At Royal Rumble 2023, Asuka returned after a brief hiatus, sporting a deranged look reminiscent of her days as Kana. And since that point, the Empress of Tomorrow has solidified her powerful aura, winning the Elimination Chamber match and avenging her disappointing loss to Bianca at WrestleMania 39 by dethroning the EST at Night Of Champions. And while Asuka has been Raw Women’s Champion before, this time feels…different…
Monday Night Raw (5/29/23):
Following Night of Champions with the crowning of Asuka, it would appear the landscape of the women’s division has changed. While some individuals are surely eager to go after singles gold, this isn’t initially the case for the Way. In a backstage interview with Byron Saxton, Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell express their desire to go after the Women’s Tag Team Titles, only to be interrupted by the lunatic duo of Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville. Deville tries to get under the skin of the pairing, particularly LeRae, mocking her struggles to get victories as of late. However, Candice retorts that Sonya and Chelsea haven’t done anything either, their only actual success as a duo being making Adam Pearce question his own sanity. After a few more moments of bickering, Green tries to slap LeRae, but Hartwell blocks it for her, shoving Chelsea to the ground. Sonya shoves Indi back, and Candice in-turn attacks Deville, forcing several officials to have to separate things.
This results in a singles match later in the evening between Deville and LeRae, with Sonya trying to make an example out of the “Poison Pixie”. It’s a fairly back-and-forth encounter, with LeRae starting the match off hot, but Sonya is able to adapt, using her MMA background to her advantage with increasingly strong shots. However, as Sonya gains control, her emotions also start to fluctuate a bit. Rather than just go for the win at points, she decides to inflict further damage, regularly targeting the right arm in particular with a combination of stomps and armbars. However, the turning point of the match comes when Deville kneels down, once again looking to apply some type of submission hold…only for LeRae to transition it into the Garga-No Escape! While Sonya doesn’t submit, it gives her enough breathing room to mount a comeback, eventually hitting her signature springboard moonsault to finish things.
Candice LeRae def. Sonya Deville via pinfall
After the match, Candice and Indi take a moment to celebrate the win…BUT HERE COMES ASUKA! The Raw Women’s Champion is in the building, and she looks as maniacal as ever. She makes her way towards LeRae…and offers a handshake? Candice is definitely hesitant to accept, and for good reason, as when she starts moving her hand out…ASUKA HITS HER WITH A ROUNDHOUSE KICK! Indi tries to avenge her downed partner, but Asuka takes her out with a spinning backfist. The Empress moves back towards LeRae, staring at the injured right arm…AND SHE APPLIES A VICIOUS ARMBAR, SNAPPING IT IN THE PROCESS! Asuka eventually lets go, with Johnny Gargano and a medical official coming out to tend to LeRae while Adam Pearce wants to know what’s wrong with Asuka…to which she merely replies with a sinister smile…
Monday Night Raw (6/5/23):
About half-way through the show, Johnny Gargano comes to the ring, ready to give an update on his wife Candice LeRae. He says that while LeRae is unable to compete, it’s only for a short period of time, and the fracture to her arm was small enough as to where she won’t require surgery. However, Gargano also says that LeRae wanted him to pass along a message…which is why he’s calling out Asuka to the ring! On cue, the Empress comes out, looking at Johnny Wrestling with a curious look. Gargano says that once upon a time, he and his wife both had respect for Asuka’s accomplishments, especially her record-setting run in NXT. However, with the actions of last week, they no longer have those sentiments, and when LeRae returns from this set-back, she’s challenging you for that Raw Women’s Title! As Gargano says this, Asuka just begins giving a deranged laugh. No one in the arena knows what to make of this…until Asuka picks up a mic…to simply say…bye bye…
As Asuka makes her way to the ring apron, Gargano is left staring in confusion at what transpired…but suddenly, the lights go out! When they turn back on…a trio of masked men are destroying Johnny Wrestling! He tries to fight back, but he’s just overpowered, and left to be stomped on as Asuka just watches on from ringside, enjoying the carnage. The biggest of the three hits Gargano with a top rope splash, before what appears to be the leader hits…a wheelbarrow neckbreaker. As the individual hits this, Asuka comes back into the ring, standing alongside the figures. She whispers something to them, and they move their hand to the top of the masks, pulling them off to reveal…IT’S SAnitY! Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe, and Killian Dain are all back in WWE, and it appears they’ve aligned themselves with the Empress of Tomorrow. But the question left to be answered… Where is Nikki Cross in all of this?
Monday Night Raw (6/12/23):
In a backstage segment early in the show, the camera shows Nikki Cross backstage, alone and looking down, drowning in her own crazed thoughts…until Eric Young enters the shot. Cross raises her head, looking expressionless while a smile slowly creeps across the face of Young. He asks her…
“Won’t you join us?”
However, before Nikki can answer…HERE COMES JOHNNY GARGANO! He dives at Eric, looking to get revenge on one of the men who decimated him the week prior. He’s successful initially, but soon enough, Wolfe and Dain rush in, prying Johnny off Young and starting to beat him down. Luckily for Gargano, he came prepared, as he too has backup in the form of Dexter Lumis! SAnitY backs off as Dexter comes in with a steel chair, but not before Young mouths the words…This isn’t over…
Monday Night Raw (6/19/23): Johnny Gargano and Dexter Lumis vs. Eric Young and Killian Dain
With the tensions continuing to rise between the Way and SAnitY, it was inevitable they’d have to square off at some point, and Adam Pearce decides to see if a tag match can resolve this. The match starts off with Gargano and Young, Johnny Wrestling anxious to annihilate him while Young is more amused than scared. Johnny is able to get the upper hand initially, a superkick giving him the brief opportunity to then apply a Garga-No Escape. However, Killian Dain breaks up the hold by just hitting a Senton on Gargano’s back, a tactical maneuver to give Young the chance to gain control. However, Lumis enters the ring as well, grabbing Dain and trying to set him up for a side slam. However, Killian avoids it, and the pair move to the outside of the ring to brawl. By the end of the match, Gargano is weakened, but he’s still got the power of adrenaline on his side. He’s able to tag in for Lumis, getting in a flurry of offense against the big man Dain, including a pair of superkicks to knock him off his feet. However, as he goes for the One Final Beat, Young grabs his foot by the ring apron, preventing him from springboarding into the ring. Gargano’s able to kick him away, but when Johnny does go for the maneuver, Dain catches him, planting him in the center of the ring. He follows up on it with a splash from the top rope, with Young tagging in as he does so. And with Killian shoving Lumis off the apron, Young is able to hit the Wheelbarrow Neckbreaker to finish the match.
SAnitY def. Johnny Gargano and Dexter Lumis
After the match, Asuka makes her way to the ring, standing alongside SAnitY once again. She looks at the downed Gargano, now with a disgusted look on her face rather than an evil grin. She turns to Young, who nods and motions for Dain and Wolfe to pick Johnny up. But right before Asuka can seemingly hit him with the Mist…Here comes Nikki Cross! She rushes to the ring, sliding in and looking right at Asuka as she does so. Young walks up to her, asking her the question…
“Are you with us, Nikki?”
Cross stares at Young for a moment…then to Wolfe…then to Dain…then to Asuka. It’s to the Raw Women’s Champion that she gives the longest stare, Nikki’s eyes slowly growing wider and her expression becoming more intense. And with that, she mutters just a few words…
“You hurt my friends…she hurt my best friend… now she will pay.”
And with that, Cross dives onto Asuka, unleashing a flurry of strikes and catching everyone in the ring by surprise. However, Young pries Nikki off of the Empress, to which Cross responds by starting to attack him! However, it’s short lived, as Asuka runs up behind Nikki and drops her with a roundhouse kick. She quickly gets her locked in a crossface chickenwing as well, Nikki unable to escape and ultimately passing out. Before she fades, she’s left to only see the disappointed looks on the face of the SAnitY members…”You made the wrong choice Nikki”. But the attention soon shifts back to Gargano and Lumis now. They’ve slowly risen to their feet, and Gargano, looking directly at Young, demands another fight! Young sighs, seemingly bored at the prospect of SAnitY having to dismantle those two again…but it shall be done. However, before they can move in for the kill, we suddenly hear crashes echo throughout the arena. They happen for a few seconds, before the lights dim slightly. An unfamiliar melodic theme starts playing, sounding slightly reminiscent of that of a final boss, but as the lights turn back on, it changes back into the more recognizable song…
…NO ONE WILL SURVIVE! IT’S TOMMASO CIAMPA! After being on the shelf for months, he’s finally back, and as he gets into the ring, he looks at Johnny Gargano…there’s no shortage of history here. And while there’s a momentary tension as to what he’s gonna do, he sides with his former DIY partner, making it a more fair fight! Unfortunately, he doesn’t get the chance to lay into any of SAnitY, as they decide to make their exit, already having made a statement with the victory and assault on Asuka, nothing more needed to be done…tonight, at least.
Monday Night Raw (6/26/23): Indi Hartwell vs. Asuka - Non-Title Match
In her first match since beating Bianca at Night of Champions, Asuka looks to prove why she’s the champion. She starts off the match well, not letting Indi get any momentum by just rocking her with a series of kicks to the chest. After dragging Hartwell to the outside, Asuka begins going after the arm, slamming it several times into the ring post before deciding to inflict some pain to the skull with a tiger suplex. This momentarily causes the ref to check on her, potentially looking to end the match…but Asuka isn’t willing to let that happen. She gets Indi back in the ring, lining her up for a running hip attack…BUT HARTWELL TRANSITIONS IT INTO A GERMAN SUPLEX! Despite having just been on the ropes, Indi managed to use what she had left in the tank to take down Asuka, and as she gets to her feet, she feels the crowd surging behind her. She starts taking it to the Empress, getting her backed into the corner and landing a few solid chops. However, she gets a bit overzealous, trying to get Asuka on the top rope for a potential suplex attempt, only for the former Kana to kick her away and land a knee directly to the back of Indi’s neck. And with that, Asuka remains in the power position, eventually locking on the same Armbar that injured Candice LeRae and forcing Hartwell to tap or get snapped.
Asuka def. Indi Hartwell via submission
But before Asuka really has a chance to even get up…HERE COMES NIKKI CROSS! She runs out with a kendo stick, furious as to what transpired the week prior, and gets in a few shots on Asuka before Alexander Wolfe attempts to pry the weapon away. In response, Nikki shoves it into his gut, before hitting him with a swinging neckbreaker and sending a message to Asuka that she’s just as much of a force to be reckoned with. And it’s later announced that this match has been declared official for Money In the Bank: let’s see if these two dangerous competitors can live up to their classic from NXT…
Money In The Bank (7/1/23): Nikki Cross vs. Asuka (c) - Raw Women’s Championship
Despite not having a stipulation like their Last Woman Standing Match in 2017, the match is still intense from start-to-finish. Cross runs at Asuka immediately, getting in some shots with the elbow to the side of the face. Asuka is forced to a sitting position, allowing Nikki to gather some steam from running along the ropes before landing a kick to Asuka’s jaw! Unfortunately for Cross, her frenzied nature ends up backfiring, as when the action shifts to the outside, Asuka dodges a running attack and sends Nikki nearly head first into the barricade! With Nikki instinctively grabbing her head after the missed maneuver, Asuka sees what to target, dragging Cross to the ring apron and repeatedly crushing her skull into the ring post. And as the action shifts back into the ring, it’s just more of the same, Asuka being momentarily hit by mini-bursts of offense, but the damage inflicted on the skull clearly affecting her. This is evidenced when Cross has Asuka lined up for the swinging neckbreaker, potentially able to get her the win…only to collapse before she can properly hit it. With that, Asuka is able to apply the Asuka Lock, and as happened a couple of weeks ago, Cross passes out in the hold.
Asuka def. Nikki Cross via submission pass-out to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
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On the Raw after Money in the Bank, Candice LeRae would make her return from injury, calling out Asuka for a match…only to learn she isn’t in the building. But she decides to still issue a challenge, saying that while she wanted the Raw Women’s Title initially…now it’s about more than that. Asuka took out Candice’s friends and family, and left her away from the ring for too long…now, she wants to beat Asuka for vengeance first, gold later. And later on, it’s confirmed that the match will be taking place when Asuka returns…except it’ll be for the title as well! Pearce claims that the decision is due to Asuka’s recent actions, as after all, letting someone try to break someone’s limb after a match with no repercussions is a pretty bad look. But while this choice of action would normally upset some superstars…it might just put a smile on Asuka’s face…
Monday Night Raw (7/10/23): Candice LeRae vs. Asuka
Before making her entrance, Candice LeRae gets herself prepared with the rest of the Way, with Nikki Cross sitting in a corner nearby as well. Indi tells her to be cautious…Asuka’s a very dangerous competitor. LeRae of course knows this, but she’s caught off-guard by some words of wisdom from Nikki several feet away:
“Destroy her.”
Candice looks at Nikki, who’s staring back at her with something in her eyes…A look of needing something… wanting Candice to kill the Empress. LeRae nods, and she heads out to the ring, more confident than ever…And she truly gives it her all. LeRae’s strategy is simple: prevent Asuka from using her signature kicks. And for most of the match, she executes on her plan, moving herself back whenever she senses a roundhouse coming and catching Asuka off-balance. However, this was never going to last, and once Asuka lands a kick to the gut, she’s able to gather steam. And while this doesn’t finish LeRae, the “Poison Pixie” even managing to hit a springboard moonsault AND lock in a Garga-No Escape at various points, Asuka eventually locks in an Armbar on the previously-injured limb that Candice can’t overcome.
Asuka def. Candice LeRae via submission to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
After the match, the rest of the Way comes out, helping Candice to her feet. As they do so, Asuka stares at them, and then begins…counting them? The Way and the commentary team are confused, but as Asuka only counts four people…a maniacal expression overtakes her. She starts walking quickly to the back, and a few moments later, it becomes clear what her intentions were…
As the Way walks backstage, they’re horrified to discover a brutalized Nikki Cross! They rush over to her, asking who did this…and to no one’s surprise, she says it was Asuka. However, it soon becomes clear to Gargano…Ciampa might be next! While Indi and Candice stay with Nikki, Johnny (and Dexter to a lesser extent) start rushing through the halls, trying to get to the right locker room…but it’s too late, as SAnitY and Asuka are seen moving away from it! While Lumis stands guard, Gargano rushes inside, and finds Ciampa not just taken out…but also sprayed by Asuka’s mist! Johnny rushes over, giving Tommaso a towel, but as Tommaso wipes the mist off his face…there appears to be a dark look in his eyes, something not seen in him since when he destroyed DIY…
Remaining Build To SummerSlam:
While Ciampa, Gargano, and Lumis keep their attention towards SAnitY for a bit, Asuka shifts away from LeRae, Hartwell, and Cross, having beaten all three after all. With an open mic, she begins giving one of her standard energetic promos, seemingly wanting to know who her next challenger is gonna be…even though no one is ready for Asuka. It’s not long before someone interrupts though…and it’s someone who Asuka has grown familiar with in 2023…It’s Bianca Belair! The EST remained off television for several weeks following Night of Champions, but now, she’s back and angrier than ever. Bianca grabs the mic straight out of Asuka’s hand, and cuts a quick promo:
“Asuka… you say no one’s ready for you. But you’re wrong… because I’ve ALWAYS been ready for you. I proved that at WrestleMania 39, when I beat you clean in the center of this ring. And what did you do? You had to use that mist, that cursed, blinding mist. And you know what? Congratulations, it got you the title, but not for long. Because I say we have ONE MORE MATCH. But I think it’s time to have a match where no excuses can be made, and there are no rules to be broken. Asuka… At SummerSlam…I challenge you to HELL… IN A CELL!”
The crowd are clearly in favor of this stipulation…And it appears Asuka is too! She starts nodding repeatedly, and Bianca just stares on with a prepared look, perhaps fazed in the past by Asuka’s personality traits but now just ready to finally vanquish her and get the Raw Women’s Title back in her possession. In the remaining weeks, Bianca competes multiple times, getting the ring rust off with multiple victories, while Asuka is content with sitting at ringside for both contests…studying her competition…
SummerSlam (8/5/23): Bianca Belair vs. Asuka (c) - Hell in a Cell Match for the Raw Women’s Championship
We’ve finally made it to the Biggest Party of the Summer, and what better of a place to host it than in Detroit at Ford Field (definitely no bias as a Lions fan)! Once both Asuka and Belair are locked in the cage, the match starts at a feverish place, Bianca hitting a strong shoulder tackle only for Asuka to respond with a spinning backfist a few moments later! As the dust settles on the first fifteen seconds, the competitors look at each other, giving a momentary smirk and scoff apiece before continuing with the action. Bianca showcases her power, getting the Empress lifted in the Gorilla Press position and just hurling her at the cell wall! The several-foot fall to the floor certainly adds to the blow, and Bianca continues the assault outside the ring, slamming Asuka’s head repeatedly into the cage! However, she decides to look under the ring for a weapon, a table quickly catching her eye. She pushes it into the ring, but makes the mistake of turning her back to Asuka while doing so, the former Kana grabbing her from behind and hitting a Tiger Suplex onto the floor!
With Asuka now the lone woman standing, she follows up Bianca’s decision to look under the ring, pulling out a kendo stick. She feels it around in her grasp, getting a good feel for the damage she’s about to inflict. Once Bianca groggily gets to her feet, Asuka just decimates her back, hitting the stick ten times in immediate succession! However, Bianca’s able to dodge an eleventh shot targeted towards the throat, pulling the kendo stick to her and snapping it in half! Asuka looks briefly stunned, but not before she gives a condescending set of claps. In response, Belair grabs her, picking her up for a powerbomb and sending Asuka’s back to connect with the ring apron! Bianca then drags Asuka into the ring, proceeding to set up a table and initially primed to hit a K.O.D. through it. However, Asuka grabs Bianca’s hair, weakening her grip momentarily and presenting an opportunity to escape. Upon doing so, Asuka roundhouse kicks Belair, before getting her positioned on the table, climbing to the top rope…AND HITS A SPLASH ON BIANCA RIGHT THROUGH IT! 1-2-KICKOUT!
Despite the table spot being unable to put away Bianca, Asuka appears unfazed. She exits the ring, bringing a pair of steel steps back into the squared circle. Asuka picks Belair up, seemingly trying to hit a brainbuster on it…But Belair dodges, landing backwards on the steps before turning around and hitting a mini-elevated Spear! This leaves both women down for a few moments, but Bianca rises to her feet first. She gets in some of her signature offense, including a spinebuster on the steel steps! However, her attempt at a K.O.D. on the steps doesn’t work in her favor, with Asuka once again avoiding it. And unfortunately for Belair, Asuka is able to hit her with a suplex on the steps, this being the key factor for the rest of the match-up. With Bianca’s power lessened a bit AND Asuka’s submission hold targeting the back, she faces a tall task, and is ultimately unable to overcome it, the Asuka Lock resulting in a pass-out.
Asuka def. Bianca Belair via submission pass-out to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
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After an impressive victory at SummerSlam, Asuka has definitely proven that she’s going to be difficult to beat. But soon enough, she finds herself confronted by a potentially harmful numbers game…
Monday Night Raw (8/7/23): Damage CTRL Promo
Despite recent events not going so well for Damage CTRL, with Dakota Kai tearing her ACL and neither Iyo Sky nor Bayley able to capture the Money in the Bank briefcase, they’re still determined to get momentum back on their side. Bayley makes the bold decision to call out Asuka, saying that if she were actually a fighting champion, she’d consider accepting a match for the title. Asuka comes out, grinning at Bayley trying to goad her into a title opportunity. Asuka looks at Bayley as just another poor soul to be destroyed, but Iyo…Iyo has potential. Asuka even tells Sky…”Bayley isn’t your friend…but I am…”
This seems to get in Iyo’s head, as she begins looking questioningly at Bayley, who attempts to diffuse the situation by just pointing out Asuka being a freak who gets in people’s heads. In response, Asuka kicks Bayley square in the gut, and when Iyo instinctively goes to fight, Asuka shakes her head…I don’t want to fight you… You don’t need to be part of this…
Remaining Build To Extreme Rules:
Over the coming weeks, Bayley becomes a little more sympathetic, her intentions appearing less out of pure arrogance and more about striving to win championship gold back and improve her honor. She goes on a winning streak, but when confronting Adam Pearce about getting a confirmed title shot, he says there’s one more person she has to beat…Iyo Sky.
At this same time, Iyo looks perturbed whenever she’s on television, still at Bayley’s side but signs pointing to her being less convinced than when Damage CTRL began. And after Bayley does defeat Iyo to earn the #1 Contendership, Sky is just left sitting in the ring, staring down at the mat whilst utterly disappointed. Bayley offers her a handshake, but Asuka stands at ringside, motioning her to come roll out of the ring and stand tall with her. In response, Iyo moves in neither woman’s direction, rolling out to the entrance ramp and walking away alone, uncertain of what her future holds.
But with Extreme Rules approaching, there must also be a stipulation, and after a set of assaults from Asuka leave Bayley staring at the lights, Bayley decides it’s in both of their best interest to settle on…A Last Woman Standing Match! Asuka can try to keep putting her down, but she’s gotten back up each time, and come the PPV…The reign of the Empress will be history.
Extreme Rules: Bayley vs. Asuka (c) - Last Woman Standing Match for the Raw Women’s Championship
In a rematch of their TakeOver: Dallas encounter, the feel of the match is similar to what it was several years ago. Bayley, despite having been around in WWE longer, is the underdog, looking to prove herself against a terrorizing monster who we’re unsure can truly be beaten. The action quickly spills out of the ring, with Bayley even managing to hit a quick Bayley-To-Belly Suplex. Unfortunately, Asuka gets up before even a count of 5, disturbing Bayley. The action spills into the crowd for a while, with Asuka suplexing Bayley on the staircase and the former “Hugger” sent tumbling down for a solid five seconds. But eventually, Bayley recaptures the momentum, finding a trash can with weapons and using a kendo stick to start wailing on Asuka. And as the action approaches a set-up table, Bayley is able to not just prop her up on it, but successfully hit an Elbow Drop from a ledge through it as well! Bayley gets up at a count of three, and while Asuka is left stunned by the move, she recovers at a count of 8, continuing the match-up.
From there, the match spills back closer to the ring, with Bayley putting Asuka in the ring before grabbing a table. She sets it up, but Asuka manages to recover in time to avoid a Bayley-To-Belly through it, instead tossing Bayley to the side momentarily before going at her with a running hip attack. Asuka keeps control for a bit, but as she looks to put Bayley through the table…Here comes Iyo Sky! She slowly walks to the ring, not attacking Asuka initially, but giving Bayley enough time to send Asuka off the top rope and to the floor. However, with the action back on the outside, Asuka looks to be a bit desperate, using her signature Mist to blind Bayley! After this happens, Iyo rushes over to Bayley to try and help…But Bayley shoves her down hard to the floor, thinking it was Asuka! Meanwhile, the real Asuka appears behind Bayley, dragging her back into the ring. Asuka decides to lock on the crossface chickenwing, attempting to pass out Bayley, but this seems to only increase the fire in her spirit, Bayley able to back her into a corner to break the hold. Bayley rubs her eyes, improving her vision, and she drags Asuka to the table, seemingly able to hit the Bayley-To-Belly through the table this time…
…BUT IYO HITS BAYLEY IN THE BACK WITH A STEEL CHAIR FROM OUT OF NOWHERE! Bayley falls to her knees, slowly turning around with a look of heartbreak and pain on her face. Iyo returns the look with an icy cold stare, before Asuka pops-up behind Bayley, applying the Asuka Lock to pass the former “Role Model” out. But given this requires a ten count for Bayley to be down, and Asuka wanting to see what Iyo can do…she motions to the table. Iyo nods, getting Bayley set-up, climbing to the top rope, and hitting a Moonsault, crushing Bayley’s ribs, her friendship, and her hopes of winning the match in one fell swoop.
Asuka def. Bayley via KO to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
After the match, Sky raises Asuka’s hand, signifying the start of an absolutely lethal new duo in WWE…
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With Iyo Sky now having made her allegiance clear, Asuka would appear set-up to remain dominating moving forward. However, the enemies she’s made over the past several months aren’t so quick to forget what transpired, which could potentially create problems…
Build To Survivor Series:
Despite having already made an impact to this point, Asuka and Iyo Sky aren’t just going to put away challengers…it’s time to take out everyone. After a singles win on Raw, Becky Lynch would be blindsided by Iyo, being laid out with several shots of the Steel Chair before a Moonsault to cap things off. The following week, Bayley expresses her dismay at being left alone, to which Asuka and Iyo interrupt, immediately kickstarting a brawl that would seem to favor them once again…Until out comes Becky Lynch! Despite having been bitter rivals earlier in the year, Becky makes the save for Bayley, the pair nodding at each other afterwards to signify a slight respect…We don’t have to like each other… but there’s a bigger threat to be stopped…
But soon enough, this action spills past just being a two-on-two situation. Zoey Stark, the former tag team partner of Iyo Sky in NXT, decides that Becky didn’t suffer enough during their rivalry after helping Trish at Night of Champions, and that it’s worth it for these veterans like her and Bayley to be ousted. Along with that, Asuka’s power and general craziness draws the interest of the Unholy Union known as Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn, the pair pledging loyalty to The Empress and perfectly willing to destroy Becky and Bayley. However, there are several other competitors backstage sick of seeing Asuka gaining an army, with Bianca Belair and the Way coming to the save to help even the odds. And of course, after a brawl featuring all of these competitors, William Regal comes out briefly to make his patented announcement:
“WAR GAMES!”
To determine which team gets the advantage leading into Survivor Series, we get ourselves a strong match in Iyo Sky vs. Becky Lynch, really the catalyst of what’s led into a two-on-one situation into an upcoming 5v5 match inside a destructive steel structure. Becky more than holds their own, but Iyo Sky shines even brighter, a cheap shot by Stark eventually allowing Iyo to hit the Moonsault and give the “heels” the advantage.
Survivor Series: Bianca Belair, Bayley, Becky Lynch, Nikki Cross, and Candice LeRae vs. Asuka, Iyo Sky, Zoey Stark, Alba Fyre, and Isla Dawn - War Games Match
Kicking off the match is Zoey Stark and Becky Lynch, with Becky initially successful in getting Zoey downed, but Isla Dawn coming in presents a problem. She’s initially able to hold her off, but a chop block by Zoey Stark and a subsequent attack of the leg leaves Becky in a rough spot. She’s able to get some assistance, with Nikki Cross coming in with a trash can lid and just whacking Zoey and Isla around with ease. However, Alba Fyre is next to come out, and upon seeing Cross staring her down from inside the cage, she grabs a kendo stick, ready to defend herself. While Nikki initially gets the advantage, Stark and Dawn are able to pull Nikki back, sending her into the steel cage repeatedly. Bianca coming in next is a game changer however, the EST taking control of the match-up and getting a slight breather while awaiting the fourth competitor…which is Asuka!
But as the rest of the field comes in, with Asuka being the last entrant for her team and Bayley for the opposite side, the action starts to get more and more intense. With all of the competitors brawling in one ring, Iyo sees the chance to hit a Moonsault from the top of the cage, wiping out everybody (including herself)! However, a table being brought into the mix benefits the bayfaces, Bayley hitting Fyre with a Bayley-To-Belly through it (she finally got to hit it… just not on Asuka). However, the ending sequence comes down to Asuka and Iyo on their feet against Bayley and Becky, back where it essentially first started…AND IT ENDS WITH IO HITTING A MOONSAULT ON BAYLEY! 1-2-3!
Team Asuka def. Team Becky via pinfall
Just like that, Iyo Sky has once again proved her worth, defeating her former stablemate to win the match for her team and cementing herself as a force to be moving forward. And though a fairly small shot, we can see Asuka glance over at Iyo, a slight frown on her face for a moment before moving back to stand with the rest of her team. What could that mean…
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Build To Royal Rumble:
Despite the result of the War Games Match, Becky Lynch isn’t through with either Asuka nor Iyo by a long shot. She fights off both of them over the coming weeks, along with picking up several singles victory, establishing herself as the next #1 Contender. And as Lynch points out, she and Asuka have history at Royal Rumble. Asuka beat her in singles action in 2019…before Lynch went on to win the Royal Rumble and headline Mania. But this isn’t about the Rumble match now…it’s time to put away the Empress.
As for Iyo, she also has a run of singles success, carrying a lot of momentum heading into the Royal Rumble Match. And soon, we learn that she requested training from one of the most respected female competitors in the locker room, a former NXT UK Champion…Meiko Satomura! While Satomura doesn’t intend to compete right away, she’s more than willing to help Iyo, with vignettes being shown of them together and Satomura even being at ringside for her matches. However, as this keeps happening, Asuka’s looks towards Iyo become more and more strained. Sky is abandoning me… after all I did for her… something’s going to change soon enough…
Royal Rumble: Becky Lynch vs. Asuka (c) - Raw Women’s Championship
Earlier in the night, Iyo Sky does indeed win the Royal Rumble match, punching her ticket to WrestleMania. This doesn’t seem to affect Asuka’s thoughts however, the Empress looking as ruthless and as calculated as ever en route to using an Armbar to submit Becky after a pretty back-and-forth encounter. And while Asuka proved herself the master of the Armbar between the pairing, Iyo Sky coming out with Meiko Satomura to acknowledge the title win seems to aggravate something in Asuka. Her grin has become a definite frown, and she stares an icy dagger through the pairing. Something isn’t right here…
Asuka def. Becky Lynch via submission to retain the Raw Women’s Title
Build To WrestleMania:
In a conversation between Meiko Satomura and Iyo Sky on an episode of Raw, Satomura asks if Sky would be willing to use her Rumble Victory position to challenge Asuka. Sky doesn’t look too convinced about doing that, which Satomura says is fine, but it’s advisable to weigh all her options. However, in the background, Asuka can be seen, carefully listening to the conversation.
A week later, Satomura addresses the WWE Universe. She’s made the announcement that she wants to have one last run before she retires, and wants to face some of the best names this women’s division has to offer…which is why she’s challenging Asuka for Elimination Chamber! Asuka comes out, her face paint being more red than usual…but while it looks like she’s having to contain herself, she shakes Satomura’s hand, seemingly paying respect to a legend.
Elimination Chamber: Meiko Satomura vs. Asuka (c) - Raw Women’s Championship
Unfortunately for Satomura, this retirement run of sorts looked to hit the ground before it could even get going. While she catches the Empress off guard at the beginning of the encounter, as time moves on, Asuka appears to be getting more and more angry. This comes to a boiling point when after one Tiger Suplex, Asuka hits another…then another…then another…then another! The ref pleads for Asuka to quit the assault, which she does…only to pull a Bryan Danielson and just start repeatedly kicking Satomura in the face! This goes on for disturbingly long, and when it’s become clear that Satomura is passed out, the ref calls for the bell, him having made the discretion for the match to end.
Asuka def. Meiko Satomura via ref stoppage
After the match, Iyo Sky rushes to the ring, checking on the woman who’s helped her out tremendously over the past couple of months. Asuka looks down at Iyo, a look of disgust on her face, before demanding to know who Sky is facing at WrestleMania. And it better be a specific answer…
Iyo Sky: “I… CHALLENGE… YOU!”
The crowd roar in approval, Asuka somehow shocked initially…until a smile comes across her face. I’m not surprised you made that choice…but unfortunately, it’s the wrong one...it’s a shame this has to happen Iyo…so much potential…
WrestleMania 40: Iyo Sky vs. Asuka (c) - Raw Women’s Championship
Despite that inner monologue running through Asuka’s head at Elimination Chamber, Sky proves why she’s not to be taken lightly. On the Grandest Stage of them All, Iyo just looks…better. Having been around Asuka for several months, she knows the mechanics of her offense, doing a good job at avoiding those signature kicks while also having the speed advantage. And at the end of the match, Sky proves herself superior over The Empress of Tomorrow, hitting the second Moonsault of the match to pin Asuka, and end a spectacular title run while opening a new chapter for another one.
Iyo Sky def. Asuka via pinfall to win the Raw Women’s Championship

First Previous Next
Skeeter had made an error. Not a big one, but one that did have significant downstream effects. He'd assumed that he could visit enough of each planet to give a sort of general feel to each one's character in three or four days, but it was looking more and more like he'd have to extend the stay at Corvian Home for at least a weak. He could scarecely remember being so excited by making a mistake. In most respects, Corvian Home was wildly different from Terra. From its many small islands to its ever turbulent storms, to its mediworld gravity, it was unlike any place found on Terra. It still baffled him that the xenos thought Terran gravity was heavy. The way in which it was similar had to do with the wide verity of culture, which made getting a general sense of the place a tad more difficult than planets with a more unified culture.
So, he had to ask Captain Vexkeed to extend the stay, which wasn't cheap. Additionally, it required the refund of any unsatisfied passengers who were on more time-sensitive journeys. However, it turned out that the majority of the passengers had apparently viewed the voyage as a "Sneaky Cruise," which made Skeeter laugh until he couldn't breathe when Captain Vexkeed told him. Likewise, when he told Suzie and Ivan, they found themselves completely overcome by mirth. Kip on the other hand couldn't see the humor in it. This, of course sent all three adults into the throes of hysterical laughter, which only further perplexed the boy.
The inscrutable, to Kip, Terran sense of humor aside, it turned out that apart from paying a fee to extend the journey and maybe five or six refunds, there was very little adjustment in terms of the We Bring Friends from Afar to Joyous Meeting making drastic changes to her manifest. Which was amenable to Skeeter's bank account, and his conscience. In any case, it let him fill out the itinerary with a wide variety of events from the local sporting events, to seeing interesting geological formations or particularly treasured vistas, to attending musical theater, to restaurant hopping in one of the larger cities with a conveniently cosmopolitan makeup. Even better, all of the things toxic to Humans, Doggos, and Lutrae were also toxic to the Corvians, so the risk of accidental poisoning was almost nonexistent.
"We actually discussed this in class last week," Kip was saying as the shuttle shook in the storm winds, "once a group went to a new island, the storms cut them off from the original group, except for the very few traders brave enough to fly in… well, this."
"That so?" Skeeter prompted genially.
"Yeah, for the most part I guess people would just float along with whatever everyone else thought, but I guess that's true for most places. Except, since they were separate and all, they didn't all go along the same currents, and so even islands that are pretty close can be crazy different."
"That, and it is ruining the landing shots," Ivan grumbled as he kept the camera trained on the trio.
"Well, back home rain's a good thing!" Suzie exclaimed exuberantly.
"Rain makes rye," Skeeter rejoined.
"Rye makes whiskey," Suzie laughed.
"You mean industrial disinfectant or emergency stomach purging doses," Kip said flatly.
"How'd you find out about that?" Skeeter asked.
"Greg George mentioned it in his book. He dumped so many doses in a glass that any sane person would think he was trying to poison someone with the fumes."
"Oh, I loved My Side," Suzie said, "It had always bugged me that the Lost Boys never got a fair say."
"Wait, isn't he a hero? He talks like you guys almost worshiped him…"
"It's complicated," Skeeter said, "I served on a ship with one of the Lost Boys once, Stephen the Line. It was hard to not be in awe of him. Hard to remember that behind the deeds was a man just trying to serve like me."
"Oh…"
"Were you discussing more about Corvian Home in the classes?" Ivan asked before the silence could turn cold.
"Oh, sure, lots. Like on this one island there's a big festival where they celebrate the harvest of these huge nuts, and then there's this island where they have 'Imitation plays,' where Corvians try to mimic exactly how the plays sound from other races. Tutor Brixvee showed us a video of one they coppied from the Star Sailors, and it was pretty cool."
"Do you figure she had lessons on Corvian Home since she knew we were headed here?"
"Of course," Kip said with a bitter scowl, "she's full of dirty tricks like that." His hosts couldn't contain their mirth, not that they tried all that hard.
Later that day, the intrepid travelers were in the throes of a local festival. They had surmised that it was probably related to local folklore, as various icons and masks were featured heavily, but the press was so active and exuberant, that not even the Terran implants could keep up, slaved as they were to the Terran compads with better translation matrixes than even the local networks. Therefore, three out of the four friends found themselves swept up in a feathered fury of dance and rough song, to their ears anyway, while the only clue to Ivan's immense pleasure at the experience was his swiftly wagging tail. Which the locals had no idea was the unconcealable tell that his exterior coolness was in fact, a complete sham.
The festivities seemed to show no sign of abating as night fell over the city sheltered in a rough and rocky crown from the storms of the sea, so in order to get a good night's sleep they were obliged to catch a local shuttle ride between islands to find a slightly less festive town to bed down in, and Suzie took the opportunity.
"So I hear Y'all's planet name isn't what anybody calls it," she said impishly to the shuttle pilot.
"INDEED, ahem, indeed. We know that you mammal-peoples, and the reptile-peoples, and the water-peoples, cannot do it."
"Come on, give us an example," Suzie said in that challenging, teasing way that made Skeeter both cringe and love her.
The pilot laughed, or at least Skeeter thought he, or maybe she? At least Skeeter thought that the pilot laughed, whichever sex they were. He had a hard time with regular Terran corvids, let alone these giant bird people that reminded him of the former. Then said piolet of undetermined sex made a weird clicking noise in the depths of the throat and said, "That is the name."
"I can see why y'all think folk can't do that. Hey Skeeter, why don't ya give it a shot?"
"No," he said flatly.
"Aw come on, it's their planet's name, you should at least try," she said with that wry smile she had that made promises. Promises that he had a very difficult time resisting for… reasons.
He then made a right proper fool of himself trying to replicate the sound by clicking his tongue in various ways before giving up and just saying, "I'm stickin' with Corvian Home."
After making a right proper fool of himself, the other passengers obliged to laugh at him, and Suzie turned on Kip saying, "Your turn."
Kip shot her a sullen look.
"Aw, c'mon, you gonna let these folk just laugh at Skeeter all by his lonesome?" she chided.
Kip downright pouted at her.
"Coooome oooooon," she taunted.
Realizing that she wouldn't quit unless he gave in, Kip also made a mockery of himself trying to replicate the throat clicking sound to the delight of all and sundry. "Shut up," he mumbled as he laid his ears back.
"Ivan?" she asked of her final victim.
He clicked his tongue once, and when Suzie gave him a pout he said, "That is as much as I am trying."
"Now you try," Kip shot at her.
"I know my limits, unlike you boys," she laughed to Kip's indignant sputtering.
Meanwhile, Jerry was having a less festive time. Instead of happening to land on an island that happened to be hosting a festival for one reason or another, he had purposely chosen the center of finance for his outing. He'd had a relatively uneventful series of meetings with financiers, entrepreneurs, and shipping guild heads, and various other parties interested in securing access to new markets for their various trades. It was all very productive, and very boring, and not for the first time he felt a stab of regret for the last time that he had interacted with Skeeter.
Even still, it was a satisfying day. There was a lot of troubling mentions of debts though. Jerry was no stranger to the lending industries of various planets of the CIP, and even had some Republican contacts in that realm, those who could stand his needling of the Republic's systems, but nobody he knew ever said anything about "debt masters" or "clan debt." Troubling indeed, but he chalked it up to clunky translation. Even CIP systems could have trouble with new languages, and he just knew that Republican datapads were inferior. They had to be, of course.
Still though, there was something about the references that bothered him. Something furtive behind the eyes of the avian people who spoke of either concept. Then, there was the fact that only those who were obviously startup businesspeople would speak about them, never the financers. Very troubling indeed. He resolved himself to investigate the matter if he could make the time the next day.
The following morning, the intrepid travelers went on the only "heavyworlder safe" zipline tours available on the planet, which just so happened to be in the heavily forested canyons and followed paths through the foliage designed to simulate danger. Skeeter and Kip found it thrilling, but Suzie found it merely pleasant while Ivan was actually bored by the thrilling experience. The man was pleased with getting a shot of kip chanting breathlessly, "Let's go again, let's go again, let's go again, let's go again!" Wile Suzie was more pleased to have sneakily captured a shot of Ivan's unamused expression as he sped along on the pullies.
"Sure, why not?" Suzie had said to Kip.
To which Ivan said, "Because is boring."
"What?!" Kip nearly shouted.
"You take ride in boarding torpedo, and you will be understanding then."
"The real answer to why not is I already booked a nature walk. There's this island where there's like this bowl formation full of flowers. It looks amazin'" Skeeter explained to Kip's dismay.
Meanwhile, Jerry was exhausted. He'd reshuffled the meetings so that he had mere moments between them to prepare, but he was good at his job, so long as his counterpart wasn't a Republican, and could get the proper contact details to the correct people for whatever the other party hoped to accomplish, so long as it was legal, and it all was. It was therefore by mighty effort alone that he had a scant two hours in which to seek out the information he sought before he would have to retire to sleep, or else be completely useless the next day.
He took snagged a gravcar and told the cabbie, "Take me to where you and the lads go for a spot of drink, or whatever the legal intoxicant is around here."
The cabbie gave him a one eyed beady stare and said, "Are you sure, mammal-people? The places we go are not the high class places, by the storms."
"I'm sure, I'm sure. I might not look it these days, but I came up from w working family. My dah still makes fun that I lost my calluses."
The cabbie blinked twice and raised his crest. Jerry had no idea whether that was a good sign or not, but the blue plumed cabbie lowered his crest and blinked again saying, "Sure, mammal-people. I will take you there, but do not cause the fights or my clan will have share of the debt."
Jerry thought about pressing the issue, but something about how the cabbie's feathers had puffed out and still weren't lying flat convinced him that social lubricant was the needed thing. "What is the preferred intoxicant?" he asked.
"We smoke an herb. It usually does not work for mammal-peoples, so you might not have the fun you look for."
"I see, we also have some intoxicants taken this way, do you draw the smoke through water first?"
"Yes, do you mammal-peoples do this too?"
"It's called hookah, and has a long tradition in several of our cultures. Or bongs, which have a somewhat younger tradition, as history is measured."
"Maybe then you will get the happy haze and no fights will be started, mammal-people."
"Maybe, maybe. I'm just after a good banter, and the banker types are too stuffy."
"You are right, you are right, debt masters do not laugh when you joke, they charge you more interest!" the cabbie laughed, and Jerry fell silent.
At the, well, Jerry would call it a hookah lounge, Jerry found that the lads about avoided him and shot him suspicious glances, and also found that apart from a relaxed feeling in his limbs, the smoke had no effect on him. It was a pleasant feeling, and he could maintain it by taking a draw from the hookah every two minutes or so. It seemed that was a prodigious rate of smoking though, for eventually the suspicious glances turned to those of curiosity or even grudging respect. Jerry surmised that despite his rather drab coloring, they knew an expensive suit when they saw one.
Eventually, a clearly intoxicated Corvain stumbled over to his table and sank down on one of the cushions, "Why do you smoke so well, mammal-thing-people?" he slurred.
"I am used to a much stronger herb, and this makes me simply feel good. Does it not feel good for you?"
"'Course it do. Can't smoke as much."
"Wondering anything else?"
"You a Sneaky?"
Jerry thought about correcting the error, but another glance at the state of his conversation partner dispelled the notion, so he said, "Yes, but I am not very stealthy."
"It's just what people call you… dunno why…"
"I'm not botherd, I know the reason and it's funny."
"Funny?"
"Yes, do you know it?"
"Ish a meme."
"The first one of us that the Star Sailors met was mistaken for a pet, and they named him Sneaky."
That, as planned, brought forth uproarious laughter from the intoxicated Corvian who confided, "That's the kinda thing people-things get bristly about."
"I know, people-things get brislty about all sorts of things. Like the bankers, they won't tell me what debt masters are."
"They own clan debts."
"Clan debts?"
"You know, the debts you clan has, from like way back."
"Do you mean to say you were born in debt?"
"Sssssure, isn't everybody? Well, not rich people-things I guess, but ever-peoples I knowed."
"And these debt masters, they merely collect the interest?"
"Mostly."
"Mostly?"
"If you're not… if the job doesn't pay… erm… they so like tell you to do stuff."
"Involuntary servitude," Jerry said coldly.
"Yeah, that. The hatchlings get that rough."
"Explain please," Jerry said with cold intensity.
It seemed that the intensity of Jerry's gaze or maybe the soft quality of a hammer that his voice emulated, gave the Corvian some degree of sobriety as he stammered, "Yes-yes. The erm, the uh or-or-orphanages. The hatchlings there have no parents to provide for them, so the debt masters have them do something useful."
Jerry was very close to becoming a very dangerous man as he asked, "Are the debts of these children for sale?"
"Y-y-y-y-y-yes?"
"Where does one go to buy debts?"
First Previous Next

From What Orlando Bloom felt was so important to tell President Zelensky"

Actor Orlando Bloom recently visited Ukraine as UNICEF’s Goodwill Ambassador. During a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky, he decided to read Zelensky something written by Ikeda Daisaku, leader of a Japanese religious movement called Soka Gakkai International (SGI).
That’s certainly one way to spend a very limited amount of time with a world leader.
Let’s examine what Bloom thought was so important about Ikeda’s words—then learn about the authoritarian religious movement that Ikeda controls. Source
The letter Orlando Bloom read contained Ikeda’s thoughts—but Ikeda didn’t write them for this occasion
Reading the thoughts of a Japanese cult leader to President Zelensky might seem like an odd choice, considering Bloom went to Ukraine on behalf of UNICEF and not SGI.

Cult members will ALWAYS seize the opportunity to flog their cult instead of what they agreed to do. You can't ever trust them.

According to the Daily Mail, the reading wasn’t even written for Zelensky, but something that Ikeda had written to young adults in the United Kingdom in 1994. Even if his group’s (arguably) most famous member was making a historic visit, Ikeda couldn’t be arsed to write Zelensky a bespoke message. So Bloom had to make do. Source

Sick burn.
Sure, Orlo did his best, but he certainly didn't have much to work with, did he?? It's not like Ikeda is up and about these days - he hasn't made a speech or given an interview since May 2010! If SGI superstar ORLANDO BLOOM put in a request for a personalized message for Volodymyr Zelensky, SGI World in Tokyo IGNORED IT.

This isn’t even the first time Bloom has shared Ikeda’s words with others. In 2016, he shared quite an interesting theory Ikeda had about how political power will develop in the near future. (Spoiler alert: It’s the same thing he read to Zelensky in Ukraine.)
It just seems very strange to me that Ikeda’s SGI connection—and Orlando Bloom’s very public membership in the group—have attracted so little attention in this story. Source

Maybe it's because the SGI is irrelevant and boring?

Recruitment efforts, which SGI calls kosen-rufu, also lead to the recruiters themselves “developing even more appreciation,” which leads to a marked increase in “one’s own blessings.” Source

If they can't invoke selfishness, they won't get ANYTHING out of those self-centered SGI members.

There’s a definite Underpants Gnome logic to the entire scheme. Unfortunately, reality doesn’t cooperate much with SGI’s big promises. Ikeda himself puts a lot of pressure on his followers to be or at least look incredibly successful in life—as a way of enticing new recruits into the fold.
Sound familiar? And it doesn’t work for evangelicals either, because all too many people can tell these would-be evangelists are just faking it all. Source

SICK BURN!!

At least President Zelensky is a good sport
After Orlando Bloom earnestly read his cult leader’s 1994 message to UK youth, Zelensky replied with the universal soft dismissal:
“Cool,” Zelensky replies nodding his head.

THERE's your "soft power"!!

“You have a heart!” Bloom tells the president, tapping Zelensky’s chest, to laughs from the Ukrainian leader and other staff in the room.

Ew. No touchee.
I'll bet they all had a good hearty laugh at Bloom's expense once he was out the door - "Can you even believe that asshole??"

As Bloom is seen leaving the room, he is seen turning back to tell Zelensky about a video he has on his phone: “My mother sang the Ukrainian national anthem. She says, ‘If you see Zelensky, you tell him to win!'” he says while pumping his fists in the air. Source

The author continues with the exact right reaction:

There are not enough vertebrae in the world to handle the amount of cringe I felt upon reading that exchange.

As I mentioned earlier, the story Ikeda wrote is about a knight who has lost everything but is trying to put a good spin on his losses. It’s completely flabbergasting that Bloom thought this was even slightly appropriate to read to someone dealing with an invasion from a vastly-larger world power.

😱
SGI members often exhibit such cluelessness and inability to read a room.

Nonetheless, what Bloom did was something I could easily see myself doing when I was Pentecostal in the 1980s and 90s. We all lived for those rare opportunities to slide “the Gospel” in front of someone important like that. And bagging such a prominent, popular, well-known world leader would certainly be a rare feather in SGI’s cap.
But that “cool” and that head nod tells me it will never, ever happen. Source

Yet another Ikeda cult "dialogue" that went NOWHERE and failed to persuade the target to convert to the werld's bestest religion that everybody supposedly wants! It didn't even serve to promote SGI much! MENTORFAIL!!

The Grimm mirror match between me and my nemesis tough_name_dumb_co.
The meta is drastically different here because of the Rocket Tag nature of this matchup.
The game and it’s replay is here: https://awbw.amarriner.com/2030.php?games_id=926579
Day 4 (me): I decide to take an aggressive caping strategy in the north. Once the fighting in the center begins you will have great difficulty taking those cities, thus my aggressive approach now. My Infantry also takes a route bypassing the enemy Black Boat. Remember to use your Black Boat to delay his units movements into the center of the map and try to make moves that they can’t properly block.
I also deploy an Artillery on my strong side because I don’t have the funds for a Tank and I want to start exerting pressure ASAP. The mountains in the map make them viable, but be real careful with walling them off.
Day 7 (me): I move the Black Boat to protect my capping Infantry from the Tank. If he wants to stop it he will have to cancel one of his own caps to do so.
I also break off the Com Tower cap and let another trailing Infantry handle it favor of grabbing another city.
Day 8 (me): I attack an Infantry in range of one of his Tanks but have the Artillery guard it. I also build a Mech in the north to ward off Tank aggression for cheap.
Day 8 (him): He takes the bait and manages to destroy my Tank while mounting an attack on the other fronts.
Day 9 (me): I wipe out his Tank in a single blow, butcher his Infantry in the area, start securing an uninterruptable neutral city, and move an AA into a position where it can support the center and the strong side push.
Day 10 (me): I abandon my strategy to avoid attacking the Black Boats for the sake of getting the first power off in favor of getting rid of those annoying bastards.
My Infantry can’t advance in the north thanks to all those enemy Infantry. I build a cheap Recon to drive them off or kill them. Grimm mirror recons OHKO Infantry on plains and have a high chance to do the same in forests. They do the secondary job of AA for half the cost, and the enemy will have to sack a vehicle double their value to stop the massacre. I wind up building a few of these murder machines in my match here.
Day 11 (me): I kill both Black Boats (Artillery+Tank 2HKO and 2 Copters+Tank 3HKO).
Day 11 (him): He sinks my north Black Boat and starts pushing on both flanks.
Day 12 (me): I build a Medium Tank in the south to push back against his vehicles.
Day 13 (me): I perform an ill advised attack and pop my power. I destroy 2 Tanks and my forces gather in the south.
Day 13 (him): He pops his normal power and reams me hard. He destroys 2 Copters, a Tank, sinks my south Black Boat and gathers in the south. Trading those 2 Copters really hurt.
Day 14 (me): The enemy has too many Copters for my liking so my vehicles fall back. My forward Infantry sacrifice themselves to cripple his Infantry in the area and to distract the enemy vehicles. I build an AA and Copter to help turn the air war around.
Day 14 (him): My sacrificial Infantry get gobbled up, he cripples my Artillery with a Tank, and he buys a Recon of his own.
Day 15 (me): My crippled Artillery retreats and a Mech takes it’s spot and OHKOs the offending Tank. My forces start gathering in the center.
Day 16 (me): My forces move into the center with my Medium Tank sitting on a city with a bunch of Infantry out front, and my Tanks, Copters, AA, and 5 HP Artillery in the rear. I also build another AA as well as a pair of Recons to handle the Infantry meat shields.
Day 16 (him): He pops his power and slams into my formation. He blasts through my Infantry walls and gets an AA to cripple my AA, 2 Copters and a Tank to 3HKO my Medium Tank, an AA to OHKO the Copter behind said Medium Tank, and a Copter to cripple a Tank I had on a city. My Infantry wall is almost completely gone, but the rear of my formation is still mostly intact thanks to it. He had to spend 6 vehicles turns (2 Tanks, 1 AA, and 3 Copters) just to kill my medium Tank thanks to all the crap in front of it. The damage is quite low for 12 vehicle actions. He also left all 3 AA and the bulk of his Copter force in range.
Day 17: I have to counter attack to restore balance or I’m done here, so I pop my Super. My objective here is to kill or cripple as many AA and Copters units as possible to take control of the airspace, so all moves will be towards that objective.
A Mech OHKOs a Recon.
My south AA OHKOs a Copter. (1)
My north Tank OHKOs the AA on the city where my medium Tank used to be. (2)
My north Copter OHKOs his Copter. (3)
I sack my 9 HP Infantry into an enemy Tank on my city then my south Tank kills its.
My other north Tank moves onto that space and kills the 9 HP AA. (4)
My other south Tank OHKOs the last AA. (5)
My 2 HP AA sacks itself into a Copter, and combined with 2 Infantry attacks cripples it. (6)
My other north Copter moves onto the M Tank city and OHKOs another Copter. (7)
My 5 HP Artillery, Infantry, and 4 HP Tank 3 HKO a plains Tank.
I’m now ahead in Unit Value and recovered in Unit Count. He has also lost all 3 AA and is down to 2 healthy Copters in the center.
Day 17 (him): He continues to fight. A healthy Copter and the 2 HP one gang up to kill one of my own, and his 2 Tanks and the other healthy Copter cripple 3 of my Tanks.
Day 18 (me): I continue to retaliate.
My sole remaining healthy Tank kills his 8 HP one.
I sack a 2 HP Tank into his 8 HP city Tank, and follow up by blasting it with my 5 HP Artillery and 3 HP Tank to kill it.
My south AA OHKOs his Copter.
My other AA kills his 7 HP Copter. He has now lost all air defense in the center except for the 1 HP Copter.
My surviving Copter cripples his forest Tank.
My 2 Recons take advantage and start eating “free dudes” on both flanks. His Infantry in the south have been reduced to a single 3 HP unit.
Day 18 (him): He still continues to push into my forces. One Tanks OHKOs an AA, and the other Tank cripples an AA on a city. His Infantry hits my 5 HP Artillery down to 2 HP.
Day 19 (me): My 2 HP Artillery clears away a weak blocking Infantry and I pop my Power.
This enables a Tank to OHKO one of his own.
My 3 HP AA cripples a Copter.
My Copter OHKOs a Tank.
A 3 HP Tank sacks itself into an AA and a Copter follows up, but sadly leaves it with 1 HP. He doesn’t have any real air defense after that, and his remaining vehicles in the center are all crippled.
Day 19 (him): He finally retreats from the center, but not before offing my Artillery.
Day 20 (me): I start to rebuild army cohesion in the center of the map. The loss of his air defense lets me use my Copters as shields for my Tanks to hide behind for protection from enemy Tanks. My Copters can rapidly front switch to the flanks from this position.
Day 21 (me): My Infantry reinforcements start to move up and threaten his cities. He is going to have to start sacking strong units to prevent those flips.
Day 21 (him): He kills both capping infantry, but it will hurt him.
Day 22 (me): I join 2 Copters together due to low fuel on one of them. I also take revenge for my Infantry and OHKO a Copter and a Recon. I start capping 2 cities, with the one in the center being blocked off by my 2 Recons. The money from the join lets me deploy a Medium Tank on my weak side to push with.
Day 22 (him): He pops his Super in a desperate attempt to stop the caps. His Tank in the north kills a city Tank, his west Tank OHKOs my Recon, letting an Infantry to get through and interrupt. A Tank in the south OHKOs an AA, and 2 Copters kill the other capping Infantry and the replacement right behind him. All he gets out of this Super are a Tank and AA kill… damn that is weak.
Day 23 (me): I have him right where I want him.
My AA moves up and OHKOs a Copter.
My 1 HP capping Infantry sacks itself against another Infantry, and my surviving Recon finishes it off.
That enables a 2HKO of his Tank by my Copters.
I pop my Power to finish the rest of his overextended forces.
My 5 HP AA OHKOs the other copter.
My center Tank OHKOs an AA.
My south Tank cripples a forest Tank.
One north Tank OHKOs an Infantry on a city, while the other hops on the now vacant space to OHKO a Tank.
The last Copter in the center OHKOs a Tank.
A new Infantry unit starts to cap that center property again.
My enemy is down to 5 combat effective vehicles but only 3 are still in range (Tank, AA, and 3 HP AA), vs 10 of my own that are on the front, and my Medium Tank hasn’t arrived yet.
Day 23 (him): He realizes that he can’t hold on to his property advantage for 7 more days with his depleted forces and resigns.
I have won my Round 8 grudge match. 1 more win means I will make it pass Round 10 for sure.

[wiki] [previous] [next]
Chapter 2: In Inertia
​
In this chapter I took inspiration from a very creative venlil who decided to remain anonymous
---
Memory Transmission Subject: Kos, Venlil Civilian
Date [Standardized Human Time]: July 12 2136
It happened in a fraction of a second.
I was on my ship, traveling FTL in a subspace. I served as a captain of an interplanetary transporter Fertility. On board I carried loads of green fruits destined for a venlil colony where they meant to ripen upon arrival. Now they were exploding from the vacuum.
My very ship was torn into pieces within an instant. There was no time for my brain to process what happened. I braced myself for a slow death. I felt the oxygen leaving my vessel and temperature dropping rapidly. I felt pain in my chest.
Death… never came to me. I remain seated in my chair and the pain begun to subside. I watched as inertia took hold of my cockpit, lifting everything around me. The sight was bewildering, but I still don’t know why I wasn't suffocating. I released my harness and floated out of the room. Behind the doors was a dark hallway. The power was long gone so I decided to walk straight instead of trying to breach the doors in the darkness. At the end of a hallway, I reached an intersection. Only one of these tunnels had a light at the end, which was the way I chose.
Was this the afterlife? Was I dead, about to meet the creator? I was wondering as I floated through the tunnel. The light was just a reflection of what’s behind a corner. When I peeked, I saw that the entire vessel was torn in a half. The further corridor was abruptly cut by a precipice. I could even see the generator room that wasn’t spared by a sweeping force. I drifted across the ship, awestruck by the surreal scene. It was when I noticed that I had full control over the direction of my floating in inertia, which was against the laws of physics, more akin to out of body experiences.
And so I found myself suspended between two halves of my ship, unable to fathom the reason for this purgatory state. I lived a good life. I wandered out to open space, to try and see my ship in full. I noticed another object lingering close to my ship. It was a wreck of what looks like a space buoy. It collided with my ship, which means I was torn out of subspace before that.
Was that an FTL disruptor? It started working a moment before I passed through it. That was the best theory I could have thought of. I decided to investigate the buoy to test my hypothesis. The hull of the buoy had imprinted lettering in venlang.
MADE ON VENLIL PRIME
The name of my homeworld did not give any answers. I needed to look further. I tried to check behind the hull of my ship and I was met with an immense pain in my paw. It was illuminated by this system’s star. I pulled my hand behind the hull and hugged it, trying to ease the pain. Even after hiding in the shadow of a shipwreck, the pain was so unbearable, it was clawing on my senses.
I felt tears accumulating around my eyes, they were also affected by inertia, rendering my vision blurry. I returned to my cockpit. There was nothing rational in this place. I just wanted to see my family and friends. Whatever deity rules this universe, I was pleading for their mercy. The void remained indifferent.
When my feelings calmed, I began to think of my crew. They were still on this ship. I went to look for them on the other half of the vessel. Behind the precipice was a maze of corridors. A faint beam of light penetrated through the broken hull at the starboard side of my ship. It means that any illuminated area was off limits. Most of my crewmates must have been ejected, because I only found someone at the stern. It was my FTL engineer, Qualen. He was pale from freezing and suffocating. His eyes were popping out of the sockets, and his mouth expressed a pure terror. I wondered where his soul could go, or be. Maybe he didn’t die yet. Perhaps I was the first to die, and time passed unbearably slowly for the rest.
I returned to my cockpit resigned. I decided to wait for something to happen or to think of some bright idea. None of it ever came. I only noticed more anomalies. The objects that floated in inertia were now frozen in time. Even Qualen’s body wasn’t moving across the corridor. I started experimenting with the new laws. I threw an object and watched as its momentum was decelerating. Everything was trying to reach the frozen-in-time state. A thought came to me, that I am in fact Faster Than Light, and the entire world has come to halt. If that was true, then why was the starlight so painful?
I went exploring the front part of the ship. Despite being engulfed in darkness, the sun was my enemy now. I’ve reached the front sleeping quarters, which were reserved for the highest rank personnel, including captain. I’ve found a journal on a shelf. I returned to the cockpit to use the remaining light to read it. The journal belonged to Vesen, the first officer. I couldn’t find her anywhere. Maybe her body was floating in a dark room, or she was engulfed by the rays of the star and I couldn’t reach her. Maybe she was ejected and she disappeared forever. I decided she wouldn’t mind if I read through her journal.
Most pages contained a standard overview on Fertility’s state. Fuel, food, water, oxygen, power, crew. In the middle Vesen started writing more personally.
“Day 7 [July 10 2016]
I’ve read thoroughly through the crewmates’ dossier. There are individuals acting strange. I have seen the rations shrinking slightly faster than in the past 7 days. Even the social meetings were dropped more rarely, or very late. Those are the tiny hints for something bad. There is a predator disease developing on Fertility. I couldn't find it without commissioning a brain scan, so I had to guess based on the dossier.
There was one individual with an uneasy past. The FTL engineer Qualen was caught in a ln arxur invasion on one of the colonies. He barely survived and escaped by hiding in an unexplored by exterminators forest. He was hiding among wild predators, until the arxur took every survivors as a cattle. I am positive that Qualen was afflicted with predator disease after that time, and now he's spreading that behavior among the oblivious crew. In a meantime i must isolate him until we return to Venlil Prime”
I was shocked after reading this. Qualen had a predator disease? I have known him for many years, he couldn't possibly be dangerous. He was like a brother to me! His name would have been cleared if we ever reached civilization and brain scanned him.
But then again, he was the only other venlil who wasn't ejected from Fertility. Is he the reason I can not rest? It must be, there's literally nothing else on this shipwreck!
I have realized the purpose of this place. It’s a judgment. The sun was an instrument of execution, like a flamethrower for exterminators. I have to incinerate the body of a predator diseased crewmate before I can finally reach peace. The danger keeps me trapped from eternal rest, I have to burn it! I rushed out of the cockpit and reached the familiar precipice.
And I froze. The frame of the hull on the other side was lit by a star, locking me out of the stern. The rays were slowly traveling towards me. It made no sense! Everything was supposed to be frozen in time, but we are still orbiting around the system! I have returned to a dark hallway to gather my thoughts. I had to cross the precipice and burn the body of Qualen, but to do this I need to walk through hell itself. The alternative was to wait until the sun passes me unnoticed. I could not see any good spot to hide, as the ship was full of reflective surfaces. Both choices are equally risky but I chose the first option. It would be a problem if the chance I had was also time sensitive.
I returned to the great crack and took a good look at the spotlit surface of the corridor. I mimicked taking a deep breath for good luck and launched.
I felt like I was boiled in water, when I dived into the starlight. Whatever I tried to do on my most primal instincts, I was thrown out to square one, and even now the pain did not abandon me. I screamed into the aether, floated erratically, anything to let the endorphins ease my suffering. It took a long time to find relief, and I remembered that I don’t possess a body anymore and no natural pain relievers are produced in my brain. The only thing that suffered was my very soul.
When I returned to the precipice, I saw the starlight was already licking on my part of a ship. In no time I will be caught by dawn. I thought of going outside of my ship, while I still could. The reflective interior couldn’t be safer than the vast space. But I still could not outrun the starlight. I would be hiding in an umbra of Fertility. If I stray too far, I will be caught in penumbra. More than that, I couldn’t expect it, there are no reference points in space.
It was too late to do anything now. There was only one thing to test. The starlight might be an absolution. Maybe if I’m engulfed in it, I will be able to find the real afterlife. Absolution was not a concept from the venlilian faith, but again I can not think of any religion where the star smolders the soul of the wronged. Whenever I wanted to test it or not, the rays were approaching through the reflective walls of the hallways. I returned to the cockpit to wait for my fate. I thought of just closing the doors, but the electricity could not work and I was in inertia, I had no way to grapple and pull the doors together manually. I could only sit in my seat and wait.
What if there’s no good ending for me? If the star was an act of extermination of a soul, only a predator hell was awaiting me. Will I suffer for nothing forever? Will the souls of predators eat me until I stop existing? Will they keep eating me until the end of time? Or maybe they acknowledge me as one of them, as I could also have predator disease? Do predators even have souls? I was caught in a stream of thoughts as the starlight was closing in. I launched to the furthest corner, buying as much time as I can. I didn’t think the reflections even allowed the light to reach me. It seemed like the starlight was approaching me no matter what. If that’s the case, wouldn’t they reach Qualen’s body as well?
I had to stop that thought, as I was out of time for pondering. I took another nonexistent breath, closed my eyes and tensed all my muscles.
It was impossible to describe the agony I felt at that moment. My impulses forced me out to the center of the room, and my entire body was exposed to the scorching force of the star. My very soul was screaming out of my control and I was torn out of my mind. I lost my vision and heard ringing in my ears from the noise of my own throat.
Soon the blurry vision returned to me, but I was still screaming in pain. Through the pain I saw I was in a completely different room. There was a spotlight above me, and the walls were dim. I was laying on a bed that felt like it was made of cracked concrete. Everything that touched my body and the light itself was painful. Even the ungroomed hair was piercing through my skin. I heard a hum in my head, coming from a translation implant. There was someone in that room speaking an alien language. The figure appeared in my range of vision. It was tall and wearing a coat. It said that the others will come in a quarter of a paw, and that everyone was expecting me for a long time.
It came closer and I felt numbness as I deciphered the face of a blurry figure. It had front-facing eyes! IT WAS A PREDATOR! It truly must be a predator hell! I tried to move, back off, run! But my entire body was heavy. It felt like I hadn’t slept in a whole life. All my limbs, tail and neck were completely exhausted! The pain could not mellow either. I was trapped in a painful reality, awaiting to be tortured forever! The monstrum said that I must not worry about anything and allow my body to rest. It finally introduced itself as a human.
​
[wiki] [previous] [next]

Hello Telsa fam,
I’m going to pick up my MYLR5 - 19’inch (metallic silver) in two weeks.
Location : Seattle
So there is a lot of websites, YT videos and threads on Tesla accessories. I’m actually getting confused here and right now I have so much Information but still no clarity on which brand or product to go. There are so many aftermarket brands, websites and what not.
Help me nail this list of things to buy:

1. Mad flaps
2. Floor and trunk mats ( I’m in seattle so rains a lot)
3. Center console organizer - everything necessary
4. Cup holder
5. Silicon cover for wireless charger area
6. Hub caps for tires- something that looks good and sporty obviously black
7. Spoiler - something reliable and easy to install (the adhesive tape should be pre-installed).
8. Carbon fiber cover for center console
9. Performance brakes and acceleration cover
10. Screen protector - matte - no finger prints and glares.

These 10 things are absolutely necessary for me. I may miss out on few things pls feel free to comment and suggest.
Additional info needed from those who are in seattle/Bellevue area: where to get PPF done? Any good contact or shop where we can get this done with reasonable prices?
Pls make your suggestions with the best of your knowledge and what you think is worth our money. Pls pls don’t confuse me even more. 😂
Also pls mention a reliable source to buy- websites/ links/ etc.
Thank you everyone for you time and effort. Appreciate it. 😊

I (20F) keep seeing this Orb at night in my bedroom and I can feel it watching me. This started a couple of weeks ago, I was on my phone in the dark when I suddenly felt I was being watched from a specific corner in my bedroom. When I looked over I saw this floating Orb in the exact same corner. It was blue, the center was more opaque than the outside, it was round but similar to an egg, looked like a glowing cloud, but the glow was kinda faint. If I look away for a bit it will be in a completely different spot but If I look for long periods of time I can see it moving to what appears to be towards me, as if it's trying to approach me. I'm 100% certain this is not a light from any electronic devices because I turn off and unplug everything before going to bed. Also I have searched where the Orb appeared and there were no light sources to be found. My bedroom is pitch black. Also even if the light was coming from one of the devices, none of them have a blue light. Most are neon red and some are neon green. I don't know what this thing is but I don't think it's evil? It actually felt like it was trying to comfort me somehow. It doesn't make me feel scared or in danger, just uncomfortable because I can feel it watching me. Some nights I could have sworn I saw 2 but maybe that was just my eyes playing tricks on me. Also I'm not a 100% sure if the color is blue, it's like a blue with a small hint of green. It doesn't appear on my bedroom every night but it does show up often at random times. Any idea what this could be?

Lotus Super 7/ Caterham
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.571202,139.5548013,3a,46y,15.62h,81.89t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s7BaDEjG_cApp6XKu2tyjTg!2e0!5s20200301T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
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Ferrari 612 Scaglietti
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5538596,139.606543,3a,29.4y,121.26h,89.68t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sjx4JisJ21O6KcIdU1pjzwg!2e0!5s20190501T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
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Ferrari California
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.3217498,139.5974828,3a,90y,20.71h,75.9t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sp-BUEDSCzpHf0IE0uX6bZw!2e0!5s20220701T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Audi R8
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.3788838,139.4764385,3a,56.1y,62.57h,86.47t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sKNlRNtJG8Xlr4mhaph_OXg!2e0!5s20220601T000000!7i16384!8i8192
​
1980s Alpina B7
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.3913955,139.5831831,3a,56.8y,5.36h,86.71t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1smrt36zz3pC4AKO-xoXTRBw!2e0!5s20220801T000000!7i16384!8i8192
​
Alpina B5
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5302978,139.4392913,3a,18.8y,320.77h,88.32t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1svmTUkA1UEoP2QuvRDrdG-g!2e0!5s20200701T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Nismo Pulsar VZR N1 (1 of 226!)
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5715459,139.5526305,3a,75y,168.83h,74.19t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sGY74rJXnC_sVQ0UIujUctA!2e0!5s20220501T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
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Jaguar MK2
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.588019,139.5473852,3a,48.3y,5.51h,94.32t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sluBOtQQPpGgChXK-AkC8mA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
​
Bentley Continental
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5644177,139.4100506,3a,15y,138.89h,89.94t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sNOote7n46hGLIC-WUEMw9Q!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
​
Alfa Romeo GTV
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5371921,139.4487268,3a,18.2y,289.59h,89.56t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1svBWJF_3hyq9xH8JzpYX82w!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DvBWJF_3hyq9xH8JzpYX82w%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D185.60103%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192
​
BMW 1M
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.3790981,139.4762997,3a,42.5y,77.64h,87.72t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sfCykGqE-RxmjI2IX3EEtZw!2e0!5s20221201T000000!7i16384!8i8192
​
Abarth 124 Spider
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5838746,139.5498877,3a,75y,339.64h,82.46t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1szKjfvthCRlhH3rTLawHVwg!2e0!5s20190401T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
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Porsche 911
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5552069,139.6018293,3a,83y,261.23h,86.21t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sdXs4SfbTKZs1MsyGp7sz-Q!2e0!5s20221001T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
​
Mercedes C63 AMG + Supra MK4
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5404811,139.4435954,3a,90y,338.59h,83.39t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s_1pbN4AZrEuMbyp4m0iAvA!2e0!5s20210201T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Ugly Slammed lorinsor Mercedes
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.3414947,139.5959309,3a,41.2y,238.12h,88.05t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sb4enowfXViTiwxt4S04gag!2e0!5s20220901T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Ugly Mercedes SLK AMG
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.3419416,139.6032469,3a,72.4y,148.54h,83.75t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sSXXC-BRV_G9-icyA_yqEvA!2e0!5s20220701T000000!7i16384!8i8192
​
Energy MotorSport BMW
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.6515464,139.4388284,3a,78.9y,91.69h,84.11t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sML933uOIieUmVphTyJOxyQ!2e0!5s20210701T000000!7i16384!8i8192
​
Corvette C5
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.4274727,139.4680117,3a,16.8y,253.85h,87.92t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s_SF7itmBiNrZwlqAhGRVtQ!2e0!5s20220701T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Corvette C5
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5392511,139.4469611,3a,46.8y,254.19h,85.81t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1suANTz7YXdnPK5ca7h9g4rQ!2e0!5s20220801T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Corvette C5
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.3224885,139.5960684,3a,75y,82.53h,82.87t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1swECfePgjAK8ILOcVCWnIyg!2e0!5s20220701T000000!7i16384!8i8192
​
Unknown Muscle Car
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5856178,139.5461158,3a,75y,213.52h,77.1t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sKpbNY4n9LY4Ic4xtDmphyg!2e0!5s20220301T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
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Dodge Challenger T/A
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.3365955,139.594461,3a,87.4y,92.14h,85.09t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s8YwD0JXFXLLr5iZq5e2JTw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
​
Random Porsche lot (not sure what this is connected to?)
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.522944,139.5953437,3a,75y,357.45h,80.77t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s0j4RHapNT30oNzW64wqA6A!2e0!5s20210401T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
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Mazda Cosmo + Old Porsche's (private collection, dealer?)
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.522673,139.599737,3a,53.4y,351.41h,88.57t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s5Qqh_Vg3Wz0dQuasHfI0KA!2e0!5s20221001T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
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Lexus LFA - 1 of 20 in Pearl Yellow (dealer)
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.3410886,139.4628137,3a,50.5y,108.46h,86.89t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sJVHYT1gX2r_Kd-sm5gvKBw!2e0!5s20190401T000000!7i16384!8i8192
​
Nissan Skyline R34 GTR
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.4511708,139.4676224,3a,71.3y,109.54h,89.66t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1skwMa4TbJkEtPmkO7SVu8SA!2e0!5s20190701T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Nissan Skyline R34 GTR
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.3236975,139.6012942,3a,62.3y,60.36h,83.67t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s92sdXkESpkCVlIC0edHUaQ!2e0!5s20221001T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Nissan Skyline R34 GTR
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.3383181,139.5925685,3a,83.8y,240.12h,84.72t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sBOiTzCdhhoA54RbgGZmaXw!2e0!5s20190601T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Nissan Skyline R33 GTR
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5379298,139.4461274,3a,56.7y,116.82h,85.2t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1syfuRSZUrFP1pERH9MKqDhw!2e0!5s20190701T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Nissan Skyline R33 GTR
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5397652,139.4468808,3a,75y,264.29h,84.97t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sjA4A6zKGwkxmjDZsxYJ2iQ!2e0!5s20180701T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Nissan Skyline R32 GTR
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.3787201,139.4764278,3a,15y,26.03h,89.16t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sJDNYlH04vu2G3SVeN9--5A!2e0!5s20170701T000000!7i13312!8i6656
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Nissan Skyline R32 GTR
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5322307,139.4389512,3a,30.8y,325.02h,88.54t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s7T6wZ6u3RvJOxt3hbnLMgg!2e0!5s20190701T000000!7i16384!8i8192
​
Nissan Skyline R32 GTR
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.6915862,139.4111314,3a,23.3y,133.55h,88.63t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1siGfM-kjrWei-PQz01Zb0ag!2e0!5s20221201T000000!7i16384!8i8192
​
Nissan Skyline R32 GTR
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.3979881,139.5616299,3a,22.3y,270.86h,87.77t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1spxrahouQP3G_LUI-tCYA-Q!2e0!5s20220801T000000!7i16384!8i8192
​
Nissan 180sx
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5704084,139.5578147,3a,74.8y,185.66h,83.88t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s8sgPhVI2J9BswPanLDIL7A!2e0!5s20220301T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
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Nissan 180sx
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5323932,139.44582,3a,75y,84.03h,82.78t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sNaqr1YgtyZjHXsDo8WWLUg!2e0!5s20230101T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Nissan Silvia s15 Spec R
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.3372493,139.5941375,3a,75y,343.87h,81.49t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1szWtKxrRVFj55xZxZ-p97bA!2e0!5s20220701T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Nissan Silvia s14
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5546626,139.3965457,3a,19.5y,6.64h,88.67t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s7upvH2tiqkwmbyoaEGXLig!2e0!5s20170701T000000!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu
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Nissan Silvia s14
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5518243,139.5991076,3a,45.6y,320.17h,89.58t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s_eQlD03BT8j8Ft23eQHZcg!2e0!5s20210901T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
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Nissan Fairlady Z32
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5409993,139.4317421,3a,74.3y,269.24h,90.7t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sMQYPND59Oe0_unDUnZETPw!2e0!5s20220401T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Toyota Supra MK3
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.4202015,139.5435595,3a,87y,284.07h,87.93t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s2q36nxThAfZutTWl1_R8iQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
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Toyota GT86 Race Car
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.3708772,139.4788593,3a,28.1y,294.65h,87.26t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sMFO-B3GEU3xrbjw5r1Oj7g!2e0!5s20220601T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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GR Yaris
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.3826032,139.6053345,3a,25.3y,342.81h,84.63t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sKhnnN_8Ch2uLAwx8Cn4GTw!2e0!5s20220901T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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GR Yaris
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5210927,139.5910522,3a,26.6y,10.68h,87.59t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sngjdnuzALN4jq-lPUFjehQ!2e0!5s20221001T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
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Toyota Chaser
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5606178,139.4021586,3a,75y,117.75h,80.89t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1snsFFb0So4IXM26TLnV2QUA!2e0!5s20201001T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Crazy Toyota Chaser Drift Car
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.3387767,139.6089483,3a,27.1y,61.31h,86.49t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sRotCtU-vJP2Xv6tJcoRIbw!2e0!5s20210901T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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502 Factory Toyota
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.4595836,139.467355,3a,54.2y,126.84h,83.18t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s6nqtARtwPJdNFMh7R-jGoA!2e0!5s20220601T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Toyota Cera
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.3848218,139.6020267,3a,44.7y,73.61h,85.88t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1seXAAkgztQbuo-tbpomRi2w!2e0!5s20201101T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Toyota Levin BZ-R
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.4355852,139.4670839,3a,78.9y,134.34h,78.37t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s-HesFprGNRmEXtzX6Agxag!2e0!5s20190601T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Mazda RX7 FD
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.3357906,139.6044303,3a,69.9y,292.14h,90.42t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sJKwVUjR1RzW0BpckNvKHiA!2e0!5s20220701T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Mazda RX7 FC
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5538839,139.6065434,3a,30.7y,128.18h,88.75t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sX7Ngc0kSBtkAtvKIfCG1ig!2e0!5s20200701T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
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Mitsubishi Evo 6
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.4250011,139.5392568,3a,71.7y,193.5h,80.7t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s3jktjfH7cuFRZjac2JYrLA!2e0!5s20200201T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Mitsubishi Evo 6
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5677565,139.56434,3a,69.7y,331.06h,90.02t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s5_2OTFUovrFsfosi-zKlHw!2e0!5s20210401T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
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Mitsubishi Evo 3
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5372712,139.3989063,3a,15y,25.38h,88.47t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sv9oafZwY_HR0S5JW1iU1RQ!2e0!5s20220601T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
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Suzuki Cappuccino
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5709951,139.3865968,3a,48.9y,103.05h,88.74t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s4PZeijZC8T8wSAhb7V7r4Q!2e0!5s20210601T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Honda NSX NA1 (service center?)
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.4268556,139.5410769,3a,29.8y,242.92h,88.46t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1ssyKt50N7StZD7c951GW6QQ!2e0!5s20221101T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Super Clean Honda S2000
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5237664,139.5953588,3a,75y,52.93h,83.13t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sqGd78kUyTAlEHiNGlxBIPQ!2e0!5s20221001T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
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Super Clean Honda S2000
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.3787503,139.4764187,3a,21.4y,116.75h,88.82t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1stLTa_XeLgoi5VH2djy9YHQ!2e0!5s20221201T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Honda Intergra Type R
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.3787579,139.4764397,3a,20y,103.35h,89.45t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sW-Ra3SMQ4YzF4YB-dluJpg!2e0!5s20220201T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Honda Intergra Type R
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5434422,139.4356937,3a,89.8y,23.21h,79.67t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sc4rCmHdyYQ86H-jEEZQAOQ!2e0!5s20220601T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Honda Intergra Type R
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.552621,139.6130376,3a,74.3y,20.13h,86.15t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sAxys2NNiPiSDUEmVk5B_eQ!2e0!5s20190501T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
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Honda Intergra Type R
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5673406,139.5729143,3a,52y,245.07h,89.02t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s5qT-iZQYMvTwzotCCXsUBQ!2e0!5s20220501T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
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Honda Civic Type R EK
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5664742,139.5662019,3a,75.6y,64.16h,83.75t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sQ80rHR9TMklyTtUgoZn7TA!2e0!5s20220901T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
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Honda Civic Type R
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5604976,139.4020738,3a,76.2y,120.98h,83.13t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sTEgQ_s-n2GRM5Q61_eD1AA!2e0!5s20180901T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Lot of Japanese Sports Cars
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.3895192,139.4728307,3a,75y,257.26h,86.6t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sljm7yBKUP7BFJ1bP--fJvg!2e0!5s20210501T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Dodge Vipers (dealer)
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5280441,139.4456696,3a,49.1y,234.86h,86.39t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1spDx3Heq3UfawhWDw9uSWdQ!2e0!5s20201001T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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? - Covered Huracan?
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.3405243,139.5957807,3a,75y,162.21h,80.8t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1slnMWQpH42HnCuR9w1f6z1w!2e0!5s20220701T000000!7i16384!8i8192
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Exotics Service Center
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5536864,139.6047402,3a,15y,110.04h,88.71t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sGqUTI5_yhc7zvD7JXqBhsg!2e0!5s20190501T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

Hi, ex-hospital staffing office worker here. To start off let me say how much I respect your profession. I worked as a tech on the floor for awhile and there's a reason I changed my career aspirations. Nursing is a challenging, often underappreciated job that really takes a lot of grit to thrive in. With all the crap you have to deal with, really, you guys rock!
That said I've seen some very poor attitudes, both irl and online, from RNs towards their staffers and schedulers. We are not your enemy. We are not trying to shaft you or swindle you. We do not float staff just for the lolz. We do not enjoy it. We are just trying to make sure everyone can operate.
"Anytime we've been fully staffed, management calls to float a nurse to a unit that's short staffed, so everyone's short staffed"
More accurately, you may be fully staffed, but other units are running with a very dangerous ratio so we need to pull from the better staffed units. You might be short, they might still be short, but at least no unit will be horribly, dangerously short staffed. And I guarantee you, if your unit is looking to be short, you will call, begging and threatening us to pull from another unit to yours.
"Our manager once gave me permission to lie to staffing about the number of patients on the unit if I needed to keep an extra nurse"
This is a rotten thing to do. I get it, you know your unit, your patients better than they do. Here's the thing though. We need to look at the needs of the WHOLE hospital. Not just your unit! Maybe it's because we live in a individualistic society, but the amount of uncaring, self-centered antagonism I see from nurses towards other units, even nurses in their own unit is disgusting. You are part of a collective whole. You are part of a hospital-wide team. I realize it sucks, how difficult it is, but we have to share the burden!
Some other notes: I understand you probably hate administration. I understand why. But just for your information, staffers and schedulers may be in "nursing administration" but they are not admins. They are not managers. They make a fraction of a nurse's wage. They are staffing you according to the numbers dictated by the admins, and if there is not enough man-power to run the hospital properly, there is nothing they can do. Just because you need another RN, another tech - if there is not one available - that's it! One cannot be "magicked" into existence. You can make some calls to your own staff, call your manager to see if they can get someone to pick up, but on the staffing side there is NOTHING else that can be done.
We are on the same team. Please, be nice, or at the very least have professionalism. Don't scoff at them. Don't scream at them. Don't play games with them. Please DON'T abuse them. When I worked in staffing, pretty much everyone in the department was brought to tears by cruelty from a head nurse.
Now I'm sorry if I've offended you. I did not mean to suggest all nurses are cruel (really they are a minority). I have the utmost respect for the nursing profession (but maybe not the 'eat or be eaten' culture of the hospital environment). I just want to bring home the point that we have the same goals. We are co-workers and partners. Be kind to each other.
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tl;dr: Don't be mean to your staffing office. They are doing their best, often in horribly understaffed conditions, and being cruel will not get you another nurse for the floor.

This will be a long post, so I'll start by providing a condensed summary.
The full analysis for each song will be below.

Tl;Dr

"Life Is But a Dream" is an album that explores the different stages and aspects of life, emphasizing that life is merely a temporary experience. The album plays with diverse themes, such as childhood, dreams, love, personal struggles, and individuality.
"Game Over" deals with different stages of life, from childhood to adulthood. The song suggests that life is just an ordinary experience that passes by and we must cherish every moment of it.
"Mattel" focuses on the artificial and superficial aspects of society, suggesting that people are only living in a façade without truly understanding their purpose.
"Nobody" delves into the idea of one's self, exploring the concept of being alive yet feeling nonexistent in life. It contemplates the complex nature of human existence.
"We Love You" sarcastically talks about society's obsession with materialism and constant growth, which often leads to a loss of genuine connection with others.
"Cosmic" describes the cyclical nature of life, celebrating the beauty of different eras and experiences that have shaped us as individuals throughout time.
"Beautiful Morning" ponders the idea of living through various struggles and pain, questioning what truly makes life beautiful, despite all its suffering.
"Easier" encourages looking at the brighter side of life and suggests that it's better to let go of hardships and focus on the positive aspects.
"G" is a highly satirical and possibly sarcastic song about people's need for approval and importance, questioning the self-indulgence in seeking such attention.
"(O)rdinary" explores the desire to experience human emotions and feelings, yearning to understand others and live an authentic life.
"(D)eath" deals with the theme of mortality and the feeling of release that comes with embracing the inevitability of death, as seen through the protagonist's dreams.
"Life Is But a Dream" is an instrumental piece that culminates the album, offering introspection and contemplation on life as a whole, using the beauty of music to help express this sentiment.
Overall, the album is an exploration of the human experience, touching on life's darkest and brightest moments. It serves as a reminder that despite all the trials and tribulations we face, life is ultimately transient and beautiful. The band uses an introspective and often satirical lens to piece together different aspects of life, urging listeners to contemplate the brevity of existence and the importance of holding onto significant experiences and connections.

In-Depth Analysis

Game over

"Game Over" is a reflection on life's different stages and how they define an individual's journey, ultimately leading to a realization that life is an ever-changing series of experiences.
In the song, different moments in life are described through various words and phrases, such as "Crawling, Walking, Fleeting, Glory" and "Secret, Toothless, Fairy, Pillow." These seemingly contradicting moments all contribute to the complexity of life, with the pre-chorus exemplifying the idea of ordinary and extraordinary coexisting in an individual's journey. The song's chorus, "As it may," repeats to signify how life will continue no matter what happens.
The post-chorus, "Days are fine and come on time / But years leave with nothing to find," highlights the idea that time is fluid and creates a sense of disorientation when observing life's passage. This sentiment is further emphasized in the second verse, which details more specific instances and how they continue to change as life goes on.
Towards the end of the song, the narrator realizes that they don't belong in their current life and decides to let go. The outro reflects on the concept that life is merely a dream, with the narrator swinging from their family tree and saying goodnight.

Mattel

"Mattel" depicts a world made of plastic and artificial elements, a metaphor for a superficial and shallow society. The lyrics describe a character made of vinyl skin and plastic bones, who is unable to express emotions or have any personal depth, representing how people can become detached from their true selves.
The line "I've smelled the plastic daisies and it seems we've found ourselves in hell" emphasizes the idea that this artificial, materialistic world is a form of suffering, as it lacks real emotions and genuine connections. The character struggles to find meaning in this environment, feeling trapped in a loop and surrounded by people who only play pretend.
The bridge conveys the emptiness within the character, mentioning the phrase "just smart enough to know nothing at all." This demonstrates the character's self-awareness of their own superficiality and how they can't escape it in this world. The ending of the song, with the repetition of the word "burn," possibly signifies a desire to destroy this fake world and start anew, seeking authenticity and meaning.
As the song fits in the context of the album, it serves as a reflection on societal materialism and the potential loss of identity and connections, with the protagonist desiring genuine experiences and emotions. This theme recurs throughout the album as the characters grapple with addressing and overcoming these challenges in various ways.

Nobody

“Nobody” evokes the existential themes, exploring human identity and self-discovery. In the context of the album, "Nobody" plays a role in balancing the explorations of human experience with a more introspective and spiritual focus, centering on the idea of transcending physical existence and uniting with divinity.
In the lyrics, the use of phrases like "I am all" and "I am none" reflect the idea of embracing one's insignificance in the grander scheme of existence while simultaneously recognizing the inherent power and potential that resides within every individual. The chorus line, "I am the one in everything / I am alive, I am the dead, I am a man without a head," evokes the idea of existing beyond traditional concepts of life and consciousness.
The line "float like a feather through space and time outside a dream" underlines the theme of transcending one's perceived limitations, seeming to achieve a higher state of being. The song's message revolves around the idea of 'shedding weight as I am coming undone,' which can symbolize letting go of the trappings of material existence to reach a purer, more spiritual plane.
"Nobody" can also be seen as an exploration of identity, with the protagonist undergoing a transformation and rebirth as they move beyond their body and earthly ties. This arguably ties in with the overarching themes of the album "Life Is but A Dream," as it seems to remind the listener that life is fleeting and the pursuit of self-discovery and transformation is essential.
In conclusion, "Nobody" is a thought-provoking and introspective piece that complements the broader themes and messages of the album. The song encourages personal transformation, asking the listener to abandon the trappings of material existence and seek out their true identity, transcending the boundaries of the physical world.

We Love You

"We Love You" speaks to the never-ending search for power, success, wealth, and social status, emphasizing that as people strive for these things, society continues to love and support them. The lyrics consist of phrases and words that represent desires and motivations, creating a sense of urgency and an insatiable appetite for more.
The refrain and chorus highlight how society admires those who constantly chase success, even as they sink "unto the mud." This suggests that the pursuit of these desires ultimately leads to one's downfall or demise, whether it be physically or mentally. The song can also be interpreted as a criticism of materialism, with the repetition of phrases related to superficial or external achievements.
Within the context of the entire album, "We Love You" contributes to the overall theme of life, death, and human experience. The album explores various aspects of life, from its fleeting nature to the search for meaning and identity, and "We Love You" encapsulates the darker side of the human desire for success and material gain. By examining these themes, the song encourages listeners to reflect on their own motives and pursuits, questioning whether their actions ultimately lead them towards true happiness or self-destruction.

Cosmic

"Cosmic" explores the theme of everlasting connections and the cyclical nature of life, love, and pain. In the context of the album, it appears to be a reflective piece on past experiences and the idea of meeting again in different lifetimes.
The song's lyrics demonstrate the resilience of relationships and connections that can cross time and space, as well as the notion of fate. Lines like "We loved so many times, and in so many lives sometimes we got it right" and "It found its way back in, until we meet again into that good night" speak to the cyclical nature of love and the concept that some connections can weather multiple lifetimes or experiences.
The imagery of "chasing through the stars beyond forever" and "dancing in the wind as roses born again" convey a sense of drifting through time, searching for these connections in various forms and scenarios, while the repeated phrase "there you'll find me" implies a constant presence, always waiting for a reunion.
Furthermore, the song touches on themes of loss and the transient nature of life, as demonstrated in lines like "fade - from all that was before we shut another door, but not a last goodbye." This speaks to the idea that while things may come to an end, there is always the possibility of renewal in different forms.
In conclusion, within the context of Avenged Sevenfold's album "Life Is But a Dream," "Cosmic" can be interpreted as a contemplative piece on the power of everlasting connections, the cycles of life and love, and the concept of finding each other again throughout time and space.

Beautiful Morning

"Beautiful Morning" contemplates personal struggles and the complexities of life while seeking solace from the unknown or divine.
In the first verse, the speaker asks the divine to save them, allow them to hear, and experience the beauty of life. The refrain "You walk on water but the water swallows you" signifies the price people can sometimes pay for extraordinary abilities, wealth, or fame. This line can be interpreted as the speaker questioning the existence of God and/or their religious beliefs.
In the second verse, the speaker lays in a tomb, feeling alone and empty, which could represent internal struggles and feelings of being lost and helpless in their own life. The chorus poses a contrast between the speaker's emptiness and the unique yet otherworldly person "like no other." This could highlight the complexities of human nature when confronted with external forces causing personal struggles.
The bridge of "Beautiful Morning" presents a contrary view, describing a perfect day where everything seems bright and beautiful. This vision is juxtaposed against the song's darker themes, signifying a fleeting moment of happiness and solace. The guitar solo in the song might symbolize an emotional turning point, filled with both darkness and hope.
The third verse suggests that the speaker acknowledges and embraces their issues, but ultimately, the song ends with a repetition of the chorus and a reminder of the struggle between seeking solace from external forces and finding strength within oneself. Overall, the song can be interpreted as an exploration of the balance between self-reflection, doubt, and the transient beauty found in life, with the phrase "Beautiful Morning" symbolizing hope amid emotional turmoil.

Easier

"Easier" explores the concept of facing hardships and the desire to escape from life's challenges. The song's lyrics convey a message of finding solace in the idea of walking away from difficulties, with the hope of seeing brighter days ahead.
In the first verse, the lyrics describe being shaped by "peaks and valleys," likely referring to the ups and downs of life. The protagonist laments feeling tied to the physical world until they die. The chorus then introduces the idea of walking away as an easier option, with the belief that there will be better days in the future.
As the song progresses, the second verse reinforces the transient nature of life, where things you love become goodbyes, and the protagonist is ready to face the end of their journey. The outro repeats the idea that it's easier to walk away, emphasizing the need for detachment and acceptance in dealing with life's challenges.
In the context of the album, "Easier" fits in thematically with other songs that explore the experiences and struggles of existence. The album often addresses the doubts, fears, and complexities of life while also seeking hope and solace in the face of these challenges. "Easier" serves as a contemplative reflection on coping with adversity and searching for a sense of inner peace amidst life's difficulties.

G

The song "G" can be understood as a satirical commentary on the concept of God and the notion that divine intervention plays a role in people's lives.
The lyrics of the song suggest an inflated sense of ego and self-worth, as if the singer is proclaiming themselves to be a godlike figure:
"I am the man Six days of bullshit, a wave of my hand And you know what I need Put your hands together, get down on your knees."
The lyrics also touch on the superficial aspects that are often tied to religion and spirituality, such as compliments on one's appearance and style:
"It's so chic and we love What you've done with the place Compliments you with style and grace."
The chorus highlights the idea that people often attribute random or coincidental events and blessings in their lives to a higher power, with lines like:
"Can’t tell me that all I see ain't a gift from the fabulous one."
The song serves as a critique of the human tendency to create idols or gods in order to explain the unknown and provide a sense of comfort or guidance. Within the context of the GOD trio in the album, "G" represents the exploration of what it might be like to have godlike power and the consequences that come with it.

(O)rdinary

"(O)rdinary" appears to take on the perspective of someone or something yearning to become human. As part of the GOD trio, "(O)rdinary" deals with the theme of power, control, and the human experience. The lyrics ask questions such as "Will you give me my own soul?" and "Will you let me take control?", indicating a desire to take on the qualities and experiences of a human, despite potentially not being one.
This theme of wanting to be human and understand the human experience is further emphasized with lines like "I wanna see the things that you see" and "I wanna know the secrets inside." The line "Tell me how to dream" also refers to a human ability that the subject of the song wishes to experience.
Within the album's context, this song represents a desire to have ordinary human experiences and emotions, in contrast to the idea of being a god or something extraordinary, as portrayed in other songs like "G" and "Nobody." The subject of "(O)rdinary" seeks connection and understanding, longing to experience life through the eyes of the human subject.

(D)eath

"(D)eath" addresses the theme of death as a relief from the struggles and dissatisfaction experienced in life.
Throughout the album, various aspects of life are explored, such as the artificiality portrayed in "Mattel" and the pursuit of power and success in "We Love You." However, in "(D)eath," listeners are presented with an alternative perspective: death as a form of liberation from life's challenges.
The lyrics in "(D)eath," particularly the lines "I stare out in the distance of the city scene… I leap into the darkest night / Wind on my face, it satisfies / I never have felt so alive..." describe a character contemplating their life and finding relief in the idea of death. This person feels a sense of freedom and exhilaration in the moments leading up to their death.
In contrast with the other songs in the album, which focus on various struggles and frustrations in life, "(D)eath" offers a reprieve from these hardships. It represents an escape from societal pressures and a chance for authenticity and self-realization. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the song does not necessarily promote or glorify death; rather, it explores the theme as a means to understand the complexities and challenges of life within the context of the album.

Life Is But a Dream

"Life Is But a Dream" is an instrumental track from Avenged Sevenfold's album of the same name. The album itself explores various themes, including life experiences, identity, and existential questions. Although the title track has no lyrics, its placement at the end of the album signifies a conclusion or reflection on the themes presented throughout.
The song's title, "Life Is But a Dream," can be seen as an acknowledgment that life is fleeting and ephemeral, much like a dream. This idea is also present in other songs throughout the album, such as "Game Over," where the lyrics "Days are fine and come on time / But years leave with nothing to find" express the passing of time and the fragility of life. Similarly, in "Nobody," the character describes themselves as being "boundless" and "free," suggesting an awareness of life's transience.
The theme of identity is also prevalent in the album, with songs like "Mattel" and "(O)ordinary" exploring the concept of self-discovery and the search for one's own soul. In "Mattel," the singer describes having a "vinyl skin" and "plastic bones," questioning their own humanity and the nature of their existence. In "(O)ordinary," the lyrics ask, "Will you give me my own soul? / Will you let me take control? / I wanna see the things that you see / I wanna be the human that you be."
Finally, the album explores existential questions and the nature of reality, as seen in songs like "Cosmic" and "Beautiful Morning." In "Cosmic," the lyrics describe a journey through time and space, with the singer declaring that they will follow their loved one through the stars "beyond forever." In "Beautiful Morning," the character grapples with the meaning of life and questions whether they truly belong in their current existence.
By ending the album with the instrumental "Life Is But a Dream," Avenged Sevenfold leaves the listener with a moment of introspection to reflect on the themes and emotions that have been explored throughout. The absence of lyrics allows the listeners to draw their own conclusions and contemplate the fleeting, dream-like nature of life and its complexities.

The boy ran circles in the meadow, dashing headlong through kaleidoscopes of butterflies, scattering them, careless, laughing, their soft delicate bodies floating; he screamed—
Several doctors stared at the body,
its shredded skin,
its raw face.
This was violence, one of them thought, as the child's parents sobbed in the hallway and the hospital director made a telephone call. "Good evening, Dr. Schmidt?"
Jürgen Schmidt was still jet-lagged when he began addressing the audience of scientists and military men. There was little time to spare. "Danaus plexippus, the monarch butterfly," he said, "has evolved."
"Briefed by an entomologist," a four-star general bemoaned.
A lepidopterist, thought Schmidt, as he pressed a key on his laptop, bringing a projector to life—It illuminated the room.—and continuing, "But not evolved as we know evolution. Evolution as a sudden and seemingly targetted change. Watch this."
On screen, a freeze frame:
A Mexican soldier surrounded by monarch butterflies.
Zooming in on one:
Orange wings laced with black, supporting a black, deceptively humanoid body: thorax, abdomen, legs glistening like hideous scimitars—
Motion:
The soldier trying to swat the butterflies away. Trying. They swarm him. He is obscured by: landing on him, slicing him; finally they scatter, and on the ground, naked and half-consumed, lies the soldier's crumpled body, red and bones.
"Dear God…"
Within weeks, the monarchs had taken control of a swathe of central America, from Nicaragua to Panama, and attacks had been reported as far north as Ottawa.
It was as if they had suddenly leveled up, and human defense systems could not cope. It became a familiar symbol of futility: footage of soldiers firing wildly at an onrushing orange sky of beating wings and scimitar legs; the bullets passing as if through nothing; the orange unceased.
They hacked our nets.
They were impervious to fire and pesticide.
In the territory they controlled, they declared a Kingdom centered on the city of Managua, which they had thoroughly dehumanised. Flaesh they called it. Elsewhere, those who could not flee were enslaved and made to swear allegiance to a new leader, the Great Monarch, Thoraxion Nex.
Thoraxion Nex: unseen, feared—
"They've opened a diplomatic channel," Jürgen Schmidt said. "They desire a meeting between humanity and Flaesh."
It was organised.
A delegation of scientists, diplomats and politicians was flown to Managua, where they walked streets now littered with decaying human corpses toward a gargantuan chrysalis, suspended seemingly from the sky itself.
Thoraxion Nex, thought Schmidt, has not yet metamorphosed, but what breed of hideous beast could possibly emerge from this hanging horror-chamber?
It was under such dread that the agreement was signed.
To the monarchs: all the Americas, Australia and Asia as far west as the Altai Mountains.
To humanity: to migrate and squeeze into what remained.
Yet how does one evacuate entire continents? thought Schmidt, even as he scrawled his name.
Above, the chrysalis trembled.
This much was clear:
For ages, homo sapiens had alone dominated the Earth. The time for a bipolar world had come.

I've seen a couple posts about the Lucas and Dawn extreme battle, and how to clear it without Adaman or Irida. I wanted to share my own clears, without them or any other limited pairs. I want to get this out of the way early though: they are high investment; the 5*s used are 3/5 and EX. They're not all necessary, but I want to be up front about that.
Unfortunately, I have no idea how to record video of the game, so it's all in text. I'll outline what I use for grid, and a rough play by play of critical actions and events. I have the images as proof of clear, if anyone needed those (see comments). Also a good alternative to Dawn has already been shared if this one doesn't work out. Every other Lucas clear I've seen involved limited pairs, so this is really more for the Lucas situation.
VS LUCAS The team I used is as follows:

• Tank: EX 5/5 Aaron. Grid takes MGR9 on Attack Order, Staggering 4, Unbending, Trainer Move: MPR, and Precision Pals. Vigilance lucky skill.
• Tech: EX 5/5 Lucian. Grid can take anything, spec for bulk. Vigilance lucky skill.
• Striker: EX 5/5 Dawn. Grid takes Pecking Order, Tough Cookie, Healthy Healing, both sync damage nodes, and X Def All MPR. Lucky Cookie doesn't matter, I didn't want to give up my Status Immunity, but Crit Strike 2 is ideal in my book. Defense Crush 2 just activates too infrequently, and we're spamming Seed Bomb.

Notes:

• Aaron and Dawn need EX for the damage boosts. I imagine Aaron needs the defensive stats too, but I'm not sure.
• Lucian may not need EX, but I had a lot of trouble getting him to survive sync without it.
• Any actions that are unclear in the writeup of what's needed, Aaron should Defend Order, Lucian should Growl, Dawn should Seed Bomb.
• 3/5 on Lucian and Aaron is definitely fine. 3/5 on Dawn is probably fine.

Play-by-Play:

1. Turn order should go Lucian Growl, Dawn X Def All, then Aaron using Attack Order. Aaron needs to flinch here, then queue a trainer move before they act. It's easier than it sounds.
2. Following this, Aaron wants to use trainer move twice, and take first sync. Lucian spams Growl until Kabutops' first Liquidation, after which use Trainer Move; you'll want the gradual healing or he can get KO'd (essential if non-EX). Dawn spams X Def All until capped or out of MPR. Note: Dawn DOES NOT NEED to proc MPR. Once Def is done, spam Seed Bomb on the left side.
3. Lucian continues Growl, Aaron should finish buffing, and at this point Aaron is likely low on HP due to the Liquidation. Dawn should Full Restore on him. Dawn takes second sync on Kabutops, Aaron should aim for a flinch on the right side if possible, queueing Defend Order. If you hit it, you get another full round of actions, which is ideal. Dawn's Seed Bomb should continue on the left, until it's low on HP.
4. Following Lucas' sync, Aaron should use Heal Order. If Lucian died, legitimately just pack it up. If you're not EX, and he keeps dying, proc Heal Order instead of Defend after the flinch, Lucian will survive and Aaron should be fine. Lucian wants to start Growling to remove the X Atk All that Lucas activates, or Dawn's sync gets substantially weaker.
5. KO left side as it queues a move, then focus Dawn's offensive pressure on the right. Aaron should aim for another Attack Order flinch on Lucas at this point. When Dawn hits third sync, hit center. He'll likely survive, but we're in the home stretch.
6. This is a moment of truth. If Aaron did not hit flinch against Liquidation in Step 5, attempt to flinch the right side, then center. Lucas will use Mega Kick. Aaron can tank it, but it's rough. If you had to use Heal Order before sync in 4 to keep Lucian alive, I imagine Mega Kick is a straight KO. Dawn should prioritize taking out whoever didn't flinch. If both flinched, take down the right; Muddy Water is rough due to -2 accuracy. If she reaches final sync, take out whatever's left.

It's possible, if reliant on flinch. I also recognize it's a lot to ask for all EX options, but this one was really tough.
VS DAWN I used this team:

• Tank: EX 5/5 Dawn. Grid for Healthy Healing, X Def All MPR, and defensive stats. Status Immunity lucky skill, but it's flexible.
• Tech: EX 5/5 Lucian. Grid for sync power with Burst In, Ramp Up is optional. Vigilance lucky skill.
• DPS: EX 5/5 BP Candice. Grid for move damage. Agile Entry, Bob and Weave, Superduper Effective 2, Hostile Environment 2. Crit Strike 2 lucky skill, we're fighting mostly out of weather.

Notes:

• Dawn needs EX. The double damage buff is critical, and her tanking needs to be on point.
• EX BP Candice isn't necessary. Her EX doesn't contribute much to this, since she won't be using sync.
• 5/5 Candice might be necessary for the Blizzard DPS. Unsure, couldn't test that, but I feel like it's closer than you'd want. The other two are fine at 3/5.
• EX Lucian isn't necessary either. My wife's account has him uninvested and he still gets the job done.
• While you can go for MPR on Candice's trainer move, I didn't. I think the turn is wasted.

Play-by-play:

1. Dawn uses two X Def All, then her trainer move on herself. Two special moves will hurt, she'll die to Wood Hammer if you don't heal. Lucian just spams Growl like his life depends on it, because it does. Candice uses Hail immediately, then two trainer moves. If she dodges the first AoE attack, you are in business. Otherwise, it's not run-ruining.
2. Dawn takes first sync. Lucian can continue to Growl. Damage in this fight is surprisingly low when Sandstorm isn't up, so the Gradual Healing is less immediately essential. Candice sets up Dire Hit+, then spams Blizzard. If Candice doesn't dodge the second AoE move, I'm pretty sure it's a reset, she'll die to sync. When the foe is at -6 Attack, have Lucian use X Sp Atk until sync is ready. When enemy sync is queued up, immediately have Candice set to re-apply Hail.
3. Enemy Dawn will get to sync before you hit second, everyone should survive. Lucian takes second sync, aiming at enemy Dawn. Candice should spam Blizzard, and should be able to take out sides just as the right is queueing up a move. Lucian, who should not need Growl, should set up X Sp Atk and his trainer moves to be ready for the next sync.
4. Tragedy will almost certainly strike. Enemy Dawn now has Sure Hit/Sure Crit, and Candice will be KO'd.
5. By this point though, Dawn should easily survive until the finish line. Once Lucian reaches sync, it's over.

This was a lot more consistent, and a low lower investment, than the Lucas fight.
Hopefully these help.

Hi all, I have a 2012 libby with 16“ wheels with the small center caps. I want to replace them all with fresh or refurbished ones. What am I suppose to search so that I get the right size? I didn't think it would be so hard to find center caps

The humans had nearly a thousand stars within their medium-sized realm, with a hundred and fifty habitable planets and another dozen mid-terraform; all the rest had at least a mining station, research facility, or military garrison, with several hundred sporting fully domed colonies. Much of their industry had been automated, as well, resulting in a large population with the freedom to pursue their passions. Some enjoyed academia, career scholars who could be called upon by their governments to research problems. Some enjoyed quiet rural lives, tending gardens and developing new agricultural products so the farm AIs could feed the hundreds of billions of humans. Others became adamant gamers, using various programs to develop VR worlds for others to explore.
The Human Confederation worked well; while the overall parliament had clear lines delineating the limits of its authority, the solar cantons and their subordinate colonies were largely left to handle internal matters locally. Friendly competition between cantons resulted in many technological innovations, and some cantons decided to specialize in certain fields in order to ensure their name remained renowned.
Overall, humanity saw itself in a golden age, one that continued to gild itself further with exploration, peaceful expansion, diplomacy, and prosperity.
But no golden age could last forever.
The Hirox Empire saw itself also in a golden age, but their expansions were rarely into unclaimed space. They saw the world through the Theory of Conservation; matter cannot be created nor destroyed. They corrupted this to be their guiding principle: resources are finite, and others possessing them means less for the Hirox to use. The First Hiroxian Law.
They focused their attacks first on humanity's outer colonies, those with the weakest defenses but many untapped resources. The Hirox didn't need them now, just to deny humanity the possession of them.
They continued to ravage through the lightly populated outer worlds; the Gallic and Hispanic colonies were in the direct path, but the Sinic and Nipponic colonies were just as at risk around the periphery.
The Hirox pushed humanity back to their core canton worlds. They had been a power on the rise, but they had fallen from their golden age.
It was a long way down.
Human science proved to be far more adaptable than the Hirox expected. While they didn't often win in direct fights, ambush tactics had taken down several vessels, and the humans had no qualms about stealing the technologies they had acquired. As the war continued, humanity had fielded better and better ships. Hirox high command had even considered pausing the expansion to consolidate their gains and work on how to fortify their new territory. It wouldn't be without precedent, but it had been quite a long time since a species made them do so.
Fleetmaster Jilk was opposed to the idea. He saw how quickly the humans had adapted their industry. Failing to push the current initiative and technological advantage would give the humans a chance to rally, and that could be dangerous. They might even-
An explosion broke his train of thought. Not necessarily an explosion, though. It was as if the entire vessel had been struck by a heavy object. His command hologram sprang to life, showing the location of the damage.
He turned to the rear of his command center, looking at the two-meter-wide brain suspended in synthetic spinal fluid. Hobir, his ship's thinking center, was already working.
"Admiral, impact at level seven, hull was breached but has been sealed by the striking object. Working on getting an image. Shipmaster Gorn has already dispatched engineers. One other ship reports similar impact: carrier-class Blackwing; reports indicate engineers are en route as well. Sixteen ships report no impacts."
Jiln nodded. The two ships captains knew their business well, and Jiln could focus on commanding the fleet itself. "Hobir, develop report requirements: combat capability of impacted ships, then combat capability of entire fleet, then source of objects if any."
"Yes Admiral, three requirements developed and transmitted to captains. Initial report of impacts and developed requirements transmitted to nearest garrison."
Something didn't feel right. Like how one feels when one walks through the territory of a pack of keth. You just feel the unease of something. Why were there a pair of asteroids just lose in the barren system the fleet had been traveling through? And how did both hulls near perfectly seal themselves?
Explosions could be heard throughout the ship. Not with the level of power the impact had, these were small ones, echoing throughout the halls. He watched on his hologram as bulkheads were sealed, likely the captain trying to contain the damage.
Except the bulkheads failed to contain the damage. One by one, small detonations created holes in them, expanding aft until the sequential breaches split into two directions, one towards the engine room, and the other towards Jiln's command suite.
These weren't secondary explosions. They were breaching charges. These were boarders. He sped towards his communications console to summon his security detail and warn the carrier. Humans were on board. He barely dialed the fleet-wide frequency when the wall exploded. The concussive force was incredible, but the human marines that poured through the hole in the wall didn't seem to notice. One of them whirled his rifle around, slamming the butt into Jiln's spinal nerve cluster, triggering all his neurons to fire. After that lightning, he began to drift into the inky blackness of unconsciousness.
It was a long way down.
Corporal Sean O’Loughlin floated awkwardly at attention. His parents had been born in the Saffron Colony's domed city, but they had been evacuated back to the Eire Canton days before the Hirox destroyed the magnificent structure. His mother still struggled with losing her home, but thankfully nearly all the civilians had made it out. Unfortunately, her youngest brother, barely twenty at the time, had volunteered to be part of the shielding force, and his loss had never really healed. She did, however, meet Sean's father on the evacuation ship, and now twenty-two years later, Sean wore the canton's Clover Crest on his uniform's shoulder, just as his uncle had. He had seen how much others had lost because of the Hirox, and he had a few younger siblings to carry on if something happened to him, so he decided to join the vanguard. The meteors. The Drop Troopers.
This was the first assault against a world that the Hirox had held from before the war. A Hirox core world at that, thousands of light years behind the front line. This held one of their major shipyards, as well as an important command center. Luckily, some HVI the Marines had captured a few months back had seen reason and talked. The officer had given HCHQ nearly everything: access to the command nets, internal politics of the nobility, and intelligence on critical military infrastructure.
Taking this planet would at least delay the onslaught that humanity faced. It was also very likely the only mission any of these troopers would participate in, given how unlikely reinforcements were. This was a surgical strike, but also a one-way trip. They were to cause as much chaos as they could but were given a prioritized list of targets if they could reach them.
Corporal O’Loughlin floated down the line of his three subordinates. One wore a red maple leaf of his home Dominion, while the other two bore the stylized cherry blossom of the Nipponic colony of Sakura. He checked their equipment, and one by one he strapped them into their egg-shaped pods, seat facing down relative to the layout of the ship, ensuring all the systems were working. He verified the inventory of five combat drones and two recon drones each and ensured their AI assistants were up. When he was done, his own sergeant checked them, then strapped Sean in. Finally, with all the doors closed, and the countdown began.
Two minutes until launch. He prepared for his eyeballs to feel like they were about to meet his brain.
One minute. He tried to crack his neck, but the recessed cushioned cutout for his body prevented any movement. It was probably for the better.
Thirty seconds. He took a breath, and then another. As much as he enjoyed the practice drops, he was about to be in the heart of Hirox territory.
He felt the ship slam out of hyperspace. Not a second later, the countdown timer hit zero. He felt the moment the magnetic rails engaged, and then his pod was blasting towards this new world.
It was a long way down.
Scores of human dreadnoughts sat in the black outside the Hirox home world’s system. They sat with their lines of fire overlapping, making a near sphere of death that hung in the black nearly seven light hours from the sun. This was supposed to be a safe distance.
Even now, defiance and bile and hate spewed from the capital planet. Many Hirox had been willing to bow to human strength; in a culture where might makes right, the loser bows to the victor.
But not all saw that reason. Particularly the ruling caste, those who had the most to lose and those that bore the most responsibility. After the absolute purge of all humans that had been captured, humanity knew that not all sentients were redeemable.
It was graveyard still in the command center of the HCV Enola. The vessel had only been built with one purpose: to deliver the specialized munition in its hold. It held a minimal crew: half a dozen engineers and a pair of emergency firefighters. One medical officer, no corpsmen. A single missileer. And an old admiral, who had been ready to retire from service before the war had ever started over two decades prior. When the mission was over, the crew was to abandon the vessel as the autopilot flew it into a star. There was no glory to be had on this mission, but it would bring peace to humanity. It was perhaps the only path to peace not drowned in human blood, but they had made the decision to trade Hirox blood and more for it.
The missileer prepared the munition, removed all the safeties, and inserted his key into his lock of the twinned pair. The admiral drew the other from a chain around his neck and inserted it into the remaining lock, nodding to the lieutenant commander to his right. They both turned their keys simultaneously, opening the aluminum glass covering to a fingerprint scanner and a recessed button.
He nodded and pulled a communicator to his mouth.
"All hand, prepare for missile launch." His voice matched his heart: heavily laden with sadness and regret, but also resolve.
His thumb pushed into the button, sliding it barely a centimeter into the device.
It was a long way down.
The Hiroxian Emperor remained surrounded by his sycophants and true believers. Even now, down to their last system, they showered him with words of praise and assurances that they would still defeat the humans.
But in their twilight sky, they watched a single missile streak like a meteor. Like a human drop pod. Like a boarding craft. Despite the time and distance and trajectory, it was clearly visible, flying so, so fast.
Flying past Hira, past Hira's two moon, and towards the star at the center of the system.
Then they watched as the sun gave way to darkness. They felt the tremors throughout the planet and saw their two moons being ripped apart. The tidal forces shook skyscrapers until they collapsed, the screams of lickspittles and zealots just a whisper to the cacophony of quakes and the rending of glass and steel.
They watched as the stars moved in ways they had never moved before, at speeds they had never moved before. They felt their bodies be pulled, stretched, as they were dragged towards where their star once was.
The humans had fired a void bomb. A singularity missile. A warhead that could collapse a star into a black hole.
Hira, and the last of the warmongers left of the Hiroxian species, fell into the chasm left in the wake of that missile.
It was a long way down.

Basalt should be used with water shielding or at least should sometimes. This post is part one of my basalt and water enclosure.
Part 2 Water Shielding Complete enclosure
https://www.reddit.com/TargetedEnergyWeapons/comments/13yri31/water_shielding_complete_enclosure/
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HEAVY FRAME .5 THICK WALL WITH EXTRA SPACE
This frame to hold up the ceiling and for safety to keep the basalt walls from collapsing on me. It can also help to hold up the walls of basalt sandbags or poly tubing and can help to keep it straight. It could even help to hold up the water layer and to provide a straight structure for that.
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ON THE OUTSIDE
3.17 wide
2.25 ft high frame
7.75 length 5.67ft long for height 1.08 ft for the 6.5 inch thick frame on either end 1fT for .5 thick basalt on either end
and theres a small doorway around foot end which gets filled in and then door is 1.6 high and 2ft wide I guess it gets filled in then other bags are in front of it and overlapping sides and top
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INTERIOR
25 inches wide 3.17 on the outside minus 1.08 is 25 inches the walls are 6.5 inches thick with a 5.5 inch 2x6 and two .5 inch pieces of plywood equals 6.5 inches per wall 1.08 total
height 1.51ft high 7.75 inches total almost .67 ft ceiling 7 inches thick a 5.5 inch 6x2 and 2 .75 inch pieces of plywood floor 1 piece of .75 plywood
length 5.67ft
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DESCRIPTION OF THE FRAME
I first described what I wanted to to my friend who knows about construction. He told me what the frame needed to be like to be strong enough for high level of safety.
I asked if we could make the part around the head strong since it needs to support 2ft thick of basalt and 1ft thick of water and the part around my body weaker and thin but he
said it will mess it up to build to different frames and connect them. He said its stronger just to build it in the same way with the same dimensions for the entire length of the frame.
Im am being forced against my will to build it with part of the material wasted on surrounding the bigger frame instead of providing thicker protection even though I think its overkill given
my extreme level of desperation and need to go faster.
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I think he said that the ceiling would be made with a piece of .75 inch plywood on the outside then 2x6 pieces of wood under it running perpendicular to the long dimension of the structure. The pieces
have the 2 thing part lying against the plywood of the ceiling and the 6 inch dimension sticks down into the box. The Walls are made the same way but with two .5 inch pieces of plywood around the 2x6 pieces.
The pieces stand up vertically. The 2x6 sixes are only either 2 or 4 inches apart I think he said? The floor is one piece of .75 inch plywood to help hold the walls in place to help keep them from shifting out of fully
supporting the ceiling and then stressing the joints more. He said we can build it with plastic bolts to avoid using steel nails or nails made of other metals. This is nice compared to a frame made of mortar and bricks
because we can move it to different places hopefully including for testing at better places. I guess well put holes in the side of the inner plywood walls and ceiling to increase how much air the structure can hold so I can
test it for longer periods. He says that plywood offgasses formaldehyde and I read you cant coat it or wrap it to stop that. So I guess its necessary to use more expensive formaldehyde free plywood.
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The shielded person can get on a piece of .75 inch plywood with 4 mill farmers plastic on one side and the floor has greased farmers plastic on it so that the person can be slid into place without needing enough room or
fitness to wriggle in. Someone slides me in without me needing the room to wriggle back and forth or up an down and with less chance of bumping my nose Or you could lie on plywood with thick plastic on one side or OSB which
has a slick surface and the floor would be greased farmer plastic. There is an outline on the plywood and I lie just in the right spot and they push me in.
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This design makes it 6 inches wider than my shoulders which I had hope would be enough to wriggle in without really any vertical room despite my body being somewhat messed up and not being able to get exercise.
Now im thinking this give me enough room to be pushed into place but I'm wondering could I get away with only 3 inches extra at the shoulders?
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There could be 2 plastic pulleys in the corners and I get pulled instead of pushed in so it's easier.
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This structure is supposed to totally surround me in water as well as basalt. Since the water containers wont hold up under the weigh of being underneath the basalt floor and ceiling as well the water has to be inside the frame
with me so that only my weight is on top of it. So Im planning on leaving enough room to have 2 layers of large fomenteck water bags. The two layers mean they will overlap at the seems. Im thinking that each layers bags will
also be stuck to each other with tape to keep them from separating and so they slightly overlap at the edges but without being thicker then the thickest part of the bags. If there isnt enough room for two layers somehow then
the small thinner fomenteck bags could create my two layers or just overlap the seems. The interior is about 1.5ft so two 4 inch thick fomenteck bag high floor will leave 10 inches minus the room for the plywood to slide in on.
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PLASTIC BOLTS
plastic bolts 10 for $9
https://www.grainger.com/product/GRAINGER-APPROVED-Hex-Head-Cap-Screw-Nylon-4AGR8
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amazon plastic bolt $6 for 10
https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Find-Fastener-014973168261-Piece-10/dp/B003PBA2FY/ref=sr_1_2?crid=33APW3CB2535I&keywords=HARD%2BTO%2BFIND%2BPLASTIC%2BBOLTS%2B2%2BINCHES&qid=1685717324&sprefix=hard%2Bto%2Bfind%2Bplastic%2Bbolts%2B2%2Binches%2Caps%2C114&sr=8-2&th=1
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THE BASALT LAYER
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So this is a a enclosure of basalt thats 6 inches thick for the ceiling, the floor, side walls and the front and back wall. Its a complete enclosure and doorway gets blocked up after Im in it. When I made it like this I was assuming that
there was no way to make a thinner floor anyway but with the poly tubing I might be able to make it 3 or 4 inches thick using a double layer of the smallest poly tubing and save some weight.
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CEILING AND FLOOR 32.32 cubic ft 4.17ft wide x 7.75ft long frame is 6.75 plus .5 ft basalt on one side and .5 basalt on the other is 7.75 total
SIDE WALLS 17.44 cubic ft 2.25ft high by 7.75ft long outside of frame is 2.25ft high and i'm defining the walls as the height between the basalt ceiling and floor which is the height of the frame. The walls dont include
the basalt that is over the wall but is above or underneath the level of the frame which can be defined as part of the ceiling or floor.
END WALLS 7.13 cubic ft 2.25ft high by 3.17 ft long The length of the end walls are the distance between the inner surface of the side walls.
say use 4 60lb bags to block the door thoroughly 3 to 2.4 cubic ft
TOTAL
SOLID WALL 59.3 cubic ft to 59.9 cubic ft 60 cubic ft is 2.4 tons tons at 80lb per cubic ft with a solid wall 3 tons at 100lb per cubic ft with solid wall this will really at least a touch less if I make it with bags because there will be some space between the bags
no matter what I do.
POLY TUBING WALL The round shape of the tubing means that the wall won't be solid and will have some of the space empty. Ill say that if I use the tubing it will only use 80 percent of what a totally solid wall will. So if I use two layers of 3 inch tubes of basalt
then the most basalt it can use is 80 percent of a solid wall I think.
Total 60 cubic ft with poly tubing at 80lb a cubic ft is 1.92 tons at at 100lb a cubic ft is 2.4 tons
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BRAIN PROTECTION
theres .5 ft of basalt in every direction so Im adding extra basalt to reach the full thickness I want around my brain.
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BRAIN PORTECTION 1
ON TOP A 2X2ft square above brain uses 6 cubic extra ft adding 1.5ft thick total to make it 2ft thick altogether. is centered on forehead and the back and of it is about 3 inches away from the back wall of the whole structure.
BEHIND 2X2X2ft total uses 6 cubic ft extra adding 1.5ft thickness The top is level with the rest of the basalt ceiling the bottom is level with the bottom of the TIs brain and is centered on there brain from left to right.
ON THE SIDES 2x2 ft and 1ft thick total uses 4 cubic ft extra for both sides adding .5ft thick Is the same as the behind one but on the sides.
TOTAL is 16 cubic ft solid wall .64 tons at 80lb per cubic ft .8lb tons if 100lb per cubic ft using poly tubing uses .51 tons at 80lb per cubic ft and .64 tons at 100lb per cubic ft
GRAND TOTAL WITH STRUCTURE 2.43 with poly tubing 80lb a cubic ft or 3.04 tons with poly tubing and 100lb per cubic ft
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BRAIN PROTECTION 2
this is describing an additional outer wall that fits over the basalt box I already described to bring it up to 1ft thick for part of it.
CEILING AND FLOOR 15.75 cubic ft 5.25ft x 3ft
SIDE WALL 9.75 cubic ft 3.25x 3ft
BACK WALL 13.5 cubic ft 3.25x4.17
total 40 cubic ft added with poly tubing .8 tons at 80lb a cubic ft and 1 ton with 100lb a cubic ft
GRAND TOTAL 2.72 tons with poly tubing 80lb a cubic ft and 3.4 tons with 100lb a cubic ft
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BRAIN PROTECTION 3
brain protection 2 with 2x2x2ft above and behind brain total thickness .
GRAND TOTAL2.97 tons with poly tubing 80lb a cubic ft and 3.71 tons with 100lb a cubic ft
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HEAVY PROECTION AROUND BRAIN total is 63.5 cubic ft 2.35 tons at 80lb per cubic ft 2.94 at 100lb per cubic ft
4.5 ft high 5ft wide and 3ft long 67.5 total - 12 inside equals 55.5cubic ft total 2 to 2.5 tons roughly
plus 2x2 1ft tall on top and 2x2x1 on side for extra thickness 8 cubic ft total
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VERY HEAVY BRAIN PROTECTION
I did a calculation that was for protection around brain that was 4 or 4.5 ft long so my head and body would go into it 1.5 or 2ft.
The entire back wall was 2ft thick the entire celling was 2ft thick the side walls were 1ft thick. It was 4.1 tons but
. Then the section around the body would be reduced since it takes care of all of that part.
If that part is 1ft thick except for the floor which is .5 ft thick then it would weigh 2.5 tons. Total is 6.6 tons.
None of this was with poly tubing.
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THIS IS A CYLINDRICAL COMPLETE ENCLOSURE YOU COULD LIVE IN SLEEP OR WORK IN
8x8x8.5 outside
6x6x6 interior
2ft thick celling
.5ft thick floor
1ft thick wall all the way around
9.44 tons at 80lb a cubic ft
11.8 tons at 100lb a cubic ft
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LIVING ENCLOSURE WITH BACK WALL
has a 8x8.5x1ft thick back extra wall behind it for two ft thick protection in one direction
adds 2.72 tons at 80lb a cubic ton3.4 tons at 100lb a cubic ton
TOTAL 12.16 tons at 80lb per cubic ton 15.2 tons at 100lb a cubic ft
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Im guessing you can have basalt shipped to you or move it yourself for as little as $100 a ton or $200 a ton
The most you should pay even in the worst locations is about $1000 per ton I think
You can get cheaper shipping with bulk orders and perhaps cheaper if you have a buisinsess buy it for you.
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So with 15 tons it would take $1500 to $3000 in the best location and $15000 or less in the worst
with half of that at 7.5 tons it would take $750 to $1500 in the best location and $7500 at most in the worst
If a TI had enough money they could even double this protection in the best location.
You haft to figure out how to have it meet the right building codes for earth homes or whatever.
You might help it to stay up and protect it with fence posts cinderblocks and cement or bricks and cement.
If you have sandbags exposed to the sun put a heavy tarp over them to make them last longer.
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For the door perhaps you just take out a 18 inch wide 10 inch tall piece at the bottom and put some frame around it
to hold it up and then after you crawl in you block it up with sandbags of basalt. One thing you might use is basalt
blocks as the frame and you might be able to use some kind of mortar based on sand sized criva or to mix criva with mortar.
Solid basalt blocks havnt been tested yet.
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So I'm being forced against my will to use only 2 to 4 tons of basalt even though I have been planning on using 6 or 7 tons to get a full foot around my body and 2ft on the top of my head and behind it that takes up that whole surface.
So I can only make it 6 inches thick for most of it. Its a challenge to try and make close to six inches thick instead of a lot more or less than that. Its a challenge to have it overlap and to block the seams between the bags well enough
with only 6 inches thick. Iv heard that full size 14 inch by 26 inch long sandbags are about 6 to 8 inches thick when full. This already might make it much much thicker if it has to be 8 inches and I dont think they could be pushed together
well enough to erase the spaces between them. Im thinking that to block RNM possibly its more important to have a complete protection lass bad weak points in it then with physical attacks Its important for me thinking its a good test at
least ast his thickness. Use the mini sand bags in a double layer for the roof and floor but I'm still somewhat worried about blocking the cracks well enough and I dont know how thick it will be. Since I already ordered a ton of dust I need to
use that so Ill need to put it in large strong enough plastic bags and then put it in the mini sand bags. Or I could just put it in my 6x9 inch 4 mil plastic bags and tape them closed or use zip lock quart, half gallon or gallon bags from the grocery store
possibly. I could use other plastic bags. I could use small plastic bags and do like 3 offset overlapping layers or something. only one of my 3 or 4 tons is dust.
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I dont know how it will go for the side walls If i use the mini sandbags it will only be one layer thick and dont know if the spaces between then can be blocked well enough like that. The wall will be 3.25ft tall when you include the ceiling and the floor
as part of the walls height. My friend told me that's as high as you can build with round gravel and non round gravel you can build a 4ft high wall perhaps but that with normal sandbags not mini ones. I will have the plywood frame on one side and
can put water containers holding up a piece of plywood on the other side and stack them between them though. I dont know if this will work well enough.
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I had the idea of using poly tubing. This is a tube of 6 mill or less plastic that you can cut and then seal to create bags. You can just buy the roll though. So I could use to layers of 3 inch wide poly tubing running the entire length of the structure to
create first the basalt floor and then the basalt ceiling. They would be offset so that the second layer blocks the cracks in the first. I dont know if you can mush them or leave some out and then flatten them to cover the cracks better.
I could also use 3 layers of 2 inch thick poly tubing with perhaps the middle layer going crossways. Im thinking Ill put a strip of plywood sticking up 6 inches on either side of it so that it can hold in the tubing on the ceiling and keep it from rolling off the side.
Then I can put one extra piece right on top of the plywood divider to cover the gap between the side wall and the ceiling which end at the same height. I dont know how this would work for the walls. I might need the two pieces of plywood on either side. I dont know if
it would be strong enough especially if I use 6 inch wide tubing. I could fit in smaller tubes where two big tubes join each other. You can seal them with twist ties or a heat gun or a might use zip ties. I dont know what works. One benefit of using these is that
instead of a wall of solid basalt, if the tubes end up round then only 75 percent of the space will be full of basalt saving me weight. I dont understand how it isn't a problem to have any empty space in the wall at all though.
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If i put my basalt in poly tube bags and it forms a pretty non flexible cylinder then it might not matter much if I use smaller criva or 3/8 to 5/8 buttons in terms of the flexibility. Since part of my structure will only be 6 inches thick though it might be more important
to keep the rocks small and reduce the gaps between them. Also because im making a complete enclosure and trying to put thicker protection around my brain then your 1ft I I will I will hopefully be able to reduce the RNM and attacks on my brain more then you
can reduce your attacks on you head with your set up. Possibly with RNM and mental attacks blocking the cracks matters more I dont know.
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6 mil poly tubing different sizes dont know if its good quality
https://www.packagingsupplies.com/collections/6-mil-poly-tubing?msclkid=95131bb30bca15b91bc17fc492a9d4a8&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Dynamic%20Search&utm_term=packagingsupplies&utm_content=All%20Webpages

Hello all,
My objective is to develop a NN that will take in a value of y and dy/dt (of the system) along with the external force at that time instance and outputs the value of y and dydt at that time instance. Say the NN is: y'' + y ' + 4y = f(t) here f(t) is some external force.
The NN must work recursively the inputs y and y' are outputs of previous timestep and force an external input from the given timestep. and the force f could pretty much much be anything.
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This is how I am training the Network. First I am generating the data by solving the equation using ODEint from scipy and then training the NN by inputing the y, y' and f values and either correcting it to the correct values (labels) or using a PINN approach (done here). I am not getting the training result I am looking for. Any help would be nice.
import numpy as np import scipy as sp from scipy.integrate import odeint, solve_ivp import matplotlib.pyplot as plt import torch import torch.nn as nn import torch.optim as optim
def f_train(t): #Y_TRAIN = (2*np.sin(t)*np.exp(-0.1*(t-20))*(t>=20) + 2*np.sin(t)*np.sin(1.5*t)*np.exp(-0.03*(t-85))*(t>=85)) * (t < 110) Y_TRAIN = (6.5*np.sin(t)*np.exp(-0.1*(t-20))*(t>=20) + 5*np.sin(t)*np.sin(1.3*t)*np.exp(-0.03*(t-85))*(t>=85)) * (t < 110) #+ (t>140)*(t-140)*0.5*(t<150) return Y_TRAIN def dY_dt(t,Y): x,v = Y Y_dot = [v, f_train(t) - v - 2*x] return Y_dot S0 = [0,2] t = np.linspace(0,150,int(5e5)) soln = odeint(dY_dt, y0 = S0, t = t, tfirst = True) # finding y'':
y_prime = [] y_prime.append(soln.T[1][0]*(t[2]-t[1])) for i in range(1,len(soln.T[0])): y_prime.append(soln.T[0][i] - soln.T[0][i-1]) y_prime = y_prime / (t[2]-t[1]) # Centered difference scheme y_prime_centered = np.zeros(len(soln.T[1])) y_prime_centered[0] = soln.T[1][0] * (t[2]-t[1]) for i in range(1,len(soln.T[0])-1): y_prime_centered[i]= soln.T[0][i+1] - soln.T[0][i-1] y_prime_centered = y_prime_centered / (2*(t[2]-t[1])) #y_prime_centered[len(soln.T[0])-1] = soln.T[1][len(soln.T[0])-1]
d2ydt2 = np.gradient(soln.T[1],t) y_double_prime = [(soln.T[1][1] - soln.T[1][0])]
for i in range(1,len(soln.T[0])): y_double_prime.append(soln.T[1][i] - soln.T[1][i-1]) y_double_prime = y_double_prime / (t[2]-t[1]) # Ground Truth: plt.plot(t,soln.T[0], label = "y") plt.legend() plt.show() plt.plot(t,soln.T[1], label = "dy/dt") plt.plot(t,y_prime, label = "y_prime_forward") plt.plot(t,y_prime_centered, label = "y_prime_centered") plt.legend() plt.show() plt.plot(t,d2ydt2, label = "d2y/dt2") plt.plot(t,y_double_prime, label = "not centered") plt.legend() plt.show()
# Defining Loss cost_function = nn.MSELoss() device = device = torch.device("cuda" if torch.cuda.is_available() else "cpu") # Defining NN neural_solution = nn.Sequential( nn.Linear(3,25), nn.Tanh(), nn.Linear(25,25), nn.Tanh(), nn.Linear(25,2), ).to(device) # Defining the optimization Algorithm optimizer = optim.RMSprop(neural_solution.parameters(), lr = 0.01) #optimizer = optim.LBFGS(neural_solution.parameters()) y_train, dydt_train = soln.T d2ydt2_train = torch.from_numpy(d2ydt2[1:].squeeze()).to(device).float() # These are the tensor inputs to the NN: y_train = torch.from_numpy(y_train).to(device).float() dydt_train = torch.from_numpy(dydt_train).to(device).float() force_train = torch.from_numpy(f_train(t)).to(device).float() #d2ydt2_train = torch.from_numpy(d2ydt2[1:]).to(device).float() #y_train = torch.from_numpy(y_train).to(device).float() #dydt_train = torch.from_numpy(dydt_train).to(device).float() #force_train = torch.from_numpy(f_train(t)).to(device).float() Loss_array = [] num_epochs = int(2e5) delta_t = torch.tensor(t[3] - t[2]).float() def closure(): optimizer.zero_grad() l = loss() l.backward() return l for epoch in range(num_epochs): if epoch % 2000 == 0: print("epoch = " + str(epoch)) input1 = torch.cat((y_train[:-1].unsqueeze(1), dydt_train[:-1].unsqueeze(1), force_train[:-1].unsqueeze(1)), dim=1).float() predictions = neural_solution(input1) labels = torch.cat((y_train[1:].unsqueeze(1), dydt_train[1:].unsqueeze(1)), dim = 1).float() optimizer.zero_grad() y_pred = predictions[:,0] dy_dt_pred = (predictions[:,0] - input[:,0])/(delta_t).float() d2y_dt2_pred = (predictions[:,1] - input[:,1])/(delta_t).float() f_pred = d2y_dt2_pred + dy_dt_pred + 2*y_pred loss = cost_function(f_pred, force_train[:-1]).float() #+ cost_function(dy_dt_pred, predictions[:,1]) loss.backward() Loss_array.append(loss.item()) optimizer.step()
y_pred = [0] dy_dt_pred = [0.2] for i, time in enumerate(t[1:]): input_test = torch.tensor([[y_pred[i-1], dy_dt_pred[i-1], force_train[i-1]]]).float().to(device) y_next = neural_solution(input_test) with torch.no_grad(): y_pred.append(y_next[0, 0].item()) dy_dt_pred.append(y_next[0, 1].item()) plt.plot(Loss_array) plt.show() plt.plot(t,y_pred, label = "Prediction") plt.plot(t,soln.T[0], label = "Ground Truth") plt.title("Training Data Comparision") plt.legend("Train") plt.legend() plt.show() plt.plot(t,soln.T[0], label = "Ground Truth") plt.title("Training Data Comparision") plt.legend("Train") plt.legend() plt.show() plt.plot(t,y_pred, label = "Prediction") plt.title("Training Data Comparision") plt.legend("Train") plt.legend() plt.show()

This happened barley fifteen minutes ago.
I (25F) went to marshalls and ventured off to the skincare section. My fiancé came behind me, he’d finished shopping and just as I was about to step an employee came over and said be careful.
I didn’t know what she was talking about I took a small step and ended up eating shit. I fell forward slammed my knee into the ground on accident and caught myself. I tried to get up with the help fo my fiancé and fell again.
Two employees came apologizing and giving me paper towels since I was covered in oil. After cleaning myself up I noticed that where I had fell there was a huge puddle of skincare oil from a broken bottle that was pushed to the side. I never noticed the broken bottle or the oil at all.
We left bc I didn’t want to blow up in a store and cause a scene. I limped out, sat down, knee immediately started swelling in the center. Came home and showered all the oil off me (I was in shorts and a shirt so I was covered in it). My knee is weak, I can’t bend it, I can’t put a lot of pressure on it wnd it’s swollen only in the center and all my pain is coming from the center of my knee cap.
I called my mom, she told me to call an attorney and go to the doctor asap. She said the store should have had a slippery/wet sign but they didn’t (they actually ran and grabbed one after I fell).
Any advice?

When unfortunate sporting historians of the future look back on the Denver Broncos 5-win 2022 NFL season there will be a lot said of Mr Unlimited’s rather limited performances and Nathaniel’s inability to hack it as a head coach and rightly so.
However, I think it’s important to at least mention the Broncos strange love affair with the medical room. 21 players took a trip to IR, multiple key starters fell victim to season ending injuries including Tim Patrick, Garett Bolles and Javonte Williams.
And in spite of all of the depressing dog doo-doo the Broncos lost by a single score an astounding 8 times. So that’s something right?
Moving into 2023, General George Paton hired his alternate namesake and former Saints Head Coach Sean Payton for the princely sum of pick 29 in the 2023 NFL Draft (Denver also sent a 2nd rounder in 2024 and received a 3rd rounder in 2024).
Only a few weeks after the appointment of Sean Payton the NFL entered its Free Agency period which led to some big changes at Mile High.
15 players were let go to sign elsewhere around the league but not an awful lot in terms of quality.
Dre’Mont Jones, DE - Seattle Seahawks (3 year, $51 Million) Dre’mont grew into a solid contributor for Denver but I’m glad the Broncos didn’t re-sign him for the money Seattle has. By far the most talented to leave the team in free agency but only a very slight miss.
Calvin Anderson, T - New England Patriots (2 year, $7 Million) Not a splashy name by any means but Anderson knew his role and performed well when called upon, A solid backup with starter experience.
Andrew Beck, FB/TE - Houston Texans (2 year, $6.25 Million) Beck is another reliable contributor who seems to have joined a number of former Broncos in moving to Houston recently. A former Salute to Service Award winner.
Mike Boone, RB - Houston Texans (2 year, $3.1 Million) Boone is a fantastic option to have for Special Teams play, however he lacks real quality when running the ball. There was optimism when he initially signed in Denver but that appears to have fallen to the wayside as he moves on rather silently.
Graham Glasgow, G - Detroit Lions (1 year, $2.75 Million) The Broncos offensive line has been offensive to watch for years. Glasgow however has been one of the bright spots, especially when he played at centre at parts in 2022.
Brandon McMacus, K - Jacksonville Jaguars (1 year, $2 Million) The last member of the Super Bowl 50 winning team has left Dove Valley. In a somewhat surprising but expected move if you look at his declining performances Denver only recently moved on from McManus. It was the right time but it sure is a sad sight to see.
De’Shawn Williams, DE - Carolina Panthers (1 year, $1.75 Million) Losing both Jones and Williams is a slight concern in terms of depth. Although Williams isn’t as productive as his former teammate he’s certainly a steal for the Panthers as a rotational/back up. He’s arguably serviceable as a starter as well and knows the defensive staff in Carolina very well.
Eric Saubert, TE - Miami Dolphins (1 year, $1.68 Million) I forgot Eric was even on the team, his receiving qualities aren’t much to go crazy for with 15 recs and 148 yards on a career best 2022 season and his run blocking isn’t fantastic either albeit it is his stronger game.
Billy Turner, T - New York Jets (1 year, $1.5 Million) Billy was a sad loss back in 2018 when he first left for Green Bay. However he couldn’t really get started and spent large parts of the season on IR.
Latavius Murray, RB - Buffalo Bills (1 year, $1.3 Million) Latavius is the biggest loss for Denver in my opinion. The only member of the team who showed passion, drive and self respect throughout his short lived time in Colorado. The Bills have a solid contributor who will definitely fit the pound the rock ethos.
Chase Edmonds, RB - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1 year, $1.1 Million) We never got to see what Chase could do in Denver and maybe that’s a good thing if his seasons with Miami are anything to go by. I’m sure he’ll do well in Tampa’s pass heavy offence as a backup catching back.
Eric Tomlinson, TE - Free Agent Most of you have probably never heard of Eric Tomlinson and there's a good reason for that. He’s also still without a team after signing with the Texans for 15 days back in March.
Darius Phillips, CB - Houston Texans (1 year, $1 Million) Darius got a few snaps on defence but spent most of his time on special teams, a rather average contributor by any metric but does have a fair amount of starting experience in the league.
Brett Rypien, QB - Los Angeles Rams (1 year, $1 Million) Broncos fans love this guy. He’s not good at football in a practical sense and he’s likely not going to help the Rams secure any wins but he’s a really smart dude and most likely a future coach. Not to mention its fun to say “Let ‘Em Ryp” if he does ever play.
Corliss Waitman, P - New England Patriots (1 year, $1 Million) There is no chance this man will be playing for the Patriots in 2023. Punting for Denver should be quite easy compared to most of the league but Waitman set out to prove us all wrong on that one. Easily the worst punter I’ve seen in Denver for a good few years.
Lamar Jackson, CB - Kansas City Chiefs (1 year, $1 Million) Lamar didn’t really get an opportunity to feature in Denver, I’m fairly sure he’ll be a camp body in KC as well so there’s not much to add on this one.
Although we let a lot of players leave, I think we managed to re-sign the most important of all the players with contracts expiring.
Alex Singleton, MLB (3 year, $18 Million) I’m telling you now, this man is elite. His season started a little slow but he came to town with 21-tackles (19 solo) against Divisional Rivals the LA Chargers. He did a similar thing in week 15 vs the Rams where he totalled another 20 tackles.
Overall I think Singleton is starting to peak and turn into a real force in this league.
Kareem Jackson, S (1 year, $1.3 Million) Kareem has far exceeded the expectations Broncos fans had for him when he joined from Houston in 2019. Initially as a corner and later taking over a strong safety Jackson has been brilliant, his heavy hitting style has made him a fan favourite and I’m pleased to see him back yet again.
Cameron Fleming, T (1 year, $2.3 Million) Fleming was a decent enough back up for the team in 2022 that unfortunately ended up starting more than everyone would have wanted. He’s a great depth addition to bring back, let's hope it remains a depth option though.
With so many departures comes a long list of new faces for the Broncos. 13 new players joined in free agency and whilst some are better than others there’s certainly been a clear direction that Sean Payton is heading in. big men, very big men.
Mike McGlinchey, RT - (5 year, $87.5 Million) I’ve been a big McGlinchey fan since the days of his nasty Notre Dame O-Line, where he lined up alongside Quenton Nelson. Mike’s play for the 49ers whilst good has had some rather concerning points with his lack of success vs speed rushers being the overwhelmingly obvious. We’re reaching a point where McGlinchey is living off of his college performances much like Jadeveon Clowney is still renowned for “the hit”. I do believe mcGlinchey will look like a hall of famer in comparison to every Broncos Right Tackle of the past 10 years and I do believe he’ll be successful in what the Broncos want to do which is run the ball down your throat. Denver has stability at both tackle positions and that’s only going to be a positive.
Ben Powers, G - (4 year, $52 Million) The quickest path to the quarterback is the straightest. It’s important Wilson is protected from the interior of his pocket and Ben certainly has powers in that department. I don’t think it would be an understatement to call Ben Powers elite in pass pro and whilst his run blocking seems to be improving it's not fantastic. Nonetheless I think this is very similar to the McGlinchey situation where we’ve slightly overpaid but the team will have a massive upgrade at Guard.
Zach Allen, DE - (3 year, $45.75 Million) I like Allen but the concern for me here is this past year was a career year for him, and with such a small sample size of good but not elite play I struggle with the idea that he will repeat his 2022 success in 2023. His contract doesn’t appear to be overly friendly either with $19 Million in 2024 cap scheduled in the books along with half of his 2025 salary guaranteed as well.
I don’t think he’ll be a bad signing, his familiarity with DC and former Broncos HC Vance Joseph will be a good thing but for the 3rd signing in a row, and perhaps the most egregious the Broncos have overpaid for their man.
Jarrett Stidham, QB (2 year, $10 Million) I like this move a lot, Stidham is a high end back up who can provide enough of a threat to Russ that he can win games in Denver if called upon. In reality he’s a backup but a back up you can certainly have confidence in.
Chris Manhertz, TE (2 year, $6 Million) I liked the Stidham signing, I love the Manhertz signing. He’s not flashy and he isn’t going to show up anywhere with big stats, however Manhertz has consistently been an elite blocking tight end for years and its players like him that make the difference on short yardage situations.
Samaje Perine, RB (2 year, $7.5 Million) This seems to be another Sean Payton inspired move. Initially Perine was never thought of as a back who could catch out of the backfield but his year spent with Cool guy Joe Burrow in Cincinnati has shown he’s more than capable of being that guy. Working in a committee alongside Javonte Williams should bring success to this lifeless Denver offense in 2023.
Michael Burton, FB (1 year, $1.3 Million) Burton has played for Sean Payton before and that will be incredibly useful for obvious reasons. Burton has been a blocking fullback for most of his career but has shown the ability to run and catch when called upon. I like this move and its a clear upgrade on Beck.
Tremon Smith, CB/Returner (2 year, $5 Million) If Smith is only going to be a returner then I think Denver have once again overpaid for a player coming off a bad year in a position declining in value. I do think Smith can rebound and have the type of year he’s been having since 2018. Not to mention there isn’t a chance Smith can be anywhere near as bad as Montrell Washington had been in 2022.
Riley Dixon, P (2 year, $3.5 Million) Riley was drafted by Denver in 2016 before being traded to the Giants a few years down the line. Despite the advantageous altitude in Denver, Dixon wasn’t a very good punter for the team in his 2 seasons. However, in a move that shows how bad this team really has been Dixon will still be a big improvement over Corliss Waitman and thus this needs to be considered an upgrade.
Marquez Callaway, WR (1 year, $1.1 Million) Former Sean Payton disciple Callaway reuniting in Denver is a good thing from my perspective. During Payton’s last season in New Orleans Callaway managed to put up 6 touchdowns in 46 receptions. The Broncos have a busy WR room but its a room that is yet to be healthy together so this move makes sense from all angles.
Kyle Fuller, C (1 year, $1.1 Million) I don’t expect Fuller to see the field unless there’s another injury disaster as he’s arguably 3rd on the depth chart. I’m glad the team have started to add some much needed depth but there’s also a solid chance that Fuller doesn’t Fill out the roster in 2023.
Following free agency most Broncos fans felt the team needed some further reinforcements but with so few picks available to start the 2023 NFL Draft many were left wondering what kind of magic George Paton could cook up to fill the team with contributing players.
#63: Marvin Mims, WR (Oklahoma) I don’t think anybody foresaw the Broncos trading up in the 2nd round to take a wide receiver. And whilst it's not a huge need, especially with the depth addition of Marquez Callaway in free agency, I do think it's a very good pick.
K.J. Hamler has failed to stay fit and this all but spells the end for his time in Denver in my opinion. It’s no wonder the Broncos front office couldn’t resist the opportunity to take a player with 4.38 speed and a 2-year college average of 20 yards per reception. I can see his ability to line up anywhere coming in very handy in a high motion Denver offense.
What I find spectacular about Mims is his ability to genuinely do everything. He can take the top off a defense, take screens in space for first downs, and generally play well in the short, medium and long game. There'll be some minor concerns over a Oklahoma running limited route trees but given Payton’s creativity and the likelihood of being moved around to capitalize on speed mismatches I don’t really feel those concerns are overly warranted.
#67: Drew Sanders, LB (Arkansas) I think Sanders has a real shot of being the best player selected in the 2023 NFL Draft when we look back in a few years time. He was a 5-star recruit at Alabama before transferring to Arkansas in 2022. Nick Saban has since said last summer that Sanders “probably would have started” for Alabama in one of the deepest pass rushing units in college. Ultimately he starred for the Razorbacks where his athletic prowess, versatility and toughness helped him notch up 9.5 Sacks (2nd in SEC) and 103 tackles.
His ability to play inside and outside will delight Vance Joseph who will end up using him very heavily in blitz packages from both the edge and middle linebacker positions. Ultimately we’re relying on a player's superior athletic abilities to give him the edge until he learns the nuances of NFL football.
His tackle consistency vs the run needs heavy improvement if he wants to be a 3-down player for Denver at either the edge or inside linebacker positions. Part of his problem so far has been a tendency to bite on fakes and misdirections and although his athleticism has managed to shine through at the College level it won’t be as successful at the NFL level.
#83: Riley Moss, CB (Iowa) Moss, in theory, has everything you would look for in an NFL corner with the exception of real top end speed. He’s tall and rangey with good tackling instincts but there are some shortcomings which will likely affect his NFL future as a cornerback. Moss typically leaves a bit too much cushion in zone coverage which can lead to explosive receivers leaving him in the dust. In man coverage he’ll often leave the underneath to compensate for his lack of top end speed; his aforementioned tackling skills at least thrive here.
His run support is likely going to make him a real runner for the slot corner position in zone packages but his shortcomings may also lead to Vance Joseph wanting to move him to safety eventually. The biggest advantage he has going forward is his versatility otherwise he may end up as a special teams contributor only.
#183: JL Skinner, S (Boise State) Drafted predominantly for his size, Skinner stands at 6’4, hits hard and plays to his strengths. Against the run Skinner performs admirably and has fantastic angles when pursuing the runner. In coverage he’s equally as solid with the ball skills to force interceptions and pass breakups.
I can only see Skinner on a trajectory to the top and I'm excited to see him in Denver. Ultimately it will be his responsibility to cover Travis Kelce, Michael Mayer and Gerald Everett twice a year.
#257: Alex Forsyth, C (Oregon) I think the Broncos wanted to draft a center, I don’t believe that man was supposed to be Alex Forsyth. Whilst he’s good value for the 7th round, I imagine they would have rather had the opportunity to take John Michael Schmitz or Joe Tippmann. I’m not sure how this pick is going to work out. On one hand I can see him being part of the same dominant force that allowed his backs ro average 5 yards per play in Oregon but on the other hand he’s a penalty machine much like Garrett Bolles was to start his career.
Overall I think the Broncos did the best they could with the selections they had. It would have been nice to see a tackle for the first time in 6 years or another running back to support Javonte and Samaje.
My concerns with the class is that although they're talented they weren't all the biggest needs this off season.
I can see all of them with the exception of Forsyth becoming a contributing level talent with Denver and over the course of their rookie contracts.
Ultimately this is how I see the roster breaking down:
QB: Russell Wilson, Jarett Stidham, Ben DiNucci HB: Javonte Williams, Samaje Perine, Tony Jones jr. FB: Michael Burton WR: Jerry Jeudy, Tim Patrick, Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims jr, Marquez Callaway TE: Greg Dulcich, Adam Trautman, Albert Okwuegbunam, Chris Manhertz OT: Garett Bolles, Mike McGlinchey, Cam Fleming, Isaiah Prince, Quinn Bailey IOL: Ben Powers, Quin Meinerz, Lloyd Cushenberry, Alex Forsyth, Luke Wattenberg, Kyle Fuller. DL: Zach Allen, Jonathan Harris, Eyioma Uwazurike, Jonathan Cooper, D.J. Jones, Mike Purcell LOLB: Randy Gregory, Baron Browning MLB: Alex Singleton, Josey Jewell, Drew Sanders, Justin Strnad, Jonas Griffith ROLB: Nik Bonnito, Aaron Patrick CB: Pat Surtain II, Damarri Mathis, Riley Moss, K’Waun Williams, Tremon Smith FS: Justin Simmons, Jamar Johnson, Caden Sterns SS: JL Skinner, Kareem Jackson
K: TBD P: Riley Dixon R: Tremon Smith LS: Mitchell Fraboni
There’s probably one big name missing here and that’s K.J. Hamler, who I think will get cut or traded before week 1.
Moving forward into 2023 and the 2024 off season there are a few positions Denver still need to worry about. There’s huge question marks over the ability of Russell Wilson and whether he still has the ability to play at the highest level.
We’ve also got question marks at running back with Javonte Williams coming off a huge injury. Our WR room has a lot of unknowns after Courtland Suttons failure to rediscover his form after his ACL injury whilst teammate Tim Patrick is also recovering from the same injury suffered this past season.
The offensive line still needs addressing as Lloyd Cushenberry often gets bullied in the trenches and Garrett Bolles may revert under another new offensive line coach, so far Mike Munchak is the only man to get a respectable tune from the former first round pick.
Moving on to defense and there’s less issues but still big weaknesses. I’d like to see us invest more in the defensive line and outside linebacker positions with Cooper, Bonnito, Browning and Gregory all relatively unknown in a Broncos uniform.
Ultimately if I had to narrow it down the focus going forward needs to be on center, defensive end and quarterback if things will russ doesn’t improve.
Ultimately there was a lot to like about the Broncos off season changes and everything seems to be pointing towards a more successful, creative team in 2023. We look to have added steel where it mattered across the offensive line and signing Sean Payton could prove to be the biggest acquisition of the all.
Ironically, this series is called defending the draft and that’s what I’ve struggled to do here the most. I like the class, I think there’s some high impact players there for sure, but I’ve come away wishing we’d filled some other key areas a little bit better. Ultimately you can’t always have the board fall as you want it and it’s a huge improvement from the classes John Elway managed to put together.
Thank you for reading my Denver Broncos draft/off season review. I filled in as a last minute replacement so hopefully this manages to hit the right spot for everyone.

LET’S RIDE.