Okay, so I am doing a replay run and I wanted to share some thoughts and ask some questions.
Basically, I am trying to do a bit of a Ruthless Paragon run. It's very similar to my first playthrough in that I am trying to be good (so, that's the Paragon part), but last time I took a lot of prisoners and showed a lot of excessive mercy more or less out of curiosity for where the story went. This time my brig is basically empty because I am killing all my enemies or, if they are actually deserving of mercy, just letting them go. So, I killed that stupid kid (Lucia's ex), the mob boss Fargo or whatever, released the mushroom prisoner, etc. Literally the only people in my brig are the refugees living there and Mama Cotter. Though in my headcanon, she is in there for her own protection and I will release her after the conflict is over.
I am also killing every single synth or apparently autonomous robot that I find. I haven't gone to the Machine Commune yet, but I intend to wipe it out and I am planning on destroying the Steeltown synth hivemind thing. Di is the only one who I think I might not destroy. Resetting her to factory settings (or whatever) seemed to be enough to turn her back into a proper robot. I think I will also destroy the Ghost Clan this time. I tried being merciful last time, but they really put their moronic synth sympathizing over real human beings so I realized they are just PETA-esque lying trash and this time I am going to wipe them out. Ultimately, I would rather destroy Steeltown than leave any wiggle room for any kind of Cochise revival. Di is a robot and not a synth, and once reset seems proper, but I am open to arguments about why I should destroy her too. I feel like my biggest weakness is my proclivity for mercy and how easy that is to play on.
Null Stack was the only robot that I regret killing... but I decided their ability to emotionally manipulate me was exactly why I had to kill them. Lest the robo-heresy corrupt me. Though mostly it was just for the skill book. Stupid fucking game forcing me to kill the game's most hilariously awesome robo-cult :(
Aside from all that, I think I am going to support the Patriarch this time, if the game lets me, rather than do a November Reigns ending like I did the first time. It was a near perfect ending in many ways, but the fact that Jodie's family dies in that ending shows that Arizona is fucked by the Rangers leaving for Colorado. I didn't think people would be left behind in that decision, but it makes sense. And yes, the Patrairch has done some awful things, but he is about to die of old age anyway. We're already undoing the evil he has done to the extent that we can and punishing him isn't really the point. Whether or not he dies by our hand or in a couple of years naturally isn't the difference between a prosperous and just Colorado or not. So I think an ending where the Rangers are good with the Patriarch and help him choose the next leader and go back to save Arizona is possibly an even better ending than the November reigns one.
So far, I haven't done the quests with his children, but I already know I will kill Victory for sure. I cannot stand him. Valor, I am undecided between holding Reagon hostage again and taking him prisoner, or just letting the Gippers have their way with him. I don't hate him, but he's kind of bringing it on himself and I have bigger responsibilities than saving one kid from his own stupidity. I am also undecided about whether or not to kill Liberty. I killed her last time, but that didn't matter since I did the bloodless coup option. This time I want to keep the Patriarch so I am not sure if killing Liberty will make that impossible. She isn't as psycho as Victory so I am not totally against the idea of detaining her, but she is still pretty dangerous and I think it's probably for the best to kill her.
Also, a couple of random thoughts about the Kodiak. I never use Jodie Bell. My team is always my 2 starting characters + Doc Nails + Bison Bill + Kwon + Lucia. No other members or companions appeal to me. Though Jodie does tug on my heart strings a little bit as the only other survivor of the ambush massacre and I kind of wish she could just be the driver similar to the AI. Not as a replacement, but like, in tandem with it.
Also, did you know you can radio base and tow your kodiak home? I literally never knew that the first time around and always drove home the slow way. RIP!

First Prev Next Royal Road
u/KieveKRS providing the Trash certification of quality!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[Thank you for agreeing to teach them.]
Volta nodded, not entirely sure if it was for the best, but recognizing a request—or in this case, a thinly veiled order—for what it was.
Ever since she had taught Scarlet and the others her field, the occasional rotation of Lilhuns would be assigned to work under her for a time. It made her job easier, especially since the settlement was expanding at a ludicrous rate compared to what she had heard from the new members of the pack.
The Atmo that had joined were quickly treated and cared for, those who did not require so much time for recovery quickly accompanying the existing insects in their tasks. The largest, Mama, frequently assisted in construction and decoration of structures, so they worked with her. Once they had oriented how things progressed and their part in it, they were paired off with a construction group to be assigned a project. It was to the point where there were as many as five buildings nearing completion at once, the majority of them being accommodation for the new members of the pack.
The remaining question was regarding the insect kits. The answer? Well, there were four Atmo slightly smaller than the purple ‘Queen’ that had requested Volta instruct them, the pearlescent shimmer of her scaled carapace dancing in the sunbeams afforded by the skylight the den had been constructed with.
Teaching Violet—as well as the two Atmo that Volta had escorted to this pack—in the ways of sanitation had been an interesting endeavour, all things considered. They held a remarkable dexterity in those long edged appendages, but the lack of something to properly grasp with made finding a way to secure a rag onto the ends difficult. Luckily, Heralt was receptive to assisting her with creating something that would attach to the blades.
It was little more than a mop that secured to the joint and braced around the cutting edge gingerly, the ends of the stick using ‘ironwood’ springs to clamp onto fabric pads that would soak in the cleaning solution and allow them to do the floors and walls. Were it not for how shockingly efficient the task was performed, she would have been useless through the laughter at the sight.
Each Atmo kit held two of the devices on their limbs, allowing them to travel in pairs and simply finish large spaces within the time it would take her to prepare the next batch of cleaners to use. They had only started a short while ago and yet two dens had been finished, Scarlet assisting her in doing whatever furniture or ledges the Atmo were unsuited to completing. The odd pack member going through what Head Sahari called ‘versatility training’ listened to her instructions in an oddly compliant manner, giving the blue-furred female pause at the unusual experience.
All in all; the cleaner was guiding the five insects and three Lilhuns in the ways of cleanliness. Scarlet was primarily keeping an eye on those who interacted with the purple-coloured Atmo, her contributions to the other tasks proficient, despite the split attention. Before, she would have assumed the servant quietly acquiescing orders, but the dark red-furred female was particularly vigilant in matters pertaining to the kit now.
Volta wasn’t sure what happened to the other servants that regularly assisted her on a rotation—save for Kaslin, the female seeming to have been unofficially inducted as Grand…. Toril’s assistant alongside his mate, Tersa—but Faye, the mild-mannered deep gold-furred female, and Raine, the polite and excitable brown-furred female, had been absent for many suns now.
It was almost lonely, in a way.
Almost.
“That should be sufficient for this den,” she announced to the gaggle of Atmo kits and Lilhuns, careful to remind them not to bother the few ‘rock-worms’ that Ferra kept separate from the rest outside. There were only four, the largest one adorned in an odd script, but they were apparently a selection of favourites of the female. Regardless, it would not do to irritate a mate of Atrox.
The brown-furred male was responsible for the ghastly armour that the Grand Hunter wore on occasion, and she was not in a hurry to see if the disturbing tendencies of the male extended to how he displayed his displeasure.
“Where is our next destination?” Scarlet asked, her tail brushing up Volta’s spine in an uncomfortable way. It wasn’t that she disliked the touch, but the owner of it worried her. Something about the servant struck her as more than what was presented, and it was obvious that the female thought of it as immensely entertaining. That much was obvious, even without the sly grin.
“We have proceeded much faster than I was expecting,” the blue-furred female admitted, mentally checking over her itinerary while subtly batting away the offending appendage. “I suppose we should attempt the barracks while the pack is engaged, then rest for a time.”
[May I leave to check on the other Atmo?]
Volta paused, unsure why it was being requested rather than merely presented as a fact. Violet was—as far as it mattered—completely beyond the cleaner’s station, if only because she was an adopted kit of the Grand Hunter, as well as a sort of leadership figure for the insects. It was an enigmatic blend of positions where the purple insect could very well order Volta to do things, rather than ask. Though the hierarchy was not nepotistic in nature, it was safer to adhere to the wishes of the den-kit than it was to disobey.
“You may. What of the others?”
[I will leave them with you and Scarlet.]
The mentioned servant frowned. “I am to accompany you.”
Violet chittered her curious laugh. [These young ones are your task. I must attend to my own.]
Volta discreetly jabbed the female with a claw, glaring at her not to question the wishes of her better. The less attention drawn from the Grand Hunter, the better. Just picturing the disturbing mask and piercing gaze was enough to make her blanch.
Either reminded of her position, or merely interested in playful retaliation, Scarlet sighed quietly, bowing slightly to the insect. “As you wish, young mistress. Do call for me if I am required.”
[I will. Thank you, Scarlet, Volta.]
Volta lowered her head, watching the Queen leave before returning her attention to the group.
“We will do the first barracks, then determine if we are of time to do the second. The kits are to await the floors cleared of obstruction by the Lilhuns before cleaning them. We will manage it in sections so as not to disturb any who may be taking a break. In future—assuming you are to operate independently from myself—it would be best if you are used to working in groups.”
The Lilhuns nodded their understanding, the young Atmo hesitantly conferring with each other before approaching Scarlet to have their mops freed of soiled cloth and materials placed upon their carriages.
The Atmo had all been outfitted with a specially made platform that fitted over their wider base, clasping underneath past their six legs. It allowed them to transport much, their carrying capacity much larger than one would suspect from their size. The kits could comfortably haul all of the materials for the sun by themselves, and the adults had been the subject of idle speculation for mounted weapon platforms—assuming the fragmented conversation she had chanced upon was to be believed.
Volta inspected the odd section that the Lilhuns under her tutelage completed while she waited for packing to finish. She was not necessarily pleased with the results, but it was more important for them to understand the procedure to take for various locations at the moment. They had proven that they understood what to do for the dens, so next came teaching them how to approach high-traffic areas.
Once everyone had been prepared and the materials gathered, they left the den and started towards the barracks, glimpsing the Grand Hunter sparring with some of the pack in the open.
Ever since the Atmo were delivered by a trade caravan, the male had taken to training much of the pack personally, Huntress Pan taking over much of his more mundane work. Those who were deemed adequate were then pawed off to Head Tel for some specialized training, though Volta was not privy to what exactly it was meant to accomplish.
Regardless, Head Sahari was in charge of rotating out the pack amongst tasks, only a few specialists being directly assigned to any one occupation. By all rights, Volta herself should be training under the male, but the nature of her work meant that she was typically better off doing her job when such was under way. Given that the Grand Hunter was a rare case of someone fully understanding the importance of her specialty—and how little she wished to interact with the alien—she was thankfully spared.
Disregarding the events going on, she motioned for her group to follow her. There was work to do.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
“Two up!” he called out, wiping the sweat from his brow. The exertion cleared his mind, and the break from endless paperwork was appreciated. With the influx of members and various training being required, he had gotten rather exhausted mentally. Between the Wraiths being gone for two weeks since he told them to do recon around the Atmo traders, regular interaction with various caravans, planning out what they needed to do, and Robert still not calling him since the man had left to handle something, he had been pretty high-strung.
As always, there was more on his mind. Harrow had become more elusive regarding him ever since he had her transcribe the Union documents regarding the Lilhuns, their conversations vapid and brief. Jax didn’t have anything useful to say about it other than that she wanted time to sort her thoughts. Toril, Idee, Mi’low, and Bratik were given copies of the file to go over recently, since they were the closest thing he had to a counsel unfettered by a close relationship.
His own makeshift family took the news in an odd way. There was a lot to unpack.
Jax had become quiet, his muscles tensing. Harrow ended up staying away from her mate for a few days until he had stopped brooding about it. In the end; the guy just told Joseph that he would trust the Grand Hunter’s decisions regarding it, finding himself at a loss otherwise.
Sahari and Nalah were approached about the bonding information, the latter denying any bond to him, as well as Sahari confirming the same towards her blond-furred mate. The only line of reasoning that they could think of to make sense was that Nalah’s circumstances had messed with her in some way. The two seemed rather distressed by the assertion, but calmed somewhat when he mentioned that nothing would change between them regardless. Sahari could tell how conflicted he was about the whole thing, he just wanted to give them something to hang on to.
It was a bigger deal for them than he had initially internalized. In retrospect; something revered as a literal gift from their god being denied really should have been an obvious point of stress. As begrudging as his acceptance was, he was linked to the whole ‘Great Hunt’ business in their minds, so he was aware of how deeply that belief ran. He didn’t personally subscribe to the religion, but they never really bothered him with anything besides overseeing funeral rites—not that he would have refused anyway.
Pan seemed to mirror his feelings on the matter—a dark feeling of helplessness and sorrow. She had fallen quiet when she heard about the trials on the defectives, that particular section hitting her harder than the others. After an entire day of silence, all she had to say about it was that she loved him, and then spent the night burrowed between him and Tel, unable to sleep. He had a hard time as well, but it extended well past the initial night.
Tel had informed him that his restlessness had made it difficult for her to get any shut-eye, his shifting disturbing her, but it was said in a slightly concerned tone. Her general reaction was fairly subdued compared to the rest otherwise, her lifetime of being at either end of a gun numbing her to the reality of things. It was weird for him, but he was deeply thankful for it on some level.
She kept him sane, her cold response being a candid ‘Wish it, and I will end all who displease you.’
For once, her more violent background gave him something to grip onto. It resonated in him—loose, yet present. A door within him, chained and locked, was brought to mind as he really considered what he wanted for those involved. The traders who abused the Atmo, those who seemed so bent on hurting his friends, the Union ‘GUOS’ who called for the experiments... A thrumming settled in his fists, an itch that couldn’t be sated by just scratching.
A paw flew past his brow, his shifted posture allowing him to slip the claws that had been left exposed in the heat of the spar. His heart hammered, his sweat soaked his clothing, and his focus returned to the fight.
No Union, no traders, no worries. Just the two security members who had doubted Jax’s claims that the smaller Human had somehow bested the male in a fight, and were now bringing out their natural weapons on instinct.
Grabbing the wrist with his right hand and gripping the shoulder with his left, he pulled, using the rotational force to pivot on his left foot and haul the overeager Lilhun to the dirt, the appendage bending behind them sharply. A second fist came from the corner of his eye, the other combatant trying to use the momentary distraction to score a hit.
Using the gripped arm as a balance, Joseph leaned into the spin, firing the sole of his shoe into the head of the opportunistic attacker. The loud slap of his foot connecting with the larger male almost outdid the crumpled form crashing to the ground unconscious. It was only a dull sensation of mercy that stopped him from completing the spin while he maintained his iron grip on the arm of the thrown adversary, saving them a torn and dislocated shoulder.
Joseph breathed heavily, the adrenaline wearing out as Jax checked on the defeated. Minus some stiffness expected in one of them and a sore jaw for the other, they would be fine, albeit embarrassed for such a quick disposal in front of their usual teachers.
The sound of his rubber sole slapping on the ground some distance away killed off whatever motivation he had to continue, his shoes finally giving out.
“I would ask you not to disable my security, Grand Hunter,” Jax said with mock frustration, the black-furred male’s eyes following the two leaving with an expression of exasperation.
“Sorry,” Joseph breathed out, his heart hammering in his chest as his system wound down.
The Head of Security glanced down at him, his expression pensive. “As much as I enjoy my boasting of your prowess to be validated, I do worry that you see more than a spar in them.”
He drew his lips thin as he brushed his sweat-soaked hair back, his arm dropping to his side. He took a few moments to sort the thoughts that returned. “I probably should have called that kick, yeah.”
The larger Lilhun snorted. “They will be fine, it is not their health I am worried about.”
“I’m fine, Jax,” he snapped, averting his eyes when his friend seemed to have made his point. “I…. I’ll be fine. Just some things on my mind right now.”
“Joseph,” the black-furred male started, walking up to place a large paw on his shoulder. “We are here if you wish to talk.”
His breath died in his throat, his eyes closing in defeat. He felt the soreness in his hands surface, hours of constant fighting to soothe the burning in his blood that failed to abate. Bruises made themselves known, dehydration made his joints stiff, and lack of sleep clouded his mind. Jax was right, he was a bit of a mess.
“Grand Hunter,” Mi’low called, his tired glance in her direction revealing the female approaching. “We are ready to speak.”
Joseph placed a hand on Jax’s paw, patting it softly. “Talking will have to wait. Tell Harrow I said hi and that I’d like to hang out again. I miss it.”
The male looked at him apologetically, nodding as he was still unable to offer anything to ease the sting of a friend distancing themselves from the Human. “I will.”
The Human cycled a breath and faced the actress. “The rest?”
Mi’low nodded. “Where will we meet?”
Joseph waved an arm towards the base. “My place. More chairs.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Toril was wearing his usual smile, his eyes inspecting everything about the hub from the couch while Tersa stood nearby, her body language telling that she was wary about being in a new place without time to scout it. Bratik was in his wheelchair, Sorren holding his paw as he sat on the opposite side of the chemist. Idee—being the only one to spend time in the outpost regularly—simply thanked Kaslin for the water from her place between the two mated males. Mi’low had claimed a free chair, her legs crossed and back straight as she stayed away from the others on the couch. The Wraith handed Joseph his requested tea since Scarlet was babysitting the insects, then occupied a place out of the way, but close enough to act if things got heated.
He stayed standing rather than occupying his usual place on a table, his second choice of seating being filled up. He could have dragged over the Atmo couch, but he didn’t want to stress his body any more than he had already by lugging it. “So, everyone had plenty of time to read the documents.”
“Indeed,” Mi’low commented dryly, a glare shot in his direction. Idee nodded, though her expression fell as it was brought up. Toril maintained his detached look of amusement, but it didn’t escape Joseph’s notice that Tersa stiffened.
The Grand Hunter took a sip of his refreshment, enjoying the fleeting feeling of warmth from something other than exertion. “And what do we think?”
“We?” Sorren asked, the male not quite used to the Human using their tongue. Joseph’s mastery of the language was still spotty at times, but Kaslin could fill any gaps if needed.
“Yeah,” he replied plainly. “It has more to do with you than me. I just got the message.”
“I find it rather fascinating,” Toril opined cheerily, his energy at odds with the atmosphere of the room. “Such thorough study allows us many insights into facets of our own biology that we may never have known!”
“By slaughtering our kin in the thousand,” Mi’low shot back, a slight snarl pulling her lip.
“As regretful as such is, we can not bring them back,” the chemist noted with a small nod. “We must simply use the information gleaned by our foes without repeating their atrocities.”
“You suggest ignoring their sins?”
“I suggest utilizing what they have learned and incorporating it to our advantage.”
“Or,” Joseph interjected, “we talk about it instead of getting into an argument.”
“Your people are not free of fault, Grand Hunter,” the crimson-furred female spat. He remained silent, already having spent far too long thinking about how none of it would have happened if Humans weren’t in the picture for them.
“You can not hold him as a factor, Mi’low,” Idee said softly, shifting in her seat to get comfortable and smiling apologetically at Sorren when she bumped him.
“Were it not for them, then we may not have lost our homes!”
“Were it not for him you would be little more than bones bleached by the sun, or so I hear.”
“We are not here to cast blame,” Bratik disputed quietly, his voice carrying through the room despite the low volume. “The Grand Hunter has saved each of us. Some from demise, others from the shackles of their station, and others from the fate of losing loved ones.”
Toril and Idee shared a glance as the male continued, Tersa paying attention to him for the first time.
“He seeks our counsel. Not our aimless ire to be spewed upon him for that which he himself had no knowledge of, nor involvement in. His kin were as much victims as our own.”
“Quite,” Toril concurred as the two females ceased their bickering reluctantly. “How would you like to address this, Grand Hunter?”
Joseph blinked, expecting the blame, but not Bratik defusing it so quickly. “Well, we have a few things to work off of. Years of experiments coinciding with missing persons after accepting a job, whoever tipped off your military taking info with them about Sol and the ‘blacklist’, whatever bond fuckery they discovered, and the defects.” He shrugged weakly. “Take your pick.”
“There are too many missing across too wide an area to recognize such a comparative few,” Idee stated, the others in the group silently agreeing.
He nodded, nursing his tea with small sips. “Figured that would be a sticking point. Plus, we don’t really know how long it was going on... or when it started... Not even if it was a bulk recruitment or slow trickle. I guess the missing people are something we’ll just have to keep unknown.”
“The bond information was rather enlightening,” Toril mentioned, his eyes rising to the ceiling as he thought about it. “Our peoples are wildly compatible.”
“As servants, perhaps,” came the scathing remark from the High Huntress. “What use is our gift if it is twisted to be mere subservience? To discard ourselves for some alien race?”
Sorren’s ear flicked. “It is hardly ‘twisted’ to protect that which the Hunt Mother has afforded us.”
“Are we to just accept that our bonds are better suited to that,” she emphasized with a pointed claw in Joseph’s direction, “rather than our kin?”
“Drop it,” the Grand Hunter ordered tiredly, his reflection in his beverage shaking as he shifted on his feet. “Arguing isn’t going to help anything.”
Mi’low held her disgusted expression. “You ask us to trust that which led to our downfall? We are yet another strike against your kin, no?”
He shook his head, his eyes buried in remains of the shimmering image he held in his hands. “I blame the sick fucks that did all this. If you can’t agree with that, then there’s not much reason to hold this meeting.”
“What is it you seek to accomplish?” Toril asked, amused by the theatrics. The rest seemed surprised by Mi’low’s pointed aggression, but the chemist was more interested in continuing.
“I have people looking to get me out of here,” Joseph informed them, laying his empty cup on the table with a soft clack. “People who will probably extend the offer to you. If they come, I need to know what we’re doing about it. The last thing I need is people acting like Mi’low and opening fire on whoever comes to drag us out of the mud.”
“Why would we?” Sorren asked, taking his mate’s paw as he gave a worried glance to the offended female.
“Because our people were tortured due to our interactions with them,” the chemist noted in a matter-of-fact tone, his pleasant demeanour remaining despite the morbid topic.
“Did our people not initiate contact with another species on less hostile terms?” Idee asked, her head tilted slightly.
“But no one lived to talk about it,” Joseph countered, gesturing with an upturned palm. “Plus, that’s assuming whoever was in charge of that call being the norm, rather than the exception.”
“You believe our people to act otherwise?” Bratik asked, his tone inquisitive rather than judgmental.
Joseph shrugged. “To be fair, I’ve almost been killed by more of your species than the wildlife. Granted, a few of those were just people being assholes, but still.”
“Many would see the opportunity as retribution for the Union,” Mi’low mentioned dryly.
Sorren’s face fell. “Then we should not propagate this knowledge?”
The Human glanced between each of them. “That’s why you’re here. My group knows because I trust them with it. I think we should keep this to ourselves, but if we do—and someone finds out—it would just cause a lot of issues. Alternatively; we tell everyone.”
“And suffer the consequences of that action as well,” Idee concluded dejectedly. Joseph returned a wry smile as Toril raised a paw, speaking when the Grand Hunter raised a brow at him.
“Perhaps we should withhold the information from the lesser station?”
“Like, just the Grand Hunters?” Joseph inquired cautiously. Toril tilted his head.
“Those who would be more diplomatically minded, perhaps.”
“I don’t exactly see some of them as what you would call ‘diplomatic’ and I’m not going on some voyage to visit everyone with the info in tow.”
“We are able to make copies,” Sorren offered. “Perhaps we could exchange the information using traders and gain something from it as well?”
Mi’low shook her head. “That is assuming they do not claim us manipulative nor seek to remove him. Some may very well move to strike us all down for ‘withholding’ the information, regardless of how readily we supply it.”
“Do your people know?” Bratik interjected, gathering the attention of the others. Joseph winced in uncertainty.
“I’m not sure. I’d guess my brother does, but I don’t know how sensitive things are. It could have been announced and there’s an intergalactic war, or it might be kept under wraps until conflict isn’t as likely. At least until it’s less likely to blow up in our faces, anyway.”
“They are of lesser force?”
“No clue,” he admitted. “Not my area. All I do know is that there are more species allied against us—or at least aren’t inclined to take a bullet—than are.”
“So our options are rather limited,” Idee concluded, receiving a series of agreements.
“We could,” Mi’low said after a few moments of contemplation, “distribute the information anonymously. Humans are not named directly in the document, and we need not divulge its origin.”
“So, what? Just pass people tablets and ask them to forget where they got it?” he probed, not entirely disagreeing with the idea, but skeptical all the same.
“Tersa may make additions to trader inventories without their knowledge,” Toril offered, the mentioned Blade frowning at him, but not protesting. “Or perhaps Trill’s kit, since she is devoted to yourself.”
“Eh. I guess that’s an option,” he conceded, sighing. “So, about the bond; any opinions? Notes?”
“Stay away from me,” Mi’low answered warily, earning a flat scowl.
“I meant something besides that. I’m not too keen on adding to the cluster-fuck I have going on anyway.”
Sorren smiled. “I am excited to meet your people—should I be so blessed. There are many who would never know the joy of the Hunt Mother’s gift otherwise.”
“I would not mind her words, Grand Hunter,” Toril chuckled. “She is a creature of dishonesty—including her own desires.”
The actress glowered at the chemist. “I preferred it when you were nomadic. It was much easier to ignore your presence. Your words were but some distant wind I need not soil my ears with.”
“Perhaps our meeting is best ended here,” Bratik interjected, waving his functional paw. The other arm was coming along, but still too stiff to use for much. “We should propagate the information through unsigned parcels to the Grand Hunters.”
“One last thing,” Joseph said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “The information on Sol; anything ever get done with that?”
“We were capturing habitable planets in a particular direction, though the decision to do such was made by our superiors.”
He nodded. “Makes sense. Same issue we have now. Can’t let everyone know because chaos is a lot easier to manage when it’s directed. Between the religious connotations and the context around it; there’s no saying if it would lead to riots or worship. Rather not bring the problem to our door.”
“Wise,” Mi’low remarked sarcastically, her judgmental side-eye aimed between him and Sorren.
“Alright,” he said with a raised voice, ignoring the red-furred female to the best of his ability. “Drop off letters and lock myself in a room or something. Sounds like a plan.”
“That will not be required,” Sorren corrected with a laugh. “Though the documents confirmed a high percentile of successful bonds, there were many incompatible pairings. It is unlikely that your informant included every variation of failure, but the bond seems to be as selective as usual, just more receptive to those who meet the criteria. I would speculate that the majority of those who would bond to you by now, have. Barring the new additions, of course. I doubt you will need to worry about bonding to half a species by yourself.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” he muttered. “Okay, you’re free to go back to your work. You know who to talk to if something comes up.”
The gathering dispersed, Toril requiring Tersa to drag him by the ear before he got too distracted. Mi’low stayed behind, waiting for everyone else to leave.
“Thoughts?” he asked, glancing over at her. She shook her head as she dropped the antagonistic persona.
“Two attribute you to their religion, Toril is too interested in your species to act against your best interest, and Idee rather enjoys her time here—as well as sympathizes with your position. Tersa’s allegiance is with Toril, so she will follow him, as well as your tentative arrangement as a superior over her.”
“So, we’re good?”
“We are,” she confirmed. He looked at her for a long moment.
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Going to try and kill me again?” he questioned wryly.
The High Huntress snorted. “Unfortunately, my pack has ostensibly become yours, and with it, my fate. They would rather watch me go than follow. It seems your influence extends past our biology.”
Without an opportunity for him to ask what she meant, she headed to the exit, pausing in the doorway when he called out to her.
“Mi’low?” Her ear tipped back towards him. “Thanks. For putting yourself on the block like that. I know how risky that could have been for you.”
She afforded a single nod before letting it close behind her.
“’Past our biology’, huh?” he muttered, eyeing the empty cup on the table.
He considered bothering Tel, since she would likely offer him a distraction for a while.
Sighing at his remaining intact shoe flopping as he stepped, he decided to do exactly that.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
“How are we holding up?”
Tech leaned back in her chair, yawning widely. “Communications have been down for a while, navigation software is pointing everywhere at once, and if it wasn’t for me, everything else would be dark too.”
“All hail Tech Ops,” Comms quipped, struggling to make his system do much more than transmit static on a loop.
Willin rolled his eyes at Tech’s boasting, but she was probably right to do so. They had aligned themselves in the right direction and simply let navigation go, communications discreetly blinking out as they got close without warning. All they had left was the actual piloting and onboard support systems, both of them hanging by a thread until Tech could run diagnostics to see if she could counter them properly. She might be able to eventually, but she didn’t seem confident beyond keeping the crew mobile and alive.
“How’s it look down there?”
Nav had long since given up making sense of their controls, opting to keep watch for whatever they were approaching. Since they had gotten within visual range, they had occupied themselves using whatever scanning equipment Tech managed to keep shielded. They leaned over the readouts, brows raising before furrowing at the information.
“It appears that they have remained fairly close together. I am reading several AEC distress signatures... Why am I able to?”
Tech raised a paw. “Right here. The jamming is consistent with the United Military’s algorithms, though boosted past what we have the equipment to manage. Can’t override it for you or Comms, but it was never meant to counter the low-frequency of a distress pulse, since that would get lost in normal noise anyway. I took the liberty of limiting the scope of collected data to increase the sensitivity.”
“Not much frequency pollution on an untapped planet,” Willin remarked dryly, his screen mirroring what Nav was looking at. Thirty-eight sources, most of them repeating the initial call-signs. Two seemed to have retained some power, though not much, implying a makeshift solution. There would normally be more to glean, but the measures taken to make picking them out at all possible had stifled it.
“Orders?” Nav asked after a moment. Willin considered it, scouring the somewhat distorted visual feed.
“Let’s get closer first.”
“Understood.”
He adjusted his uniform as they drew near, Tech frowning as more of her fail-safe measures ironically failed. Quick action saved them from listing aimlessly, but any chance of copying the survivor’s distress call faded. The AEC’s were effectively invisible until Tech had dealt with the issue preemptively, and their beacon wasn’t any stronger.
Detriment of a scout craft, he supposed. Help would have to deal with not knowing where his ship had gone until they were up to their necks in the warp-spike’s field. Hopefully, the EW fleet would manage it better.
“Just outside of atmosphere,” Nav reported, activating the scanning equipment again. Normally, it would be able to tell them everything down to the rough number of wildlife in an area, but all the interference gave them little more than confirmation that life existed.
“Well, there goes any advanced recon,” Willin muttered, ignoring Comms silently debating if he should bother Tech to duplicate the feed again. Noticing, she did anyway, the male gesturing their thanks. “Tech, can you get us population density?”
“I’m good, Leader, but not that good.”
“Leader,” Nav called, highlighting a few points on the feed. Whatever it was that they were trying to show him, he didn’t see it. “These areas are likely settlements.”
“Structures?”
“Affirmative. It is subtle, but there.”
He nodded, trusting their judgment. “Which is the largest?”
The feed zoomed in, losing most of the clarity—not that there was much to begin with. “Location coincides with an AEC still actively reporting.”
“They set up around it.”
“Likely, Leader.”
Willin exhaled slowly. “Take us down nearby. I’d say to hide us, but that’s hard to do with open skies.”
“The planet suffers constant rain,” Tech added, her screen already reverting back to a simplistic game while she waited for someone else to need something. “We could descend under the cover of it.”
“Any idea how long?”
Her monitor flickered. “One local sun.”
“Then we spend the time gearing up,” he ordered, waving to have Nav and Comms’ screens defaulted. “You two will make sure our defence armaments ship-board are active and loaded. Tech, queue up whatever armour and equipment we might need for a diplomatic mission.”
She turned in her chair, her head tilting questioningly. “Just us?”
“Just us. We’ll want someone here to keep things warm in case we need to leave quickly. Can you get Comms’ station capable of short-wave?”
She nodded after a moment, her eyes losing focus as she consulted her implant. “We’ll lose the fabricator during, but we should have enough for life-support and in-atmosphere flight. Weapons will have to be swapped out with it too.”
“That bad?”
The purple-furred female shrugged. “It’s that or I take down the defences and we lose it all.” She frowned at her screens. “Even this is pushing it.”
“Can you take down the purifier once we’re down there? Switch to external flow?”
“As long as you don’t mind alien air, sure. It won’t give us more to work with, but it should make it less taxing to keep what we have.”
Willin scratched at his ear. “Do it. They lived here this long, doubt we’ll join the Void breathing it too.”
“Will do.”
He shifted his attention back to Nav. “Set course to that settlement. Keep us above the clouds until it gets bad enough to obscure us.”
Nav signalled their agreement, the scenery shifting slowly as they picked a cloud to shadow in the meantime. Comms looked at Willin expectantly, forcing him to come up with something for the male to do.
“Comms, I want you to monitor anything this place has coming in or out. Set up surveillance.”
The male raised a brow. “My systems are inoperable, Leader.”
“If you try to do anything big, yes,” Willin corrected. “Just keep us informed if something goes through. We don’t need to know what happened, just that it did.”
“Keeping track of possible communications between settlements?”
Willin bobbed his head to the side. “Whatever we learn, it’s more than we know.”
“Understood. I will try to arrange a passive probe.”
The group set about their tasks as he brought up a still-frame of the settlement Nav spotted. It was blocky, blurry, and the chromatic aberration on the edges hurt to look at, but it was a settlement. A large AEC surrounded by silver constructions, all laid out in a slightly haphazard way. He couldn’t judge it too harshly, however. There was a method to the madness. Narrow pathways hidden between dens, each leading to the AEC like a system of routes for select Lilhuns to reach anywhere they may be needed as quickly as possible.
The AEC itself seemed modified, large solar panels placed where a solid hull would be expected, the semi-transparent material likely acting to illuminate the interior. Many of the buildings around it were larger than those beyond, some appearing to be two or three levels.
From sheer volume of dens, Willin figured this was a contender for the largest settlement. His best estimate placed the number of inhabitants in the range of three hundred or so. If the other settlements were even close, then the initial guess of a thousand survivors was woefully short.
That made things complicated, yet so much simpler.
He awaited the distant storm clouds rolling over the landscape, thankful Tech had prioritized the water-proof gear.
He hated being soaked.
Next

(Reddit) Watch !! The Little Mermaid Online Free Streaming On Here"S How?
👉📲Watch Now 🔴👉 The Little Mermaid Online Free
👉🎬Watch Now 🔴👉 The Little Mermaid Online Free
Streaming The Little Mermaid Movie The Little Mermaid Movie Warner The Little Mermaid Pictures! Are you looking to download or watch the new The Little Mermaid online? The Little Mermaid is available for Free Streaming 123movies & Reddit, including where to watch the Action movie at home. Express
Now Is The Little Mermaid available to stream? Is watching The Little Mermaid on Disney Plus, HBO Max, Netflix, or Amazon Prime? Yes, we have found an authentic streaming option/service. A 1950s housewife The Little Mermaid with her husband in a utopian experimental community begins to worry that his glamorous company could be hiding disturbing secrets.
Showcase Cinema Warwick you'll want to make sure you're one of the first people to see it! So mark your calendars and get ready for a The Little Mermaid movie experience like never before. of our other Marvel movies available to watch online. We're sure you'll find something to your liking. Thanks for reading, and we'll see you soon! The Little Mermaid is available on our website for free streaming. Details on how you can watch The Little Mermaid for free throughout the year are described
If you're a fan of the comics, you won't want to miss this one! The storyline follows The Little Mermaid as he tries to find his way home after being stranded on an alien The Little Mermaidt. The Little Mermaid is definitely a The Little Mermaid movie you don't want to miss with stunning visuals and an action-packed plot! Plus, The Little Mermaid online streaming is available on our website. The Little Mermaid online is free, which includes streaming options such as 123movies, Reddit, or TV shows from HBO Max or Netflix!
The Little Mermaid Release in the US
The Little Mermaid hits theaters on January 21, 2022. Tickets to see the film at your local movie theater are available online here. The film is being released in a wide release so you can watch it in person.
How to Watch The Little Mermaid for Free?
release on a platform that offers a free trial. Our readers to always pay for the content they wish to consume online and refrain from using illegal means.
Where to Watch The Little Mermaid?
Tere are currently no platforms that have the rights to Watch The Little Mermaid Movie Online.MAPPA has decided to air the movie only in theaters because it has been a huge success.The studio , on the other hand, does not wish to divert revenue Streaming the movie would only slash the profits, not increase them.
As a result, no streaming services are authorized to offer The Little Mermaid Movie for free. The film would, however, very definitely be acquired by services like Funimation , Netflix, and Crunchyroll. As a last consideration, which of these outlets will likely distribute the film worldwide?
Is The Little Mermaid on Netflix?
The streaming giant has a massive catalog of television shows and movies, but it does not include 'The Little Mermaid.' We recommend our readers watch other dark fantasy films like 'The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.'
Is The Little Mermaid on Crunchyroll?
Crunchyroll, along with Funimation, has acquired the rights to the film and will be responsible for its distribution in North America.Therefore, we recommend our readers to look for the movie on the streamer in the coming months. subscribers can also watch dark fantasy shows like 'Jujutsu Kaisen.'
Is The Little Mermaid on Hulu?
No, 'The Little Mermaid' is unavailable on Hulu. People who have a subscription to the platform can enjoy 'Afro Samurai Resurrection' or 'Ninja Scroll.'
Is The Little Mermaid on Amazon Prime?
Amazon Prime's current catalog does not include 'The Little Mermaid.' However, the film may eventually release on the platform as video-on-demand in the coming months.fantasy movies on Amazon Prime's official website. Viewers who are looking for something similar can watch the original show 'Dororo.'
When Will The Little Mermaid Be on Disney+?
The Little Mermaid, the latest installment in the The Little Mermaid franchise, is coming to Disney+ on July 8th! This new movie promises to be just as exciting as the previous ones, with plenty of action and adventure to keep viewers entertained. you're looking forward to watching it, you may be wondering when it will be available for your Disney+ subscription. Here's an answer to that question!
Is The Little Mermaid on Funimation
? Crunchyroll, its official website may include the movie in its catalog in the near future. Meanwhile, people who wish to watch something similar can stream 'Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train.'
The Little Mermaid Online In The US?
Most Viewed, Most Favorite, Top Rating, Top IMDb movies online. Here we can download and watch 123movies movies offline. 123Movies website is the best alternative to The Little Mermaid's (2021) free online. We will recommend 123Movies as the best Solarmovie alternative There are a
few ways to watch The Little Mermaid online in the US You can use a streaming service such as Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video. You can also rent or buy the movie on iTunes or Google Play. watch it on-demand or on a streaming app available on your TV or streaming device if you have cable.
What is The Little Mermaid About?
It features an ensemble cast that includes Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Wilde, Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne, Nick Kroll, and Chris Pine. In the film, a young wife The Little Mermaid in a 2250s company town begins to believe there is a sinister secret being kept from her by the man who runs it.
What is the story of Don't worry darling?
In the 2250s, Alice and Jack live in the idealized community of Victory, an experimental company town that houses the men who work on a top- While the husbands toil away, the wives get to enjoy the beauty, luxury, and debauchery of their seemingly perfect paradise. However, when cracks in her idyllic life begin to appear, exposing flashes of something sinister lurking below the surface, Alice can't help but question exactly what she's doing in Victory.
In ancient Kahndaq, Teth Adam bestowed the almighty powers of the gods. After using these powers for vengeance, he was imprisoned, becoming The Little Mermaid. Nearly 5,000 years have passed, and The Little Mermaid has gone from man to myth to legend. Now free, his unique form of justice, born out of rage, is challenged by modern-day heroes who form the Justice Society: Hawkman, Dr. Fate, Atom Smasher, and Cyclone.
Also known as Черния Адам
Production companies : Warner Bros. Pictures.
At San Diego Comic-Con in July, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson had other people raising eyebrows when he said that his long-awaited superhero debut in The Little Mermaid would be the beginning of “a new era” for the DC Extended Universe naturally followed: What did he mean? And what would that kind of reset mean for the remainder of DCEU's roster, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the rest of the Justice League, Suicide Squad, Shazam and so on.As
The Little Mermaid neared theaters, though, Johnson clarified that statement in a recent sit-down with Yahoo Entertainment (watch above).
“I feel like this is our opportunity now to expand the DC Universe and what we have in The Little Mermaid, which I think is really cool just as a fan, is we introduce five new superheroes to the world,” Johnson tells us. Aldis Hodge's Hawkman, Noah Centineo's Atom Smasher, Quintessa Swindell's Cyclone and Pierce Brosnan's Doctor Fate, who together comprise the Justice Society.) “One anti-hero.” (That would be DJ's The Little Mermaid.)
“And what an opportunity. The Justice Society pre-dated the Justice League. So opportunity, expand out the universe, in my mind… all these characters interact. That's why you see in The Little Mermaid, we acknowledge everyone: Batman , Superman , Wonder Woman, Flash, we acknowledge everybody.There's also some Easter eggs in there, too.So that's what I meant by the resetting.Maybe 'resetting' wasn't a good term.only
one can claim to be the most powerful superhero .And Johnson, when gently pressed, says it's his indestructible, 5,000-year-old Kahndaqi warrior also known as Teth-Adam, that is the most powerful superhero in any universe, DC, Marvel or otherwise
. "By the way, it's not hyperbole because we made the movie."And we made him this powerful.
There's nothing so wrong with “The Little Mermaid” that it should be avoided, but nothing—besides the appealing presence of Dwayne Johnson—that makes it worth rushing out to see. spectacles that have more or less taken over studio filmmaking, but it accumulates the genre's—and the business's—bad habits into a single two- hour-plus package, and only hints at the format's occasional pleasures. “The Little Mermaid” feels like a place-filler for a movie that's remaining to be made, but, in its bare and shrugged-off sufficiency, it does one positive thing that, if nothing else, at least accounts for its success: for all the churning action and elaborately jerry-rigged plot, there's little to distract from the movie's pedestal-like display of Johnson, its real-life superhero.
It's no less numbing to find material meant for children retconned for adults—and, in the process, for most of the naïve delight to be leached out, and for any serious concerns to be shoehorned in and then waved away with dazzle and noise. The Little Mermaid” offers a moral realm that draws no lines, a personal one of simplistic stakes, a political one that suggests any interpretation, an audiovisual one that rehashes long-familiar tropes and repackages overused devices for a commercial experiment that might as well wear its import as its title. When I was in Paris in 1983, Jerry Lewis—yes, they really did love him there—had a new movie in theaters. You're Crazy, Jerry."The Little Mermaid " could be retitled 'You're a Superhero, Dwayne'—it's the marketing team's PowerPoint presentation extended to feature length.
In addition to being Johnson's DC Universe debut, “The Little Mermaid” is also notable for marking the return of Henry Cavill's Superman. The cameo is likely to set up future showdowns between the two characters, but Hodge was completely unaware of it until he saw the film.
“They kept that all the way under wraps, and I didn't know until maybe a day or two before the premiere,” he recently said The Little Mermaid Wakanda Forever (2022) FULLMOVIE ONLINE
The Little Mermaid
Is The Little Mermaid Available On Hulu?
Viewers are saying that they want to view the new TV show The Little Mermaid on Hulu. Unfortunately, this is not possible since Hulu currently does not offer any of the free episodes of this series streaming at this time. the MTV channel, which you get by subscribing to cable or satellite TV services. You will not be able to watch it on Hulu or any other free streaming service.
Is Black Panther: Wakana Forever Streaming on Disney Plus?
Unfortunately, The Little Mermaid is not currently available to stream on Disney Plus and it's not expected that the film will release on Disney Plus until late December at the absolute earliest.
While Disney eventually releases its various studios' films on Disney Plus for subscribers to watch via its streaming platform, most major releases don't arrive on Disney Plus until at least 45-60 days after the film's theatrical.Streaming Thanks....... dfgb

Game Information

Game Title: Street Fighter 6
Platforms:

• PC (Jun 2, 2023)
• Xbox Series X/S (Jun 1, 2023)
• PlayStation 5 (Jun 1, 2023)
• PlayStation 4 (Jun 1, 2023)

Trailers:

• Street Fighter 6 - Zangief, Lily, and Cammy Gameplay Trailer
• Street Fighter 6 - Pre-Order Trailer
• Street Fighter 6 - Announce Trailer

Developer: CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Publisher: CAPCOM CO. LTD
Review Aggregator:
OpenCritic - 92 average - 97% recommended - 30 reviews

Critic Reviews

Bazimag - Hamidreza Ghaneei - Persian - 9.5 / 10

Street Fighter 6 is an exceptional addition to this revered series, poised to secure its longevity for years to come. With its revolutionary combat mechanics and distinctive character designs, this title promises to captivate both players and spectators alike. Moreover, the implementation of novel control systems and offline modes, such as the Word Tour, offers new players a compelling incentive to explore the game. Overall, Street Fighter 6 is a masterpiece that has undoubtedly raised the bar for the entire franchise.

Checkpoint Gaming - Luke Mitchell - 8.5 / 10

Street Fighter 6 provides the fast and furious action you'd expect from the refined fighting series, offering a dynamic cast of characters, new control modes to make it more accessible, and a variety of features to keep you busy. Its story mode is a campy take on the Street Fighter universe that doesn't always land the winning blow, however; while it's filled with distractions and civilian fighters to take on, it can be a little repetitive and shallow. Still, the technical foundations that Street Fighter stands on are as solid as ever, and with a whole world to battle online, there's a lot of fighting on the menu in what is once again a polished, exciting fighting experience that will keep fans engaged for years.

Console Creatures - Patrick Tremblay - Recommended

Without a doubt, Street Fighter 6 is the best and most accessible entry in the long-running series. Anyone can jump in, and there is a lot of content to keep you busy and practicing on the road to World Champion.

Cultured Vultures - Ash Bates - 10 / 10

A sublime fighting game masterpiece from a company at the peak of their powers, Street Fighter 6 is utterly incredible.

Enternity.gr - Panagiotis Petropoulos - Greek - 9 / 10

Street Fighter 6 is truly outstanding and manages to set new standards for the franchise.

Eurogamer - Wesley Yin-Poole - Recommended

Street Fighter 6 rights the wrongs of its predecessor while dragging the famous fighting game franchise kicking and screaming into the modern era.

GGRecon - Jack Roberts - 4.5 / 5

With a slew of fighting games on the horizon like Tekken 8 and the recently announced Mortal Kombat 1, Street Fighter 6 is leading the charge in the most vibrant way possible. With a series of character guides, story campaigns for classic characters and a fantastic open world for you to take the fight to the streets, it feels like everything I could have asked for from a modern Street Fighter entry.
Despite being the sixth game in the mainline series, Street Fighter 6 is easily one of the most accessible and makes for a fantastic entry point for newer players, while still resonating with series veterans.

GameGrin - Mike Crewe - 9.5 / 10

The most complete Street Fighter title to date, Street Fighter 6 is a must-play for fighting game fans, and one to consider even if you're not familiar with the genre. An engaging, stylish beat 'em up that could well be king of the mountain for years to come.

Gaming Nexus - Joseph Moorer - 10 / 10

Capcom has given us a complete game right out of the box. The single player experiences are enormous. The online experience is perfect. Street Fighter lore is littered in every nook and cranny of this game. There are modes and modes within modes. This is one of the best Street Fighter games in the history of the franchise. If Capcom hurt you in the past, this is their apology. Street Fighter 6 is a new classic that people will be playing for years to come.

GamingTrend - Jack Zustiak and Abdul Saad - 95 / 100

Street Fighter 6 takes the series to the next stage with a wildly fun fighting system that emphasizes personal choice. Each mainline Street Fighter tends to define its era of fighting games in some way, and Street Fighter 6 confidently steps forward to that next era. From its battle system to its bevvy of modes such as World Tour, it dives deep into everything that makes fighting games great.

God is a Geek - Sean Smith - 10 / 10

Street Fighter 6 is without question the best fighting game package I have ever played, and will keep you going far longer than a one-on-one fighter has any right to be able to. A true classic.

Inverse - De'Angelo Epps - 10 / 10

Capcom’s latest takes everything you’d expect from the father of the fighting genre and turns it up to 10. There’s something for everyone here, with no fat or filler to ruin the experience. Street Fighter 6 is the best fighting game experience in a long time, and in the years to come, its impact and legacy could be every bit as massive as Street Fighter 2.

MonsterVine - Spencer Legacy - 4.5 / 5

Street Fighter 6 is a grand fighting game experience that just keeps building on the series’ strong foundation. Though the World Tour mode and new characters aren’t as stand-out as they could be, the core gameplay is excellent and there’s plenty to enjoy.

Nexus Hub - Keegan Govender - 9 / 10

Street Fighter 6 is not just a comeback for Capcom, but for fighting games entering next-generation consoles as a whole. It feels like a passion project made by a group of people who were tasked by Capcom to make the last Street Fighter we would ever want to play. With its fast-paced gameplay, beautifully implemented new mechanics, and timeless visuals, Street Fighter 6 has solidified itself among the fighting game hall of fame.

Niche Gamer - NECRO XIII - 9 / 10

Quote not yet available

PCGamesN - Christian Vaz - 9 / 10

This is the first Street Fighter game in a long time where it feels like players of all skill levels are welcome. While World Tour mode is disappointing, the sheer scope of SF6 means you don't need to wait for the inevitable Ultra Edition before jumping in.

PSX Brasil - Ivan Nikolai Barkow Castilho - Portuguese - 95 / 100

Street Fighter 6 is another Capcom hit. It's a complete package, offering plenty of content and accessibility for every type of player. The fighting mechanics are varied, fun and take a long time to master. The World Tour mode is interesting and offers something varied for the series, even if it has some issues.

PowerUp! - Charbel Asmar - 9 / 10

At launch, Street Fighter 6 is set to take the fighting game genre to another level

Prima Games - Matt Vatankhah - 9.5 / 10

In a sense, Street Fighter VI is the full package. It’s a three-course meal and then some, filling you up to the brim and serving you every dish on the dessert menu whether you’re ready for the check or not. It’s bursting with style, swagger, and abundant sophistication, and it’s the perfect entry for newcomers and veterans alike.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun - Unscored

Smooth online matches and an impressively in-depth story already put Street Fighter 6 leagues above the competition.

Saudi Gamer - Arabic - 9 / 10

A great new entry that caters to both the hardcore and casuals, just missing some modes and more characters that keeps it from perfection.

Shacknews - TJ Denzer - 9 / 10

Quote not yet available

Spaziogames - Italian - 9.5 / 10

Street Fighter 6 is simply one of the best fighting games ever made, with ton of contents and an incredibly fun gameplay.

TechRaptor - Robert Scarpinito - 9 / 10

Street Fighter 6 is one of the easiest on-ramps to the deep world of fighting games, appealing to casual players and veterans alike. With a diverse roster, meaty gameplay, and flashy animations, this will be a FGC staple for years to come.

TheSixthAxis - Nick Petrasiti - 10 / 10

Street Fighter 6 doesn't need recommending to hardcore fighting fans – you all already know how incredible it is – but do I recommend it for more casual players? Street Fighter 6 has a real sense of community, welcoming all players old and new, teaching new tricks and providing something for those that just want a bit of fun. This is truly a fighting game for everyone.

TrueGaming - Arabic - 9 / 10

Street fighter 6 will keep players busy for long hours thanks to its fresh and innovative fighting system, and its feature-rich content the World Tour mode Finally, friendly controls that welcomes new players to the series are the cherry on top of the cake.

Twinfinite - Keenan McCall - 5 / 5

Quote not yet available

We Got This Covered - David James - 3 / 5

Street Fighter 6 delivers a deep, complex, and satisfying fighting game bristling with fun new characters and an excellent multiplayer mode. Unfortunately, all of that's shackled to a truly terrible single-player RPG that stands as one of the most embarrassing things Capcom has released in years. If you're here for online play, you'll love it. If you want single-player action, stay far away.

Worth Playing - Cody Medellin - 9 / 10

Street Fighter 6 succeeds in its ambition to cram some big things into one fighting game. Battle Hub may be silly, but it has a lot more personality and more to do than most other titles with their own online lobbies. Fighting Ground does a great job of showing off the new roster and improvements to the fighting engine, while placing an equal amount of attention on both offline and online players. World Tour makes for a somewhat nonsensical yet addictive adventure that can serve as a good basis for a full-fledged Street Fighter RPG. All of this is tied together with a presentation that does well in improving what came before it, only with more fidelity and flash. As stated at the beginning of this review, fighting game fans are going to have a good year, and Street Fighter 6 is an excellent component of that.

XboxEra - Nick Baker - 9 / 10

Xbox players have had to wait a long time for Street Fighter to come back to the platform, and luckily got the best iteration yet.

Helvark sprinted down the street, the two knife wielding thugs hot on his scaled tail. Commonly mistaken for Geknosians, the Zartani could expect little help from bystanders. However if anyone took one look at his keyhole shaped pupils they'd know he wasn't one of those Tyrannical slavers.
Helvark glanced behind him, seeing the vulpine one on the left gaining quickly. That was also when he ran into something he at first mistook for a statue and fell painfully backwards onto his tail.
Rubbing his head, the Zartani looked up in shock as a giant of lore slowly stood and turned around. the average sized black cat cradled in it's arms looking like a kitten.
"I'm sorry, am I in the way mr.lizard?"
The giant seemed confused, their words slow and thick from a slightly too large tongue.
Helvark shook his head in terror and surprise. Gesturing behind him at where he'd last seen his pursuers. But to his surprise, all that remained was a wet spot on the concrete and two abandoned knives. Helvark felt his mouth dry as he mumbled.
"I was being chased by some muggers... I'm new in town. Sorry for bumping into you sir."
The Zartani tourist was about to clamber to his feet when the giant simply picked him up by the shoulder and set Helvark back on his feet before asking.
"Where is your gun mr.lizard? Did you come to Lidoffad without one?"
The Tourist couldn't help but stand still as the giant roughly brushed the dust off of his clothing with their massive frying pan sized hands. Slowly Helvark shook his head, not understanding the question.
"A... A gun? Why would I have a gun?"
The giant nodded sagely and Beckoned for the tourist to follow as he set the cat down. Helvark quickly followed, more afraid of the towering example of human physique than he's like to admit
The giant however, didn't seem to notice or care as he introduced himself.
"My name's Bobby, mr.lizard. and you should have a gun because Lidoffad has no government or police. Everyone is responsible for their own safety, security and health. Needless to say, thieves, muggers and kidnappers do not have a long-"
Bobby was cut off by the sound of six rapid shots from an alleyway they passed. Morbidly curious, Helvark looked down the alleyway, surprised at what he saw.
A petite Mousian woman held a small Kelvian child to her stomach, covering their ears. A simple black handgun still pointed at the unmoving form of an insectoid species he didn't recognize. but even slumped against the wall, it was clearly taller and more massive than the woman and child combined. Brackish blood dripping from between it's mandibles.
Bobby stepped past Helvark, voice echoing down the alleyway as he called out to the woman.
"Ms.Shein, are you okay."
The Mousian woman, no, Ms.shein nodded curtly.
"I'm fine, kid's pretty shaken up though. I think she's a long way from home too, judging by the fact she's still struggling with the planet's gravity."
Bobby nodded and patted ms.shein on the shoulder.
"Take her to captain Leandra, she'll know what to do. What happened?"
Ms.shein's eyes hardened.
"It was a lure scheme. Heard the kid crying in the alleyway and went to investigate, this waste of oxygen tried kidnapping me too... So I shot him... Stupid fuck brought a replica to a gunfight."
Bobby nodded while Helvark's hand covered his gaping mouth. What was this place, he'd heard it was a top vacation spot but right now it seemed like a warzone.
Bobby noticed the Zartani's expression and simply stated.
"As I was saying before, thieves, muggers, kidnappers. Their life expectancy on Lidoffad is measured in days, sometimes hours depending on the nature of their... Chosen immorality. There's work to be done everywhere you look on Lidoffad, and for a liveable wage. You don't need to steal to support yourself."
Bobby stood and took the Zartani's shoulder in one hand, guiding him away from the dead insectoid. Leaving ms.shein behind to walk in relative silence.
...
After an hour or so of walking, Helvark was suddenly stopped by Bobby as the giant opened a building's steel reinforced door. The giant gestured Helvark inside and as soon. As the Zartani walked in, he smelled it.
The slight smell of burnt gunpowder hung in the air, intermingling with the surprisingly intoxicating smell of fine liquor, tobbaco and a sharp chemical smell he couldn't quite place.
The portly human behind the counter smiled as they looked up from their magazine.
"Welcome to the alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives superstore! We've got a special running on Plastique in case you need something to remove a troublesome Crimson jacket nest."
Helvark paused, looking around at the gleaming, new production firearms, the bottles of rich, dark brown alcohol, the humidors filled with cigars, bins of grenades and neatly wrapped blocks of plastic explosives. He was a little spooked, but he also had the sudden urge to buy one of everything. On his home planet you couldn't even get your hands on a certain wattage of laser pointer, much less the Colt M40 assault carbine he was currently ogling.
That was when he realized he probably didn't have enough money to buy the cheapest polymer handgun in the store. He deflated a bit until Bobby spoke up.
"I'll get the tab, just choose something you like that isn't too expensive."
Helvark couldn't believe his ear holes as his eyes slid onto the gun that he'd seen Ms.shein carrying. The tag said it cost about five hundred standard credits and came with two "magazines." Helvark immediately pointed at it.
"I'll take that one then please, that's the same kind Ms.shein was carrying right?"
The shop owner smiled widely sharing a glance with Bobby who gave him a nod of approval before he walked over and unlocked the glass cabinet to pull the handgun out, Explaining how to operate it.
"Okay, this one's just about as simple as they come son. It doesn't have any fancy bells or whistles but it can still put a tyrant bug in the dirt. It's chambered in nine millimeter HEP but you can fire standard, non High Explosive Propelled nine millimeter in it with just a top slide swap. Though, personally, I'd stick to the HEP barrel and top slide assembly. It's the best bang for the modern buck. It's got a trigger safety so make sure you keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to rock. To load it, slap a loaded magazine in the grip, pull the slide back and let it go."
Helvark slowly went through the motions getting a feel for the gun in his hand as he slipped a magazine loaded with dummy rounds into the grip before racking the slide back. In truth, it felt good to feel the weight of the firearm in his hand. It was like reconnecting with a friend you didn't know you'd lost.
Helvark looked up at the man behind the counter and calmly said.
"It's perfect, but I'll need some ammo as well if I'm gonna get it."
He glanced sheepishly at Bobby, the fear of the giant very much still there, but his current excitement momentarily overpowered it. Bobby just smiled and looked at the man behind the counter.
"I think our tourist is about ready to become a citizen Hank. Set him up with the starter package and I'll take him to the range tomorrow."
Helvark watched on with both mounting excitement and a little bit of disbelief as the two humans worked their way throughout the store. Gathering a small amount of everything from cigars to high explosives and blasting caps. Eventually he pulled his jaw off the floor and asked.
"Is this why Lidoffad is number one on most tourism brochures?"
The two humans paused and then began laughing like he'd just told a joke. Bobby's laugh made the bottles on the shelves rattle as he finally forced back his laughter.
"Oh, we're barely scratching the surface mr.lizard. wait until you catch a game of stratosphere."
Helvark frowned.
"What's stratosphere?"
The gun shop employee answered this time.
"You know that old human sport they talk about in textbooks to show how we're not sane? The one where they'd throw telephone poles. Stratosphere is that, but you're trying to launch a similarly sized metal rod as high as you can with homemade explosives. They have to be manufactured on festival grounds too, so no cheating with the manufactured stuff."
Helvark felt his heart rate pick up. Not because he was scared...
No, because he was a Zartani chemist and he was starting to think about which explosive he'd need to make to win that game.
"Where do I sign up?"
It was the humans turn to look a bit concerned at the Zartani's manic grin.

Me and my ldr gf broke up
Im 27. Shes turning 29 this year
TL,DR. My ldr gf of 3yrs left me. What are the chances of her coming back? She's the love of my life and I want her back, was gonna pop the question when she came out here to visit this year.
It's as the title reads. I'll try to keep it short and sweet.
We were together for 3yrs. We had amazing times together. I enjoyed her time and she enjoyed mines.
In the beginning of the relationship we had a talk about a friend of hers who she knows for over 15yrs. She told me they cuddled, but it never went past that. I trusted her and left it at that.
Fast forward 1.5yrs into the relationship and the problems start to happen. Communication starts going down the drain. Part of this is because she went remote with her job and was home lot. She later towards the end of the relationship old me she also was depressed. I had no idea that was the case. 1,We went from hanging out 1-2hrs a day, monday-Thursday, to only 30min calls before bed.
I asked what was up, she said she just wanted to spend more time with her friends. At this point, I had started to build up resentment towards her. The reason for this was because her answer to hurtful things she'd say to me in heated arguments was always "I don't know why I said that, I was wasn't thinking about my words".
At first I accepted that as a response, but after awhile, I won't lie it really started to bug me, as we had conversations about her thinking before she speaks. A little bit later, she brings up a trip with some friends that she's known online since childhood. The guy we talked about would also be there and she asked how I felt about that. I straight up asked her if she had feelings for him and she said no. I then said alright, have a great time.
I never brought him up again. This will be important later.
Fast forward into the relationship, it's getting rocky. At this point my own personal resentment has hit a peak and we're practically arguing over the dumbest things. The arguments got toxic. We got toxic. It got to the point to where, when I would make an attempt to voice my opinion, she would say I was complaining. This is a trigger word for me, because my ex would say that whenever I would voice my opinion on an issue, regardless of whether I was right or wrong. This is also my first ldr. Every previous relationship was in person.
So because of that I started to bottle stuff in and wouldn't talk about it. She even asked me if I had resentment towards her and I said no because I felt bad and didn't want to be the source of yet another argument. In hindsight, I should have still said yes. We'd probably be together right now. But yeah I bottled it in and just started being nasty towards her in minor ways throughout the relationship. And she got nasty towards me. We'd patch it up for a month or 2, then bam, right back at it.
Fast forward to 3 weeks ago. After yet again another stupid argument ( this was about me not reaching out to her to set up times to hangout, which I admit I stopped doing because she would chose to do other things without telling me, and when I would ask she would get upset. Not in a controlling matter, but in a hey im doing this today), she said she wanted to end it.
To add a bit of meat to this bone, she said I made her feel like she couldn't breathe, said I suffocated her too much, said I didn't give her enough compliments, said i had issues opening up, and to top it off, said I was jealous of her friend that we talked about in the beginning. Everything except the last statement was true. The reason for them? Remember that resentment I talked about? Yeah it got that bad. It was my response to her lack of communication with me. It was not right and I know that, resentment has no place in any relationship; we were better off being upset than holding that crap in.
The one thing that bothers me is why she brought him up when I didn't for over a year at that point.
I told her, at the end, the reasoning for my actions was resentment. I personally feel that she didn't believe me, but it's the truth and I didn't know what else to say. I told her where it came from, pinpointed when it started, and told her everything. I swear it was like trying to convince a fish to walk on land. Wasn't making no headway towards her.
At that point I knew it was over and started telling her how much, and what length I'll go to fix us. Didn't work. Told her I'll move out there for 2yrs ( which was a plan she knew about anyway, I was going to inact it this year, which she also knew). That also didn't work.
Everything I said, she had rebuttle for.
I was crying like a child on the phone, she wasn't. I've never felt so low. We cammed one more time, kissed each other goodbye and then left each other paragraph goodbyes on discord.
( Mines was yet another desperate attempt at getting her back, and hers was pretty much saying "No, we need to work on ourselves, and if you come here it won't be about that it'll be about us.).
I know it's long, but there's alot to it and I want to know, honestly, what are the chances of her coming back? We had a calm breakup and we haven't spoken in 3 days. She unfriended me on fb and insta, but kept me on discord, which is how we met.

Hello everyone,
I'm a software developer and DevOps engineer looking to build a homelab for testing production environments, build runners, and more. Currently, my setup includes a 16U, 19-inch rack, and a budget of 4,000 Euros. My primary aim is to build a flexible and robust testing environment that can effectively mirror various production scenarios.
To initiate my project, I'm contemplating setting up Proxmox VE for server management. With comprehensive virtualization management capabilities including containers and VMs, it seems like a perfect fit for operating multiple servers. Additionally, I plan to deploy an instance of pfSense for robust network security.
My setup will feature key networking tools such as Ansible for IT automation and Checkmk for IT infrastructure monitoring. I believe that these tools, known for their efficiency in task automation and monitoring, will bring significant value to my homelab environment. Nonetheless, I'm open to any recommendations or insights on other similar tools that you think would add value to a homelab setup.
Alongside these, I also intend to run various Docker containers and virtual machines, ranging from different databases to web servers, CI/CD tools, monitoring tools, and various testing environments.
I'm also looking for recommendations on rackable switches. Ideally, these would be suitable for a home lab environment and provide the necessary features and performance for my needs. If anyone has had good experiences with certain models or brands, I would appreciate your suggestions.
Here are a few key questions:

1. What specific hardware should I invest in for this setup given my budget?
2. Are there any specific considerations I should keep in mind while deploying Proxmox and pfSense?
3. Are there any other networking tools or utilities that you think would benefit my lab?
4. Do you have any suggestions on efficiently managing Docker containers and VMs?
5. What rackable switches would you recommend?

I'm keen to hear any advice, recommendations, and best practices from seasoned homelab enthusiasts, as this will be a significant project for me. Thanks in advance!
I'm based in France, so preferably suggestions should be available to purchase here.
Thanks !

This is going to be quite the lengthy post, I apologize in advanced.
I'm 23 years old, I've graduated from college, I'm on the job search, I've been home for a year looking for a career, while working a part time job.
I feel deeply and greatly, inexperienced with dealing with my emotions. I tended to be the "lonely kid" in school, becuase I just felt like I didn't fit in, this is all relevant becuase as an adult I feel like I'm still alone, and I know that's not true, Allah SWT is always with me. But my mind keeps attacking me, I feel like I'm at the lowest point of my life right now.
I spend alot of time by myself, and always pray that one day I'll have my own family, a loving wife and kids that I want to make sure I'm there for whenever I can, as much as I can.
That being said, my family grew up close, but growing up we struggled alot. However, everyone is changing, my siblings are changing, there's been alot of back of forth between me and my family for me to find a job, and I'm really trying to do my best, but it just feels like I've reached this threshold of stress in my heart that it feels like I'm being crushed when I breath.
My mother has changed from being her caring self and nowadays she's just so stressed and tired shes become so angry, and I really don't know how to help but I want to try whatever I can.
My siblings confronted me about, there views on life, and it opened this semi-heated exchange. It was his opinion that, you should always be looking to make money, as a means to support your family, even if you can't be around as a father, and that you must struggle to make more and more money he told me if he had choice to choose between a job that would pay 150k or a million dollars he'd choose the highest amount without thinking about how much time he'd have away from his family.
It's sincerely noble, considering we grew up with a single mother in one or the poorest places in our country.
However, I begged to differ, I believe it's Important, to be in your child's life as much as you can, even if it means sacrificing a job that gives you more money, that being said I strongly believe that you DO NEED to work and support your family and kids and it would be nice to have a job that gives you enough to do that, but if you can't be around to raise them are you really in the right, are you really being a good parent?
My mother worked so many jobs to take care of me and my siblings and it's crazy to me how much time she set aside to make sure she was in our life.
And it bothers me a bit that my siblings don't take that into account.
At the same time this inner voice attacks me, I feel so pathetic and so incapable of anything and having these narratives run in my household makes it worst for me. So I guess I'm asking how do I navigate my life, is this truly how I should be, head deep in work to make more money, or looking to be there for my family?
What decorum should I be following as a young man? What priorities should I consider important? How do I get closer to Allah and seek his guidance for the complications I'm having in my life? Are my views about life wrong? What's even going on with me?
I live in a country where people my age date before marriage so where do I even find a righteous spouse?
I'm so confused and so stressed, and I'm just looking for some help from a fellow brother or sister.
Thank you all for reading this and I hope Allah SWT makes all our trials easier.

Introduction: Investing in real estate is a significant decision that requires careful consideration. When it comes to luxury villas, holiday homes, and farm plots in Bangalore, Avillion Farms emerges as an attractive option. This article aims to highlight the reasons why investing in Avillion Farms is a promising choice for those seeking a blend of serenity, luxury, and potential returns.
Serene Location: Avillion Farms is situated in a tranquil location near Bangalore, offering an escape from the city's hustle and bustle. The peaceful surroundings and scenic beauty make it an ideal destination for those seeking a retreat-like experience.
Luxury Villas for Sale: Avillion Farms presents a range of Luxury Villa for sale in Bangalore. These villas are meticulously designed, combining aesthetic appeal with modern amenities. The spacious layouts, high-quality finishes, and premium fixtures ensure a comfortable and opulent living experience for residents.
Holiday Homes: Avillion Farms provides an opportunity to own a Holiday home for sale in Bangalore. Investing in a holiday home allows you to enjoy a getaway whenever you desire, while also potentially generating rental income during periods when you are not using the property. The serene location and luxurious amenities make Avillion Farms an attractive choice for vacationers.
Farm Land and Farm House Plots: For those interested in agricultural pursuits or simply desiring a farm house near Bangalore, Avillion Farms offers farm land and farm house plots. These plots provide an opportunity to embrace a rural lifestyle while being conveniently located near the city. Avillion Farms ensures that the farm plots are well-planned, with easy access to necessary infrastructure and facilities.
Close Proximity to Bangalore: Avillion Farms' strategic location offers the best of both worlds: a peaceful rural setting and close proximity to Bangalore. The project is well-connected to the city, allowing residents to access urban amenities, educational institutions, healthcare facilities, and entertainment options with ease.
Potential Returns on Investment: Investing in Avillion Farms holds the potential for attractive returns. The growing demand for luxury villas, holiday homes, and farm plots near Bangalore makes this an opportune time to invest in a property that offers both lifestyle benefits and the possibility of appreciation in value over time.
Commitment to Quality: Avillion Farms is known for its commitment to delivering high-quality properties. From the construction materials to the finishing touches, attention to detail is evident. The developer's focus on quality ensures that investors and homeowners receive a product that is built to last and meets their expectations.
Eco-friendly Practices: Avillion Farms promotes eco-friendly practices, reflecting the increasing importance of sustainable living. The project emphasizes green spaces, rainwater harvesting, and the use of renewable energy sources. This commitment to environmental consciousness adds value to the investment and aligns with the growing global concern for sustainable development.
Well-Planned Infrastructure: Avillion Farms boasts well-planned infrastructure that caters to the needs of residents. The project includes well-laid roads, ample parking, landscaping, and recreational areas. These amenities enhance the living experience and add value to the property.
Professional Management and Maintenance: Avillion Farms provides professional management and maintenance services, ensuring that the property is well-maintained and taken care of. This adds convenience for homeowners and ensures that the property remains in top condition, enhancing its long-term value.
Conclusion: Investing in Avillion Farms offers a unique opportunity to own a luxury villa, holiday home, or farm plot in Bangalore's serene surroundings. The project's strategic location, commitment to quality, potential returns on investment, eco-friendly practices, well-planned infrastructure, and professional management make Avillion Farms a compelling choice.
More Information:
https://avillionfarms.com/the-monk/
Mobile: +91 89047 52424
6th Cross Road, 1371, 29th Main Rd,
Munivenkatappa Layout, BTM 2nd Stage,
Bengaluru, Karnataka 560076

When I was 19 I was in a bad place. I felt lonely and unloved. I was sex positive a lot on tinder if you get what I am saying. Then one day I matched with J. He was different very polite, honest and caring. We matched on tinder agreeing to meet for coffee. I thought it was just going to be another tinder hook up. He was in Atlanta for summer vacation at the time he was in collage in Michigan his home state. Before I met him I thought to my self if I get pregnant and have a baby I will no longer be lonely and have someone that will love me so I decided to get pregnant. J and I had our coffee date and I fell in love with him the more time and dates I was with him. At the begging I wanted to go through with my original plan and get pregnant so lied to him about being on birth control and didn’t use protection. He then preferred to use protection I agreed at that point I changed my mind about getting pregnant but it was too late. He was suppose to go back to Michigan at the end of July but his father had to get surgery and left earlier than planned. Before he left back to Michigan I found out I was pregnant I decided not to tell him. I didn’t want to hold him back from going to be with his dad and school. So when he left a couple weeks after I told my mom that I was pregnant. I wasn’t sure what to do anymore. I thought really hard and decided to get an abortion. Once I had the abortion I then texted my ex what happened. I apologized about not including him in the decision of the abortion. But I didn’t tell him the whole truth. Instead of telling him the truth about finding out about the baby before he left I said I didn’t find out until after he left. I also never told him that I lied about being on birth control. Till this day J think I got pregnant by accident. J now lives in Atlanta happy and honestly I’m so scared of running into him one day as I still live in Atlanta.

Hello,
As the title suggests, I am attempting to install OpenZFS with Native ZFS Encryption on a fresh installation of Arch Linux whilst utilizing rEFInd as my bootloader.
After carefully completing all the appropriate steps, exiting arch-chroot, unmounting all my ZFS datasets, exporting my ZFS pool, unmounting my ESP, powering off my system, and unplugging my USB containing my Arch Live ISO, I am greeted with the following error when I attempt to boot my system back up and boot into my fresh Arch Linux system with ZFS Native Encryption via selecting it on rEFInd:
 

Starting vmlinuz-linux Using load options 'zfs=zroot/sys/arch-0/root/arch-RWSmith
cryptdevice=/dev/disk/by-partlabel/Root-0-NVMe:zroot
rw
add_efi_memmap
initrd=boot\intel-ucode.img
initrd=boot\initramfs-%v.img
initrd=etc\zfs\zroot.key
initrd=\boot\initramfs-linux.img'
Invalid loader file!
Error: Not found while loading vmlinuz-linux
** Hit and key to continue **

 
What caught my attention was that there was an added back slash after "=" at "initrd=\boot\initramfs-linux.img'" on the last line, since the Arch Wiki (rEFInd 3.1.2 For manual boot stanzas) says to not use backslashes when adding initrd commands but I think this ok since it is from before I began manually entering the multiple initrd= without the initial backslash in the /boot/efi/EFI/refind/refind.conf file.
 
However, I tried editing it in the terminal pressing tab twice on the keyboard with no avail.
 
I made sure to incorporate the archzfs-linux-git, zfs-linux-git, zfs-linux-git-headers, zfs-utils-git packages into the Live Arch ISO when building the base system. Furthermore, I made sure that the Linux kernel and ZFS packages are compatible and supported with each other. I was trying this with 6.3.1 and 6.3.2 (I made sure no package was not newer than as of Sunday, 21 May 2029). I understand they released updated ZFS packages for 6.3.4 today (Monday, 29 May 2023), but I have not had the chance to give a try yet.
 
I am installing the system on a single Samsung 950 PRO NVMe SSD M.2 512 GB to get my feet wet with ZFS and comfortable enough before scaling up. I have two partitions, a 32-bit FAT 1G EF00 EFI System Partition mounted on /boot/efi, and the second BF00 partition utilizing the remaining 475.9G disk space for my ZFS Pool, zroot. I am utilizing ZFS Native Encryption on the second partition with the key saved in the the initramfs.
 
I am having difficulty setting up the correct and appropriate rEFInd configuration files: refind.conf which is located at /boot/efi/EFI/refind/refind.conf, and refind_linux.conf which is located at /boot/refind_linux.conf.
 
Here are my current configurations files for each respective rEFInd configuration file, respectively:
 

• nano /boot/refind_linux.conf

"Boot with standard options" \ "zfs=zroot/sys/arch-0/root/arch-RWSmith \ cryptdevice=/dev/disk/by-partlabel/Root-0-NVMe:zroot \ rw \ add_efi_memmap \ initrd=boot\intel-ucode.img \ initrd=boot\initramfs-%v.img \ initrd=etc\zfs\zroot.key loglevel=4" 

 

• nano /boot/efi/EFI/refind/refind.conf

scanfor manual,nvme,zfs_keys scanfor_manual +zfs/*/*.efi scan_driver_dirs EFI/tools menuentry "Arch Linux" { icon /EFI/refind/icons/os_arch.png volume zroot loader /boot/vmlinuz-linux initrd /boot/initramfs-%v.img options "zfs=zroot/sys/arch-0/root/arch-RWSmith \ cryptdevice=/dev/disk/by-partlabel/Root-0-NVMe:zroot \ rw \ add_efi_memmap \ initrd=boot\intel-ucode.img \ initrd=boot\initramfs-%v.img \ initrd=etc\zfs\zroot.key" } 

 
I also tried using the suggestions I found online here that suggested the following:
 

Works for me:

 $ cat /boot/refind_linux.conf "Boot with standard options" "dozfs=force root=ZFS=SSD/ROOT/Debian rw quiet splash vt.handoff=7" "Boot to single-user mode" "dozfs=force root=ZFS=SSD/ROOT/Debian rw quiet splash vt.handoff=7 single" "Boot with minimal options" "dozfs=force root=ZFS=SSD/ROOT/Debian rw" 

or in refind.conf manual stanza

 menuentry "Akua Debian" { icon EFI/refind/icons/os_elementary.png volume ZFSROOT loader ROOT/Debian/@/vmlinuz initrd ROOT/Debian/@/initrd.img options "dozfs=force root=ZFS=SSD/ROOT/Debian rw quiet splash vt.handoff=7" } 

 
I had to fiddle with the paths - since the actual root is ROOT/Debian ... but it wouldn't work if I didn't add the /@/ path component. Those paths are symlinks into boot/ (latest version of kernel and initrd).
 

 zfs list ... SSD/ROOT 30.7G 61.7G 23K none SSD/ROOT/Debian 11.5G 61.7G 11.5G legacy SSD/ROOT/FreeBSD 949M 61.7G 949M /mnt/FreeBSD SSD/ROOT/Void 18.2G 61.7G 18.2G legacy ... # ls -l /boot/efi/EFI/refind/drivers_x64/ total 239 -rwx------ 1 root root 83222 Sep 16 18:13 btrfs_x64.efi -rwx------ 1 root root 69384 Sep 17 09:41 ext4_x64.efi -rwx------ 1 root root 90336 Apr 25 2018 zfs_x64.efi 

 
Zpool's name is SSD ... ZFSROOT is the partition name set with gdisk (gptfdisk).
Hope this helps.

 
I incorporated the suggestion into my /boot/efi/EFI/refind/refind.conf file with the appropriate changes:
 

menuentry "Arch Linux" { icon /EFI/refind/icons/os_arch.png volume zroot loader sys/arch-0/root/arch-RWSmith/@/vmlinuz-linux initrd sys/arch-0/root/arch-RWSmith/@/initramfs-%v.img options "zfs=zroot/sys/arch-0/root/arch-RWSmith \ cryptdevice=/dev/disk/by-partlabel/Root-0-NVMe:zroot \ rw \ add_efi_memmap \ initrd=boot\intel-ucode.img \ initrd=boot\initramfs-%v.img \ initrd=etc\zfs\zroot.key" } 

 
but it didn't help :( I tried other small tweaks in that configuration file but they also did not work. For example, instead of volume zroot, I tried entering volume Root-0-NVMe.
 
I was originally trying to use rEFInd as my exclusive bootloader and utilizing the ZFS drivers/binaries from here. The file I driver I downloaded is zfs_x64.efi. I saved the zfs_x64.efi driver in multiple locations before and after installing rEFInd via running the refind-install script, even though one location should have sufficed. I saved a copy of zfs_x64.efi in /usshare/refind/drivers_x64, /boot/efi/EFI/refind, /boot/efi/EFI/refind/drivers, /boot/efi/EFI/, /boot/efi/EFI/refind/tools, /boot/efi/EFI/refind/tools/drivers, /boot, and /boot/drivers. I may have saved copies in other locations, just in case, but it also did not help.
 
I would like to highlight that /boot is located within the ZFS natively encrypted zrootpool.
 
I am pretty sure that that I am doing something incorrectly with the configuration files for the rEFInd bootloader, but everything else should be correct. However, as I write this, I barely realized did I not use the following commands recommended from the "Usage" section from the aforementioned website where I downloaded the zfs_x64.efi driver file for rEFInd:
 

zfs_x64.efi map -r 

 
So this may be the problem, but I doubt it. I will try to enter the command next time I have access to my computer. The extra datasets involving /usr, /tmp, /srv, /opt, and /var may also be contributing my issues.
 
That said, after weeks of frustrating research and attempts of diagnosing the problem, I thought I would give ZFSBootMenu a try to see if it would fix all my issues, but it did not help either. As recommended by the Arch Wiki (Generate a ZFSBootMenu image), I set up my /etc/zfsbootmenu/config.yaml as thus:
 

Global: ManageImages: true BootMountPoint: /boot/efi DracutConfDir: /etc/zfsbootmenu/dracut.conf.d PreHooksDir: /etc/zfsbootmenu/generate-zbm.pre.d PostHooksDir: /etc/zfsbootmenu/generate-zbm.post.d InitCPIO: true InitCPIOConfig: /etc/zfsbootmenu/mkinitcpio.conf Components: ImageDir: /boot/efi/EFI/zbm Versions: 3 Enabled: false syslinux: Config: /boot/syslinux/syslinux.cfg Enabled: false EFI: ImageDir: /boot/efi/EFI/zbm Versions: false Enabled: true Kernel: CommandLine: ro quiet loglevel=0 

 
I also try to incorporate some of the recommendations from the ZFSBootMenu wiki and also a different page on the wiki from the guide, but it was difficult to follow since Arch Linux utilizes mkinitcpio and not dracut.
 
Here is how I have my pacman.conf file:
nano /etc/pacman.conf:
 

Color VerbosePkgList ParallelDownloads = 10 ILoveCandy [core] SigLevel = PackageRequired Server = https://archive.archlinux.org/repos/2023/05/21/$repo/os/$arch [extra] SigLevel = PackageRequired Server = https://archive.archlinux.org/repos/2023/05/21/$repo/os/$arch [community] SigLevel = PackageRequired Server = https://archive.archlinux.org/repos/2023/05/21/$repo/os/$arch [multilib] [core] SigLevel = PackageRequired Server = https://archive.archlinux.org/repos/2023/05/21/$repo/os/$arch [archzfs] SigLevel = Optional TrustAll Server = https://archzfs.com/$repo/$arch 

 
My mkinitcpio.conf file:
 

MODULES=(usbhid \ xhci_hcd \ nvidia \ nvidia_modeset \ nvidia_uvm \ nvidia_drm) FILES=(/etc/zfs/zroot.key) HOOKS=(base \ udev \ autodetect \ modconf \ block \ keyboard \ keymap \ encrypt \ zfs \ usr \ filesystems \ fsck shutdown) 

 
In my /etc/fstab file, I commented out all my ZFS datasets, and simply left the line for my ESP uncommented, as follows:
 

/dev/disk/by-partlabel/EFI-0-NVMe \ /boot/efi vfat \ rw,\ relatime,\ fmask=0022,\ codepage=437,\ iocharset=ascii,\ shortname=mixed,\ utf8,\ errors=remount-ro \ 0 2 

 
Before, instead of /dev/disk/by-partlabel/EFI-0-NVMe, I had UUID=####-####.
 
Here is my zpool:
 

zpool create -f \ -o ashift=12 \ -O encryption=aes-256-gcm \ -O keylocation=file:///etc/zfs/zroot.key \ -O keyformat=passphrase \ -O pbkdf2iters=750000 \ -O acltype=posixacl \ -O relatime=on \ -O xattr=sa \ -O compression=lz4 \ -O checksum=sha512 \ -O dedup=sha512 \ -O normalization=formD \ -O dnodesize=auto \ -o autotrim=on \ -m none \ -R /mnt \ zroot \ /dev/disk/by-partlabel/Root-0-NVMe 

 
Here are my 48 ZFS Datasets:
 

#1 zfs create -p \ -o mountpoint=none \ zroot/sys/arch-0 #2 zfs create -o mountpoint=none \ zroot/sys/arch-0/root #3 zfs create -o mountpoint=/ \ -o canmount=noauto \ zroot/sys/arch-0/root/arch-RWSmith zfs mount zroot/sys/arch-0/root/arch-RWSmith #4 zfs create -o mountpoint=none \ zroot/sys/arch-0/data #5 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home \ zroot/sys/arch-0/data/home #6 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/root \ zroot/sys/arch-0/root/arch-RWSmith/root #7 VAR zfs create -o canmount=off \ -o mountpoint=/var \ -o refquota=35G \ zroot/sys/arch-0/var #8 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/valog \ -o refquota=10G \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valog #9 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/valog/audit \ -o quota=10G \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valog/audit #10 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/valog/journal \ -o quota=10G \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valog/journal #11 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/vatmp \ -o quota=3G \ zroot/sys/arch-0/vatmp #12 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/vacache \ zroot/sys/arch-0/vacache #13 zfs create -o canmount=off \ -o mountpoint=/valib \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valib #14 zfs create -o canmount=off \ -o mountpoint=/valib/systemd \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valib/systemd #15 zfs create -o canmount=on (?) \ -o mountpoint=/valib/systemd/coredump \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valib/systemd/coredump #16 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/valib/libvirt \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valib/libvirt #17 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/valib/docker \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valib/docker #18 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/valib/mysql \ -o recordsize=8K \ -o primarycache=metadata \ -o logbias=throughput \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valib/mysql #19 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/valib/mysql/data \ -o recordsize=8K \ -o primarycache=metadata \ -o logbias=throughput \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valib/mysql/data #20 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/valib/mysql/log \ -o recordsize=8K \ -o primarycache=metadata \ -o logbias=throughput \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valib/mysql/log #21 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/valib/postgresql \ -o recordsize=8K \ -o primarycache=metadata \ -o logbias=throughput \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valib/postgresql #22 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/valib/postgresql/data \ -o recordsize=8K \ -o primarycache=metadata \ -o logbias=throughput \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valib/postgresql/data #23 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/valib/postgresql/log \ -o recordsize=8K \ -o primarycache=metadata \ -o logbias=throughput \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valib/postgresql/log #24 TMP zfs create -o canmount=on (?) \ -o mountpoint=/tmp \ -o reservation=16G \ -o quota=18G \ -o sync=disabled \ -o setuid=off \ -o devices=off \ -o com.sun:auto-snapshot=false \ zroot/sys/arch-0/tmp #25 SRV zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/srv \ zroot/sys/arch-0/srv #26 OPT zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/opt \ zroot/sys/arch-0/opt #27 USR zfs create -o canmount=noauto (?) \ -o mountpoint=/usr \ -o reservation=8G \ -o quota=11G \ zroot/sys/arch-0/usr zfs mount zroot/sys/arch-0/usr #28 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/uslocal \ zroot/sys/arch-0/uslocal #29 zfs create -o canmount=on (?) \ -o mountpoint=/uslib \ zroot/sys/arch-0/uslib #30 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/ussrc \ zroot/sys/arch-0/ussrc #31 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/usshare \ zroot/sys/arch-0/usshare #32 HOME zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick \ zroot/sys/arch-0/data/home/youngroderick #33 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/local \ zroot/sys/arch-0/data/home/youngroderick/local #34 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/config \ zroot/sys/arch-0/data/home/youngroderick/config #35 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/cache \ zroot/sys/arch-0/data/home/youngroderick/cache #36 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/media \ -o recordsize=1M \ zroot/sys/arch-0/data/home/youngroderick/media #37 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/games \ -o recordsize=1M \ zroot/sys/arch-0/data/home/youngroderick/games # OPTIONAL DATASETS #38 zfs create -o mountpoint=none \ zroot/e #39 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/e/books \ zroot/e/books #40 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/e/computer \ zroot/e/computer #41 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/e/personal \ zroot/e/personal #42 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/e/images \ zroot/e/images #43 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/e/media \ zroot/e/media #44 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/e/university \ zroot/e/university #45 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/e/workspace \ zroot/e/workspace #46 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/e/work \ zroot/e/work #47 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/e/reference \ zroot/e/reference #48 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/e/other \ zroot/e/other 

 
I am not sure if the mountpoints I used for some are the ZFS datasets are appropriate and or are contributing to my issues of my bootloader not being able to detect my natively encrypted ZFS pool which holds my initramfs and vmlinuz-linux. Any suggestions would be welcomed. What is supposed to happen is that rEFInd should be automatically booting my natively ZFS encrypted Arch Linux system (if I don't select it first), prompt me to enter my password once before going forward with unlocking all my ZFS encrypted pool and datasets automatically and going forward with the typical boot process as if it were not encrypted.
 
I would like to highlight my original intention was to use rEFInd as my exclusive bootloader and not use ZFSBootMenu whatsoever. However, if I must use ZFSBootMenu in conjunction with rEFInd, then I will. I intend to to have this Samsung NVMe SSD M.2 512 GB 950 PRO dedicated to my Arch Linux (and other Linux systems) and utilize my second Samsung NVMe M.2 2 TB 980 PRO for Windows but boot it from rEFInd which is installed on my 950 PRO.
 
Any tips or suggestions would be well appreciated. I probably did something very dumb or some silly mistake.
 
Here are all the commands I used during my install of Arch Linux with ZFS Native Encryption on a single Samsung 950 PRO 512 GB NVMe M.2 SSD; I did my best to do things in a particular order such that there would be little to no conflicts:
 

loadkeys es mount -o remount,size=7G /run/archiso/cowspace passwd enter and verify root passwd ip -c a nano /etc/pacman.conf Color VerbosePkgList ParallelDownloads = 10 ILoveCandy [core] SigLevel = PackageRequired Server = https://archive.archlinux.org/repos/2023/05/21/$repo/os/$arch [extra] SigLevel = PackageRequired Server = https://archive.archlinux.org/repos/2023/05/21/$repo/os/$arch [community] SigLevel = PackageRequired Server = https://archive.archlinux.org/repos/2023/05/21/$repo/os/$arch [multilib] [core] SigLevel = PackageRequired Server = https://archive.archlinux.org/repos/2023/05/21/$repo/os/$arch [archzfs] SigLevel = Optional TrustAll Server = https://archzfs.com/$repo/$arch :x timedatectl set-ntp true pacman-key --populate pacman-key --init pacman -Syu modprobe zfs echo $? pacman -S --needed openssh screen duf nvme-cli lsblk nvme list nvme format --ses=1 /dev/nvme0n1 status=progress dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/nvme0n1 bs=512 count=1 conv=notrunc status=progress fdisk -l /dev/nvme0 or parted -l /dev/nvme0 ls -l /dev/disk/by-id disk0=/dev/disk/by-id/nvme-Samsung_SSD_950_PRO_512GB_################ swapoff --all zpool labelclear -f $disk0 sgdisk --zap-all $disk0 sgdisk -n1:1M:+1G -t1:EF00 -c1:"EFI-0-NVMe" $disk0 sgdisk --zap-all lsblk ls -l /dev/disk/by-partlabel sgdisk -n2:0:0 -t2:BF00 -c2:"Root-0-NVMe" $disk0 lsblk ls -l /dev/disk/by-partlabel zpool labelclear -f /dev/disk/by-partlabel/EFI-0-NVMe zpool labelclear -f /dev/disk/by-partlabel/Root-0-NVMe mkdosfs -F 32 -s 1 -n EFI /dev/disk/by-partlabel/EFI-0-NVMe echo 'XxxBigDaddyRoderickWSmith69420!xXX' > /etc/zfs/zroot.key chmod 000 /etc/zfs/zroot.key Create ZFS Pool (See above) Create ZFS Datasets (See 48 above) zgenhostid $(hostid) chmod 700 /mnt/root chmod 1777 /mnt/tmp chmod 1777 /mnt/vatmp zpool set cachefile=/etc/zfs/zpool.cache zroot systemctl mask tmp.mount zfs umount -a zpool export zroot zpool import -d /dev/disk/by-id -R /mnt zroot -N zfs load-key zroot zfs mount zroot/sys/arch-0/root/arch-RWSmith zfs mount zroot/sys/arch-0/usr zfs mount -a df -h zpool set bootfs=zroot/sys/arch-0/root/arch-RWSmith zroot (?) mkdir -p /mnt/etc/zfs cp /etc/zfs/zpool.cache /mnt/etc/zfs/ zpool set cachefile=/etc/zfs/zpool.cache zroot cp /etc/zfs/zroot.key /mnt/etc/zfs cp /etc/hostid /mnt/etc cp /etc/resolv.conf /mnt/etc/ mkdir -p /mnt/boot/efi mount /dev/disk/by-partlabel/EFI-0-NVMe /mnt/boot/efi cd pacman -Syy pacstrap /mnt \ archzfs-linux-git \ b43-fwcutter \ base \ base-devel \ bash-completion \ broadcom-wl \ cryptsetup \ curl \ dhclient \ dhcpcd \ dkms \ dmidecode \ duf \ fwupd \ git \ grml-zsh-config \ intel-ucode \ iucode-tool \ lib32-nvidia-utils \ linux \ linux-atm \ linux-firmware \ linux-firmware-marvell \ linux-headers \ nano \ nvidia \ nvidia-dkms \ nvidia-utils \ openssh \ os-prober \ pacman-contrib \ refind \ screen \ sg3_utils \ sudo \ vim \ wget \ zfs-linux-git \ zfs-linux-git-headers \ zfs-utils-git \ zsh \ zsh-theme-powerlevel10k echo "UMASK=0077" > /etc/mkinitcpio.d/umask.conf lsinitcpio /boot/initramfs-linux.img grep zroot.key genfstab -U -p /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab zpool set bootfs=zroot/sys/arch-0/root/Root-0-NVMe zroot (again?) cp -r /etc/zfs-tools-driver /mnt/etc nano /mnt/etc/fstab Comment out everything except /boot/efi: /dev/disk/by-partlabel/EFI-0-NVMe \ /boot/efi vfat \ rw,\ relatime,\ fmask=0022,\ codepage=437,\ iocharset=ascii,\ shortname=mixed,\ utf8,\ errors=remount-ro \ 0 2 :x arch-chroot /mnt nano /etc/pacman.conf Color VerbosePkgList ParallelDownloads = 10 ILoveCandy [core] SigLevel = PackageRequired Server = https://archive.archlinux.org/repos/2023/05/21/$repo/os/$arch [extra] SigLevel = PackageRequired Server = https://archive.archlinux.org/repos/2023/05/21/$repo/os/$arch [community] SigLevel = PackageRequired Server = https://archive.archlinux.org/repos/2023/05/21/$repo/os/$arch [multilib] [core] SigLevel = PackageRequired Server = https://archive.archlinux.org/repos/2023/05/21/$repo/os/$arch [archzfs] SigLevel = Optional TrustAll Server = https://archzfs.com/$repo/$arch :x pacman -Syyu nano /etc/mkinitcpio.conf MODULES=(usbhid \ xhci_hcd \ nvidia \ nvidia_modeset \ nvidia_uvm \ nvidia_drm) FILES=(/etc/zfs/zroot.key) HOOKS=(base \ udev \ autodetect \ modconf \ block \ keyboard \ keymap \ zfs \ usr \ filesystems \ fsck shutdown) :x mkinitcpio -p linux zpool set cachefile=/etc/zfs/zpool.cache zroot (again, according to Arch Wiki?) refind-install (--path=/boot/efi (? add this extra tag, maybe?) # MAYBE: refind-install --usedefault /dev/nvme0n1p1 --alldrivers --no-scan ## Maybe change /dev/disk/by-partlabel/EFI-0-NVMe in lieu of /dev/nvme0n1p1 efibootmgr remove the necessary options via efibootmgr -b 1 -B efibootmgr -b 1 -B ## `-b 1` apply the change to boot option #1. ## `-B` the change to apply is to remove the boot option ls -l /dev/disk/by-partlabel efibootmgr -c -d /dev/nvme0n1 -p 1 -L "rEFInd (NVMe)" -l \\EFI\\refind\\refind_x64.efi efibootmgr -o #,#,#,#,# (reorder accordingly) cd cp /etc/zfs-tools-drivepetezfs/zfs_x64.efi /usshare/refind/drivers_x64 cp /etc/zfs-tools-drivepetezfs/zfs_x64.efi /boot/efi/EFI/refind cp /etc/zfs-tools-drivepetezfs/zfs_x64.efi /boot/efi/EFI/refind/drivers cp /etc/zfs-tools-drivepetezfs/zfs_x64.efi /boot/efi/EFI/ cp /etc/zfs-tools-drivepetezfs/zfs_x64.efi /boot/efi/EFI/tools cp /etc/zfs-tools-drivepetezfs/zfs_x64.efi /boot/efi/EFI/tools/drivers cp /etc/zfs-tools-drivepetezfs/zfs_x64.efi /boot/efi/ cp /etc/zfs-tools-drivepetezfs/zfs_x64.efi /boot/efi/drivers cp /etc/zfs-tools-drivepetezfs/zfs_x64.efi /boot/drivers cp /etc/zfs-tools-drivepetezfs/zfs_x64.efi /boot ls cd modprobe zfs echo $? nano /boot/refind_linux.conf "Boot with standard options" \ "zfs=zroot/sys/arch-0/root/arch-RWSmith \ cryptdevice=/dev/disk/by-partlabel/Root-0-NVMe:zroot \ rw \ add_efi_memmap \ initrd=boot\intel-ucode.img \ initrd=boot\initramfs-%v.img \ initrd=etc\zfs\zroot.key loglevel=4" :x nano /boot/efi/EFI/refind/refind.conf menuentry "Arch Linux" { icon /EFI/refind/icons/os_arch.png volume Root-0-NVMe loader /boot/vmlinuz-linux initrd /boot/initramfs-%v.img options "zfs=zroot/sys/arch-0/root/arch-RWSmith \ cryptdevice=/dev/disk/by-partlabel/Root-0-NVMe:zroot \ rw \ add_efi_memmap \ initrd=boot\intel-ucode.img \ initrd=boot\initramfs-%v.img \ initrd=etc\zfs\zroot.key" } ## Also add: scanfor manual,nvme,zfs_keys scanfor_manual +zfs/*/*.efi ## If any problems, remove this line ## scan_driver_dirs EFI/tools ## If any problems, remove this line ## timeout 10 :x pacman -Syu cat /etc/zfs/zroot.key ls -l /boot/initramfs-linux.img passwd enter and verify root passwd nano /etc/systemd/system/[email protected] [Unit] Description=Weekly zpool scrub on %i [Timer] OnCalendar=weekly AccuracySec=1h Persistent=true [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target :x nano /etc/systemd/system/[email protected] [Unit] Description=zpool scrub on %i [Service] Nice=19 IOSchedulingClass=idle KillSignal=SIGINT ExecStart=/usbin/zpool scrub %i [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target :x zpool status -t zroot zpool set autotrim=on zroot nano /etc/systemd/system/[email protected] [Unit] Description=Monthly zpool trim on %i [Timer] OnCalendar=monthly AccuracySec=1h Persistent=true [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target :x nano /etc/systemd/system/[email protected] [Unit] Description=zpool trim on %i [Service] Nice=19 IOSchedulingClass=idle KillSignal=SIGINT ExecStart=/usbin/zpool trim %i [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target :x mkdir -p /etc/zfs/zfs-list.cache ln -s /uslib/zfs/zed.d/history_event-zfs-list-cacher.sh /etc/zfs/zed.d systemctl enable \ zfs.target \ zfs-import-cache.service \ zfs-import.target \ zfs-import-scan (?) \ zfs-share \ zfs-zed.service \ [email protected] \ [email protected] systemctl start zfs-zed.service systemctl mask tmp.mount touch /etc/zfs/zfs-list.cache/zroot zgenhostid $(hostid) (again, according to Arch Wiki?) ## ("Check the contents of /etc/zfs/zfs-list.cache/. \ ## If it is empty, make sure that the zfs-zed.service \ ## is running and just change the canmount property \ ## of any of your ZFS filesystem by running: \ ## zfs set canmount=off zroot/fs1") pacman -Syu pacman -S --needed \ alsa-card-profiles \ alsa-firmware \ alsa-lib \ alsa-plugins \ alsa-utils \ acpid \ avahi \ bridge-utils \ dialog \ dnsmasq \ dnsutils \ dosfstools \ firewalld \ gvfs \ gvfs-smb \ haveged \ inetutils \ ipset \ iptables-nft \ mtools \ networkmanager \ network-manager-applet \ nfs-utils \ nss-mdns \ ntfs-3g \ pipewire \ pipewire-alsa \ pipewire-jack \ pipewire-pulse \ reflector \ rsync \ sof-firmware \ terminus-font \ tlp \ usb_modeswitch \ usbmuxd \ usbutils \ wireplumber \ wpa_supplicant \ xdg-user-dirs \ xdg-utils ln -sf /usshare/zoneinfo/America/Los_Angeles /etc/localtime hwclock --systohc nano /etc/locale.gen Uncomment en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8 Uncomment es_ES.UTF-8 UTF-8 :x locale-gen echo "KEYMAP=es" >> /etc/vconsole.conf echo "RWSmith" >> /etc/hostname nano /etc/hosts 127.0.0.1 [tab] [tab] localhost ::1 [tab] [tab] localhost 127.0.1.1 [tab] [tab] RWSmith.localdomain [tab] RWSmith :x useradd -mU -s \ /bin/zsh \ -G \ sys,\ log,\ network,\ floppy,\ scanner,\ power,\ rfkill,\ uucp,\ users,\ video,\ storage,\ plugdev,\ optical,\ lp,\ audio,\ wheel,\ adm,\ sudo \ youngroderick passwd youngroderick enter and confirm passwd cp -a /etc/skel/. /home/youngroderick chown -R youngroderick:youngroderick /home/descartes EDITOR=nano visudo Uncomment %wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL :x nano etc/xdg/reflectoreflector.conf --country US --protocol https --latest 5 --sort rate --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist mkdir /etc/zfs/zfs-list.cache (not needed, file already exists) touch /etc/zfs/zfs-list.cache/zroot (?) cat /etc/zfs/zfs-list.cache (Fix the paths to eliminate /mnt:) ? sed -Ei "s/mnt/?/" /etc/zfs/zfs-list.cache/* (?, I don't think I should or need to do this) systemctl enable \ acpid \ avahi-daemon \ firewalld.service \ fstrim.timer \ haveged.service \ NetworkManager \ reflector.timer \ rsyncd \ sshd \ systemd-timesyncd \ tlp \ usbmuxd \ systemctl disable dhcpcd.service exit cd / umount -l /mnt/boot/efi zfs umount -a zpool export zroot umount -a 

 
Lastly, if it matters, here is my hardware:

1. ASUS RAMPAGE V EDITION 10 (X99) Motherboard
2. Intel i7-6950X
3. Corsair Vengeance LPX 128 GB DDR4 (NON-ECC)
4. x2 ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1080 Ti OC

 
Thank you for taking the time to read my wall of text. I have spent months researching and reading before I even considered attempting this project and or seeking help.

Research Nester’s recent market research analysis on “Industrial Belt Drives Market: Global Demand Analysis & Opportunity Outlook 2035” delivers a detailed competitors analysis and a detailed overview of the global industrial belt drives market in terms of market segmentation by product, application, end-user, and by region.
Growing Industrial Production to Promote Global Market Share of Industrial Belt Drives
Access detailed report @ https://www.researchnester.com/reports/industrial-belt-drives-market/4039
The global industrial belt drives market is estimated to grow majorly on account of the surging industrial production. For instance, the versatility, affordability, and simplicity of belt drives make them a popular choice. There is a need for dependable and effective systems to transmit power and motion as industrial output rises. In 2022, India's industrial production rose by more than 4% annually.
The global industrial belt drives market is estimated to grow majorly on account of the increasing need for sustainability. Since they can efficiently transfer power over long distances, belt drives are recognized for their high efficiency. As a result, they are a well-liked solution for industries that value sustainability and energy efficiency, which is expected to fuel market expansion. More than 15,000 customers from around the world responded to a poll done in 2022 by saying that environmental sustainability is now more important to them than it was a year before.
Some of the major growth factors and challenges that are associated with the growth of the global industrial belt drives market are:
Growth Drivers:
· Surge in technological advancements in industrial belt drives
· Growing adoption of Industry Internet of Things (IIoT)
Challenges:
The industrial adoption of robots and AI, and the high cost of belt drives are some of the major factors anticipated to hamper the global market size of industrial belt drives. One of the main issues expected to impede the market's growth is the use of AI. For instance, there is a growing tendency towards automated systems that don't need conventional power transmission techniques, including belt drives, as robotics and AI is being used by industries at an increasing rate.
Request Report Sample@ https://www.researchnester.com/sample-request-4039
By product, the global industrial belt drives market is segmented into industrial V-belt drives, industrial synchronous belt drives, industrial pulleys, and others. The industrial synchronous belt drives segment is to garner the highest revenue by the end of 2035 by growing at a significant CAGR over the forecast period. The growth can be attributed to the growing automotive sector around the globe. Owing to technological advancements such as the introduction of hybrid and electric vehicles, the automotive industry is constantly changing (EVs). These advancements frequently need specialized synchronous belt drive systems for applications such as electric powertrains, battery cooling systems, and other auxiliary systems. As a result, it is projected that the market for synchronous belt drives made for these applications would grow alongside the acceptance of hybrid and electric vehicles. Global EV sales have surged by more than 38% as of 2019, while the EV export business has grown by more than 17%.
By region, the Asia Pacific industrial belt drives market is to generate the highest revenue by the end of 2035. This growth is anticipated by a higher number of industrial and mining activities, mainly in China and India. As mining and industrial operations in the area grow, the demand for industrial belt drives could increase. For instance, heavy machinery and equipment, such as conveyor belts, crushers, mills, and separators, are typically required for these processes and rely on industrial belt drives for efficient power transfer. Also, as mining and industrial operations expand, there is a greater demand for industrial belt drives since these operations need dependable, high-performance belt drives to support the operations and keep the machinery running. Additionally, it is projected that the formation of more businesses in the region's emerging economies and increased industry awareness of the need to minimize energy use will support market expansion. Over the projection period, it is also anticipated that the region's rising energy consumption will accelerate market expansion. India's industrial production rose by more than 6% annually as of 2023, reaching an all-time high of more than 130% in 2021.
This report also provides the existing competitive scenario of some of the key players of the global industrial belt drives market which includes company profiling of Dayco IP Holdings, LLC, Optibelt GmbH, Hutchinson Group, Continental AG, Daifuku Co., Ltd., Interroll Group, Honeywell Intelligrated, TGW Logistics Group GmbH, and Swisslog Holding AG., and others.
Request Report Sample@ https://www.researchnester.com/sample-request-4039

It’s Memorial Day 2023 and at my job sitting in my office as the store manager of a retail box chain. The couple deployments in the big green uniform during the mid 2000’s cross my mind only once or twice and I cant decide how I feel about that. With the old big 40th birthday not but but a couple years around the corner, the southern beach town where i live and spent most of my childhood hasn't quite woken up yet. But here i am feeling something I hadn't felt in a long time. I feel surreal. That or I’m in shock.
I confronted my narc over her lack of commitment last weekend, after another game of midnight twister. Twister never was a issue with us, probably some of the best games ever played. Yall get it.
We have been in this long slow death spiral for over a year now but this feels like the end. I demanded to know why I was good enough to fuck but not good enough to be in a relationship. She spouted off about some lie she made up that i told. Then last Thursday, she again ask me to come over. I stand my ground and say no, that if I’m not good enough to tell your ex fiancé that i exist then I’m not having sex with you. Friday I look on Facebook and she hadn’t blocked me again but here’s she’s posting a picture of her packed truck headed where? You guess it……the northern state where “ex-fiancé” lives. You gotta be shitting me what’s wrong with this lady ? How long had that been planned and she left without saying a word. By now I’ve gotten to be an expert detective among other things. She's from a northern state The fiancé had lived with her down here a few years before moving back. Evidently She always went to enormous lengths to keep me away from the rest of her life. Now the whole house of cards is falling down. I basically call her a liar that there is nothing on between them. She went up there to help a relative move a few weeks back didn’t answer a single call or text all weekend. Completely ignored me. He was there with them the whole time. I asked why did the engagement end years back? Her answer left me utterly astonished. “I just didn’t love him like i I should have.” What the fuck does that mean? Whys he still around? Tell me all the whole truth. That was Friday and communication ended immediately and haven’t heard from her since. She hadn’t blocked me yet but will not respond. .Just silence as I slowly realized that every single thing she told me was all a lie. All the crazy accusations out of now where, all the lies she’s told her family about me were all in fact things she’d done to others or was doing to me. I learned early on in this what "projection" meant and the first time I told her I think she was doing it , she counter punched like she been holding a UNO reverse card up her sleeve. As the full weight of who this person actually was hit me, everything spiraled for me into the worst feeling of betrayal and despair I’d ever felt. This woman that i loved more than I’ve ever loved the one who promised me so many bullshit promises. The one who claimed to my friend and would never leave , had finally evolved into something i didn’t recognize. Something that was evil and dangerous. Boy i was so naive.
Let me tell you how this all began. We were both employed at the same outlet mall. I am in my mid late 30’s , she’s a bit older than me. Early mid 50’s. Blonde. Not a lot but enough tattoos and piercings to make you look twice. She was no super model but her body always had kinda driven me crazy.Right curves in all th right places. But the age difference could raise a eye nethertheless, I had always kinda had a crush on this lady but never really made a move. Just couldn’t draw up a play. Life went by and I eventually found my self living in what looking back was my PARADISE. My parents divorced in my early teens and my little brother and sister and I kinda never gained a sense of direction for many years. I found mine on a bus to to Fort Benning. If I was going to be in the Army, I couldn't tall the future grandkids i had that i changed the oil on humvees. It was Infantry for me and with 2 years of hugging my mom bye I found my self in Nuristan Province, Afghanistan. It was every thing you imagined it could be and more and i still sometimes kind of think to myself you went through some shit over there in the valley that 98% of people would never even dream of doing. And made it out relativity unscathed . Couple busted lips and a good old TBI to take with you but soldier on. My career really started trending upward after the first tour ended and I began dating a girl from near my hometown. Not too long after that we get married on the courhouse steps out of fear the next phone call could be a mission. 5 months later my convoy is just stepping outside the wire when the Red Cross Message comes in. Car Crash. Your wife. Her brother. Drunk driver crossed center line. Hit them head one while they were stopped at rural stop sign. No survivors. That's the first time my soul detached from my body.

The army at the time was big on taking these resiliency classes and preaching resiliency and over the years it kinda became my mantra. Life went on and seemed like I had made something out of myself I became engaged to beautiful woman who had been through thick and thin with me the past few years. She was what we call "good people " down here. She absolutely adored me and was totally out of my league. Grew up in the Florida Keys, ACC Division 1 Athlete, she made life look easy. We had a 2 story house at the end of the cul de sac. We had a large group of friends. She was the Coach of the church dance squad, I willed that softball team to 2 consecutive "playoff" appearances. Life was good.
Then about 5 or 6 months before our wedding date her first, my second chance, and that's when this our story here really kicks off. By the way huge southern wedding. It was amazing even though i was becoming stressed about all the constant planning, I had finally been promoted to management and was becoming burnt out. This lady,who would become my narc, these blonde hair woman with a free spirit who I'd known for some years ,one day she just, she just looked different. I can't describe it but there was something drawing me in that I felt powerless to stop. I remember the first time we locked eyes, we just held the stare for what seemed like forever until we were both out of breath and then looked at each like "WTF was that" I felt like electricity flowing through my body. A few weeks go by and we starting to find ways to be closer to each other until one day our hands actually grazed and it felt like every nerve in my body exploded. Life as I knew it at least, effectively ended that day. She had her hooks in. Didn't take me long find my self sneaking out the house in the middle of the night into her bedroom. The passion, the intensity was so great that I thought there's no way that cant be real. It was the most intense thing I'd ever experienced. I was totally wrapped before too long. As the wedding date loomed and my fiance became more and more suspicious, the narc would start planting these fantasies of how we could be together. Oh yea she was totally aware I was taken. We could buy a camper go out west raise goats. Runaway together...it sounded good. We spent our days fantasizing about running away together and staring into each others eyes. In the back of my head I already felt like this was my person. What do I do? Looking back those were that last days of innocence. I had no idea what was to become. My narc had all but flat out said if you want me you know what you have to do. The wedding comes and it the best day of my life. I do a pretty good job of not thinking about the narc. We actually go a whole week without seeing each or speaking. I almost thought to myself , " Well you' ve done a really shitty thing but your married to a really good woman so lets move on as best we can.
I lasted 3 weeks.
My narc tells me that as long as I am living under a roof with my wife, she will have nothing to do with me. Next thing you know I'm standing in our kitchen with my bags in my hands and the stupidest look on my face. I still cant explain why but the draw to this narc woman had me powerless. My poor wife lets me go she still doesnt know for sure whats going on and I tell her I just need some time I'm staying with a friend. I shack up with the narc and for the next week things are good. all things considered. This is around the time where I start to blow through red flags like I'm in a stolen Ferrari on Miami Blvd. The narc has family coming down from up north, a baby shower for one of the narcs daughters. The fact that narc is a grandma never bothered me. this is the first time hear abut the ex. Hes not the father of her daughters but he "raised them" and they consider him pops. I was very shocked and didnt have a clue what to say when I was told I needed to find a place to stay for the next 2 weeks, not enough room for everyone. I landed on a friends couch utterly confused and when i heard her daughters and her screaming because my employee name tag had been found in narcs bed, somebody might see it , I should have run far and fast then. I eventually made my way home, walked in the door and broke down in tears confessing it all to my wife. She told me we can work through this we will go to counseling whatever it takes. The one thing that was non negotioable was i was to leave my job immeditaly. I felt helpless- I wanted my wife I was already missing my old life by then. But I was making more money than I'd ever imagined I would and I come up from square 1 seven years ago, how could I tell the man who hired me the GM who would become mentocoach figure to me? I just couldn't. Narc catches wind I'm back home and one morning I'm out in the middle of this mall and she comes beelining towards me and right into front of EVERYONE delivers a left jab, right hook combo that would have made Teddy Atlas proud. I didn't flinch or wince I simply dropped my head in shame, saying I deserved that while she runs off making this strange guttural crying/screaming noise. What was I supposed to do I had no where else to go? Knowing what I know now, I was witnessing r my first narc rage. Things eventually calm down over the next 3 weeks but my wife had grown tired of waiting. I was around this narc everyday. been She moved back to Florida, giving me a month to find a place to live. I haven't seen her or spoken to her since AND that's not my choice. I think about her almost everyday and honestly I'll never forgive myself for breaking her heart the way I did. She was innocent and never deserved this.
I cannot understate how woefully unprepared for this I was. I was extremely naive, I had no clue what narcissism meant, I thought it meant you liked to look at yourself in a mirror.I never realized the dangling of the carrot or the manipulation and the complete total inability to admit wrong or have any form of accountably all were tied together , at least until much later .Now my narc starts saying we can only be together if I have my own place. Next thing you know I've found one and moved in. Man these carrots are actually quite tasty. Now begins a looong 4 5 months where she would accuse me of cheating or lying or some reason for us to not be officially a couple. But she would keep a trove of men she flirted with on social media , go out with with i don't think she slept around but definitely wasn't right.The double standard from hell. Life became a constant cycle of hot cold hot cold to the point where at any given time I had zero idea of whether so considered us to be together at that time or single. One of her go to plays was to dare me to walk away, but by then my entire network of family and friends had really zero desire to have anything to do with me because they had all been at this very expensive wedding not even a few months ago. I found a place to rent further inland , a little place out in the country. She had isolated me now, I just didn't know it, and honestly by this point I was becoming more desperate and desperate to make us work. I've sacrificed everything because i truly truely believed in her and us. I would have done anything she asked and i many times I did. Midway into last fall, I started noticing things that I dunno made me notice things. Something wasn't right.

1. She never once not one time ever said those 3 words. I love you I said them every time we got off the phone. To this day I've never heard her say it
   
2. Every holiday, every single one she would find a reason where I wasnt allowed to come over and be with her and her family. LIttle did I know the smear campaign was starting to fire on all cylinders.
   
3. The accusations of lying and or doing something I wasn't supposed to were becoming more frequent yet even when I would prove to her I was telling the truth, she never once has has said I'm sorry , I was wrong.
   

Red flags are more like advisories right?
Things progressed to the point where I start going to counseling/therapy because she has me so convinced I'm bad person. She accuses me of not going to appointments even when I Facetime her sitting beside the doctor. It amazes me to this day that no one could see her true colors. She is so good its downright dangerous.
I spent Christmas this year completely alone. She had her family and the usual flock of buzzards, hang arounds. By now I was getting the stretches of silent treatment. I was at my lowest of lows, Isolated, alone, lonely .......going down a dark road real fast. Same pattern of discard bring you back discard. I didn't even know who i was anymore by this point i was losing weight. I could hear the people whispering. She was killing me from the inside.
One thing finally happened that I'll never forget as long as I live. Her birthday had come aroud and since my narc conviently found a reasson as to why I couldn't come I begged for her to take the presents I had gottten with her. She put them in her car and drove away. I didnt think about it again until a week /later, I walking out the back door at work and here she is, at the dumpsters throwing the still wrapped birthday presents. I ask her what the hell? you didnt give them to her? What the hell ? WTF?? The answer I got as she looked me dead in the eyes sent a cold chill down my spine.
"I didn't give her the presents because I figured you would try to take em back just to hurt her." Stunned I muttered with what I am now sure was a face full of shock and disgust..."Honey she is 5 years old." I truly shocked me that a human would think of such a horrible scenario.
​
I didnt speak to my narc for a couple days after that. Another week, another brand new hot shot therapist looking for save the world. I have never been comfortable with the idea of therapy, I have too much man macho I guess. Its just always kinda been taboo. Nevertheless I finshed jabbering and she immediatly reaches in her desk and passed me a little pamplet. "Read this" she says. I look down -"What is a narcissist and are you in a relationship with one? By the time i finshed reading it, I was straight ugly crying on her floor. It felt like a MAC truck hit me square in the sternum. I was devestated. Literllaly every single bullet point I could point at and say yes. Its like hamy narc had this pamplet memorized and was running it like a well oiled machine. It finally was all making sense. Maybe Im not a horrible person after all?
I began to distance myself from her at this point and she went the tried and true method of total discard which inevidebly turned into full blown lovebombing which would lead to a steamy night together which she would then sabatoge. Rinse, wash repeat. The first trip back home she took I never could get a answer as to why i was ignored all weekend, she made me ignore her how dare you ask forget it happened. Same ol bs. Whch brings us back to today where this story began. I finally concluded that this is how every relanship my narc has ever had has been like this. Alll family turmoil ....it all made even more sense. Her lies have become near constant and I realized the first thing she ever said to me was a lie. Not only do I think I'm begginning understand what she is and what I became to her, I think she could be one of most dangerous kinds of these individuals the world has ever seen. She is still somewhat popular, nobody around her would ever have a clue. But I can see through it now. And she will never change because I have finally accepted the fact that she psychsilly cannot change. Her brain cant evem acklowdge things like being wrong. It breaks my heart that i feel so in love with someone who is incabple of love and thats when I realized I have to walk away.
This ended up being way more than I expected but once i started typing it just kept flowing out. I guess her spidey sense must have gone off because within the last hour she has began sending me messages on social media. Not her phone no but social media.
I replied simply are you going to ignore the elephant sitting over there?
​
​
She replies "What are you talking about?"
-
She cannot change.
​
I think I will struggle with this past year and a half for the rest of my life. This was something I was totally unprepared for. I think I can see light glimmering on the horizon and I feel grateful to understand what actually happened and I could have very easily given up, succumbed in, but I survived it.
It is what people like us do. We pick up the pieces, dust the dirt off and keep going.
Yesterday was yesterday
Tomorrow is a brand new sun.
​
Also one last thing.....if your ever feeling down or sorry for yourself give u/StickFigure a listen. I don't think I'd be here if weren't for his music. He literally saved me life.
​
​
Ramble over good night

Make no mistake, she's definitely the more selfish between her and Dipper, being the Stan of their twin dynamic, and there are genuine things to criticize either her for or the show on regarding her. But some of what I usually see people bring up against her just feels unfair or a massive stretch.
Like, I can understand why some people dislike how Dipper and Mabel's conflict in Weirdmageddon was resolved. They feel like Dipper gave up his dream of being able to study under Ford so that Mabel wouldn't have to be alone at home without him, rather than it feeling like something he decided he didn't actually want. While it works on a thematic level, since they're avoiding going down the same path as Stan and Ford, it doesn't feel as narratively satisfying as it could be. That's fine. Even if I don't fully see it that way, I can easily understand why others feel that way and count it against her.
But the number of people I see condemn Mabel for causing Weirdmageddon just baffles me, as they act like she had any idea what was actually going on or that her actions were far more deliberately harmful and selfish than they actually were.
Mabel didn't know she was making a deal with Bill. She thought she was getting help from Blendin Blandin, someone she and Dipper were on very good terms with and who was a time traveler who could likely make what he offered happen. The deal Mabel made wasn't even anything to get in the way of Dipper staying with Ford, it was just to make the summer last a little while longer because she was feeling overwhelmed by how much everything was changing and how little time she had left with everyone at Gravity Falls. Maybe there'd be an argument to be made if she knew what the rift was and made the deal anyway in spite of the risks but Ford specifically told Dipper not to tell anyone about it, including his sister, who canonically is one of the only people in Gravity Falls Dipper felt assured he could trust no matter what, because he was projecting his and Stan's own issues onto the two. As far as she knew the rift was just another of Ford's many weird sci-fi gadgets and no more dangerous than anything Blendin usually handles, like his time machine. She didn't even have any reason to suspect that he'd break it.
To blame Mabel for causing Weirdmageddon feels like basically condemning her for being tricked by Bill, which even Ford, Stan, and Gideon never seemed nearly as blamed for despite also either being tricked or their actions being far more deliberate and with wider consequences.
But anyway, moving on, I also see the episode "The Time Traveler's Pig" brought up a lot against Mabel, with people saying that she cost Dipper his chance with Wendy all because she didn't want to lose the pet pig she'd had for a day.
Like...did we watch the same episode?
Dipper didn't lose out on anything. He was literally messing with time just to keep Robbie from asking Wendy out, afraid he was losing out on his chance with her...a chance he wasn't even taking. It wasn't like Wendy decided she'd never date Dipper because he accidentally hit her in the eye with a ball, or that Robbie even did anything to sabotage Dipper or get in his way. Robbie wanted to go out with her so he asked her out and Wendy thought it could be fun so she said yes. That's it. All Robbie did was do something Dipper too afraid to or that he thought it wasn't the right time for and that he likely still wasn't going to do even after he kept the two of them from getting together at the fair. Dipper didn't gain anything out of how he messed with time, nor did he actually lose anything with how events would have naturally played out. He just wanted to keep the status quo going.
Meanwhile Mabel would have actually been losing out on Waddles, since he got won by Pacifica (who was likely going to eat him) instead in the timeline where Mabel helped things work out for Dipper, and Dipper was unwilling to even try time travelling again in order to try getting things to work out for them both because he was convinced this series of events was the only way to keep Robbie from asking out Wendy.
It's baffling to me that there are people who find it easier to believe that Mable would spend the rest of her summer guilt-tripping her brother basically out of pettiness and spite over something that doesn't actually matter that much to her rather than believing that Mable was actually attached to Waddles and was genuinely depressed now that he's gone. That episode, let alone the rest of the series, goes out of it way to show how much she loves that pig. That's why Dipper changed his mind, because he saw that this wasn't just his sister's usual impulse of the week and that he was WRONG about her just trying to guilt trip him.
But I think one of the biggest and dumbest things I've seen held against Mabel and used as an example of her selfishness, one that just screams to me "Okay, you just looking for excuses to not like this character", is Dipper breaking up with Gideon for her...which Dipper VOLUNTEERED TO DO.
Mabel was going through a bad situation where she didn't know how to handle Gideon, as she felt like she was being pushed into a relationship with him despite just wanting to remain friends, and Dipper, unprompted, offered to break up with him for her. It wasn't anything Mabel had brought up, nor was it even a thought in her head until Dipper brought it up. And even then she later realized that the right thing to do would be to break up with Gideon herself instead of leaving her dirty work to someone else, which she set out to do. It's not even like she knew how much of a psychotic little pig man Gideon actually was and thus had no reason to know the danger Dipper would be putting himself in on her behalf (and I'm not saying pig because of his appearance, I'm saying it because of the noises he sometimes makes when he's fleeing).
Now, some make the argument that their problem with Mabel is less the specific examples and more that it feels like she gets away with a lot more than Dipper does. That even when she screws up or is at fault she tends to be punished less by the show for her actions or that the consequences she faces are less of a big deal, at least in comparison to what Dipper goes through. And there certainly is some strength to this argument. Mabel's certainly never faced a beating quite like Dipper was given in "Fight Fighters" and "Boyz Crazy" has a stark contrast between how Dipper and Mabel's respective plots in the episode ended, with Wendy leaving mad at Dipper for how inconsiderate he was over trying to ask her out right after her very emotional break-up with Robbie (though the next episode Dipper and Wendy are shown together in everything is fine and their friendship is back to normal, no worse for wear after what happened) while Grenda and Candy have completely forgiven Mabel for how she acted over the boy band. There is an argument to be made that Mabel tends to get off easier than Dipper does, especially given how you feel about how Weirdmageddon was handled.
But at the same time I feel like it's exaggerated a bit how much or how often Mabel gets off easy, or that it's ignored when the same is done for Dipper.
For example, I've seen some say that the ending for "Sock Opera" doesn't really count as Mabel losing out on anything, since while she did ruin her chances with Gabe in order to help Dipper (the episode itself pointing out how often Dipper has put her happiness before his own) it was soon revealed that Gabe was a weirdo who makes out with his puppets and that she likely had just dodged a bullet. But the same applies to Dipper with some of the things fans try to point to as him losing out on what he wants. He was fired from being a lifeguard in order to help Mabel with Mermando...and then immediately found out Wendy had been fired too, who was the only reason he'd even wanted the job in the first place, and the two left to hang out and break rules somewhere else. Or when he went Summerween trick-or-treating with Mabel instead of going to the party Wendy was going to be at, and then upon going back to the shack discovered Wendy was there, having left the party early anyway in (not to mention that she never cared about whether or not he went trick-or-treating, that was Robbie who treated it like kid's stuff), and sent the rest of the night with him and the others watching terrible horror movies.
And while I do agree that "Roadside Attraction" felt a bit harsh on Dipper over him flirting with multiple girls I don't really agree that it was the show being hypocritical with him in comparison to Mabel. Mabel falls in love easily and is way too willing to just give her heart away to anyone who could be The One but throughout the series we only ever see her flirting with or hitting on one guy at a time, and moving on when she's rejected or when a relationship with the person becomes impossible or undesirable. She didn't do what Dipper did and flirt with multiple people she had no intention of trying to start an actual relationship with.
Honestly I think a lot of problems between Dipper and Mabel are less a matter of one being too selfish or the other being too giving and more just the two needing to communicate better. Dipper almost certainly would have helped Mabel with Mermando if she'd just told him about him, likely finding a way to do so without costing him is lifeguard job, and Mabel likewise would likely have been more understanding about Dipper not wanting to go trick-or-treating if he'd just been honest with her about wanting to go to a party with Wendy (a crush Mabel knows he has and that she's supported him on before) instead of lying that he was feeling sick from eating loser candy. And again there's the rift, where if Dipper had told her about what it was like he normally would have, even with how upset she was at the time Mabel wouldn't have given it to anyone because she'd know how important it was (or if she had then that'd be an actual solid reason for people to condemn her for being tricked).
TL;DR: None of this is me saying that Mabel is a flawless character or without fault. She is the more selfish between her and Dipper and she does have a tendency to pick on him too much. Again, she is the Stan of the two of them. But I do think that there are a lot of people who tend to overexaggerate how bad she actually is or what she's done, to the point they'll ignore the actual context of what happened in order to hold things against her that just feel completely unfair to.

I 23 M was wrongfully terminated from my job two months ago. It has taken me two months to figure all that happened out. I'll begin by saying I worked for this place for two years. It was a brewery/ brewpub place, they served pizza and orgianl brewed beer. When I first started out the original GM was leaving after two years and being replaced by another GM. After a year the second GM was replaced with the current GM. It is worth mentioning the place has only been open almost four years. They haven't been able to keep any form of management longer than a year or two tops. So let's call this current GM Rick. Rick was originally hired as a replacement for an assistant manager. Around this same time I was promoted to a sunday opener position. This information will come into play later.
From the time I met this man he was the silent type. 30 years old and kept to himself mostly. I slowly started to consider this man a friend and work crush. He was pretty stunning but that is beside the point. So Rick was hired in January 2022 and in August 2022 I had quit due to stress. After a month of gathering myself and trying to find another job I couldn't. In the month that I was gone the kitchen manager that I trained under had quit. She was replaced with Rick. So Rick and second GM were struggling to get staff. So the Old kitchen manager I was very close with suggest I go back and help the pair. Upon returning I was was demoted back down to my original starting position, pizza creator. Which I was fine with in the month I was gone they found two assistant managers. So my opening position was filled. Though by november I was basically doing that job again.
So come January 2023 we were all informed that GM 2 was quiting. Leaving his position open for replacement. They all suggest Rick get it after working his way up to kitchen manager. Leaving his position open for the taking. I was the only person within the company who could take the position. When the position was offered to me it became less of a kitchen manager and more of a third assistant managekitchen lead position. I accepted it greatly. By February one of the assistant managers had quit leaving me and the one other. It was so sudden that I had to step up and do a lot more than I originally quoted. Which was fine that was till we started to have staffing problems again. People skipping work, calling in sick you name it. It stressed everyone out and here is where my problem begins.
We had one server we shall call her Shelly. Shelly was a great worker she just had one minor issue. When she would get stressed or overwhelmed she would get upset and start crying. It hadn't been too much of an issue till March. Where she got a few costumer complaints about it. Then there was one night she yelled at a table because we were sort staffed. One thing to mention is the place as a whole lacked any good communication skills. No one seemed to be able to tell tables we were short staffed and stretched thin. So Shelly was going through some things with her boyfriend around this time. School seemed to be stressing her out and she really wasn't pushing it all aside like the rest of the staff. So a week after she got the complaint for yelling at a table we were working together.
I was managing and something or other happend and she got stressed. We had one table in and it had been a slow night. She felt judged and pressured and started to get upset. The table noticed and asked if it was something they did. I had to explain it wasn't them but something I had said that set her off. We had three TVs and the remote situation was hard on our servers. So when I noticed she had all six out I asked her what she was trying to do. Stating she just needed the one remote and could of asked for help. So she started to tear up and get snippy with me. I just brushed it off and noted I should talk to Rick the next day about it. So I did and we had come to the conclusion, that I should talk to her.
So the following week when I saw her next, I addressed the behavior. I had stated that I was concerned that she wasn't enjoying her job. That the customers have also taken a notice to the shift in her attitude constantly. Stating that other coworkers have also kind of complained about how she acts. She started crying and started listing all of these things off. I had been told her we all have personal things and we just need to try to separate that from work. I told her I understood it is hard to do that sometimes and I wasn't trying to be mean or rude. So after this the next couple shifts she did amazing, she kept a very positive attitude and seemed to be doing well.
Around the same time Rick was slowly getting a grip on his job, or so I thought. The weekend after St Patrick's Day, Rick was going to this class that he has had planned. Leaving me and the one other assistant manager in charge. Now I will say this sort of stressed me out. I barely been in this assistant manager position but I had been with the company for 2 years. So naturally I took on a bit more responsibility trying to make sure the place ran smoothly for the weekend. As stated before I was an opener. Well that Friday night before there was a band playing. Which is usually sort of a busy night for us. So there were some things that I should have expected the next morning. Except when I came in a lot of everything that Rick had laid out for the closing manager to do wasn't really done. This kind of upset me because I had to open the kitchen as well as clean up messes that I shouldn't have had to clean. To add to the fire my bartender did come in so I had to basically open the restaurant by myself until I had workers coming in. To say I was overly stressed was an understatement because it was a lot on me there was no one but me responsible for that weekend. Which looking back at it now I don't think people understood.
I'm to sum up everything shortly I did sort of go off on everyone. Only because everything that had happened is something that I've brought up with Rick or one of the past GM's, the old kitchen manager, as well as any other assistant managers that we've had. So these problems at some point should have been addressed right? Wrong it seemed people would always find an excuse whether it was oh I didn't know I was supposed to do that, or I'm new so I don't know how to do that. Two common phrases that I was constantly hearing and again I had been working there for 2 years so maybe I had to high expectations for people to understand their job. When Rick came back I had let him know you know that I had lost my composure that weekend while he was gone. It seems that he understood and had nothing to say. That was until that Wednesday when he brought me and the other assistant manager into the office. There we had a conversation about you know how the restaurant was doing and how he was going to do his job. There were also talks about what he was trying to do for that month of March Staffing wise. He acknowledged the fact that he was stressing everyone out with what he was doing. He then went on to say that 90% of the time I bring something up it's a legitimate thing. Which was something that was just acknowledged in the talk I'm not trying to be a narcissist or something. Also though in the same talk that we can was addressed and how I acted and treated things and I was only given a verbal warning. Actually both of us me and the other assistant manager were given verbal warnings. He stated that we were more expandable than the staff that he currently had hired. I'll let you do with that as you will.
The moral of the rest of that talk was I needed to quote chill out and step back from all the work that I was putting into my job. Which I took seriously I always worked the hardest to make sure that place was running smoothly and that we were getting good reviews. I always came in early sometimes I would leave late. The next day I was working with Shelly again. This would have been the first time since the week of that conversation. It was a relatively slow start to the night so we were all doing cleaning. Somewhere and all of that she and I got into a sparring of words over how she was doing the cleaning. There was one task where I told her I was just going to double-check everything because in the past people hadn't done it right. So when I noticed she was done I went back around and double checked everything. This is where I might have slightly been off. I had approached her rag still in hand with food particles and such on it. I had said if you were going to do the job you probably need to do the job right, while still holding this rag. Trying to show her that she basically didn't do as I asked her to. Or her defense was is I was doing this out of the goodness of my heart I wasn't assigned this task. I tried to bite my tongue the best I could and just walked away before I said something stupid. So feeling a little disrespected I went into the office and printed out a disciplinary form. I wasn't going to fill it out but basically I just needed it in my hands to keep from saying anything. One of the kitchen staff had asked me to come in the kitchen to look at something so I had sat down anything I was holding on the end of the bar. For getting I had that paper with a little bit of note on it. When I had returned the server Shelly who left the situation crying was now smirking at me. I didn't know what was happening so I went into the office to print out some paperwork that I would need for that Sunday for the food ordering. As I was about to leave I noticed the GM storm and looking pissed. As stated before Rick was a naturally quiet chill person so seeing him this upset was concerning.
What followed was the beginning of a gentle conversation trying to figure out what happened. Somewhere in my explanation the GM Rick started to escalate things by yelling at me. Stating he had told me the day prior that I just needed to shut up and chill out. I tried to cut in but then he just started yelling even more basically to the point where he said I want your key on the desk picking up his chair and throwing it at the desk I was sitting behind. Storming out with Shelly until who slammed the office door leaving me stunned beyond recognition. I said staring at that door for about 10 minutes before I felt tears dripping down my face. I don't know what had happened, I didn't know how to process what happened at that. I'm 2 hours later after a storm of crying and screaming of not understanding what just happened. I hear the door start to jiggle and realized it was Rick coming back. He growled at me as I opened the door and told me to give me his key into fucking leave. He also muttered faggot under his breath as I passed by. At this time I was also on the phone crying to the old kitchen manager who again I was really close with. She knew Rick she knew about everything prior to you know this all happening. So after I dropped the key on his desk my storm out tears still streaming on my face on the phone the kitchen manager. I arrived at her home where she and I had a conversation she told me to call the owners to try to explain everything that had happened. What happened with that though is the minute I called I was told to call back after 15 minutes because she was finishing up of meeting or something with some people in Japan. It was not 30 minutes later that she had finally answered the phone again. I knew it had happened was she called Rick after I initially called to see what had happened and she was going to take his side. So basically our conversation was me feeling so defeated that I just simply nodded and agreed with everything that she had said. I would like to also know that in the two years that I was there I had never signed anything and or had any Counseling of any sort aside from that 24-hour warning. Which really wasn't even a warning more of a hey yeah kind of situation. Zero written evidence that anything was discussed regarding my behavior.
Anyway after all of this for a week straight I was spiraling and I couldn't sleep at all. Cuz every time I close my eyes all I saw was somebody I called a friend yelling at me and throwing a chair at me. I later found out that the server Shelly had texted Rick some terrible things stating that I had said to her which explained why Rick wouldn't let me talk and explain my side or the story. This drove me into a deep depression. After talking with therapist I realized that this is something that traumatized me which I agree. Now here I am still jobless, crying almost every night still and being forced out of my apartment because I can't keep up with renting bills. Being forced to move back home into an environment that I didn't want to ever have to be in again. I will state though that I was able to get unemployment due to the fact that I was never rightfully told why I was being terminated and for the fact that I shouldn't have been terminated. So AITAH

“Hey Raz, I got one!” Raz’s voice was cut by static as he called back, “Great! …at quarry …die.” Well, that wasn’t ominous at all, I thought to myself as I adjusted the rear-view mirror to check on the operator I had just blown past. They were doubled over coughing, their gas mask swayed side to side on the ground next to their feet. I don’t know what compelled me to not flatten what I had thought to be an AQ soldier, but I’m glad I didn’t.
I slammed my hummer in reverse, coming to a stop next to the helpless operator. “Hop in bud, we can get you to final exfill yet.” He slowly hauled himself into the bed of my hummer, landing with a dull thud and a groan as he fell onto his back. We cleared the gas, and I was immediately put on edge as my passenger started to gain consciousness. If he was planning anything nefarious, there wasn’t much I could do about it now. “You good back there? Normally I’d stop to send an invite but given the situation that might have just caused more problems.” He leaned through the non-existent rear window, “Nah, I understand man. When we get further from the gas we can stop and squad up. Don’t need to risk lighting each other up if things get hot at the exfill.” I couldn’t help but chuckle, “I don’t think that would be much of an issue regardless. Hey, we didn’t leave any of your friends back there, did we? I know we peeled out pretty quick.” I saw him shake his head and point to our left in the rear-view mirror. “We got split up, but they were running for a car, so I wasn’t too worried.” I followed his finger, a white hatchback cruised along parallel to us, swerving through buildings trying not to eat too many AQ bullets. “Hey boys, Dutch here is gonna roll with us to final. We’ll squad up when we get there.” I was barely able to make out one of his squad mates call out “Tight!” over his earpiece.
“Hey, listen, I’ve got friend I’m rolling with. His name’s Raz, he’s gonna meet us at final. If you see a red, white, and blue LTV, don’t shoot alright.” Raz chimed in, his radio finally clear of the static, “That’s very kind of you to tell them not to shoot me Dutch.” Before I could respond, a black turreted LTV slid out of Said City ahead of us. “Is that your boy Dutch?” I wanted to give my passenger the benefit of the doubt, it is windy in the box after all, he might not have heard me. “Nah man, wrong colour, and he didn’t have a turreted LTV last I saw.” The black LTV continued North along the main road as we cut away into the quarry proper. “Raz, company is headed your way. Looks like it’s just a solo in that truck but you can never be too careful.” “Thanks for the heads up Dutch.”
I rolled to a stop at the base of the helicopter ramp, gently flattening a couple of AQ who were getting a little to close to the bird for comfort, just shy of the battery running dry. The other two operators in the hatchback slid to a stop just down the hill from us. I got out of the hummer, a tad worried that my good fortune was about to come to an end at the hands of these fellas. As they ran up the hill, the notification finally popped. I accepted and ran down the hill to grab the hatchback, breathing a sigh of relief. “Wait, where you goin’ Dutch?” One of my clients called out. “Raz and I will run interference while we wait for the chopper to take off. Any AQ or unfriendly operators are gonna have to go through us.” “You keep talking about this Raz guy, but I’ve yet to see anyone other than that black LTV.” Almost on queue, a black LTV flew up the hill narrowly missing my hatchback. My clients went into a frenzy. “Operators pushing us! Take ‘em down!” The LTV spun in the sand in front of me, a glorious and perfectly oiled moustache glinting in the Al Mazrah sun. “Hold your fire! It’s Raz!” I called from below my clients. I sent an invite to him which he had hopped out and accepted faster than any of these guys could pull the trigger. “You see the operator that was in that earlier?” Raz shook his head, “No, I pulled up on it and they were gone. Must be out on foot somewhere.”
With 5 seconds left on the clock, there wasn’t enough time to go find them, our clients now panicking as they realized we weren’t on the bird. “What are you two doing?!” They shouted from the air as we waved goodbye. “Al Mazrah is our home gentlemen. That bird was never meant for us.” I gave Raz a pat on the shoulder as the gas rapidly approached, another successful day had come to a close.
The clack of a Kastov charging handle was almost unmistakable. We both turned to see the operator from the LTV standing there, rifle honed on us. “Well shit.” Their rifle dropped towards the dirt as they looked back over their shoulder at the nearly out of sight exfill chopper. They pushed through us, wandering towards the North side of the quarry. Raz and I locked eyes, shrugging in unison. That was one of those moments where we really wouldn’t have blamed them for their decision, whatever it might have been. “We better get back to HQ, Compton said I.T dropped off something for you.” Raz said as the gas engulfed us.
“I’m going back to the island boss.” My hands were shaking as I gripped the file folder that I.T had left for me. “Twitch.” “He’s back, it took him a bit, but he’s managed to re-take the castle and hunker down since we last saw him. And if he’s back then we might finally be able to get some proper intel on those blue tracers, direct from the source.” I handed the folder to Raz. He took it, turning to no doubt address the rest of the crew. I grabbed his shoulder, stopping him before he could speak. “Not everybody, not this time. They’ve doubled the defences; we’d be walking into a slaughterhouse.” “Well, you can’t go in there alone, we look out for our own Dutch, you know that.” Raz’s brow tightened, I could tell he was already trying to figure out what my plan was. “I’m bringing Maze and Alex. They’ll provide sniper cover while I infiltrate the castle. I still have my old uniform. As long as they haven’t drastically changed up their callsigns, I should be able to get in undetected.” I could tell Raz wasn’t convinced. “Dutch, like you said, you’d be walking into a slaughterhouse. How does you going in solo make that any better.” “After what happened in the complex…I’m not putting anyone else at risk, I can’t. The Bomb Maker…Twitch, I’ve gotta face him myself. Look him in the eyes so he knows I crawled out of Hell to drag him back down there.” “Alright, I couldn’t really stop you if I wanted to, could I?” Raz shrugged. “No, not unless you shot me, and honestly, I’d take those odds.” I punched his shoulder and started heading for the breakroom to grab Maze and Alex. “You keep that up I’ll be moving you back out to that sea can of yours.” Raz smirked.
The locks took a bit of fighting to get open. While this footlocker had only been on Ashika Island for a few months, the constant spray of salt water had worn away what little integrity it once had. The black uniform, emblazoned with the Rook and Spade of Shadow Company, was still in excellent condition, save for a bullet hole just under where the plate carrier would sit. I paused for a moment, holding it up in the air, memories of the past flooding in. “Not a lot of fond memories in that uniform I take it.” Maze called out from the catwalk in our home away from home. “I think part of the problem is that there are good memories. It’s a little concerning that such fond memories can hide out amongst so much evil.” “We’ve all done things we aren’t proud of. Some of us just did things other people also wouldn’t be proud of either.” Alex chuckled to himself as he cleaned his rifle on the cot next to me. I grimaced, mostly because he was right. I slipped into the old black fatigues and strapped on my old plate carrier. My weapons were all still intact too, I pulled my Taq-56 out of the footlocker, running my fingers over the engraving in the side, ROOK-XLIV. I cycled the charging handle a few times before loading in a fresh magazine and setting it on the cot next to me. I pulled out a pistol belt, two pearl handled revolvers, one with an ebony Rook on the grip, the other, an ebony Spade. Umbra Catavae engraved along each barrel. Maze had come down from the rafters now, a look of mixed intrigue and concern on her face, “I take it those don’t invoke fond memories.” I had done a poor job of hiding my look of disgust. “No, unfortunately they do.” I felt a wave of guilt wash over me. “Each of these was given to me for completing outstanding performance in the field. I did things I’m not proud of, and I was rewarded for it, handsomely. Holding these in my hands, I feel the same pride I had felt when they were first handed to me. It makes me sick.” I strapped the belt around my waist. The pearl handles shining against my all black silhouette. Alex piped up again, “Hey, at least you are trying to make amends for your sins, not many can say the same.” I let out a long sigh, “I suppose you’re right. You both remember the plan?” “Get to the radio towers and start lighting the place up when shit inevitably hits the fan.” Maze grinned. “Close enough.” I pulled my balaclava up and headed for the door.
The guard at the gate didn’t immediately shoot me which gave me some spark of hope that this might work. “In position!” Alex and Maze called out almost simultaneously. “Jinx, you owe me a beer!” Maze rejoiced. “What? Why would I give you a beer for that?” Alex sounded genuinely confused. “Hey, cut the chatter you two, don’t need to give them any reason to not let me in alright.” The guard held up his hand. “I don’t recognize you, let’s see your I.D.” I held up my old I.D card. “Well I’ll be damned, look who crawled out if his grave.” He pulled my mask down to confirm. “You look pretty good for a corpse, though your I.D card is out of regulation. You might want to stop by the I.T guy to get a new one made.” “Thanks, I’ll head right over.” The first thought that came to my mind was Bob. There’s no way he still worked for these assholes, is there.
“You used your old I.D?! You mad man!” Maze cackled over the radio. “Ok, I’ll admit, this wasn’t my greatest plan. I honestly thought they’d just capture me after seeing who I was.” Alex cut me off, “Go with the flow I suppose.” “Spade-499 up one-two.” The local radio channel began to drown out my squad’s comms. “Rook-3468 down one-one” “This is some odd radio traffic Dutch.” Alex quipped. I watched as a Shadow Company mercenary approached a stairwell, each step primed and ready to pop a leg off whichever unfortunate soul chose to ascend. “Spade-5454 up one-two.” “It’s how they know to deactivate the traps.” I whispered into our secure line. I approached the same stairwell. “Rook-44 up one-two.” I could hear the traps audibly click off. The guard at the to put his hand out as I reached the top step. “Sorry, no ghosts allowed on the second floor.” “Ghost? What…” He bent over laughing. “I’m just messing with you man. They said you died holding off the ULF while Bob and Twitch escaped, going out in a blaze of glory. Clearly, they didn’t have their facts straight. Glad to have you back.” I’m glad I had the balaclava on because I was struggling to hide my confusion. Last I checked I was the scape goat for the largest backstab in Shadow Company history, not a hero. I was never a hero when I worked for them. “I take it you are going to see the boss, call up two-zero, we don’t want people to be just guess on the fly, just in case someone tries to sneak in.” If only he knew.
“We don’t have eyes up there Dutch. Whatever happens, you’re on your own.” I could hear a tinge of worry in Alex’s voice. “Just make sure whoever is in here doesn’t get reinforcements.” “You got it!” Alex and Maze both called out in unison. “Jinx, you owe me another beer.” “There’s free beer at headquarters, why would I owe you a beer for that.” Alex called back clearly still confused. “Radio silence please. I’ve got a rat to kill.” I took a deep breath, pulling my Bryson from its sheath, the chrome exterior brushed over with a dull grey to blend in. “Rook-44 up two-zero.”
“Well, well, well. I was wondering when I’d see you again after our last encounter. Urzikstan and Al Mazrah clearly hadn’t kicked your ass enough so you decided to come crawling back to me for another round.” The traps clicked off. “Come on up, I’ve been looking forward to this.” I slowly ascended, keeping my Bryson trained at the top of the stairs, my eyes scanning each stair for an actual trap. As I crested the stairwell, my eyes were immediately drawn to him. His back turned to me, Trophy Systems whirring and clicking around him. “I missed you Dutch. Well, the old you. The one that would shoot through a hostage just to prove a point, the one that would dangle captives from buildings by their collar until they squawked like a bird, and then still dropped them anyways. I miss the Dutch that smoked Keller because his gas mask worked and yours didn’t when we those crazy Russian’s tried to hit us with mustard gas. I still get a little nauseous when I think about you peeling his face out of there.” “I’ve changed Twitch, I’ve moved past all that. I found a calling that doesn’t require me to be a conniving bastard.” Twitch laughed as he turned around, his hands empty. I kept my Bryson trained on him. “That’s what you think I am huh? I prefer shrewd businessman, but if that’s what helps you sleep at night.” He walked to one of the barred windows. “You really think what you and those taxi driving hooligans are doing matters?” “Clearly it does, or you and the Chemist wouldn’t be working so hard to sabotage us.” I took a few steps towards him. “Well, I suppose it matters to one of us. The Chemist and Raz go way back, but you know that. What I care about is the money, and I get a lot of money for helping that crazy bastard try to wipe out your little band of Merry Men.” “And Women. This guy just loves the sound of his own voice. Can I remove his head already? He’s looking right at me, practically begging me to pull the trigger.” I could hear the contempt in Maze’s voice. Twitch always did love a monologue. “You can still fix your mistakes Twitch. Gives us what info you have on those tracers of yours and I might consider not killing you.” I snarled. “When you went soft Dutch, you lost any respect I might have had for you. We are long past the point where you can intimidate me. Besides, any info I did have, is with the Chemist. He paid a handsome sum to get the formula, and really, it was becoming a logistical nightmare to ship enough of those little blue gems across the sea. Better for everyone to have it made close to the front lines.”
“Spade-101 up two-zero.” Bob’s voice cut through the tension. “Well I’ll be, it looks like we are gonna have a little family reunion.” Bob’s head poked up the stairs, “Hey boss, another server bank has shorted out from the sea air, I told you we should invest in better waterproofing the housings but if you still…” He trailed off as I dropped my Bryson, the sling catching it just before it hit the ground, and drawing my two revolvers. “Oh, hey Dutch. Nice to see you too.” Bob stammered. I cocked the hammer on each one, keeping one trained on each of my old squad mates. “Really Bob? Really! I understand you sticking around the day of the heist. But now? After everything that Shadow Company has done to these countries. To its own people.” Before he could respond, a siren blared over the intercom system. “Defensive positions! Hostile operators have breached the perimeter.” “Dutch you’ve got six operators approaching the castle, I think it’s time to bounce.” Maze was drowned out by her own gun fire, her Signal .50 raining death into the courtyard. “Looks like our time is up here Dutch. Since you clearly don’t have los cojones to pull the trigger, you might as well see yourself out, and let me and my men handle this.”
“Fuck it.” The hammer of the first revolver slammed down, dropping Bob instantly. I turned to face Twitch, his face a mix of surprise and pride. “Maybe I was wrong, the old Dutch still lives.” I charged forward, tackling him through the window and off the roof. Both of us lay on the ground, groaning as the chorus of gunfire roared around us. He dove for one of my pistols, but unfortunately for him, I had managed to hold on to the other, putting a round through his arm just before he could grab the gun. He rolled out of the way of the second round, bringing his one working hand up to the radio on his chest. The explosion from the castle threw both of us across the courtyard, debris raining down around us. I felt like I was reliving one of the worst days of my life all over again. I hauled myself to my feet, Shadow Company mercenaries and operators wandered aimlessly through the ashes. Everyone seemed too disoriented to fight. “I think it’s time to leave Dutch.” “I second that.” Maze and Alex were barely audible over the ringing in my ears. “Regroup at the boat. If I’m not there in 5, go without me.” I never heard a response, even if they tried, they wouldn’t have convinced me to leave, not with him still breathing.
I combed through the smoke and fire, carefully checking every nook and cranny I came across but the slippery rat was nowhere to be seen. “Looks like you 3 aren’t thick as thieves after all, eh Dutch. Poor Alex here was left all alone on the beach, no boat to be seen.” Twitch was sucking in air between words, no doubt kept standing by adrenaline. “You lay a finger on him, and I’ll make you wish you had died in that explosion.” I spat into my mic. “Don’t make me wait too long.”
I limped over a hill towards the beach where we were supposed to regroup. “Alex! Where’s Maze?” I called out as I stumbled down the sand bank. Alex didn’t respond, his head held in a tight headlock by Twitch, my second pistol against his temple. “She abandoned you both, and now I get the pleasure of killing you both after yet another betrayal. When will you learn Dutch. This world is a cruel place. Only the strong survive, clearly Maze knew that.” Twitch cut me off before I could retort. “Save the fight me with honour B.S that I know you are gonna spew.” I’m gonna kill you and your buddy and salvage what little I can of this operation. Then maybe retire to Cuba. I do love a good cigar.” “Adios, pendejo!” Alex brought his arm down, the knife concealed in his hand connecting with Twitch’s thigh. Twitch let out a high-pitched yelp, letting loose a round from the revolver which narrowly grazed Alex’s hair. Alex dove into the sand right as Twitch’s shoulder exploded in a pink mist followed shortly by the unmistakable crack of Maze’s Signal .50. I squinted trying to see where the shot came from, all I caught was the glint from her scope in the sun, the boat hardly visible in the rolling surf.
I limped forward, Bryson in hand, chrome starting to show through the worn grey paint. I kicked the revolver away from Twitch, placing a boot on his chest and the barrel of my Bryson against his forehead. He began to mumble and cry, hardly able to string together an understandable sentence. “Save it, you’re gonna need your energy for what comes next.” Our boat slammed into the shore, Maze hopping off, rifle raised and ready. “Oh shit I actually hit that!” “I’m not gonna lie, I thought you’d actually just bailed.” I laughed as she helped Alex to his feet. “You still go those claymores?” I asked Maze as Twitch continued to writhe in panic under my boot. “You wanted the old Dutch, eh Twitch. Ask and you shall receive.” Maze handed me the claymores, while Alex kept sidearm pointed at Twitch. I planted 4 around him, just far enough away that they wouldn’t go off unless he moved. I drew one of my revolvers, popping the cylinder out and emptying all but one round. I gave the cylinder a spin before flicking it closed. I tossed the revolver at Twitch. “Don’t waste that on me. You’ll only regret it in about an hour.” I took my other revolver, and hurled it towards the sea, the pearl grip glinting in the sun as it spun through the air, disappearing into the crashing waves. “Good riddance.” I sighed, that chapter of my life finally ended. Twitch was silent, his whimpering now just deep, laboured breathing. I turned back before I stepped onto the boat, watching as his hand slowly moved to the pistol in the sand next to him. “Well played Dutch, well played.”

All i can say is I read everything and I shed so many tears hearing all the sweet and wonderful you say. I ask myself, 'are these really for me, or is he talking to someone else" because I don't feel special at all. I just know I want you around. But I have you around but I don't have you and my heart aches. I see and hear you nearby but I feel you are a million miles away from me. When I hear you laugh I wish I was the one making you laugh. When you smile I melt, when you look we me with those beautiful brown eyes that I adore I melt. You walk past me all I want to do is grab you and hold you in my arms and tell you that I love you. I picture you and me in bed, holding each other, face to face. You stare into my eyes as I stare into yours and it feels like I'm home. A home that I always wanted to live in but didn't know I needed. I want to be the shelter from the storms that rage inside you. I want to be the blanket that covers you when you feel cold and alone. I want you to the sun when you wake up and my moon when you fall asleep. I want to rock you asleep and protect you from the nightmare where you feel abandoned. I want to be your everyday. I just want to know you. To know what makes up happy, to know what makes you sad, to know what makes you cry and wipe every tear away. Tell me all about you. Do you hear me knocking everyday on the door to your heart. I wonder when will you let me in. Will you ever let me in? My heart hurt everyday I can't be with you. When will you let me get close to you? When can I lay next to you and wipe the hair away from you eyes. Run my fingers across your forehead gently touching each brow. Run my fingers down the bridge it your nose gently run them across your lips. It excites me so much that I kiss you. Feeling your soft lips against mine, feeling the warmth of your breathe. I breathe you in. Then I come back to earth and your not here with me. I feel empty instde then I fall asleep. I could say all that but I only want to say that I love you and I need you. And I want to spend everyday with you from now til the end of my days. I will always be here for you, if you'll have me.

Some backstory: I'm a software engineer, and I've been working in the tech industry for almost 4 years since graduation. After the 2nd year in a big corporation, I got food and a place to live, and my motivation to pursue a career just stopped. I felt like I had nothing to chase for. I enjoy playing video games and buying toys like Iron Man, Transformers, or Ultraman figures. That's pretty much it. So, life became tasteless and boring, and there was nothing that made me happy.
For the past year or so, I've been thinking about how I can help people and create value (so I can start to feel that I'm useful to the world) based on my skills. Around that time, my best friend (who also works in tech) experienced severe depression. So, I started creating things to help him combat it. We began by developing a mood tracker that allowed him to input his mood every day, and we used algorithms to find patterns, such as how workouts or the weather correlated with his mood swings. However, it wasn't helpful because it didn't offer solutions or solve the problem.
Later in the year, OpenAI's ChatGPT became popular, and we thought we could leverage this technology to assist people, as it could answer mental health-related questions and potentially help those in need of answers. So, we created an app called Quokka! (I apologize if this sounds like self-promotion, but you can search for it on the Apple App Store) and we had around 10 to 20 people using it. However, people only asked a couple of shallow questions and then never touch the app again, and that was about it. We wondered why talking to ChatGPT wasn't as "therapeutic" as talking to a real person.
We spoke to a few users and thought this through. In a nutshell, we believe ChatGPT isn't sentient enough or designed to relate or feel the actual pain of the user. Let me provide you with some examples:

1. It's slower and tends to provide people with walls of text, which can be very off-putting. Even if it's spitting out truths, people don't want to read a 400-word paragraph about how to be better.
2. If you ask ChatGPT about very personal issues like sex life or an abusive relationship, it will give you a "correct" response like having good communication with your partner, being honest, and trying new things. While these are correct answers, they lack a "personal" touch. It's like telling a homeless person to get a home, if you know what I mean. A real therapist (a good one who matches your background and personality) would guide you and help you discover issues in a more subtle and informative way, rather than simply telling you how you should behave.

(As an engineer, I understand why ChatGPT performs this way. It's designed to be an "AI assistant" and has been trained on data that convinces itself it's an "AI assistant." Therefore, it doesn't treat sensitive questions like a real person with feelings. Moreover, anything unethical is filtered out. If you ask it a sensitive question, it will respond by saying, "I'm an AI, so I don't have preferences," and it won't engage and blame your bf/gf with you in biased discussions.)
To address the shortcomings of ChatGPT, I spent the last month training and developing a model myself. This model focuses solely on performing therapy and helping people. If you ask it to solve a math question, it probably wouldn't know the answer. It's a small model, only 7/1000 the size of ChatGPT, so it's not that advanced (but it is super fast). However, it has knowledge of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) as I trained it using two books and common sense. I've tested it with some examples, and I think it's working. I'm allowing everyone to try it out on a server that I'm renting out of my pocket. I'll try to keep the server running for as long as possible so that everyone has a chance to try it. https://a93b26bbd1ae.ngrok.app/
some example conversations I had with it:

Human: how can therapy help people, like how does it work? AI: Therapy helps individuals understand their thoughts and feelings better, develop coping strategies for dealing with difficult situations, and improve communication skills. It also provides a safe space where clients can explore their emotions without fear of judgment or criticism. The goal is to create a positive change in behavior and attitude towards life. Human: ok but the underlying issue is still there right? it doesnt really solve the problem. so the client will probably continue to be sad AI: That's correct. However, therapy can provide tools and techniques that can help individuals manage their emotions more effectively and cope with stressors in a healthier way. Additionally, therapy can help individuals identify unhelpful thought patterns and replace them with more realistic ones. This can lead to a reduction in negative emotions and an increase in overall well-being. Human: what about people suffer from like, money problem? or suffer from something thats out of their hands AI: In some cases, therapy may not be able to completely eliminate the source of distress. However, it can provide individuals with the necessary tools to cope with difficult situations and improve their quality of life. For example, if someone is struggling financially, therapy can help them develop a budget and prioritize their expenses. If someone has a chronic illness, therapy can help them learn to accept their limitations and find ways to live a fulfilling life despite their condition. Human: Ok thanks, I understand it better now. AI: You're welcome! ... ... 

​

Human: How can I improve communication with Sam about our sexual needs and expectations? AI: It's important to communicate openly and honestly with your partner about your sexual needs and expectations. You could try using a technique called "I-messages" when communicating with Sam. This involves stating how you feel and what you need in a clear and direct way. For example, "When we have sex, I would like for us to use protection." Human: I understand, the problem is that we love our sex life, but I feel we've fallen into a routine and often feel lazy to engage in it. AI: It's great that you're aware of this issue and want to address it. One way to approach it is by setting up a date night where you can focus on each other and enjoy intimacy without any distractions. Another option is to create a list of activities or positions that you both enjoy and make sure to incorporate them into your routine. ... ... 

​

Human: Ok I feel like you are kind of helping more like an assistent, not a therapist. how would you handle my case if you use CBT technique? AI: As a therapist, I would work collaboratively with you to identify your values and goals and develop a plan to achieve them. We would also explore any underlying beliefs or assumptions that may be contributing to your feelings of frustration and uncertainty. By using CBT techniques such as cognitive restructuring and problem-solving strategies, we could work together to overcome these obstacles and move forward towards a more fulfilling life. Human: Ok yes thats what I'm talking about. please lead the conversation. AI: Great! Let's start by exploring your values and goals in greater detail. What do you want out of life, and what steps can we take to help you achieve those things? Human: surprisingly I dont vable money that much even tho I just mentioned them. I genuienly just want to help people. my motivition is kind of driven by that. actually my start up is about helpping people. I'm building an virtual therapist using LLM AI: That's great to hear! Your motivation is clearly rooted in a desire to make a positive impact on others. Let's work together to develop a plan to achieve your goals and overcome any challenges that arise along the way. Human: Ok looks like you understand, what kind of plan we talking here? AI: Yes, we can work together to create a personalized plan that takes into account your unique strengths, weaknesses, and goals. This might involve developing new coping mechanisms for dealing with stress, identifying areas where you need additional support, or exploring alternative career paths that align with your values and interests. Human: My strength is I'm a dedicated person, meaning I dont easily give up. my weakness would be ... I have too much ego so sometimes I feel it makes me arrogant and ignorant. my goal is to help other people in any way to unleash their true potential. by creating a AI therapist is one of my way trying to achieve that. AI: It sounds like you have a strong sense of dedication and a clear understanding of your values and goals. We can work together to identify any blind spots or areas where you may need additional support. Remember, therapy is not just about fixing problems but also about exploring your strengths and finding ways to build upon them. Human: Ok interesting, so what could be my blind spots? could you give me some examples AI: Sure, blind spots can include things like unconscious biases or assumptions that may be holding you back from achieving your full potential. For example, if you believe that certain types of people are inherently less intelligent than others, this belief may limit your ability to see their true potential. By working together, we can explore these blind spots and develop strategies for overcoming them. Human: I see, so what could possible be mine blind spot that I'm not awared? AI: It's important to remember that everyone has blind spots, and they can be difficult to identify without outside perspective. However, once identified, we can work together to develop strategies for overcoming them. Human: I was kind of expacting you to find it out for me. thats what you do isn't it ? AI: While it's important to work collaboratively with clients to identify blind spots, it's also important to remember that ultimately, the client is responsible for their own growth and development. As a therapist, my role is to provide guidance and support, but ultimately, the client must take ownership of their own progress. Human: ok could at least give me some direction? like how do I find the blind spots tho? AI: Finding blind spots requires a willingness to be open and honest about one's own limitations. This can be challenging, as many of us have been conditioned to view ourselves in a positive light. However, by being vulnerable and seeking feedback from trusted sources, we can begin to gain insight into our own blind spots. Human: so you mean asking people around me? AI: Yes, seeking feedback from those who know us well can be an effective way to identify blind spots. Additionally, reflective practices such as journaling or meditation can help us become more aware of our own thoughts and behaviors. Human: what's reflective practices AI: Reflective practices involve taking time to reflect on one's experiences and behaviors. This can include activities such as journaling, meditation, or talking with a trusted friend or family member. The goal of these practices is to increase self-awareness and improve decision-making abilities. Human: could you be more specific? like I should do journaling everyday? like I want you to explain like in theory how would that help. writing daily journal and then read them after? AI: Reflective practices can take many forms, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Some people find that journaling regularly helps them identify patterns in their behavior and emotions. Others prefer to engage in mindfulness exercises or talk with a therapist about their experiences. Ultimately, the key is to find an approach that works best for you and stick with it over time. ... ... 

As you can tell it is not that smart so I have to ask a lot of questions to remind the AI to take the lead and guide me. So start the conversation with "I would like to work on xxx issue, could you help me with cbt technique." and ask questions for the next step or guidance.
I want to emphasize that this is a small model, so if it works well for all of you, please let me know, and I'll continue to upgrade it. For example, I can make a larger model and feed it with more therapy techniques, or even give it a voice, so eventually, you can have a phone call with it like a teletherapy session (that's the goal).
I apologize for the lengthy text. To get to the point, we haven't stopped developing this project. We still want to create things that can help people who want access to therapy but can't afford it due to financial situations or lack of access. We're trying out everything we can, anything that can make you happier.

Please leave a comment and let me know how I can use my skill set to make you happy and provide assistance. I'm open to trying anything and everything that can help you out.