Amelia was fast.
Jax couldn’t keep up with her. The moment she stepped out of Brynn’s inn, she vanished. He was certain that it took her longer to walk out of the room from when she first heard the aftershocks of the explosion than it took her to arrive at her destination.
Even the Forsaken Archer hadn’t yet reached the battlefield. He could see the smoke rising up ahead in between the two hills. The valley had been torn apart— an armored caravan had been stopped by a landslide, and a large crater had been burrowed open right next to it.
A legion of soldiers fled the scene, running away as fast as they could as they screamed in terror. Jax leapt over them. He barely paid them any mind. That was the expected reaction when faced with someone as insanely overpowered as Amelia.
And he was in a rush. He didn’t want to miss out on seeing her in action. After all, he had only seen her in battle against him. He never had a chance to observe and analyze the brown-haired human in a fight against someone else.
“Perhaps I can use that information to defeat her in a duel one day…” Jax whispered softly to himself.
He knew it was a day that was far off. In fact, he was very much aware that it might not even ever happen. Still, it was good to dream— to strive for greatness.
He chuckled to himself as he landed right before the valley. He saw the recognizable, billowing cloak Amelia wore just ahead. She was facing down a high-leveled [Mage] standing atop an armored wagon. Jax shook his head.
“Perhaps one day…”
—--
I stared at the woman dressed in dark robes standing before me. She looked like a wizard of sorts— she even had a long pointy hat that sparkled in the darkness. It was morning, but the column of smoke rising to the sky blotted out the sun, casting a dark shadow over the caravan.
Unlike Rokh the annoying dead guy and Seth the other annoying dead guy, I didn’t know this woman’s name. She hadn’t introduced herself. But even after seeing what I did to the both of them, she still insisted on stopping me from freeing Guildmaster Evan.
I sighed as I raised my sword. “Let’s get this over with…”
But before I could do anything, a voice cried out. I glanced back, looking at Giles— the man I had just saved.
“B-be careful!” he said as he stumbled forward. “Eloise the Dark Wizard is incredibly powerful. She’s an S-ranked mercenary— she doesn’t even work with a group because of her overwhelming magical prowess!”
Eloise and I both looked his way. Giles gritted his teeth, averting his gaze.
“I know you’re a strong [Warrior], but you must always be careful of these tricky [Mages]...”
“A tricky [Mage], huh?” The Dark Wizard tilted her head curiously. “My, my. I am surprised that that is the reputation I have gained. I am quite a direct combatant if I must say so myself.”
I narrowed my eyes as I stared at her. “You’re S-ranked?”
“Indeed, I am.” She nodded in response. “I am surprised that you could not infer that yourself. Is this your first time meeting an S-ranked individual like me?”
“No,” I said as I shook my head. I took a step forward, gesturing vaguely at her. “I’ve fought some S-ranked guys before— but you’re just…”
I paused. Eloise raised a brow. She peered curiously at me as I scratched my chin. I thought about all the S-ranked threats I had fought. I thought about the black lightning bolt she had conjured earlier— the one which I deflected to save Giles.
And I shrugged. “You’re just so much weaker than them. I thought you were only A-ranked, to be honest.”
And that made the Dark Wizard blink as Giles physically recoiled. He pointed at me, trying to work his jaw.
“W-w-what do you mean by that?” he asked, gesticulating wildly at me. “Eloise is the Dark Wizard! I’ve heard that she’s at least Level 63—”
“Well, I have no idea what level Jax was at when I fought him,” I cut him off as I cocked my head back in thought. “But he was way stronger than this.”
Eloise frowned as she hopped off the armored wagon. “Jax? Do you mean the Forsaken Archer?”
She looked me up and down suspiciously. I nodded casually, waving a hand off.
“Yeah, that’s him,” I said simply. “I mean— he’s kinda weak too. But compared to you? He’s way stronger.”
“That’s because he’s one of the highest-leveled adventurers in the entire world.” Eloise pursed her lips as she stared at me in disbelief. “Some even say that he is the highest-leveled adventurer. How could you have possibly defeated him…?”
I waved a hand dismissively at the Dark Wizard. “It was easy. I just punched him in the face, and it was over.”
“That’s it?” she asked, wide-eyed.
“That’s it,” I repeated after her.
Giles rubbed his temples as he collapsed back to the ground. He stared at me, a shell-shocked expression on his face. “You can’t be serious… right?”
“If you really want to—” I started as I glanced past the abandoned convoy. “You could ask Jax about it yourself.”
“What?” Giles blinked.
Eloise’s eyes went round as she spotted the figure standing at the very edge of the battlefield. He wore a hooded cloak, but the hood was down, revealing his pointed ears. He had a bow slung around his shoulders as his arms were crossed over his chest.
“That’s… Jax?” she whispered softly.
And the Forsaken Archer clicked his tongue. “Oi, Amelia! I came here to watch a fight, not to listen to you run your mouth!”
Eloise took a step back as she stared at him. “Impossible…”
Meanwhile, Giles just lowered his head. He looked back, before walking slowly away from me. “I… I should go check on my team…”
“Yeah, you do that,” I said flatly. I turned to face Jax as he harrumphed in the distance. “Anyways, I kicked your ass, right?”
The elf held his chin high as he scoffed. “It was a grueling and hard-fought battle. A legendary duel between the two strongest individuals in all of Vacuos! Both sides incurred grievous wounds, and it was looking like it could be anyone’s victory. But at the very last moment, I—”
“Jax.” I glared at him, and he flinched.
He cleared his throat, looking away from me. “...and Amelia prevailed in the end.”
Well, while he embellished the story somewhat, he ended up telling the truth in the end. So I nodded— not approvingly, but accepting that that was the best I could get out of him. I turned to Eloise as I gestured at him.
“See?”
“I… I…” The Dark Wizard just stared as she tried to work her jaw. Even just earlier, after seeing me defeat a pair of high-leveled soldiers with ease, she still wore a calm look on her face. But now, she couldn’t even find the right words to say.
I crossed my arms at her as I waited expectantly. “So are you still going to get in my way? Or are you actually going to do the sensible thing and step aside?”
“But my contract…” Eloise hesitated. She glanced between me and the Forsaken Archer, before pausing. For whatever reason, she seemed to stare at him longingly— as if she knew him.
However, Jax didn’t return that gaze. He just wore the same disgruntled look he always wore when he wasn’t fighting. He noticed the way she was staring at him, before his brows snapped together.
“What?” he asked.
Eloise winced. She looked away from him as she bit her lower lip. I didn’t know what was wrong with her, but that seemed like it was enough to convince her. She finally raised her hands in the air, defeated.
“I surrender,” she sighed.
“Thank you.” I nodded at her as I sheathed my blade.
I wasn’t going to question it. I was just glad that she wasn’t going to get in my way too. I walked past her as she hung her head, and I came to a halt right before the armored wagon. I glanced back once. I could see Giles in the distance, applying healing potions to his injured men, and Jax just milling about with a bored look on his face.
I turned back to the armored wagon and reached out for the enchanted metal doorway. I ripped it right off with ease as a sliver of light poured into the dark room. A figure shifted within— chained and ragged.
A bloodied face peeked out of the shadows, staring up at me. But despite the state he was in, I still recognized him. His eyes went wide as he saw me, and I proffered him a hand.
“Amelia…?” Guildmaster Evan asked.
“Hey,” I said as I nodded at him. “I’m here to save you.”

Author's Notes: Start of the new month! Just so you know, book 3 has started over on patreon if you subscribe now :) You can read up to 15 chapters ahead on my patreon here! Join my discord and subscribe to my subreddit! Or follow me on twitter!

Previous Next Read Ahead on my Patreon

As the title states we're spraying this stuff on brick: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Valspar-Masonry-Stucco-Brick-Base-4-Flat-Interior-Exterior-Tintable-Paint-Actual-Net-Contents-580-fl-oz/1000380365
Using a 515 tip, but we can't seem to get it in to all the nooks and crannies of the mortar and bricks. Anyone got experience spraying this or have any tips besides spraying it on heavy and back rolling with a 2" nap roller?

Hi Minimalists,
After the summer I'll be headed into my junior year of an American University. I've been a minimalist since my freshman or sophomore year of high school so I've been at this for a while. In my years of college so far I've lived in a dorm, an apartment, and at home on a gap semester so I can confidently give others advice. Whether you're starting out in minimalism or wanting to deepen your practice, this is for you. College is a great time to start minimalism because if you're like me, you're moving around a lot.
My University is a 3 hour drive from my house so luckily I was able to use a car to move in and out but I didn't have a car to use which turned out to help my minimalism as it resulted in smaller shopping trips. If I were flying in, it would be a different story and I would have to pack less but I had some room.
Clothing

1. Seasonal clothing: My college town has all four seasons so layering was my friend. Summers and spring I wore pants and shorts with a tank top. I have one pair of denim shorts and pants because really, who needs more? They last many wears and a basic blue or black denim can go with anything. In the fall and winter, I layered the exact same outfits with a jacket. I have a few different jackets which I'm trying to pair down. I have a huge snow jacket which I hate having because it takes up so much space. I was about to get rid of it but we had the craziest winter this past January and February so I'm glad I kept it. Sometimes you don't want to keep things but it will serve its purpose. If it doesn't, get rid of it. When I get clothes, I like to get new clothes, I like for them to have multiple purposes but snow jackets are very specific, however, it's better to be comfortable. Especially if you're walking everywhere which I was doing.
2. Underwear: While I was at my apartment this past spring semester, I realized I never used all my underwear and socks in a week (I do laundry once a week). Since I've moved home for the summer, I put some of each away in a box and used what I had. If I needed more I'd grab some but I think I've figured out the perfect number which is different for everyone. I can't really comment on bras even tho I am a girl but I don't really wear them or if I do, it's a yoga bra and I'll wear it as my shirt.
3. Shoes: If you live somewhere snowy and have a pair of hiking shoes that are water-resistant, they work in snow. I was told they wouldn't work so I bought a pair of Timberlands and barely wore them and wasted $150 on them. Recently, I bought a pair of Chacos chelsea boots. I got the black color so I could wear them to work and they'd look more professional. However, black absorbs heat so my feet always get warm. Once these have run their time I'll get a brown color. I have one pair of tennis shoes that I only wear over summer when I work at summer camps. I'm not a fan of tennis shoes but if you go to the gym or run then have one pair and only get another once they are worn out. I have two pairs of hiking sandals which I can also wear with socks in the chillier weather but I'd like to pair them down to one.
4. "Maybes": You know these clothes, the ones you just cannot seem to donate but don't know why you're keeping onto them (or you do). What I've found is I'll get a bag and put my maybes in those and put them out of sight for a few weeks. If I don't miss them, I have my answer.
5. "Maybes" pt. 2: If you move home during the summers and/or winters, I highly suggest keeping some maybes at home. When you come back, you'll most likely be able to donate it all.
6. Hangers: Only bring with you how many hangers you currently need plus maybe one or two more if you want to be nice to yourself. Once you run out, you cannot buy any more clothes.
7. 1 in 2 out: This has been my philosophy with clothes for quite some time now because clothes are the biggest struggle of mine when it comes to minimalism. Now, whenever I buy an item of clothing, it has to be able to replace at least two items I already have or be something I need but don't have yet (like work clothes).

Bedroom

1. Linen: You only need one pair of sheets, I promise.
2. Desk: I work my best when my desk if clean so all I keep on there is a mason jar with a few pens, my laptop, and a fake plant (I don't like to move around a bunch with real plants and not every place I'm in has a window with a lot of sunlight). I take all my notes digitally so I don't have to worry about physical clutter. I do that with books/textbooks as well. Unless I need to get a physical copy, I always purchase it as an online book.

Bathroom

1. Towels: One towel is all you need, I promise.
2. Toiletries: Scaling down your bathroom routine is a must. I haven't worn makeup since I've become a minimalist and it works for me and I enjoy it but if makeup is a must for you, really think about each step and if you can cut out any. Also, don't keep so many refills on hand, just go buy another when you need it, it really helps with clutter. A few things I have refills on hand. Like my deodorant comes in packs of two and my razor comes with multiple head replacements.
3. Shower: I've decided I'm going to get rid of my bath mat next semester. Why do I need one if I can just dry off in the tub/shower? Really think about what you actually need.
4. Toothbrush: This is something I've just decided to do. I have an electric toothbrush that I've used for years but I'm going to move back to a good old fashioned manual one. The replaceable toothbrush heads are like $15 a piece! Plus, it's bulkier and I always have to keep a normal one on hand when I take a trip.

Kitchen
My roommate and I split the cupboards and drawers but I didn't use half of mine!

1. Pots & pans: Get a good cast iron pan and pot and you'll never need anything else (just be sure you season them right). Maybe get another saucepan if your recipes are more complex but scale down on the complex recipes! (See my next point)
2. Recipes: I love to cook but sometimes the recipe has 10 spices, 8 different veggies, and 10 different topping choices. I'm vegan so that makes some things easier but not much. You can edit recipes. It may take some trial and error but spice it to your liking. You're not going to taste a 1/4 tsp of cumin, I promise. Also, I don't like bell peppers so if a recipe has that, I get rid of it. Finding simpler recipes has really helped my kitchen stay minimal.
3. Food: This is something I'm still trying to work on. I didn't cook much in my dorm but this past semester I didn't have a meal plan and I had a kitchen. I was spending anywhere from $200-400 a month on groceries and unfortunately I left a lot of food to go to waste. MAKE A MEAL PLAN. I love notion and made a recipe book with my favorite recipes. This has helped immensely with food waste. Also, don't get that one super specific thing for one recipe that you're only going to make once. Either skip the recipe or find a substitute. I'll use this example which doesn't apply to me but it's a good example. I love tahini and use it in a lot of things. I can go through a jar of it in 2 months. Others however may never use it but one recipe calls for it. Use another nut butter instead or skip the recipe. Or find more to use it in instead of letting it sit in your fridge and just throwing it out when you move.
4. Plates, utensils, etc.: Do you really need more than 2 plates/bowls/cups? If you have guests, get compostable reusable plates or BYOP. I had 3 of everything but rarely used the 3rd so when I go back, I'm only taking 2 of everything. I wash my dishes as soon as I'm done (or as I go) so it hasn't been a problem for me. Same goes with knives. Do you really need a whole knife block? Just get 1 or 2 quality knives and you'll never need another again.
5. Appliances: Be careful when it comes to appliances because they take up a lot of space when moving. If you drink coffee a lot, get coffee appliances. For me, I love tea so I have a kettle to boil water. I recently got a high speed blender to use as a blender and a food processor and I've loved it. I also recently got an air fryer as a gift. I haven't used it yet but I'm also scared to start haha. I just need to do it once and then I'll be familiar with it. However, if I can use that to replace having to heat up the oven each time, I'll take it. Don't get a toaster oven. You can heat up your bread on a pan on the stove just perfectly and it saves space.
6. Random shit: We all love those fancy shaped bottles and the cool fridge organizers. I had a fancy bottle last semester. Didn't use it once so it is not coming back with me next semester. Those clear plastic fridge organizers are expensiveeee. Do you really need them? Minimalism isn't about having the best organization, it's about being mindful with your stuff. Maybe you find value in those organizers, go for it! But for me personally, they wouldn't add any value to me as I can already organize my fridge pretty well. However, I just bought one of those rotating organizers because the corner of one of my cabinets was getting crowded with spices and oils.

Cleaning

1. Find a good multi-purpose cleaner and it will be a lifesaver!
2. Dryer balls are your best friend.
3. Target's brand Ever Spring has a concentrated laundry detergent and the bottle takes up almost no room and one squirt gets the job done. It's been a lifesaver.
4. Just get a broom. A vacuum takes up a lot of space and is heavy.

Living Room

1. Ngl, I never touched my living room once. I spent no time there. My roommate had some things but if you're not going to hang out there much, don't keep anything in there.

Hope I covered most things and it wasn't too confusing. If you have any other questions, I'd love to answer. If you want links to anything I mentioned please let me know!

Robert's Rebellion Theme Song: The Czar Mastodon

Don't stay; run away He has ordered assassination Don't stay; run away The henchmen are gathered and waiting Don't stay; run away Your role as usurper is found out

This is part of a series exploring the hidden motives and actions of the main players during Robert's Rebellion, named LBJ in reference to the influence of Lyndon B. Johnson and the Vietnam War on GRRM's views and writings on war. LBJ also indicates considerations over whether Lyanna + Bobby B = Jon Snow. Previous installments include:

• Rhaegar Had To Be A Warrior
• Why Did Rhaegar Crown Lyanna?
  • Ice, Ice Baby?
  • Political Suicide?
  • Was She 'A Very Kinky Girl'?
• The Forging of Lightbringer: Blue Flowers & Narrow Visors
• Rhaegar Mistakenly Crowned Lyanna
• I am not fond of fish, but when fish is served, I eat it.
• All is fair in love and war...
• Kingsguard Loyalty
• Southron Ambitions & Lies
• The Return of the Prince: Éowyn at the Trident
• Mirror on the Wall: King Robert vs. Queen Cersei

Previous parts argued that Robert Baratheon was complicit in a plot to overthrow the Targaryen dynasty. This scheme used Rhaegar's mistaken crowning of Lyanna at Harrenhal to form a believable, malicious lie that the crown prince abducted her. Certain members of the infamous STAB alliance, with assistance from the Martells and Tywin Lannister, all secretly conspired together to place a pliable pawn as king, wrestling control from a dynasty that no longer had dragons to enforce their rule. Lurid evidence was given which shows Robert had Rhaegar tortured, as Cersei tortured the Blue Bard, and we also saw more subtle hints that Lyanna herself attempted to avenge her family at the Trident, with the aid of innate skinchanging abilities.
This part aims to provide additional evidence that Robert lived up to his moniker, the Demon of the Trident, casting him as close to black as grey can get. King Robert is an avatar for all the worst flaws of Westerosi culture, a man enabled to wield massive power who yet skirted any sense of responsibility and chose to commit a mountain of moral transgressions in service to his personal desires.

Robert's face was dark with anger. "How many times must I tell you to hold your tongue, woman?"
Cersei's face was a study in contempt. "What a jape the gods have made of us two," she said. "By all rights, you ought to be in skirts and me in mail."
Purple with rage, the king lashed out, a vicious backhand blow to the side of the head. She stumbled against the table and fell hard, yet Cersei Lannister did not cry out. Her slender fingers brushed her cheek, where the pale smooth skin was already reddening. On the morrow the bruise would cover half her face. "I shall wear this as a badge of honor," she announced.

- A Game of Thrones Eddard X

The Horned Demon of the Trident

Next had come King Robert himself, with Lady Stark on his arm. The king was a great disappointment to Jon. His father had talked of him often: the peerless Robert Baratheon, demon of the Trident, the fiercest warrior of the realm, a giant among princes. Jon saw only a fat man, red-faced under his beard, sweating through his silks. He walked like a man half in his cups.

- A Game of Thrones Jon I
tenor.com/view/gaston-antlers-gif-23720815
Robert Baratheon bears a striking resemblance to Gaston from Beauty & the Beast, who imprisons his romantic interest and lies to incite violence against a rival. Gaston is driven by jealousy of the Beast and humiliation over Belle's rejection. Disney’s adaptation of Beauty & the Beast was released in 1991, just five years before A Game of Thrones was published.
Video: Gaston Beauty & the Beast
Video: George RR Martin on Writing for Beauty and the Beast
Martin has shown keen interest in Beauty & the Beast; adapting the tale for TV in the late 80s was a high point of his career. He even named his bookstore in Santa Fe Beastly Books, and named the cinema next door for Jean Cocteau, who also adapted the tale and created an earlier version of Gaston). This concept of kidnapping one’s romantic interest and blaming it on a rival to incite violence also crops up in The Princess Bride, which Martin has stated is his favorite fantasy film after the Lord of the Rings series.
Behaving like Prince Humperdinck from The Princess Bride or Gaston from Beauty & the Beast, driven by rage over the incident at Harrenhal and a family history of Targaryen betrayal, Robert lied about his queen of love and beauty and made Rhaegar out to be a beast, having them both kidnapped (with the help of his allies) but pretending otherwise as a pretext to win the throne. He then had to bury this secret, as he would lose support if it was known that the rebellion was built on such a malicious lie.
Martin is obviously inspired by Disney. In the last part, we showed how the torture of the Blue Bard, ordered by Cersei to extract a confession to undermine Margaery, is meant to reflect the story of Snow White, in which her vain and wicked step-mother is told by a magic mirror that the princess is more beautiful, leading her to send a huntsman to kill her. The huntsman takes Snow White into the deep of the wood but lets her flee, presenting a boar’s heart to the evil queen instead. Similarly, Robert is a huntsman who is killed by a boar, with the aid of strongwine supplied by his evil queen. Additional elements of Disney's Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs can be seen in parallels between Robert's only loss at Ashford and Dunk's trial at the Ashford Tourney in The Hedge Knight.
When Dunk travels to the Ashford Tourney, he recites lyrics from the Seven Dwarf's song Heigh-ho.

Off to Ashford to see the fair maid, heigh-ho, heigh-ho, Dunk thought miserably as he dug.

- The Hedge Knight
Like Snow White had Seven Dwarfs to defend her, Dunk defended himself in a Trial by Seven at the Ashford Tourney, and Rhaegar was accompanied by half a dozen companions when he went missing, enough to defend himself in a Trial by Seven. A troupe of a half dozen comic dwarfs also appear in The Mystery Knight, using pig bladders, like Robert was piss-drunk when he was killed by a pig. Dunk was championed by Robert's grandfather, Lyonel Baratheon, who defeated Robert Ashford during the tourney. Lord Lyonel later rebelled against the Iron Throne, after Duncan the Small betrayed the Laughing Storm by breaking off a betrothal to his daughter, similar to how Rhaegar betrayed Robert by crowning his betrothed at the Harrenhal Tourney. Duncan the Small's betrayal led Egg to arrange a marriage between his daughter Rhaelle and Lyonel's heir, which put Robert Baratheon in the line of succession; this family history would color Robert's perception of Rhaegar's betrayal, driving him to improve upon his grandfather's revenge.
Steffon was the name given to Robert Baratheon's father; Dunk was betrayed by red-apple Steffon Fossoway at Ashford, which led his cousin Raymun to create an offshoot branch, the green-apple Fossoways. A tender, protective Fossoway husband is used at the Purple Wedding to demonstrate how callous it would have been for Rhaegar to intentionally crown another women with his pregnant, delicate wife Princess Elia present. A poison apple brings down Snow White, after the evil queen discovers the huntsman replaced her heart with a boar's heart, conjuring up Robert's death scene which reminds Ned of his promise to Lyanna:

“Serve the boar at my funeral feast,” Robert rasped. “Apple in its mouth, skin seared crisp. Eat the bastard. Don’t care if you choke on him. Promise me, Ned.”
“I promise.” Promise me, Ned, Lyanna’s voice echoed.

- A Game of Thrones Eddard XIII
"The quarrel between Green and Red Apple Fossoway in the Hedge Knight story is another example of 'discordant apples'... At a tournament of all places." - The Blue Rose of Discord by u/Bronze_Age_472

The reason for the Trojan War according to myth, was a beauty contest. Three contestants were seeking someone to judge their beauty; Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. Aphrodite won the contest, but only after she bribed Paris with Helen wife of Menelaus. Paris the judge, votes for Aphrodite by giving her an Apple. The other goddesses were furious and the conflict escalated out of control. The Greeks rallied around Menelaus and went to war with Troy.
The Blue Rose is a metaphorical "apple of discord". Like the apple of discord, it is nothing by itself, but in the right context leads to a larger conflict. It symbolizes how small things can create huge conflicts, how things quickly spin out of control. When Rhaegar gave the crown to Lyanna, nobody was happy... Just like the Judgement of Paris right before the Trojan War.

Like Rhaegar and Lyanna are often compared to Paris and Helen, figures of the mythical Trojan War, Robert is clearly meant to be considered relative to a maiden's fantasy, such as Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs or Beauty & the Beast:

Would that Ned had been able to say the same. Fifteen years past, when they had ridden forth to win a throne, the Lord of Storm’s End had been clean-shaven, clear-eyed, and muscled like a maiden’s fantasy. Six and a half feet tall, he towered over lesser men, and when he donned his armor and the great antlered helmet of his House, he became a veritable giant. He’d had a giant’s strength too, his weapon of choice a spiked iron warhammer that Ned could scarcely lift. In those days, the smell of leather and blood had clung to him like perfume.

- A Game of Thrones Eddard I
In the last part, we used the evil queen's magic mirror from Snow White to provide insight into Robert through Cersei. Like he projected Lyanna onto Cersei on their wedding night, Robert projects his own actions onto Rhaegar, while caressing the cheek of Lyanna's statue and secretly lamenting to himself that he was with her sexually just once:

The king touched her cheek, his fingers brushing across the rough stone as gently as if it were living flesh. “I vowed to kill Rhaegar for what he did to her.”
“You did,” Ned reminded him.
“Only once,” Robert said bitterly.

- A Game of Thrones Eddard I
This subtext is mirrored by Jon Connington's love for Rhaegar, as he laments that Rhaegar ass-ended his tower only once. Connington then states that all the women cried to Rhaegar's music, like Lyanna cried at Harrenhal, reinforcing the link between this passage and the scene in the crypts.

Yet when they parted, Jon Connington did not go to the sept. Instead his steps led him up to the roof of the east tower, the tallest at Griffin's Roost. As he climbed he remembered past ascents—a hundred with his lord father, who liked to stand and look out over woods and crags and sea and know that all he saw belonged to House Connington, and one (only one!) with Rhaegar Targaryen. Prince Rhaegar was returning from Dorne, and he and his escort had lingered here a fortnight. He was so young then, and I was younger. Boys, the both of us. At the welcoming feast, the prince had taken up his silver-stringed harp and played for them. A song of love and doom, Jon Connington recalled, and every woman in the hall was weeping when he put down the harp. Not the men, of course. Particularly not his own father, whose only love was land. Lord Armond Connington spent the entire evening trying to win the prince to his side in his dispute with Lord Morrigen.

- A Dance with Dragons The Griffon Reborn
Robert's false accusation of rape mirrors Lord Mathis Rowan's daughter's lie which landed Dareon, a singer and harpist, like Rhaegar, on the Wall.

It made her angry to see Dareon sitting there so brazen, making eyes at Lanna as his fingers danced across the harp strings.

_

He is a man of the Night's Watch, she thought, as he sang about some stupid lady throwing herself off some stupid tower because her stupid prince was dead. The lady should go kill the ones who killed her prince. And the singer should be on the Wall.

- A Feast for Crows Cat of the Canals
Jon Snow ends up at the Wall as an indirect consequence of Rhaegar being falsely accused of the rape of Lyanna. Jon later betrays the Watch to save (fake) Arya and is murdered as a result, like Arya murders Dareon for desertion; if she understood why Dareon took the black, maybe she'd be more forgiving of his betrayal. She might not be, because of the same conditioning that prevents Ned from showing mercy to Gared after he was chased south of the Wall by a direwolf. Likewise, if Rhaegar told Robert that he crowned Lyanna by mistake, Robert would still be unable to forgive the public humiliation he suffered as a result. And so despite Rhaegar's willingness to defend himself in a Trial by Seven, Robert went along with the rebel's plot to overthrow the Targaryen dynasty, which involved abducting both Rhaegar and Lyanna, and stashing her in a tower for the duration of the rebellion.

He found himself thinking of Robert more and more. He saw the king as he had been in the flower of his youth, tall and handsome, his great antlered helm on his head, his warhammer in hand, sitting his horse like a horned god. He heard his laughter in the dark, saw his eyes, blue and clear as mountain lakes. “Look at us, Ned,” Robert said. “Gods, how did we come to this? You here, and me killed by a pig. We won a throne together …”

- A Game of Thrones Eddard XV
Horny as ever and near the tower of joy, travelling alone to maintain his secrets, Robert sought out his lady love after his only defeat at Ashford; fear of death has a way of driving men back into the womb. Robert claimed Lyanna at the tower she was imprisoned in, and she used his hunting knife, the one given to him as a gift from Jon Arryn, to defend herself.
Remember what Ygritte told Jon Snow, outside of the tower Queenscrown?

“A man can own a woman or a man can own a knife,” Ygritte told him, “but no man can own both. Every little girl learns that from her mother.”

- A Storm of Swords Jon V
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A teenage human trafficking victim who was initially charged with first-degree murder after she stabbed her accused rapist to death was sentenced Tuesday in an Iowa court to five years of closely supervised probation and ordered to pay $150,000 restitution to the man’s family.

Speaking of knives...
★ King Robert sent the Catspaw by u/M_Tootles:

• In this scenario, Robert’s “mad”, wine-soaked “master plan” was to arm his mercy-dealing catspaw with a Valyrian steel and dragonbone dagger for which he personally had no use but which he decided in his pie-eyed state would, when intentionally left at the scene of Bran’s unfortunate but ultimately justifiable end, look like the “signature” of a retribution-seeking Targaryen sympathizer, for It Was Known that the Targaryens hated not just Robert, but also Ned Stark, one of “the Usurper’s Dogs” whom they held personally responsible for the murder of Rhaegar’s children.
• And then there is the tourney he throws in honor of Ned, whose prizes just so happen to add up to exactly one thousand gold dragons for every silver stag the catspaw was paid, which looks an awful lot like the act of a man suffering from a guilty conscience. As does Robert drinking and hunting himself to death.

If blaming a Targaryen for his own misdeeds worked once, why wouldn’t Robert try it again?

This was something else: poison in the dark, a knife thrust to the soul. This he could never forgive, no more than he had forgiven Rhaegar. He will kill them all, Ned realized.

- A Game of Thrones Eddard XII
Sometime after his loss at Ashford, Robert appeared at Stoney Sept wounded and alone, while waiting for Ned to bring reinforcements from the North.

He had lost it all at Stoney Sept, in his arrogance.
Robert Baratheon had been hiding somewhere in the town, wounded and alone. Jon Connington had known that, and he had also known that Robert's head upon a spear would have put an end to the rebellion, then and there. He was young and full of pride. How not? King Aerys had named him Hand and given him an army, and he meant to prove himself worthy of that trust, of Rhaegar's love. He would slay the rebel lord himself and carve a place out for himself in all the histories of the Seven Kingdoms.

- A Dance with Dragons The Griffin Reborn
Robert fathered his bastard Bella in a brothel before the Battle of the Bells, a nod to Belle from Beauty & the Beast. This is just one of many acts that depicts his bestial nature; despite being in the midst of a war he claims to be fighting for Lyanna, Robert still found time to fuck all the whores at the Peach:

As she sat in the common room in her stupid girl clothes, Arya remembered what Syrio Forel had told her, the trick of looking and seeing what was there. When she looked, she saw more serving wenches than any inn could want, and most of them young and comely. And come evenfall, lots of men started coming and going at the Peach. They did not linger long in the common room, not even when Tom took out his woodharp and began to sing “Six Maids in a Pool.” The wooden steps were old and steep, and creaked something fierce whenever one of the men took a girl upstairs. “I bet this is a brothel,” she whispered to Gendry.
“You don’t even know what a brothel is.”
“I do so,” she insisted. “It’s like an inn, with girls.”
He was turning red again. “What are you doing here, then?” he demanded. “A brothel’s no fit place for no bloody highborn lady, everybody knows that.”
One of the girls sat down on the bench beside him. “Who’s a highborn lady? The little skinny one?” She looked at Arya and laughed. “I’m a king’s daughter myself.”
Arya knew she was being mocked. “You are not.”
“Well, I might be.” When the girl shrugged, her gown slipped off one shoulder. “They say King Robert fucked my mother when he hid here, back before the battle. Not that he didn’t have all the other girls too, but Leslyn says he liked my ma the best.”
The girl did have hair like the old king’s, Arya thought; a great thick mop of it, as black as coal. That doesn’t mean anything, though. Gendry has the same kind of hair too. Lots of people have black hair.
“I’m named Bella,” the girl told Gendry. “For the battle. I bet I could ring your bell, too. You want to?”

- A Storm of Swords Arya V
This bestial nature and Ned's willingness to enable it is put on full display when Robert returns to the Trident in A Game of Thrones. Robert allows Lady and Mycah to be killed as vengeance for Joffrey’s injury, despite later admitting he knew his heir was lying. Joffrey sustained this injury at the Trident because he drunkenly misperceived the fight between Arya and the butcher’s boy, and cruelly acted on his ‘chivalric duty’ to defend noble ladies. Likewise, Robert (and everyone else) misperceived Rhaegar’s intent when he crowned Lyanna, and his fervor for vengeance led him to go along with a plot to abduct her and pin the blame on Rhaegar, like Joffrey lied about what transpired during the fight. Both Lady the direwolf and wolf-blooded Lyanna were held accountable for crimes they were innocent of; Lyanna’s crowning may have suggested to Robert that she actively enticed Rhaegar, like rape victims are routinely scrutinized for their attire and other non-sexual behaviors to suggest they somehow invited their rapes. Ned went along with these obviously unjust actions, out of loyalty to his friend and king, and to prevent further harm to his family.

All Ned could do was take her in his arms and hold her while she wept. He looked across the room at Robert. His old friend, closer than any brother. “Please, Robert. For the love you bear me. For the love you bore my sister. Please.”
The king looked at them for a long moment, then turned his eyes on his wife.
“Damn you, Cersei,” he said with loathing.
Ned stood, gently disengaging himself from Sansa’s grasp. All the weariness of the past four days had returned to him. “Do it yourself then, Robert,” he said in a voice cold and sharp as steel. “At least have the courage to do it yourself.”
Robert looked at Ned with flat, dead eyes and left without a word, his footsteps heavy as lead. Silence filled the hall.
“Where is the direwolf?” Cersei Lannister asked when her husband was gone. Beside her, Prince Joffrey was smiling.
“The beast is chained up outside the gatehouse, Your Grace,” Ser Barristan Selmy answered reluctantly.
“Send for Ilyn Payne.”
“No,” Ned said. “Jory, take the girls back to their rooms and bring me Ice.” The words tasted of bile in his throat, but he forced them out. “If it must be done, I will do it.”
Cersei Lannister regarded him suspiciously. “You, Stark? Is this some trick? Why would you do such a thing?”
They were all staring at him, but it was Sansa’s look that cut. “She is of the north. She deserves better than a butcher.”
He left the room with his eyes burning and his daughter’s wails echoing in his ears, and found the direwolf pup where they chained her. Ned sat beside her for a while. “Lady,” he said, tasting the name. He had never paid much attention to the names the children had picked, but looking at her now, he knew that Sansa had chosen well. She was the smallest of the litter, the prettiest, the most gentle and trusting. She looked at him with bright golden eyes, and he ruffled her thick grey fur.
Shortly, Jory brought him Ice.
When it was over, he said, “Choose four men and have them take the body north. Bury her at Winterfell.”
“All that way?” Jory said, astonished.
“All that way,” Ned affirmed. “The Lannister woman shall never have this skin.”
He was walking back to the tower to give himself up to sleep at last when Sandor Clegane and his riders came pounding through the castle gate, back from their hunt.
There was something slung over the back of his destrier, a heavy shape wrapped in a bloody cloak. “No sign of your daughter, Hand,” the Hound rasped down, “but the day was not wholly wasted. We got her little pet.” He reached back and shoved the burden off, and it fell with a thump in front of Ned.
Bending, Ned pulled back the cloak, dreading the words he would have to find for Arya, but it was not Nymeria after all. It was the butcher’s boy, Mycah, his body covered in dried blood. He had been cut almost in half from shoulder to waist by some terrible blow struck from above.
“You rode him down,” Ned said.
The Hound’s eyes seemed to glitter through the steel of that hideous dog’s-head helm. “He ran.” He looked at Ned’s face and laughed. “But not very fast.”

- A Game of Thrones Eddard III
Most assume Gregor Clegane is the giant in armor made of stone in Bran’s vision of the Trident… yet he wasn’t present during the events Bran envisions. This dark shadow is a better fit for Robert, a veritable giant who won the throne at the Trident, who is first introduced as having gained eight stone, with a girth to match his height (like a mountain), and whose blood turns black when he is mortally wounded by a boar.

He looked south, and saw the great blue-green rush of the Trident. He saw his father pleading with the king, his face etched with grief. He saw Sansa crying herself to sleep at night, and he saw Arya watching in silence and holding her secrets hard in her heart. There were shadows all around them. One shadow was dark as ash, with the terrible face of a hound. Another was armored like the sun, golden and beautiful. Over them both loomed a giant in armor made of stone, but when he opened his visor, there was nothing inside but darkness and thick black blood.

- A Game of Thrones Bran III
It would not be unusual for Bran to see both a person’s physical form and their shadow at the same time; this is how shadows work. Ned undoubtedly experiences inner turmoil in this scene, going along with injustice in service to a cowardly king despite the pain it causes his daughters. So, it's easy to see how the shadow with the face of the hound and the golden shadow are both cast by Ned, depicting a light and dark side at war within himself, representing his competing duties to his king and children which led him to execute Lady and accept Mycah's unjust death. It's not unusual that Ned would have multiple shadows, a dark and a light side making him grey as the direwolf on his sigil; recall, Stannis tells us that some lights cast more than one shadow:

King Stannis pointed a finger. “There you err, Onion Knight. Some lights cast more than one shadow. Stand before the nightfire and you’ll see for yourself. The flames shift and dance, never still. The shadows grow tall and short, and every man casts a dozen. Some are fainter than others, that’s all. Well, men cast their shadows across the future as well. One shadow or many. Melisandre sees them all.”

- A Clash of Kings Davos II
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Alfie Allen: You know, I asked him about who Jon Snow’s real parents were, and he told me. I can’t say who, but I can tell you that it involves a bit of a Luke Skywalker situation. It will all come to fruition eventually.
This series will conclude next time with a foray into Ned's inner turmoil, examining thoughts and actions which indict his friend and king. To preview where this series is headed, in its full audio/visual glory with greater detail, look here.

Experience the stunning allure of a river table with our complete guide. Discover how to get your own custom river table today! Perfect for any space.

River Table

There's something truly mesmerizing about a river flowing through a landscape. It's a natural beauty that captivates us, drawing us in with its calming sounds and graceful movements. But what if you could bring that beauty into your home? Custom river tables offer just that - a stunning piece of furniture that captures the essence of a flowing river. In this complete guide, we'll dive into the world of custom epoxy tables and show you how these unique pieces can bring both style and function to your space. Whether you're looking for a statement piece or simply want to add some natural beauty to your home, a custom river table is sure to impress. So let's explore the possibilities and discover the beauty of these one-of-a-kind creations.

What are River Tables and Why They're So Popular

River tables are a growing trend in the furniture industry, and for good reason. They are stunning pieces of art that bring nature to your home decor. These tables feature a river-like design created by filling the gap between two slabs of wood with epoxy resin. The result is an eye-catching piece that looks like it was carved from a natural riverbed.
One reason why a custom epoxy table has become so popular is their uniqueness. No two pieces can ever be identical, making them perfect statement pieces for any living room or office space.
Another reason for their popularity is how versatile they are both in style and function. You can choose from various styles ranging from rustic to contemporary designs while also selecting different types of wood species that suit your taste and interior decor.
Whether you're looking for a coffee table, dining table, or even a custom desk made out of solid wood with an attached river-like design; River Tables will leave everyone who sees them awestruck and admiring its beauty!

How to Choose the Perfect Wood for Your Custom River Table

When creating a custom epoxy table for sale, the choice of wood is crucial in achieving that perfect look. Hardwoods like black walnut, maple, and cherry are popular choices due to their durability and unique grain patterns. It's important to consider the size of your table as well when choosing wood, since larger tables may require heavier woods to support the weight of the epoxy resin. One thing to keep in mind is that softer woods like pine or poplar may dent more easily over time.
Another aspect to consider is whether you want a live edge or straight edge for your tabletop. Live edges add an organic feel while straight edges provide a more polished look. No matter what type of wood you choose, it's essential to make sure it's properly dried before building your river table. Moisture in the wood can create bubbles in the epoxy resin which will ruin its appearance.
In addition to considering physical qualities such as color and grain pattern, think about how sustainable each option is - investing in sustainably-sourced materials can contribute positively toward our environment while beautifying our spaces at home!

The Art of Pouring Epoxy Resin: Tips and Tricks You Need to Know

When it comes to creating a stunning custom river table, pouring epoxy resin is the key element that gives it its unique and mesmerizing look. The process of pouring epoxy resin can be intimidating for beginners but with a little bit of practice and some tips and tricks, anyone can achieve beautiful results.
First and foremost, it's important to choose the right type of epoxy resin. Make sure to select a high-quality product that is specifically designed for furniture or tabletops. This will ensure that your table stays durable over time.
Before mixing the epoxy, prepare your workspace by covering the floor with plastic or newspapers. Wear gloves to protect your hands from any skin irritation caused by contact with the liquid.
Mixing equal parts of resin and hardener together in a clean container is crucial in achieving perfect clarity without cloudiness or bubbles which could worsen over time. Be sure not to mix too vigorously as this may introduce air bubbles into your mixture which will ruin the final result.
Finally, pour slowly onto one side while gently spreading across then move on to other areas often alternating sides until you have achieved an even finish across all surfaces allowing gravity has ample time to push excesses towards edges before curing begins within a temperature-controlled environment away from direct sunlight.

Trendy Styles and Designs for Your Custom River Table

When it comes to the design of your custom river table, the options are endless. One popular style is to include live edge wood in the design. This means leaving the natural shape of the wood intact rather than cutting it into a straight line. The addition of a live edge adds a touch of rustic charm and uniqueness to your piece.
Another trendy option is to incorporate different colors or elements into your epoxy resin pour. Some people choose to add crystals or stones for an eye-catching effect while others opt for metallic pigments or even glow-in-the-dark powder for added flair.
No matter what style you choose, remember that this is meant to be a unique and personalized piece that reflects your individual taste and personality. So take some time to experiment with different styles and designs until you find one that truly speaks to you!

How Much Should You Pay for a High-Quality Custom River Table?

When it comes to custom river tables, the price can vary greatly depending on several factors. The size and complexity of the design, as well as the type of wood and epoxy resin used will affect the cost. High-quality river tables that are made with exotic woods can be particularly expensive due to their rarity.
On average, a basic 6-foot table could cost anywhere from $1,500 to $2,500 while a larger or more intricate design could run upwards of $5,000 or more. It's important to remember that investing in a high-quality piece will pay off in the long run as these pieces are built to last for generations.
If you're looking for an affordable option or have your heart set on a certain design but don't want to break the bank, consider working with local artisans who specialize in creating custom furniture. They may offer competitive pricing compared to bigger companies and can often provide personalized attention throughout the process.
Ultimately, when it comes time to purchase your custom river table make sure you do your research and get quotes from multiple sources before making a final decision.

Maintaining the Beauty of Your Custom Epoxy River Table Over Time

After investing in a beautiful custom river table, it's important to take proper care of it so that it can continue to delight you and your guests for years to come. One key element of maintenance is preventing damage from heat sources, as epoxy resin can become soft or even melt at high temperatures. Always use coasters or trivets under hot dishes, and avoid placing anything too hot directly on the table.
Regular cleaning is also essential for preserving the beauty of your river table. Use a soft cloth dampened with water or a mild cleaner specifically designed for use on epoxy surfaces. Avoid harsh chemicals like ammonia or bleach which can cause discoloration over time.
If scratches do occur on the surface of your table, a quick fix is using a polishing compound specifically made for epoxy resin surfaces. For deeper scratches, consult with an expert in furniture repair rather than attempting DIY fixes that could make matters worse.
With proper care and attention, your custom river table will remain both functional and stunning for many years to come!
In conclusion, custom river tables are more than just a piece of furniture - they're works of art that can add beauty and elegance to any space. With the right combination of wood and epoxy resin, you can create a stunning focal point in your home or office that is sure to impress. Remember to choose high-quality materials and work with experienced craftsmen who have mastered the art of pouring epoxy resin. Whether you prefer classic styles or trendy designs, there's a custom river table out there for you. And with proper maintenance and care, your beautiful new piece will continue to shine for years to come. So go ahead and explore the world of custom river tables- we guarantee that it will be an experience worth having!

Common Questions

What is a river table?

A river table is a type of furniture that incorporates a river-like design feature using resin and wood.

Who can make a river table?

Anyone with woodworking skills can make a river table with the right materials and tools.

How is resin used in a river table?

Resin is poured into the gaps between wood slabs to create the river-like design feature in a river table.

What types of wood are best for a river table?

Wood with interesting grains and colors like walnut, maple, and oak are popular choices for river tables.

How long does it take to make a river table?

Depending on the size and complexity, it can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks to make a river table.

But aren't river tables too expensive?

While they can be more expensive than traditional tables, the unique design and craftsmanship make them worth the investment

Usually I work very hard to be conscious and aware of my adhd, it's actually my only management of it now other than some herbal supplements. I've not had too many catastrophic disasters (that I can remember off the top of my head lol, very adhd of me to forget any). But I've just realised that yesterday morning I forgot to turn off my hair Straighteners before i left (in a rush to make a bus) for work and they've been on well over 24 hours 😔😪 they've been resting on a heat mat but as I lifted the heat mat I saw yellow burn lines starting to form on the carpet underneath. I'm so lucky that my friend (who I've recently moved in with) said the carpets were getting replaced by the landlord soon anyways because they're in bad condition and have been since he moved in a year ago.
However, had it been another day or so, I dread to think how bad it could have been and if it had started a fire. My friend was at work but he has two lovely black cats at home. This is why I feel I can't ever relax fully or work full time because I'd end up tired or late and do something with dire consequences. I know everything was ok and that I'm catastrophising but it's so sad that I can't trust myself.
On the other hand, my painting job that I left to go to on the day I left the Straighteners on went very well! No major disasters, due to a lot of mental effort and shaking myself into alert mode for the duration.
Which leads me to ask, since I feel that comfort is the best thing I can gain from posting about this, has anyone else ever had a scare like this through their adhd or has anyone else had a similar this week/month that they'd like to share?

Note: This comes from my old fig blog.........called "Dan's Cajun Figs"
(see ...........cajunfig.blogspot.com for pictures and more information).

Initially posted on SATURDAY, MAY 26, 2012

Choosing Fig Varieties......by their taste (flavor)

By Dan
Semper Fi-cus
📷Hmmmmm!! Which one should I choose?? Figs come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. There are large ones and small ones. Round ones and flat ones. Some have long necks while some have no neck at all. Some are pear shaped and others are very elongated in shape. Colors can be green, yellow, brown, red, purple, and black. Some even will have two colors and these colors can exist as color vertical bands or stripes. The Panachee is a beautiful yellow fig which has vertical striped bands of green. The fig's pulp color can range from clear, cream, amber, gold, pink, red, and purple. Taste too can vary quite a bit from cultivar to cultivar. So how does one go about choosing a fig based on flavor??
Well, my taste buds tell me that there are a just a few broad groupings that are based on their "TASTE" or their flavor alone. Keep in mind that any taste rating is very subjective and a personal thing. Given that qualifier, here is what my tongue tells me are similar tasting fig varieties. The better figs in each group will have a richer and more complex flavor. A rich flavor will linger on your tongue for several minutes after you eat it and provide maximum taste sensation. A complex flavor will remind you of several different flavors all playing in concert with each other....and teasing your taste buds. Not all figs will have both a rich and complex flavor. Some will have only a single flavor note....like most honey figs. The sugar to acid ratio of the fig pulp too plays a very big role in its overall taste sensation.
I have some of my figs listed in similar flavor groupings. They are in no particular order:
1) The Celeste types .....Celeste, LSU Improved Celeste, O'Rourke, Southern Brown Turkey, English Brown Turkey, Blue Bingo, Blue Celeste, Celestine, Texas Everbearing.
2) The Mission types.......Black Mission, Violette De Bordeaux, Native Black, LSU Scott's Black, Black Beauty 10, Negronne, Petite Aubique, Beer's Black, Maltese Falcon (GM#5), Rond de Bourdeaux, Hardy Chicago New, 2 Fat Lady Black
3) The Honey types......LSU Golden Celeste, Italian Honey, LSU Gold, Jack Lily, White Triana, Atreano, Florentine, Cajun Honey, Cajun Gold, China White, Flanders, Vernino/Pasquale Not, UCD 143-36, LSU Everbearing, Latarula
4) The Blackberry types.......Hardy Chicago, Sals, Sicilian Black, LSU Purple, Black Triana, Black Italian, Marseilles VS, Dark Portuguese, Gino's Black, Black Beauty 10, Dark Sicilian #11, St. Jerome, Quantico, Maltese Falcon (GM#5), Pastillier
5) The Adriatic types.......Smith, Dalmatie, Battaglia Green, Adriatic, JH Adriatc, Green Greek, Strawberry, Monstreuse, Late Green, Verte, Ischia White, Conadria, Lattarola ---------------------------------------------- IMO Everyone should have one from each taste grouping.
Black Beauty 10....is hands down the best tasting fig in my collection. It's taste is very complex and fits into multiple groupings. It will produce two crops in a zone 9 climate. It is a Persian fig which originated from the northern part of Iran. It is NOT the same fig as Kathleen Black. Persian figs are reputed to have better flavor than European or Mediterranean figs because of their different gene pool. I have two other Persian figs which are yellow in color. The yellow one from Northern Iran (not written about yet) is truly outstanding in flavor which leads me to believe that Persian figs are indeed better flavored than those cultivars that originated from Europe. Time will tell..........
Col de Dame is my second best tasting. Its taste is complex and fits into multiple groupings. My climate is long enough to ripen this fig to perfection. It needs a long hot climate. It can produce a light breba crop. Main crop figs ripen late in the season.
Bourjosotte Gris is third best based on taste alone.....it has a very strong and intense strawberry flavor. This fig tastes more Strawberry than a real strawberry. However, its productivity is still in question. Its taste is complex and fits into multiple groupings. It too is a late season fig producing only one crop.
Smith is often to die for good. It is a very well flavored, balanced, and rain tolerant fig. As more and more fig enthusiast around the country get to taste this truly outstanding fig....you will hear them raving about its flavor. It produces two crops in a zone 9 climate.
IMO....Violette De Bordeaux is a MUST HAVE fig as it tastes so good and does real well in most climates. It can produce two crops in a zone 9 climate.
-----------------------------
IMO, there are other factors that should go into cultivar selection besides "TASTE" (flavor) alone. Ripening times, number of crops, persistence, speed of ripening, productivity, rain tolerance, bug resistance, skin quality, sweetness, pulp consistency, heat tolerance, fruit drop, size of tree, cold hardiness, pot culture vs. in-ground culture, cooking qualities, etc. should also be taken into consideration when choosing a fig variety.
For taste and overall performance in the rainy areas in the South.....it is still hard to beat the Louisiana heirloom Celeste fig that I found several summers ago. I was in fig heaven for over an hour as I ate a ton of figs from that particular mother tree. That fig can be seen in the above picture and listed as Celeste LF. Celeste figs can be to die for good. That is why Celeste still remains the Queen Fig of the South....even though it is usually a one crop fig. -------------------------------------------------
Added the following on June 27, 2012
Here are a few current pictures of my old time Celeste LF stain. This one is not an LSU hybrid fig like the LSU Improved Celeste. IMO, this is THE BEST regular Celeste fig strain to be found in Louisiana and likely the nation.......no, let's make that the best in the world!! lol...... This is the one that I have been searching to find for years. My conclusion is based on lots of research on lots of Celeste fig trees. Its taste is absolutely superb (a perfect 10), does not drop its figs, and does not split. This one will dry on the tree into a raisin if you let it. Its taste gets rather complex as the interior pulp turns into a very rich and jam-like sweet treat. I am exceedingly happy to have found this particular strain. I put a lot of miles on my truck during my hunts to find this fig. You can read more about it in another future post on my Fig Blog..............
📷Celeste LF figs A Superior strain of regular Celeste fig June 2012
📷Celeste LF figs A Superior strain of regular Celeste fig June 2012

[Chapter One]
Prev and Next
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Late at night, in the back of a warehouse.
Grigory squirmed against his restraints. The rope binding his hands was coarse and too tight, causing his hands to lose feeling. A bored council guard stood nearby, but was mostly ignoring him. He wasn’t going to get far with his hands and feet tied together. It was worse than he had thought possible. They are very much going to kill him tonight. This was even worse than either Stanisk or Aethlina had speculated, and he just knew that they would use his role in this disaster against him in future disagreements. However, he might be overly optimistic worrying about a future that might not include him.
Grigory thought over what he had left in his notebooks, contemplating if it would be enough for someone to continue his work. He wasn't sure. It was a lot more than he started with, but there weren't a lot of qualified scholars looking to follow his footsteps. The best outcomes for a lot of different paths all need him to survive.
Grigory tried not to be distracted by the ropes digging into him, and frantically wracked his mind for any sort of escape plan. He had a single imp totem on him, and they left him with his satchel nearby. That’s something. He would need to be untied to invoke it, and a single perfectly safe imp wouldn’t change the balance of power much. Perhaps if everyone but the four executive members left, he and Stanisk might have a chance to overpower them. Well he could at least be distracting while Stanisk overpowered them. They also hadn’t checked his satchel yet, so maybe he could bribe them with the ten thousand glindi engraved gold bar he brought to pledge his support? Bribes are a type of negotiation, and being tied up while they already had the gold put him in a frustratingly weak position to start negotiations. Not getting executed by the organised crime successor to the Council of Demonologists wasn’t on his list, but he still felt it was important.
Grigory could clearly see and hear the meeting continue in the centre of the warehouse. A small detail that he noticed was just how small the sums were. Robberies of a few hundred glindi? The value of a business protection racket being ten glucks a week? Had the runaway success of his imp-made goods distorted his value of money? Pandemonium Partners profited a few hundred thousand a month, and the big safe in the workshop’s basement held about a million glindi, mostly in heavy gold bars. That was after the expenses, taxes and salaries had been paid. Maybe bribes will work here.
Another trend that emerged was how cheap lives appeared to be. Stole a knife from the boss? Death. Miscounted the take? Death. Didn’t show up to the job? Finger loss. How they attracted or retained any talent at all was its own mystery. On that note, we wonder if he enormously overpaid his people? These goons were killing each other over sums of money close to what he paid each of his security goons a day, which in turn was a fraction of what he was paying his partners. All the people he hired seemed excited when he told them the starting salary, and not a single one asked for a raise. Not the time for that! Focus on the matter at hand! Grigory continued to look for anything that he could use to escape.
All too soon the business part of the meeting was concluded. Two of the Council's guards wheeled out a cask of beer, and a crate of cheap clay mugs. Not great news for plans that require being left alone. In singles and groups the ‘Demonologists’ started to come over to where he was tied up. To drink cheap beer and look upon true evil in his demon summoning face.
“Hullo gentlemen! This is all a silly mistake, I’m sure we can work something out,” Grigory said with a calmness and pleasantness he didn’t feel.
A gangster in a threadbare tunic and patched leather pants started going through his coat, and then his satchel. His notebooks with neatly written titles were thrown on the floor, and the minor spell reagents placed on top of a nearby crate.
“Holy shit!” he exclaimed far too loudly, ensuring everyone saw him pull out the slim gold bar, about the size of a knife handle. “This can’t be real?!” The gangster saw how everyone near him stared, mouths agape at the bar in his open hand. The bar’s engraving of the Royal Mint of Hiruxia glinting in the flickering rushlight.
“Back off! I found it!” He held the gold tight in his fist and drew his dirty, nicked knife from his belt with his free hand. Quicker than a blink of an eye every member had their blades out and the men at arms from the edges moved towards the commotion.
“PUT IT AWAY!” boomed Arcanist Devorio. He reasserted control of the situation with palpable menace. “The prisoner and all his goods are the property of the Council! Put it down on the table, Tricky Tupo!”
The gangsters grudgingly resheathed their weapons, and Tricky Tupo passed the bar to the Arcanist without making eye contact.
“Holy shit, it is actually real gold!” Devorio muttered after inspecting it for a second. “Where the hell did you steal something like this?”
Something in his phrasing crystalized a plan in Grigory’s mind. An insane, reckless, dangerous plan. Grigory tried not to smile when he replied, “Not stolen at all, well not from our plane of reality.”
“You summoned it?” the well dressed head of the council asked incredulously.
“Oh no, not at all! I stole it from the treasury of Hell! You see that’s the point of having a perfectly obedient demon, it does what I say, and not what the Lords of Hell say,” Grigory lied. The Hellplane wasn’t organised like that at all. There was no such thing as a treasury there. He still wasn’t sure how to sell it, but he hoped there was enough ignorance and greed in the room to do the heavy lifting for him.
“Demonologists have never stolen from hell! As far as I know. I think?” The arcanist was in uncertain territory.
“Mostly true! But we steal minor things all the time, like magical energy, or arcane secrets, but the exciting advance I wrote to you about was stealing things like minerals or artefacts and sometimes regular boring gold.” Grigory was hoping he was priming their greed enough. He worried he was being too subtle.
“Well, it looks like you have a new job! You steal Hell gold for us now!” The Arcanist-turned-crime-lord was back in familiar territory of coercing people into giving him what he wanted.
“Oh I couldn’t!" Grigory feigned reluctance. “I don’t have the right equipment, I haven’t done the full balancing equations for today’s planar alignments! I should go home and get what I need, and I’ll be happy to come back tomorrow and we can get a fresh start on this.”
“Not a chance! You’re doing the ritual this instant, or your blood will cover this entire floor!” Davenio countered.
Grigory, aware that excess blood could damage goods, decided against arguing. “Alright, you win, I’ll have my imp steal another dozen gold bars tonight, I guess. But that’s it! I’m leaving after that!”
“Hah! We’ll see about that!” The arcanist cut Grigory’s bonds while staring straight into his eyes.
Grigory rubbed his sore wrists, and looked at the fifty or so people that had gathered around him. Cruel smiles and the stink of cheap beer surrounded him, but he had a plan. “First I’ll need to summon my imp, to help me set up the ritual!” Grigory found himself speaking like a showman at a fair, with exaggerated gestures and in a loud clear voice. The assembled thugs, goons and crime lords backed up to give him some space. Aethlina suggested obscuring the details of invoking a demon, which was a great idea. He slowly and rhythmically chanted in demonic detail how he likes his tea, with lots of hand gestures and steps and ritualistic looking movements. After a few long seconds he pulled out the imp totem from his vest, waved it around like a wand for a bit before doing the quick gesture of invocation to actually invoke the imp. With two small clicks the tiny imp landed on the rough floorboards of the warehouse. Several goons gasped, and one of the lady goons even shrieked a bit. Truly a sad state of affairs when someone calling themselves a demonologist is startled by a tiny perfectly safe imp!
Grigory picked up his notebooks from the floor, and found the one titled ‘Charts, Formulas, and Tables.’. Doing some mental maths, and modifying a few old spells and rituals on the fly, Grigory gave his imp simple directions in demonic. He could have just spoken plainly, but he was aware he was also putting on a show. Keeping everyone’s attention was important for the next part.
“Ahem, is there any furnace ash, or the like? I’ll need to create a circle in ash or wax or sand.” A few people turned to look for what he needed, and Grigory returned to working out the planar alignment in his notebook. They returned with a canvas bag of stove ashes, he looked them over and nodded. “Does anyone have a silvered steel blade I can use? Anyone at all? No matter, I have one!” Grigory pulled out the small pocket knife he used to cut his food with. It actually was silvered steel, since that also came up from time to time in his line of work. Besides it was interesting to learn that was the only silvered steel blade in the room.
Grigory passed the bag of ash to the imp. He gave detailed instructions on the shape, symbols, and spacing of the elements, all crucial to the huge circle taking shape in the middle of the warehouse floor. The assembled crowd of dirty, dangerous, and desperate deviants started to look concerned. What had started as a bit of mean spirited fun was fast turning into the exact thing they knew was evil incarnate. A path to Hell was being built in front of them! A few moved to leave, but the others called them names and threatened their reputations, forcing them to stay and watch. There was a good reason to stay, there was about to be a lot of gold for everyone. In theory.
At last the preparations were complete. Grigory slowly walked the entire outside of his circle to make sure it was unbroken. He had done similar rituals before, but always with hours of double checking, and never with an audience. His hands were sweaty and shaking as he tore a page out of his notebook. Quickly, he scribbled down a final set of instructions in demonic script and handed it to the imp.
“Merp!” it said in agreement.
Grigory turned to address everyone. He saw a very worried Stanisk standing off to the back, and he subtly gestured for him to wait. Steadying his nerves for a second he addressed his gathered kidnappers, “Soon you will see a small tear in reality! Plug your ears, lest the screams of the damned drive you mad!” Grigory looked around, to make sure everyone was properly alarmed, and activated the ritual.
With a crack of thunder and a hurricane blast of dry wind that reeked of hot iron and sulphur Grigory’s surprise appeared in the centre of the circle. A towering rage demon, its black armoured hide covered in dancing hellfire, its wolf-like face filled with jagged fangs, and its shoulders brushing the rafters of the old warehouse. The assembled criminals looked up from the floor and saw the bipedal nightmare towering over them. They stood stalk still, not knowing how to react, nor sure what exactly was happening.
Grigory stood up straight and turned on the crowd, in a commanding bellow he condemned them, “What kind of idiots let a master demonologist do any summoning ritual he wants?! Look upon the true power of hell and despair!! Your petty schemes are –”
Grigory’s gloating was cut short by a foundation shaking roar from the demon. It started grabbing people at random, and biting them in half, throwing hunks of torso against the wall with splattering force. In accordance with the note, Grigory’s imp hopped up on the table, grabbed the bar of gold from where Arcanist Devorio put it, and sprinted figure eights between the demon's legs. With everyone’s fear AND greed now focused in the same area, Grigory took his stuff and ran for the door. Most of the so-called ‘demonologists’ were trying to escape, but a few were focused on the imp running with a gold bar held over its head. That was as much as a labourer would make in a year, and they couldn’t just walk away from that. The massive demon continued to kill and dismember with glee. The sound of tearing meat and snapping bones was even louder than the screams of the dying. As far as distractions go, Grigory was pretty proud of this one.
Grigory started for the door they had entered by. However, it was jammed with people trying to escape. He stopped at the edge of the chaos, trying to gather his thoughts. As he did, a better solution appeared to him. The demon grabbed one of the cutthroats that dove at the imp’s gold, and threw him at the wall with enough force to vaporise him. The impact filled the whole side of the warehouse in a steamy red mist, and sprayed meaty chunks over everything. The demon howled with laughter when he saw how people popped when thrown into walls.
The important part for Grigory was that there was now a second exit. An exit covered in gore and bone fragments, but entirely clear of goons. Signalling Stanisk, he made his way out through the wreckage. Slower than he’d like, and getting blood and worse on everything, but a clear path. The demon had stopped feeding entirely and was just throwing people as hard as he could, first at the floor then at other people. Its roars of rage were now peals of terrifying laughter. The air in the warehouse was thick with a mist of blood from the high energy impacts.
“I assume it knows not to kill us?” Stanisk asked in a ragged voice once he caught up to Grigory.
“Yes, but only not to kill people in purple. So don’t take off your tabard! It was the best I could do!”
They struggled out into the cool night air of the yard, free of the stenches of hell, gore and terror.
Stanisk looked down at his tabard, so soaked in fresh blood that it looked black. He ran even faster to the wagon.
“So this thing is just going to destroy the city until someone slays it then?” Stanisk asked, as they ran to the cart while frantically gesturing for his two guards to turn the wagon around and get it rolling.
“Oh no! Just until midnight” Grigory explained after he dove into the moving wagon. He wiped his blood soaked hands on his blood soaked robes, to no benefit.
Stanisk stared backwards at the destruction unfolding behind them. The demon had brought the warehouse down around himself and was clearly visible from the road. It was still energetically killing and smashing. “That's more than an hour! You reckon it’ll come for us?”
The single horse dragging a cargo wagon with four men on it was maddeningly sluggish
Grigory fumbled around for something to get the blood and bone fragments off his glasses. Finally finding part of his undershirt clean, he wiped them and he replied,“Oh my no,It’s bound to the summoning circle. Within a hundred paces.” They both watched as a few people fled on horseback, and a wagon rattled away at a gallop. Mostly it was a mess of shouting and terror. Knife fights broke out as people tried to commandeer the remaining horses. Horses were panicking and bolting without riders. Some survivors just ran away on foot. With every fresh kill the demon laughed so loud that Grigory felt like it was coming from his own skull.
“What the hell happened in there, sirs?” asked the terrified guard driving the cart.
Grigory turned around to answer, but Stanisk put a hand on his arm and answered instead, “Those filthy witches in there tried to kill us with a demon, but Grigory outsmarted them and turned it on its creators. Keep driving Kedril, we should be safe in an intersection or so.”
“Light preserve us all!” Kedril the driver said. “Is that a real demon Sir?”
Grigory watched the demon grab one of the goons fighting in the yard and threw him in a high arc towards the city centre. The demon’s arm cracked like a whip as it threw. The ragged corpse left a trail of blood mist as it arced far overhead.
Grigory answered calmly, “Yes.”
Grigory pulled out his demon totem from his robes, and devoked the imp, causing a gold bar a block and a half behind them to clatter to the blood soaked warehouse floor and slide into some debris. He was surprised how calm he felt. By all accounts his plan was in shambles and he’d stirred up a dozen hornets nests. Facing certain death and prevailing did wonders for one’s perspective.
Grigory looked over at Stanisk, and he was looking less calm. Which was entirely fair. A lot of uniquely horrific things happened tonight. Stanisk’s mouth was a tight line, face pale and eyes bloodshot. That might have just been blood from before, that got in his eyes.
“We can’t go through town looking like we bathed in the blood of the innocent, take us to the Golden Anchor’s warehouse on Glibstone Street. We own that place, we can clean up and change there,” Stanisk tersely told the driver.
Grigory countered, “First off, the previous owners of this blood were far from innocent, and secondly that’s across town, let's just lay in the bed, throw the rainsheet over us, and go to the main workshop.”
Stanisk groaned and tried to rub the blood off his face while he thought it over, but just smeared it around.
“Fine, Kedril, Remember to do a few triple left turns to make sure we aren’t being followed, like we discussed last month.” Stanisk undid the oilcloth on the side, connected it to the mounting points, and slid underneath.
“I think we need to review our plans!” Grigory whispered.
“Shhhh, cargo don’t talk.” Stanisk whispered back. The soldier cupped his head in one hand, and covered his eyes with the other and tried to get comfortable enough to sleep. Grigory rolled onto his back and stared at the cloth in front of his face. He tried not to dwell on the odd whip crack sound coming from behind them, nor the horrified gasps of the two guards on the driver’s bench while he mentally updated his plans.
****
A few hours later Grigory was bathed, wearing fresh clothes and feeling much better. He sat contemplating at the kitchen table in his workshop. He was troubled by what this was going to mean for his business and for himself. Stanisk was still in the tub cleaning up, and the two guards had been dismissed for the night. It was shortly after midnight now, and that meant more to Grigory than it did other nights. He hoped no one innocent died tonight, but he was also a little surprised how little he was bothered by the destruction he unleashed this evening. Considering it was the first time he took another human’s life, albeit indirectly, he expected a stronger emotional response. Part of this was a clear case of kill or be killed. Another part was these people were awful people. Grigory worried this might mean he had more subconscious bias against the value of the lives of the economically disadvantaged, but that’s probably not it. Being biassed against people that were willing to kill him made more sense, but also he knew the coming years mean that will become the same as willing to kill most of the world.
Grigory put on some fresh tea, and set out another cup for Stanisk when he was done washing. He couldn’t shake the feeling that his worst fear, being mad with power and using that power to violently kill everyone he perceived as an enemy, wasn’t as far-fetched as it was before. These were the goons that might have killed his mentor, Archmage Willoford. Avenging a mentor was a reasonable rationale, at least in songs and plays. Grigory knew that wasn’t his motivation tonight. And besides that was the inquisition from the sounds of it, these ones just celebrated his mentor's execution, which isn’t really moral grounds for demonic dismemberment. He also knew he could have summoned a stench demon or a screaming demon, or just non demon based rituals he could have used to escape without violence. He didn’t even offer to bribe them, just straight to violence. Grigory wasn’t sure he liked finding out who he really was when lives were on the line.
His introspection was interrupted by a sound coming from his workshop door, and he sagged with relief when he saw it was just Aethlina. Relief that was short lived, because the questions started immediately.
“I assume you had something to do with the demonic giant that threw seventeen people into the side of the Cathedral of the Light?” the elv asked, without reproach or scorn.
Grigory took a second to answer. “I had something to do with the presence of that demon in our plane of reality. I had a little to do with either the people it chose to throw. Nothing to do with where it chose to throw them nor its accuracy. Interesting it threw them at the Cathedral, you’d think it would have some kinship with the church? They both love burning people.”
“By all accounts the accuracy at least, was excellent. All the bodies hit Cathedral Square. The Cathedral itself requires extensive repairs to the nave, and two flying buttresses collapsed. At least according to the terrified lady I ran into.” Aethlina paused for a few seconds in case Grigory chose to share more details.
Aethlina asked mildly, “How rude of me. I meant to ask, how did your meeting go tonight?”
Stanisk came out from around the partition wearing fresh clothes. “The fucking witches weren’t even witches! They were just shadow blighted gangsters what stole the demonologists reputation! Broke as shit, and twice as dumb!”
Stanisk grabbed a bottle of whiskey off the shelf and sat down at the table, ignoring the cup and the pot of tea. After drinking right from the bottle he continued, “It hit the actual main Cathedral? The one right in the centre of town? That’s like an hour walk from where we were! A catapult wouldn’t have thrown a person half that far!”
“The one and the same, The Grand Ubrafadter’s residence is in that square, so I assume what follows will be the sort of witch hunt the city has never seen before.” Aethlina turned to Grigory, “May I also assume your reasons for staying in the city are weaker and your reasons for leaving are stronger than they were yesterday?“
“There were definitely survivors, and I was introduced by name. I can’t stay here, probably not in the empire at all. I don’t think they know the name of the company, but Stanisk and I were wearing the company’s sigil, so it might not be long for them to work it out.” Grigory rubbed the bridge of his nose without taking off his glasses. “I guess we should start planning our exit immediately.”
In a rare show of emotion Aethlina smiled for a second, “We are leaving on a ship named the Widow’s Remorse, it’s provisioned for us and departs on the morning tide, in about nine hours. The captain agreed to wait until we were in open water to hear our destination. He and his crew also suffer from a rare medical condition where their memory fades entirely anytime they are given a bag of money. The ship can carry thirty-five passengers, so the guards can bring their families. I’ll describe the places I think we should go, after we are in open waters.”
Grigory was both very impressed and a touch alarmed. “Did you know what would happen at that meeting? Did you know what I was walking into?”
“No, I had mistakenly assumed you were on top of that, and took you on your word about them. The odds of them being what you expected were poor. I also had a detailed plan in case they kidnapped you.”
Stanisk burst out laughing, “Imagine if they kidnapped you, Boss! All trussed up like a rotisserie chicken! Hah! I guess I’ll get packed and meet back here to get everything organised! I’ll miss my townhouse, but I’ve had enough of living in Jagged Cove, it's loud and crowded.”
Stanisk stood up, and turned to leave, but paused mid stride. “Miss Aethlina, how big of an investigation do you reckon it’ll be? Reckon they could keep after us after we leave?”
“Likely.There are cases where the inquisition spent entire centuries on the trail of heretics and their descendents. Those heresies were vocally opposing an aspect of doctrine. This may be the first heresy in which a building-sized demon flung citizens into Cathedral Square. I assume yes, they will be interested in following up.”
“Alright, I’ve got an idea that might buy us some time. Grigory, are there any specific numbers that are significant to demons?”
“Um, not actually, but the older texts are filled with references to threes and eights I guess?” Grigory said with a shrug.
“Perfect!” Stanisks' smile strengthened and he turned to Aethlina. “Can you think of eight nobles, eight businessmen, and eight clergy the city would be better off without? Here, write 'em on this!” He slid her a notebook page when she nodded.
Grigory leaned forward,”I’m not sure what you are going for?”
“In the army, there was a famously clever bird that would trick soldiers, called a red heron. We are going to make a whole flock of ‘em!” Stanisk excitedly explained. “Oh, draw a demon circle on this page, doesn’t have to work or anything, like the one from the warehouse”
Grigory began his sketch. “I don’t think red heron is quite right, but I’m catching your drift.”
While they wrote, Stanisk went to the carved chest where all the imp totems for the workshop were stored, and invoked twenty four of them. Taking Aethlina’s list and Grigory’s sketch, he ordered each imp to sprint across town and use hellfire to scorch the circle into the street in front of the home of a specific name.
After the final imp bounded out of the building and was leaping along the rooflines Stanisk returned to his partners. “Now they’ll have too many leads! Hopefully folk see the imps and hellfire, that’ll be even better!”
“We can just outvoke them in an hour or so, that's easy enough. Great idea, Stanisk!” Grigory said cautiously, still thinking through the plan.
“If your big demon didn’t cause a public panic, I can’t imagine a better way to finish the job.” Aethlina replied.
Stanisk smiled and shrugged. “It wasn’t my good looks alone that kept me alive this long! I’ll send some runners to gather the lads and get this show on the road. Human runners I mean!”
Prev and Next

I originally posted this on lenovo/motorola forum but other than an initial response got nothing more heard the subreddit is more receptive so thought i would share the list of issues i have been facing, sorry its a long post
https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/motorola-edge-30-pro-motorola-edge-2022/tons-of-major-and-minor-bugs/m-p/5227620 this is my original post
The few missing features would be
-lack of tap to wake, peek display isn't a replacement for dt2w
-lack of HDR support on Netflix
Otherwise i am happy with everything the device offers
Now for the bugs i faced
- Battery life is bad and SOT is horrible even under light usage it's around 5 hrs - Display flickering is major and horrible and unlike earlier it only switches between 120-60 and doesn't do smart switching for certain apps like YouTube where it earlier used to switch between 90-60 And though the device is very much capable of going down to 48 hz it never goes down that low - There is a picture in picture bug where if you lauch the app from the launcher when it's in p2p mode it will glitch out - Also there appears to be a bug in regards to the nav bar weirds out and becomes unusable at times when you rotate the device. - the fingerprint can at times not respond to presses or touches - standby drain isn't terrible but is at roughly 6-8 percent which is fairly high - the heat produced by the phone is quite a lot and even under light uses can easily reach 60-70 degrees on all cores under light usage like watching YouTube and paradoxically it stays surprisingly cool in the 50s - the vibration motor is being overdriven and doesn't feel that good - the display even under natural mode is way too over saturated and setting it to a cooler profile didn't help much - i believe the charging speed has gone down as well - and the kernel governor keeps the X2 core activated and hence i assume is a major cause of the poor battery life - there is some touch issues where it at times won't recognize touch
- when the display refresh rate refreshes and incase you are watching a video, the video will flash black for a brief second
-this above issue also occurs when the screen is rotated
-5g even when available never seems to show up( yes i have made sure 5g is set as the preferred speed)
In low brightness the screen is nearly unwatchable and is only even usable at half the brightness
- Camera quality at low brightness is terrible
All these issues i face appear to be purely software related other than maybe perhaps the displays terrible purple tinting and the bad battery life. Which i am going to confirm by taking this to a service centre just incase.
Its my request please do fix these issues or atleast inform the concerned people. As the device seems to be really good but the software even with the stock android goodness is going to absolute garbage.
Regards

Board games for trade. Would trade locally or nationally. Located in Baltimore, MD 21201. Highly motivated to move these. Everything is in excellent condition unless said otherwise:
1861: Railways of the Russian Empire & 1867: Railways of Canada (Opened but unplayed)
1960: The Making of the President (GMT Edition)
The 7th Continent w/ Swamp of Madness, Forbidden Sanctuary, The Icy Maze, and What Goes Up, Must Come Down (unplayed)
Architects of the West Kingdom
Axis & Allies 1941
Axis & Allies Pacific 1940
Azul Summer Pavilion w/ Glazed Pavilion (all in base box)
Baseball Highlights: 2045 w/ Coaches, Cyborg Pitchers, Naturals & Magna Glove, Rally Cap, and Robot Hitters expansions (all in same box)
Blume
Campaign Manager 2008
The Captain is Dead
Carthage
ClipCut Parks (unplayed)
Container: 10th Anniversary Jumbo Edition!
Dinosaur Island (X-treme Edition)
Dinosaur Island: Totally Liquid (w/ unbuilt Broken Token insert)
Disney Villainous w/ Evil Comes Prepared and Wicked to the Core (all in base box)
Dogs (KS edition)
Dokmus and Dokums: Return of Erefel (Both housed in base box)
Fleet
Fog of Love w/ It Will Never Last, Paranormal Romance, and Trouble with the In-Laws
Go (9x9 board with white and black stones)
La Granja: No Siesta
Lanterns Dice: Lights in the Sky (comes with an additional pad; possible promo/expansion?)
Lawyer Up w/ Godfather and Witch Trial expansions (unplayed)
Lucidity: Six-Sided Nightmares
Imperial (minor wear on box)
Kraftwagen
The Manhattan Project 2: Minutes to Midnight
Marvel United w/ Dr. Strange (NIS)
Mint Delivery
Mint Works
Mission Red Planet (2nd Edition)
Monopoly: Franklin Mint Collector's Edition (Has some fading on the felt due to sun damage. Many components/cards/money still in shrink)
Newton
The Pursuit of Happiness (Box is damaged badly [ding and dent sale] but components are great. Crushed corners and caved in bottom)
Renature
Ride the Rails
Saloon Tycoon w/ Boomtown, Dead or Alive, and The Ranch expansions (All stored in base box, general wear from age)
Scotland Yard
SeaFall (Opened but never played)
Shark (Slight wear on box due to age)
Sidereal Confluence (newer edition)
So, You've Been Eaten (KS edition)
SpaceCorp: 2025-2300AD
SpaceCorp: Ventures
Stop the Train! (Unplayed)
Tail Feathers (Some figures have been painted; can provide pics if interested)
Tiny Epic Tactics
Tiny Epic Western
The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31
Under Falling Skies (Opened but unplayed)
Whistle Stop
Who Goes There? (1st Edition)
The Monopoly set will more than likely have to be a local deal. I just haven't been able to find a box that would fit it.
Here is my want list. I am most interested in the following (and can even out value with $$$ if necessary):
The Cost
Bus
Crokinole board
Heat: Pedal to the Metal
Obsession 2nd Edition
Great Western Trail 2nd Edition
Tumblin' Dice 4th Edition
Monikers expansions (More Monikers & Serious Nonsense)
Western Legends: Blood Money
Sheriff of Nottingham promos and Merry Men expansion (first edition)
Kids Games
CoraQuest
Giro Galoppo
Loopin Louie (or an offshoot)
Monza Anniversary Edition
Ticket to Ride Ghost Train
Let me know if you have any questions!

A widow on the path of vengeance,
A life taken, her heart in fragments.
She wanders through the dark of night,
Her thoughts consumed with deadly might.
No mercy shown, her aim is true,
She'll take revenge, see it through.
With each step she grows more bold,
Her heart beats fast, her grip is cold.
Her enemies beware her wrath,
Their fate is sealed, there's no escape path.
Her sword is sharp, her aim is sure,
No one can stop her, the gods assure.
The widow on her quest for retribution,
Will not rest until there's restitution.
Her mind is focused, her heart is strong,
Her foes will pay the price, no right or wrong.
In the end, justice will be served,
The widow's heart, though broken, will be preserved.
For she has triumphed in her quest,
And now can lay her soul to rest.
-The Legend of the Shade
-----------------
One would expect that a planet named Ilara would be some sort of paradise, or at the very least, pleasant to experience. This could not be further from the truth. Ilara is an arid, hot and dusty mess of a world. What little surface water there is has seen settlements of all kinds pop up around it, and considering the sort of planet it is, it’s no wonder that these oases have become dens of lawlessness.
Well, most of them have, a few still manage to be civilized, but to paraphrase a good man, many are ‘“Wretched hives of scum and villainy”, and it is one of these places where this tale takes place.
Nefaria’actul’oproni, or as the citizens called it, Murkville, was not a happy place. It wasn’t particularly nice looking either, the buildings all worn and smooth thanks to the repeated sandstorms that like to roll on through. There were scorch marks and even streaks of dried blood in all the colors of the rainbow on the walls in some places. And yet, for all its shittiness, people still lived there. They didn’t like it, but the next nearest and far more civilized town was much too far away for any of them to make it without suffering some form of horrible accident, attack by the wildlife or something else along those lines. So they stayed, and they endured.
Murkville was also under the control of the crime syndicate calling themselves the Set’ruthal, a brutal organization that specializes in drugs, human/xenos trafficking and prostitution, none of which was mutually exclusive in the slightest. They were scum of the highest order and they held Murkville in their iron grip, extorting the populace for ‘protection’ money and the like. All terribly cliche, but such is the way of the world.
It was a dark and blissfully cool night at the local saloon, and Scaszer - A Solvoih, who are what humanity would call an anthropomorphized snake with legs - was enjoying a drink with his friends after a long and hard day of work. His two friends, a Khik or vaguely like a tall dog person and an Almell, which humans describe as an elf with feathers, sat with him. They were all simply enjoying the cool air and the good drinks, one of the few actual luxuries in this gods forsaken dump of a town.
Flardryn - the Almell - was the first to break the silence that lingered over all of us.
“So, have you heard the rumors?” He asked, his voice a touch chirpy at times, but today not so much. Scaszer and Deikx the Khik both looked at him curiously, then at one another before they shook their heads. Flardryn grinned and leaned forwards, lowering his voice to a whisper only we could hear.
“Rumor is, someone’s sticking it to the Set’ruthal. Blowing up outposts, caches, and just generally causing chaos.” He said, Scaszer and Deikx looking rather disbelieving.
“What a load of ketch, if that were true don’t you think we’d have noticed? Ketch, if that were true this whole place would be worse than it was, they’d be taking out all that anger on us instead of the person causing the trouble.” Deikx snorted, shaking his head in a manner that had his droopy ears flopping about.
“Yeah, you know how they get when things go wrong. We pay the price.” Scaszer said, Flardryn huffing.
“But it is true! They say a human is causing all this fuss.” He protested, and that gave the other two pause. Now that sounded pretty plausible, when humans wanted to break something, they always seemed to do so in spectacular fashion. So one human causing such a ruckus wasn’t unheard of, but still it was only a rumor.
“Alright then, tell us about this human.” Scaszer said, and Flardryn looked overjoyed at the prospect of doing so, leaning in even closer to speak.
“So, rumors say this human holds a personal grudge against the Set’ruthal. They say the syndicate killed the humans family and nobody would bring them to justice, so the human decided to do it themselves.” That was honestly not that surprising. Humans love a good revenge arc. “Anyway, they started small, or so the rumors say. Just some low level scum going missing, then working their way higher and higher up the ladder. It’s got the Set’ruthal scared but they don’t wanna show it, keep up appearances you know?”
Scaszer and Deikx nodded, both of them fully understanding the concept of saving face. But this did seem a little far fetched.
None of them really noticed the human that entered the saloon, a long, dusty and tattered coat draped over their shoulders, heeled boots that gently thumped against the floor and a wide brimmed hat on the top of their head. Nobody noticed them save the bartender when the human sat at it, nor did they hear the softly spoken request for a drink from this human.
What they did notice was the very loud group of Set’ruthal enforcers, who were off duty at this time, wandering into the saloon not five minutes later, cussing and generally being obnoxious. The establishment fell silent, fearful eyes tracking the enforcers as they kicked the occupants of a table out of their chairs and claimed it for themselves. Nobody moved a muscle to challenge them, they all knew what would happen if they did.
The human however, hardly seemed perturbed as they glanced over a shoulder, the long ponytail of red hair shifting with the motion. It didn’t take the Enforcers long to notice the human, nor the fact that the human was a female. There was a very good reason why there were no humans in Murkville, and the Set’ruthal were that very reason, as the men tended to get slaughtered and the women… well, best to not talk about that.
“Well well, looks like we have a newcomer!” One of the enforcers said, grinning maliciously. The Set’ruthal were almost exclusively occupied by members of a species known as the Bholkal. To humans, they were very large armadillos, with the same amount of teeth as a shark and generally they all had very bad attitudes. “And a human at that, it’s our lucky night lads! Seems we’ll be having some lively entertainment.”
They all stood and the trio of friends all felt a bit of bile rise in their throats, feeling for the poor human who had wandered into the wrong town. But the human did the most curious thing, and perhaps the most stupid thing as well. They ignored the enforcers and instead flagged down the bartender, who looked to be quivering in fear.
“Could I just have the bottle, please and thank you.” The human said, her voice light and lilting, but with a touch of a Terran subcultural accent, what they would call Southern. The bartender was quick to acquiesce, and a bottle of some alcoholic beverage was placed before her. She was quick to take it up, spinning the cap off it with a well practiced motion. She didn’t even care that the cap was sent flying off into the unknown as a result, she instead focused on chugging the contents of the bottle while turning on her stool to face the enforcers.
The enforcers didn’t look too pleased and everyone else all wanted to look away from what was going to happen next, but found themselves transfixed.
“Aren’t you a pretty thing, why don’t you come play with us girly.” The lead enforcer, a particularly nasty fellow and coincidentally the son of the Set’ruthal patriarch, grinned as he reached out a claw to stroke her cheek. Instead of responding verbally, her head tilted back as she continued her drinking, a single finger raised to single him to wait. He didn’t really appreciate this, as he moved with such speed that nobody really knew what happened till the bottle had been cut into pieces, the contents splashing partially onto her and the floor while the glass shattered on impact.
She stared at the broken and empty bottle with a look of exasperation, before her ice blue eyes shifted their focus onto the heir apparent.
“Alright, I’ll play with you.” She said softly, and the enforcer grinned, leaning in to begin his violations, only for all of us to hear a sound we were most assuredly not expecting.
It was the sound of railgun coils spinning up.
Before anyone could react, there was a sharp sound of metal on metal, followed by wet squelching, as nearly every soul tracked the arm that sailed through the air and landed in a bloody heap well across the room. Then came the screaming, as the enforcer looked at the stump where his arm had been, and the ancient looking revolver that had removed it. The gun shifted, angling lower, the same whine repeating and now he was missing a leg as well.
The saloon burst into motion as his screaming intensified, his buddies all surging towards the human who stood in a flash and used their foot to hook onto the rungs of the stool she’d only just been occupying, sending it sailing straight into the face of an enforcer even as she took aim and fired again, turning another's head into a fine purple mist. She became a blur, firing and slashing with the broken bottle. She painted the room with their blood and they never even laid a claw on her.
It was over in an instant, the human standing there and breathing heavily, even as she watched the first enforcer claw his way out the door on his stomach. With a deep breath she turned, placed a stack of credits on the bar and walked after the fleeing enforcer, all while reloading her weapon.
Without much hesitation all present who had merely been spectators scrambled from their hiding places and to the windows, watching as she stepped over the prostrate being and pressed the barrel of her gun to the back of his head.
“D-Do you know who I am? Who my father is!?” The being wailed, and the human nodded.
“I do, that’s why I’m here, why I’m doing this. Because you took everything I ever held dear from me, and now… now I have nothing left to lose.” She murmured, and the alien grinned, purple blood oozing from his mouth.
“You know you’re gonna die right? We’re gonna take our time with you, make it hurt!”
“Perhaps, but here’s the thing,” She kicked him over onto his back, a position of great shame to a Bhokal. “There’s room in my grave for you too.” She hissed, and they all expected her to end him right then and there. But she didn’t. Instead she drew a knife and smiled in a sweet manner, yet instead of the comfort that such a smile should have brought, they felt nothing but a chill run down their spines (or spine equivalents.)
“Now, you’re gonna be a messenger to dear old dad, so you best listen close, don’t want to miss a single word.”
Those watching turned away, some getting sick at what she did next, the screams echoing down the street.
Ten Hours Later
The plantation on the outskirts of Murkville was an opulent affair, reminiscent of ancient Terran plantations as well, which is what it had been based off of coincidentally. It was here where the end of this story shall take place, and it shall go down in history as a pivotal point for Ilara. A night of blood and death, of vengeance secured and the end of a dynasty.
It began, with the sound of someone scratching at the door, a sound that was entirely unheard of in this place. When a guard was ordered to investigate, they found only the mangled son of Patriarch Bilharzia bleeding - not nearly as profusely as he had been earlier - on the stoop. He was quickly moved to a secure room and his father was livid, bellowing up a storm of vile hatred for whomever had done this to his son.
When eventually he calmed down enough to not only hear himself think, but to hear others when they talked to him, he was informed that there was a camera attached to the front of his son's uniform. He quickly snatched it up, peering directly into the camera as a snarl ripped from his throat.
“I don’t know who you are, or why you’re doing this, but you’ve made a very grave mistake! I will hunt you down, I will tear everything you love and hold dear apart! I will make you beg for death and I shall not give it! DO YOU HEAR ME! I SHALL NOT GIVE IT!” He roared into the camera, unsure if whomever was watching could even hear him. But apparently they could.
“You already have. Now it’s my turn. An eye for an eye.” Came the sibilant response, and that’s when they all heard it. A gentle beeping coming from nearby. Bilharzia turned towards the source, only to find his son awake yet again, and looking fearfully at him. He couldn’t speak, whomever had mutilated him had not stopped at his limbs, but had removed his ability to speak, to warn them of the danger he presented.
It clicked in Bilharzia’s head that the beeping was only getting faster, and just as it became a solid tone he bolted from the room. He was fortunate to have done so, his son and the others however… not so fortunate. The high explosive charge that had been embedded into his son detonated, blowing a good chunk of the west wing entirely to pieces.
As Bilharzia raised his head from the ground where he’d landed thanks to the blast, he caught sight of missiles streaking up into the air, only to explode mid-flight and rain down phosphorus and napalm over the fields of product he maintained, setting them ablaze. Heavy gunfire sounded, the rattling of a very large chaingun booming through the silence of a beautiful evening, raking rounds over his vehicles and depots. Everything of value save the servants quarters was put to the torch, and he could only watch.
From the smoke strode a figure, one he instantly recognized. He was not ignorant of human history, their conflicts Shumon Synergy or the Valvak Despoilers, he knew a human warmech when he saw one. And this one was particularly well known.
Before his home stood the warmech known as the Black Widow though its official name was 22-39 Ward. The body was painted black, a single red hourglass on the chest partially hidden by some sort of tactical covering that closely resembled a poncho. It was a monster of a machine, and there was only one person who had ever piloted it. A woman who was known as Shade, or that was what her foes had called her. To her peers, to her family, her name was Myra Fields. A war hero a thousand times over, a loving wife and mother of four.
A widow, whose family had been ripped from her by Bilharzia’s very hand.
The warmech launched another salvo, striking at targets that went unseen behind the manor, and his men, his loyal men, rushed out to face the beast of metal and wrath, only to be gunned down without mercy or hesitation. And then the chassis opened, and out stepped his worst nightmare.
A woman in black, with blood red hair, dropped from the pilots cradle and landed with nary a sound. Bilharzia made to flee through the house, but the fire caused by the explosion within it had weakened the structure, a burning beam landing upon his legs and pulverizing the bones. He cried out as he was stopped dead in his tracks, and from where he lay he could see her approaching slowly, patiently.
Finally she stepped into the burning home, the smoke filled wind catching her coat and making it flap. She knelt before him, not a single emotion on her face. She studied him for a moment, then looked at the beam and the fire which engulfed the house before nodding. She didn’t say a word, not even in response to his begging, his pleas for mercy. She had none to give, none to show, and so she stood and left, leaving him to his fate.
Finally she spoke, even as she walked past the waiting warmech.
“Light the fire, Ward.” She said, and the machine nodded, launching more incendiary missiles high into the air, and watching as the payload rained down on the home. And just like that, it was over, a syndicate which had existed for five hundred years, reduced to ashes. The machine nodded again, then turned and trailed after its mistress.
Four days later
Myra crouched before a series of headstones, brushing the sand off them carefully and with reverence. She didn’t know what to say, didn’t know what to do. But looking at them sparked something inside her, a purpose.
“It’s done… They won’t take anyone else anymore, I made sure of that.” She whispered. “Now… Now I think I’ll see what I can do to help make the galaxy a better place. There are more out there like me, who need their own closure. More like them that need to be brought to justice. If I can do even just a little bit… Then that’ll be enough for me.”
She rose, dusting the sand off her knees and took one last look at the graves of her family.
“I love you all.” She murmured, turning and clambering up into the cockpit of her warmech. As it sealed she placed her hat upon a hook, and turned them both towards the horizon, and the star port beyond it.
“What are we going to do now, Commander?” Ward asked, and she smiled, giving one of his consoles a gentle pat.
“Now… Now we’re going to do what we do best. Think you’re up for it?”
“Affirmative.”
“Good boy. Let’s go kill some bad guys.”
And so, the two walked off into the great unknown, looking to bring justice to those that required it.

Hi lovely people,
We just came back from our first trip to Japan and it was truly a memorable trip. We spent over 3 weeks in Japan from 07th May until 30th May. WE LOVE JAPAN! Can't wait to come back.
A little bit about us: We are both ~30y olds and enjoy a mix of urban, outdoor and culture during our holidays. We are foodies, but not hard-core as in we don't specifically organize our trips around restaurants. There are so many restaurants in Japan, it is hard to get a bad meal. We enjoy just wandering around neighbourhoods. Mostly low/mid-budget stuff with a splurge once in a while.
Our travel itinerary can be found here
General comments

• Time period of travel: We arrived 7th of May which is the last sunday of Golden week. We specifically wanted to avoid Golden week, as we heard it can be crazy busy due to domestic travels. And we also didn't want to go too late in May because June is rainy season in Japan. We were pretty lucky with the weather overall as we only had a couple of days of rain, most days were sunny and we even had some days of sweltering heat :O
• Like other people suggest, try to get in shape before you go! We are both in average shape. Almost every day we walked around 20.000 steps or more. The only rest days we had were the days where we were switching between cities, i.e. sitting in trains for longer periods of time. No complaints ;). I brought two pair of shoes: water-proof hiking shoes and one pair of light-weight running shoes. Switching between shoes was nice, I didn't have any blisters during my time in Japan luckily. All the walking compensated all the eating though!
• Check whether region specific JR passes might work for you. We decided against getting the nationwide JR passes as they didn't fit our needs and were expensive and instead opted for a regional JR Setouchi area pass. It was perfect for the Shimanami Kaido. We could travel from Osaka to Onomichi -> Hiroshima/Miyajima -> Kyoto. And it also gave us access to Nozomi shinkansen (fastest) and a great ferry ride between Matsuyama and Hiroshima.

Japanguide has a nice overview of all the passes : https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357.html

• Be flexible (That's how we like to travel). I mapped out most of the sights beforehand according to must-see's and mapped out what other interesting sights there would be in those areas. The day before or in the morning, we would decide what we would do roughly, sight-see according to neighborhood and just wing it a little bit. We just love to wander around and see what we come across, mixed with some google maps + "explore" function. Some days you are just tired and just want to hang out in a park, or you have temple-fatigue and want to do something entirely else. Same with food/restaurants, we usually just used google maps to see what kind of great restaurants were near us at that moment. We haven't lined up more than twice our whole time there and still ate wonderfully. We do tend to avoid overly hyped stuff anyways. I do keep in mind that everyone has their own ways.
• Buy e-sim if possible, it is the cheapest and easiest way. My partner bought an e-sim and it was so convenient! My phone unfortunately didn't support it and I had to buy a sim. I opted for getting one at BIC camera, which was the cheapest I could find. 10GB for 30 days for 3200 yen.
• Keep plastic bags for trash. Buying food from conbini, and eating it somewhere? say yes to that plastic bag, because you will need it to stash your garbage until you are back at your hotel where you can throw it away or you find a garbage bin at the train station per chance. I read about this a lot on this subreddit, but still I found it astonishing the lack of trash cans. Fascinating how the streets of Japan are so damn clean.
• Try Pokari sweat. :) I tried it for the first time there and I was hooked immediately. It is awesome! Best electrolyte drink ever and it definitely saved me during those hot sweaty days there. CC lemon is also great!
• Go for a haircut or some other beauty/massage treatment. The hospitality is amazing in Japan. You won't regret getting pampered in Japan. They have all kinds of crazy treatments. I got the best haircut of my life for 4400yen.

Trip report

PS. I am not mentioning everything we did in this post. I will just mention highlights. It is still a long read though ;).
D1 - D2 Osaka
We landed at Kansai airport. Before our trip, we also bought train vouchers for Osaka online (https://www.howto-osaka.com/en/ticket/). Best decision ever, because the journey was rough and we were exhausted by the time we landed. We only had to exchange our vouchers at the station and off we went.
Osaka was nice city to start with as it is a more manageable "smaller" city whilst recovering from our jetlag. Despite being smaller, I do think it is worth a visit. Osaka is so iconic at night. We stayed at a spacious Airbnb near Kuromon Ichiban market.

• Takoyaki :) We had our first try of takoyaki at Takotako King instead of one the places at Dotonbori to avoid the crazy lines. You can sit down, have a beer and yes the takoyaki is amazing. It should be crunchy on the outside and deliciously goeey on the inside, doused with sauces and katsuobushi. Man, I wish I could go back and eat it again. It is true, you can't get great takoyaki outside of Osaka, at least I didn't get that same crunchy gooey combo again in other cities.
• Discount sushi from Takashimaya department store. For the budget-minded, this is a no-brainer. Around 7PM, an hour before closing time, you can get delicious fatty tuna maki at discount prices in the basement of takashimaya. Other foods at the department store food floor such as the fresh mochi are delicious also. Takashimaya is my favorite department store for food I think!
• Osaka castle - Our first castle in Japan. The green roof and the golden ornaments are beautiful and unique!
• Dotonbori - iconic :) fun to walk along. The queues are long there. We avoided eating at Dotonbori.
• Shitenno-ji - beautiful pagoda with buddha statues inside. Do pay the fee to go inside and see the garden. You can also go into the pagoda and walk up.
• Huge fan of Shotengai's, Shinsaibashi-Suji Shopping Street. They are so quintessential Japan.
• Ramen Tendo, the first ramen joint that we tried in Japan, so it has a special place in my heart. They specialize in chicken broth with lots of umami katsuoboshi flavor. Noodles were great too, very bouncy. Delicious! Little did I know that this ramen joint was really one of the best we would have this trip. It set the bar high for sure!
• Visit a local grocery store. Maybe it is just me, but I love to browse at local grocery shops (KOHYO namba Minatomachi) and be fascinated by all the different things they sell. It is also a great place to buy food souvenirs, like miso, green tea etc. Lots of pre-cooked meals/ fried stuff. Just a wider selection than your typical conbini. And again discounts if you go ~1hr before closing time.

Skip Shinsekai: We visited during the day and it felt very empty to me. More like a tourist-trap, the eateries didn't look appealing to me. Maybe during the evening this area is more fun.
D3 Nara
We did Nara as a day-trip from Osaka.

• Yes, to feeding the deer. It is touristy, but it is so much fun to be chased by cookie-crazed deer. One more thing: deer's fart a lot. We were wondering where this weird high pitched sound was coming from, those are actually deer farts.
• Todai-ji is very impressive, definitely a must visit.
• Just wander around in Nara park, it's very lush and beautiful and has many more shrines and interesting sights, such as manyo botanical garden. I wish we had one more day to explore Nara but oh well maybe next time :)
• We ate lunch at Magura Koya, a small restaurant run by a lovely elderly couple. Delicious tuna dishes. I had a tuna sashimi bowl and my partner the fried tuna set meal, so fresh!
• We had the best pork bun at Hourokutei at the end of the Higashimuki shopping street. It's a small hole in the wall, but omg the squishy-est juicy-est porkbuns ever.

D4 Onomichi
After staying in Osaka for 3 days, we headed west for the Shimanami Kaido. We decided to stay in Onomichi (Hotel Beacon Onomichi) for the night before we started our two day bike trip. For this part of our trip, we picked up our 7-day Setouchi area pass at Shin-Osaka JR station. I just want to mention that I really love the hospitality of the staff in Japan. The JR office people were so nice and helpful. We reserved our seats for the shinkansen and off we went to Onomichi. Onomichi is a lovely little seaside town to just stroll around and take in the views. I really recommend spending at least half a day here. Don't skip it!

• Senkoji park observatory - we walked up to the observatory (ropeway available), please walk up as there are lots of nice alleyways, shrines and cats along the way :). The view is amazing, especially at sunset.
• Cat alley: honestly, every alley is cat alley.
• Onomichi Shotengai - very retro, lots of cute shops. We bought a nice poster from a little granny there.

D5 & D6 Shimanami Kaido -> Matsuyama
The next day, we picked up our reserved cross bikes from the general bike rental and off we went. Honestly, biking the shimanami kaido was the highlight of our trip. We took two days to bike the whole way, one day would definitely be too rushed for us. We stopped at Ikuchi island (Shimanaido NEST) for our halfway stay.
The sights along the way were great! It was so much fun to go down-hill, the uphills were do-able. We had great weather also, not too hot and no rain. Everything was clearly indicated, we just followed the blue lines. I felt very safe biking in Japan. PS. My butt did hurt from the saddle, so be warned! Bring some cushioned pants if you want to be safe side.

• First pitstop after the first bridge was Hassakuya. You have to stop here! They have delicious strawberry and citrus daifuku! The citrus had a bitter aftertaste, but they are famous for their citrus so its definitely nice to try.
• Just enjoy the views, stop everywhere to take pictures. There are lots of things to explore along the way.
• Stop at roadside stations such as > tatara shimanami park and yoshiumi iki-iki-kan. Especially before you take on the last bridge just do a little pit stop. It's a nice place to take some pictures of the insanely long bridge and have a citrus/vanilla soft cream.

https://shimanami-cycle.or.jp/ for more info and bike rental
We decided to bike one-way from Onomichi to Imabari and we have no regrets. I liked that we ended the bike trip with the longest bridge (4km!!). Imabari is very industrial, but after the fun long way down from the last bridge and being exhausted from biking you just want to get to the station and stuff yourself with pastries from the bakery at the station and go on to your next destination. Thus, we immediately took the train to Matsuyama. Originally, the plan was to enjoy the famous onsen in Matsuyama, but we didn't have enough time and we were also pretty tired. After checking-in at the hotel, it was already 4, we made our way to Matsuyama castle but unfortunately, we were too late to go in. It was still nice to view it from the outside and walk around the park. We planned to do sightseeing in Hiroshima the next day, so there was no more time to explore Matsuyama further.
D7 Hiroshima -> Miyajima
After Shiminami Kaido, we headed towards Hiroshima/Miyajima. We took an early ferry from Matsuyama. The ferry was included in the setouchi JR pass, so we gladly took advantage of that. It's a nice way to get to Hiroshima, just one last view of the Seto inland sea. One remark: if it is not JR serviced transportation, you do have to obtain separate tickets. Normally, just showing your setouchi JR pass is enough to get onboard the train, but for the ferry you do have to go to the ticket desk and show your JR pass to obtain the ferry tickets.

• Peace memorial museum - a history we must not forget and do not want to repeat
• We tried another Hiroshima speciality for lunch: Hiroshima Tsukemen. This tsukemen is GREAT. One of my favorite dishes. We ate at Tsukemen Karabu Tokaichimachi. The spicy umami dipping sauce is very addicting!

Surprisingly, it was very hard to find affordable good accommodation in Hiroshima. It was the weekend and two weeks before G7, so maybe that was the reason why it was harder to find accommodation. In the end, I found a nice simple hotel on Miyajima island and it was a good decision after all! After a long day in Hiroshima, we made our way to Miyajima to stay two nights. Staying on Miyajima island is lovely especially when all the day-trip tourist leave.
D8 Miyajima
Honestly, Miyajima is truly magical. Another highlight of our trip! We started the day early to get ahead of the crowd and that made it all so much more enjoyable. Seeing shrines and temples without a crowd is truly 1000x better! If you can stay at Miyajima island, do it! You don't have to splurge on expensive ryokan (although it would have been nice). We stayed at Sakuraya, which was very budget-friendly.

• Itsukishima Jinja - Nice but Daishoin and surrounding nature were the highlights for me.
• Daishoin - it is the most beautiful shrine complex I have seen in Japan this trip. I think it's because it was so quaint and it was embedded in the hill, surrounded by lush green nature. There were multiple complexes. There was a pathway studded with Jizo statues, buddist cave, prayer wheels and much more. While we were there, a ceremony with a monk was ongoing and everyone could participate in helping burning the origami peace cranes made by children, to make their wishes come true. We bought a little peace crane made from the ashes to remember this moment.
• Mt. Misen - we hiked up from Dashoin. It was ~2hrs? of steep stair climbing, 500m elevation gain. A challenge for sure but we definitely earned our way going down by ropeway :P. Views are great! go go! There is a bus to the ropeway so you don't have to suffer if you don't want to.
• Momijidani park - If you don't like Momiji trees, you can't be my friend.
• Snack along the Miyajima ometesando street. Crowded, but the cakes are great!

One remark, our hotel didn't include dinner and all the restaurants on the island close quite early. Luckily, with our setouchi JR pass, we could take the ferry for free, so went to the mainland for dinner. Just keep this in mind, when booking your stay.
D9 - D13 Kyoto
We took the early train to Kyoto and checked in at Tokyu stay Sanjo-karasuma. We had 5 days to explore Kyoto and by this time we had lost our FOMO a little bit and also decided to take it a bit more slow. We still ended up walking a lot anyways but at least we were sleeping in.
The day we arrived,15MAY, was supposed to be Aoi matsuri so we headed to Kamo river to see the festival. Unfortunately, the festival was postponed due to the slight rainfall and we had no clue! but we were next to Kyoto botanical garden and we decided to visit that instead!

• Kyoto botanical garden: it is a lovely garden with a huge variety of plants and trees to see. Really well maintained and during our visit there was a great rose garden in bloom. I recommend going there! It has a nice japanese garden section too with momiji trees and moss. A greenhouse with orchids. Lot's to see here. Only 200 yen.
• Arashiyama area - I really loved this area, not just for the bamboo forest. Togetsukyo bridge and Katsura river were the highlights for me. You can walk along the both sides of Katsura riverbank. A nice way to get to the bamboo forest and bypassing the busy beginning at the start of bamboo forest is by walking along the katsura river bank into Kameyama park and following the signs to Okochi sanso garden. You will end up at the backside of bamboo forest, which is the nicest part. We went more north to visit Pottery Tanuki, this area was very nice and quaint to walk around; bamboo, shrines and traditional houses everywhere.
• South kyoto - Fushimi Inari + Uji day trip - We visited fushimi inari around 9am and it was already very busy! If you hike deeper into the Tori gates, it gets more quiet. We decided not to hike to the top, but instead do a little loop and we stumbled upon some lovely fox shrines. After Fushimi Inari, we took the train just a little bit more south to Uji. If you like matcha, visit Uji. It is a scenic little town with lots of matcha specialized cafes. We ate at Torikiku, famous for their matcha soba and udon. I had the best matcha icecream dessert at Nakamura Tokichi Byodo-in. Again, the river views are beautiful! It's a great daytrip from kyoto. On the way back to kyoto, we spontaneously decided to visit the Gekkeikan Sake museum. It's a small museum, mostly about the history of Gekkeikan, but for 500 yen entry fee, you also get 3 small sake tastings. Fun for an hour or so. I wouldn't go all the way here just for the museum, but for us it was a nice stop on the way back to Kyoto.
• Gion - visit Gion in the evening and just wander around the little streets. Hanamikoji street is one of the more famous streets there.
• We ate amazing gyoza lunch at Gyoza-dokoro Sakemasa. Best gyozo of our trip.
• Higashiyama area - Heian jingu shrine, visit the attached garden for a fee, definitely worth it! We ate amazing mazesoba and ramen for lunch at Menya Yamahide. We also visited Kyoto handicraft center in this area where we bought an ukiyo-e painting. There was also a vintage antique market at that day. We just browsed a bit around the market and honestly that was a day worth of exploring :).

I didn't mention everything we did in Kyoto here. We also had so much more planned for Kyoto, but didn't get around to it, which was totally fine! We were also a bit temple-fatigued by that time and needed a slower pace. Hopefully next time, we can visit some of things we skipped. Furthermore, some days were incredibly hot (30 C degrees and humid) or we had whole days of rain. On those days, we decided to go shopping instead.

• Sanjo Meiten-gai shopping arcade , Compasso teramachi. One long shopping street between Omiya and Kyoto-kawaramachi station. My favorite shops were: Standard products, Tokyu hands and Loft.

D14 - D15 Takayama
After spending 5 days in Kyoto, it was time to leave the city and head for the Japanese alps. We took the shinkansen to Nagoya, where we changed to a limited express to Takayama. It took around 3 hours to get to Takayama, but we didn't mind. Train travel = resting time for our legs! Also, the views from the train were great!! I really enjoyed this train trip to Takayama. We arrived around noon and immediately checked in at our hotel (Hotel Kuretakeso Takayama). We had two nights in Takayama to explore the town.

• Hida beef - it's the wagyu of this area and I found my favorite place to eat it: Ajikura Tengoku. We went there twice for lunch, because it was that good. It was our first time in Japan to try yakiniku and sukiyaki. I really do appreciate the taste of wagyu but only in small amounts. I couldn't eat it everyday, because it's really so rich and yes paying for the premium cuts really does make a different in taste and texture of the wagyu beef.
• We really loved Takayama. Again, if you have time, stay overnight and wander around the streets during the evening when all the daytrippers leave. The town has such a nice vibe and it still has a very local feel to it.
• Miyagawa morning market. Fun to stroll around
• Hikaru museum - we stumbled upon this via google maps. It's a mayan temple-inspired building, very unique. You could visit the place just for the architecture itself, really impressive. It has a very nice collection of art. When we reached the top floor, there was a whole exhibition dedicated to a specific religious person. We didn't know beforehand but this museum is connected to a cult. Suddenly, it all made sense why this museum was so unique. We didn't mind, but it definitely puts the whole experience in a different light. It's a 1-hour walk from downtown, there is no direct bus connection unfortunately.
• Hida folk village - Open-air museum with nice re-builds of traditional mountain houses. We spend over half a day there. You can see local craftsmen doing their thing and you can also participate in pottery for example. There is a lovely pond and it is just pleasant to walk around. it's only a ~10 min. busride from Takayama bus station. You can buy combined entryfee+bus combo tickets at the bus station.

D16 Kamikochi -> Matsumoto
After checking out of our hotel in Takayama, we took the 7am bus to Kamikochi. We were only going to spend a day here, and then continue our way to Matsumoto to stay overnight.After ~1 hour of bus, we finally made it to Kamikochi. The Japanese alps are amazing. I wished we stayed longer in this area, but just the bus ride alone to Kamikochi was already a great with the views. We decided to hop off at Taisho pond bus stop and walk along all the major sights in the park. We had no specific plan. Just hike around as far as time allowed. For lunch, we stopped at this cute teishoku restaurant, where we ate katsu curry, a big lunch to fuel our walking. We also saw wild japanese macaques and lots of wildflowers where blooming during our time there.At the local shops, we bought some yummy pastries to snack on. I had the tastiest baumkuchen with cheesecake center and my partner had a chocolate ganache cookie. I really regret not buying more kamikochi pastries to take home while we were there.After spending the day walking around, we hopped on the 4pm bus towards Matsumoto. Checked in at Tabino hotel lit Matsumoto, where I relaxed in the onsen.
Tips:

• We were only carrying backpacks, so we hiked with them until we reached the kamikochi bus terminal, where you can drop off you bag at the storage for a small fee.
• Reservation is mandatory for the bus Kamikochi -> Matsumoto, you can do it online or while you are at the busstation before hiking.
• Transportation in the Japan alps is mostly by bus, do reserve ahead if you go at peak times. Main bus company is Nouhi bus: https://www.nouhibus.co.jp/english/.)

D17 Matsumoto Tokyo
After sleeping in, we did some sightseeing in Matsumoto before we moved on to Tokyo. We really liked wandering around in Matsumoto. Lots of cool shops with local crafts. We didn't know but the biggest national crafts fair is held in Matsumoto. Unfortunately, we were only able to stay for one day, but next time we would love to visit this crafts fair!
Matsumoto Castle - I really like the interior of the castle. It has been renovated, but still contains that castle feel. It is 5 story castle and you are allowed to climb all of it. It also included a pretty extensive gun/weaponry exhibition. Do arrive early because you do have to line-up within the castle to get from one floor to the other. This is due to the steep stairways, on which they allow only one-way traffic at a time.
Matsumoto city art museum - There was a nice exhibition from Yayoi Kusama. We didn't know but Yayoi Kusama was born in Matsumoto. It is a good replacement exhibition if you aren't able to snatch up tickets for Yayoi Kusama museum in Tokyo.
Nakamachi street and Frog street - street with persevered houses with craft shops, cafes, brewerys. What more do you want.
After spending the day in Matsumoto, we took the train to Tokyo, our last destination of our stay. We decided to stay in Ueno (Hotel resol ueno). This hotel was located close to Ueno JR.
D18 - D24 Tokyo
Last 7 days in Tokyo. By this time, we were just enjoying everything at a much slower pace. Tokyo is huge! Staying near the JR line is indeed a must like everyone said. I could go on hours about Tokyo, I am just going to mention some highlights here.

• Anmitsu at Anmitsu Mihashi. My favorite dessert! It contains agar jelly, mochi balls, red bean paste, fruit and a scoop of matcha icecream.
• shopping in Ginza - It's nice to go during the weekends when they close of the streets for cars. We liked visiting flagship stores of Muji, Uniqlo. Go to Itoya if you are a stationary freak.
• Ueno park - Museums, shrines, Lotus pond. Have a look at their website, there are almost always events in the park. :)
• Tsukiji market - very busy, but fun to have a look. Lines everywhere. Look for sushi restaurants that open around 11am, line up at one of those places. I don't think it has to be the one with 4.5 rating and 1000 reviews. Why? There are so many good restaurants in Tsukiji area. We went to Tsukiji Kagura Sushi.
• Hamarikyu gardens - Bonsai pine trees pruned to perfection. Ponds filled with sea water, thus there were seabass, little sardines and jellyfish in the water. Very special! You also had a nice skyline view from the park which is a cool contrast! It was nice and quiet.
• Tokyo Skytree - best view :) it also has a great shopping complex attached to it.
• Asakusa area - Senso-ji
• Yanaka Ginza - we went during the weekend and there was live music, little stalls and just very lively in general. Really nice to spend a morning. Largest preserved cemetery, which apparently welcomes visitors a lot for flower viewings. It is a preserved neighborhood with traditional houses and lots of shops selling crafts, gifts, souvenirs, and unique snacks.

That's it!
For 24 days, we spend around ~2500 euro p.p. (excl. 1000,- flights). This amount includes food, transportation, entrancefees and shopping/gifts. so average is ~100 euro/day. We didn't track every cost. Hotel costs were 900,- pp, which ranged from 50,- to 120,- per night accommodations. The conversion yen/euro is also great at the moment, so it might have contributed!
I hope you enjoyed my trip report. Let me know if there are any questions.

Timestamp: https://imgur.com/a/COkLVto

10% discount for payment in crypto

Items:

• A $410: Aero upper, aero low profile gas block and carbine length gas tube,10.5” government profile barrel that I was told was Ballistic Advantage (I could find no BA markings but it is marked with “5.56 NATO 1:7 41V50”), PWS muzzle device, Troy Bravo 11” rail.
• C $75: Brand new 9130 nitride Willamette Machine BCG and milspec charging handle. Add on only.
• D $50: Hi-Point C9 slide, barrel, and grips. Nothing else.
• E $70: Hi-Point CF380 kit. NO Magazine.
• F $265: S&W M&P40 kit. NO Magazine.
• G $325: FNH USA FNS-40 4" barrel kit. NO Magazine.
• H $30: Beretta Model 20 grips. NO screws.
• I $35: 9-14" Firefield Bipod
• J $50: Ferro Concepts Slingster in Multicam with NO qds
• SOLD K $30: FDE Shockwave Blade with buffer tube
• SOLD L $55: Black Magpul STR stock. Includes one QD mount point.
• M $40: Black FAB Defense stock
• N $40: Black DPMS stock and random complete buffer kit
• SOLD O $60: Spray painted Choate stock and complete buffer kit

Disclaimers & Terms:

• No frame, receiver, or anything considered a firearm by the ATF is for sale.
• I will only ship these items where they are legal.
• Do not ask me where to obtain 3d printer design files, I won't respond.
• I will not print you anything.
• I make no guarantees of what parts are included beyond what's in the pictures. I believe all the parts are there, but I haven't verified. Study the pictures because what you see is what you get.
• Prices include shipping to CONUS.
• Paypal F&F or crypto accepted (ETH, BTC, XMR, or USDC)

Alright, let me get this out of the way first, I've got nothing against gay people, trans people etc.
I've got a problem with the LGBTQ organisation. For y'all who don't know, they're a non profit organisation, they used to be called LGB, back when gays and bisexuals weren't equal enough and often disapproved off. They actively combatted this, and with moderate to high success made gay people and bisexuals more or less viewed as an equal to the rest.
After that these problems were solved, the organisation was faced with a problem though, they're a non profit, and they can't exist without an active problem to "solve". Thus they started incorporating other stuff like trans and everything else that followed. It wasn't that bad in the beginning, since the things that got added were in the same ballpark, but they started adding more and more stuff, until we had what we have now. An organisation who stands for everything and nothing, and is becoming more of a cult everyday. Take stuff like trigender for example, I get that everyone can feel different and stuff, but painting your face purple like a teletubbie shouldn't be seen as something normale, and in fact someone like that should be pushed to see a psychiatrist.
The LGBTQ community started out as something good, but has become more of a cult type of thing which supports more and more obscure things just to stay relevant as an organisation. I get the argument that it's a loud minority and stuff, but the matter of fact is that even though the more radical types are a minority, they're still heavily influencing everyone else who identifies themselves as being in that community.
It also doesn't help that people tend to make it their whole personality and arguing that they're being repressed and stuff ( which isn't the case, people are still equal under the eye of the law, which is the opposite fron repression), while there are other communities, like the black community, or the people whom have autism, who've also been repressed but stopped bringing that point up once they weren't anymore. I've never seen a black person in my life so devoted to an organisation who in all likelihood doesn't care about what it represents.
I like to say that the LGBTQ community is becoming more like the modern femenism movement, radical and having completely lost focus of their original goal and creating new problems just to stay relevant. The funny thing is, in real life, I've met no gay or whatever person who agrees with the LGBTQ community anymore, yet y'all here act like your whole life is being part of that community, while there are arguably more important stuff we should talk about.
I know I'll get some trigger happy comments, but I am posting this in the hope that some people might realise what they're associating themselves so heavily with, and that those people go on to create their own identity.
Tldr, LGBTQ community has become an organisation completely disassociated from its original goal, just to stay relevant.

Fried Wing Flats Drizzled With Honey Lemon Pepper
3 lbs of wings
1 tsp adobo
1tsp black pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tbsp lemon pepper
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2 eggs
3 cups flour
DIRECTIONS
Wash chicken add to a bowl then add all seasonings above and 2 eggs mix well .
In another bowl add allpurpose flour
Dip seasoned chicken into flour mixture then fry in vegetable oil for 6 miniutes per side add glaze to hit hot chicken. Serve and enjoy.
Sauce recipe
1 stick butter
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp lemon pepper or more to suit your taste.
1/4 cup honey
Juice of 1 lemon
Melt butter in sauce pan then add lemon juice black pepper, lemon pepper and honey bring to a boil then remove from stove.
Note: melt the butter on like low heat dont let it burn .you need to see the yellow lemon pepper colour when you add it to the chicken wings

I will leave the story of the title in the last paragraph
Need for Speed Rivals was released in 2013 and like many NFS games lately have some amazing things to it and some very strange decisions that keep the game down
Talking graphics the game holds up very well, if you squint you can mistake it for a new gen title, there isn't much Verity in scenary, it's mostly hillsides and trees but it's beautiful nonetheless, there is a slight desaturation always present which gives the game a bit of a darker look. The car models as always are really good
The Sound design is actually surprisingly good, even compared to the newer titles, each car from first to last sounds like an absolute powerhouse, slamming into other cars has a satisfying umph to it
The handling is pretty heavy, with quite a bit of downforce sticking you to the road, it's definitely more grip focused but can still maintain a proper drift with little problems, the sense of speed is amazing and it's genuinely thrilling going 200+ onto oncoming traffic
The map is pretty small, or atleast feel that way with mostly highways and wide open roads which present a wide playground for police encounters and allow for speed but miss out on quick turns and handling challenges most of the time
The campaign is a series of challenges separated by cutscenes for stories which you do to unlock cars and increase your level, these challenges range from winning races, taking on cops to smaller challenges like jumping a set distance, driving at a set speed etc
The main draw of the game I would say is the ability to play as both Racers and Cops, and you do exactly what you think you do as the two in a NFS game, you race and take down cops as racers and you take down racers as cops, both have their own campaigns, their own challenges and their own cars to choose from
The cops in the game are pretty well done, they have problems like being able to rubberband like nobody's business but for the most part they get the fantasy of a chase just right, you have two "weapons" at your disposal and so do the cops, the weapons range from shock ram, emp, spickstrip to turbo that makes you go super fast but it's very difficult to stop and turn, probably my favourite part is that unlike other NFS games nothing is halted when you are in a chase you can start races while in a chase, you can get repaired indefinitely during a chase, you can enter your safe house even if you are in the middle of a chase and this might make it sound like the game will be easy but no, on higher heat levels your car will feel like it's made of paper, one crash or 2 cop attacks will make you go critical so even getting to a safe house is a challenge, the standard risk reward is there, the more you stay out the more your multiplayer is, if you get busted you lose everything the standard but it works great
Car customisation is very bad, there are no body parts to change, not even spoilers, your car's body will look identical to every other player with that car, you can't change the rims either, colors on cars are unlimited, you can use a slider to make any color but the cool effects are missing just gloss, metalic or matte. Rims have a limited number of colors, there are a limited number of strips, decals, body paint and you have no control over the placement, it's all prebuilt, this is without a doubt the worst part of the game
Talking about weird things with the game, you can't start a new game, its impossible, your game is bound to your account and you can only progress further so on this replay I already had most of the cars, almost all the events I have gold already and the campaign was 100% complete. Not being able to stay again is such a werid decision I don't understand why, you also can't pause the game even if you are playing solo
Overall tho the game is definitely worth playing if you like racing games
Now for context on the title, I played NFS rivals way back when it released, almost 100% it because I liked it a lot, ofcourse being that it was 9-10 years ago I slowly forgot about the game and I always thought I played it on my uncle's account rather than mine because all my purched games are on steam, I don't buy games on the Ubi launcher or the EA launcher or the Blizzard launcher etc. So because it wasn't in my steam library I always thought I never owned the game I thought of buying it in steam but I had already gotten my fill so it wasn't high on my priority list, ofcourse I don't use my EA app like ever because you don't need to login to run EA games via steam so I never log it(even when I have to I don't browse the app just log in and minimise it), recently I did to see if it had any NFS games that steam didn't only to find Rivals tucked in a corner in my library and to say I was surprised would be an understatement

Part 24: https://www.reddit.com/Viidith22/comments/13taoss/my_roommate_is_slenderman_part_24_revised/
(Terry)
It had been a day or so and I hadn’t gotten a response from Megami. There are spurts where we don’t talk, she tends to be pretty accident-prone with electronics. Sometimes the frequency she’s singing goes haywire and fries it. But it had been a good five months or so since we last spoke. Taking a shot in the dark, I called Rachel.
“What is it, Terry?” She grunted, “I’m a little busy.”
“I need to talk to Megami, but she’s been MIA since the whole ‘Maerod’ situation.” My mind shot back to what Jones had told me, to watch out for “her,” momentarily questioning whether or not Dexter’s team had been dumb enough to keep her alive.
There was a pause, the line was silent. Then, a sigh, “Actually, I’ve had the same problem. I figured she just broke another phone, or was pissed at me for… Well, I’ll keep an ear out and let you know if I hear anything. What do you need her for?” She grunted again.
“Small mission.”
“Joseph?”
“Yeah.”
The line went silent again, then an exasperated sigh, “Good luck, be sure to bring The Doctor with you. You know how you can get.”
A flush of anger pulsed through me, but I took a deep breath, “Sure.”
She shrieked, “Oh shit!” The call ended.
I thought over the list of everyone, wondering what I was gonna do. I had actually intended to have Doc and Megami be the last two after Smudge, no one else would really work. Chad wasn’t right for the type of incognito mission we were doing, Abraham wasn’t available, Rachel and Sepratine just didn’t quite mesh with what we were doing, Megami was supposed to be the last one to fill out the party. I mulled it over, but I still owed David, the huuldefolk, a favor from the Maerod raid. I would’ve called Jacob, but he was in another country doing who knows what.
My phone rang as I stood, leaning against the couch, “Jones, something wrong?”
He chuckled, “Not in the least. You got your group together?”
“We’re one short.”
“No problem, bring everyone by tonight, we need to prepare on our end, and Dexter sent us a bit of backup.” He hung up.
I called up Doc and Smudge, telling them to be at my place and ready by the time dusk rolled around. Heading to the bathroom I downed my meds, trying to shake off a weird feeling that slowly crept up on me. As if something was going to happen when we got there. It was more than just a bad feeling, but a conviction, I knew something would happen, and it made me uncomfortable. One of the pills I took was supposed to ease it, but when it got that bad, it meant my brain had already determined some kind of outcome. It’s not a superpower or anything, more like enhanced intuition. It only happens when my brain has the information to go off of. But there’s a disconnect between my conscious and subconscious, so whenever something like that happens, I just have to wait for it to come to fruition.
-----------------------------------------
Stepping into the office, I looked around, “Where’s the new guy?”
Xavier looked up, baffled at the sight. Then Jones stood, walking over to greet us, the bags under his eyes less defined, “He’s in the back getting himself something to eat. Smudge, nice to see you again, you haven’t aged a day.” Smudge chuckled at that, “You must be The famous Doctor, I want to thank you for coming. I’m sure you’re a busy man.” He outstretched his hand, but Doc just gestured between Jones and me.
“You see, that’s how you should greet me. You really ought to get a notepad out, you might learn a thing or two about how to respect your elders.”
“If I remember correctly, I’m about 2,000 years your senior. When did you start your… questionable medical practices again? 16th, 17th century?”
Doc ignored me, angrily shaking Jones’s hand, “Nice to meet you, lad! Glad to hear somebody thinks highly of me, even if it is a meager thinskin.”
“Me and my dislocated fingers thank you for that.” As he brought his hand back, Jones uncomfortably pushed his fingers back into their sockets one by one. “So, who were you planning on bringing? You said there was going to be another?”
“Right, had my sights set on a Siren, she’s pretty skilled and can be silent when the occasion arises. But I couldn’t get ahold of her.” I paused, “Actually, you’ve got your ear to the ground, you heard anything about someone named Megami? It’s been a few months since we talked, I’m kinda worried.”
Jones was a mannequin, despite trying to seem calm, his eyes flicked to Xavier before shooting back to us. He leaned against his desk, reaching for his coffee mug several times, not looking away from us, before finally grabbing it, and raising it to his mouth.
I stared hard at Xavier, a few moments later, he cracked, “Look it was a life or death sit–”
My legs tightened, I could feel the meds pushing to the side as I grew, stepping over to him in two long strides. He threw out his hearing aid, grasping his one intact ear as he held himself up with his free hand on the desk, “You killed Megami! Tell me why I shouldn’t give you the same treatment!” Something grasped my waist, then each of my legs. They were trying to push me back. When I released a tentacle to shoot Xavier through the head, I felt a prick stab into it. I fell limp, shrinking back down instantaneously.
Much calmer, I looked at my surroundings, Doc stood over me, making sure I was fine, Smudge looked between Xavier and me, wondering how he should react. Then I saw Xavier, Jones standing beside him, and on the other side of the desk, just across from us, stood the blonde buzzcut, and scarred musculature, of a Texan soldier. “Fucking Tucker.” I chuckled with disdain, “Of course.”
“Wish I had my H.O.P.S. but unfortunately it was destroyed along with the U.S.P.M. You’re one terrifying son of a bitch when I’m not in a full suit of armor, I’ll tell you what.” Looking close, I noticed he was wearing one of the older exosuits they used to wear. It was clean, but there were scuffs in the black paint job here and there.
“The U.S.P.M is just a bad fucking omen at this point.”
“Hey, we didn’t kill Jeff, and we didn’t kill Megami. So why don’tcha chill the fuck out.” Tucker crossed his arms, staring at me.
Smudge let out a jittery sigh, “You know, Jane’s death wasn’t necessarily the fault of Jeff.”
I looked at him, “Are you really going to side with the thinskins on this one?”
“Terry, behave yourself. We’re only here for Joseph’s sake. After we’re done you can go wipe out the US government. But we’re here for a reason. Doctor back me up here.”
“I’m neutral in this, I don’t care much for anyone.”
“And yet you’re here to help save Joseph.”
He sighed, “Joseph is okay I suppose. But I’m here because Terry gave me a deal on a pixie a month or so back.”
Smudge and Doc continued their back and forth as I stared at Xavier, he stood upright again, fixing the aid back into his ear, “I don’t blame you, Terry, I’d kill me too. I even did. But at least wait till this is over, yeah? I wanna slip in one last good deed if I can.” He blinked tears back as he put on a ski mask.
“When we’re done, I’ll thank you, but you better hope we never cross paths again.”
“I could say the same to you… I could.”
The air was still for a minute or so, even Doc and Smudge had stopped their bickering. “Well then.” Tucker smacked his hands together, making a metal clink, “Y’all ready to kick some shit in?”
“How long is the drive? I’ll need at least an hour to recover.”
Jones answered, “Hour and a half to two, you’ll be fine. We’ve got guns in the van, all suppressed. I had a mutual acquaintance of ours send us a care package yesterday. Regardless, I say we should all keep our blood inside our bodies.”
Tucker joined in, “Speaking of, I managed to scrounge the materials to make up some of those SIOM rounds. I left them in the van, along with the last resort.” He winked at me.
Jones nodded, “We should be good to go then, you guys oughtta join us in the van, less conspicuous.”
I nodded, “Yeah, that’d make the most sense. I’ll be taking the lead when we get there though. Which reminds me, you never sent me the schematics.”
“Oh, yeah, I’ll send them over. Are you gonna have enough time to put a plan together?”
“Yeah, I already know how we’ll follow into the building. I was thinking Tucker at first, but without his suit, he’s basically just a liability.”
He rolled his eyes, “Yeah, we’ll see about that one.”
-----------------------------
As the van slowed, Tucker pulled on his combat gloves. He was decked out in full gear that I hadn’t really noticed till we got in the van. A flexible vest that was essentially a skin-tight long-sleeve shirt, meeting his wrists. His pants were tight and were made of the same fabric as his shirt.
We came to a complete stop as he slung his rifle around, clicking off the safety on his Bizon. Doc clapped his book shut, and Smudge stood.
“Alright, everyone up, we need to get to the gun cases.” Jones had come back through a door-sized hole connecting the back of the van to the front. He’d already pulled his mask over his face, the only color that came from him was his remaining eye and parts of his lips, only revealed by small, cut strips in the fabric.
We stood, sidestepping so he could get to the guns behind the seats. One by one we filed out the back.
Xavier hopped out the back, followed by Jones who stared at Tucker for a moment, “Did you uh… Did you put a new scope on this?” He raised his PS90 which held an ACOG and a suppressor.
“Oh yeah, it’s kinda like a thermal scope. But instead of heat it picks up… well I don’t actually know. But you should be able to see anything invisible or not.” Xavier inspected his own gun, “Sorry guy, I only had enough for Jones and me. You should be fine, but just cause you don’t got a fancy scope don’t mean you can go missing your shots. Them rounds’re expensive as hell.”
“Well, let’s get going, I’ve got the map down, I know how to get there. Second floor of their basement has the data. Unfortunately, we have no idea what security looks like, so we have to be cautious if we intend to stay hidden.”
Tucker spoke, “Just to be clear, you’re upfront, Jones is behind you, then the Doctor, then Xavier with me covering our asses.”
“Smudge is behind Doc, and while I’d like to have Xavier in the back–”
Xavier rolled his eyes, “Well I’d like to have you in back.”
Tucker sighed, “Anyhow, guess it works. Maybe I’ll get lucky and they’ll have a huuldefolk I can put some rounds through. Release some of this tension.” He shot his gaze between Xavier and me.
“Well let’s head out. Smudge, you’ll be able to keep the cameras down right?”
“Based on what you said about their layout I should be able to, but I won’t be able to keep us hidden from the perception of the guards once we’re inside. There are far too many electronics I need to keep down so if we run into anyone inside the building, we need to kill them and hide their bodies to avoid being caught. I can’t keep the entire building down, so I can’t stop them from setting off an alarm if we miss anyone.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem.” Tucker lifted his gun.
“Let’s hope those sights are as powerful as you say.”
Before long, we were on our way. We’d parked some distance out so as to not draw any attention. Taking the lead, the only noise I could hear was the occasional snapping of twigs as we walked through a forested area. Despite having come in contact with the exoskeleton previously, it still surprised me how stealthy Tucker could be wearing it.
Breaching the treeline, I held up my hand. Surrounded by a gravel driveway stood a three-story tall modern office-style building. Men patrolled around the lot, all wearing tactical gear. Focusing on the shadows, I could tell there were hidden guards as well, those ones were wearing light, flexible clothing and minimal if any weapons.
“Smudge,” I whispered, waving him up with two fingers.
“Yes.” As he looked out, he seemed to understand, “This will be a tough one if they aren’t all humans. Seems like there are about 30 guards that may see us. If even one of them is around a five, I won’t be able to blind all of them from our presence. If Rachel were here we’d be able to determine such a thing, unfortunately, we don’t have her spiritual sense.”
“I might be able to help with that,” Tucker whispered from behind us.
“What kind of bullshit caused you to break formation without my asking.”
“As I said, these scopes can sense alternative forms of energy. I have a few frames of reference, I know what civies look like through this thing. Smudge, if you can point out all the hidden ones, I’ll be able to tell you what we’re dealing with.”
Smudge looked at me, then shrugged, “Alright, if you’re certain.”
---------------------------
“We’re good to go then? That was the last one?”
“So it would seem, that scope of yours ought to be reliable.”
“If we don’t get by, you have my full permission to do whatever you want to Xavier.”
Jones butted in, “I believe that’s up for me to decide. I still need him around.”
Smudge whispered at a frequency that’d set dogs off, “Enough bickering, you’re worse than when I have to babysit Chad and Rachel. Everyone get in formation, it’s easiest on me if we go in single file.” Getting back into position, he spoke up, “Sorry Terry, I know you’re leading, but, well you get it.”
I nodded back to him, “Everyone ready? No piss breaks past this point. If you have cold feet, just head back to the van.” I looked back to Xavier, to which he flipped me off, signaling me to start.
I wasn’t worried about the situation until we got about ten feet from the door. One of the two guards standing beside it looked over at us. I signaled everyone to stop, and the guy continued to stare. A few moments later, he shrugged, facing forward again, and we continued on through the door.
There was no one in the immediate vicinity, though there were several cameras pointed toward us, blinking.
Smudge said one word as he took a deep breath, “Break.”
Nodding, I signaled for the three of us up front to take the right wall, and the other three to take the left.
------------------------------
Once Smudge caught his breath, he stood back up, and we all got back into formation, right as a guard turned the corner. I shot a tentacle out, grabbing him by the throat and snapping his neck, all while bringing him closer so we could hide the body.
That was when an alarm went off, “FUCK! Keep the humans hidden, Doc and I can handle ourselves.” My brain froze time, trying to figure out what happened. Eventually, it clicked, heart monitors, a precaution not even Maerod took.
“Leave me out of it Smudge, I can handle myself too. You need all the focus you can get.” Tucker stepped up, aiming down sights.
The door bashed open before I could get my tentacles out. Turning, Tucker already faced the door, dropping people in one to two rounds a piece.
Turning back toward the dead body, I headed on, alarms blaring overhead. Bodies came and went. Despite how badly we’d apparently messed up the plan, I knew where the database was, and I refused to let anyone stand between me and it.
Each step I took was further than the last, “KEEP YOURSELVES SAFE, I’M GOING FURTHER IN!”
“Not without me you’re not!” Metal clattering rang out, “IMBECILE!” Doc caught up to me as I flung several bodies out of the way.
“Watch where you’re throwin’ em!” Tucker yelled out, “We shouldn’t split up!”
I was already at the staircase making my way down when something smacked across my face. Turning to my right, I saw a lanky man with his hands in his pockets. He was slouched as if bored.
“FINE, GO DOWN, I’LL MEET YOU THERE!” Swinging a tentacle at him, he made a popping motion with his mouth, the limb slammed into a wall. Shooting them all at him, he blew air out in a circle, then at me directly, lunging at me as he threw me off balance. He kicked me in the chin, then down on my head, knocking me to a knee. A second later I was thrown into the air, then to the ground.
“Damn man, you look like you could use a hand.” The strange man stood over me, offering me his right.
I took it, spinning him around, snapping his arm, and flinging him against the wall, where lay motionless. I stabbed him in the head, then the heart just to be safe. Scoffing at his arrogance, I headed down the stairway.
When I got down to the second basement floor, there were already several dead bodies strewn about. Everyone was hiding behind metal tables. Tucker injected Doc with something, sitting beside them was a heaving Smudge.
I put my tentacles away, and a sudden burst of gunfire came from the back of the wide-open office room. A few bullets hit me, but I was already too tall, they crumpled on impact.
“THEY GET AHOLD OF YOUR FORMULA!?”
“Fuck that’s loud, yeah, there was a leak a few months back! Doc ain’t doin’ so hot!”
“That’s, The Doctor, to, you.” He spoke each word with individual breaths.
Walking toward the guards, they panicked. With a thud hitting my chest, one of the men screamed, “We need you up here!” Looking down I found a pinless grenade, which I kicked, knocking one of the men unconscious. Bodies tumbled over one another as it exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere. A few pieces stuck in my face, but I headed straight for the room.
“YOU’LL WANT TO GET BACK! SOMEONE IS COMING FROM DOW–” The ground gave out from under me, falling a few floors, I was kicked into a wall in a dark room, aside from the hole. Landing on my feet, I looked around, rubbing my side. I felt something wet, where I’d been hit. Then I saw who it was. A scaly humanoid, each scale tipped with a tinted blue, serrated prong. His shadow fluctuated, then its eyes sprung open, and a black mist shot me. I blocked with my tentacles, but they were cheese to a grater.
“Kenet himself breaking in here? Must think you’re hot shit!”
I grunted, springing off the wall, using a shredded tentacle to slam the scaly man with a table. Sure enough, the mist formed into a shadow-walker, same as Jacob. I slammed my fist into his face before he could react.
“I NEED SOME LIGHT DOWN HERE!”
But the scaled man already rebounded, swinging his pronged fist at my face. I managed to block with my arm, but it was getting stiff.
“DOC, I NEED YOU!”
I heard Tucker to my left, “He’s still recovering, close your eyes!”
Before I could tell him I couldn’t close my face, a clinking sounded, and I saw a small metal canister roll into view. A blinding light took over, banging nine times, each followed by a flash. Then several gunshots.
Accepting the pain to come, I grabbed the scaled man, flinging him into the ceiling, dazing him. The shadow-walker was already dead on the ground, three bullet holes planted in his skull.
“NICELY DONE!”
“Got any weaknesses on the other one? Never seen anything like him.”
“SKIN TRANSFORMATION, WE MUST WEAR HIM DOWN!”
“Lovely.”
The prongs tipping his scales had already shrunk considerably. Stumbling to his feet, he glanced down at the motionless skinwalker, “Goddamn.” His scales evaporated, leaving behind a hollow man, standing still, “Ju–”
Tucker put a bullet right between his eyes, “Didn’t have to ask buddy.”
As we turned to head back up the stairs, a thud reverberated from behind us. Turning back, Smudge lay, face first, and uncovered. He wore a full-body outfit ensuring no skin was revealed, but my concern was on whatever had dropped him down. Aside from the alarms, it was eerily silent. They landed on Smudge, hopping off, and kicking him into the wall.
The black suit was almost a fabric, but it was certainly mechanical. Parts at joints stuck out slightly, giving him mobility along with full body protection. At his neck, the material fluctuated, phase shifting at the slightest movement. The entire front of his helmet was a velvet red visor, the changed to a light blue when the light reflected just right. He had several weapons littering his body, including two hook swords, an unknown kind of pistol, a pump action shotgun, and a few others; all of which were as black as his armor.
I had to lean my head and chest down to avoid hitting the ceiling. I couldn’t move anymore, and Tucker looked a little nervous, “DOC! YOU ALIVE!?”
A German accent replied with a chuckle, “He was already dead.”
“Yeah, right.” Tucker said, “What’re you waitin’ for big guy?”
Shooting out my back, I held the odd man at tentacle point, Tucker readied his carbine, and the man retrieved his hook blades.
“Come, let me get this over with.”
Tucker stammered, “B-be careful.” He swapped magazines, “This guy is radiating like a human.” He fired a round, I felt it slide between two tentacles, and as it hit the man in the visor, an explosion errupted. I engaged, picking the man up by the leg, but before I could fling him, pain shot through it, the tip was sliced off. Tucker fired two more rounds, both exploding as they met their target, filling the room with a cloudy haze. I took a deep breath, forcing myself to move, but I felt like a turtle.
Suddenly, my leg ripped up, I held in place, stabilizing with a few tentacles, then smashed where a crack had formed on his visor, but he swung his other blade down, cutting it in half. A rapid succession of explosions slowly knocked the man back, and for the first time, he looked at Tucker, throwing one of the hookblades at him, it was angled for his face, but he snatched it mid air, then lunged at the man. He slammed the blade down on his shoulder, spinning it around and hooking the back of his arm, yanking him in, Tucker punched full force. In an instant, Tucker was against the wall, falling face first into the tile floor, leaving ceramic to crack the area around him.
The man chopped the last of my tentacles down as he approached me. When they were practically useless, he put the remaining blade away, pulling out the pump action shotgun. He shot me in the face six times before throwing the gun to his side. A small stream of black ooze dripped down my chin, and I had a hard time seeing anything in front of me.
“Damn, you’re one tough fucker, I’ll give that much.”
Pulling out his pistol, he proceeded to unload every round into my forehead, despite being ordinary metal, something about them kicked like a mule. When that gun was out, he dropped it, looking to his right, seeing where Tucker had dropped his gun.
“I wonder, how will you hold against explosive rounds? Not well?”
As he picked it up, I felt something prick my back, a familiar sensation made its way toward my heart, like organic WD-4D.
“You’re awfully quiet over there. Lost will to fight?”
“You’re an asshole!”
“Please, stop, I’ll shit myself.” He let out an antagonizing laugh, “You’re strong, but you’ve too much a stiffy going on there.” He let off a round into my face, nearly knocking me down, but I staggered just enough to stay in place.
“Wow, this has some nice kick to it, perhaps I’ll join the military after this.” He shot three more into my face, with each explosion, my skin peeled away just that much more, my brain rattled, but my limbs loosened.
By the fourth round, I regained some mobility, walking toward him. He stepped back, switching the gun to burst fire. I maneuvered around three bursts, only getting hit three times, each one in my torso. Those explosions seemed to boost the Doc’s serum, and I was able to grab the man by the head, crushing his visor with the palm of my hand. “You rely too much on your gadgets and luck. Neither will get you out of this.”
The helmet cracked, and blades shot out, slicing my fingers off. He pulled his remaining hook blade and slid under me. A sharp pain hit the back of my skull, then a cracking reverberated through my head. A metal clattering followed, and when I turned, the man stood there, shocked. He lunged back, throwing several kunai at my face, but I ducked them. With my full range of motion returned, I slung one of the tables at him, flinging him into a wall front-first.
Walking over to where he’d dropped Tucker’s rifle, I snagged it, and walked over to the man. He staggered back to his feet, a broken nose and a shard of ceramic sticking out of his eye. I held the gun to his forehead and fired, his head bursting like a pipe bomb.
I stumbled over to Tucker, dropping his gun beside him, and dropping to one knee. I smacked him in the face a few times, “You still alive?”
He rolled onto his side, “Kinda wish I wasn’t.” His face was covered in small cuts from the ceramic tiles, “Wish I’d had my Odyr suit, couldda kicked his ass. Fuckin hell what a dick.”
I sat beside him, “Hopefully he was their last line of defense, I think your gun gave me a concussion or something.” The room spun, my stomach on a Ferris wheel.
“Wow, the Doctor was right.”
I turned to the stairway, Xavier held Jones’s arm around his neck, helping him stand, “What happened, is Doc really dead?”
Tucker staggered his way to a standing position, “Nah, that stuff I gave him slows heart rate. He was too stupid to check for a full minute. He should still be alive, don’t worry.”
“And you two?”
Jones cleared his throat, “Smudge hid us, but he was worn down.”
Hearing that, I turned back to see Smudge, still laying flat. I stood, stumbling over to him, checking his pulse. It took a bit, but eventually, I felt a weak heartbeat. “DOC, YOU ALIVE UP THERE!?”
“I suppose!” He groaned.
“WE NEED YOU DOWN HERE! SMUDGE IS IN BAD SHAPE!”
A faint hint of a sigh made its way down the hole. I picked Smudge up, and moments later, Doc landed on the ground, a leg giving out from under him.
------------------------------------------
Some time passed, and we patched ourselves up as best we could before heading back up to the proper floor. Jones was able to walk on his own, but his right leg was in bad shape. I carried Smudge on my back, and despite Tucker’s several broken bones, he was walking just fine, occasionally stumbling from a torn tendon. As far as Doc went, the only sign he showed he was injured was his panting. Fortunately, we never ran into anyone else aside from the odd straggler, and we managed to grab the data we needed.
With the stressors passed, we laughed and joked, trying to bring ourselves back down from the adrenaline high. Exiting the building, I spoke up, “Xavier, I’m not going to forgive you, but I will thank you.”
He looked over at me, “To be fair, it was the Doctor’s idea.”
“That’s why I’m not forgiving you, anyone could’ve done it.”
“Oh, fair enough. Guess you could’ve done it too aye Doc?”
“That’s Doctor.” He let out an exhausted sigh, “In theory, but by the time I got around to it, who knows if Terry would still be alive. For a thin-skin, you did well.”
That’s when a limo pulled up through the gravel headed right for us, stopping just in time to not hit us, “Doc, wake Smudge, have him get you guys out of here. NOW!” I set him on the ground behind me.
“Well, I certainly hope he’s feeling up to it.”
“If not, you guys need to run.”
The back door opened, and a man in a suit stepped out. Pulling off his glasses, he tossed them in the back seat before closing the door and signaling the driver to leave. They couldn’t get away fast enough.
“Terry, son of Charles, I was under the impression you wouldn’t get involved with us. But after the Maerod incident, we decided we should implement additional security measures. Seems we should’ve invested more heavily into that. What was your intent here? If you had just called on Charles and told him about us, I’m certain he could’ve turned the entire building to mist.”
“If you know that, why’d you come to see for yourself, you can’t kill him. Or are you really that arrogant?”
The man laughed, “Because the alarm is still going off. If he had come, there would be no signal sending the alarm. You’re strong sure, but even three assassins managed to do this to you. Hence the difference between you mortals and us gods.”
“Didn’t realize living for 3000 years classified me as mortal.”
“You know, it’s interesting. Even after thousands of years, some still feel the need to attach themselves to this world. It’s as if they’re unaware of the insignificance of this world, this solar system, galaxy, supercluster, hell this universe! If you will live to see it all end, then what’s this part of it matter? They get animals to give themselves more meaning, call them pets. They feed the animal, water them, domesticate them, protect them. But they also prevent them from living in their natural habitat. Pulling the animal from where it belongs to give themselves a sense of purpose, it’s selfish wouldn’t you say?”
“Sure, I guess in a nihilistic sense.”
“So why are you here? To retrieve your pet? As I’ve said, there’s a transmitter in there, I saw what you pulled. Data on where your pet is. Why not just let him live in his terrarium?”
“He’s one of us now.”
“Due to your interference.”
“What are you really doing here!?”
“That’s the question of the day is it not? Quite frankly, I think Maerod was right to kill her. You’re far too attached to this world, though I suppose you are still a mere child. You could be so much more wise, and yet you refuse to allow it, you latch onto what’s been lost when you could focus on what you could have.”
“Sounds to me like you’re not quite past your own insignificance.”
He sneered, “Are you certain that’s your final answer?”
“I guess so.”
“Gods, the apple really does fall right to the roots.” The grass around him shriveled to dust when he charged me. Time stopped as the gleam in his eyes froze me, each fist pummeling me to the dirt, creating a deeper crater with each fist.
Then I was back in place, so was he. I’d never felt it so strong before, but I couldn’t deny the reality, he would kill me. Unlike Maerod, that man had absolute control over his soul, a feat all my attempts couldn’t achieve. All I could do was hold him off until I had an opportunity to slip out of his perception.
The grass around him slowly disintegrated, ready for his lunge, I leaped into the air, grabbing him mid-air with my tentacles and throwing him full force into the building. I sprung myself to the forest, latching onto a branch and engrossing myself in the tree, doing what I could to suck as much energy out. It wasn’t long before I was forced out. The tree crumbled to dust and I lept from it, charging the man with what little extra energy I had. He stood still, tanking four punches to his face. He kicked me back, nothing but a streak of blood running down his nose.
I lunged back searching for another tree. I found one a ways back, flinging myself at it, I fell into it and absorbed the tree’s power. I forced myself and found I could suck it out of other nearby trees. Until I was once again forced out, the trees crumbling in decayed mass, “You’ve gotten a bit stronger, Charles must be so proud.”
“What are you trying to achieve? Is losing your HQ really that important?”
He stepped toward me casually, “The same thing Maerod was trying to achieve, and really all the other gods in this disoriented country. However, no, killing you isn’t punishment for the damages, it’s for the audacity it took for you to do it. Entering my domain and destroying my primary facility? That takes balls, unfortunately, the rest was only a few inches.”
I tried to leap back again to gain a foothold, but all nearby trees crumpled to dust. Seeing no other way, I charged him again, but just as I came face to face, I spun and sidestepped, launching a single tentacle for the back of his heart, but on impact, it turned to dust.
“Unfortunately, the rest of you won’t be so easy to get rid of.” He turned, jumping, and once again, I met his bloodthirsty gaze. My skull cracked on impact, and when my head hit the dirt, a crater was left behind. He stood over me, “I’m gonna be on his shitlist for this one, but really, it’ll be worth it.” He pointed a finger gun at my head, and as the darkness closed in, three gunshots followed by a familiar light filled my senses, and when I could see again, his head was missing, the body still standing up-right, three bullet holes oozing blood at different angles...
I staggered to my feet, adrenaline keeping me awake. I looked around, seeing everyone but Smudge scattered around, “RUN! HE’S GONNA BLOW JUST FUCKING RUN!” I used my tentacles to move, sticking them in the ground and launching myself, then staggering to my feet. I headed in the direction the van was in, and a few seconds later, an intense blue light erupted from behind me, the shockwave hitting immediately after.
Part 26: Coming Soon!

I got a aliexpress carbon mtb frame(you already know where this is going) And while it looked just like the genuine article in shape, you could tell the fit and finish wasn’t the same(bottle bosses instead of a swat door, paint chipped around bearing pivot bolts, headtube bearing surfaces not cosmetically uniform)
It was billed as a airwolf stumpjumper evo but it’s just the 2019 29 geo.
Yes it fits everything (chain guard, 27.5x2.8 dhr, headset) that the genuine bike does but when I first built it up, I thought “okay, maybe cable management isn’t the only thing lacking here.”
Still, felt good enough to ride it, starting out cautiously but then moving to actual trail with actual tech, features, and impacts like drops, step ups and gaps.
Now, I didn’t case anything badly but I definitely fell and bashed it a few times, and drove it on a hitch rack for several hundreds of miles within the first five months and ten or so rides(I have other bikes) so you can imagine my lack of surprise but also genuine curiosity when I noticed a small hairline crack had formed at the headtube Downtube junction along the layup axis. “Well, this is what I signed up for with a $800 shipped frame” I thought.
Of course the seller was totally unhelpful and to be fair, can’t 100% qualify the damage as a defect. They don’t make these to be indestructible and maybe it was a rock strike(more on that)
So it got stripped and hung on the wall for about six months while I got the supplies, mental fortitude, and spare time(read:not riding other bikes) to repairwolf.
Someone in the know said “put it this way, you’ve already started the experiment.”
And that I did.
So after staring at it for more hours than I’d like to admit, I started prep and sanded back the area to fill and patch.
I noticed that 1. The area where the crack had formed seemed to be laid up in bunches, not neatly interwoven or overlayed past where the pattern swatches become structural.
Think “clothes from a hamper” instead of “cards mid shuffle”
And

1. the crack was totally from stress and not an impact as the fracture didn’t spider or shatter outward even on the inside

This 1. Gave me hope for a strong repair and 2. Concerns that similar weaknesses and failure points could exist on other parts or in other critical areas of the frame.
So I endeavored to repair it. See pics.
Put in six layers of twill and compressed for full cure under Saran Wrap and electrical tape, then sanded flat and put on another six layers on a second wider patch again compressing for full cure and sanding down flat.
I was pretty happy with it but due to it being cold the cure took longer than I had wanted or is likely optimal for the cheap but good epoxy used.
Did some more cosmetic sanding and clearcoated over it with krylon (I think a mid gloss?) which contrasts pretty wildly with the flat paint of the frame, and will not be the final paintjob but is good while the repair proves it’s worth.
Built it back up and again started riding it cautiously, progressing from standing on it, riding slow on flat land, plenty of pedal cycles, then up to dirt, then pumping, then technical trail, and finally features and the biggest drops and gaps I’ve ridden/will ride. And it’s held! I’ve taken six to eight foot drops with it, landed rear heavy on ten foot gap doubles, and ridden it hard down pretty rowdy singletrack from blue to black and double black(even some pro lines) of trail that hs beaten better frames.
Scary? Sure. A gamble? Definitely. Sense of accomplishment all the same? Yes.
Tl;dr: don’t buy cheap carbon on marketplaces but also don’t throw out frames if they are good candidates for repair. It’s easier than you think.