Toilet seat with water spray

Steven Spielberg made one of the greateat films of all time - "Jaws". An absolute masterpiece of filmmaking. A true lightning in a bottle. Rarely do we see a film reach such heights in terms of the quality of the editing, acting, cinematography, score, and suspension-building.
Now, the plot of the film revolves around three men who set out to hunt down a man-eating shark that's claimed the waters near the shores of a small touristy island as his own. What Spielberg does is to paint a mesmerising study of the men's relationship aboard the ship, "Orca". They are three different people from different walks of life who however have to join their forces against a mutual enemy.
I am hardly capable of giving justice to that film, or even its thrilling climax alone.
However, it was not until the year 1981 that Spielberg really came into his own - commercially and artistically. With, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" he actually pulled off something that would have seemed impossible at the time - he surpassed his own masterpiece.
"Raiders" is the pinnacle of adventure and action cinema alike. Set in the 1930's, the film follows an American archaeologist across multiple continents as he tries to beat the Nazis in a race to obtain the powerful Ark of the Covenant.
In my view, "Raiders", constitutes an example of a perfect film. A brilliant cast with a superb score, cinematography, editing, writing and so forth, makes Raiders stand out amongst Spielberg's works. Intended as a homage to the old movie serials of the 1930's, the film not only captures the essence of the genre, but expands upon it, making for a brilliant piece of cinema.
In my view, "Raiders" constitutes Spielberg's greatest work, and I am baffled that it's not seen as such. Why? Why would that be the case?
I wonder, would you disagree or agree with me? Do you share my view? What are yours on this topic? Would you say that, "Raiders", is by far Spielberg's best work?

Tl;dr: The All-New 2023 Accord Hybrid makes no compromises, offering an unbeatable combination of cutting-edge style, tech, performance and of course, efficiency. Watch the launch video below!
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Keep scrolling to find out why we dedicated our first megathread to this vehicle!
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• First and foremost, this is the latest generation of the iconic Accord nameplate.
• Over the last 50 years, the Accord has been America’s best-selling car.
• With this 11th generation, it’s making a record 37th appearance on Car and Driver’s 10Best list.

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The Accord Hybrid is packing an all-new 4th-generation hybrid system, powering an invigorating driving experience.

• With 204-horsepower, this is the most powerful Accord Hybrid ever.
• The new hybrid system is more responsive, offering even more torque at the press of a pedal.
• Hybrid models feature four driving modes: Econ, Sport, Normal, and Individual which lets drivers fine-tune their experience.
• Additionally, updated suspension and steering contribute even more to the Accord’s fun-to-drive nature.

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The Accord Hybrid’s sleek, new styling is at the forefront of Honda’s design direction.

• Overall, the car is longer, emphasizing clean body lines that complement a powerful front-end.
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• Hybrid models are available in a variety of stylish trims, featuring sporty black accents and available 19-inch alloy wheels.

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Step inside of the Accord Hybrid’s premium interior.

• The Accord provides class-leading passenger volume, (105.7 cubic feet without moonroof), rear seat legroom (40.8 inches) and trunk space (16.7 cubic feet).
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• All-new front Body Stabilizing Seats decrease driver fatigue. And these are available in leather, as well as heated and ventilated.

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And lastly, stay connected with the Accord Hybrid’s array of smart technology.

• All hybrid models come standard with Honda’s largest-ever touchscreen (12.3 inches), sporting a physical volume knob and Apple Carplay and Android Auto compatibility.
• Hybrids also feature a digital power flow meter in place of a tachometer.
• The top-of-the-line Touring Trim offers wireless charging, a 6-inch head-up display, and a 12-speaker Bose audio system.
• And all Accords can now receive Over the Air (OTA) software updates to nearly all computer modules, enhancing functionality and improving the ownership experience.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading Honda’s first Reddit megathread! Follow this link if you’re curious to get behind the wheel, and show our engineers some appreciation with the upvote button.

My 1 year, ~6K miles Aisin WPT-108 pump failure story:
I have a 4A-FE Corolla. Changed timing belt, auxiliary belts, tensioner+spring, the whole lot last summer. The waterpump (Aisin WPT-108) was from a reputable online shop here in Europe (Autodoc), the one with both pump halves. I checked the new pump and box just to be sure it wasn't some chinese imitation or replaced by one and sent back to Autodoc, quality was great with identical casting marks as other photo's online, and the box was unopened, bearings smooth as silk. I buy plenty of stuff from Autodoc and it all checks out.. the Gates belt kit security code matched up too. The job was done by my local mechanic who worked for a Toyota dealer across the entire 90's pretty much, so he's done his fair share of 4AFE timing belt jobs.
Last week I come to find the new pump dripping from the lower weep hole, so its the whole timing belt job all over again pretty much. No wierd bearing sounds. I did 6K miles last year if that. I'm a bit hesitant to order the same pump from the same shop again, but it really is the best option I have I guess. I'm just curious if anyone else has run into bad Aisin water pumps in general.
I was thinking maybe some hard contaminants got into the seal-axle interface and wore it down, but the original pump was mounted to the car from 1999 to last summer and worked perfectly when it was replaced (thought I'd be better off with a new pump just to be sure), I guess any contaminants would've torn apart the seals on that one too? Car ran on Toyota Red fluids its whole life so it can't be a chemistry thing, radiator is original Denso UK production, nothing's been messed with in general.
Guess this is a rant more than anything, just curious if this is part of some systematic problem or if I got hit by a freak incident. Never thought I'd get bit by some bullshit like this... I'll be driving this car on a long Balkan trip this summer in any case, gives me something to look forward to :)
I'll do my best to take this pump apart once I get it exchanged and update this topic.

I posted this earlier looking for feedback. A lot of people said it was a great list and could help them! I added a few things people recommended!
Personal Rules for Smoking💨 - [ ] Must workout before - [ ] Must full shower before - [ ] At least 100oz of water before - [ ] 4pm or later - [ ] 15-30 minutes of sun before - [ ] Walk dog before - [ ] No more then 3 days a week - [ ] Cannot go back to back days - [ ] Work/Tasks finished - [ ] Make bed/ straighten up house - [ ] Check your emotions - [ ] Snack or Meal
Previous to starting this I was a 5-6 time a week smoker with a crazy high tolerance. Before I started this plan I went 7 days cold turkey.
Adopt for your liking! Maybe you wanna have all your laundry done, kids have to be in bed, call your mom or grandma. Maybe something you don’t like to do. There’s no way weed can take over your life if you follow these steps.
After a couple weeks of this I found:

• Some weeks I didn’t even need the 3rd day
• Way less procrastination (if I want to smoke I need to be productive)
• Weight loss, down 14 pounds this month. I barley have an appetite the days I’m not smoking. Helps offset some of the munchie weight.*

If anyone tries this out I’d love to hear your experience! If you tweaked something and it helped or hurt, I’d love to know! Even if you aren’t posting publicly, message me privately!
Obviously important to keep your body well nourished, try not to skip meals, just eat less at each. High Protein, Low Carb, Low Fat is best for me

Previous
Writer's note: And things wind down.
Tune in next week for date night.
Enjoy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So you're the two Muck Marchers that we had in the healing ward?" James asked with only mild disbelief. "On all... furry now?"
"Deep Sea Assault Force operatives." Driscoll corrected as the three of them stood in the castle's entryway. The battle was effectively over, and all that was left was recovering the injured or dead while also resettling the displaced civilians to temporary housing. James and the two were-folk were somewhat unnecessary as the royal army operated like a well oiled machine.
"Not anymore we're not." Five said in response. "And come on Driz. Even we called ourselves Muck Marchers some times."
James waved his hand dismissively. He didn't really care what they called their former unit. "And you're...." He gestured at the two of them. ".... members of the folk?" He asked uncertainly.
They both nodded.
"I was almost dead." Five said, her large squirrel eyes looking down for a moment as she remembered the drugged out haze she'd been in as a matter of comfort and survival. "Weren't a lot of other options."
"And I was only a few steps behind her." Driscoll added.
"Right." James said. He'd been aware of both of their states when he and Amina had left. ""Fair. And now you're not only were's... but also armed and dressed like ninjas."
Driscoll shrugged. "Only went for the change so that I could get back at the Agency." He said with a nod at the stream of injured soldiers and civilians being brought in on stretchers. "This is a start."
"This is a shit show." James said softly. "What the hell happened? How'd all of-" He gestured at the same scene. "How'd all this get kicked off?"
"Believe it or not, that part was Vickers too." Five answered. "He smelled the golems without even seeing them. Said you fought one kinda like what was out there. He remembered the scent even though he'd still been human back then. Investigated it."
"And caught the Agency off foot." James realized. "Nice."
James smiled and nodded as he saw Veliry enter the castle next to what at first appeared to be a walking door. Then the door turned and James saw Alixan carrying it in both hands. Veliry waved him over to them as Alixan leaned the large slab of wood up against a wall.
James turned back to the two former Muck Marchers.
"Look um... I don't know what you two and Vickers worked out with the King. But get those weapons turned in with Werner and the.... well, I guess it's an armory now if we're arming our soldiers too. Then just.... I don't know, help out. Or go zonk or something. Just don't make any trouble until I know what's going on."
"We can do that." Driscoll replied. "But what's zonk?"
"Is he gonna be okay?" Five asked uncertainly. "The chief I mean. He looked pretty bad. I've never seen anyone burned like that."
James thought about it for a second. "I don't know." He admitted. "Vickers is a tough old bastard. But elemental fire is one of the few things that can do lingering damage to you guys. Depends on what the healers say." Then he shrugged. "Gonna have to get him a can of tuna or something if he makes it though." He said softly, though with their heightened senses both of the Muck Marchers heard him anyways. "Behave." He said with a pointed finger as he moved away and towards the two mages.
-------------------------------
Amina was still going over the casualty list from the "battle" when her father finally returned to the command room.
The royal guard took assassination attempts seriously, King Farrick's own grandfather had been assassinated nearly two centuries earlier and so their protocols for defending against an attempt were intense. Even with the battle over, getting him out of his bunker was an affair of frustrating checks, double checks, and triple checks. And that was before they even took into consideration the fact that the current threat was from "people" who were being puppeted by an enemy through magic. And the fact that the Guardian herself was one of the people who was supposed to be part of the process only made matters worse.
"I understand that its over." He said as he laid a hand on her shoulder, startling her out of her reading and reminding her of how tired she was. Her feet hurt, and she was reminded of what James had said about them only a few days before in a different part of the world. "Such as it can be." Her father finished.
"Yes." She replied as she placed the scroll on the table in front of her and then stepped aside so he could resume his rightful place. Then softly she said. "I don't know how many more of these we can take." She pointed at a crudely drawn map of the affected area of the city. "Our people I mean."
King Farrick nodded, then tilted his head a bit as he noticed the jar sitting on the table. Normally only water or tea, and occasionally light snack foods if a situation took long enough, were the only foods allowed in the command room. The rule was in place to prevent vital documents form getting damaged, and to ensure that nobody was intoxicated during a time of crisis.
"Are those... onions?" He asked as he pulled one out. His eyes narrowed as he smelled the, surprisingly spicy, pickling brine on them. Then he pulled one out and took a bite. He himself hadn't eaten since he'd been spirited away. Yet another protocol in case the would be assassins were also trying to poison him. "Mmmm. Bit hotter than I like. But tasty."
Amina let out a low chuckle.
"You're not surprised to see me back?" She asked.
"Of course I am dear." He said as he swallowed the bite he'd taken. "And happy. And also curious as to why."
She nodded. Then she pointed at the pickles.
"James and I have some good news." She said as she sat down in one of the chairs and began loosening her boots. She decided then and their to stop wearing boots for the foreseeable future.
"Oh?" The King wondered as he turned his chair to face her. He had known from a glance as he entered the room that the situation was, for all intents and purposes, handled for now. "And what's that?" He asked as he took her hand in his. "What could possibly cause MY eldest daughter to set aside decorum and snub those damnable southern zealots by cutting her trip off early?"
Amina smiled. Then kissed his hand.
"You're going to be a grandfather." She said softly.
King Farrick looked down at the spicy pickled onion in his hand, suddenly realizing why she had them. Then he smiled warmly.
"Well then." He said as he offered it to her. "At least one good thing happened on this most terrible night."
Amina took the onion happily and took a bite of her own. Then she watched as a drop of brine dripped off and down onto one of her boots. It landed next to some of the dried brown blood that she'd stepped in earlier, and the smile faded from her face.
King Farrick saw what she looked at and glanced over to where a few of the castle staff were scrubbing at the stones near the door.
He couldn't let his daughter stay down like that.
"Your mother...." He began as he gave her hand a squeeze. Amina looked up at him curiously. "Also liked spicy things when she was carrying you and your siblings." Then he nodded as the memory came back to him. "But in her case it was cheese. Spicy food and cheese. She'd literally wrap peppers in that creamy cheese that they make over in the Nedari peninsula"
Amina smiled again. "That actually sounds fantastic." She admitted.
The King smiled and laughed gently. Then he gestured at the room around them, and all the people bustling within it.
"Go rest now daughter." He said. "You were not even supposed to be here tonight. I'll see to the rest of this." Amina was too tired and sore to argue it, even if her soldierly instincts told her to stay and see it through.
And as she stood up her father embraced her in a hug. The room quieted for a moment, then everyone made the determination NOT to interrupt what was clearly a moment with the royals, and resumed as they were.
"I think you're going to have to go fetch cheese next. Onion boy." One of the junior officers whispered to the one that had procured the onions earlier. They said it as quiet as was possible given the room's noise level. Even as juniors they knew not to let on that they had been listening.
---------------------------
Nguyen paused to drink from the canteen he'd been given from their new supply room as he took a moment to rest. He'd spent the last few hours helping the other Earth personnel as they did the most menial of tasks needed right now, moving supplies from one spot to the other. This of course only began AFTER several of the royal guards had ensured that their weapons had been returned to storage, and that all of them had been accounted for.
When it had become clear that they'd missed the action, albeit only by minutes, Nguyen and the new ACTING first sergeant had put their people to task helping move the injured and later getting supplies distributed to wherever the Petravians needed them. In this case they were helping move and unpack large tents. A past time that any soldier who'd spent any amount of time in the field knew how to do.
What had surprised him, wasn't that they were setting up tents. It was WHO they set the tents up for.
He had expected them to be used for the wounded, or the Petravian soldiers who had been called away from their homes so they could have a place to rack out for a bit. And he wasn't wrong about that. A few of the tents were being used for those purposes. But most of the tents were being used for the displaced citizens of the city. Those tired, confused, and scared people who had already been refugees in the buildings they'd been living in. Nguyen was surprised to learn that those buildings had been hastily built for them after their previous homes had been destroyed less than a year before. For many of them this was the second time the King had needed to temporarily house them on his own castle grounds with their military tents. Though the few he managed to talk to HAD mentioned that at least this time it was summer, and that for the most part not many of their houses had been outright destroyed.
He was reminded of a humanitarian mission he'd done after the War on Earth had ended. He'd been helping displaced Floridians set up a series of conex houses in one of the resettlement camps that had been needed after much of the Florida coast had been made unlivable. If anything, he thought these tents might have been the better option.
This is what we should have been doing over here. He thought as he saw Perkesse and another soldier lifting up the central support pole for one of the tents while others kept the lines taut. We should have been helping.
"Watch out top." Someone said as they trundled along. They and one of the marines were carrying one of the large red crimson bundles between them.
"I'm not top anymore." He corrected them as he moved out of the way. "Now it's just Sergeant. Williams is First now."
"Uh huh." The Marine said as she passed, clearly not buying it.
And just like that Nguyen was snapped out of his thoughts and moving to get the next bit of work done.
There was gonna be a lot of it to do if they wanted to make up for what they'd done.
What he'd LET them do.

Part 2
It's coming, Inanna sent to him. Gary looked up from where he'd been peacefully sitting on the bench, waiting for everything to go down. He used his limited skill to push the mental connection to her into a different shape. He carefully followed the instructions Jerry had given him, adding knowledge magic in a certain shape until his awareness of Inanna's words expanded into an awareness of the area around her.
From there, he spotted Suzanne and expanded the magic further. A little love magic, a little knowledge magic, blended together just right, and he could feel her fear. There was a new fear; strong and vibrant, filling her body and making her nerves sing. But he could also feel the old fear. A face that was the source of it, as well as something the poor girl desperately wanted.
He dug into the old fear, knowing that time would slow in the real world. His concern for the girl drove him to dig, until flashes of memories, the source of the fear, began to reach him.
----
Flash. A leather jacket with the sleeves cut off. A woman wearing it, long scars running up and down her arms. The face belonged to that woman, Gary saw, as she turned to Suzanne. Even twisted into an expression of disgust, Suzanne knew every detail of that face.
"Motherfucker," she said, "You filled your diaper again, didn't you?"
Flash. There was a man. He was the biggest man Suzanne had ever seen, with muscular arms and a fat belly. The man was nice, but still scary. Suzanne liked his kind of scary, though. He had scars on his face, one of which gave him a permanent sneer. His name was Mister Liam. He had a leather jacket like mommy's, but his was covered in patches. He had a big skull on the back, and numbers and letters that didn't make words all over. Mommy used to tease Mister Liam that he hadn't earned his jacket, and Mister Liam would tease Mommy the same way.
Flash. "Where's my fucking car keys, you little shit?!" Mommy was angry, which was scary. A stinging slap that made her see stars filled her awareness. "My keys, Suzanne! I saw you playing with them!"
Flash. Mommy was asleep on the couch. It was one of the deep sleeps that she had when she put the rubber band around her arm. Mister Liam opened the door. "Hey Stace, you want to..." he stopped when he saw Mommy on the couch and ran over to her.
"You stupid bitch," he muttered, taking the rubber band off her arm and slapping her in the face.
"Why are you hitting Mommy?" Suzanne asked.
"I need her to wake up, punkin'," Mister Liam said. He shook Mommy's shoulders until she started moaning.
Flash. Mister Liam was standing over the man who'd climbed in the window. Both of them were covered in blood. The stranger was crying, like a little kid, and Mister Liam was breathing heavily. Mommy burst into the room. "What did you do?!" she screamed at Mister Liam.
Flash. Mister Liam was kneeling in front of her. "This doesn't mean we can't still be friends, punkin," he said quietly. "It just means that Mommy and me aren't going to be the same kind of friends we were before."
Flash. Suzanne curled up on the bus stop bench as the rain poured down. It took a long, long time for the bus to come. The doors opened and she got up and ran inside. Even the few feet from the bench to the bus soaked her.
"Can you take me to Mister Liam's?" Suzanne asked. The driver, a heavyset black woman, drew her brows down in concern. "Do you know where Mister Liam lives, honey?"
"No."
"Suzanne!" Mommy's voice sounded angry as she ran up. "Suzanne, get off that bus!" Mommy grabbed her by the arms and yanked her off. "I'm sorry!" she said to the driver, whose frown changed as she regarded Mommy.
Flash. "I'm sorry, Stacey, but you're not in a position to raise a little girl. She needs to go into a foster home." Suzanne looked up, wondering what that meant.
Flash. "Do we tell her?" Miss Beth's voice could be heard through the walls from where Suzanne was playing with a doll.
"Jesus, Beth. How do we tell her? It's her mother."
"She deserves to know, Percy."
"I know, I just... Let's not tell her right away, okay?"
"How long do you want to wait?"
"I don't know. Maybe until she asks about her."
----
He pulled back out just in time to catch Inanna's next words. -ou ready?
Born ready, he sent back.
Okay, I'll try to give you a head's up-Shit!
What's wrong? Gary sent.
Percy and Beth are back, shit, this isn't good...
Gary cursed and prepared to teleport back.
Shit, Inanna sent, right before he left. We're all coming to you. Me, Suzanne, Percy, Beth and the bugbear.
Gary cursed under his breath. He prepared a wet blanket and brought his sword and shield out of hammerspace.
It only took a second for all of them to appear. Well, almost all of them. The three humans and the former goddess appeared next to the illusory bed. Suzanne was crouched down, clinging to Inanna's leg with a look of abject terror on her face.
The two adults both looked startled, knees bent, eyes casting about.
"Holy shit," Percy said.
"Get the fuck out of here!" Gary barked. "Now! Now! Now!" Both of them reacted to the force with which he shouted the command and took off.
They hadn't gotten more than a half dozen steps before an indistinct black shape appeared in front of Beth and she screamed. The black shape lunged at her, and her scream turned wet and then cut off. Gary rushed forward as Inanna collapsed from the effort of teleporting multiple people who weren't in physical contact.
Beth fell to the ground, a mess of blood and meat and the shape surged at Percy.
"Beth!" he shouted as he drew back a fist and punched at the bugbear's head. The thing flashed into solidity for a second, and Gary caught a glimpse of a white, demonic face before Percy's fist slammed into it. The thing had glowing red eyes, deep creases all over its face, large prominent fangs and a head of snarled black hair.
The thing flinched at the punch and growled, a deep, inhuman sound, fading back to indistinction as soon as Percy hauled his fist back for another.
"Kill you," it intoned in a sepulchral voice. Percy hit it again, and for a brief second, Gary thought the enraged man might actually take the beast down.
Percy had a good stance, and he threw his punches from the hip, hitting hard. But the bugbear wasn't an opponent in a boxing ring. When Percy swung the fifth punch, the bugbear flashed into solidity a split-second early, its maw stretching open wide and clamping down on Percy's fist with its fangs.
The man screamed as the bugbear bit his fist right off. Blood sprayed, a heartbeat pulsing it out right as the bugbear pulled back. Gary reached the best and swung his sword, igniting it with a thought as he did.
The bugbear screamed this time, adding its unnatural voice to Percy's as the flames licked at its smokey form. The fire seemed to catch on it and the flames flowed out, engulfing it and making the silhouette more distinct.
Percy fell back and the bugbear fell on him. Gary heard his scream get cut off, and then watched his head bounce away, face still wearing an expression of shock and pain.
Gary growled and slashed again and again, each cut drawing a screech from the beast and making the flames engulfing it burn brighter. The creature jumped away, and then turned to face Gary. Its glowing red eyes bored into his and Gary felt... Something, happening.
----
"Take the shot," Boss said. Gary's hand trembled, making the crosshairs jump.
"You okay, Johnson?"
"I... I can't. It's my friend."
"Fuck it," Boss snapped. He raised his own rifle and sighted in.
"No!" Gary shouted, grabbing his barrel and yanking his aim off.
"God damnit!" Boss shouted. Chris ran up and grabbed Gary by the shoulders. "What the hell, Gary?" he asked.
"He's my friend," Gary said. "And the other one's Nat, baby!" He looked around, confused. How could they not know this?
The two running figures made it to a wall and climbed over.
"FUCK!" Boss screamed, then he grabbed his radio. "Everybody romeo tango bravo, right fucking now. Split up and get back north. We're fucked." He grabbed Rog, their RTO and spun him around. "Call it in. Mike foxtrot."
----
"Shit," Chris barked. Gary turned to see Boss bringing a spotting scope up to his eyes. Gary raised his rifle as Boss said "No way they didn't see us."
They were a couple of boys. Just kids. Running away from the men with guns.
"Drop 'em, Johnson," Boss said.
"They're just kids," Gary responded. Boss' hand came down on Gary's shoulder. "I know, brother," he said, his voice soft. "But you know the deal."
Gary sighted down the first one, but his hand began to tremble. The crosshairs jumped around, ruining his shot.
"They're just fucking kids, Boss," he said. The two figured reached a wall and climbed over it. They were gone.
"Shit, what do we do?" Chris asked.
Boss rubbed his face and thought for a second. "Fuck it," he said. "Charlie mike. Most likely, those two were just scared."
They picked back up their course. They made it almost all the way to the high point that was their destination when the first mortars fell.
"Scatter!" Top shouted, grabbing Boss' strap and yanking him away from where he'd been talking to Rog. Gary looked quickly around, spotting Chris and running in the same direction he was.
Another mortar fell behind him with an ear-splitting crunch, followed by a shout of pain that drew itself out into a scream. He spun to see Top laying on the ground, bloody. His right leg was a couple yards away, and the stump was pumping blood in a great big spray.
"Top's down!" Gary said, squeezing the transmit button on his radio.
Another mortar hit and Gary saw Rog cartwheeling through the air. This was bad, they'd dialed in directly on them. Gary froze, unsure of what to do. He looked between the spot where Rog had fallen and the direction where Chris had stopped to wait for him.
"Fuck," Gary muttered. He turned to Chris and ran, but then a mortar fell right on top of the man he loved in secret.
"Noooooo!" Gary screamed.
----
Chris' shout of "Shit," caught Gary's attention. He turned to see two small figures running away as Boss watched them through a spotting scope.
This was wrong, Gary knew.
"This..." he said. "This already happened."
"What are you talking about, Gary?" Chris asked.
"This already happened," Gary said again. "This isn't real, it's... It's a memory or something."
"What are you talking about?" Chris asked. Gary heard the suppressed crack as Rog took the shot. He looked up to see both figures mounting the wall. Rog had missed.
"Fuck," Boss muttered. "Come on, let's get the fuck out of here."
They made it less than half a mile when the trucks appeared and bullets began to whiz past them. Gary and Chris found cover behind a small shed and the others scattered. Gary leaned around one corner and dropped the man running a truck-mounted PKP before he could light up their cover.
"Shit, they stirred up the whole fucking valley," Gary muttered. He turned to coordinate with Chris, but found him laying on the ground, a neat hole above his left eye.
"Fuck," Gary said, then a hot explosion on the side of his head cut off everything.
----
"Shit," Chris shouted, causing Gary to spin. Boss already had a spotting scope up, and he was tracking two figures running away from them.
"What the fuck?" Gary muttered.
"Gary, you need to drop them," Boss said.
"This is some kind of trick," Gary said.
"It's not a trick, those two spotted us!" Chris responded. He raised his rifle and sighted in on one of them. Before he could shoot, an indistinct black figure appeared and rushed them.
"What the fuck?" Chris shouted as the blurry figure fell over both boys. A second later, Gary heard the screams.
"What in the hell is that thing?" Boss asked as it rose and began to move towards them.
"Whatever it is, fucking shoot it," Rog said, raising his rifle and firing. Gary, Chris and Boss joined in, followed a second later by Top and the rest. They unloaded full magazines into the thing, but it never even slowed. It hit Boss first, throwing him back like a rag doll with his armor and the flesh beneath it shredded. He crashed into Top and the both of them went tumbling in a tangle of limbs.
Gary swung his rifle butt into the creature, but it passed right through. A clawed hand lashed back out at him, easily carving through the ballistic plate in his armor and sending a spurt of blood arcing out. The blood passed through the creature to splatter Chris in the face.
"Gary!" he shouted. Gary stared at him, his arms no longer responding to his brain's commands to move. The creature spun on Chris and rushed forward. As the blood splashed back through the beast again to drench Gary, a word came to him.
"Bugbear," he muttered. Then he fell over and darkness took him.
----
Chris shouted "Shit," making Gary turn.
Anger flooded through him. This was bullshit.
"How many fucking times?" he asked. The two figures in the distance were so small...
"What the fuck am I supposed to do?!" he shouted. "I didn't have any fucking choice! If I let them go, we all fucking die!"
Growling deep in his chest, he raised his rifle and quickly sighted down. He recognized Jerry's haircut on the boy, a brown mop atop a face much younger than he remembered, but familiar nonetheless. But it didn't matter. He fired, causing the figure to throw up its hands and fall.
He lined his crosshairs up on the bouncing braids that terminated the cornrows of the other figure and pulled the trigger the instant the crosshairs swept onto them. That figure dropped, as well.
"You fucking happy?!" he shouted, making his teammates wince and stare at him in confusion.
"Is this what you wanted, you blurry little shit?! You want to make me fucking shoot them? To kill two fucking kids?"
Gary spun, searching for the indistinct figure. All he saw was Afghanistan, his team and two small, dead bodies.
"I did it fucking once, you sad excuse for a boogyman!" Gary shouted. He pulled the magazine from his gun and angrily slapped in a new one, stuffing the old one into the empty slot the new one had come from.
"I fucking did it in the real fucking world!" Gary shouted. "You know that, you vicious shit-stain? And I'd do it again, too. I didn't have any goddamn choice, you hear me?"
Chris and the others looked concerned, now. None of them had said a word, but Gary was beyond caring. Gary was furious in a way he hadn't felt in a long, long time.
"GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE, MOTHERFUCKER!" he roared. He glanced at his rifle, which was wrong. This was the rifle he had carried back then, not the one he carried now. He unclipped the sling and threw it down, then reached into hammerspace for his gun, but then he stopped.
Not the gun.
He drew his sword, instead. The moment the blade appeared in his hand, it lit up with an intense heat. The flames weren't even visible, only the shimmering distortion in the air. Gary felt his eyebrows and beard singing, so he called up his shield, adjusting it to block heat and claws, instead of bullets.
There was still no sign of the beast. Gary drew his shield out of hammerspace.
"You gonna make me find you, motherfucker?!" he yelled through a sneer of disgust and rage. He got no answer.
"That's it," he muttered. "I'm coming, you motherfucker. Fee Fi Fo Fum, Gary's coming to get him some."
He stomped off in search of the bugbear.

Question from introverted person. I’d love to have your insights/advice.
I’m attending a community Shabbat dinner this evening. Unfortunately, for me, it is Open Seating, and I’m attending solo.
What strategies would you use to figure out who or where to sit if you were going solo? There will be several hundred people, and I “might” recognize one or two faces but no one that’s a true friend, so basically alone.
Do you look for an empty table and just sit down and hope some nice people will sit around you which is probably likely to end up poorly because likely a friend group might just sit there and leave an empty space next to you which would be very lonely and awkward?
Do you wait till everybody sits and look to see if there’s an empty space and join (asking, “is this seat taken?”) again, possibly joining a large established friends group, and you’re the outsider? 🤢
I guess my ideal goal would be to sit with others who might have come alone or if they came with a friend or two, would still be open to meeting a new person.
(Btw, I am sure there are others that are coming solo, but the organization doesn’t let you know who they are.)
I have great social anxiety over this aspect. Once seated, as long as others are cordial, I am friendly and can make decent conversation.
Have any of you ever gone to a dinner alone where they had open seating, and how did you proceed?
Thanks for any advice!
PS No, it’s not an option to bring a friend at this point. All tickets are sold, and I don’t know anybody to bring anyway. 😰

Steven Spielberg made one of the greateat films of all time - "Jaws". An absolute masterpiece of filmmaking. A true lightning in a bottle. Rarely do we see a film reach such heights in terms of the quality of the editing, acting, cinematography, score, and suspension-building.
Now, the plot of the film revolves around three men who set out to hunt down a man-eating shark that's claimed the waters near the shores of a small touristy island as his own. What Spielberg does is to paint a mesmerising study of the men's relationship aboard the ship, "Orca". They are three different people from different walks of life who however have to join their forces against a mutual enemy.
I am hardly capable of giving justice to that film, or even its thrilling climax alone.
However, it was not until the year 1981 that Spielberg really came into his own - commercially and artistically. With, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" he actually pulled off something that would have seemed impossible at the time - he surpassed his own masterpiece.
"Raiders" is the pinnacle of adventure and action cinema alike. Set in the 1930's, the film follows an American archaeologist across multiple continents as he tries to beat the Nazis in a race to obtain the powerful Ark of the Covenant.
In my view, "Raiders", constitutes an example of a perfect film. A brilliant cast with a superb score, cinematography, editing, writing and so forth, makes Raiders stand out amongst Spielberg's works. Intended as a homage to the old movie serials of the 1930's, the film not only captures the essence of the genre, but expands upon it, making for a brilliant piece of cinema.
In my view, "Raiders" constitutes Spielberg's greatest work, and I am baffled that it's not seen as such. Why? Why would that be the case?
I wonder, would you disagree or agree with me? Do you share my view? What are yours on this topic? Would you say that, "Raiders", is by far Spielberg's best work?

Steven Spielberg made one of the greateat films of all time - "Jaws". An absolute masterpiece of filmmaking. A true lightning in a bottle. Rarely do we see a film reach such heights in terms of the quality of the editing, acting, cinematography, score, and suspension-building.
Now, the plot of the film revolves around three men who set out to hunt down a man-eating shark that's claimed the waters near the shores of a small touristy island as his own. What Spielberg does is to paint a mesmerising study of the men's relationship aboard the ship, "Orca". They are three different people from different walks of life who however have to join their forces against a mutual enemy.
I am hardly capable of giving justice to that film, or even its thrilling climax alone.
However, it was not until the year 1981 that Spielberg really came into his own - commercially and artistically. With, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" he actually pulled off something that would have seemed impossible at the time - he surpassed his own masterpiece.
"Raiders" is the pinnacle of adventure and action cinema alike.
In my view, "Raiders", constitutes an example of a perfect film. A brilliant cast with a superb score, cinematography, editing, writing and so forth, makes Raiders stand out amongst Spielberg's works. Intended as a homage to the old movie serials of the 1930's, the film not only captures the essence of the genre, but expands upon it, making for a brilliant piece of cinema.
In my view, "Raiders" constitutes Spielberg's greatest work, and I am baffled that it's not seen as such. Why? Why would that be the case?
I wonder, would you disagree or agree with me? Do you share my view? What are yours on this topic? Would you say that, "Raiders", is by far Spielberg's best work?

I’ve done shrooms twice before this trip but never at such a high dose. I was going through a really bad depression, I flunked out of school and I had no self-confidence. I tried everything from medication to weed but it seemed like those only brought me temporary happiness. I had read stories online about heroic doses changing your mindset but i knew it could either be for the better or for the worse. I decided to take my chances and consume 7 grams of albino penis envy. I made sure that I had a comfortable environment and I even played a slide show of space on my tv because space really calms me. After about an hour in, it felt like I was floating in space myself. All sense of time was gone. I felt like I could travel to any reality and any time period. I had lived a million lives. I then saw my own life in third person. I saw from an outside perspective just how mean to myself I was. I was suddenly transported back into my body but I was no longer in my room. I was in the most beautiful garden with a lake of liquid diamonds where I was greeted by Aphrodite herself who told me that I was created as the personification of beauty. She then called up 12 beautiful sirens who erupted from the water and they each gave me their own blessing. I cried so hard. It was like they were worshipping my body, but not in a sexual way. It was beautiful. I never felt so connected to womanhood in my life. I then suddenly saw myself in my 20s (I’m 19). And I thought I was the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Things get a little hazy after this but I do remember suddenly feeling like I was god and that everything that exists also doesn’t exist at the same time. Have you seen the movie Lucy? The scene where she’s able to manipulate her body into anything she thought of happened to me. I was everything and I was nothing at the same time. It was like I was the universe experiencing itself. It made me realize just how beautiful life is and that I shouldn’t take my life for granted. I need to treat the body that I’m in with just as much kindness as I would another person.

I had checked the data twice, knocked two of the scientist's heads together to make sure their brains were working, and even ran the tests myself. But it was conclusive. Unfortunately.
Walking through the halls of the Facility, heading ever closer to my superior, and probably my doom, I tried to make sure my palms didn't sweat. He didn't like sweaty palms, and insisted on a handshake every time I reported.
"Sir, we found the ghost ship The Delenora," I said, extending my hand like a weapon. Grabbing it in a firm grip, he pumped it up and down. When he let go, he not so subtly wiped his hand on his pants. Great. That was going on my permanent record.
"Where is it?" He barked.
"In, um, The Bridgewater Triangle."
"You said Bermuda wrong."
"No, Sir, respectfully, I do mean the Bridgewater Triangle, it's in the middle of the woods... in Massachusetts. It's a place where a lot of unexplained phenomena occur, we've been monitoring it for... other.. things, and found the ship."
His face wrinkled in consternation, taking on the appearance of a confused bulldog.
"And what is it doing there?"
"We don't know Sir—"
"Don't know Jenkins?" He didn't shout, the man never shouted, but somehow his tone was worse than a shout. "And what are you going to do about your shocking lack of knowledge?"
"I'll get a team together Sir—"
"A team that you'll lead personally Jenkins." Ah, there it was. My doom.
"Sir, I think I would be better—"
"Your job is important to you Jenkins?"
Part of me wanted to say no, hand in my resignation, and dance out of the room. But the rest of me knew I had bills to pay. I nodded miserably. The man in front of me gave me a happy bulldog face, and with a wave of his hand dismissed me. And that was it. I was off to find the ghost ship in the middle of the woods.
Yay.
-----------------------
A twig cracked under my foot, drawing an angry glare from the hired gun leading us. I apologized, though what he expected from me, I don't know. It's not like I was trained to walk through the woods quietly. Besides, whatever was in these woods, I think it had already heard us. After all, the man already had to shoot two things that resembled deer, but on closer inspection, had a great too many teeth.
"What should we expect to find?" The question came from the mercenary next to me, as she scanned the forest— looking for more things to shoot—I imagine.
"The Delenora was one of the last ships from the Golden Age of Sail. On its last voyage, it went missing. It was presumed sunk with all hands on board." I said, shrugging as she raised her eyebrows. "There isn't a lot of information out there—"
I cut off as I ran into the back of the lead mercenary. He sighed, and I apologized again. Motioning forward, he whispered, voice tense.
"That it?"
"No, there's some other giant ship-shaped wood structure out here," I said, fear forgotten as the weathered planks rose in front of us. "Of course this is it."
The ship was wedged into a clearing, filling it from prow to stern. We were close enough to touch, and raising a hand, I did just that, to the muted gasps of the scientists with us. It was solid at least, the moniker of ghost ship not being too literal.
"Avast!" The shout came from the deck. "What manner of people be you?"
Craning my neck, I managed to get a glimpse of the speaker, but only a glimpse. He seemed oddly hairy, but then again, if I'd been lost for hundreds of years, I might have decided not to shave as well.
"We be human," I called back, drawing shocked looks from the others. I shrugged. "What? Who says they are?"
"And where be this place?"
"Earth. Third planet from the sun." I paused. "More specifically, Massachusetts."
A litany of curse words spewed from the deck, blistering the air. My mind took frantic notes, not that I would use any of course, but you can never be too prepared. The soldiers around me shifted their hands on their guns and the curses cut off with a sharp hiss.
"I wouldn't use those if I were you." The voice had lost all friendliness, becoming cold and menacing in an instant. I motioned for them to drop the guns, something told me I didn't want to anger whoever this was.
"Is there a reason you're stranded here? This is the Delenora, correct?" I asked, as they lowered their weapons.
"Come on board, and find out." The man said, and a ladder dropped in front of me. "Just you, though, none of those others."
"Jenkins." One of the scientists hissed. "Don't do it."
But there was a reason my superior had sent me on this mission. Once my curiosity got the better of me, I'd touch lava just to see how it felt. I climbed the ladder, hands and feet moving in a rhythm that felt as familiar as breathing. A hairy hand reached out to me and dragged me aboard once I arrived at the top. I bit my lip to stop from screaming.
He definitely wasn't human. Hair covered the entire body, except for a wet nose and deep brown eyes. There was something doggish about the muzzle, yet the ears seemed more like a bat. Though his hands had opposable thumbs, the rest of the fingers were connected by a thin membrane that seemed ideal for swimming.
"Got a good look did ya?" The —for want of a better word—man said, scratching behind one of his ears. "We be stranded here, because my navigator died, and I have no way of getting out."
"This is an earth ship, something meant for water, what—"
"We found it, fair and square, at the bottom of an ocean, and we took it. We have the right of salvage, and with a few modifications, this be a good vessel for our purposes."
"Which are..."
"To find salvage." The man looked at me as if I was stupid. "Wherever in the universe it may be."
"You can travel the universe?" I couldn't believe it, it was too ridiculous, and yet the man-dog-bat-thing nodded, as if it was a given.
"Only now, our navigator's gone and died so we're stuck here. Though..." He scratched his chin. "You might be..." Reaching out with one hairy hand, he laid it with surprising gentleness on my forehead. Instantly he snapped it back, as if he'd been burned.
"Oh, ho, ho, you are! You are perfect."
"For what?"
"For navigating." He said. I stumbled back towards the ship's rail. Was he going to kidnap me? Come to think of it, I hadn't heard anyone else's voice since I'd boarded the ship. Had he done something to the mercenaries and the scientists? I looked back down to the ground, seeing their tiny faces staring up at me.
"Now then, don't be scared... Nothing will be done against your will. But aren't you just the least little bit curious about the universe?" The voice was wheedling, and I think he knew exactly what he was doing. Appealing to my curiosity, which was a difficult thing to ignore.
"But, my job..."
"Is your job important to you?" The captain—he had to be the captain— asked.
I looked at him, looked over the rail, and then back.
"No. It isn't."
"Marvelous. Then let's get going." He smiled, a dog's smile if I'd ever seen one. "Lead on navigator."
"Not sure how to do that..."
"Just wish yourself away. Anywhere, but if you could hold the idea of salvage in your mind, that would be good."
I nodded and then made a wish, a wish I had since I was a boy, to see the stars. And underneath me, the Delenora shuddered to life, lifting from the ground. Shouts came from beneath us, but I didn't care. I was finally free of worrying about sweating palms, and superiors that didn't value me. We rose up through the atmosphere, up where the air was clear, clear even of kites, until the deep darkness of space enveloped us. Even though there was no air to tell of speed, the sensation of movement crackled through the ship.
I smiled at the captain and he smiled back.
"Welcome aboard, Navigator."

I saw a list the other day on Forbes magazine saying that mobile was the second most dangerous city in the United States. If everyone's wanting to know why I can definitely give you the reason. Last month I had a roommate who completely and utterly destroyed my home. I currently have no air conditioning, no hot water, not even a pack of ramen noodles to eat, my clothes were soaked in bleach, and the money on my cash app and EBT card were stolen. The department of human resources will not do anything to investigate so I can press charges or replenish my EBT which isn't going to be refilled for another 2 weeks. I have called every local and federal organization applicable and have been told that I do not fit the criteria for people they help because I do not draw disability checks, I'm not a senior citizen nor do I have any dependents under 18 years of age. In other words I don't have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of except I'm basically sitting in a house with nothing in it. Anything of value was pawned and my floor was sitting with 2 in of water standing in it for a week. It's 95° in this house and hotter than it is outside. I've even opened a GoFundMe account and several other ideas that have flopped The reason there is so much crime in Mobile is because of this right here. There are no resources for people that don't have a disability children are fit a certain age criteria. I cannot get to any kind of job because I was sick for 10 months and that was the only reason I even took in a renter. Now that I'm able to work I can't because my car was also destroyed and because I knew I was going to be sick for a while and in recovery I did not keep insurance on it because I knew I would not be driving anywhere. I had planned to use the money after the 6 month of healing for my bills and necessities and it was stolen from me. I did press charges for assault first but the police would not do anything about damage to my property because he was a renter here and apparently that means he has rights to do whatever the hell he pleases on my property. I'm now 2 months late on my rent and utilities and basically yes I'm ready to commit a crime right now. At least in jail I'll have meals and a cool place to sleep with air conditioning. So that my friends and neighbors is why there is such a high crime rate in Mobile because the government offers us nothing when we have absolutely nothing to stand on and seek help. Churches mostly won't even consider you unless you're a member of One. I haven't been to church in 5 years and I'm not going to go seek membership at one just to get help because that would be kind of hypocritical. GoFundMe takes days and has not even verified my bank account or anything else. So what are my choices except to commit crime? Because apparently when you're a single female living in Mobile Alabama and you have no family or friends you don't matter. I have five job interviews lined up next week and because I'm extremely weak and spiraling into severe depression there's no way on Earth I'm going to be able to make it to them without nutrition or city transportation or anything else.
Next time you wonder why there are so many people in this town doing without and choosing crime over sitting here basically rotting away... Think about instances like this where people feel like they have nowhere else to turn. Rant over.

Previous / First
Writer's note: And things wind down.
Tune in next week for date night.
Enjoy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So you're the two Muck Marchers that we had in the healing ward?" James asked with only mild disbelief. "On all... furry now?"
"Deep Sea Assault Force operatives." Driscoll corrected as the three of them stood in the castle's entryway. The battle was effectively over, and all that was left was recovering the injured or dead while also resettling the displaced civilians to temporary housing. James and the two were-folk were somewhat unnecessary as the royal army operated like a well oiled machine.
"Not anymore we're not." Five said in response. "And come on Driz. Even we called ourselves Muck Marchers some times."
James waved his hand dismissively. He didn't really care what they called their former unit. "And you're...." He gestured at the two of them. ".... members of the folk?" He asked uncertainly.
They both nodded.
"I was almost dead." Five said, her large squirrel eyes looking down for a moment as she remembered the drugged out haze she'd been in as a matter of comfort and survival. "Weren't a lot of other options."
"And I was only a few steps behind her." Driscoll added.
"Right." James said. He'd been aware of both of their states when he and Amina had left. ""Fair. And now you're not only were's... but also armed and dressed like ninjas."
Driscoll shrugged. "Only went for the change so that I could get back at the Agency." He said with a nod at the stream of injured soldiers and civilians being brought in on stretchers. "This is a start."
"This is a shit show." James said softly. "What the hell happened? How'd all of-" He gestured at the same scene. "How'd all this get kicked off?"
"Believe it or not, that part was Vickers too." Five answered. "He smelled the golems without even seeing them. Said you fought one kinda like what was out there. He remembered the scent even though he'd still been human back then. Investigated it."
"And caught the Agency off foot." James realized. "Nice."
James smiled and nodded as he saw Veliry enter the castle next to what at first appeared to be a walking door. Then the door turned and James saw Alixan carrying it in both hands. Veliry waved him over to them as Alixan leaned the large slab of wood up against a wall.
James turned back to the two former Muck Marchers.
"Look um... I don't know what you two and Vickers worked out with the King. But get those weapons turned in with Werner and the.... well, I guess it's an armory now if we're arming our soldiers too. Then just.... I don't know, help out. Or go zonk or something. Just don't make any trouble until I know what's going on."
"We can do that." Driscoll replied. "But what's zonk?"
"Is he gonna be okay?" Five asked uncertainly. "The chief I mean. He looked pretty bad. I've never seen anyone burned like that."
James thought about it for a second. "I don't know." He admitted. "Vickers is a tough old bastard. But elemental fire is one of the few things that can do lingering damage to you guys. Depends on what the healers say." Then he shrugged. "Gonna have to get him a can of tuna or something if he makes it though." He said softly, though with their heightened senses both of the Muck Marchers heard him anyways. "Behave." He said with a pointed finger as he moved away and towards the two mages.
-------------------------------
Amina was still going over the casualty list from the "battle" when her father finally returned to the command room.
The royal guard took assassination attempts seriously, King Farrick's own grandfather had been assassinated nearly two centuries earlier and so their protocols for defending against an attempt were intense. Even with the battle over, getting him out of his bunker was an affair of frustrating checks, double checks, and triple checks. And that was before they even took into consideration the fact that the current threat was from "people" who were being puppeted by an enemy through magic. And the fact that the Guardian herself was one of the people who was supposed to be part of the process only made matters worse.
"I understand that its over." He said as he laid a hand on her shoulder, startling her out of her reading and reminding her of how tired she was. Her feet hurt, and she was reminded of what James had said about them only a few days before in a different part of the world. "Such as it can be." Her father finished.
"Yes." She replied as she placed the scroll on the table in front of her and then stepped aside so he could resume his rightful place. Then softly she said. "I don't know how many more of these we can take." She pointed at a crudely drawn map of the affected area of the city. "Our people I mean."
King Farrick nodded, then tilted his head a bit as he noticed the jar sitting on the table. Normally only water or tea, and occasionally light snack foods if a situation took long enough, were the only foods allowed in the command room. The rule was in place to prevent vital documents form getting damaged, and to ensure that nobody was intoxicated during a time of crisis.
"Are those... onions?" He asked as he pulled one out. His eyes narrowed as he smelled the, surprisingly spicy, pickling brine on them. Then he pulled one out and took a bite. He himself hadn't eaten since he'd been spirited away. Yet another protocol in case the would be assassins were also trying to poison him. "Mmmm. Bit hotter than I like. But tasty."
Amina let out a low chuckle.
"You're not surprised to see me back?" She asked.
"Of course I am dear." He said as he swallowed the bite he'd taken. "And happy. And also curious as to why."
She nodded. Then she pointed at the pickles.
"James and I have some good news." She said as she sat down in one of the chairs and began loosening her boots. She decided then and their to stop wearing boots for the foreseeable future.
"Oh?" The King wondered as he turned his chair to face her. He had known from a glance as he entered the room that the situation was, for all intents and purposes, handled for now. "And what's that?" He asked as he took her hand in his. "What could possibly cause MY eldest daughter to set aside decorum and snub those damnable southern zealots by cutting her trip off early?"
Amina smiled. Then kissed his hand.
"You're going to be a grandfather." She said softly.
King Farrick looked down at the spicy pickled onion in his hand, suddenly realizing why she had them. Then he smiled warmly.
"Well then." He said as he offered it to her. "At least one good thing happened on this most terrible night."
Amina took the onion happily and took a bite of her own. Then she watched as a drop of brine dripped off and down onto one of her boots. It landed next to some of the dried brown blood that she'd stepped in earlier, and the smile faded from her face.
King Farrick saw what she looked at and glanced over to where a few of the castle staff were scrubbing at the stones near the door.
He couldn't let his daughter stay down like that.
"Your mother...." He began as he gave her hand a squeeze. Amina looked up at him curiously. "Also liked spicy things when she was carrying you and your siblings." Then he nodded as the memory came back to him. "But in her case it was cheese. Spicy food and cheese. She'd literally wrap peppers in that creamy cheese that they make over in the Nedari peninsula"
Amina smiled again. "That actually sounds fantastic." She admitted.
The King smiled and laughed gently. Then he gestured at the room around them, and all the people bustling within it.
"Go rest now daughter." He said. "You were not even supposed to be here tonight. I'll see to the rest of this." Amina was too tired and sore to argue it, even if her soldierly instincts told her to stay and see it through.
And as she stood up her father embraced her in a hug. The room quieted for a moment, then everyone made the determination NOT to interrupt what was clearly a moment with the royals, and resumed as they were.
"I think you're going to have to go fetch cheese next. Onion boy." One of the junior officers whispered to the one that had procured the onions earlier. They said it as quiet as was possible given the room's noise level. Even as juniors they knew not to let on that they had been listening.
---------------------------
Nguyen paused to drink from the canteen he'd been given from their new supply room as he took a moment to rest. He'd spent the last few hours helping the other Earth personnel as they did the most menial of tasks needed right now, moving supplies from one spot to the other. This of course only began AFTER several of the royal guards had ensured that their weapons had been returned to storage, and that all of them had been accounted for.
When it had become clear that they'd missed the action, albeit only by minutes, Nguyen and the new ACTING first sergeant had put their people to task helping move the injured and later getting supplies distributed to wherever the Petravians needed them. In this case they were helping move and unpack large tents. A past time that any soldier who'd spent any amount of time in the field knew how to do.
What had surprised him, wasn't that they were setting up tents. It was WHO they set the tents up for.
He had expected them to be used for the wounded, or the Petravian soldiers who had been called away from their homes so they could have a place to rack out for a bit. And he wasn't wrong about that. A few of the tents were being used for those purposes. But most of the tents were being used for the displaced citizens of the city. Those tired, confused, and scared people who had already been refugees in the buildings they'd been living in. Nguyen was surprised to learn that those buildings had been hastily built for them after their previous homes had been destroyed less than a year before. For many of them this was the second time the King had needed to temporarily house them on his own castle grounds with their military tents. Though the few he managed to talk to HAD mentioned that at least this time it was summer, and that for the most part not many of their houses had been outright destroyed.
He was reminded of a humanitarian mission he'd done after the War on Earth had ended. He'd been helping displaced Floridians set up a series of conex houses in one of the resettlement camps that had been needed after much of the Florida coast had been made unlivable. If anything, he thought these tents might have been the better option.
This is what we should have been doing over here. He thought as he saw Perkesse and another soldier lifting up the central support pole for one of the tents while others kept the lines taut. We should have been helping.
"Watch out top." Someone said as they trundled along. They and one of the marines were carrying one of the large red crimson bundles between them.
"I'm not top anymore." He corrected them as he moved out of the way. "Now it's just Sergeant. Williams is First now."
"Uh huh." The Marine said as she passed, clearly not buying it.
And just like that Nguyen was snapped out of his thoughts and moving to get the next bit of work done.
There was gonna be a lot of it to do if they wanted to make up for what they'd done.
What he'd LET them do.

At around 2:30 today after work I caught the red line ctrain from Brentwood station to 3rd street south station. It was a crowded train, I was in the first car on the left side 5 seats up.
I must have somehow dropped my faux leather black card wallet with a red and green stripe down the middle on the train. My sons and my ID along with other important cards are in there. I’ve cancelled all my cards, but please whoever finds my wallet I would really appreciate having my ID, as well as my sons and cards.
I know this is a long shot in a big city, but you have no idea how much stress this would alleviate for me. Thanks folks.
Also I let the police department know I lost my wallet ,incase someone is kind enough to return it there.

I'm terrified of playgrounds.
Not the mild discomfort most people experience when they're too old for the swings, but a bone-chilling, skin-crawling terror that roots me to the spot whenever I see one. This fear isn't irrational, nor did it appear out of nowhere. It's the product of a series of harrowing experiences during my childhood.
It's a strange fear, I know. Playgrounds, with their slides and swings, are usually synonymous with joy, laughter, and childhood innocence. But for me, they evoke memories of a time when a sinister threat was hiding in plain sight. They remind me of the day my best friend, Philip, vanished without a trace.
We grew up in a small, rural town - a quaint place isolated from the bustle and dangers of the city. It was a time before the internet when everything seemed simpler, and our playground was our haven, our escape from the grown-up world.
But, our idyllic childhood was marred by the rumors of a white van, said to snatch children away as dusk fell. Parents, in their fear, enforced an unyielding curfew. We were to be home before 8:00 p.m. - no exceptions.
This warning echoed in my mind on the day Philip didn't show up for school. His usual spot in the classroom was empty. Confusion turned into worry when I got home to find that Philip's parents had called. He hadn't returned home the previous night.
I had seen him last at the playground. We had left around 7:30 p.m., half an hour earlier than usual, laughing nervously at the rumors of the white van. But now, Philip was missing, and the playground didn't seem so innocent anymore.
For a week, I steered clear of it. Its once inviting structures now seemed foreboding. The swings swayed ominously, the slide stood cold and vacant, and the once vibrant atmosphere was replaced by a silence that chilled me to the bone.
Little did I know then that the true horror was just beginning, a reality so sinister that I would never look at a playground the same way again…
I spent the days that followed Philip's disappearance in a haze of fear and confusion. The echoes of laughter and chatter that once filled our school hallways were replaced by whispers and heavy silence. Everyone was on edge, expecting the worst but hoping for the best.
The unease was so palpable that I did the unthinkable. Against all reason, I returned to the playground. I needed to know if I'd missed something, a sign of what had happened to Philip. It was just me there, alone with the setting sun casting long, eerie shadows across the playground.
There was something off about the place. The air was thick with an unseen tension. It felt like looking at one of those optical illusion pictures, where an image within the image only reveals itself once you see it. And then, once you've seen it, you can't unsee it.
It was around 7:30 p.m., the same time when Philip and I had last been there. For a moment, I considered staying till 8 p.m., testing the rumor of the white van. But the very thought made me shiver. It was a chilling prospect, imagining myself disappearing like Philip. My heart pounded against my chest as a cold wave of fear washed over me.
I bolted. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, all the way home. The sight of the empty playground, once filled with joy, now felt like a cruel mockery of our childhood innocence. When I reached home, my mother asked if something had happened. I shook my head, unable to voice my fears, and retreated to the comfort of my room and my video games, anything to distract myself from the grim reality.
Soon, our little town was swarming with police. The investigation, which had begun almost immediately after Philip's disappearance, ramped up. Officers interviewed us at school, their serious expressions a stark contrast to our usually carefree surroundings.
We all understood the grim reality - the chances of finding Philip were getting slimmer by the day. Each passing moment felt like an icy hand tightening around my heart. Little did I know, the worst was yet to come…
After my interview with the police, I hoped that was the end of my involvement with the whole incident. I had shared what little I knew, that we were at the playground till 7:30 on the day Philip disappeared. But soon, the school corridors were buzzing with whispers again, this time with a chilling specificity.
The rumor wasn't just about being out after 8 p.m. anymore, it was specifically about the playground, exactly at 8 p.m., and only on Thursdays. This was when the white van would supposedly show up to claim its next victim. This eerie specificity fueled a morbid curiosity among us, as twisted as it sounds. It was like the early, analog version of TikTok challenges, only, the stakes were deadly real.
Some even dared each other to be at the playground at the said time, to prove there was nothing to fear. I found it baffling, but then I wondered, maybe the police had already combed through the playground and found nothing because they weren't looking at the right time? Or maybe, they weren't seeing what only children could see.
As the weeks wore on, the police investigation eventually wrapped up, presumably without any substantial leads. The fate of my best friend remained a mystery, but our town was irrevocably changed. What once felt like a safe, rural haven now seemed like a prison, its residents held captive by a creeping dread.
Then, the unthinkable happened. One Thursday evening, four more children vanished, all at once. They were the ones who had dared to challenge the rumors. The town was thrown into fresh chaos. The police were back, and another round of investigations started. The rumors, it seemed, were far from baseless.
I felt a sickening sense of dread and guilt. I knew those kids were at the playground that night. But like everyone else, I had dismissed it as a foolish dare. The enormity of the situation was too much to bear, and my mind began to spin…
I made the decision. I had to go to the playground. I had to see it for myself, to understand what was happening at 8 p.m. every Thursday. I resolved to remain hidden though, hidden in the nearby bushes, armed with a pair of binoculars, watching, observing. The fear, the anticipation was unbearable; nightmares invaded my sleep every night, scenes of the white van and the empty playground replayed endlessly in my mind.
I was seeing a therapist during this time, someone to help me deal with the grief and anxiety that had taken over my life. The advice they gave me was to confront my fears. And so, in a twisted sense, that's what I decided to do. But from a distance, hidden in the safety of the bushes. Nothing could happen to me there, right?
So there I was, Thursday evening, 8 p.m., not on the playground, but on its fringes, peering through my binoculars. The last of the children had left around 7:45 p.m., their lingering laughter still echoing in the deserted playground.
I watched the slide, the swings, the seesaw, the jungle gym, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Just the usual playground equipment standing in the eerie silence of the night. But then, I looked back at the slide. And suddenly, it hit me like a ton of bricks.
A flash of memory washed over me - an almost photographic projection of a moment from the past, a moment with Philip.
And then it hit me, the memory almost too clear, too bright in my mind. Philip and I playing on the playground, him sliding down the slide, his Mario cap proudly displayed on his head. He loved Super Mario Bros., especially after Super Mario Bros. 3 was released. We were both obsessed. He was always Mario and, by default, I ended up as Luigi. And that was fine by me.
I remember him complaining about the slide that day, his words echoing in my mind now. "This slide sucks, it's like Luigi's slide," he'd said, referring to its green color. He'd claimed that Mario’s color, red, would make it much better. That was Philip, always seeing the world through a lens of video games.
Now, standing on the fringes of the playground, staring through the lenses of my binoculars, I saw it. The slide, it wasn't green anymore. It was red, a familiar red. The exact same red as Philip's Mario cap. And not just the color, the shape too had altered. It was steeper, almost menacing. It was as if the slide had transformed, mirroring the sinister events that had been unfolding in our town.
My mind raced back to other times at the playground, recalling eerie changes that we had dismissed as products of our vivid imaginations. The swings seemingly moving on their own, strange sounds at odd times. Now I realized, the playground had been changing, morphing, all along. And we had been too innocent, too naive to see it.
As the minutes ticked closer to 8 p.m., my heart pounded in my chest, my hands trembled, sweat making my grip on the binoculars slippery. A wave of fear washed over me, chilling me to my bones. The feeling was tangible, almost alive, a palpable presence in the air. It felt like a malevolent entity had taken residence in the playground, an entity that had consumed my best friend. The realisation sent a shiver down my spine. I knew something was terribly wrong, but I had no idea what was about to unfold before my eyes.
I stood there, frozen in fear, as two boys from my school entered the playground. They sauntered around, their voices echoing in the eerie silence, their words filling me with dread. "There's nothing here, man," one of them said. I could see them shrugging, dismissing the rumors, the fear that had gripped our town. They sat on the seesaw, swinging back and forth, arguing about something. Their words were muffled by the distance, but their casual demeanor gave me the impression that they were merely there on a dare.
I checked my watch – 8:01 p.m. Despite the primal urge to intervene, to warn them, I was paralyzed. My promise to myself held me in place, preventing me from stepping into the playground, from putting myself in danger.
Through the binoculars, I observed the seesaw and the boys. Suddenly, the air around them started to shimmer, like heat haze on a summer day. But this was different, unnatural. It was as if the air itself was twisting, spiraling, distorting the playground's reality.
As I squinted to see better, my heart skipped a beat. The boys' forms were changing, contorting. They appeared to be shrinking, their bodies becoming smaller and smaller. Then, as if following some twisted law of physics, they began to merge with the seesaw, their bodies and the metallic seats becoming one.
The sight was horrifying. Their bodies seemed to dematerialize, morphing into an alien substance that was neither human nor metal. Their panicked screams were piercing, distorted by the horrific transformation. As they shrank and merged, their screams grew muffled, suffocated by their closing mouths.
Fear gripped me, making me nauseous. But I couldn't tear my eyes away from the grotesque spectacle. I stood there, horrified and mesmerized, as the boys disappeared, their existence swallowed by the demonic playground.
With that unbearable sight burned into my mind, I dropped my binoculars and bolted. I sprinted all the way home, my heart pounding in my chest, the images of the boys' gruesome transformation haunting me. When I burst through the front door, my mom looked at me, her eyes wide with surprise and concern. She started asking questions, but I didn't answer. I just dashed past her, up the stairs, and slammed my bedroom door behind me. I locked it, the click of the latch feeling like the only protection I had against the nightmare I had just witnessed.
I didn't sleep that night. Instead, I lay in my bed, wide awake, my mind racing. I was grappling with an insane, terrifying thought: what if the white van was a distraction, a false rumor? What if the playground was the real predator, consuming the children and turning them into parts of itself?
What if Philip had become the slide? His beloved Mario cap had been red, just like the slide. The thought of kids innocently playing on what was once my friend made my stomach churn. I know it sounds ludicrous, crazy even. But after witnessing the seesaw devour those two boys, I couldn't shake the idea.
As I lay there, a horrifying realization dawned on me. The seats of the seesaw… they must have changed color. They must have taken on the color of the boys' clothes. But I couldn't confirm it. I couldn't bring myself to go back and check, not after what I had seen.
The next day at school, the boys were absent. Their empty seats seemed to echo my suspicions. Their names were added to the growing list of missing children, and they were never seen again.

Hey all
This post is as much for me as it is all of you. I come to report my 6th year since this all began, June 2017 for reference.
It’s still hard to remain anxiety-free, as I struggle with the long term worry of ALS or some other MND, but I have 2 clean EMGs over 4 years apart (most recent one was done on my more problematic side).
I currently have a fear of ankle drop as my left ankle has been super sensitive lately and is demonstrably looser than my right (I can flop my foot around by relaxing it, right one is too stiff and stays in place). But I just got home from a trip abroad in which I walked 150,000 steps in less than 2 weeks, never once stumbling, and drank more water than I can ever remember, never once choking, and ate tons of amazing food.
Is that the big nasty, it doesn’t sound like it to me, but I do still have these nagging thoughts. However, life is so much easier than it was 2 years ago when I was approaching my worst. I have effective medicine I can take if the anxiety gets to be too much. I have therapy, and I still have my support system.
One of the biggest things though was that I no longer follow this subreddit or any of the other twitch groups either. It’s been very beneficial to be away from all of that, all the horror stories and constant posts about worrying symptoms. Nothing against this group whatsoever, but I strongly advise to distance yourself and go live your life for the benefit of your mental health. Constant reassurance seeking never fixes the problem. Truthfully! This is something I learned in therapy.
Keep on twitching everybody, and please remember to try your hardest to live.

I hear people saying hot sock with rice or putting a water bottle with hot water in it but what about hot water on it like from your shower head ? Is that the same

The ice maker in .y Samsung refrigerator stopped working. In the past would build up until it stopped working and I would defrost it it with a hair dryer. Now it's stopped working totally. We can get water from the same refrigerator but no ice. Has anyone ever had this same issue?