for our journey aboard the Challenger, all the while forming a strong bond—the bond of a crew. It was them who had kept my mind from plunging into the hopeless darkness that threatened to envelop my mind back aboard the ruined wreck of our exploratory vessel.
Liz and Garth had been reassigned to finally fulfill their true calling as biologists. Together, they dove head-first into in-depth studies of Khimroxian anatomy and physiology. Sid had opted to assist in the deconstruction of the Ignis, allowing its analysis by a team of scientists that included Lee. As far as I was aware, they had so far produced staggeringly impressive results in regards to potential military applications. Jake was probably the wisest among us, choosing to enter an early retirement, which I quite honestly considered the smartest move. Each member of the Challenger had essentially become an influential celebrity overnight. If any of us chose to, we wouldn’t need to work another day in our lives.
Nia had taken an extended leave of absence following our return and chose to take up temporary residence within the Khimrox colony. Darius was perhaps the only one that had stuck with me. Due to my request, he was to be the chief navigational officer of a brand new fleet that had been promised to me—an experimental UEN fleet by the name of Vengeant Dawn.
Though word hadn’t yet officially been released, some part of me could sense the storm approaching on the horizon. War was coming. The only questions that remained were when and how it would be waged, one of which we were currently working to answer.
Some remained skeptical, but me, I had been waiting since the day I first heard of that wretched name, the one which hid behind a thin and lustrous coat. They would pay in blood for what they had done to our Khimroxian friends and to all of the scion species that they considered beneath them.
Speaking of those pricks… I turned from the window to look back at the objects of interest.
We had already begun to install improvements and replacements for our own technology from what we had researched so far. The holo-table of my room was one such improvement.
Atop it, hovered three ire-inspiring figures—the bastards of the Orion Arm.
One was what looked to be a molluscoid. Twelve long and winding tentacles stretched from its body. The creature’s skin could possess a wide variety of colors, but this one took on a dark shade of blue. Atop its head—or back, I still wasn’t entirely sure—was a large circular shell that spiraled backwards. The shell itself was fairly reminiscent of an ammonite, with the notable exception of its golden sheen. A green pair of eyes with slitted black pupils could be found at either side of its face. At the end of each of its limbs were a strange bunch of contraptions that were barely recognizable as the manipulators they were. To support its spineless body—and perhaps its brazen cowardice—was an exoskeleton which covered the length of its tentacles, allowing it to rise to an ironically respectable height. The Dodektopi.
The second was a shape that made no sense according to what little we apparently knew regarding the formation of life. The figure of flames was somewhat humanoid in shape, but distinct enough to separate it from ourselves. A frenzy of dancing plasma licked across the surface of its shape, occasionally whipping out from its body in flares of solar activity. Centered within the fiery specter’s face was an unfamiliar symbol forged out of a sleek black metal that did not burn with the being’s body. Its hands and feet that connected the body were made of similar steel and seemed to hold the shape together with the help of the head. The Novari.
Last but most certainly not least was a chillingly familiar shape. It was an ancient and terrible legend made manifest. The draconic figure before me bore ebony-black scales. A wicked pair of gold curling horns rose from the tyrant’s skull, covered in rings of that black metal that wrapped around them. Cryptic runes—whose mere existence denoted their ancient nature—were etched into the bone of these very same horns. Surrounding its head were countless quills that reached back behind the skull. From its oddly placed back pair of shoulders sprouted leathery wings that curled around the body, nearly encircling it in a hug. A long tail whose spiked end was covered in yet more of those sleek black rings fell behind them. The creature wore nothing more than a red ornamented kilt, bearing the same symbols as those etched upon its body across the sashes which held it in place. Its imposing physique was proudly put on display and an amber pair of greedy eyes rested behind its black maw of terrible teeth.
At the second and frontward pair of stubby shoulders, a shimmering pair of auric arms, engraved with yet more of those runes. I could have recognized their design anywhere. They bore an uncanny similarity with those utilized by our Khimrox friends. The three primary differences between those of them and those that belong to our friends were the sheer quality of the design, the notable exception of their shimmering sheen and their lethal talons that had been sharpened to a shining point. The Aeryvyn.
The terrible triumvirate mocked me with their mere presence, but I couldn’t tear them away from my sight. It’s fortunate that something else did it for me.
A ping that rained from the speakers in my ceiling heralded the incoming message. “All UEN personnel with alpha clearance please report to the briefing room.” Two more times, the soft and purposefully inoffensive voice repeated itself.
With a sigh, I shut off the display and marched to don the new garb that matched my position. When my door slid open, I saw several others stride through the long hall of yet more doors that matched my own.
The familiar scent of ozone had been a relief following the unnaturally clean air of the Ignis. That ship was no longer the home of the Khimroxian refugees, so I had little care for its continued existence. By now, it was a skeleton of alien alloys.
Our straight, gray walls and steel-vented floors were showered in warm light. Compared to the Ignis where the too-white surface where wall and floor blended together, the scenic viewing ports and recognizable craftsmanship felt like the warm embrace of a long-lost friend.
Speaking of friends, I wonder if I’ll see Saffan. Weeks had passed now since I last saw the captain-ambassador. His new position ensured this was so.
A stream of gray-coated senior staff flowed through the doors to the briefing room. At the entrance, a full complement of soldiers outfitted with Styx suits stood guard. That generation of armor would soon be outdated in comparison to the schematics I had seen prepared.
My heart warmed involuntarily as I entered the room. Saffan’s bright eyes of perpetual wideness stared back at me. I shouldered my way through the convening crowds of admirals. Each spoke with a weight of self-importance that I couldn’t have cared less for.
When I finally reached him he called my name. “Marcus!” The captain extended a hand. Wait, what? I wasn’t sure whether to be more confused by his use of the gesture or his new set of arms. They were admittedly simple compared to the prior pair and they were coated with a blue shine that matched his eyes. The digits no longer took the shape of those reptilian claws, instead forming an approximation of human fingers.
The hands locked perfectly with my own. “Saffan, good to see you again. How are things going?”
“Wonderfully. Though I must say, you humans seem to have more countries than you know what to do with.” Saffan folded his arms. “I’ve visited thirteen nations already and I still have over a hundred that have sent me visitation invitations.”
A scoff escaped my throat. “Yeah, that’s us for you. Needlessly overcomplicated.”
I took a step forward and placed a hand on a brilliant blue arm. “And these! When did you get these?” Saffan practically beamed at my inquiry.
“Elizabeth and Garth actually helped design them! They’re exceptionally lightweight compared to my last pair and they can fold to not hinder flight.” As he said this, the two artificial limbs pressed up against his body as he fully folded his wings in a similar manner. With both arms and wings folded, he would have looked like a great horned owl if not for the obvious discrepancies of his size, his horned head and the swirling patterns that covered his wings.
“That’s enough about me though, how have you been? What have you been up to?”
“Ah, not much,” I said, rubbing the back of my head. “Paid the family a visit a week back for the first time since the Challenger. For the most part though, I've been training on the battle sims these last few weeks. If I’m to be an admiral, may as well try to play the part.” Saffan slowly nodded. I got the feeling that he too sensed the approaching storm.
“This family of yours, I’d love to meet them some time.”
“Oh, I’m sure they’d love to meet you I…”
“Attention!” The stern sound cut me off. The rippling chorus of speech died down almost immediately as the call demanded our undivided focus. I could’ve recognized that voice anywhere.
“Thank you for joining me, my friends.”
“You’re a smart bunch of people, so I’m sure you’ve gotten the sense for what’s been going on by now.” Redd took a deep sigh and looked around the room at the entirety of the UEN navy’s command structure.
“Ever since the Khimroxians arrived, we’ve been faced with a choice—a choice that must not be taken lightly.” The captain turned our way and gave Saffan a nod.
“When the brave souls aboard the Ignis saved the crew of the Challenger, they showed the true character of their people. They were faced with hard decisions—for our people and theirs—but they chose to push forward and in so doing, saved not only the lives of those aboard the Challenger, but all of Earth from falling subject to their lords. After due deliberation with the council-members of the United Earthen Nations, we have decided to follow in the footsteps of our friends and take such a risk.”
“As of right now, we are at war with the Alliance of the Aurum Arm.” The room fell into deafening silence.
“Each member-state of the UEN will alert their people in due time, but for the moment, not a single word heard within this meeting must be uttered outside of this room.”
Admiral Sturm, the very man who had been my commander not all that long ago, spoke up. “With all due respect, Director, we don’t have the means to wage such a conflict.”
“That's why we’ll create the means. For once, I’m glad to say something good came out of the Kuiper War.” This derived a few nervous laughs from the audience. “With the production facilities appropriated from the (x corporation), and with a few adjustments, we have the potential to create the most powerful fleet of human-made ships to ever enter space.”
“Unfortunately however, we do not have the means to reproduce the white hole drives utilized by the Aurum vessels, or even the dark matter used to stabilize the damned things.”
“Saffan, this is where you and your people will come in. If we are to stand a chance of waging war on such a scale, we will need intelligence and lots of it.”
“As difficult as it may be, we need information; without it, we’re dead in the vacuum of space. We will need volunteers to go behind enemy lines and retrieve plans, schematics, layouts, anything that we can get a hold of that may provide us an advantage both strategically and technologically. Would your people be willing to go to such lengths?”
All eyes in the room turned to the ambassador-captain. “I—I don’t know. I will consult with them, but do I have your permission to speak freely about what you have told me?”
The aging man rubbed his orange-brown beard. “Yes. Yes that would probably be for the best wouldn’t it. Very well, just do your best not to allow it to reach other ears.”
“Yes sir.”
“As for the rest of you, allow me to detail the plan we have so far.”
“Though most of the security council members are not tacticians, they have agreed to the plan that I and a few of my most trusted consultants have prepared. Right now, the nearest sector with a habitable planet is known as Mortamis. This was the last jump point for the Ignis before it intercepted our distress signal. The tentative plan is to begin our expansion across their territory with the capture of this world to act as the staging grounds of our forces. However, until we receive more information regarding the exact layout of their defenses, we cannot commit to such an invasion.”
“From there, we will split up the UEN fleets into separate groups across the Orion arm and take out these tyrants by bleeding them of their most precious resource. Scions. Every world we take is an addition to our numbers, our production capacity, and our ability to fight.”
“Our end-goal is to capture the planet-capital of the alliance, Petris, and demand liberation of all species under control of the Aurum Alliance.“
“We do have a few major concerns however. According to the information provided to us by the Khimrox, a majority of Aurum vessels contain some form of scionic crew complement. Under no circumstances unless express consent is given by the command admiral of the fleet are we to attack a vessel with the intent of destroying it. We must first weaken and disable the ship’s defensive systems before boarding and liberating the captives.”
“I know that this flies in the face of all conventional battle tactics, but this is no conventional enemy that we’re fighting here. If we do not adapt, we will fail and all of humanity will be forced into scionship.”
“Keep in mind, this is a very brief version of our prepared plan. Each and every aspect of it is subject to change. We will discuss this in further detail later, but for now, that is all. Any further questions?” Once again, silence. “Very well then. This council session is now adjourned.”
Other than the shuffling of feet exiting, all was silent. We had known it was coming, but to hear it confirmed…
“Marcus.” The director approached, placing a heavy hand on my shoulder. “Go ahead and join Ambassador Aeax, why don’t you? Might help some of those Khimrox to see a human face that they’re familiar with.”
With a snappy salute, I responded with, “Yes sir.” His words were certainly a surprise, but a chance to join the Khimrox that had saved us was not one I would pass up easily. He may as well have just given me a week of leave considering the excitement that bubbled up within me.
Together, I and Saffan made our way to a nearby shuttle bay headed directly to the Khimroxian colony. Surprisingly, I hadn’t yet paid a visit to the settlement placed within the province of Hunan, but I had seen some images on several media platforms.
The trip was a quick one. Our transport plunged into the atmosphere, kicking up flames all around the outside of the cabin. Soon enough though, the flames of our descent died out and were replaced by the darkness of night.
Even with the slight turbulence, Saffan seemed deep in thought as his eyes stared at nothing in particular.
“Hey, you good?”
That seemed to snap him out of it. “Wha—oh yes, sorry.” A look of focus still remained on his face. For a moment, he continued in his silence before posing a question. “What if my people decide not to volunteer? This entire plan could fall through in an instant.”
“You don’t give your people enough credit, my feathered friend.” Saffan gave me a narrow-eyed look before letting out a cluck of a chuckle. “Redd was right in what he said. I’m sure your people will make the best choice for all of us.”
“For both our sakes, I can only hope that you’re right.”
Our Harpy gently sailed over mountains and treetops, slowly sinking to a stop within a secluded area of trees that were foreign to me.
Only I and Saffan left from the Harpy’s bay and stepped off onto the tarmac. Behind us, the cargo-door closed with a hiss. As we stepped out from underneath our cover, light droplets of water pattered against my skin.
Seconds later, the Harpy’s thrusters kicked in and the ship took flight. The heavy hum and glow of burning hydrogen accompanied the bird as it flew away. In mere moments, it was gone, though the distant boom of it breaking the sound barrier was audible enough.
Looking around, I saw a few of my fellow men and women unloading supplies from a parked Harpy onto a militarily designed transport truck. Dimly lit orange lamps shone down and around us, illuminating nearby hangar bays with their closed doors and rounded ceilings of corrugated metal.
“Let’s get going. I’m sure you don’t want to stay in the rain long.” The rain was enough to notice, but it wasn’t unpleasant. I gave a brief nod and we set off on the nearby road.
Though clouds of rain covered us, the light of the moon joined us as we walked to the village. The setup looked pretty standard from what I knew of modular UEN architecture. It was clear however that great care had been put into its construction. The rain kept most of the residents indoors for the time being, but through the windows of nearby buildings, I saw the illuminated interiors of cozy hostels where families and friends gathered together.
We passed another Khimrox while wading through the rain—one who held its head and horns high, walking with a cheery gait despite the gloomy weather. Compared to the stale and oppressive atmosphere aboard the Ignis, the settlement brimmed with life, even amidst the darkness of both night and storms.
Saffan led me forward to a quaint home with a metal awning that covered the railed porch. We walked up the steps and Saffan rapped on the door with his cobalt colored knuckles.
I hoped for Nia’s sake that her time away from the military had treated her well. Lord knows she deserved some respite. The door opened and Nia's face peeked out to greet us. “Saffan! Marcus! What are you two doing here?”
Saffan answered as I silently sat by. “Oh we were just passing through. Thought it might be a good idea to stop and pay you a visit.”
“Well don’t make yourself strangers. Come on in!” Saffan sat behind as I walked forward and gave his whole body a shake. Droplets flew from his body and slid off his slick feathers.
The home was a simple one, consisting of a main living room joined together with a kitchen. In the back of the home was a short hall leading to a middle door that stood between a pair of two others. In the living room, perched Tokieran, the same physician who had plunged into my mind to extract our language.
Immediately, he rose from where he rested and turned to face Saffan, “Captain!”
“Can’t be a captain without a ship, Toki.” The former captain waved away the words with a hand. “Saffan will do.”
“Oh. Uh, well, it's good to see you again, Saffan.”
“Likewise my friend. I’m certain you haven’t seen much of me considering your position during our time on the Ignis. It’s a shame we didn’t brush wings more often. You seem like a fine fellow.”
As the two avians got to talking, Nia gave me a light punch on the shoulder. “So, how’ve things been going for you admiral?” It was at this moment that I realized I was still in full military dress. Rather sheepishly, I pulled the hat from my head.
“Fine.” I muttered “You?”
A smile met her face. “Best I’ve felt since I enlisted.” She gave a look towards the two conversing Khimroxians. “It's still hard to believe any of this is real sometimes, ya know?”
I nodded. “Yeah. The Challenger, the Ignis, all of it. Feels like a dream now.”
Nia’s eyes stayed upon the owl-folk. “One of those dreams you don’t really want to wake up from.”
I gave a grunt of agreement. “I only wish all of the Khimroxians could share it with us.” This turned her towards me. Her smile curved down somewhat and she gave a slight nod.
What the hell. She’s going to learn it soon enough anyways. Rubbing the rim of my hat, I spoke softly. “Maybe soon, that will be possible.”
“What?”
“The council’s declared war.”
Her eyes snapped to mine, the smile fully gone. The room fell silent. I hadn’t hoped the others would hear me, but those Khimrox had an impeccable sense of hearing. I shouldn’t have expected any less from them.
All eyes turned to me. “The Aurum Alliance is a threat to humanity, the Khimrox, and all of the other scions that we haven’t even met yet. I think we both know this was inevitable”
“No, I get it, it's just… Wow.” The woman ran a hand through her black, tied-back hair as she heaved a sigh.
This facade dropped almost immediately and Nia’s mouth turned into a wonderfully devilish grin. After a few light chuckles, she said, “Better late than never I suppose. Those spineless sons-of-alien-bitches’ll never know what hit ‘em!”
The expressions on the faces of both Saffan and Tokieran showed no less resolve. Even the formerly jumpy physician proudly displayed a newfound sense of will. “The triumvirate operates under the expectation that we won’t fight back,” said Toki. “They see us as little more than animals and It's time we took full advantage of that fact.”
“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” remarked Saffan.
If these willing warriors were in any way representative of the entire Human-Khimroxian collective, the battle against these golden tyrants would be over before we knew it.
---
First Previous Next

"Namaste and welcome to our channel! In today's video, we explore the profound concept of Ahimsa, or non-violence, as taught in Hindu philosophy. Get ready to discover the transformative power of Ahimsa and how it can inspire us to create a more compassionate and harmonious world.
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Topic: The Path of Ahimsa: Embracing Non-Violence in Everyday Life
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Lesson 1: Understanding Ahimsa. Dive into the essence of Ahimsa as the principle of non-violence towards all living beings, including ourselves, others, and the environment. Discover how Ahimsa is not just the absence of physical violence but also encompasses thoughts, words, and actions rooted in compassion and respect.
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Lesson 2: Cultivating Self-Compassion. Explore the importance of self-compassion and inner harmony in practicing Ahimsa. Learn techniques to cultivate self-love, forgiveness, and acceptance, fostering a peaceful relationship with ourselves.
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Lesson 3: Compassionate Communication. Uncover the power of compassionate communication in fostering understanding, empathy, and connection with others. Explore techniques such as active listening, non-judgment, and mindful speech to promote harmonious relationships.
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Lesson 4: Extending Compassion to All Beings. Discover the significance of extending compassion to all living beings, including animals and nature. Explore the principles of veganism, environmental stewardship, and mindful consumption as ways to practice Ahimsa in our daily lives.
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Lesson 5: Ahimsa in Action. Learn how to put Ahimsa into action by actively promoting peace, justice, and equality in the world. Explore ways to contribute to social causes, advocate for non-violence, and create positive change in your community.
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Remember, Ahimsa is a transformative principle that can guide us in creating a more compassionate and harmonious world. By embodying non-violence in our thoughts, words, and actions, we can contribute to personal growth, peace, and the well-being of all beings.
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Thank you for joining us on this exploration of the path of Ahimsa. Stay tuned for more insights, practical tips, and inspiring stories on our channel. May you embrace Ahimsa and be an agent of peace and compassion in the world. Namaste!"

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I'm a 30-year-old guy looking for a relationship (or friendship) through reddit. I know it's probably not the best idea, but I haven't had a lot of success with dating apps in my area. Plus, dating in your 30's is hard when you're an introvert. I will say though, I have made some great friends through reddit in the past, so I figured I'd try again and see what happens.
A little bit about me. I'm a typical redditor. Gamer, anime watcher, music enthusiast, and occasional movie watcher. I'm also a giant sports fan as well. Right now, I'm playing Zelda Tears of the Kingdom. It's pretty much taken over my life at the moment. There are a lot of games coming out this year, and I can't wait to get my hands on them. Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Final Fantasy XVI, and so many more I can't think of right now. It's gonna be a great year for gaming. I can honestly talk about gaming for hours. It's the best. Let's talk about our favorite games, or possibly play some together.
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Toxic Rats: Geoff, Scott, Leshawna, Sammy, Trent
Mutant Maggots: Anne Maria, Katie, Molly, Scarlett, Dave, DJ
Episode 04: Finders Creepers
"Last time, on Total Drama Revenge of the Island!" Chris opened over a stock shot of the camp, the recap montage starting off with a clip of the contestants racing off towards the side of Mt. Looming Tragedy. "Twelve bumbling buffoons battled it out in a brutal buffet of bombastica," Chef was shown gleefully dropping ice blocks on the climbing campers, catching Geoff and Scott but narrowly missing Molly and almost catching Anne Maria.
"Why all the 'B' words?" B was shown demonstrating his couch invention created from junk, "Because, B proved he was a brave and brilliant improviser who scored big time for his team!" B used an ice pick to poke holes onto a shard of ice and placed it on top of the castle, directing the sun beam towards the Maggots' base and melting it effectively. "Until his bitter teammate Scott allowed brainy Molly to botch it on purpose and B got the boot," Molly threw a snowball onto the shard, melting the castle and B was shown being flung into the night.
"And now," Chris said, popping up in front of a shot of the full moon in a cloudy sky with a lit candle in his hand, marking the end of the recap montage, "tonight's challenge is about fear." He made a devilish look. "And everyone knows fear is a dish best served, in the dark!" he said in an exaggeratedly spooky manner, an eerie sound playing as he laughed evilly. "Huh?" he stopped suddenly, the camera pulling back to reveal Chef standing next to him...dressed like a showgirl with lots of peacock feathers. "Chef!" the host said in annoyance.
"Wardrobe was all out of vampire costumes," Chef explained as the series's capstone then began to play.
"It's all scary!" Chris said, walking off to the left. "Other than that," he scowled and gestured back toward his off-screen assistant. "Right here! Right now!" he resumed his usual demeanor. "On Total! Drama! Revenge, of the Island!" He adopted his spooky tone as he finished the title, and ended with another evil laugh.
XXXXX
Frogs and crickets chirped and croaked, joined by an owl's hoots as the episode opened on a shot of the full moon. The camera panned down to the cabins as the sound of snoring was added to the nighttime mix, and the scene cut inside to the girls' side of the Maggots' cabin where Anne Maria and Katie were sleeping peacefully in the bunk they shared. Dave and DJ were also shown sound asleep on the boys' side, and the scene cut to the Rat boys to show Geoff also sound asleep.
The camera cut next to show Sammy waking up with a yawn. She stretched her arms out for a few good seconds and fell right back to sleep...until the sudden shrill wail of a blow horn pierced the air.
"RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" Chris hollered from off-screen as the scene cut back outside, the blowhorn continuing even over the panicked shouts of the campers.
The camera briefly cut to a close-up of the blowhorn still blowing, then over to the Maggots' cabin as they ran outside fully dressed – first Katie screaming "What's happening?!"; then DJ just screaming; then Scarlett yelling out "This is unethical!"; then Anne Maria just hollering; and then finally Dave coming out, calling out "I'm wide awake!"
The Rats were shown next, Scott grunting "Me first!" as he shoved Geoff down the stairs and slid down the railing; Leshawna quickly running after him; Sammy screaming at the top of her lungs; and Trent coming out last at around the same time while screaming.
They assembled nervously in the common area between cabins, where Chris – wearing a pair of heavy earmuffs – finally eased up on the blowhorn. "Glad you all could make it," he grinned as he took off his headgear.
Molly soon arrived later. "Is there an attack or what?" she asked her teammates.
Katie shot her a quick glare. "Of course not, but why would you care about anything but yourself?"
Confessional: Molly
"Olay, yes," Molly moaned. "I left my teammates behind, but that was because I wanted to win the challenge first. I was always taught to focus on one thing before moving on to the next, and that's what I did." She grew concerned. "I don't see any problems with that."
Confessional Ends
"I hope you're all ready," Chris continued, "'cause it's challenge time!" He stepped to the side as Chef rolled up a large widescreen television on a wheeled cart. It was currently displaying an aerial map of the island with several additional colored icons – six bright green skulls scattered around the island; three yellowish envelopes over the campfire pit, the western edge of the campgrounds, and deeper into the forest; and a large purple spider in the middle of it all.
"We're gonna do a challenge?" Anne Maria wondered. "In the middle of the woods? At night?"
Confessional: Anne Maria
"Doesn't Chris know that we need our hours of sleep?" Anne Maria criticized. "I haven't even done my hair."
Confessional Ends
"Your challenge," Chris continued as though there'd been no interruption, "a scavenger hunt for three creepy souvenirs. Your locations? A haunted forest," he walked across to the other side of the television, "a scaaary pet cemetery, and an extra spooktastic cave. First team to each location gets a special clue," he said, the camera zooming in as he pointed towards the westernmost letter icon on the screen. "But watch out for booby traps," he added jovially as he moved his finger to one of the skulls, "I really went to town with them, heheh." The campers were shown watching warily.
"So move fast," the host added, "and stick together. You'll be penalized for each player you lose!"
"Umm, what's with the giant spider?" Sammy asked.
"Oh yeah," Chris answered as the shot zoomed in on the icon in question, "there's some kinda gigantic mutated spider sorta running around loose on the island."
The cast immediately started to voice their fears and protests.
"A huge, humongous spider is on the loose?!" DJ hugged Katie out of fear.
"I guess so," Katie said frightfully, but was secretly enjoying DJ hugging her.
The shot zoomed in on Dave in particular as he looked around, moaning "Oh no..." in annoyance.
Confessional: Dave
"Ever since I was a kid, I've never been a huge fan of spiders," Dave admitted. "They leave messy webs everywhere they go, and it takes me a long time to clean them up in places like my uncle's attic or my aunt's basement." A spider soon crawled down on a string. "This is gonna be unpopular, but I'm not a huge fan of Spider-Man because of my dislike of spiders." The spider hissed after hearing the criticism, making Dave flinch.
Confessional: Leshawna
"I may seem fearless on the outside, but spiders are one of the few things I'm terrified of," Leshawna said nervously. "Anything with eight legs is frightening enough."
Confessional Ends
"And since I want to keep things fair for both teams," Chris continued, "I decided to bring back an eliminated contestant for the Rats."
"It's so good to be back here!" the familiar voice of Sierra was heard, becoming more recognizable when she ran next to Chris.
"Sierra! I haven't introduced you yet!" Chris snapped at her.
"If I waited any longer, the episode would've been past the usual 22-minute runtime," Sierra explained. "I'll just go join the Toxic Rats and save you the trouble of doing so since I've rejoined."
Chris watched the fangirl run up to the contestants in annoyance. "Long story short, Sierra is the returnee." Chris regained his smile, and the dramatic and almost heroic tune started playing again. "There's nothing to fear but mortal terror itself! Talk soon," he added impishly, sounding his blowhorn once again.
The twelve campers ran off towards the woods.
\
The footage flashed ahead to another shot of the full moon over the forested hills of Wawanakwa, an owl hooting as the scene cut down to ground level. The logo of the Toxic Rats appeared in the corner of the screen just before the team itself did, running up and stopping in front of a tree with a loudspeaker set up in its branches.
"We're in first place! Sweet!" Geoff cheered just before the loudspeaker whined into activity.
"Welcome to the Haunted Forest!" Chris announced over it, the shot panning downward to show the six Rats gathering around a small crack in the ground. "Your clue can be found at the base of this tree!" Sierra reached into the hole...and screamed in pain as something metallic snapped inside the hole.
"Inside a bear trap," Chris finished his announcement with a laugh.
Sierra withdrew her hand from the hole, the trap clamped down firmly on her arm – though she was at least clutching a note in her hand. "Here! Read the clue," she said, passing it to a mildly shocked Sammy. Just as she was about to read it, the sound of approaching footsteps distracted her and her teammates.
"Bad news guys," Anne Maria commented from the six Maggots. "They have the clue."
"Even with a team advantage they still managed to beat us," Katie reminded them.
"We can let the opposing team have their clue," Scarlett said, looking back towards her teammates. "I have another plan," she said, running ahead with her teammates in tow.
\
The shot cut to the Maggots as they stopped at a clearing further along the trail. "So what's the plan?" Katie asked the girl in front.
"Find a place to hide so we can follow the Rats and their clue to our first souvenir," Scarlett answered. "Into that bush!"
The Maggots dived and painfully tried to hide in a thorn bush.
"Be quiet," Dave hissed, "They're coming."
"Inside a knot is a nest," Sammy read as the scene cut to the Rats. "Your souvenir lives with a pest. Find Polaris to travel northwest? Polaris is the North Star."
"The North Star is right there, so this way's northwest! There's a path!" Trent declared. He ran off, the rest of his teammates following suit.
"Now we follow!" Scarlett declared as the rest of her teammates came out of the bush.
\
The Rats' logo reappeared as the footage skipped ahead again to them running along through the woods.
"Inside a knot is a nest," Geoff muttered to himself as the shot zoomed in on him. "Hey Sammy, what was the rest of that poem again?" he called back without taking his eyes off the path ahead.
When he didn't get an answer he immediately skidded to a stop. "Sammy?!" he yelled in rising panic, and looked back to see nobody behind him.
The shot cut back to show that the rest of the Rats had stopped in their tracks. "What? Did we lose the mouse?" Scott asked.
Geoff gulped. "We get a penalty for each player we lose, right?" he asked nervously.
"And there's a spider crawling around, right?!" Leshawna said in panic. The shot cut outward as he did so, showing a large purple spider crawling down through the shadows of the forest trees.
"We're looking for a knot with a nest, right?" Scott looked off to the right; the camera quick-panned over to a large tree with a noticeable hollow knot in the trunk with the hints of a nest inside; a few green and red marks had been spray-painted on the bark under it.
"There it is!" Leshawna said, immediately rushing towards it.
"But what about Sammy?" Trent asked his team.
"We'll look for her after we get the souvenir," Sierra assured him.
Leshawna started climbing up the trunk as the rest of her team ran up to join her, and soon began to root through the tree hollow with one arm.
Suddenly, a large eye opened up inside the hollow and stared directly at Leshawna. She screamed, and several squid-like tentacles reached out of the tree's other hollows. One quickly grabbed her around the neck and held her up, while another gave her a few wet slaps then poked her in the eye.
"My eye!" Leshawna yelped in pain and terror. In response the tentacle tightened its grip, and Leshawna began to choke.
"What do we do!?" Sierra yelled in panic.
Geoff looked around, then bent down and picked up a handful of small rocks. "We can throw these stones at the octo guy!"
"Good idea!" Scott said as he and his team picked up rocks of their own and began throwing them at the creature, but they seemed to be hitting Leshawna more than the mutant squid-tree monster. Eventually, the thing just raised its captive up even higher, then slammed her down onto the ground and hissed at the others.
"RUN!" Geoff shouted, turning to flee as a tentacle shot towards them, forcing them to scatter.
Unfortunately, Trent was unable to get away in time and was lifted up by the leg. Trent cried in pain as the mutant began to punch him in the stomach with a curled-up tentacle.
The sounds of pain and wet punches caused Leshawna to get frustrated. "No way am I gonna get pushed around or let a squid attack my teammates!" she declared, getting back on her feet and climbing up the tree-squid's trunk while it was distracted. "Quit buggin' us!" she cried as she punched the mutant in the eye.
The beast bellowed in pain, dropping Trent and retracting into its tree. As soon as he got back up, a strand of spider's webbing shot down from above, sticking on to his head and pulling him away from the floor.
Leshawna reached into the knot once again, quickly and triumphantly pulling out a brass key. "And that's how I roll!" she called down to her teammates.
She dropped down to the forest floor, and landed in front of Geoff, who grinned when he saw it. "We got the key, Trent." Geoff received no response as Scott rejoined.
"Trent?!" Leshawna yelled out in concern. "Where are you?!"
As she panicked, the shot changed to a perspective further away, and the footage switched to an infrared shot of the four Rats.
"Guess he's gone," Sierra sighed sadly. "On the plus side, we found the key."
"We lost two players!" Leshawna said. "Shouldn't we go and look for them?"
"Knowing Chris, he probably has them trapped someplace else, so I'm not too worried right now," Scott brushed it off.
"You've got a point there," Geoff agreed.
Just then, the six Maggots arrived on the scene.
Scott was the first to notice them. "No luck here," he quickly said with faux disappointment, "Do you want to see if Sammy and Trent saw anything better over there?" he looked back and asked Sierra, Leshawna, and Geoff.
"Absolutely. It's not just the three of us," Sierra caught on before they turned and ran off.
"I see something!" Katie pointed off to the camera's right – the direction of the squid-tree. "Team colors!" The camera briefly cut over to the knot in question, with a focus on the marks below it in the two teams' colors.
"Excellent eye, Katie," Scarlett complimented while DJ ran to the tree.
"I'm not just a phone addict, y'know," Katie laughed a bit.
"I got the key, everyone," the camera cut to DJ who was in the tree's hollow and holding out a key. He threw the key in front of Dave and Molly.
"Way to go, DJ!" Molly said.
"Now you want to support us," Dave snarked at her. "Where was that when I was frozen?"
"Are you still mad about that?" Molly groaned.
"Of course we are," Katie snorted.
"You don't just leave your teammates behind," Dave lectured.
"Whatever happened happened," Anne Maria got in between them. "Let's focus more on the challenge and less on squabbling right now."
Confessional: Anne Maria
"I'm here to start no fights," Anne Maria confessed. "What Molly did was messed up, but they can scold her after the challenge."
Confessional: Molly
"Thank you, Anne Maria," Molly let out a sigh of relief. "Finally, someone who won't ride on me for my choices!"
Confessionals End
"You're right, Anne Maria," Dave sighed. "We shouldn't waste anymore time fighting."
As Dave bent down to pick up the key, however, a line of spider silk shot down from the treetops, wrapped around Molly, and pulled her up out of sight.
DJ regrouped with his team. "They said they saw something far away, so maybe-" he paused and looked behind his teammates. "Wait, where's Molly?"
The other four looked behind them and gasped. "Oh no, Molly's got taken by the spider!" Dave cried out.
"What do we do now?" Anne Maria griped.
Scarlett sighed. "Not to sound apathetic, but I think we're gonna have to continue on without her."
"Are you sure about that?" Katie questioned.
"I'm sure we can catch up to wherever she's being taken to," Scarlett waved off her concern.
"Well, I hope so," Katie said as she and the team exchanged nervous looks.
Confessional: Dave
"I don't see Molly in the best light right now, but that doesn't mean that I want her to be taken away," Dave began to shudder. "Especially by a spider."
Confessional Ends
"Why are we running so slow when we're in a challenge?" Geoff said as the scene moved back to him, Sierra, Scott, and Leshawna running through the forest. "We won't beat the other team at this rate."
"Relax, I know what I'm doing," Scott conversed with him.
Confessional: Scott
Scott was whittling another piece of wood with his shark tooth. "I'm heading us back into last place where we belong. Another elimination ceremony for the Rats and it's bye-bye Geoff! Or Sierra. I can't decide."
Confessional Ends
"C'mon, let's rock this! With years of exercise and partying, I've got energy to burn!" Geoff said, snatching the key from Leshawna and jogging ahead. The three followed him, but the camera kept its focus on Geoff as he passed a tree stump, then a rock; then stepped on a mysterious clump of dirt… which exploded and sent him flying.
Leshawna, Sierra, and Scott stopped immediately, the shot showing Sierra and Leshawna being shocked and Scott showing delight as Geoff got launched from one land mine to the next off-screen.
During this, however, a line of spider webbing was shot onto Sierra's leg. It quickly wrapped around it and tugged Sierra away from her team.
The camera finally cut back to Geoff, singed and groaning on the ground in an awkward but still holding the Rats' key. The Maggots approached him moments later. "Sorry that had to happen, doll!" Anne Maria comforted as she ran past Geoff.
Scott and Leshawna came to Geoff's need. "You gonna be alright?" Leshawna helped him up.
"I'll walk it off," Geoff tried to remain cool headed.
"Thanks, focus boy," Scott said.
"I don't want to strain my calves," Geoff added.
"We should leave in a few minutes just to make sure we catch up to the other team," Leshawna said. "Sierra just got captured, and I don't want us sticking around here."
\
The scene cut to the lantern-lit cemetery. The camera panned left across its headstones and crosses, several of which were pet-themed, to the entrance as the five remaining Mutant Maggots arrived, huffing and puffing from their run.
"Welcome to the Wawanakwa Pet Cemetery!" Chris greeted them over the loudspeaker.
"We're first. Nice!" Dave said.
"What's the clue?" Anne Maria asked Scarlett.
The camera cut in close as she opened the lid to a small coffin in an open grave, revealing a ragged piece of paper within bearing a list of numbers: 5 in the first row; 5 in the second; 5 in the third. Notably, while most of the numbers were plain black there were three 6s and the 18 were all an eye-catching red. "Three 6's is normally not a good indication of luck," Scarlett said with a nervous look.
"Let's fan out and look for numbers!" DJ said as the perspective cut back to its usual sideview.
"By ourselves?" Anne Maria asked.
\
"I'm in a creepy cemetery in the middle of the woods looking for three 6s. It's no big deal," Anne Maria said warily as she backed through the graveyard. "Good news is, there aren't any owls hooting around. I think I'm safe," she told herself, pausing to smile. "Now, let's see if I can find any numbers..."
She turned around and started examining the nearest headstone, and the shot cut to a view from afar, the footage switching back to infrared. The monster serving as the camera's viewpoint blinked, and when it opened its eyes it had gotten much closer to the jersey girl, and had extended four sharp limbs with tiny claws on the end towards her...
Anne Maria's scream echoed through the cemetery, quickly catching the attention of Katie, DJ, Scarlett, and Dave as they looked up in shock. "Anne Maria?" Dave asked out in concern, the footage quickly skipping ahead to show all four arriving at the location the tanned young lady had been snatched from.
"I could've sworn she was just here," Dave said in confusion.
They all gasped. "Where'd she go?" Katie asked in mild terror.
"I'm just as concerned as you all are," Scarlett started, "but like what happened with Molly, we should move along and hope to catch up with them."
"I know you're trying to be reasonable," DJ said, "but you're rubbing me off the wrong way."
"Yeah, it's like you don't care about what could happen to our teammates," Dave told her.
"I'm just used to not expressing my emotions on occasion," Scarlett told her team members. "Thank you very much."
\
The scene flashed to the Rats, where Scott and Leshawna were next to grimy coffins propped upright against a couple statues.
"Find the souvenir, hide the souvenir, lose the game…" Scott went in to unlock the coffin, but was interrupted by Fang bursting out of the coffin with a menacing grin.
"AAAAHHHHH!" The devious ran away screaming when Fang moved to chase after him.
Geoff was looking at a grave that was open. "This grave smells like french fries. Weird, but I'm not complaining." He got shoved in thanks to Scott running away from Fang.
The camera followed Scott as he ran past two open graves, one of which with a mound of dirt in front of it.
The mutant shark followed his quarry, but when Scott leapt over the mound of dirt, Fang tripped over it. The shark fell into the open grave and growled.
"Why does this graveyard smell like fries?" Katie wondered aloud, following a scent as she walked through the cemetery. She soon came to the pit Geoff was in. "Maybe it's coming from there."
"Hello? Anybody? I need someone to help me down here!" Geoff called out.
Katie backed away a bit. "Did that hole just talk?"
"It's me. Geoff!" Geoff tried to denounce her belief.
"Oh right," Katie sighed in relief. "You're the guy with the cowboy hat."
"That's right," Geoff confirmed her statement. "I fell down this hole, and I'm covered in grease right now."
"So that explains the smell," Katie realized.
"Can you get me out of here?" Geoff begged her. "Grease doesn't mesh well with my shirt."
"I would, but I have to help my team right now," Katie declined. "One of your teammates could get you out. Bye," she left the scene.
"This sucks," Geoff whined, unaware of four maggots coming by the grave. As soon as they saw the grease and Geoff, they jumped in and attacked him, making him howl in agony.
\
The scene cut to Chris, who was watching feeds of both teams on a trio of monitors and laughing hysterically. "Will anyone make it to the spooky cave?" he turned and asked the camera, holding a covered cup with a straw in it. "And if so, how can they possibly make it all the way to the finish line? Less brain, more pain, when we return!" he said, finishing with a sip of his drink.
\
(Commercial Break)
\

Greetings! I moved to the US a year ago on a J1 visa, specifically for my postdoctoral position. With my final year approaching, I find myself reluctant to leave the US and potentially get stuck in another postdoc. As a result, I am eager to explore various options that would enable me to continue residing in the country. Firstly, I'm curious if it's possible to request my university to assist in changing my visa status. Are they able to provide guidance or support in transitioning to a different visa category? This could potentially open up new avenues for a longer stay. Moreover, I would greatly appreciate any insights into alternative visa types that I can consider applying for. Are there specific visas that are more suitable for my situation and academic background? Thank you!

This is a response i wrote to a post about the feelings that are commonly experienced when one first "Leaves"
I thought it may help others so here it is:
Let's say you're driving along a regular road and your turn signal malfunctions.
It's now stuck indicating you should turn left.
You see the light blink blink blink, you hear the tick tick tick. [ or whatever a car does these days ]
You know you need to keep going straight on the road.
This may confuse others that don't understand the problem you're facing.
You may even feel like you should turn left, because the indicator keeps indicating you should do so.
THC / dopamine abuse leaves your brain with an indicator stuck in the warning position.
Dopamine is the motivation chemical that makes things feel good or even just worthwhile.
It will take some time for that indicator to get unstuck, all that resin can be sticky.
Smoking more will just prolong the amount of time it takes to get unstuck.
Its different for every person.
You know you should keep going straight on the road.
It's just an indicator stuck signaling turn left.
You should know that Life and living is worthwhile but your "worth" indicator neurotransmitter isn't being produced right now so you can't FEEL the happiness you know you should.
Living through this IS NOT EASY.
Extending this pattern by continuing to use will be MUCH MORE PAINFUL.
You can get through this.
Just like the fire alarm going off because you burnt some toast, you know you don't need the fire dept. It's a false alarm.
You can beat the false alarms of not feeling happy or any joy.
It's better you do it sooner than later.
I lost almost 20 years trying to do what I accomplished in 2 months of ignoring those signals.
When your brain is back in balance life will feel good even when things are troubling you.
It won't all be easy, but you will be able to feel good when it's appropriate.
We all deserve to be there.
Stay strong, you are not alone.

I've been in a 300-500 calorie deficit since January 2023. I work out 4x a week and am trying to get to 12% body fat. I know that most people only cut for 8-12 weeks. Is doing an extended cut (say for 7-8 months) bad for my body or my immune system in any way?
I track my macros and eat as clean/healthy as possible, and I also supplement with Vitamin D3 daily. So far I feel fine, except getting hungry towards the end of the night, and my strength in the gym has stayed roughly the same (although I'm not getting any stronger). Is it safe for me to keep cutting until August?

TLDR; Luffy's dream is creating a Pirate Kingdom, which is the same goal of the Ancient Kingdom and the People of D.
Just a (I hope) short theory about what Luffy's dream could be and why it connects the One Piece story altogether. I'll try to be brief and explain as clearly as I can, with reference images. Without further ado, let's start.
Luffy’s Dream and his significance for the entire story
The first time we hear about Luffy’s dream is in Marineford, when Ace is on the verge of death and is speaking his last words to his little brother. Then we jump into Luffy’s childhood flashback (chapter 585) and we have an hunch of what it could be. But most of all we get to see Ace and Sabo’s reactions to it.
https://preview.redd.it/6xadvwcm214b1.png?width=873&format=png&auto=webp&s=06873113a2d1ca7c3e1edffd4a6379db430c7b29
https://preview.redd.it/19ydcywn214b1.png?width=881&format=png&auto=webp&s=43380f79b3af157ad17da6b2e6948a5d49320328
At this point we as readers understand that it seems to be something weird, childish and almost impossible to achieve. Now let’s move to Chapter 966, during the fateful meeting between the man who will be known as the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, and Kozuki Oden. In this istance, Roger reveals his dream to Oden and Whitebeard, just like Luffy did to Ace and Sabo. But this time pay attention on how Roger’s full statement is presented.
https://preview.redd.it/zpbm00us214b1.png?width=898&format=png&auto=webp&s=a69c754e43bb95f4fc0874731aa6dfd2d4cd7d09
Roger talks about reaching the very last island, becoming the greatest pirate crew in the world and AFTER THAT Roger talks about carrying out his dream. To me, this means that you need to be the Pirate King to achieve this dream, although Roger would be called like that only after he finds the treasure. Becoming the greatest pirate crew pretty much carries the same meaning.
Let’s stay on the same track and jump forward to Chapter 1060, when Luffy reveals his dream to his crew for the very first time.
https://preview.redd.it/1mnu2tax214b1.png?width=1004&format=png&auto=webp&s=e75e8006715c4369e488ed6b18241a34d82c6822
The crew obviously looks amazed and somehow amused, but what is of the most importance is following the trail left by Roger’s words. Luffy states that he will have a shot on achieving his dream IF he BECOMES Pirate King.
Not long after that, Franky confirms that Luffy needs to be Pirate King to make his dream possible.
So now we have all the info we needed to try to figure out what Luffy’s dream could be. The key of it all lies in the title of Pirate King. And what would a Pirate King be without a Pirate Kingdom? That’s it. Luffy’s dream is creating a Pirate Kingdom. It may sound pretty straightforward but it makes so much sense for the entire story. Let me explain!
What is a Pirate to Luffy
​
We know from page one that Shanks and his crew inspired Luffy to be a pirate. But what of course inspired Luffy the most is the fact that Pirates have freedom!
​
He then proceeds on remarking that concept to Rayleigh, when asked.
So, knowing all this, we can assume that Luffy’s Pirate Kingdom is not your average Kingdom, but one in which the iron rule is freedom, since a Pirate, according to Luffy, is a being who is completely free. In his childish mind, he may expect that all the “citizens” of this Kingdom will become pirates and chase the freedom. After all, the D. people, whose letter Luffy carries, belong to freedom themselves.
Blackbeard’s dream
Speaking of D., there’s one individual whose dream was revealed to us recently and is similar, if not the same, of Luffy’s one, although the meanings are completely different from one another.
https://preview.redd.it/p5qqb4dp314b1.png?width=934&format=png&auto=webp&s=1ee0c6630abac35dc58c8c739313a12dc57487a6
https://preview.redd.it/cu3ylq0q314b1.png?width=1004&format=png&auto=webp&s=4f9a3daf59d8a9586ba7ffa8976067cc2984f6d5
We learn that Blackbeard’s dream is to make Pirate Island a full-fledged nation, thus creating a Pirate Kingdom. Sounds familiar? While most people at this point would discard this theory since Blackbeard’s idea is the same of the well concealed dream of Luffy, I think that the fact that both have almost the same idea should strengthen the theory.
​
https://preview.redd.it/0dybxrut314b1.png?width=991&format=png&auto=webp&s=ce5af20120130e904c0411436ae6b3e7689d8768
They have the same dream, they just look at the opposite side of the coin. Just like the both of them ate the very same cherry pie back in Mock Town but their reaction to its taste was completely the opposite. Blackbeard, having most likely inherited Rocks’ will, is chasing the goal of becoming the King of the World, and the first step is making Pirate Island a nation affiliated with the government and creating the Blackbeard Kingdom. Luffy, on the other hand, will create a Pirate Kingdom which will involve the entire world and where the absolute ruler is freedom itself.
The Ancient Kingdom
It is indeed time to tie the Ancient Kingdom and Joyboy himself to the theory.
​
https://preview.redd.it/adazvj76414b1.png?width=878&format=png&auto=webp&s=b125438ff1589f71a87bfe3c79fe6009515c2d00
The immense kingdom which existed in the past could very well be a Kingdom which comprehends the whole world united under the same flag, pretty much like what Luffy in my opinion intends to do: they’re the same Pirate Kingdom! Joyboy must’ve been a citizen of that kingdom, thus a pirate, with a specific purpose to carry out. More about this later tho.
​
https://preview.redd.it/5c96w6r8414b1.png?width=884&format=png&auto=webp&s=a0bcdf80f0578fa5726f54f6bfd4e240ece3a583
Of course, the top of the world, the absolute rulers aka the World Government finds the very existence of a Pirate Kingdom who chases freedom to be very threatening to the status quo. Eventually, the will of Joyboy would be inherited by Roger first and then Luffy. Then Clover also states that, while the nature of the threat that the Ancient Kingdom poses is still unknown, the key lies in the name of the Kingdom itself. But what could it be?
The Will of D.
In the latest chapter, we learn a lot of things. Nefeltari Lili’s blunder and her real name, Nefeltari D. Lili. D., the same letter which Imu indeed confirms to be carried by his/her ancient enemies. The most important piece of information related to this theory lies in the letter left by Lili to future Arabasta’s rulers. We can hear Cobra speaking few words of that very letter, although they carry the utmost importance.
​
“The Poneglyphs must be protected. Fly the flag that heralds the world’s eventual Dawn.”
Could the name of the Ancient Pirate Kingdom be the same of D? Could this name be Dawn? The Dawn Kingdom and the will of Dawn! The word dawn that by coincidence, sure, carries the almost same sound of DON. The will of Dawn is the will of pirates to chase freedom and to be united under the same Kingdom, the same Flag. Now obviously, every pirate crew needs its flag, which would eventually be the same of the Kingdom. And what could it be?
​
https://preview.redd.it/6gemby6h414b1.png?width=852&format=png&auto=webp&s=0f303c5ebbd90999c799953e48fbff46453d815d
Nothing’s better that an old-fashioned goofy ass Strawhat crew’s flag. Or maybe the one that Bellamy is designing? Who knows. That leaves us with just one question. What was Joyboy’s purpose?
The Binks Sake
What I think was Joyboy’s purpose is delivering the Binks’ Sake to all the Pirate Kingdom, just like the song states, thus making everyone brothers. But at some point, he was forced to interrupt this mission, thus leaving it all in one place. Sounds familiar? That very place is Laugh Tale, and the treasure itself could be Binks Sake. Why the treasure would be sake of all things. Let’s head back to chapter 585, which at this point I think is one, if not the most important of the entire series.
https://preview.redd.it/zne6ms3m414b1.png?width=873&format=png&auto=webp&s=b2d6f796385f19b0b45403a4ed24550fa8b93242
Right after mentioning Luffy’s mysterious dream, the next page is the one above, the one in which the three kids exchange the Sake cups and officially become brothers. In short, Chapter 585 might be telling us that Luffy’s dream is to create a Pirate Kingdom, thus using the Treasure to exchange Sake cups with every pirate, or “citizen” of the Kingdom, making everyone brother. Just like Joyboy was supposed to do but couldn’t, waiting for Luffy to do it in his place. Furthermore…
​
https://preview.redd.it/mu1rugyn414b1.png?width=1004&format=png&auto=webp&s=d103810bd823eba18dd412b7bdb40cc2f12207b6
https://preview.redd.it/qyhxpego414b1.png?width=748&format=png&auto=webp&s=2addcba0ab9c58fb449a1d091fbed81ad6015ba1
This may be the biggest hunch, but the key could lie in the titles of chapter 999 and 1000. It doesn’t seem right to me that every time a new chapter goes out we get pretty much straightforward titles that anticipate what is supposed to happen in the same chapter. EXCEPT for this two chapters in particular. I believe this to be an hidden message of what the treasure is. It is to be read as a sentence. It’s like Joyboy speaking: “The sake I brewed to drink with you, Straw Hat Luffy.”
Conclusion
This is it. As you can see it is not a brainy and fanciful theory, but more a connection of some dots scattered in the story. Let me know what do you guys think about it!!!

I think one of the greatest things I’m witnessing about all of this is how much of a glow up it’s been for Laura. The day he’s served his divorce papers she’s having a pool party with all of her family, her stories are full of people, music, dancing and joy. She is obviously surrounding herself with lots of love and support from her family and friends. Her mom has visited and stayed with her several times, she’s making polished and professional videos and podcast episodes with other professional comedians, I believe she’s working towards a movie too and she looks more amazing than she ever has, which is like the cherry on top. She’s flourishing without him all while doing the majority of the childcare. Then he’s doing half assed, hate sketches in the dark. His family isn’t visiting him, doesn’t look like he’s leaving his house much even tbh. It’s such a stark contrast between the two of them.

Hi, I live in Buenos Aires, and I want to visit El Chalten with a friend in octobenovember for a trekking trip. I was planning a 5 day stay in El Chalten to do the different trails, Laguna del Desierto and at least one estancia (Estancia Helsingfors or Estancia Cristina). I've already been to El Calafate before, so I was thinking on extending my trip and including Torres del Paine for 4-5 days.
​
I was wondering about the different transportation options to go from El Chalten to Torres del Paine, and then fly back to Buenos Aires. I assume there are no direct flights between El Chalten and TdP small airport, or even to Puerto Natales, right? If it came to land transportation, is renting a car a better option? is there a bus departing from El Chalten that crosses the border and takes you directly to TdP national park? what's the best option to fly back to Buenos Aires after the trip?
​
Thanks

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Hi
We are making CNC Tube Notcher stay/holders for home made plasma cutting machines.
The stays hold metal tube or pipe centered so it can be placed and removed from a chuck that rotates as the torch moves back and forth along a rail to cut parts from the end.
The machines can be made in different lengths depending on available space, ours is twelve feet long so we cut twenty foot lengths of tube in half for the machine.
I would be happy to answer any questions about the notcher design and products we are making with it.
The stays we are making available are for placing along the length of tube so that the torch moves back and forth. The design was inspired by a reddit.com post by adoyle88. Some other designs are available with a moving chuck and a fixed cutting torch (example: Bend Tech - Dragon A250). I didn’t choose this design because I wanted a fixed footprint without having to keep an empty space open for the tubes to extend when cutting. An example part we cut is a vehicle C pillar that would extend eight feet past the end of that design.
CNC tube plasma cutting is great for a few different applications including notching joints between intersecting tubes, cutting complex patterns accurately on coping joints with tabs and slots in interlocking parts and marking bend marker locations for positioning cut tubes in benders at the correct locations.
The purpose of offering a stay holder as a product is that it solves a specific problem when building CNC plasma tube notcher builds which is loading and unloading tube and holding it centered for diameters between one inch through two and a half inches. The remaining parts needed are commonly available such as metal stock for a frame, ball bearings and angle bar for the sliding rail, plasma torch, chuck with stepper driver etc. The stay design evolved over two years and it will be a drop in part for people just wanting to get up to producing parts faster.
Our company has software available for modelling or importing existing models and generating cut GCode instructions that operate the machine. The software also can produce CNC bending GCode for our bending products or print PDF bend instructions for each of your parts for manually bending parts cut with the CNC notcher.
We are making a variety of producs with our notcher including tube frame vehicle chassis, replacement bumpers for off road vehicles, exhaust pie cuts, metal racks and i’m sure that there are many more possible uses.
Referemces:
Our CNC Notcher Stay: http://armaautomotive.com/parts/stay/index.php?ref=50
Our software: http://armaautomotive.com/build/ads.php?ref=50
CNC Notcher by adoyle88: https://www.cnccookbook.com/diy-plasma-tube-notche
Bend Tech Dragon A250: https://www.bend-tech.com/dragon-a250-cnc-plasma-pipe-cutte

Fourth and final part; back to the usual post schedule from tomorrow.
Series Page - Read 10 weeks ahead on Patreon - Read the story so far on Royal Road
*
Chapter Twelve - The Blacksmith's Boy (Part Four)
​
‘Should’ve listened, stray.’
The first blow caught Cal across the cheek, whipping his head back with a crack. Light exploded around the edges of his eyes, and his vi-sion spun. The second took him under the chin, hard as a hammer, and his legs vanished from under him. His world tumbled into a crash of scattered chairs and tables, and half-empty mugs went clattering across the floor, throwing foam into the smoky air like sea-spray.
‘Shit-’
‘Watch it, runt-’
‘By the Makers, what are you-’
The other villagers were surging to their feet, roused from their bickering, but not fast enough. Cal somehow managed to regain his feet in time to find Petr advancing on him, fists bunched and face like thun-der. Behind him, Carel was clawing at his arms, trying to hold him back, but he shrugged her off, then swatted Lokk to one side as the slender innkeep’s son tried to bar his path, sending him skittering into a row of chairs. Cal’s head was spinning, and his eyes blurred.
‘I’m not done with you, you little shit.’ Petr growled, closing the ground between them with big angry strides. Cal swayed, dazed. His body was on fire. He couldn’t move. The youth’s heavy fist slammed into his gut, and he doubled over, air rushing out of his chest in a choked gasp. Someone managed to get between them then. Three someones, hauling Petr back. Cal crumpled to his knees, retching emp-tily onto the ale-splattered floor.
‘That’s enough, boy!’
‘Cunt had it coming-’
‘Enough, Petr! He’s ‘ad enough.’
Cal blinked up at them groggily, spittle trailing from his aching mouth. Forley and Godry had Petr by one arm, the miners by the other, struggling to hold him back. Albin hadn’t moved. He was sitting by the fire where he had been, a crooked smile on his lips. Cal squinted, eyes reeling, mouth full of bile.
‘The fuck is going on?’
The Innkeep was standing by the bar, a fresh cask under one arm, rosy cheeks suddenly hard. Petr stopped struggling, shrugging himself out of the patrons’ grasp.
‘Little cunt tried to hit me.’ He told the Innkeep with a snort. He jabbed a finger at Cal where he knelt on the floor, gasping mutely for air. Lokk appeared at his side, helping him unsteadily to his feet. The slender youth was looking a little shaken, and there was a small, red cut at his brow. ‘Had it coming!’
Cal’s breath was coming back, and the room around him was steady-ing. He saw Carel standing a little back from them, hair scattered mess-ily over her wet cheeks. As he looked, she caught his eye for a moment, then looked away, face hidden in the shadows of her sandy hair. The pail of water was on its side nearby, steaming as its contents spread slowly across the sopping floor.
‘I don’t give a damn if he bedded your mother!’ The Innkeep re-plied. He took one look at Carel and set down the cask on the bar, step-ping in close enough for the big youth to smell the pipe-smoke on his breath. ‘There’ll be no fighting, in my inn.’
Petr flinched in spite of himself, taking half a step back.
‘Boy’s right, Goran.’ Albin added, scowling. ‘Saw the whole thing. Little runt started-’
‘That’s enough!’ The Innkeep cut him short, turning an angry eye on the butcher. ‘Unless you want to tell the blacksmith whose son’s been beating his hand?’
Albin hesitated at that, and his ruddy cheeks lost a little of their col-our.
‘Thought not.’ The Innkeep went on. ‘Now, get out. And take your fool son with you.’
Albin was out of his seat in an instant, all thoughts of the Blacksmith forgotten.
‘Alb, wait-’
The butcher shoved Forley aside. He stopped just a few inches from the Innkeep, glaring down at the smaller man with hard eyes. Even from where he was, Cal could smell the ale on his breath, but the Inn-keep didn’t flinch. The fire stirred in the sudden quiet, and the villagers stood in a moment of perfect stillness, taut as a lute-string. Godry and Forley shared a worried look. Priss had appeared beside Carel and put an arm around her slumped shoulders. Petr was glaring at Cal, dark eyes boring holes into his forehead, but Cal didn’t even notice. His head was hanging limply over his chest, and if Lokk hadn’t been hold-ing him, he was sure his legs would’ve buckled. His head spun, and his skin burned. Neither the butcher nor the Innkeep had moved an inch.
‘Come on, boy.’ Albin said at last, eyes not leaving the Innkeep for a moment. ‘Let’s go.’
‘But da-’
‘I said let’s go.’
He held still for a moment longer, then took his son by the arm and led him roughly away towards the door.
‘You’ll pay double next time.’ The Innkeep called out to him as he reached the door. ‘Both of you.’
For a moment it looked as if Albin would turn back. Then he scowled, spat on the floor, and shoved his son out into the night beyond the door, slamming it shut behind them.
There was a collective sigh of relief from the remaining patrons. The Innkeep watched the door for a few moments, then began unhurriedly scooping up discarded mugs from the ale-splashed floor.
‘I think that’s enough for one evening.’ He said quietly as he worked, not looking up. Godry, Forley and the miners looked at each other.
‘Bar’s a mess, Goran. We’ll lend a hand.’ Forley offered.
‘We’ll manage.’ The Innkeep told him, still not looking up. The vil-lagers exchanged another look, then they made for the door without a word. Priss stepped back from Carel, giving her shoulder a squeeze, and joined her husband as the door swung closed behind them. Lokk didn’t say a word. Carel still hadn’t lifted her eyes. Cal shrugged him-self away from his friend’s arm, taking a step towards her.
‘Carel, I-’
The Innkeep straightened suddenly, hurling one of the mugs across the room. It smashed into the closed door, shattering across the thresh-old with a crash.
‘Don’t you dare, boy.’ He growled, whirling on him, soft eyes hard as steel, fidgeting hands steady. ‘You’ve had a fall tonight. Must’a knocked your head. Only reason you aren’t catching another beating.’
Cal looked back at him groggily for a moment. His wits were return-ing, and the ache was spreading outwards from his jaw and cheek in throbbing waves. His shredded arms and legs were afire with shifting lines of pain, and his back ground at his ribs like a blade. Stupid. What was he thinking? Running from shadows in the dark. Brawling in front of half the village. What would the Blacksmith say? This was not their agreement. This was not their word. Blood rushed into his cheeks, hot with shame, and he lowered his eyes.
‘Go home, boy.’
‘But, I-’
‘I said go home, boy.’ The Innkeep stared back at him with cold eyes. ‘You can’t stay here.’
Cal hesitated. He looked at Lokk, but his friend would not meet his eye. He nodded slowly, straightening as best he could, and made un-steadily for the door. He looked back from the threshold, but nothing had stirred. A mess of upturned tables and chairs, scattered mugs and soaking floor boards. The three figures that stood frozen amongst it all seemed suddenly very different to Cal, their names new and unfamiliar. No one looked up as he opened the door. He hesitated, skin bloody and numb, jaw aching like winter, haggard, dazed, and spared one final glance for Carel, standing alone beside the bar, a dozen words racing on his silent tongue. Then he turned and went out alone into the dark, and the cold took him as its own.
*
It was quiet outside the Nest, and the streets were empty. The storm had moved off to blow itself out over the lowlands in the west, and only the faintest whir of it carried on the air between the little stone build-ings of Rindon, the fevered mumbling of weary hills. Cal walked for a time, going nowhere in particular, dry eyes moving listlessly over the stones, picking out the familiar notches of the rock, the knowing wink-ing of shuttered fires. The pathways were wet beneath his boots, pud-dled and gleaming in the silver stain of the moon. No one to be seen. Not Petr, waiting for him behind some dark corner, nor the other pa-trons, staggering home arm in arm. No faceless shadows leering at him from empty doorways, chasing him into the night. All was as it should be. After all, why wouldn’t it be? The thought filled him with a kind of bemused, frivolous amusement. He knew this place. Why should it not be as it always was?
After a time, he found himself at the eastern edge of the village, looking down over the little cluster of thatching and its glinting win-dows. It was cold, he knew, but he did not feel it. The bloody skin be-neath his ragged clothes tingled numbly. Even his jaw seemed to have stopped aching. He looked down, for no reason in particular, and saw that the dirt at his feet was churned and dented as though by some fall-ing beast, and little flecks of red blinked back at him in the moonlight. He realised that this must have been where he had fallen. Where his legs had failed and the world had spun like sand in ocean spray. Where the shadows had chased him from the hillside, swarming after him as wolves after their prey. He realised he was frowning. His back was to the trees, but he felt no fear. What was there to fear? After all, it was just a dream, and there is nothing to fear from dreams.
The trees were before him. Had they not been behind? The dark pil-lars stretched away up the slope, and the great black shadow of the Teeth held the horizon beyond. The murmur of the distant storm moved through the branches, shifting softly. Nothing else stirred.
He realised he was walking. The trees were all around, watching him. The earth was soft and wet beneath his feet. He looked down as he went, picking out the footprints in the loam. Something had come this way. Bootprints, scrambling, sprinting, falling. He had come this way.
So he walked, much as he had before, aiming without aim, and the trees whispered their same whispers. Words he had known since he first came here, all those years ago. Slowly, he went, until his eyes grew accustomed to the dimness, to the silver luminescence of the moon. Footprints. Bootprints. Running, scrambling. Falling.
Alone.
He lingered a while, just to be sure. But there was no mistake. There had been no men in the trees. No shadows to flee from. No one else had come this way. His head ached. He could not have… there must have been…
But there was nothing. Nothing but untouched earth, smooth as fresh wax. Just a dream. And there is nothing to fear from dreams.
So he came down out of the trees, and made for home along well-worn paths, watching for shadows he knew were not there.

Fourth and final part; back to the usual post schedule from tomorrow.
Previous Chapter - Read 10 weeks ahead on Patreon - Read the story so far on Royal Road
*
Chapter Twelve - The Blacksmith's Boy (Part Four)
​
‘Should’ve listened, stray.’
The first blow caught Cal across the cheek, whipping his head back with a crack. Light exploded around the edges of his eyes, and his vision spun. The second took him under the chin, hard as a hammer, and his legs vanished from under him. His world tumbled into a crash of scattered chairs and tables, and half-empty mugs went clattering across the floor, throwing foam into the smoky air like sea-spray.
‘Shit-’
‘Watch it, runt-’
‘By the Makers, what are you-’
The other villagers were surging to their feet, roused from their bickering, but not fast enough. Cal somehow managed to regain his feet in time to find Petr advancing on him, fists bunched and face like thunder. Behind him, Carel was clawing at his arms, trying to hold him back, but he shrugged her off, then swatted Lokk to one side as the slender innkeep’s son tried to bar his path, sending him skittering into a row of chairs. Cal’s head was spinning, and his eyes blurred.
‘I’m not done with you, you little shit.’ Petr growled, closing the ground between them with big angry strides. Cal swayed, dazed. His body was on fire. He couldn’t move. The youth’s heavy fist slammed into his gut, and he doubled over, air rushing out of his chest in a choked gasp. Someone managed to get between them then. Three someones, hauling Petr back. Cal crumpled to his knees, retching emptily onto the ale-splattered floor.
‘That’s enough, boy!’
‘Cunt had it coming-’
‘Enough, Petr! He’s ‘ad enough.’
Cal blinked up at them groggily, spittle trailing from his aching mouth. Forley and Godry had Petr by one arm, the miners by the other, struggling to hold him back. Albin hadn’t moved. He was sitting by the fire where he had been, a crooked smile on his lips. Cal squinted, eyes reeling, mouth full of bile.
‘The fuck is going on?’
The Innkeep was standing by the bar, a fresh cask under one arm, rosy cheeks suddenly hard. Petr stopped struggling, shrugging himself out of the patrons’ grasp.
‘Little cunt tried to hit me.’ He told the Innkeep with a snort. He jabbed a finger at Cal where he knelt on the floor, gasping mutely for air. Lokk appeared at his side, helping him unsteadily to his feet. The slender youth was looking a little shaken, and there was a small, red cut at his brow. ‘Had it coming!’
Cal’s breath was coming back, and the room around him was steadying. He saw Carel standing a little back from them, hair scattered messily over her wet cheeks. As he looked, she caught his eye for a moment, then looked away, face hidden in the shadows of her sandy hair. The pail of water was on its side nearby, steaming as its contents spread slowly across the sopping floor.
‘I don’t give a damn if he bedded your mother!’ The Innkeep replied. He took one look at Carel and set down the cask on the bar, stepping in close enough for the big youth to smell the pipe-smoke on his breath. ‘There’ll be no fighting, in my inn*.*’
Petr flinched in spite of himself, taking half a step back.
‘Boy’s right, Goran.’ Albin added, scowling. ‘Saw the whole thing. Little runt started-’
‘That’s enough!’ The Innkeep cut him short, turning an angry eye on the butcher. ‘Unless you want to tell the blacksmith whose son’s been beating his hand?’
Albin hesitated at that, and his ruddy cheeks lost a little of their colour.
‘Thought not.’ The Innkeep went on. ‘Now, get out. And take your fool son with you.’
Albin was out of his seat in an instant, all thoughts of the Blacksmith forgotten.
‘Alb, wait-’
The butcher shoved Forley aside. He stopped just a few inches from the Innkeep, glaring down at the smaller man with hard eyes. Even from where he was, Cal could smell the ale on his breath, but the Innkeep didn’t flinch. The fire stirred in the sudden quiet, and the villagers stood in a moment of perfect stillness, taut as a lute-string. Godry and Forley shared a worried look. Priss had appeared beside Carel and put an arm around her slumped shoulders. Petr was glaring at Cal, dark eyes boring holes into his forehead, but Cal didn’t even notice. His head was hanging limply over his chest, and if Lokk hadn’t been holding him, he was sure his legs would’ve buckled. His head spun, and his skin burned. Neither the butcher nor the Innkeep had moved an inch.
‘Come on, boy.’ Albin said at last, eyes not leaving the Innkeep for a moment. ‘Let’s go.’
‘But da-’
‘I said let’s go.’
He held still for a moment longer, then took his son by the arm and led him roughly away towards the door.
‘You’ll pay double next time.’ The Innkeep called out to him as he reached the door. ‘Both of you.’
For a moment it looked as if Albin would turn back. Then he scowled, spat on the floor, and shoved his son out into the night beyond the door, slamming it shut behind them.
There was a collective sigh of relief from the remaining patrons. The Innkeep watched the door for a few moments, then began unhurriedly scooping up discarded mugs from the ale-splashed floor.
‘I think that’s enough for one evening.’ He said quietly as he worked, not looking up. Godry, Forley and the miners looked at each other.
‘Bar’s a mess, Goran. We’ll lend a hand.’ Forley offered.
‘We’ll manage.’ The Innkeep told him, still not looking up. The villagers exchanged another look, then they made for the door without a word. Priss stepped back from Carel, giving her shoulder a squeeze, and joined her husband as the door swung closed behind them. Lokk didn’t say a word. Carel still hadn’t lifted her eyes. Cal shrugged himself away from his friend’s arm, taking a step towards her.
‘Carel, I-’
The Innkeep straightened suddenly, hurling one of the mugs across the room. It smashed into the closed door, shattering across the threshold with a crash.
‘Don’t you dare, boy.’ He growled, whirling on him, soft eyes hard as steel, fidgeting hands steady. ‘You’ve had a fall tonight. Must’a knocked your head. Only reason you aren’t catching another beating.’
Cal looked back at him groggily for a moment. His wits were returning, and the ache was spreading outwards from his jaw and cheek in throbbing waves. His shredded arms and legs were afire with shifting lines of pain, and his back ground at his ribs like a blade. Stupid. What was he thinking? Running from shadows in the dark. Brawling in front of half the village. What would the Blacksmith say? This was not their agreement. This was not their word. Blood rushed into his cheeks, hot with shame, and he lowered his eyes.
‘Go home, boy.’
‘But, I-’
‘I said go home, boy.’ The Innkeep stared back at him with cold eyes. ‘You can’t stay here.’
Cal hesitated. He looked at Lokk, but his friend would not meet his eye. He nodded slowly, straightening as best he could, and made unsteadily for the door. He looked back from the threshold, but nothing had stirred. A mess of upturned tables and chairs, scattered mugs and soaking floor boards. The three figures that stood frozen amongst it all seemed suddenly very different to Cal, their names new and unfamiliar. No one looked up as he opened the door. He hesitated, skin bloody and numb, jaw aching like winter, haggard, dazed, and spared one final glance for Carel, standing alone beside the bar, a dozen words racing on his silent tongue. Then he turned and went out alone into the dark, and the cold took him as its own.
*
It was quiet outside the Nest, and the streets were empty. The storm had moved off to blow itself out over the lowlands in the west, and only the faintest whir of it carried on the air between the little stone buildings of Rindon, the fevered mumbling of weary hills. Cal walked for a time, going nowhere in particular, dry eyes moving listlessly over the stones, picking out the familiar notches of the rock, the knowing winking of shuttered fires. The pathways were wet beneath his boots, puddled and gleaming in the silver stain of the moon. No one to be seen. Not Petr, waiting for him behind some dark corner, nor the other patrons, staggering home arm in arm. No faceless shadows leering at him from empty doorways, chasing him into the night. All was as it should be. After all, why wouldn’t it be? The thought filled him with a kind of bemused, frivolous amusement. He knew this place. Why should it not be as it always was?
After a time, he found himself at the eastern edge of the village, looking down over the little cluster of thatching and its glinting windows. It was cold, he knew, but he did not feel it. The bloody skin beneath his ragged clothes tingled numbly. Even his jaw seemed to have stopped aching. He looked down, for no reason in particular, and saw that the dirt at his feet was churned and dented as though by some falling beast, and little flecks of red blinked back at him in the moonlight. He realised that this must have been where he had fallen. Where his legs had failed and the world had spun like sand in ocean spray. Where the shadows had chased him from the hillside, swarming after him as wolves after their prey. He realised he was frowning. His back was to the trees, but he felt no fear. What was there to fear? After all, it was just a dream, and there is nothing to fear from dreams.
The trees were before him. Had they not been behind? The dark pillars stretched away up the slope, and the great black shadow of the Teeth held the horizon beyond. The murmur of the distant storm moved through the branches, shifting softly. Nothing else stirred.
He realised he was walking. The trees were all around, watching him. The earth was soft and wet beneath his feet. He looked down as he went, picking out the footprints in the loam. Something had come this way. Bootprints, scrambling, sprinting, falling. He had come this way.
So he walked, much as he had before, aiming without aim, and the trees whispered their same whispers. Words he had known since he first came here, all those years ago. Slowly, he went, until his eyes grew accustomed to the dimness, to the silver luminescence of the moon. Footprints. Bootprints. Running, scrambling. Falling.
Alone.
He lingered a while, just to be sure. But there was no mistake. There had been no men in the trees. No shadows to flee from. No one else had come this way. His head ached. He could not have… there must have been…
But there was nothing. Nothing but untouched earth, smooth as fresh wax. Just a dream. And there is nothing to fear from dreams.
So he came down out of the trees, and made for home along well-worn paths, watching for shadows he knew were not there.

Hi
We are making CNC Tube Notcher stay/holders for home made plasma cutting machines.
The stays hold metal tube or pipe centered so it can be placed and removed from a chuck that rotates as the torch moves back and forth along a rail to cut parts from the end.
The machines can be made in different lengths depending on available space, ours is twelve feet long so we cut twenty foot lengths of tube in half for the machine.
I would be happy to answer any questions about the notcher design and products we are making with it.
The stays we are making available are for placing along the length of tube so that the torch moves back and forth. The design was inspired by a reddit.com post by adoyle88. Some other designs are available with a moving chuck and a fixed cutting torch (example: Bend Tech - Dragon A250). I didn’t choose this design because I wanted a fixed footprint without having to keep an empty space open for the tubes to extend when cutting. An example part we cut is a vehicle C pillar that would extend eight feet past the end of that design.
CNC tube plasma cutting is great for a few different applications including notching joints between intersecting tubes, cutting complex patterns accurately on coping joints with tabs and slots in interlocking parts and marking bend marker locations for positioning cut tubes in benders at the correct locations.
The purpose of offering a stay holder as a product is that it solves a specific problem when building CNC plasma tube notcher builds which is loading and unloading tube and holding it centered for diameters between one inch through two and a half inches. The remaining parts needed are commonly available such as metal stock for a frame, ball bearings and angle bar for the sliding rail, plasma torch, chuck with stepper driver etc. The stay design evolved over two years and it will be a drop in part for people just wanting to get up to producing parts faster.
Our company has software available for modelling or importing existing models and generating cut GCode instructions that operate the machine. The software also can produce CNC bending GCode for our bending products or print PDF bend instructions for each of your parts for manually bending parts cut with the CNC notcher.
We are making a variety of producs with our notcher including tube frame vehicle chassis, replacement bumpers for off road vehicles, exhaust pie cuts, metal racks and i’m sure that there are many more possible uses.
Referemces:
Our CNC Notcher Stay: http://armaautomotive.com/parts/stay/index.php?ref=50
Our software: http://armaautomotive.com/build/ads.php?ref=50
CNC Notcher by adoyle88: https://www.cnccookbook.com/diy-plasma-tube-notche
Bend Tech Dragon A250: https://www.bend-tech.com/dragon-a250-cnc-plasma-pipe-cutte

Hi! Quick question for anybody living in or around the Boston area and familiar with Sommerville/Cambridge. I will be moving up that way by the end of the summer and just applied to an apartment in Winter Hill I am a young female moving with my partner. Any idea what that area is like? Is it safe for a young female? It’s hard for me to tell, researching online seems like a mixed bag. Also any other areas worth looking into for apartments? We are hoping to stay in that area as my boyfriend is goin to school around here. Help would be appreciated! Thank you 🙂

Hi all,
My wife and I are about to go through a second ER for an insurance policy from the circuitous route our first ER went; we wound up with 8 euploid embryos from a 26-hr rescue ICSI, see here.
Long story short, we're trying to figure out how scheduling of this next ER cycle will go. The reason being is if we follow the exact same schedule as our first ER (using the same durations for everything) then our next ER will be on 7/7/23, which will be very tight because our doctor will be out of the country the following week (7/10/23-7/14/23). Our last schedule went like this:

• 3/11/23: First day of period, begin birth control
• 3/23/23: Take last birth control pill
• 3/24/23: Begin the gamut of shots
• 4/5/23: Egg retrieval

My wife is expecting her period on/around 6/13/23 and has instructions from her doctor to start birth control that day. If we follow the exact same timeline, and her period comes on time/early so it doesn't fall during the week he's gone, it will be extremely tight; if her period is a few days late the ER would fall the week he's gone. He seems confident we can make it work somehow. I've done a ton of reading, but there's really not much information out there on how an IVF cycle can be timed/adjusted for scheduling of the doctor, patient, etc. I have a few questions:

• Can the process be manipulated somehow to ensure it will fall in the week of 7/3/23? (Take birth control for a few days less, start shots while on birth control, etc)
• Can she stay on birth control longer to kick the week of collection to 7/17/23? If so, when she stops BC and a if period comes before ER, will that affect the outcome?
• Would a doctor be more likely to wait for the next cycle rather than play with extended birth control durations?

Thanks!

Title. Don’t think pittsburgh has anything like a hostel, wondering if there’s any motels or other establishments that have good rates for extended stays. Thanks in advance!

https://www.townofchapelhill.org/Home/Components/News/News/18679/4048?backlist=%2Fgovernment%2Fnewsroom%2Fchapel-hill-enews&fbclid=IwAR000mK3HoxyqvCJ4_-JS5qgn_E6YXTjdz13bHYLBCzjssV3OteUDNQPeXU

Black Bear Sightings in Chapel Hill

Post Date:06/04/2023 11:05 AM
In the past two nights, Chapel Hill police officers have reported two bear sightings along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. One sighting, at the intersection with Blossom Lane, and the other, at Dixie Lane.
Black bears tend to be shy and non-aggressive toward humans, according to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. The state agency is sharing steps you can take to avoid problems with bears:

• Never feed or approach bears
• Secure food, garbage, and recycling
• Remove bird feeders when bears are active
• Never leave pet food out
• Clean and store grills
• Let neighbors know about bear activity

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission says, if you see a bear, stay calm. They are usually wary of people – unless humans feed or provoke them. Never approach, surround, or corner a bear. If it changes its natural behavior because of your presence, you are too close. Back away slowly and once you are a safe distance away from the bear, make lots of noise to frighten the bear away.