White glove chimney sweep
What if I was a character in the Pokemon world?
2023.06.04 18:20 Quiet-Living8975 What if I was a character in the Pokemon world?
If i was born in the world of Pokemon I would be native to the Orre region. Like Wes I would have been a snagger with Team Snagem but I would join Wes in betraying them and we would escape together. My starter would be a Trapinch as Flygon is my favorite Pokemon of all time and Trapinch (in XD) is easily available in the Orre region's deserts. After Wes and I stole the snag machine we would go our seperate ways. Wes staying in Orre and goes into the story of Colosseum, while I leave and explore other regions.
The first region I visit is Johto. I learn about the gym challenge from Ethan and Lyra and decided to join them. When Team Rocket stuff happens I leave it to Ethan and Lyra as I don't want them to learn of my origins as a Team Snagem member. I get an shiny Eevee from Bill which I evolve into Umbreon. I also got a Gligar and an Elekid which I evolved into Electbuzz. At this point my Trapinch is a Vibrava and I beat all the gyms but I decided to not take on the elite 4 and leave it to Ethan.
I moved on to Kanto, beat the gyms there and took on Red but Red was to strong and I lost. I got a Mankey which I quickly evolved into Primeape.
I moved on to Sinnoh where I got to evolve my Gligar into Gliscor and Electabuzz into Electivire and my Vibrava became a Flygon. I took on the gym challenge and Team Galactic as in this version Dawn doesn't want to take them on and instead prefers to do contests and Lucas does not exist. So Cynthia and I are the only ones actually doing anything while Barry focuses on the gyms. I decide to take on the Elite 4 this time but Cynthia is too strong for me to handle. I get a call from Wes that he needs my help as Cipher as returned and they are stronger than before.
I return to Orre and Wes and Rui explain the plot of Colosseum to me to catch me up on what has happened after I left Orre. Now the plot of XD happens except Wes and I take the place of Michael. During this I snag a Shadow Scyther however I can't control it at first and it cuts off my left arm. While I recover Wes decides to purify the Scyther for me and I get a cybernetic arm that acts as a snag machine, mega bracelet, Z-Crystal, Dynamax band, and Tera Orb. Wes gives me back my Scyther who I make ammends with and gain a close bond with. I find a Metal Coat and Wes agrees to help me evolve my Scyther. We continue to fight Cypher and take them down. Wes and Rui decide to stay in Orre to protect the region while I continue my adventures and tell Wes that I'll come back whenever he needs me.
I go to Unova where the events of Black, White, Black 2, and White 2 have already happened. So I went through Unova's gyms and moved on.
At this point my team is Flygon, Shiny Umbreon, Scizor, Electivire, Gliscor, and Primeape.
I then went to Kalos where I learned about Mega Evolution. I learned that Flygon doesn't have a Mega Stone and gave myself the mission to create one and give Flygon a Mega. I go through the plot of X and Y and discovered that the Ultimate Weapon can be used to craft a mega stone. After Lysandre is defeated, I went up to Geosenge Town and break off a few chunks of the Weapon. After a lot of experimentation I managed to craft a Mega Stone for Flygon as well a glove for my Flygon which holds his Mega stone.
I then went to Hoenn where I meet May and Wally and three of us take on Team Aqua and Magma. Wally catches Kyogre and May catches Groudon. Then the Delta Episode takes place where I catch Rayquaza and I vow to only use it in emergencies.
I move on to Alola where Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon have already occured. I learned about the trials and I decide not to take on the challenge. Instead I just chill out and take a vacation.
Then I moved on to Galar and I arrive after Sword and Shield happened. I took on the gym challenge and moved on.
Paldea is next and I finally get to evolve my Primeape into Annihilape! I meet Koraidon, Nemona, Arven, Miraidon, and Penny and go through the events of Scarlet and Violet. Arven gives Koraidon to me but keeps Miraidon. By the end of the journey Arven and I team up to take on AI Sada and AI Turo and we save to world.
Now having been to every known region, I returned to Orre and I decide to set up a gym challenge in the region. My Elite 4 is Wes, a redeemed Miror B., a redeemed Eldes, and Zinnia who I invited from Hoenn. Gonzap becomes the 8th gym leader and some other Orre region characters fill out the rest of the gyms. I became the champion and retained that title forever as no one in Orre can manage to beat me. Although Cynthia and Red always beat me.
However Ardos brings back Cipher and I have to bring in as many strong trainers as I can! I even needed to bring out Rayquaza for this! But thankfully we managed to beat Cipher and this time we made sure they can never return. The end.
That is my journey if I was in the Pokemon world. Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading all thatđ
submitted by Quiet-Living8975 to pokemon [link] [comments]
The first region I visit is Johto. I learn about the gym challenge from Ethan and Lyra and decided to join them. When Team Rocket stuff happens I leave it to Ethan and Lyra as I don't want them to learn of my origins as a Team Snagem member. I get an shiny Eevee from Bill which I evolve into Umbreon. I also got a Gligar and an Elekid which I evolved into Electbuzz. At this point my Trapinch is a Vibrava and I beat all the gyms but I decided to not take on the elite 4 and leave it to Ethan.
I moved on to Kanto, beat the gyms there and took on Red but Red was to strong and I lost. I got a Mankey which I quickly evolved into Primeape.
I moved on to Sinnoh where I got to evolve my Gligar into Gliscor and Electabuzz into Electivire and my Vibrava became a Flygon. I took on the gym challenge and Team Galactic as in this version Dawn doesn't want to take them on and instead prefers to do contests and Lucas does not exist. So Cynthia and I are the only ones actually doing anything while Barry focuses on the gyms. I decide to take on the Elite 4 this time but Cynthia is too strong for me to handle. I get a call from Wes that he needs my help as Cipher as returned and they are stronger than before.
I return to Orre and Wes and Rui explain the plot of Colosseum to me to catch me up on what has happened after I left Orre. Now the plot of XD happens except Wes and I take the place of Michael. During this I snag a Shadow Scyther however I can't control it at first and it cuts off my left arm. While I recover Wes decides to purify the Scyther for me and I get a cybernetic arm that acts as a snag machine, mega bracelet, Z-Crystal, Dynamax band, and Tera Orb. Wes gives me back my Scyther who I make ammends with and gain a close bond with. I find a Metal Coat and Wes agrees to help me evolve my Scyther. We continue to fight Cypher and take them down. Wes and Rui decide to stay in Orre to protect the region while I continue my adventures and tell Wes that I'll come back whenever he needs me.
I go to Unova where the events of Black, White, Black 2, and White 2 have already happened. So I went through Unova's gyms and moved on.
At this point my team is Flygon, Shiny Umbreon, Scizor, Electivire, Gliscor, and Primeape.
I then went to Kalos where I learned about Mega Evolution. I learned that Flygon doesn't have a Mega Stone and gave myself the mission to create one and give Flygon a Mega. I go through the plot of X and Y and discovered that the Ultimate Weapon can be used to craft a mega stone. After Lysandre is defeated, I went up to Geosenge Town and break off a few chunks of the Weapon. After a lot of experimentation I managed to craft a Mega Stone for Flygon as well a glove for my Flygon which holds his Mega stone.
I then went to Hoenn where I meet May and Wally and three of us take on Team Aqua and Magma. Wally catches Kyogre and May catches Groudon. Then the Delta Episode takes place where I catch Rayquaza and I vow to only use it in emergencies.
I move on to Alola where Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon have already occured. I learned about the trials and I decide not to take on the challenge. Instead I just chill out and take a vacation.
Then I moved on to Galar and I arrive after Sword and Shield happened. I took on the gym challenge and moved on.
Paldea is next and I finally get to evolve my Primeape into Annihilape! I meet Koraidon, Nemona, Arven, Miraidon, and Penny and go through the events of Scarlet and Violet. Arven gives Koraidon to me but keeps Miraidon. By the end of the journey Arven and I team up to take on AI Sada and AI Turo and we save to world.
Now having been to every known region, I returned to Orre and I decide to set up a gym challenge in the region. My Elite 4 is Wes, a redeemed Miror B., a redeemed Eldes, and Zinnia who I invited from Hoenn. Gonzap becomes the 8th gym leader and some other Orre region characters fill out the rest of the gyms. I became the champion and retained that title forever as no one in Orre can manage to beat me. Although Cynthia and Red always beat me.
However Ardos brings back Cipher and I have to bring in as many strong trainers as I can! I even needed to bring out Rayquaza for this! But thankfully we managed to beat Cipher and this time we made sure they can never return. The end.
That is my journey if I was in the Pokemon world. Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading all thatđ
2023.06.04 17:07 NachosDeCanasta Clever ways to conceal arms in a spaghetti strap dress?
Iâm in love with this dress from Jenny Yoo, but the problem are the spaghetti straps, I donât love how my arms look in side profile photos and I usually try to wear something with sleeves or off the shoulder. I tend to hold my arms close to my body and that flattens them out, so they can look really wide on me.
The dress doesnât seem to have boning so Iâm not sure it will stay up without the straps if I were to remove them and swap for detached sleeves or off shoulder straps. Does anybody have any creative ideas of how I could conceal my arm width or just make it less likely to stand out? I was thinking maybe wear a veil or really long gloves, but throw any other ideas at me!
submitted by NachosDeCanasta to weddingdress [link] [comments]
The dress doesnât seem to have boning so Iâm not sure it will stay up without the straps if I were to remove them and swap for detached sleeves or off shoulder straps. Does anybody have any creative ideas of how I could conceal my arm width or just make it less likely to stand out? I was thinking maybe wear a veil or really long gloves, but throw any other ideas at me!
2023.06.04 16:44 I-am-the-Peel (Spoilers Extended) A Character Analysis of Varys, the fake and lying eunuch
Apologies for the length and lateness of this post, past few months have been quite chaotic and haven't had much access to the internet, I dunno when I'll be back on this sub again after this so until then, more posts from me will be a Dream for Spring Summer (probably)
Over the years I've read a great many theories about the character of Varys, his motivations, his scheming throughout the series and his endgame, but none of them have ever truly sat well with me for how much his character feels simplified. He is one of ASOIAF's most complex characters who I still believe we haven't entirely cracked yet, and I for one still believe even after writing this post up and reflecting on it, there's still some of his character that I haven't figured out.
However, I want to propose an alternative character analysis to the character of Varys, one that drifts away from the more common take on his character - Varys is not a eunuch or a friend of Tyrion Lannister, and has spent his entire life lying about his manhood to deter anyone from thinking that he could father any children, so that fAegon, his true son, would always be protected while hiding.
Let us begin by breaking down each of the lies that define his character.
First, the lie that he was castrated as a young slave and had his manhood thrown into a fire by 'a certain man', which resulted in the fire turning magically blue and 'a voice' speaking out to Varys.
Illyrio, the same man who praised R'hllor, a God that Varys despises;
It makes little sense that Varys would entertain the company of those who worship R'hllor or magical forms of fire, if Varys truly is traumatised by what seemingly happened to him as a slave child by fire.
As well as Illyrio, this is apparent in Aerys II, who would regularly burn people in the throne room with wildfire, in the presence of Varys;
But it makes a lot more sense that Varys actually never had a problem with R'hllor or wildfire, and instead chose to encourage Aerys' paranoia so that he would always both seem useful to Aerys and be on good relations with him, to solidify his position of power on the Small Council, given that he was just a young foreign man in Westeros and wholly dependent on Aerys' support to maintain his standing in King's Landing.
The second lie of Varys' character that I wish to tackle is his apparent concern for the wellbeing of children;
However, we later learn in the series that Aegon seemingly survived and was swapped with a tanner's child, bought by Varys and swapped with Aegon, so that this bought child could be sacrificed to the Lannisters, who Varys presumed would want to kill Rhaegar's children;
The first red flag of this story is the idea that Varys, a former slave child who abhors slavery, would willingly buy another man's young child. Also pay attention to the mention of 'Arbor gold', which has been well documented on this sub for years for how its always a signal of lies, as individuals like Littlefinger mention it in passing whenever they are telling a lie.
The second red flag is the idea that Varys, someone who seemingly abhors the murder and suffering of innocent children, would willingly sacrifice an innocent young child and allow them to be murdered just to spare another, more valuable child. The idea that Varys would also take Elia's child away from her, either willingly or unwillingly on her part, is also questionable.
The third red flag is why Varys chose only to switch Aegon with another child, and not do the same for Rhaenys. Having two imposter Targaryen children raised to believe they are Targaryens could've helped to support their claims, build them up as a rival power in Westeros and also provide a backup option for Varys incase fAegon didn't survive his childhood.
The final red flag is the idea that Varys was able to foresee how the Rebellion was going to end, accurately guessed that Rhaegar's children would be murdered by the Lannisters, knew where and when to find Elia and her children, be able to remove one of her children away from her without anyone knowing, and knew that one of Tywin's men would kill the children so brutally that next to no one would be able to recognise them - the idea story is built on a series of flimsy conveniences and incredible predictive abilities on Varys' part.
If Varys truly cared so much about the protection and well-being of children, he would not have willingly bought and sacrificed an innocent child to be sacrificed in exchange for Aegon's survival, nor would he have abandoned Rhaenys to her fate if he could have prevented it. This means either Varys truly doesn't give a damn about the wellbeing of children and just lies to the likes of Ned and Tyrion about it, or that the entire story about Aegon being swapped with a tanner's child is a lie like some fans believe, or that both stories are lies muddled together to make it more difficult to discern the truth.
Perhaps the truth of Varys' lies is best exposed in this often cited excerpt from ACOK, a conversation between him and Tyrion about the infamous "Shadow on the Wall" riddle;
I however believe that Varys is talking about himself.
Varys was once a very small man when he came to King's Landing at Aerys' calling for him to join the Small Council. He was seen as a young ex-slave, without a lordship or house of his own, weak and powerless. But overtime, through his manipulation of Aerys, encouraging his paranoia and own self-inflicted downfall, Varys cast a very large shadow over the empire of House Targaryen in Westeros, and destroyed it forever. What Varys says here to Tyrion is a very veiled threat that he can be dangerous to Tyrion if he underestimates Varys.
Tyrion however, in his arrogance, believes that Varys is referring to him, being a "very small man" and begins considering him a friend.
This is the third and final lie of Varys' character that I wish to dissect here - the lie that he is a friend or useful ally of sorts to Tyrion.
The idea of Varys betraying Tyrion's trust and working against him is first presented to us by Cersei, when she lets slip that Varys informed her of Tyrion's plan to send the Hound into battle at the Battle of the Blackwater;
There are frequent moments throughout the series in which Varys alludes to knowing key information and deliberately withholding it from Tyrion even if it may benefit Tyrion, including who ordered Mandon Moore to kill Tyrion;
On the matter of Varys' choosing to support the Lannisters or Stannis, Varys once again tries to confuse Tyrion with riddles and not directly answer the question;
However, like with Cersei and Tyrion, Varys needs to tell those on the Small Council a certain amount of secretive information in order to gain their trust and support, including Stannis. That Varys even chooses to give a deeper and more unsettling laugh about the matter is another example of him openly laughing about his treachery in Tyrion's face and Tyrion not realising it.
When Tyrion almost stumbles upon this ruse and Varys realises that his laugh was too deep and questionable, Varys tries to brush it off by saying its harder to keep a secret secret if so many people are investigating it, and insists that there were so many of Robert's bastards to find for Stannis to figure out the truth on his own. But again, this last statement from Varys is littered with half-truths.
Varys insists it is hard to keep deceiving King Robert about the truth of his children's true parentage, and even harder to keep deceiving the truth from those who are deliberately looking for the truth and wanting to find it. This in itself is a reference to his believe that Stannis was always power-hungry for the Iron Throne, and was just looking for an excuse to try to claim it for himself as Robert's true heir, regardless of whether or not Cersei's children were Robert's or not.
But his own comment about "betraying a secret I have held for so long" is a direct allusion to fAegon's existence, and his determination not to reveal the truth of his existence to anyone, including Tyrion.
Even when Tyrion rides with Illyrio and Jon Connington's entourage in ADWD, Tyrion is only led to believe that they are going to support Daenerys' claim for the Iron Throne, and has to work out for himself that fAegon is actually Aegon and the one Varys and Illyrio wish to crown;
This likely angers Varys, and is the reason why Varys no longer affectionately calls Tyrion by his name or by '"lord" and instead refers to him as "the imp" in ADWD's epilogue, a term that Varys knows Tyrion hates;
Varys never considered Tyrion a friend or ally in ASOIAF and was just using him, another lie that he tells throughout the series, and by the end of ADWD, he hates Tyrion for his scheming and knowing too much information than Varys wished him to know.
But there is a bigger telling point about how much Varys uses Tyrion, and a more ground-breaking twist in the narrative that reflects both how much Varys underestimates Tyrion and how much Varys never cared for him;
In ASOS, Varys didn't tell Tyrion how to reach the Tower of the Hand to go and kill Tywin. Varys told him this key information so that Tyrion could go and kill Shae instead, who Varys considered a greater threat to him.
Shae is one of the few, perhaps the only, people in ASOIAF to see through Varys' disguises;
Wearing disguises is a very important part of Varys' many schemes, including visiting Ned Stark in the Black Cells as the gaoler Rugen;
It is also fundamentally not in Varys' interest for Tyrion to kill Tywin, as keeping Tywin alive for now would ensure the Dornish would have someone to rise up and seek vengeance against for Elia's murder. As readers are shown in AFFC and ADWD Dornish chapters, the Martells are divided and frankly confused about how to seek vengeance for Elia's murder now that Tywin, Gregor and Armory Lorch - the three men involved in her murder - are now dead. **If Tywin had lived, Varys could've played on the Dornish thirst for vengeance against him and had fAegon promise them it in exchange for their support, something which they likely would've agreed to.
So by this point in the post, we've explored some of the key lies of Varys' character to know for sure what he is not;
Well, Varys is not a eunuch, and in fact fAegon's true father by blood. Varys has deliberately spent his life lying about being a eunuch in order to discourage people from the truth that he is the father of fAegon by Illyrioâs sister, and wants to control the Iron Throne through fAegon.
Recall Varys' conversation with Tyrion in ACOK that I previously cited earlier;
Varys was never castrated and he is not bald. He deliberately shaves his head to hide his true parentage and lies about being a eunuch to discourage people from believing that he is capable of fathering a child, a child with Blackfyre blood that he wishes to sit on the Iron Throne, a secret that Varys has cared for and kept so long.
The last time we see Varys in ADWD, he finally begins to tell the truth about fAegon's existence, and when he does, and speaks about the son he loves, he begins to speak in his real, deeper and non-emasculated voice;**
TLDR:
Varys is not a eunuch but instead the father of fAegon, a secret he has spent his life protecting, and a lie he has spent his life telling to better protect his son.
Varys does not hate R'hllor or those who worship magical flames, his entire story about his manhood being sacrificed to flames is a lie he tells to gain Tyrion's trust in their efforts to defeat Stannis in ACOK. Varys is close friends with Illyrio, a man who praises R'hllor, and spent the early parts of his life encouraging Aerys to feed innocent people to the flames of wildfire.
Varys does not hate the suffering of innocent children, he was prepared to buy an innocent child from a man and sacrifice him in order to protect the "real" Aegon, he was prepared to abandon Rhaenys to her brutal death even if he could have saved her too and prepared to send Viserys and Daenerys into a doomed invasion of Westeros that would've led to their deaths just to make fAegon appear a more heroic saviour compared to them.
Varys was never a friend or ally to Tyrion but instead was using him ever since they first met. He has repeatedly withheld important information from him such as who hired Mandon Moore to kill Tyrion and how Stannis figured out the truth about Cersei's children, and on frequent occasions has nearly openly laughed in Tyrion's face at both his misfortune and the information Varys withheld from him. Varys also manipulated Tyrion into killing Shae so that she would not expose Varys' identity as Rugen and didn't trust Tyrion with the information about fAegon's existence, something that Tyrion had to figure out himself. Varys also talks lowly of Tyrion at the end of ADWD as a "conniving Imp" which reflects Varys' true feelings about Tyrion.
Varys has spent his life shaving his hair and lying about being a eunuch to discourage anyone from believing he could father fAegon and better protect him, so that fAegon could one day take the Iron Throne, and cast a very large shadow over the Targaryen Empire forever.
Thanks for reading, if you enjoyed this theory be sure to read some of my other theories below;
All the signs that Tywin directly gave the Mountain the order to badly mistreat Elia Martell
The Father Rhaegaer, the Son Jon and the Holy Ghost Ghost, religious symbolism
Mance Rayder is a servant of the Others
Leyton Hightower is the Lord of Light and Malora the Mad Maid is Quaithe
2022 archive of ASOIAF theories available at the bottom of this post
submitted by I-am-the-Peel to asoiaf [link] [comments]
Over the years I've read a great many theories about the character of Varys, his motivations, his scheming throughout the series and his endgame, but none of them have ever truly sat well with me for how much his character feels simplified. He is one of ASOIAF's most complex characters who I still believe we haven't entirely cracked yet, and I for one still believe even after writing this post up and reflecting on it, there's still some of his character that I haven't figured out.
However, I want to propose an alternative character analysis to the character of Varys, one that drifts away from the more common take on his character - Varys is not a eunuch or a friend of Tyrion Lannister, and has spent his entire life lying about his manhood to deter anyone from thinking that he could father any children, so that fAegon, his true son, would always be protected while hiding.
Let us begin by breaking down each of the lies that define his character.
First, the lie that he was castrated as a young slave and had his manhood thrown into a fire by 'a certain man', which resulted in the fire turning magically blue and 'a voice' speaking out to Varys.
"One day at Myr, a certain man came to our folly. After the performance, he made an offer for me that my master found too tempting to refuse. I was in terror. I feared the man meant to use me as I had heard men used small boys, but in truth the only part of me he had need of was my manhood. He gave me a potion that made me powerless to move or speak, yet did nothing to dull my senses. With a long hooked blade, he sliced me root and stem, chanting all the while. I watched him burn my manly parts on a brazier. The flames turned blue, and I heard a voice answer his call, though I did not understand the words they spoke. "The mummers had sailed by the time he was done with me. Once I had served his purpose, the man had no further interest in me, so he put me out. When I asked him what I should do now, he answered that he supposed I should die. To spite him, I resolved to live. I begged, I stole, and I sold what parts of my body still remained to me. Soon I was as good a thief as any in Myr, and when I was older I learned that often the contents of a man's letters are more valuable than the contents of his purse. "Yet I still dream of that night, my lord. Not of the sorcerer, nor his blade, nor even the way my manhood shriveled as it burned. I dream of the voice. The voice from the flames. Was it a god, a demon, some conjurer's trick? I could not tell you, and I know all the tricks. All I can say for a certainty is that he called it, and it answered, and since that day I have hated magic and all those who practice it. If Lord Stannis is one such, I mean to see him dead." - ACOK - TYRION XNow there is much from this excerpt to raise complaints and questions about Varys' story;
- There are no known instances of individuals being mutilated and having their mutilated parts being sacrificed in the flames for the sake of blood magic or appeasing R'hllor. Individuals have often been sacrificed to the flames, but sacrificed in their whole bodies.
- The details of how Varys was mutilated and that he was able to survive is unbelievable, and even more unbelievable that he went on to live as an orphan on the streets after this horrific ordeal with little to no medical treatment. Varys' simple claim that he "resolved to live" is very vague.
- Varys can remember this mystic and mysterious voice, but not what it send or what the words sounded like. Melisandre claims to hear the voices of R'hllor in the flames and voices could be heard from Drogo's tent when Mirri Maz Duhr was performing her blood magic, but these voices are only heard by the sorcerers, and not the victims. By all accounts, Varys should not have been able to hear these voices, if part of himself was fed to the flames.
"How many days until we reach the river?" he asked Illyrio that evening. "At this pace, your queen's dragons will be larger than Aegon's three before I can lay eyes upon them." "Would it were so. A large dragon is more fearsome than a small one." The magister shrugged. "Much as it would please me to welcome Queen Daenerys to Volantis, I must rely on you and Griff for that. I can serve her best in Pentos, smoothing the way for her return. So long as I am with you, though ⊠well, an old fat man must have his comforts, yes? Come, drink a cup of wine." - ADWD - TYRION IIIllyrio is Varys' best friend and closest confidant, who he works with to protect Daenerys for much of her life and is willing to crown her as Queen alongside fAegon even though she has magical fire-breathing dragons that Varys, a victim of magical flames, would despise.
Illyrio, the same man who praised R'hllor, a God that Varys despises;
Her brother was waiting in the cool of the entry hall, seated on the edge of the pool, his hand trailing in the water. He rose when she appeared and looked her over critically. "Stand there," he told her. "Turn around. Yes. Good. You look âŠ" "Regal," Magister Illyrio said, stepping through an archway. He moved with surprising delicacy for such a massive man. Beneath loose garments of flame-colored silk, rolls of fat jiggled as he walked. Gemstones glittered on every finger, and his man had oiled his forked yellow beard until it shone like real gold. "May the Lord of Light shower you with blessings on this most fortunate day, Princess Daenerys," the magister said as he took her hand. He bowed his head, showing a thin glimpse of crooked yellow teeth through the gold of his beard. "She is a vision, Your Grace, a vision," he told her brother. "Drogo will be enraptured." - AGOT - DAENERYS INeither Viserys or Daenerys were followers of R'hllor at this point, or surrounded by any followers, meaning Illyrio didn't need to bring up this form of prayer to R'hllor unless it was genuine or near genuine on his own part.
It makes little sense that Varys would entertain the company of those who worship R'hllor or magical forms of fire, if Varys truly is traumatised by what seemingly happened to him as a slave child by fire.
As well as Illyrio, this is apparent in Aerys II, who would regularly burn people in the throne room with wildfire, in the presence of Varys;
Frustrated, Aerys turned to the Wisdoms of the ancient Guild of Alchemists, who knew the secret of producing the volatile jade green substance known as wildfire, said to be a close cousin to dragonflame. The pyromancers became a regular fixture at his court as the king's fascination with fire grew. By 280 AC, Aerys II had taken to burning traitors, murderers, and plotters, rather than hanging or beheading them. The king seemed to take great pleasure in these fiery executions, which were presided over by Wisdom Rossart, the grand master of the Guild of Alchemists...so much so that he granted Rossart the title of Lord and gave him a seat upon the small council. - TWOIAF - THE TARGARYEN KINGS - AERYS IINot only would Varys be present to witness these burnings, but Varys even encouraged Aerys to burn other individuals suspected of treachery, and fuelled both Aerys' paranoia and bloodlust;
He floated in heat, in memory. "After dancing griffins lost the Battle of the Bells, Aerys exiled him." Why am I telling this absurd ugly child? "He had finally realized that Robert was no mere outlaw lord to be crushed at whim, but the greatest threat House Targaryen had faced since Daemon Blackfyre. The king reminded Lewyn Martell gracelessly that he held Elia and sent him to take command of the ten thousand Dornishmen coming up the kingsroad. Jon Darry and Barristan Selmy rode to Stoney Sept to rally what they could of griffins' men, and Prince Rhaegar returned from the south and persuaded his father to swallow his pride and summon my father. But no raven returned from Casterly Rock, and that made the king even more afraid. He saw traitors everywhere, and Varys was always there to point out any he might have missed. So His Grace commanded his alchemists to place caches of wildfire all over King's Landing. Beneath Baelor's Sept and the hovels of Flea Bottom, under stables and storehouses, at all seven gates, even in the cellars of the Red Keep itself. - ASOS - JAIME VVarys developed a reputation for egging on Aerys' paranoia and encouraging him to execute apparent traitors by fire, so much so that people like Barristan lay chief blame for Aerys' downfall into madness on Varys for exploiting it;
"It is not a question of wanting. The throne is mine, as Robert's heir. That is law. After me, it must pass to my daughter, unless Selyse should finally give me a son." He ran three fingers lightly down the table, over the layers of smooth hard varnish, dark with age. "I am king. Wants do not enter into it. I have a duty to my daughter. To the realm. Even to Robert. He loved me but little, I know, yet he was my brother. The Lannister woman gave him horns and made a motley fool of him. She may have murdered him as well, as she murdered Jon Arryn and Ned Stark. For such crimes there must be justice. Starting with Cersei and her abominations. But only starting. I mean to scour that court clean. As Robert should have done, after the Trident. Ser Barristan once told me that the rot in King Aerys's reign began with Varys. The eunuch should never have been pardoned. No more than the Kingslayer. At the least, Robert should have stripped the white cloak from Jaime and sent him to the Wall, as Lord Stark urged. He listened to Jon Arryn instead. I was still at Storm's End, under siege and unconsulted." He turned abruptly, to give Davos a hard shrewd look. "The truth, now. Why did you wish to murder Lady Melisandre?" - ASOS - DAVOS IVIt makes very little sense that Varys, a eunuch who seemingly hates worshippers of R'hllor and pyromancers for burning people and sacrificing his manhood to the flames as a child, would be best friends with a man who praises R'hllor or encourage his previous King to burn several people, many of whom were likely innocent of the claims of treachery put against them.
But it makes a lot more sense that Varys actually never had a problem with R'hllor or wildfire, and instead chose to encourage Aerys' paranoia so that he would always both seem useful to Aerys and be on good relations with him, to solidify his position of power on the Small Council, given that he was just a young foreign man in Westeros and wholly dependent on Aerys' support to maintain his standing in King's Landing.
The second lie of Varys' character that I wish to tackle is his apparent concern for the wellbeing of children;
"No," Ned pleaded, his voice cracking. "Varys, gods have mercy, do as you like with me, but leave my daughter out of your schemes. Sansa's no more than a child." "Rhaenys was a child too. Prince Rhaegar's daughter. A precious little thing, younger than your girls. She had a small black kitten she called Balerion, did you know? I always wondered what happened to him. Rhaenys liked to pretend he was the true Balerion, the Black Dread of old, but I imagine the Lannisters taught her the difference between a kitten and a dragon quick enough, the day they broke down her door." Varys gave a long weary sigh, the sigh of a man who carried all the sadness of the world in a sack upon his shoulders. "The High Septon once told me that as we sin, so do we suffer. If that's true, Lord Eddard, tell me ⊠why is it always the innocents who suffer most, when you high lords play your game of thrones? Ponder it, if you would, while you wait upon the queen. And spare a thought for this as well: The next visitor who calls on you could bring you bread and cheese and the milk of the poppy for your pain ⊠or he could bring you Sansa's head. - AGOT - EDDARD XVVarys shows apparent disgust at the murders of Rhaegar's children, Rhaenys and Aegon, at the end of Robert's Rebellion, and the way in which they were brutally murdered.
However, we later learn in the series that Aegon seemingly survived and was swapped with a tanner's child, bought by Varys and swapped with Aegon, so that this bought child could be sacrificed to the Lannisters, who Varys presumed would want to kill Rhaegar's children;
"A true friend, our Lord Connington. He must be, to remain so fiercely loyal to the grandson of the king who took his lands and titles and sent him into exile. A pity about that. Elsewise Prince Rhaegar's friend might have been on hand when my father sacked King's Landing, to save Prince Rhaegar's precious little son from getting his royal brains dashed out against a wall." The lad flushed. "That was not me. I told you. That was some tanner's son from Pisswater Bend whose mother died birthing him. His father sold him to Lord Varys for a jug of Arbor gold. He had other sons but had never tasted Arbor gold. Varys gave the Pisswater boy to my lady mother and carried me away." "Aye." Tyrion moved his elephants. "And when the pisswater prince was safely dead, the eunuch smuggled you across the narrow sea to his fat friend the cheesemonger, who hid you on a poleboat and found an exile lord willing to call himself your father. It does make for a splendid story, and the singers will make much of your escape once you take the Iron Throne ⊠assuming that our fair Daenerys takes you for her consort." - ADWD - TYRION VIThis entire "splendid story" as Tyrion calls it, is full of inconsistencies and unbelievable acts.
The first red flag of this story is the idea that Varys, a former slave child who abhors slavery, would willingly buy another man's young child. Also pay attention to the mention of 'Arbor gold', which has been well documented on this sub for years for how its always a signal of lies, as individuals like Littlefinger mention it in passing whenever they are telling a lie.
The second red flag is the idea that Varys, someone who seemingly abhors the murder and suffering of innocent children, would willingly sacrifice an innocent young child and allow them to be murdered just to spare another, more valuable child. The idea that Varys would also take Elia's child away from her, either willingly or unwillingly on her part, is also questionable.
The third red flag is why Varys chose only to switch Aegon with another child, and not do the same for Rhaenys. Having two imposter Targaryen children raised to believe they are Targaryens could've helped to support their claims, build them up as a rival power in Westeros and also provide a backup option for Varys incase fAegon didn't survive his childhood.
The final red flag is the idea that Varys was able to foresee how the Rebellion was going to end, accurately guessed that Rhaegar's children would be murdered by the Lannisters, knew where and when to find Elia and her children, be able to remove one of her children away from her without anyone knowing, and knew that one of Tywin's men would kill the children so brutally that next to no one would be able to recognise them - the idea story is built on a series of flimsy conveniences and incredible predictive abilities on Varys' part.
If Varys truly cared so much about the protection and well-being of children, he would not have willingly bought and sacrificed an innocent child to be sacrificed in exchange for Aegon's survival, nor would he have abandoned Rhaenys to her fate if he could have prevented it. This means either Varys truly doesn't give a damn about the wellbeing of children and just lies to the likes of Ned and Tyrion about it, or that the entire story about Aegon being swapped with a tanner's child is a lie like some fans believe, or that both stories are lies muddled together to make it more difficult to discern the truth.
Perhaps the truth of Varys' lies is best exposed in this often cited excerpt from ACOK, a conversation between him and Tyrion about the infamous "Shadow on the Wall" riddle;
Varys smiled. "Here, then. Power resides where men believe it resides. No more and no less.""So power is a mummer's trick?" "A shadow on the wall," Varys murmured, "yet shadows can kill. And ofttimes a very small man can cast a very large shadow." Tyrion smiled. "Lord Varys, I am growing strangely fond of you. I may kill you yet, but I think I'd feel sad about it." - ACOK - TYRION IIThe question of who Varys refers to in this conversation has been debated for years on this sub. Some believe that Varys was alluding to fAegon, that if people believe he is the real Aegon then he will have power, even if he doesn't truly have power as a common non-Targaryen child. Others have suggested Varys was alluding to Littlefinger, who was once a young small man who rose very high in King's Landing and cast a large shadow over the realm by starting the WotFk through his schemes.
I however believe that Varys is talking about himself.
Varys was once a very small man when he came to King's Landing at Aerys' calling for him to join the Small Council. He was seen as a young ex-slave, without a lordship or house of his own, weak and powerless. But overtime, through his manipulation of Aerys, encouraging his paranoia and own self-inflicted downfall, Varys cast a very large shadow over the empire of House Targaryen in Westeros, and destroyed it forever. What Varys says here to Tyrion is a very veiled threat that he can be dangerous to Tyrion if he underestimates Varys.
Tyrion however, in his arrogance, believes that Varys is referring to him, being a "very small man" and begins considering him a friend.
This is the third and final lie of Varys' character that I wish to dissect here - the lie that he is a friend or useful ally of sorts to Tyrion.
The idea of Varys betraying Tyrion's trust and working against him is first presented to us by Cersei, when she lets slip that Varys informed her of Tyrion's plan to send the Hound into battle at the Battle of the Blackwater;
"Varys says so." The swan was too rich for his taste. A line appeared on Cersei's pale white brow, between those lovely eyes. "You put too much trust in that eunuch." "He serves me well." "Or so he'd have you believe. You think you're the only one he whispers secrets to? He gives each of us just enough to convince us that we'd be helpless without him. He played the same game with me, when I first wed Robert. For years, I was convinced I had no truer friend at court, but now . . ." She studied his face for a moment. "He says you mean to take the Hound from Joffrey." - ACOK - TYRION XIIOn a first read, we are quick to dismiss Cersei's claims for how much she is built up as an antagonistic and untrustworthy character, but in later understanding her motives in her own POV chapters, we realise there may be an inkling of truth in her claims. In the case of the Hound, Varys has no reason to inform her of Tyrion's plan, however innocent and insignificant in the grand game of thrones they may be, other than to maintain some level of trust with her and to invoke conflict between the Lannister siblings, which benefits Varys.
There are frequent moments throughout the series in which Varys alludes to knowing key information and deliberately withholding it from Tyrion even if it may benefit Tyrion, including who ordered Mandon Moore to kill Tyrion;
Bronn had turned up all he could on Ser Mandon, but no doubt Varys knew a deal more . . . should he choose to share it. "The man seems to have been quite friendless," Tyrion said carefully. "Sadly," said Varys, "oh, sadly. You might find some kin if you turned over enough stones back in the Vale, but here . . . Lord Arryn brought him to King's Landing and Robert gave him his white cloak, but neither loved him much, I fear. Nor was he the sort the smallfolk cheer in tourneys, despite his undoubted prowess. Why, even his brothers of the Kingsguard never warmed to him. Ser Barristan was once heard to say that the man had no friend but his sword and no life but duty . . . but you know, I do not think Selmy meant it altogether as praise. Which is queer when you consider it, is it not? Those are the very qualities we seek in our Kingsguard, it could be saidâmen who live not for themselves, but for their king. By those lights, our brave Ser Mandon was the perfect white knight. And he died as a knight of the Kingsguard ought, with sword in hand, defending one of the king's own blood." The eunuch gave him a slimy smile and watched him sharply. Trying to murder one of the king's own blood, you mean. Tyrion wondered if Varys knew rather more than he was saying. - ASOS - TYRION IIWhen Tyrion presses Varys for information about Mandon, Varys deliberately skims over Mandon's life and offers vague beliefs about the perfect Kingsguard to try and derail Tyrion's line of questioning, and when Varys pretends not to have known about Mandon trying to kill Tyrion, he watches Tyrion "sharply" to try and gather how much Tyrion himself knows, whether or not Tyrion will seek retribution for it from the anger on his face, and almost openly mocks him for the smile he gives. Tyrion briefly considers the idea that Varys is deliberately holding information back from him, but chooses instead to talk about other matters, which is what Varys wanted.
On the matter of Varys' choosing to support the Lannisters or Stannis, Varys once again tries to confuse Tyrion with riddles and not directly answer the question;
"He accuses my brother and sister of incest. I wonder how he came by that suspicion." "Perhaps he read a book and looked at the color of a bastard's hair, as Ned Stark did, and Jon Arryn before him. Or perhaps someone whispered it in his ear." The eunuch's laugh was not his usual giggle, but deeper and more throaty. "Someone like you, perchance?" "Am I suspected? It was not me." "If it had been, would you admit it?" "No. But why should I betray a secret I have kept so long? It is one thing to deceive a king, and quite another to hide from the cricket in the rushes and the little bird in the chimney. Besides, the bastards were there for all to see." - ACOK - TYRION IIIWe know for certain that Varys didn't want the WotFK to start so soon or for the truth of Cersei's children to come out in AGOT because he wanted more time for Viserys' forces to grow in strength and come closer to Westeros in order to invade, either to take the throne for themselves or be the ones to kill the beloved Robert Baratheon and paint themselves as villainous usurpers to make fAegon more heroic and not taint him with Robert's blood on his hands.
However, like with Cersei and Tyrion, Varys needs to tell those on the Small Council a certain amount of secretive information in order to gain their trust and support, including Stannis. That Varys even chooses to give a deeper and more unsettling laugh about the matter is another example of him openly laughing about his treachery in Tyrion's face and Tyrion not realising it.
When Tyrion almost stumbles upon this ruse and Varys realises that his laugh was too deep and questionable, Varys tries to brush it off by saying its harder to keep a secret secret if so many people are investigating it, and insists that there were so many of Robert's bastards to find for Stannis to figure out the truth on his own. But again, this last statement from Varys is littered with half-truths.
Varys insists it is hard to keep deceiving King Robert about the truth of his children's true parentage, and even harder to keep deceiving the truth from those who are deliberately looking for the truth and wanting to find it. This in itself is a reference to his believe that Stannis was always power-hungry for the Iron Throne, and was just looking for an excuse to try to claim it for himself as Robert's true heir, regardless of whether or not Cersei's children were Robert's or not.
But his own comment about "betraying a secret I have held for so long" is a direct allusion to fAegon's existence, and his determination not to reveal the truth of his existence to anyone, including Tyrion.
Even when Tyrion rides with Illyrio and Jon Connington's entourage in ADWD, Tyrion is only led to believe that they are going to support Daenerys' claim for the Iron Throne, and has to work out for himself that fAegon is actually Aegon and the one Varys and Illyrio wish to crown;
Young Griff hesitated. "Lannister? Your fatherâ" "âis dead. At my hand. If it please Your Grace to call me Yollo or Hugor, so be it, but know that I was born Tyrion of House Lannister, trueborn son of Tywin and Joanna, both of whom I slew. Men will tell you that I am a kingslayer, a kinslayer, and a liar, and all of that is true ⊠but then, we are a company of liars, are we not? Take your feigned father. Griff, is it?" The dwarf sniggered. "You should thank the gods that Varys the Spider is a part of this plot of yours. Griff would not have fooled the cockless wonder for an instant, no more than it did me. No lord, my lordship says, no knight. And I'm no dwarf. Just saying a thing does not make it true. Who better to raise Prince Rhaegar's infant son than Prince Rhaegar's dear friend Jon Connington, once Lord of Griffin's Roost and Hand of the King?" "Be quiet." Griff's voice was uneasy. - ADWD - TYRION VAfter Tyrion works out the truth and manipulates both fAegon and Jon Connington into riding for Westeros instead of joining forces with Daenerys, he disappears and goes off to seek her out.
This likely angers Varys, and is the reason why Varys no longer affectionately calls Tyrion by his name or by '"lord" and instead refers to him as "the imp" in ADWD's epilogue, a term that Varys knows Tyrion hates;
Ser Kevan tried to rise, but the strength had left him. He could not feel his legs. "I thought the crossbow fitting. You shared so much with Lord Tywin, why not that? Your niece will think the Tyrells had you murdered, mayhaps with the connivance of the Imp. The Tyrells will suspect her. Someone somewhere will find a way to blame the Dornishmen. Doubt, division, and mistrust will eat the very ground beneath your boy king, whilst Aegon raises his banner above Storm's End and the lords of the realm gather round him." "Aegon?" For a moment he did not understand. Then he remembered. A babe swaddled in a crimson cloak, the cloth stained with his blood and brains. "Dead. He's dead." - ADWD - EPILOGUEVarys chooses to frame Tyrion for Kevan's murder, **deliberately and intentionally further putting his life in danger by Cersei's wrath, already knowing that Tyrion has a large bounty on his head because of her, and talks lowly of Tyrion by calling him an "Imp" and referring to his "connivance" in a very scorned tone.
Varys never considered Tyrion a friend or ally in ASOIAF and was just using him, another lie that he tells throughout the series, and by the end of ADWD, he hates Tyrion for his scheming and knowing too much information than Varys wished him to know.
But there is a bigger telling point about how much Varys uses Tyrion, and a more ground-breaking twist in the narrative that reflects both how much Varys underestimates Tyrion and how much Varys never cared for him;
In ASOS, Varys didn't tell Tyrion how to reach the Tower of the Hand to go and kill Tywin. Varys told him this key information so that Tyrion could go and kill Shae instead, who Varys considered a greater threat to him.
Shae is one of the few, perhaps the only, people in ASOIAF to see through Varys' disguises;
A whiff of something rank made him turn his head. Shae stood in the door behind him, dressed in the silvery robe he'd given her. I loved a maid as white as winter, with moonglow in her hair. Behind her stood one of the begging brothers, a portly man in filthy patched robes, his bare feet crusty with dirt, a bowl hung about his neck on a leather thong where a septon would have worn a crystal. The smell of him would have gagged a rat. "Lord Varys has come to see you," Shae announced. The begging brother blinked at her, astonished. Tyrion laughed. "To be sure. How is it you knew him when I did not?" She shrugged. "It's still him. Only dressed different." - ACOK - TYRION XThis catches Varys off guard, and any chance of seeing him being angry or looking threatened is waved away from the reader when Tyrion laughs it off and turns his attention again to his paramour Shae.
Wearing disguises is a very important part of Varys' many schemes, including visiting Ned Stark in the Black Cells as the gaoler Rugen;
"Wine," a voice answered. It was not the rat-faced man; this gaoler was stouter, shorter, though he wore the same leather half cape and spiked steel cap. "Drink, Lord Eddard." He thrust a wineskin into Ned's hands. The voice was strangely familiar, yet it took Ned Stark a moment to place it. "Varys?" he said groggily when it came. He touched the man's face. "I'm not ⊠not dreaming this. You're here." The eunuch's plump cheeks were covered with a dark stubble of beard. Ned felt the coarse hair with his fingers. Varys had transformed himself into a grizzled turnkey, reeking of sweat and sour wine. "How did you ⊠what sort of magician are you?" - AGOT - EDDARD XVHis disguise as Rugen is very important to Varys' plans after Tyrion's disappearance from King's Landing, as Varys seeks to frame Rugen as a Tyrell puppet who broke Tyrion from imprisonment on the Tyrells' behalf, to sow division and further paranoia between Cersei and the Tyrells;
Gold, yes, but the moment Cersei took it she could tell that it was wrong. Too small, she thought, too thin. The coin was old and worn. On one side was a king's face in profile, on the other side the imprint of a hand. "This is no dragon," she said. "No," Qyburn agreed. "It dates from before the Conquest, Your Grace. The king is Garth the Twelfth, and the hand is the sigil of House Gardener." Of Highgarden. Cersei closed her hand around the coin. What treachery is this? Mace Tyrell had been one of Tyrion's judges, and had called loudly for his death. Was that some ploy? Could he have been plotting with the Imp all the while, conspiring at Father's death? With Tywin Lannister in his grave, Lord Tyrell was an obvious choice to be King's Hand, but even so . . . "You will not speak of this with anyone," she commanded. - AFFC - CERSEI IIBut this ploy to incite conflict between the Lannisters and Tyrells would have failed if Shae had lived, as she had seen through Varys' disguises and could've warned Cersei of it, something which Varys could not allow, especially given that he considered her one of Cersei's pawns after Tyrion's trial.
It is also fundamentally not in Varys' interest for Tyrion to kill Tywin, as keeping Tywin alive for now would ensure the Dornish would have someone to rise up and seek vengeance against for Elia's murder. As readers are shown in AFFC and ADWD Dornish chapters, the Martells are divided and frankly confused about how to seek vengeance for Elia's murder now that Tywin, Gregor and Armory Lorch - the three men involved in her murder - are now dead. **If Tywin had lived, Varys could've played on the Dornish thirst for vengeance against him and had fAegon promise them it in exchange for their support, something which they likely would've agreed to.
So by this point in the post, we've explored some of the key lies of Varys' character to know for sure what he is not;
- He is not the victim of slavery or a sacrificial victim to magical fires, nor does he abhor those who worship R'hllor or magical flames
- He does not hate the killing and suffering of innocent children, and has actually sought to profit from it in the past
- He has never been a friend or ally to Tyrion Lannister but has instead used him, and even manipulated him into killing Shae to protect one of Varys' own future schemes
Well, Varys is not a eunuch, and in fact fAegon's true father by blood. Varys has deliberately spent his life lying about being a eunuch in order to discourage people from the truth that he is the father of fAegon by Illyrioâs sister, and wants to control the Iron Throne through fAegon.
Recall Varys' conversation with Tyrion in ACOK that I previously cited earlier;
"He accuses my brother and sister of incest. I wonder how he came by that suspicion." "Perhaps he read a book and looked at the color of a bastard's hair, as Ned Stark did, and Jon Arryn before him. Or perhaps someone whispered it in his ear." The eunuch's laugh was not his usual giggle, but deeper and more throaty. "Someone like you, perchance?" "Am I suspected? It was not me." "If it had been, would you admit it?" "No. But why should I betray a secret I have kept so long? It is one thing to deceive a king, and quite another to hide from the cricket in the rushes and the little bird in the chimney. Besides, the bastards were there for all to see." - ACOK - TYRION III"Why should I betray a secret I have kept so long?" is the biggest hint towards fAegon's existence and Varys' own true motivations in the entire series. Varys makes this spur of the moment claim after being caught off guard by Tyrion and doesn't think it through before saying it and letting Tyrion realise there is more to him.
Varys was never castrated and he is not bald. He deliberately shaves his head to hide his true parentage and lies about being a eunuch to discourage people from believing that he is capable of fathering a child, a child with Blackfyre blood that he wishes to sit on the Iron Throne, a secret that Varys has cared for and kept so long.
The last time we see Varys in ADWD, he finally begins to tell the truth about fAegon's existence, and when he does, and speaks about the son he loves, he begins to speak in his real, deeper and non-emasculated voice;**
"Aegon?" For a moment he did not understand. Then he remembered. A babe swaddled in a crimson cloak, the cloth stained with his blood and brains. "Dead. He's dead." "No." The eunuch's voice seemed deeper. "He is here. Aegon has been shaped for rule since before he could walk. He has been trained in arms, as befits a knight to be, but that was not the end of his education. He reads and writes, he speaks several tongues, he has studied history and law and poetry. A septa has instructed him in the mysteries of the Faith since he was old enough to understand them. He has lived with fisherfolk, worked with his hands, swum in rivers and mended nets and learned to wash his own clothes at need. He can fish and cook and bind up a wound, he knows what it is like to be hungry, to be hunted, to be afraid. Tommen has been taught that kingship is his right. Aegon knows that kingship is his duty, that a king must put his people first, and live and rule for them." - ADWD - EPILOGUEThis is who Varys truly is - not a eunuch, not a victim of slavery or castration, not a man who weeps for the suffering of children, not a friend of Tyrion Lannister, but a loving father who wishes to cast a very large shadow over the greatest empire the world of ASOIAF has ever known.
TLDR:
Varys is not a eunuch but instead the father of fAegon, a secret he has spent his life protecting, and a lie he has spent his life telling to better protect his son.
Varys does not hate R'hllor or those who worship magical flames, his entire story about his manhood being sacrificed to flames is a lie he tells to gain Tyrion's trust in their efforts to defeat Stannis in ACOK. Varys is close friends with Illyrio, a man who praises R'hllor, and spent the early parts of his life encouraging Aerys to feed innocent people to the flames of wildfire.
Varys does not hate the suffering of innocent children, he was prepared to buy an innocent child from a man and sacrifice him in order to protect the "real" Aegon, he was prepared to abandon Rhaenys to her brutal death even if he could have saved her too and prepared to send Viserys and Daenerys into a doomed invasion of Westeros that would've led to their deaths just to make fAegon appear a more heroic saviour compared to them.
Varys was never a friend or ally to Tyrion but instead was using him ever since they first met. He has repeatedly withheld important information from him such as who hired Mandon Moore to kill Tyrion and how Stannis figured out the truth about Cersei's children, and on frequent occasions has nearly openly laughed in Tyrion's face at both his misfortune and the information Varys withheld from him. Varys also manipulated Tyrion into killing Shae so that she would not expose Varys' identity as Rugen and didn't trust Tyrion with the information about fAegon's existence, something that Tyrion had to figure out himself. Varys also talks lowly of Tyrion at the end of ADWD as a "conniving Imp" which reflects Varys' true feelings about Tyrion.
Varys has spent his life shaving his hair and lying about being a eunuch to discourage anyone from believing he could father fAegon and better protect him, so that fAegon could one day take the Iron Throne, and cast a very large shadow over the Targaryen Empire forever.
Thanks for reading, if you enjoyed this theory be sure to read some of my other theories below;
All the signs that Tywin directly gave the Mountain the order to badly mistreat Elia Martell
The Father Rhaegaer, the Son Jon and the Holy Ghost Ghost, religious symbolism
Mance Rayder is a servant of the Others
Leyton Hightower is the Lord of Light and Malora the Mad Maid is Quaithe
2022 archive of ASOIAF theories available at the bottom of this post
2023.06.04 16:36 throwaway_scholar3 Fig. 3a analysis
 | IntroductionFig. 3a is the title of the hand-drawn insert included with vinyl copies of F⯠A⯠â. It is a mysterious and, to be honest, unhinged-looking document. I think most people stare at it for a bit and then bounce off of it. Iâd like to offer my analysis as to what parts of it may mean.A high-resolution scan of Fig. 3a AnalysisLet us begin with the diagram itself â the faulty schematics of the ruined machine. As its essence, it is a circumscribed triangle with an X/Y axis that has curious labels. The X axis has two sets of labels: a musical note and an emotion (the emotion is denoted by square brackets). The Y axis has only emotion labels.Consider for a moment the space between the notes F# and A# on a keyboard. When examining a single octave, thereâs not much between them, and G# is in the center. I think this interpretation is probably not one weâre meant to make, and I think the next three interpretations will explain why. If we instead consider F# and A# across two octaves, we get something a bit more interesting: a range of notes large enough for some chords and/or melodies, and the note D right in the middle. Put a pin in that. A 44-key keyboard, for reference Considering this space between three octaves leads to yet a larger range of notes with the note G# in the middle once again. I still think this is a red herring, because of something weâve been ignoring: the scale in the bottom right of the diagram. This scale, when superimposed on the circle, approximately matches the distance between the edge of the circle and its center. The numbers on the scale (0, 3, 5, 12, 15, 18), also appear to be musical intervals. So what happens if, across four octaves, we count 18 semitones to the right from a low F# and 18 semitones to the left from a high A#? What we end up with are two ranges: F#2 to C4 and E4 to A#5. Directly between these two ranges is middle D, or D4, or 293.665 hertz. Okay, that gives us a plausible explanation of the X axis. How about the Y axis? The lesser labeling on this axis gives us less to go on, but we are given one additional clue on the far left side of the page: two vertical ranges representing TAPE HISS and TAPE RUMBLE. These align with the HI and LO markings on the Y axis line, indicating that higher frequencies at the center of the X axis get closer to fear whereas low frequencies get closer to hope. Observe that no note information is present in tape hiss or tape rumble, indicating that perhaps the note doesnât change on the Y axis, but rather the expression of that note? Perhaps fear is a D6 and hope is a D2? ErrataWhy is LO MID to the right and HI MID to the left? I would expect the opposite. This might imply that the X axis is flipped horizontally, but changing the range to be A#2 to F#5 results in the two ranges overlapping, which might not be correct.What role do effects and different instrumentation play? Music is rarely made with nothing but pure sine tones. Thereâs near-infinite room for expression of any note. How does all of that map onto Fig. 3a? What is the Babylonian Triangle of Captivity? Is it a good thing that its borders prevent pure regret and pure desire? Why are its corners labeled with all negative things? Is any point on the graph that touches the circumference bad? If so, what is the motivation for straying from the center? The center of the graph is called the signal source. Is it truly just a middle D? What role do these blue sparks, black smoke, and white flames play? Are they an expression of synesthesia? Why is the circumference of the graph referred to as a tape loop so long it will take three lifetimes to hear in its entiretyâŠ? Is it implied that the circumference rotates? Does that take the axes with it? ConclusionUltimately, this post adds what is perhaps only a small amount of insight into Fig. 3a, but it's more than I've seen posted anywhere and I think it's a good place to launch further analysis and discussion from. |
2023.06.04 15:46 Toothdoctor-fixteeth Need Help with Midlane build
I'm currently playing K'sante midlane and doing pritty well, as I play the Korean version of the game in Korean I struggle to name Items in my build. Even tho I do well in my games, sokeing up dammage for my team as a tank and consistently getting 5 to 8 kills a game while not feeding, for my Items I usually pick the blue ice glove first and the boots depending on what the champion is that I am fighting against, as for my second item I pick the white chest plate that if you activate gives you a shield, this is to make up for K'sante's lack of durability while in attack form, my runes are the Green rune, focusing on tower dammage and healing and the blue rune with the cooke for sustain against chip dammage.
While I don't have any problems necessarily I feel like I could be doing more or better, If you could kindly share some of your builds for K'sante, thankyou.
submitted by Toothdoctor-fixteeth to KSanteMains [link] [comments]
While I don't have any problems necessarily I feel like I could be doing more or better, If you could kindly share some of your builds for K'sante, thankyou.
2023.06.04 15:26 Snoo-84119 First game in a long time
I haven't been to a game since the final game of the 2019 season. 2020 happened, then 2021 didn't bring the promise of a vaccine adding in my mom getting sick.
2022, she got a bit sicker, and I was afraid to go to games in fear of bringing something back to her, even though the entire 24 months she fought, she never had anything but cancer.
I shared this love of the White Sox with her. It was something unique and fun and a tradition passed down. I never wanted to go to a game without her again, but a friend called me yesterday. He had an extra ticket and did I want it. I asked him to let me think about it and waited for a sign.
My sign was this: the friend who offered it was the man who drove 50 miles to sit with me and my mom, after she passed, while waiting for my brother and sister to arrive. He sat and talked, listened, and ironically, we laughed too. I took the ticket.
Today is my birthday. I am 42, and I'm going to my first game without her. I miss her something fierce and as I sit and reflect on my first birthday without her, with tears, I can't help but be a tad excited for a potential sweep.
Keep watching, Mom. They'll get there again someday.
And as always, Let's Go, Sox!
submitted by Snoo-84119 to whitesox [link] [comments]
2022, she got a bit sicker, and I was afraid to go to games in fear of bringing something back to her, even though the entire 24 months she fought, she never had anything but cancer.
I shared this love of the White Sox with her. It was something unique and fun and a tradition passed down. I never wanted to go to a game without her again, but a friend called me yesterday. He had an extra ticket and did I want it. I asked him to let me think about it and waited for a sign.
My sign was this: the friend who offered it was the man who drove 50 miles to sit with me and my mom, after she passed, while waiting for my brother and sister to arrive. He sat and talked, listened, and ironically, we laughed too. I took the ticket.
Today is my birthday. I am 42, and I'm going to my first game without her. I miss her something fierce and as I sit and reflect on my first birthday without her, with tears, I can't help but be a tad excited for a potential sweep.
Keep watching, Mom. They'll get there again someday.
And as always, Let's Go, Sox!
2023.06.04 15:04 CelestialNight_ Are achievements in AC Syndicate broken?
I've been trying to unlock all the achievements in AC Syndicate but certain achievements such as "Chimney Sweep", "Look Out Blow" and "Treasure Hunter" are just not popping for me. What's going on here?
submitted by CelestialNight_ to assassinscreed [link] [comments]
2023.06.04 14:50 Purokishii I recently unboxed these Kingsnakes MW pattern: 801 after only 20 cases, I was wondering if I could get a price evaluation on them please. <3
 | submitted by Purokishii to ohnePixel [link] [comments] |
2023.06.04 14:26 BiasMushroom Nature of Humanity Ch. 13
Part 6 of âDestination; Wrissâ
A Fanfic of u/SpacePaladin15âs work âThe nature of Predatorsâ Thank you for the story!
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Memory transcription subject: Elva, Combat Medic Specialist.
Date [standardized human time]: September 27th, 2136
Our armored convoy sped down the road. Its bumps and jostles made sitting comfortably rather difficult. Maya tried not to bounce off of the seat across from me. As her eyes locked onto mine in a competition for dominance. She started to shake her fist at me and I returned the gesture in kind. After the third maybe fourth shake on account of the rough ride we thrust our arms outwards at each other, and she held her fist in the air while I gently covered her paw with my own flat one.
âYou are too good at this game Elva! Itâs not fair!â My tail started to wag as best it could on the seats-
ERROR: SEVERE MEMORY CORRUPTION DETECTED
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Memory transcription subject: Elva, Combat Medic Specialist.
Date [standardized human time]: September 27th, 2136
The growing burning sensation and throbbing in my head and body grew into an unbearable pain. I peeled my face off of the pavement to the sound of gunfire, explosions and low flying ships. My attention was immediately drawn to the inferno that was a burning town around me.
James and Alexander had taken cover behind the bombed out husk of the first armored vehicle in our convoy while the other had been pulled over to the side to give us a makeshift fort. I started to crawl to their position when I noticed Maya laying next to me. I gently laid a paw on her to ask where I was needed and she didnât move.
A large piece of metal had penetrated her helmet and was jutting out of the side. I started to examine her wounds only to look into her eyes and see that her soul had already flown into the night. My paws found their way to her neck but could not find a pulse. I started to try and do chest compressions.
One.Two.Three. Gunshots whizzed by my head forcing me to duck. As I laid against her I could already feel that her body had begun to cool. I was too late.
I can feel my heart begin to race. My breathing became frantic. I was panicking or going into shock and both of those will kill me right now. I scanned for anyone I could approach and steady myself with. Sergeant Amélia and her squad were pinned down almost [50 yards] away guarding the war reporters and civilians. Thankfully I found Alexander and Jamie were a lot closer and if I crawled I could maybe get there safely. I held my breath as I started towards them under incoming fire. The sounds of screaming civilians sent pangs of fear through my body begging me to stand up and run. A Gojid did just that and fell to the ground headless, and set an example of what panicking would bring to me.
The only thought I could find was to observe my surroundings and react accordingly. Looking around as I crawled painfully slowly, I saw the Venlil reporter from Dadâs news crew had set up a camera and was desperately trying to record what was happening. Bjorn took a shot to the arm and fell to the ground. Their medic pulled him to the side and started to treat him. I could hear the unmistakable scream of an Arxur bomber followed by another vehicle exploding.
I pulled myself up next to Jamie who genuinely smiled at me. âOH THANK GOD! I THOUGHT YOU DIED TOO!â Several shots punctured through the old vehicle that was our cover. I looked to my alien friend to displace my fear only to see the same fear looking back at me.
Before I could respond Alexander screamed âGET DOWN THEYâRE MAKING ANOTHER PASS!â followed by the screaming Arxur death machine swooping down at us again. Another explosion that thankfully didnât take anyone's lives, but still seemed to put us all closer to death by obliterating our cover.
I raspily tried to ask âWhat's going on?!? Last I remember I was in the back of the transport!â The three of us tried to hug the ground as best we could as our cover was further reduced to molten slag.
Our Sergeant slapped Jamie on the back and pointed to a nearby building. âCRAWL NOW OR WE DIE HERE!â I started to envy Humans and their clothes as we crawled through flaming debris and scattered glass into the bombed out ruins of an old arcade.
Power had yet to die in the city so the cold blast of air ran across my body in stark contrast to the fires outside. The sounds of arcade jingles trying to tempt the passersby to play them failed to drown out the screaming, explosions and gunfire in the chaos that is now a second full blown invasion.
Alexander took a raspy breath. âWhere is Luca? I never found him!â
Memories of Luca sitting towards the cab of our transport teasing Maya flooded back into the forefront of my mind. âHe was sitting near the cab of my transport⊠Did anyone else make it out?â
Alexander shook his head. âNo⊠We need to keep moving and fall back to base. Jamie, take point and lets try and leave through a back exit and circle around to AmĂ©liaâs squad. Elva stay behind me.â
The three of us made our way to the back of the store. A mild whimpering came from a nearby door and distracted us for a brief moment. Alexander waved for Jamie to head to the sound, who followed it to a small broom closet. Slowly Jamie opened the door to a small trio of children. One Gojid, one Mazic, and one Nevok screamed as they beheld the heavily armed Marines.
Both of the marines stepped aside and looked to me for help. By the time my first paw stepped forward the three children rushed me and quickly herded behind me. I turned to them and did my best to sound confident âOk you three. Things are really dangerous right now but we canât stay here. We have to go around and regroup with the other marines and retreat to safety ok? Stay behind me and do as I tell you ok?â
I could not make out the words the children said, but I could only hope they would listen as we marched forward. The door at the back of the building led to a small alley that was thankfully clear of hostiles. Jamie led the way and Alexander guarded our flank while I herded the children and tried to keep them quiet. One blind turn and all that separated us from reuniting with the rest of our escort was one empty street.
I felt the MÌŽaÌžzÌžiÌ”cÌž ̶c̶h̶iÌŽlÌ”dÌ” ÌŽp̶rÌ”eÌ”sÌŽsÌ” Ì”iÌ”nÌ·tÌžoÌŽ ÌŽmÌŽyÌž ÌŽbÌ”aÌ”cÌŽkÌž ÌŽa̶sÌ· Ì”tÌ”hÌ”e̶yÌŽ Ì”sÌža̶wÌ” ̶t̶h̶eÌŽiÌžrÌ· ÌžmÌ”oÌŽtÌžhÌ”e̶rÌ” ÌŽbÌžeÌ”iÌŽn̶g̶ ÌžpÌžr̶oÌŽtÌ·e̶cÌŽtÌžeÌŽdÌ· ÌŽbÌŽyÌŽ ÌžAÌžmÌŽĂ©Ì¶l̶iÌžaÌ·âÌžsÌž Ì”sÌžqÌ”uÌŽaÌ”dÌ”.ÌŽ ÌŽWÌ·iÌ·t̶hÌž Ì·a̶ ̶m̶i̶xÌžt̶uÌ”r̶eÌž ÌŽoÌžfÌž ̶p̶a̶n̶iÌŽc̶ Ì·aÌžnÌždÌž Ì·hÌžo̶pÌ”eÌ· ÌŽtÌŽhÌŽeÌžyÌŽ ÌžsÌ·hÌ”oÌŽuÌ”t̶eÌŽdÌž ÌŽâÌžM̶OÌ·MÌŽM̶Y̶!ÌŽâ̶ ̶a̶nÌ·dÌŽ Ì·sÌ”pÌ·r̶iÌ·nÌ·t̶eÌŽd̶ ̶oÌŽuÌŽtÌ· Ì·oÌŽfÌŽ ̶mÌžyÌŽ ÌŽrÌ·eÌŽaÌžc̶h̶ ÌŽaÌ”nÌžd̶ ÌžsÌ·aÌŽfÌ”eÌžtÌ”y̶ Ì·iÌ·n̶tÌŽoÌž-
ERROR: SEVERE MEMORY CORRUPTION DETECTED
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Memory transcription subject: Elva, Combat Medic Specialist.
Date [standardized human time]: September 27th, 2136
MÌ”yÌ” ̶hÌ”eÌ·aÌžrÌ·tÌ” Ì”wÌžaÌžsÌž beating far faster than what was healthy for a Venlil. I handed the b̶lÌžoÌ”oÌ·dÌ· covered Nevok to their mother and tried to shake myself out of shock. I watched through hazy eyes as B̶jÌžoÌŽrÌžn̶,Ì· Ì”FÌ·rÌŽa̶nÌ”cÌ”iÌŽsÌ·c̶oÌŽ ̶aÌ·nÌ·dÌ· ̶MÌ·aÌžrÌŽiÌ”aÌ”,Ì”ÌÌÌ§Í were dragged back into cover. My paws made their way to Bjorn's body and began to work to stitch up his wounds. I felt a firm hand grab my shoulder and pull me off.
Alexander stared into my eyes and shook his head. His glass blue eyes spoke of the pain he was feeling while his brow tried to hide his rage. Alexander looked up to the rest of our group and shouted âFALL BACK!â and the marines started to cover our retreat. One group would stay behind and suppress the Arxur that are stalking us with drooling maws while the other group fled to set up a new fall back point and defend their retreat.
A large explosion sounded in the distance and the radios we were all carrying came to life with the sounds of hundreds of UN troops desperately trying to communicate. By some method unknown to me Pullay managed to discern information about another group retreating not far outside of town as well as a rendezvous point for larger scale transport back to the base. Slowly we moved block by block and made our way to what we hoped to be our salvation.
Despite our group's best efforts and cohesion, the Greys are relentless. Hundreds of cattle ships descend from the sky every hour. Every quarter claw we spent fighting, the Greys were destroying the Cradle and whittling us down to nothing.
We fought our way down the street. No bodies littered the town yet, like in the aftermath videos the Greys would taunt us with. We drew closer to the corner of the block. Yet in an instant several gray reptilians appeared from around the corner and opened fire without any hesitation. I watched another medic take several shots to their torso before the Greyâs suffered a similar fate. I rushed to their side only to find again that I was too late.
AmĂ©lia ordered us to advance. We could not stop here. Jamie jogged beside me as we all scanned for any sign of hostiles âWe are coming back for them. We just have to regroup first.â
We only got halfway between blocks when more shots rained down upon us from the rooftops. Before I could even see where they came from the Humans made a small dinging sound and hurled rocks onto the roofs. No one but the humans would have predicted the roofs exploding sending red slabs of cannibals sliding down the walls.
I took stock of our situation again. This time a young Gojid couple were covered in the blood of another civilian. I sprinted to them âLook at me! Donât think about it! Just focus on me!â I managed to stop them and a few others from fleeing, but watched in horror as half of our civilians started to stampede the very way we came. I tried to shove the few we had left after the marines and finally got our group making progress again.
The sounds of gunfire and screams came from behind us and we all started to move a bit faster. Several marines noticed movement in the windows only to lower their weapons when Gojidâs appeared. I and Pullay approached them. âCome with us now! We are evacuating and canât hold this position!â Yet they didnât move, their eyes locked onto the marines. Pullay spoke calmly to them âYou can come with the Humans who wonât harm you OR you can stay with the Arxur who WILL make sure your deaths are as PAINFUL as possible. Make a choice now, WE are LEAVING.â
Another group of Arxur rounded the corner, but this time had no clue we were here and were cut down with them only returning a few shots. We led our new civilians to the herd. They had little difficulty with the decision after that. A mysterious fate is better than the one we all know.
An errant Arxur round had found its way into our group and embedded itself into Jamieâs rifle, throwing it out of his hand. He picked it up only to let out a curse and threw his destroyed rifle to the ground before pulling a folding shovel out of his pack. With a few practiced motions he unfolded it and gripped it with both hands. I begged the stars and sun to keep him safe. âYou canât be considering using THAT as your weapon?!?â
A devilish grin spread across his face. âDonât worry! Iâm just using this until I can scavenge one off of a dead Croc!â Alexander ordered us to shut up and move out. We continued to slowly retreat from this damned town. The next ambush came sooner than we expected. We didnât have enough time to even clear the block before the fighting started again. If it werenât for Jamie pulling me into cover I donât know if I would be amongst the dead now.
While the Arxur were relentless, they were also apparently stupid. Every ambush they had pulled off was thwarted when they began to sprint towards our civilians. The trained marines had almost no trouble landing their shots. I half expected to see more civilians stampede again, but it appeared they had learned what happens to a stampeding herd.
Finally we could see the edge of the farming town. The hope of reinforcements as well as a way to safety reinvigorated us for the final push. Yet that hope was quickly dashed when the Greys sprang their final ambush. Three vehicles in front of us exploded blocking the street. The routeâs right and left had been blocked with destroyed vehicles and Arxur were pouring out of the buildings behind us with happy looks on their faces.
Jamie had half a second to scream âFUCK!â as rounds started to sail at us. This time the Arxur did not blindly charge us. They stayed behind cover. Any explosives lobbed at them were fled from and into cover that protected them from human fire. Instead of Arxur on both sides of us, they made sure not to risk shooting their own soldiers⊠OH BY THE STARS! Those werenât ambushes. Those were just raiders running into us. THIS is them actually planning!
We scrambled for any cover we could. Jamie crouched near me while we both could only uselessly watch our friends and charges die. The Nevok mother sobbed whilst holding her only child, Papaâs reporter friend desperately started to broadcast to whoever could hear us, AmĂ©lia pulled Pullayâs orange-soaked body into cover and I finally found Alexander laying in a slowly expanding crimson pool out of anyoneâs reach.
This time I watched as our marines fell one after another. I watched shots land near civilians forcing them out of cover only to die in an instant. We were actually trapped this time, without so much as a chance to fight back.
An explosion landed nearby raining dirt down upon us. For some stars forsaken reason the reporter decided now was a good time to start a news broadcast so the entire galaxy could see every human die and fail to stop the Greys!!! He started to shout into his camera âI AM CURRENTLY WITH A GROUP OF MARINES NEAR THE CITY OF WIEREWOOD-â
My pulse began to race as I watched a red puff come from Jamieâs arm and leg before he collapsed onto the ground. Fuck the consequences I canât lose him too! I sprinted to his side as the heat from several plasma rounds threatened to end my life. His leg was the first thing I saw. A round had gone straight through his femur, searing it in half. I ripped the Saline/anesthetic container out of my aid kit and flushed the wound of debris. As quickly as I could I packed the wound with gauze and started to bind it. His blood started to stain my paws red, as I realized I was out of sterile gloves. I begged for whatever was listening to not let it get infected but with it as fixed as I could mÌžaÌžn̶aÌŽgÌŽeÌ· Ìža̶tÌž ̶tÌ”hÌŽeÌ· Ì·mÌŽoÌ·mÌŽeÌ”nÌžtÌ·.̶ ̶IÌ· ÌŽw̶eÌ·nÌ·tÌ” Ì”f̶oÌŽrÌŽ Ì”hÌ·i̶sÌž ̶a̶rÌ”mÌ”,Ì” Ì”w̶hÌ·iÌŽcÌ·hÌž Ì·pÌ”uÌ”lÌŽlÌžeÌ·dÌž ̶sÌ”tÌŽrÌžaÌži̶gÌ”h̶tÌž ̶oÌžuÌžtÌŽ ÌžoÌ·fÌŽ Ì·h̶iÌžsÌ· ÌŽsÌ·lÌžeÌŽeÌ”vÌ”eÌž-ÌŽ
ERROR: SEVERE MEMORY CORRUPTION DETECTED
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Memory transcription subject: Elva, Combat Medic Specialist.
Date [standardized human time]: September 27th, 2136
TÌžhÌžeÌŽ ÌžAÌ·rÌŽx̶uÌ·r̶ Ì·tÌ”hÌŽaÌŽtÌŽ Ì”hÌŽa̶dÌž ÌŽsÌ”tÌžeÌžpped out from hiding spoke to me. âWell, well well! What do we have here! Little pet taking care of master? Donât let me stop you prey! Patch him up and the Chief Hunter wants to see what all the noise⊠is⊠about⊠theyâre predators⊠OH SHIT.â was the last words that would ever come from that abomination onto sapience. I could feel my teeth break as I snarled with every bit of anger I could muster. My pistol left its holster and aligned with that fuckerâs head in a heart beat. I pulled the trigger as it started to charge me. I watched a hole rip through its neck then I watched the rest of my shots miss.
With a wide sweep of its arm I felt its claws dig into my flesh. I felt my body lift off of the ground. I watched the world move slowly underneath me. I watched it slowly come up to meet me.
ERROR: SEVERE MEMORY CORRUPTION DETECTED
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Memory transcription subject: Elva, Combat Medic Specialist.
Date [standardized human time]: September 27th, 2136
I screamed as I took in a long deep breath and pain jolted through my body. I forced myself to look at my abdomen and orange flesh- my intestines were hanging out. A familiar scarred face of the man I forced into a medical examination came to my side holding my medkit. âThe- the TOradOL/SAliNE! The TorADol/SaLINe! Gotta clean- clean guts first! Flush it over!â
The rebuilt human started to douse my guts in the pain relieving saline yet despite its name only pain rang through before the drugs kicked in. âNext- slOWLy- put them back instartingatone- end and working them in-â I controlled my breathing as he had to slowly pull my body apart to reinsert my guts. Thank you stars the pain meds are kicking in. I donât want to feel this.
âFlush again⊠and get the medi-foam can.â It took a painfully long time for him to realize what I needed him to do. He turned the can upside down and inserted it into my wound. I suppressed a scream but still bucked as the fluid filled my abdominal cavity hopefully flushing out any debris.
The bionic man held me down as I started to reflexively kick. He picked the lid off of the bio-foam can and activated a small amount to come out. He took a moment to read the directions and looked to me âsorryâ before he jammed it down as well. I knew he had to but I still cursed him out of pure reflex. The foam expanded and filled the gaps in. If I had a perforated intestine it would spill its contents into the foam pouch instead of my body.
âNow- the- stitches- SEw- me- together- tightly!-â He took the pre-threaded needle and started to dig it into my flesh. The simple guide on the lid of my kit helped to guide his hand. One painful pull after another, I felt myself come back together. I focused on anything else. I turned my head to see the Nevok mother stepping onto a transport still holding her child as safely as she could. Jamie was being loaded onto a stretcher with a few bandages I know I didnât do. I let out a small sigh of relief at the small sign he still lived but lost it a moment later.. AmĂ©lia leaned against a car as crimson fluid flowed from her mouth.
I tracked my friends in my mind. All that was left of our little group was Jamie and myself now. The memories of our squad started to flood back in as I felt my pulse drop. Iâm blacking out. Iâve lost a lot of blood. Need to spike the blood pressure. Need to find the blood loss and stop it. My mouth opened to speak-
ERROR: SEVERE MEMORY CORRUPTION DETECTED
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Memory transcription subject: Elva, Combat Medic Specialist.
Date [standardized human time]: September 27th, 2136
I DESPERATELY kicked as a wave of panic flowed through me. I could feel something holding me down stopping me from moving. A scared human face filled my vision and the mouth moved and words came out. The overwhelming urge to run coursed through my body. I desperately searched for anything that would help. The human held a small bag of synth blood in the air. I was partially strapped to a gurney. I turned my head and saw an empty vial of adrenaline.
Thatâs what happened. Pulse dropped. Blood transfusion. Adrenaline shot to keep the heart pumping. Panic is normal. Thatâs what adrenaline does. Breath ELVA. Breath. I could feel the panic start to subside. Two medics came over and started to lift me up. Once again Kaeden spoke but I couldnât quite make it out.
My hearing began to return and I could hear someone shout. âWe are out of room! Canât take anyone else with us!â another voice began to shout âWe canât leave anyone here! They wonât make it back in time! We all have to leave now!â
âWe donât have a choice! Either some of us get out or none of us get out! And these people wonât survive!â
âI-Iâll stay!â The small Venlil reporter for Prime news hopped off of the transport. âI-I need to cover this.â Another marine jumped off. âI volunteer.â I watched as a few more followed him. Their faces were a mixture of pride, terror and confidence that left me feeling like they might just survive this suicide mission. The scarred, gravitationally challenged manâs words finally reached my ears. âIt looks like you have enough room for the civilians now. Good luck and stay safe.â
I felt fear coursing through my veins as I shakily searched my UN provided poncho and grabbed two things; My spare small medkit and a few magazines for my pistol. âTake these! My pistol must have landed somewhere near where I did. Stay safe.â
It might have been the multiple concussions I received but the once-mutilated human looked to soften up for a moment as he took my small offer of help. He and the other volunteers disappeared out of sight as I was dragged onto the transport. The roar of the engine drowned out all chatter that might have given me some small comfort about abandoning the volunteers to their suicide mission.
All that kept me company was the bouncing of the transport, the sounds of explosions, Jamieâs unconscious body, as well as the realization that I was a medic that failed to save anyone.
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Iâd like to take a moment to thank u/CrusingNW for all the help proofreading several of these chapters. Every time I think Iâve managed to write something without 10 errors in it and they just go through and make it red. Itâs really been a big help! Iâd also like to thank u/RebelHero for letting me use Kaeden! Itâs one of a few crossovers I hope I get to do! (also Elva does know his name from adding the examination to his medical records) And I canât forget u/Thirsha_42 for working with me on an upcoming crossover!
As with all of my fanfics this is considered creative commons by myself so feel free to grab anything from my stories to use in your own works! I would appreciate a shout out for this but that isnât required.
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Will be in the comments or something. I donât even know anymore.
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submitted by BiasMushroom to HFY [link] [comments]
A Fanfic of u/SpacePaladin15âs work âThe nature of Predatorsâ Thank you for the story!
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Memory transcription subject: Elva, Combat Medic Specialist.
Date [standardized human time]: September 27th, 2136
Our armored convoy sped down the road. Its bumps and jostles made sitting comfortably rather difficult. Maya tried not to bounce off of the seat across from me. As her eyes locked onto mine in a competition for dominance. She started to shake her fist at me and I returned the gesture in kind. After the third maybe fourth shake on account of the rough ride we thrust our arms outwards at each other, and she held her fist in the air while I gently covered her paw with my own flat one.
âYou are too good at this game Elva! Itâs not fair!â My tail started to wag as best it could on the seats-
ERROR: SEVERE MEMORY CORRUPTION DETECTED
ESTIMATED TIME LOSS: 24 MINUTES
RESUME AT NEXT STABLE MEMORY?
/Y
Memory transcription subject: Elva, Combat Medic Specialist.
Date [standardized human time]: September 27th, 2136
The growing burning sensation and throbbing in my head and body grew into an unbearable pain. I peeled my face off of the pavement to the sound of gunfire, explosions and low flying ships. My attention was immediately drawn to the inferno that was a burning town around me.
James and Alexander had taken cover behind the bombed out husk of the first armored vehicle in our convoy while the other had been pulled over to the side to give us a makeshift fort. I started to crawl to their position when I noticed Maya laying next to me. I gently laid a paw on her to ask where I was needed and she didnât move.
A large piece of metal had penetrated her helmet and was jutting out of the side. I started to examine her wounds only to look into her eyes and see that her soul had already flown into the night. My paws found their way to her neck but could not find a pulse. I started to try and do chest compressions.
One.Two.Three. Gunshots whizzed by my head forcing me to duck. As I laid against her I could already feel that her body had begun to cool. I was too late.
I can feel my heart begin to race. My breathing became frantic. I was panicking or going into shock and both of those will kill me right now. I scanned for anyone I could approach and steady myself with. Sergeant Amélia and her squad were pinned down almost [50 yards] away guarding the war reporters and civilians. Thankfully I found Alexander and Jamie were a lot closer and if I crawled I could maybe get there safely. I held my breath as I started towards them under incoming fire. The sounds of screaming civilians sent pangs of fear through my body begging me to stand up and run. A Gojid did just that and fell to the ground headless, and set an example of what panicking would bring to me.
The only thought I could find was to observe my surroundings and react accordingly. Looking around as I crawled painfully slowly, I saw the Venlil reporter from Dadâs news crew had set up a camera and was desperately trying to record what was happening. Bjorn took a shot to the arm and fell to the ground. Their medic pulled him to the side and started to treat him. I could hear the unmistakable scream of an Arxur bomber followed by another vehicle exploding.
I pulled myself up next to Jamie who genuinely smiled at me. âOH THANK GOD! I THOUGHT YOU DIED TOO!â Several shots punctured through the old vehicle that was our cover. I looked to my alien friend to displace my fear only to see the same fear looking back at me.
Before I could respond Alexander screamed âGET DOWN THEYâRE MAKING ANOTHER PASS!â followed by the screaming Arxur death machine swooping down at us again. Another explosion that thankfully didnât take anyone's lives, but still seemed to put us all closer to death by obliterating our cover.
I raspily tried to ask âWhat's going on?!? Last I remember I was in the back of the transport!â The three of us tried to hug the ground as best we could as our cover was further reduced to molten slag.
Our Sergeant slapped Jamie on the back and pointed to a nearby building. âCRAWL NOW OR WE DIE HERE!â I started to envy Humans and their clothes as we crawled through flaming debris and scattered glass into the bombed out ruins of an old arcade.
Power had yet to die in the city so the cold blast of air ran across my body in stark contrast to the fires outside. The sounds of arcade jingles trying to tempt the passersby to play them failed to drown out the screaming, explosions and gunfire in the chaos that is now a second full blown invasion.
Alexander took a raspy breath. âWhere is Luca? I never found him!â
Memories of Luca sitting towards the cab of our transport teasing Maya flooded back into the forefront of my mind. âHe was sitting near the cab of my transport⊠Did anyone else make it out?â
Alexander shook his head. âNo⊠We need to keep moving and fall back to base. Jamie, take point and lets try and leave through a back exit and circle around to AmĂ©liaâs squad. Elva stay behind me.â
The three of us made our way to the back of the store. A mild whimpering came from a nearby door and distracted us for a brief moment. Alexander waved for Jamie to head to the sound, who followed it to a small broom closet. Slowly Jamie opened the door to a small trio of children. One Gojid, one Mazic, and one Nevok screamed as they beheld the heavily armed Marines.
Both of the marines stepped aside and looked to me for help. By the time my first paw stepped forward the three children rushed me and quickly herded behind me. I turned to them and did my best to sound confident âOk you three. Things are really dangerous right now but we canât stay here. We have to go around and regroup with the other marines and retreat to safety ok? Stay behind me and do as I tell you ok?â
I could not make out the words the children said, but I could only hope they would listen as we marched forward. The door at the back of the building led to a small alley that was thankfully clear of hostiles. Jamie led the way and Alexander guarded our flank while I herded the children and tried to keep them quiet. One blind turn and all that separated us from reuniting with the rest of our escort was one empty street.
I felt the MÌŽaÌžzÌžiÌ”cÌž ̶c̶h̶iÌŽlÌ”dÌ” ÌŽp̶rÌ”eÌ”sÌŽsÌ” Ì”iÌ”nÌ·tÌžoÌŽ ÌŽmÌŽyÌž ÌŽbÌ”aÌ”cÌŽkÌž ÌŽa̶sÌ· Ì”tÌ”hÌ”e̶yÌŽ Ì”sÌža̶wÌ” ̶t̶h̶eÌŽiÌžrÌ· ÌžmÌ”oÌŽtÌžhÌ”e̶rÌ” ÌŽbÌžeÌ”iÌŽn̶g̶ ÌžpÌžr̶oÌŽtÌ·e̶cÌŽtÌžeÌŽdÌ· ÌŽbÌŽyÌŽ ÌžAÌžmÌŽĂ©Ì¶l̶iÌžaÌ·âÌžsÌž Ì”sÌžqÌ”uÌŽaÌ”dÌ”.ÌŽ ÌŽWÌ·iÌ·t̶hÌž Ì·a̶ ̶m̶i̶xÌžt̶uÌ”r̶eÌž ÌŽoÌžfÌž ̶p̶a̶n̶iÌŽc̶ Ì·aÌžnÌždÌž Ì·hÌžo̶pÌ”eÌ· ÌŽtÌŽhÌŽeÌžyÌŽ ÌžsÌ·hÌ”oÌŽuÌ”t̶eÌŽdÌž ÌŽâÌžM̶OÌ·MÌŽM̶Y̶!ÌŽâ̶ ̶a̶nÌ·dÌŽ Ì·sÌ”pÌ·r̶iÌ·nÌ·t̶eÌŽd̶ ̶oÌŽuÌŽtÌ· Ì·oÌŽfÌŽ ̶mÌžyÌŽ ÌŽrÌ·eÌŽaÌžc̶h̶ ÌŽaÌ”nÌžd̶ ÌžsÌ·aÌŽfÌ”eÌžtÌ”y̶ Ì·iÌ·n̶tÌŽoÌž-
ERROR: SEVERE MEMORY CORRUPTION DETECTED
ESTIMATED TIME LOSS: 7 MINUTES
RESUME AT NEXT STABLE MEMORY?
/Y
Memory transcription subject: Elva, Combat Medic Specialist.
Date [standardized human time]: September 27th, 2136
MÌ”yÌ” ̶hÌ”eÌ·aÌžrÌ·tÌ” Ì”wÌžaÌžsÌž beating far faster than what was healthy for a Venlil. I handed the b̶lÌžoÌ”oÌ·dÌ· covered Nevok to their mother and tried to shake myself out of shock. I watched through hazy eyes as B̶jÌžoÌŽrÌžn̶,Ì· Ì”FÌ·rÌŽa̶nÌ”cÌ”iÌŽsÌ·c̶oÌŽ ̶aÌ·nÌ·dÌ· ̶MÌ·aÌžrÌŽiÌ”aÌ”,Ì”ÌÌÌ§Í were dragged back into cover. My paws made their way to Bjorn's body and began to work to stitch up his wounds. I felt a firm hand grab my shoulder and pull me off.
Alexander stared into my eyes and shook his head. His glass blue eyes spoke of the pain he was feeling while his brow tried to hide his rage. Alexander looked up to the rest of our group and shouted âFALL BACK!â and the marines started to cover our retreat. One group would stay behind and suppress the Arxur that are stalking us with drooling maws while the other group fled to set up a new fall back point and defend their retreat.
A large explosion sounded in the distance and the radios we were all carrying came to life with the sounds of hundreds of UN troops desperately trying to communicate. By some method unknown to me Pullay managed to discern information about another group retreating not far outside of town as well as a rendezvous point for larger scale transport back to the base. Slowly we moved block by block and made our way to what we hoped to be our salvation.
Despite our group's best efforts and cohesion, the Greys are relentless. Hundreds of cattle ships descend from the sky every hour. Every quarter claw we spent fighting, the Greys were destroying the Cradle and whittling us down to nothing.
We fought our way down the street. No bodies littered the town yet, like in the aftermath videos the Greys would taunt us with. We drew closer to the corner of the block. Yet in an instant several gray reptilians appeared from around the corner and opened fire without any hesitation. I watched another medic take several shots to their torso before the Greyâs suffered a similar fate. I rushed to their side only to find again that I was too late.
AmĂ©lia ordered us to advance. We could not stop here. Jamie jogged beside me as we all scanned for any sign of hostiles âWe are coming back for them. We just have to regroup first.â
We only got halfway between blocks when more shots rained down upon us from the rooftops. Before I could even see where they came from the Humans made a small dinging sound and hurled rocks onto the roofs. No one but the humans would have predicted the roofs exploding sending red slabs of cannibals sliding down the walls.
I took stock of our situation again. This time a young Gojid couple were covered in the blood of another civilian. I sprinted to them âLook at me! Donât think about it! Just focus on me!â I managed to stop them and a few others from fleeing, but watched in horror as half of our civilians started to stampede the very way we came. I tried to shove the few we had left after the marines and finally got our group making progress again.
The sounds of gunfire and screams came from behind us and we all started to move a bit faster. Several marines noticed movement in the windows only to lower their weapons when Gojidâs appeared. I and Pullay approached them. âCome with us now! We are evacuating and canât hold this position!â Yet they didnât move, their eyes locked onto the marines. Pullay spoke calmly to them âYou can come with the Humans who wonât harm you OR you can stay with the Arxur who WILL make sure your deaths are as PAINFUL as possible. Make a choice now, WE are LEAVING.â
Another group of Arxur rounded the corner, but this time had no clue we were here and were cut down with them only returning a few shots. We led our new civilians to the herd. They had little difficulty with the decision after that. A mysterious fate is better than the one we all know.
An errant Arxur round had found its way into our group and embedded itself into Jamieâs rifle, throwing it out of his hand. He picked it up only to let out a curse and threw his destroyed rifle to the ground before pulling a folding shovel out of his pack. With a few practiced motions he unfolded it and gripped it with both hands. I begged the stars and sun to keep him safe. âYou canât be considering using THAT as your weapon?!?â
A devilish grin spread across his face. âDonât worry! Iâm just using this until I can scavenge one off of a dead Croc!â Alexander ordered us to shut up and move out. We continued to slowly retreat from this damned town. The next ambush came sooner than we expected. We didnât have enough time to even clear the block before the fighting started again. If it werenât for Jamie pulling me into cover I donât know if I would be amongst the dead now.
While the Arxur were relentless, they were also apparently stupid. Every ambush they had pulled off was thwarted when they began to sprint towards our civilians. The trained marines had almost no trouble landing their shots. I half expected to see more civilians stampede again, but it appeared they had learned what happens to a stampeding herd.
Finally we could see the edge of the farming town. The hope of reinforcements as well as a way to safety reinvigorated us for the final push. Yet that hope was quickly dashed when the Greys sprang their final ambush. Three vehicles in front of us exploded blocking the street. The routeâs right and left had been blocked with destroyed vehicles and Arxur were pouring out of the buildings behind us with happy looks on their faces.
Jamie had half a second to scream âFUCK!â as rounds started to sail at us. This time the Arxur did not blindly charge us. They stayed behind cover. Any explosives lobbed at them were fled from and into cover that protected them from human fire. Instead of Arxur on both sides of us, they made sure not to risk shooting their own soldiers⊠OH BY THE STARS! Those werenât ambushes. Those were just raiders running into us. THIS is them actually planning!
We scrambled for any cover we could. Jamie crouched near me while we both could only uselessly watch our friends and charges die. The Nevok mother sobbed whilst holding her only child, Papaâs reporter friend desperately started to broadcast to whoever could hear us, AmĂ©lia pulled Pullayâs orange-soaked body into cover and I finally found Alexander laying in a slowly expanding crimson pool out of anyoneâs reach.
This time I watched as our marines fell one after another. I watched shots land near civilians forcing them out of cover only to die in an instant. We were actually trapped this time, without so much as a chance to fight back.
An explosion landed nearby raining dirt down upon us. For some stars forsaken reason the reporter decided now was a good time to start a news broadcast so the entire galaxy could see every human die and fail to stop the Greys!!! He started to shout into his camera âI AM CURRENTLY WITH A GROUP OF MARINES NEAR THE CITY OF WIEREWOOD-â
My pulse began to race as I watched a red puff come from Jamieâs arm and leg before he collapsed onto the ground. Fuck the consequences I canât lose him too! I sprinted to his side as the heat from several plasma rounds threatened to end my life. His leg was the first thing I saw. A round had gone straight through his femur, searing it in half. I ripped the Saline/anesthetic container out of my aid kit and flushed the wound of debris. As quickly as I could I packed the wound with gauze and started to bind it. His blood started to stain my paws red, as I realized I was out of sterile gloves. I begged for whatever was listening to not let it get infected but with it as fixed as I could mÌžaÌžn̶aÌŽgÌŽeÌ· Ìža̶tÌž ̶tÌ”hÌŽeÌ· Ì·mÌŽoÌ·mÌŽeÌ”nÌžtÌ·.̶ ̶IÌ· ÌŽw̶eÌ·nÌ·tÌ” Ì”f̶oÌŽrÌŽ Ì”hÌ·i̶sÌž ̶a̶rÌ”mÌ”,Ì” Ì”w̶hÌ·iÌŽcÌ·hÌž Ì·pÌ”uÌ”lÌŽlÌžeÌ·dÌž ̶sÌ”tÌŽrÌžaÌži̶gÌ”h̶tÌž ̶oÌžuÌžtÌŽ ÌžoÌ·fÌŽ Ì·h̶iÌžsÌ· ÌŽsÌ·lÌžeÌŽeÌ”vÌ”eÌž-ÌŽ
ERROR: SEVERE MEMORY CORRUPTION DETECTED
ESTIMATED TIME LOSS: 2 MINUTES
RESUME AT NEXT STABLE MEMORY?
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Memory transcription subject: Elva, Combat Medic Specialist.
Date [standardized human time]: September 27th, 2136
TÌžhÌžeÌŽ ÌžAÌ·rÌŽx̶uÌ·r̶ Ì·tÌ”hÌŽaÌŽtÌŽ Ì”hÌŽa̶dÌž ÌŽsÌ”tÌžeÌžpped out from hiding spoke to me. âWell, well well! What do we have here! Little pet taking care of master? Donât let me stop you prey! Patch him up and the Chief Hunter wants to see what all the noise⊠is⊠about⊠theyâre predators⊠OH SHIT.â was the last words that would ever come from that abomination onto sapience. I could feel my teeth break as I snarled with every bit of anger I could muster. My pistol left its holster and aligned with that fuckerâs head in a heart beat. I pulled the trigger as it started to charge me. I watched a hole rip through its neck then I watched the rest of my shots miss.
With a wide sweep of its arm I felt its claws dig into my flesh. I felt my body lift off of the ground. I watched the world move slowly underneath me. I watched it slowly come up to meet me.
ERROR: SEVERE MEMORY CORRUPTION DETECTED
ESTIMATED TIME LOSS: 32 MINUTES
RESUME AT NEXT STABLE MEMORY?
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Memory transcription subject: Elva, Combat Medic Specialist.
Date [standardized human time]: September 27th, 2136
I screamed as I took in a long deep breath and pain jolted through my body. I forced myself to look at my abdomen and orange flesh- my intestines were hanging out. A familiar scarred face of the man I forced into a medical examination came to my side holding my medkit. âThe- the TOradOL/SAliNE! The TorADol/SaLINe! Gotta clean- clean guts first! Flush it over!â
The rebuilt human started to douse my guts in the pain relieving saline yet despite its name only pain rang through before the drugs kicked in. âNext- slOWLy- put them back instartingatone- end and working them in-â I controlled my breathing as he had to slowly pull my body apart to reinsert my guts. Thank you stars the pain meds are kicking in. I donât want to feel this.
âFlush again⊠and get the medi-foam can.â It took a painfully long time for him to realize what I needed him to do. He turned the can upside down and inserted it into my wound. I suppressed a scream but still bucked as the fluid filled my abdominal cavity hopefully flushing out any debris.
The bionic man held me down as I started to reflexively kick. He picked the lid off of the bio-foam can and activated a small amount to come out. He took a moment to read the directions and looked to me âsorryâ before he jammed it down as well. I knew he had to but I still cursed him out of pure reflex. The foam expanded and filled the gaps in. If I had a perforated intestine it would spill its contents into the foam pouch instead of my body.
âNow- the- stitches- SEw- me- together- tightly!-â He took the pre-threaded needle and started to dig it into my flesh. The simple guide on the lid of my kit helped to guide his hand. One painful pull after another, I felt myself come back together. I focused on anything else. I turned my head to see the Nevok mother stepping onto a transport still holding her child as safely as she could. Jamie was being loaded onto a stretcher with a few bandages I know I didnât do. I let out a small sigh of relief at the small sign he still lived but lost it a moment later.. AmĂ©lia leaned against a car as crimson fluid flowed from her mouth.
I tracked my friends in my mind. All that was left of our little group was Jamie and myself now. The memories of our squad started to flood back in as I felt my pulse drop. Iâm blacking out. Iâve lost a lot of blood. Need to spike the blood pressure. Need to find the blood loss and stop it. My mouth opened to speak-
ERROR: SEVERE MEMORY CORRUPTION DETECTED
ESTIMATED TIME LOSS: 13 MINUTES
RESUME AT NEXT STABLE MEMORY?
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Memory transcription subject: Elva, Combat Medic Specialist.
Date [standardized human time]: September 27th, 2136
I DESPERATELY kicked as a wave of panic flowed through me. I could feel something holding me down stopping me from moving. A scared human face filled my vision and the mouth moved and words came out. The overwhelming urge to run coursed through my body. I desperately searched for anything that would help. The human held a small bag of synth blood in the air. I was partially strapped to a gurney. I turned my head and saw an empty vial of adrenaline.
Thatâs what happened. Pulse dropped. Blood transfusion. Adrenaline shot to keep the heart pumping. Panic is normal. Thatâs what adrenaline does. Breath ELVA. Breath. I could feel the panic start to subside. Two medics came over and started to lift me up. Once again Kaeden spoke but I couldnât quite make it out.
My hearing began to return and I could hear someone shout. âWe are out of room! Canât take anyone else with us!â another voice began to shout âWe canât leave anyone here! They wonât make it back in time! We all have to leave now!â
âWe donât have a choice! Either some of us get out or none of us get out! And these people wonât survive!â
âI-Iâll stay!â The small Venlil reporter for Prime news hopped off of the transport. âI-I need to cover this.â Another marine jumped off. âI volunteer.â I watched as a few more followed him. Their faces were a mixture of pride, terror and confidence that left me feeling like they might just survive this suicide mission. The scarred, gravitationally challenged manâs words finally reached my ears. âIt looks like you have enough room for the civilians now. Good luck and stay safe.â
I felt fear coursing through my veins as I shakily searched my UN provided poncho and grabbed two things; My spare small medkit and a few magazines for my pistol. âTake these! My pistol must have landed somewhere near where I did. Stay safe.â
It might have been the multiple concussions I received but the once-mutilated human looked to soften up for a moment as he took my small offer of help. He and the other volunteers disappeared out of sight as I was dragged onto the transport. The roar of the engine drowned out all chatter that might have given me some small comfort about abandoning the volunteers to their suicide mission.
All that kept me company was the bouncing of the transport, the sounds of explosions, Jamieâs unconscious body, as well as the realization that I was a medic that failed to save anyone.
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Iâd like to take a moment to thank u/CrusingNW for all the help proofreading several of these chapters. Every time I think Iâve managed to write something without 10 errors in it and they just go through and make it red. Itâs really been a big help! Iâd also like to thank u/RebelHero for letting me use Kaeden! Itâs one of a few crossovers I hope I get to do! (also Elva does know his name from adding the examination to his medical records) And I canât forget u/Thirsha_42 for working with me on an upcoming crossover!
As with all of my fanfics this is considered creative commons by myself so feel free to grab anything from my stories to use in your own works! I would appreciate a shout out for this but that isnât required.
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Will be in the comments or something. I donât even know anymore.
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2023.06.04 13:20 PurpleBoy_SUS STOP..! Hammer fact! (Get it?)
 | submitted by PurpleBoy_SUS to SlapBattles [link] [comments] |
2023.06.04 12:19 rangernumberx Respect Luigi (Super Mario Bros.)
"Here we go...(gulps)"
Green 'Stache. King of Second Bananas. The original pallet swap. Plain old player two. No matter what, Luigi never seems to be able to catch a break, always living in his brother's shadow. But in reality, he's got many advantages over Mario, such as his jump height and being taller. But while he may be a coward, when it comes down to saving those he cares about, Luigi will find the strength inside him to stand up against his foes, be they Bowser's forces or King Boo's spectral legions.
This thread takes the Super Mario Bros. 'canon' as every Super Mario platformer and all closely linked games (the Luigi's Mansion games, Yoshi titles except for Wooly World, and Super Princess Peach). The sole exception is Super Mario Bros. 2, which is confirmed in the credits to be a dream. Hover over each feat for the game they come from. Any feats featuring a different character comes from a game where they are capable of demonstrating the exact same feat.
3 - Super Mario Bros. 3
W - Super Mario World
W2 - Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
LM - Luigi's Mansion
64-DS - Super Mario 64 DS
PP - Super Princess Peach
New - New Super Mario Bros.
G - Super Mario Galaxy
New-W - New Super Mario Bros. Wii
G2 - Super Mario Galaxy 2
3DL - Super Mario 3D Land
New-2 - New Super Mario Bros. 2
New-U - New Super Mario Bros. U
LM-2 - Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
3DW - Super Mario 3D World
LM-3 - Luigi's Mansion 3
Mushroom
Statue Leaf
P Balloon
Power Flower
Frog Suit
Penguin Suit
Boomerang Flower
Blue Shell
Super Bell
Invincibility Leaf
P-Acorn
In Super Mario 64 DS, characters can wear the caps of Mario, Luigi, and Wario, turning them into the hat's owner and gaining their abilities.64-DS
In Super Mario 64 DS, characters can wear the caps of Mario, Luigi, and Wario, turning them into the hat's owner and gaining their abilities.64-DS
Strength
Strength
Strength
A modified Game Boy Colour, given to Luigi by Professor E. Gadd to help him through Luigi's Mansion.
In Luigi's Mansion 2, E. Gadd changes with the times and this time gives Luigi a modified DS. It would be later dubbed the Dual Scream.
Luigi's Mansion 3's communication device modelled after the Virtual Boy, complete with red-coloured holographic imagery.
submitted by rangernumberx to respectthreads [link] [comments]
Green 'Stache. King of Second Bananas. The original pallet swap. Plain old player two. No matter what, Luigi never seems to be able to catch a break, always living in his brother's shadow. But in reality, he's got many advantages over Mario, such as his jump height and being taller. But while he may be a coward, when it comes down to saving those he cares about, Luigi will find the strength inside him to stand up against his foes, be they Bowser's forces or King Boo's spectral legions.
This thread takes the Super Mario Bros. 'canon' as every Super Mario platformer and all closely linked games (the Luigi's Mansion games, Yoshi titles except for Wooly World, and Super Princess Peach). The sole exception is Super Mario Bros. 2, which is confirmed in the credits to be a dream. Hover over each feat for the game they come from. Any feats featuring a different character comes from a game where they are capable of demonstrating the exact same feat.
Legend
1 - Super Mario Bros.3 - Super Mario Bros. 3
W - Super Mario World
W2 - Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
LM - Luigi's Mansion
64-DS - Super Mario 64 DS
PP - Super Princess Peach
New - New Super Mario Bros.
G - Super Mario Galaxy
New-W - New Super Mario Bros. Wii
G2 - Super Mario Galaxy 2
3DL - Super Mario 3D Land
New-2 - New Super Mario Bros. 2
New-U - New Super Mario Bros. U
LM-2 - Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
3DW - Super Mario 3D World
LM-3 - Luigi's Mansion 3
Physicals
Strength
Striking - Jumping Into- Breaks large brick blocks by jumping and spinning into themG
- Breaks a giant block by jumping into it3
- Breaks a giant brick block by repeatedly jumping into it3DW
- Makes a large enemy slide back by jumping on it3DW
- Swings a punching bag considerably with a punch, hitting a large ghost and sending it reelingLM
- Shatters large brick blocks with a punch64-DS
- Kicks a giant shell so that it breaks a giant block, and still has enough force to rebound3
- Drop kicks a tower twice before jumping on it, destroying it. While the tower is supposed to be the one the level took place in, it's only about twice as high as Luigi in the cutsceneW
- Lifts a tower and kicks it away. While the tower is supposed to be the one the level took place in, it's only about twice as high as Luigi in the cutsceneW
- Breaks large brick blocks by jumping and spinning into themG
- Shatters big stone spikes with a spinG
- Shatters a large amount of crystal with a spinG
- Shatters a giant crystal with two spinsG
- Shatters a boulder bigger than him with a spin, albeit one with the inside being comprised of some red materialG
- Destroys a giant boulder with a spin, albeit one with the inside being comprised of some red materialG
- Makes the heavy end of a large monster's tail go flying back with a spin with enough force that it stretches before coming back with enough force to do damageG
- Sends a large Petey Piranha-like alien through the air with a spin, with it sending stone shards up upon landingG2
- Sends Bowser spinning across a tiny artificial planet with a spin, before knocking him back through the air with anotherG
- After Bowser covered himself in stone, sends him spinning with a spin while knocking all of the stone off of himG
- Ground pounds in a stone switch that's unaffected by his weight64-DS
- Breaks brick blocks with a ground poundNew
- Shatters cracked stone with a ground poundG
- Shatters a Whomp with a ground poundN
- Shatters a giant Whomp with a ground pound to the backG2
- Cracks King Whomp with a ground pound to the backG2
- Ground pounds a large monster from below, sending it spinning through the airG2
- Ground pounds a large meteor into Bowser, knocking him backG2
- Ground pounds a large meteor a distance into an enormous Bowser, sending him spinning backG2
- Flips a nearby Wriggler with a ground poundG
- Jumps high, using Mario's head as a springboard3
- Jumps onto an airship's anchor as it's taking off3
- Jumps on top of a tower. While this is supposed to be the tower the level took place in, it's visually only about twice as high as LuigiW
- Shifts about a large stone statueLM
- Walks around with a large spiked metal ball being carried by the Poltergust 3000LM
- Lifts a tower and kicks it away. While the tower is supposed to be the one the level took place in, it's only about twice as high as Luigi in the cutsceneW
- Lifts and throws Big Bob-omb64
- Lifts and throws large sentient boulders, with them shattering on hitting something3DW
- Breaks a brick block by throwing a Koopa shellNew
- Throws a Koopa shell underwater, causing it to destroy a large amount of rockG
- Swings a grand piano over his headLM-3
- Swings around and throws Bowser by his tail64
- Causes a tower to collapse by swinging a hammer numerous times. While the tower is supposed to be the one the level took place in, it's only about twice as high as Luigi in the cutsceneW
- Pushes a large box64-DS
- Breaks blocks by spin jumping on themW
- Easily sucks up a ghost which dragged E. Gadd around while he tried to suck it upLM
Durability
Blunt Force- Hit into the air by Peach and sent bouncing aboutPP
- Shunted forwards a distance after being run into by a tankNew
- Hit on the back of the head by a sliding modified sled, flips through the air, and lands on said sledLM-2
- Launched through a seemingly glass domeG
- Flung through a mansion's roofLM-2
- Sent flying up a mansion by a springboard, hits open a metal hatch, and continues going up a distance before falling to the roofLM-2
- Launched through several brick blocks3DW
- Launched out of a cannon with enough force to break part of a brick wall64-DS
- Is unharmed after being launched through crystal hard enough to shatter itG
- Tumbles down a set of stairs and gets back upLM-2
- Quickly recovers from being in an elevator that falls a floorLM-2
- Gets sent flying up a mansion by a springboard, hits open a metal hatch, and continues going up a distance before falling to the roofLM-2
- Unharmed after falling 4 floors down a chimneyLM
- Falls from an airship, past clouds, and onto the floor in a castle without problem3
- Is fine being launched between tiny planets and landing on his feetG
- Stands right besides a tower as an explosion strong enough to level it occurs. While the tower is supposed to be the one the level took place in, it's only about twice as high as Luigi with the Super Mushroom in this cutsceneW
- Is near an ice monster created by a possessing ghost when it has a bomb launched into its mouth, creating a large explosionLM-2
- Gets launched out of a cannon with enough force to break part of a brick wall64-DS
- Gets launched onto an airship via cannon3DW
- Gets fired out of a cannon a large distance and onto a bridge3DW
Other
Speed
- Quickly covers a large distance by runningNew
- Runs up the side of a pipeW
- Runs on water for a short period of time64-DS
Agility
Abilities- Triple Jump - Jumps three times in succession, gaining extra height with each jump64-DS
- Wall Jump - Jumps between two close by walls, gaining height each timeG
- Long Jump - Jumps far, but without much height64-DS
- Backflip - Jumps high after crouching, and spins to slow his fall64-DS
- Scuttle - Scuttles in midair to slow his fall64-DS
- Twist - Twists to slightly suspend himself in the airG
- Spin - With a Luma under his hat, Luigi can spin, acting both as an attack and as a way to give himself some extra distance in the air.G
- Roll - Dashes forwards in a roll3DL
Feats
- Balances on a ball, and somehow jumps with itG
- Walks on a tightrope3DL
- Walks on, and jumps between, two narrow pipesLM-2
Power-Ups
Size Changing
Super MushroomMushroom
- Makes a character giant, capable of destroying large brick blocks, Bullet Bill launchers, and Thwomps by walking into them64-DS
- Allows the user to no-sell large rolling metal balls64-DS
- Wario with the mushroom was unaffected by being hit by a boulder slightly larger than him while under the effects of the mushroom, but this could be because of Wario's naturally greater strength64-DS
- Makes the user giant for a short amount of time, capable of easily breaking bricks and pipes by walking through them. They can also ground pound to make Goombas or coins fall from the skyNew
- Makes the user capable of smashing brick blocks as tall as their new size by running into them3DW
- Makes the user small and light enough to run on waterNew
- Allows the user to run up wallsNew-U
- The character can't hurt enemies by jumping on them as normal like thisNew
Mobility
Super Leaf- Allows the user to slow their descentU
- With a run up, allows the user to fly for a short time, able to break blocks while doing so3
- Breaks brick blocks with a tail whip3
- Breaks an enormous brick block with several tail swings3DW
- Functions the same as the Super Leaf, but allows for unlimited flight without build up3
- In Super Mario 3D Land, the P Wing teleports the user to the flagpole at the end of the world3DL
Statue Leaf
- Acts like the Tanooki Leaf, creating a small shockwave upon landing if the transformation into a statue happens mid-air3DL
- The statue is invincible, though the transformation only lasts for so long at once3DL
- Allows the user to glide through the airNew-U
- Provides a 'boost' to rapidly ascend in the air, though they can't glide afterwards and instead flap their wings to slow their descentNew-U
- The user can cling briefly to walls before sliding down themNew-U
- Lets the user fly straight up, and then either slow their descent by running in midair or rapidly descend in a fast spinNew-W
- Clears away a large amount of cloud surrounding the user by flying up and rapidly spinning downNew-W
- Allows the user to slow their decent, fly with a running start, and spin to attackW
- Lets the user slow their descent while riding YoshiW
- Lets the user slowly fly for brief periodsG
- Lets the user climb on honey panels and the giant furry Queen BeeG
- Lets the user walk on clouds and other platforms that immediately break upon a character not using the Bee Mushroom touching themG2
- Goes away upon the user touching waterG2
P Balloon
Power Flower
- With the Power Flower, Luigi turns invisible and intangible, capable of walking through wire fencing64-DS
- Is immune to toxic gas64-DS
- Allows the user to create and walk on up to three cloud platforms that disappear after a short time periodG2
- Goes away when the user touches waterG2
Frog Suit
Penguin Suit
- Can throw ice balls which bounce on the ground and instantly freeze an enemy in a block if it hits. It also allows the user to slide on ice with enough force to break through brick blocksNew-W
- The user can slide on the surface of waterNew-W
- Allows the user greater mobility in waterNew-W
- Allows the user to walk on ice without slippingNew-W
Offensive
Fire Flower- Throws fireballs which bounce along the floor and off of walls for a short time, or until they hit something3DW
- Instantly burns up a Piranha PlantNew
- Instantly thaws coins and Munchers trapped in blocks of ice3
- Destroys a large Goomba snow sculpture with a fireball, and a giant Bowser snow sculpture in threeG2
- Keeps going after breaking wooden cratesG2
- Shatters reinforced crates bigger than MarioG2
- Breaks crystal structuresG2
- Makes the giant Prince Bully slide back with fireballs3DW
- Work underwater1
- In Super Mario Galaxy, the power up doesn't go away on damage, but instead after a certain amount of timeG
- Throws balls of ice which bounce on the ground and instantly freeze an enemy in a blockNew-W
- The ice balls work underwaterNew-W
- The ice balls create some amount of lightNew-U
- In Super Mario Galaxy, turns the user into ice for a limited amount of time, instantly freezing the water or lava they touch into icy platformsNew-G
Boomerang Flower
- Allows the user to throw boomerangs which constantly follow the thrower until they hit something3DL
- Can hit several enemies before stopping3DW
- Can be used to collect far off things3DL
Blue Shell
Super Bell
- Hits away large football bombs3DW
- Makes a large enemy slide back3DW
- Hits away large sentient boulders3DW
- Shatters a large wooden panel shaped like Bowser3DW
- Shatters a crate with a swing3DW
- Allows the user to climb up sheer walls for a brief time (including those made of stone) and clamber up flagpoles3DW
- Dives down at a diagonal angle with enough force to shatter wooden crates3DW
- The user can paddle in the air to slow their descent3DW
- Makes the user gather rocks around themselves and roll around in a boulder. Like this, an enormous gemstone can be shattered in two blowsG2
- Knocks down a metal drawbridgeG2
- Shatters larger rolling boulders, albeit ones consisting largely of something red on the inside, and a large rock, though the latter breaks the user out of their boulderG2
- Hits a giant armadillo-like monster into the air, making it spinG2
- Jumps a large distance after rolling up a rampG2
Invincibility
Starman- Makes the user invincible for a short period, allowing them to run through enemies and attacks without harm1
- Extends to Yoshi while riding himW
- Creates a large amount of light while in useNew-W
Invincibility Leaf
P-Acorn
Other
Boo Mushroom- Turns the user into a Boo, letting them float and turning them intangibleG
- Goes away after being hit by bright lightG
In Super Mario 64 DS, characters can wear the caps of Mario, Luigi, and Wario, turning them into the hat's owner and gaining their abilities.64-DS
- Can shatter brick blocks with a punch,64-DS
- Can wall jump64-DS
- Is the only character with access to the wings, which allow him to fly around for a short period of time64-DS
- With the Power Flower, Mario becomes inflated and floats around, bouncing off surfaces slightly. This automatically goes away after a short period of time, or can be forced away by ground pounding64-DS
In Super Mario 64 DS, characters can wear the caps of Mario, Luigi, and Wario, turning them into the hat's owner and gaining their abilities.64-DS
- Can smash giant black brick blocks and giant boulders with a punch64-DS
- Hits posts into the ground with a single ground pound while other characters require three.64-DS
- With the Power Flower, Wario turns metal, becoming immune to enemy attacks, not needing to breathe underwater, and be unaffected by poisonous gas64-DS
- Creates an identical clone of the user which copy their every movement. Any power ups gained affect all existing clones3DW
- The effects of a Double Cherry stack, allowing a second clone to be made when one already exists, and so on3DW
- When the user enters a warp pipe, the clones warp to them and reappear on the other side of the pipe3DW
Equipment
Poltergust 3000
A vacuum cleaner adapted by Professor E. Gadd to be able to suck up ghosts, used in Luigi's Mansion.Strength
- Sucks up a tablecloth over a long table without moving anything on top of itLM
- Can suck up large spiked metal balls, hold them, and shoot themLM
- Sucks up a falling item, shoots it away a distance, and causes it to destroy half of a large rock sphereLM
- The vacuum head has a torch function that can quickly be switched out in order to suck up ghosts
- By sucking up different elemental ghosts, the Poltergust can spit out said element
Poltergust 5000
An later version of the Poltergust 3000 from Luigi's Mansion 2. It can be further upgraded to the Super Poltergust, which increases its capabilities to suck up ghostsLM-2Strength
- Carries around a filled bucket of waterLM-2
- Shoots a spiked plant, causing it to shatter a wooden pictureLM-2
- Lifts a Toad by the head and shoots them a distanceLM-2
- Pulls down a wall with three pulls of a vineLM-2
- Pulls down a wall with three pulls of a chainLM-2
- Sucks up a sheet covering a doorLM-2
- Sucks up a tablecloth, throwing items into the air slightly but not moving them otherwiseLM-2
- Makes a rug roll up by sucking itLM-2
- Causes the handle of a safe to spin, opening it, by suckingLM-2
- Makes a large fan on a stone statue spin, causing it to lift and reveal a hidden compartment underneathLM-2
- The Strobulb releases bright light that disorientates ghosts and people. It can be immediately activated, or charged up for a much larger cone of lightLM-2
- The Dark-Light creates a rainbow beam of light which reveals illusions. When used on object made to appear invisible, it forced the things causing said illusions outLM-2
- Can fire objects held by a ghosts it sucks upLM-2
- Can inflate balloon-like objects and let Luigi fly aroundLM-2
Poletergust G-00
The Poltergust Luigi obtained from E. Gadd's car in Luigi's Mansion 3 which has a range of abilities on top of the basic functions presented with earlier models.Strength
- Spins the handle of a vault doorLM-3
- Sucks up mannequin heads and wigsLM-3
- Sucks up a duvet and pillowsLM-3
- Sends explosive barrels rolling forwardsLM-3
- Carries around a Toad and shoots them over a wallLM-3
- With the Super Suction upgrade, the Poltergust can be plugged into special outlets to greatly increase its power. Like this, it breaks apart the front half of a ship as well as the front of the wall behind it to suck it upLM-3
- By charging up its light, releases a bright burst which stuns ghostsLM-3
- Can swap between a regular torch lens and a special one capable of revealing things trapped in portraits, be it people or itemsLM-3
- Shoots a burst of air at the ground, lifting Luigi into the air and shaking a nearby car and wagonLM-3
- Fires a plunger to grab on to objectsLM-3
- A Luigi made of goo that can pass through small gaps through the likes of fences which Luigi can directly control or leave stationary while he himself does somethingLM-3
- With Luigi lifts and slams King Boo, cracking the roof of a hotelLM-3
- Splatters after a fall but quickly reformsLM-3
- Is fully capable of using his Poltergust like Luigi can, such as with capturing ghostsLM-3
- Holds an item inside of himLM-3
- Made of a substance which reacts to the presence of BoosLM-3
- Will instantly disintegrate when he gets wet, returning to the PoltergustLM-3
Other
Game Boy HorrorA modified Game Boy Colour, given to Luigi by Professor E. Gadd to help him through Luigi's Mansion.
- Contains a map of the mansionLM
- Has a Boo radar, which flashes and changes colour depending on how close a Boo isLM
- Has a functioning camera with good qualityLM
- Allows for video calls with E. GaddLM
- Keeps track of all the money and gems Luigi collects throughout the nightLM
In Luigi's Mansion 2, E. Gadd changes with the times and this time gives Luigi a modified DS. It would be later dubbed the Dual Scream.
- Contains a map of the mansions, which actively updates to marks E. Gadd makesLM-2
- Can make video callsLM-2
Luigi's Mansion 3's communication device modelled after the Virtual Boy, complete with red-coloured holographic imagery.
Other
- Is unaffected by a giant portrait which causes trees at the bottom of the hotel he's standing on to uproot and fly upLM-3
- With Mario, quickly fixes a clear pipe3DW
- Through the 'bond between twins' can tell where Mario isW2
- Can put himself in a bubble to float around, though he needs someone outside of a bubble to pop him outNew-W
- Has his entire body spin after entering a tornado, slowing his descent, though his head doesn't move at allG
- Uses three swipes of a large mop to seemingly erase a tower, leaving only a white flag behindW
2023.06.04 09:48 kainvinosec [USA-OK] [H] 97 Games, 9 Manuals (3DS-2, Atari 2600-6, Game Boy-1, Genesis-1, NDS-3, NES-11, PC-1, PS1-8, PS2-7, PS3-11, PS4-5, SNES-1, Switch-1, Wii-6, Xbox 360-32, Xbox One-1), Amiibos-20, 4 Consoles (3DSXL-1, PS2-1, PS3-1, Xbox 360-1) [W] PayPal (F&F/G&S, Buyer's Preference)
All images uploaded for this post will be included here:
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNv-U01HWODjMDJVo5l9VbVSGuClM8KIYj7jaFD65Vezu5L0mFVrSOfBJayrtaTiQ?key=b2VHWlcyMjhneUVQWjM0TW5XSjV2djR4Ym1wZHZn
Shipping is USPS Priority Mail. Items will be placed in bubble wrap and shipped inside boxes. Tracking and insurance are included. Add the following to all orders (except pre-made bundles, shipping is included in their prices):
Tables:
Things of note:
1. GAMES
2. MANUALS ONLY
3. AMIIBOS
Note: All Amiibos are "loose". Images included in the link at the top of the post. Amiibos also require $15.00 shipping regardless of how many are purchased. Their bases are just too big for the $10 shipping box's size.
4. CONSOLES
5. PRE-MADE BUNDLES
submitted by kainvinosec to GameSale [link] [comments]
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNv-U01HWODjMDJVo5l9VbVSGuClM8KIYj7jaFD65Vezu5L0mFVrSOfBJayrtaTiQ?key=b2VHWlcyMjhneUVQWjM0TW5XSjV2djR4Ym1wZHZn
Shipping is USPS Priority Mail. Items will be placed in bubble wrap and shipped inside boxes. Tracking and insurance are included. Add the following to all orders (except pre-made bundles, shipping is included in their prices):
- $10.00 for small boxes (1-2 games)
- $15.00 for medium (multiple games, small bundles, Amiibos)
- $20.00 for large (consoles, large bundles)
Tables:
- GAMES
- MANUALS ONLY
- AMIIBOS
- CONSOLES
- PRE-MADE BUNDLES
Things of note:
- Prices are negotiable for individual items and custom bundles. Pre-made bundle prices are firm. All price negotiations and initial contact should be via comments per this sub's rules/suggestions.
- "Condition" is based on my most recent check of item. If you are concerned about a potential missing item (insert, manual, etc.), reach out and I will confirm if it is included/not included. List should be accurate but sometimes things get missed. Will also provide confirmed testing of items upon request.
- Images of specific items available upon request. There are just too many to do big sweeping images and my place is small. Just reach out and I'll be happy to take a shot or two of any items.
- All disc games will come in plastic cases, even if listed as "loose".
- If you see anything in the list that you believe may be an error (typo, game listed twice, etc.) please let me know and I will double-check and correct any mistakes. As previously said, list should be accurate but sometimes things get missed.
- Priority will be given to buyers that are bundling the most items together, anyone purchasing a pre-made bundle, or anyone purchasing the largest/multiple pre-made bundles.
- Lastly, I work 8am-5pm CST Mon-Fri. If commenting during those hours, please allow for a delay in response time.
1. GAMES
| Console | Game | Condition | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3DS | Animal Crossing: New Leaf | CIB - Complete In Box | $14.00 |
| 3DS | Disney Magical World | CIB - Complete In Box | $13.00 |
| Atari 2600 | Dragonfire | CIB - Complete In Box | $24.00 |
| Atari 2600 | Missile Command | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $4.00 |
| Atari 2600 | Space Jockey | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $3.00 |
| Atari 2600 | Space War | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $4.00 |
| Atari 2600 | Video Chess | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $4.00 |
| Atari 2600 | Warplock | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $4.00 |
| Game Boy | Asteroids | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $9.00 |
| Genesis | Columns | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $4.00 |
| NDS | Lego Batman: The Videogame | CIB - Complete In Box | $4.00 |
| NDS | Lunar: Dragon Song | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $8.00 |
| NDS | Spectrobes | Boxed - Cartridge/Discs with Box (No Manual/Extras) | $9.00 |
| NES | Deadly Towers | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $5.00 |
| NES | Donkey Kong Classics | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $15.00 |
| NES | Double Dragon | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $9.00 |
| NES | Gauntlet II | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $6.00 |
| NES | Gyromite [5 Screw] | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $5.00 |
| NES | Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $4.00 |
| NES | Karate Champ [5 Screw] | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $4.00 |
| NES | Ninja Gaiden | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $9.00 |
| NES | Section-Z [5 Screw] | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $6.00 |
| NES | The Bard's Tale | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $19.00 |
| NES | The Immortal | Loose+ - Cartridge/Discs with Manual | $16.00 |
| PC | Final Fantasy VIII | Loose+ - Cartridge/Discs with Proper Disc Sleeve | $10.00 |
| PS1 | Final Fantasy VIII | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $9.00 |
| PS1 | Gex: Enter the Gecko | Loose+ - Cartridge/Discs with Manual | $25.00 |
| PS1 | Spawn: The Eternal | CIB - Complete In Box | $20.00 |
| PS1 | Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $8.00 |
| PS1 | Tekken [Long Box] | Boxed - Cartridge/Discs with Box (No Manual/Extras) - Box Damaged, Price Reduced | $10.00 |
| PS1 | Test Drive: Off-Road | CIB - Complete In Box | $5.00 |
| PS1 | Test Drive: Off-Road 2 | CIB - Complete In Box | $3.00 |
| PS1 | Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation | CIB - Complete In Box | $7.00 |
| PS2 | ATV Offroad Fury 2 [Not for Resale] | CIB - Complete In Box | $4.00 |
| PS2 | Devil May Cry 2 | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $4.00 |
| PS2 | EverQuest Online Adventures | Boxed - Cartridge/Discs with Box (No Manual/Extras) | $5.00 |
| PS2 | Final Fantasy X | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $5.00 |
| PS2 | Final Fantasy XII | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $4.00 |
| PS2 | Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories | CIB - Complete In Box | $8.00 |
| PS2 | Ultimate Board Game Collection | CIB - Complete In Box | $3.00 |
| PS3 | Diablo III | CIB - Complete In Box | $4.00 |
| PS3 | Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition | Boxed - Cartridge/Discs with Box (No Manual/Extras) | $14.00 |
| PS3 | Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX | CIB - Complete In Box | $6.00 |
| PS3 | Mass Effect 2 | CIB - Complete In Box | $2.00 |
| PS3 | Mass Effect 3 | Sealed | $7.00 |
| PS3 | Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe [Greatest Hits] | CIB+ - Complete In Box Including Extras | $7.00 |
| PS3 | Red Dead Redemption | Boxed - Cartridge/Discs with Box (No Manual/Extras) | $13.00 |
| PS3 | Tomb Raider | CIB - Complete In Box | $5.00 |
| PS3 | Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Game of the Year) [Greatest Hits] | CIB - Complete In Box | $5.00 |
| PS3 | Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (Game of the Year) [Greatest Hits] | CIB - Complete In Box | $3.00 |
| PS3 | White Knight Chronicles: International Edition | CIB - Complete In Box | $7.00 |
| PS4 | Destiny | CIB - Complete In Box | $3.00 |
| PS4 | Disney Infinity 2.0 Edition | CIB - Complete In Box | $10.00 |
| PS4 | Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 | Sealed | $15.00 |
| PS4 | Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 | Sealed | $15.00 |
| PS4 | Super Monkey Ball - Banana Mania (Anniversary Edition) | Sealed | $15.00 |
| SNES | WWF Super WrestleMania | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $6.00 |
| Switch | Harvest Moon: Light of Hope SE - Complete | CIB - Complete In Box | $13.00 |
| Wii | Disney Epic Mickey | CIB - Complete In Box | $4.00 |
| Wii | Donkey Kong Country Returns | CIB - Complete In Box | $10.00 |
| Wii | Donkey Kong Country Returns | CIB - Complete In Box | $10.00 |
| Wii | Elebits | CIB - Complete In Box | $5.00 |
| Wii | Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition | CIB - Complete In Box | $9.00 |
| Wii | Super Mario Galaxy | Boxed - Cartridge/Discs with Box (No Manual/Extras) | $12.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Alone in the Dark | CIB - Complete In Box | $6.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Batman: Arkham City | CIB - Complete In Box | $3.00 |
| Xbox 360 | BioShock | Loose+ - Cartridge/Discs with Behind the Scenes Disc | $3.00 |
| Xbox 360 | BioShock 2 | CIB - Complete In Box | $4.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Borderlands | CIB - Complete In Box | $2.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Borderlands 2 | CIB - Complete In Box | $5.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Burnout Paradise | CIB - Complete In Box | $5.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $4.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Devil May Cry 4 | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $5.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Enemy Territory: Quake Wars | CIB - Complete In Box | $6.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Fallout: New Vegas | CIB - Complete In Box | $4.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Halo 3 | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $5.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Kinect Adventures! | CIB - Complete In Box | $3.00 |
| Xbox 360 | LEGO Batman: The Videogame | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $3.00 |
| Xbox 360 | LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 | CIB - Complete In Box | $4.00 |
| Xbox 360 | LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga | CIB - Complete In Box | $7.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Lost Planet: Extreme Condition | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $3.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Mass Effect | CIB - Complete In Box | $5.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Mass Effect 2 | CIB - Complete In Box | $4.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Mass Effect 3 | CIB - Complete In Box | $4.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Plants vs. Zombies | CIB - Complete In Box | $6.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Pure | CIB - Complete In Box | $5.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Rocksmith | CIB - Complete In Box | $7.00 |
| Xbox 360 | SoulCalibur IV | CIB - Complete In Box | $5.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Star Wars: The Force Unleashed | CIB - Complete In Box | $5.00 |
| Xbox 360 | The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion -- Game of the Year Edition | CIB - Complete In Box | $7.00 |
| Xbox 360 | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | CIB - Complete In Box | $2.00 |
| Xbox 360 | The Orange Box | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $14.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Turok | Boxed - Cartridge/Discs with Box (No Manual/Extras) | $9.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Unreal Tournament III | Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only | $4.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Viva Pinata | Loose+ - Cartridge/Discs with Manual | $3.00 |
| Xbox 360 | Your Shape: Fitness Evolved | CIB - Complete In Box | $3.00 |
| Xbox One | Disney Infinity 3.0 Edition | CIB - Complete In Box | $6.00 |
2. MANUALS ONLY
| Console | Manual | Price |
|---|---|---|
| GBA | Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Prophecy | $7.00 |
| GBA | Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World | $7.00 |
| GBA | Wario Land 4 | $10.00 |
| PS1 | Brave Fencer Musashi | $27.00 |
| PS1 | Breath of Fire III | $21.00 |
| PS1 | Final Fantasy Origins | $6.00 |
| PS1 | Intelligent Qube | $12.00 |
| PS1 | Vagrant Story | $21.00 |
| PS1 | Wild Arms | $14.00 |
3. AMIIBOS
Note: All Amiibos are "loose". Images included in the link at the top of the post. Amiibos also require $15.00 shipping regardless of how many are purchased. Their bases are just too big for the $10 shipping box's size.
| Amiibo | Price |
|---|---|
| Diddy Kong | $17.00 |
| Donkey Kong | $25.00 |
| Dr. Mario | $13.00 |
| Fox | $9.00 |
| Link | $31.00 |
| Link - Majora's Mask | $40.00 |
| Link - Toon | $24.00 |
| Lucario | $13.00 |
| Luigi | $17.00 |
| Mario | $13.00 |
| Mario - 30th, Classic | $10.00 |
| Marth | $11.00 |
| Mega Man | $15.00 |
| Pac-Man | $12.00 |
| Peach | $11.00 |
| Pikachu | $9.00 |
| Princess Zelda | $28.00 |
| Simon | $19.00 |
| Sonic | $26.00 |
| Yoshi | $21.00 |
4. CONSOLES
| Console | Notes | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Nintendo 3DS XL Black & Red | Comes with charging cable & grip. Boots directly into custom firmware. Will remove NNID prior to shipping. Will come with a 128gb SanDisk SD Card. | $135.00 |
| Xbox 360 Console Gears of Wars 3 Edition | Comes with power cable, HDMI cable, and 2 Gears of War controllers (no rechargable battery packs, but the backplates are there and the controllers can hold normal batteries). | $90.00 |
| Playstation 3 Slim System | Comes with power cable, HDMI cable, and at least 1 official controller (rubber in thumbsticks may feel sticky) and may include bonus official or third party controllers for free. System is loaded with CFW and boots directly into it. System has new thermal paste and rubber block installed that helps apply pressure to the CPU/Heatsink to additionally reduce temperatures and prolong system lifespan. | $90.00 |
| Playstation 2 System (Phat) | Comes with power cable, PS2-to-HDMI adapter, HDMI cable, 1 official PS1 memory card, 1 official PS2 memory card, and 1 official controller (rubber in thumbsticks may feel sticky). System is modded and comes with 1TB HDD. Shell has an area on the side that is broken from a drop, but all internals are unharmed, and system has been tested and was found working as expected. May include additional memory cards for free. | $90.00 |
5. PRE-MADE BUNDLES
| Pre-Made Bundles | Included | Non-Bundle Shipped Price | Bundle Shipped Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atari Gamer | All 6 Atari games. | $63.00 | $40.00 |
| 3DS XL Collector | 3DS XL console, both 3DS games, and all 3 NDS games. | $203.00 | $175.00 |
| NES Gamer | All 11 NES games. | $118.00 | $100.00 |
| PS1 Gamer | All 8 PS1 games. | $107.00 | $100.00 |
| PS2 Gamer | All 7 PS2 games. | $53.00 | $45.00 |
| PS2 Collector | PS2 (Phat, modded) console and all 7 PS2 games. | $143.00 | $120.00 |
| PS3 Gamer | All 11 PS3 games. | $93.00 | $80.00 |
| PS3 Collector | PS3 Slim console and all 11 PS3 games. | $183.00 | $170.00 |
| PS4 Gamer | All 5 PS4 games. | $78.00 | $70.00 |
| Wii Gamer | All 6 Wii games. | $70.00 | $60.00 |
| Xbox 360 Gamer | All 32 Xbox 360 games. | $175.00 | $150.00 |
| Xbox 360 Collector | Gears of War Xbox 360 and all 32 Xbox 360 games. | $265.00 | $200.00 |
| Manuals | All 9 Manuals. | $145.00 | $100.00 |
| Extras | GB-Asteroids, Genesis-Columns, PC-Final Fantasy VIII, SNES-WWF Super Wrestlemania, Switch-Harvest Moon: Light of Hope SE (Complete), Xbox One-Disney Infinity 3.0 Edition | $68.00 | $60.00 |
| Amiibo Collector | All 20 Amiibo. | $384.00 | $350.00 |
| Console Collector | All 4 consoles. | $425.00 | $400.00 |
| Game Collector | All 97 games. | $713.00 | $650.00 |
| Absolutely Everything | Every individual item in this post. | $1607.00 | $1400.00 |
2023.06.04 08:01 xSlewey Invest in Snow White or continue with Alice?
My Alice currently is at +2 core level, has 1 OL gloves with crit rate and +50% max ammo increase, with 6/4/6 in her skills.
Snow White is currently 1 star, no OL gear, and only 1/1/1.
I know this looks like an obvious choice to just commit to Alice since I have more going for her, but I've been interested in committing resources toward Snow White due to her burst damage potential.
Kit wise Snow White's Burst skill only needs real investment unlike Alice who needs her burst and Skill 1 at high levels, and Snow White gives me another viable B3 for Union Raids.
submitted by xSlewey to NikkeMobile [link] [comments]
Snow White is currently 1 star, no OL gear, and only 1/1/1.
I know this looks like an obvious choice to just commit to Alice since I have more going for her, but I've been interested in committing resources toward Snow White due to her burst damage potential.
Kit wise Snow White's Burst skill only needs real investment unlike Alice who needs her burst and Skill 1 at high levels, and Snow White gives me another viable B3 for Union Raids.
2023.06.04 07:56 xSlewey Invest in Alice or Snow White?
My Alice currently is at +2 core level, has 1 OL gloves with crit rate and +50% max ammo increase, with 6/4/6 in her skills.
Snow White is currently 1 star, no OL gear, and only 1/1/1.
I know this looks like an obvious choice to just commit to Alice since I have more going for her, but I've been interested in committing resources toward Snow White due to her burst damage potential.
Kit wise Snow White's Burst skill only needs real investment unlike Alice who needs her burst and Skill 1 at high levels, and Snow White gives me another viable B3 for Union Raids.
submitted by xSlewey to NikkeOutpost [link] [comments]
Snow White is currently 1 star, no OL gear, and only 1/1/1.
I know this looks like an obvious choice to just commit to Alice since I have more going for her, but I've been interested in committing resources toward Snow White due to her burst damage potential.
Kit wise Snow White's Burst skill only needs real investment unlike Alice who needs her burst and Skill 1 at high levels, and Snow White gives me another viable B3 for Union Raids.
2023.06.04 07:54 jjustonyy 8.5 Renegades guide!
Edit: Reddit has spoken haha. I've had tonnes of fun with 7 renegades this set so this is the hill I'll die on. Hopefully set 9 pops off.
Hey everyone,
Just wanted to share a comp I really enjoyed this set and hitting masters first time with it. Primarily wanted to have an archive for myself as I've had so much fun with it.
I'm a dogshit player and even I hit Masters, but I'm confident this board is one of the highest cap comps to exist in TFT.
Lolchess. Lolchess smurf FWIW.
When to play
Really strong with a renegade spat opener. Playing sylas and lucian to hit 7 renegade and dropping Alistar is too deadweight at 8. If you're forcing renegades without spat, drop down to 5 renegades. Also if you're contested its an 8th, from my experience if you 2* Jhin but 1* Viego and vice versa, its not enough to take you top 4.
Solid opener is lots of gloves early or 2-1 hero augment, refer to hero augments below.
Basic level 8 board no spat - You can replace Ekko with any unit you want, I prefer the extra front line.
Basic level 8 board w spat - Late game drop Lucian for Leona. If you hit more renegade spats you can drop Sylas + Camille. In my games I can feel the difference between 7 > 5 from messing up Zac positioning, I wouldn't recommend dropping from 7 > 5 for legendaries.
Opening carousel. If I were a smarter player I'd start sword, as it gives a lot more comp flex choices but I always start gloves. LW slam, no pivot.
Carousel prio is spat > swords + rods. Most items are usable as once offs but multiple tears can be rough.
I play this board like a pig, giga greedy. Only rolling down 4-2 or 4-5 depending on econ for that game. You'll be quite low some games but I've had a lot of 1 hp sweeps with this comp (HYPE).
Early game.
Strongest board to preserve health. Lose streak if gold opener. If underground early, aim for 2/3 cashout. Hold Sylas + Lucians + Camille early.
Some early game boards that worked for me.
Admin - Since we run Camille, any team heal is strong early for streaking + preserving hp. "Killer gains X" can also be strong for funnelling stats into Jhin/Viego if a random admin spat shows up.
Infiniteam - Pantheon + Sivir are great Viego + Jhin item holders. Works well too in that you have renegades already in for augment biasing.
Kayle duelist + Draven also good Jhin holder as well.
Unit positioning
Lucian - keep away from Jhin so he doesn't bait Garen stun into Jhin. You want him 3rd row so he dies and triggers renegade bonus early.
Pyke - pyke targets corners, so scout for easy corner targets. SPAT PYKE. You don't want spat on Vex otherwise he griefs renegade bonus.
Leona - scout for tanks. Easy. I personally sandwich between Alistar + Zac so she doesn't get focused by DPS.
Viego - worth mentioning I try keep Viego on the opposite side of high single target dps such as TF.
Garbage riftwalker mechanic - I've lost games dipping from 7>6 renegades. As a boomer apm player, I've literally resorted to clumping Jhin + Zac when shuffling units. Examples
Hero augments
Leona carry/support - lets you drop lucian if you haven't hit leona yet. Stats wise carry>support.
Jhin carry - opens up 3* Jhin/Viego as realistic options.
Jhin support - diminished value at higher renegade level. Only good at renegade 3.
Viego carry/support - I personally prefer Jhin carry unless I've got items ready for Viego. Stats wise very similar, comes down to personal preference.
Camille support - All round good augment.
Camille carry - If given 2-1, can help save health/streak early. Bit more front line late game.
Pyke carry/support - both work well. Important to track econ when playing carry augment, don't hold too many worthless pairs early to be broke.
Vex support - I've never tried it but apparently has solid stats.
Lucian carry - broken augment. Doesn't need any items on him.
Sylas support - not bad for 2-1. The bonus mana does wonders for majority of your board. Best part is griefing Garen players.
Augments
Preparation - flat AD/AP scale very well with renegade. Most of my 1 hp comebacks have been due to prep.
Jeweled lotus - insane with renegades, let's you drop IE on Jhin
Renegade Heart/Crest/Soul - self explanatory.
Portable forge - There are so many hits since you're picking between Jhin/Viego items.
Last stand - guaranteed first.
Battlemage - boosts frontline + juicy ap onto Viego.
Second wind - bit generic but worth mentioning it comes in clutch more often than not.
Items
Jhin - IE + DB is core. Avoid slamming IE early for the off chance of jeweled lotus.
Viego - Spark is core. Raw AP is good. I find JG only good if you have a 2nd crit item.
Alistar - Warmog, sunfire
Leona - BT/gunblade, tank items, mana items (chalice, BB, vow)
Ornn items - zhonyas, collector, cleaver, deaths defiance
Renegade spat - first one always goes on pyke. More the merrier, let's you drop Sylas + Camille.
That's it! Any feedback let me know. Had the most fun in TFT in a while, favourite iteration of Jhin.
submitted by jjustonyy to CompetitiveTFT [link] [comments]
Hey everyone,
Just wanted to share a comp I really enjoyed this set and hitting masters first time with it. Primarily wanted to have an archive for myself as I've had so much fun with it.
I'm a dogshit player and even I hit Masters, but I'm confident this board is one of the highest cap comps to exist in TFT.
Lolchess. Lolchess smurf FWIW.
When to play
Really strong with a renegade spat opener. Playing sylas and lucian to hit 7 renegade and dropping Alistar is too deadweight at 8. If you're forcing renegades without spat, drop down to 5 renegades. Also if you're contested its an 8th, from my experience if you 2* Jhin but 1* Viego and vice versa, its not enough to take you top 4.
Solid opener is lots of gloves early or 2-1 hero augment, refer to hero augments below.
Basic level 8 board no spat - You can replace Ekko with any unit you want, I prefer the extra front line.
Basic level 8 board w spat - Late game drop Lucian for Leona. If you hit more renegade spats you can drop Sylas + Camille. In my games I can feel the difference between 7 > 5 from messing up Zac positioning, I wouldn't recommend dropping from 7 > 5 for legendaries.
Opening carousel. If I were a smarter player I'd start sword, as it gives a lot more comp flex choices but I always start gloves. LW slam, no pivot.
Carousel prio is spat > swords + rods. Most items are usable as once offs but multiple tears can be rough.
I play this board like a pig, giga greedy. Only rolling down 4-2 or 4-5 depending on econ for that game. You'll be quite low some games but I've had a lot of 1 hp sweeps with this comp (HYPE).
Early game.
Strongest board to preserve health. Lose streak if gold opener. If underground early, aim for 2/3 cashout. Hold Sylas + Lucians + Camille early.
Some early game boards that worked for me.
Admin - Since we run Camille, any team heal is strong early for streaking + preserving hp. "Killer gains X" can also be strong for funnelling stats into Jhin/Viego if a random admin spat shows up.
Infiniteam - Pantheon + Sivir are great Viego + Jhin item holders. Works well too in that you have renegades already in for augment biasing.
Kayle duelist + Draven also good Jhin holder as well.
Unit positioning
Lucian - keep away from Jhin so he doesn't bait Garen stun into Jhin. You want him 3rd row so he dies and triggers renegade bonus early.
Pyke - pyke targets corners, so scout for easy corner targets. SPAT PYKE. You don't want spat on Vex otherwise he griefs renegade bonus.
Leona - scout for tanks. Easy. I personally sandwich between Alistar + Zac so she doesn't get focused by DPS.
Viego - worth mentioning I try keep Viego on the opposite side of high single target dps such as TF.
Garbage riftwalker mechanic - I've lost games dipping from 7>6 renegades. As a boomer apm player, I've literally resorted to clumping Jhin + Zac when shuffling units. Examples
Hero augments
Leona carry/support - lets you drop lucian if you haven't hit leona yet. Stats wise carry>support.
Jhin carry - opens up 3* Jhin/Viego as realistic options.
Jhin support - diminished value at higher renegade level. Only good at renegade 3.
Viego carry/support - I personally prefer Jhin carry unless I've got items ready for Viego. Stats wise very similar, comes down to personal preference.
Camille support - All round good augment.
Camille carry - If given 2-1, can help save health/streak early. Bit more front line late game.
Pyke carry/support - both work well. Important to track econ when playing carry augment, don't hold too many worthless pairs early to be broke.
Vex support - I've never tried it but apparently has solid stats.
Lucian carry - broken augment. Doesn't need any items on him.
Sylas support - not bad for 2-1. The bonus mana does wonders for majority of your board. Best part is griefing Garen players.
Augments
Preparation - flat AD/AP scale very well with renegade. Most of my 1 hp comebacks have been due to prep.
Jeweled lotus - insane with renegades, let's you drop IE on Jhin
Renegade Heart/Crest/Soul - self explanatory.
Portable forge - There are so many hits since you're picking between Jhin/Viego items.
Last stand - guaranteed first.
Battlemage - boosts frontline + juicy ap onto Viego.
Second wind - bit generic but worth mentioning it comes in clutch more often than not.
Items
Jhin - IE + DB is core. Avoid slamming IE early for the off chance of jeweled lotus.
Viego - Spark is core. Raw AP is good. I find JG only good if you have a 2nd crit item.
Alistar - Warmog, sunfire
Leona - BT/gunblade, tank items, mana items (chalice, BB, vow)
Ornn items - zhonyas, collector, cleaver, deaths defiance
Renegade spat - first one always goes on pyke. More the merrier, let's you drop Sylas + Camille.
That's it! Any feedback let me know. Had the most fun in TFT in a while, favourite iteration of Jhin.
2023.06.04 07:27 2107Blake Simple Maths Vigor (part 2)
 | And so, here we go again with simple maths! submitted by 2107Blake to vigorgame [link] [comments] I'll be shorter on this one, just gonna say what's wrong and what the price should've been. First, Parade Uniform says 20% off 450 crowns; that should be 360 crowns. <_< 2nd, Beret (laureled star), actually good math! 3rd, Armor Plate plan, again good math! 4th, the Poppy skin for M3... says 40% off 150 crowns; that should be 90 crowns. >_> 5th, the Air Guitar gesture, actually bad math but should've been 200 crowns so more than the 20% off the 250 crowns listed! (BUY IT, 36% OFF!) And 6th, the Parade Gloves (memorable white) says 20% off 250 crowns; that should be 200 crowns. Again Vigor, can we have our crowns back please? (For those who did pay the wrong price) |
2023.06.04 07:00 Umitencho The Real House-Keepers of Jacksonville Beach - The Story So Far
Pretext - out of boredom, gonna write a summary of the ongoings of a certain hotel at Jax Beach. I get to vent, you get hot tea not seen on tv or streaming.
The Story So Far - New hotel is opening soon. They fired their old staff during covid and need new workers. They host an internal job fair(they are the only company there hiring) at a sister location.
I go to the fair on Saturday, I want to be a laundry-person so that I can work without having to put on a fake smile in front of people everyday. I also interview for front desk. I am turned down for not having front desk experience. I get turned down for laundry and instead get pushed to being a lobby person because of my "personality". It gets described as almost like a restaurant hostess position with tip potential, the base pay is higher than my past job so eh. I get hired. After a delay in paperwork, we show up two weeks later for orientation. Nothing out of the ordinary except we are told that we have to put the hotel together ourselves once we get the permits to be on location. We train at two hotels. Nothing remarkable except workers were drinking guest coffee and apparently the housekeepers were running the clock. Our breakfast manager gets into an argument with some of us during the computer training section because we need to be quiet and do our work. First crack in the social fabric.
We finally get the permits to be on the premises. Less than a week of being on site, a house keeper and the breakfast manager start arguing. Not long after that, the same housekeeper got fired for cussing out our HR lady while arguing with the head chef in the elevator going home.
During a planned power outage caught two workers giving head in one of the rooms while I was putting hangers in each room. My partner for the same task would never return to work after lunch.
We were promised an extended weekend near the hotel opening. The day before said weekend, corporate came by and canceled that weekend. Everyone was pissed and I was the only one of few people to show up on Sunday. Around this time, my manager decided to fill our staffing gaps with a staffing company. Two of these workers were caught spying on everyone else to take pictures on everyone and go to my manager with the pics. My manager also cussed out the staffing company because how dare people want to be off on Sunday or have a life outside the hotel. Go cuss out corporate for being a bunch of tone deaf idiots.
My manager sent me and 3 others to go clean the employee break area. We did not need that many people. I could have done it alone myself. I have to once the hotel opens anyway. I decided to just delegate different cleaning tasks and then finish up once they are done. Breakfast manager comes in and just starts sweeping for no reason. My boss comes in and chews me out in front of other people. I do later get an private apology in our gym, but I felt I was set up.
We are allowed to visit bars but not drink alcohol and must be at tables, not the bar section itself. Breakfast manager was going to Lynch's for lunch and having a beer, and then showing the pics of said beers to my co-workers. The managers in general got caught with some apple based alcohol in their office as well.
So once the hotel opens, our positions become malleable. I was told I would be either Lobby or Houseman. I have to now do the duties of both + room service. And no, people don't tip for room service, at least I am paid decent enough, then again I don't pay rent so maybe I am speaking from a privileged position.
Let's talk about the two spies - They are the other lobby-person and our main houseman. Everyone hates cleaning windows. The other lobby-person is supposed to handle such a job but neglects them. After back and forth with my manager, I handle windows now. Our houseman is supposed to handle the upper floors + take out the trash. He is seen constantly on the second floor laughing it up with laundry and doing lobby person stuff. I asked for a assistant and was denied, but the other lobby-person gets one. He was slacking off so hard that he neglected to clean the guest laundry for three days, and as such we got complaints daily about it being dirty. I now handle the guest laundry. I caught him following me and taking pics. And some other workers came up to me and said they heard him in conversation with my manager over these pics. Apparently the pair wouldn't work until our manager came to work, and would sit for hours in the break room, yet complained about our graveyard shift worker doing the same. They started disappearing in the morning before the manager came in. No one knew where they went. We found out at last what they were up to. They got caught in one of these house keeping closest having sex. This same person is about to get promoted. Suck your way to the top top top.
We were having issues with keeping housekeeping closets stocked because our houseman was busy having a party in laundry. I started stocking them myself during my shift. Due to the benefits of such, people during my shift(not me anymore) have to stock the closets now. We had a similar issue with laundry as there is only some much we can wash and dry in one 8 hour shift. I suggested we open up a night shift for laundry. In the meantime I would wash and dry as I could. We eventually got a night-shift. Laundry flows so much better now.
They choose a terrible color for our lobby floor. White and it's various shades including cream are hard to keep clean. Especially with the foot traffic from people coming to and from the bar. After an complaint from bar staff about the spots our temp cleaning machine missed. I got the idea to just take some industrial de-greaser and scrub the floors myself. It took three days. It so also happens that our president was coming for a visit, so my little idea of scrubbing the floors also saved everyone's tooshies. Did I get a thanks? No. "When are you gonna clean up your mess" was the response while I waited on the floors to dry because degreasers take forever. I have to put down wet floor signs so that we don't get sued to oblivion if someone slips. Sorry that wet floor signs aren't aesthetic. Dirty floors aren't either you know.
I got written up twice. Once for leaving early and not telling graveyard shift such. I was told by my manager that if I arrive late to shift my leaving time so I am still giving the company 8 hours of work. The same for the vice versa. It was also around the time when I realized that I was now also doing houseman duties despite what I was told and promised. So written up for following manager instructions and low key insubordination because excuse me for trying to do the job I was contracted for. I arrive early to work and leave exactly at the appointed time. You just written me up into more money. Thanks.
The second time was really really my fault. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have been doing social media on my current accounts for like 6-7 years. Work + keeping up with it was getting a little overwhelming last month and I worked myself into going to work, doing social media stuff up to two hours before before my next shift with no sleep, and went to work. I was exhausted and should have sent myself to the break room. I was instead chilling with front desk between tasks and that got caught on camera. My manager also was trying to accuse me of not cleaning the bathrooms properly, but after seeing my process realized that it wasn't me. And I didn't get any verbal warnings that I was picking up bad behaviors. Straight to write up. She gives me this look after that incident, but that might do to now wearing sunglasses and a mask to work. I clean bathrooms for a living now. Excuse me if I don't want to be breathing in poop and pee particles + these heavy cleaning materials. My mother is sick with cancer, I don't need to be bringing anything home. Period. Also the lighting is too bright, thus shades.
Oh, yes the Lobby-person position. It's just another term for janitor. I asked to be transferred to the kitchen after my manager got caught making fun of me to other managers and suggesting ways to fire me, but she blocked the transfer. I went in an asked for a raise, radio silence.
Starting today or Monday is associate/employee appreciation week. It is also time for our 90 day assessments. I fully expect to be fired this week, so maybe these posts will last for only one more post.
See you next Sunday.
submitted by Umitencho to jacksonville [link] [comments]
The Story So Far - New hotel is opening soon. They fired their old staff during covid and need new workers. They host an internal job fair(they are the only company there hiring) at a sister location.
I go to the fair on Saturday, I want to be a laundry-person so that I can work without having to put on a fake smile in front of people everyday. I also interview for front desk. I am turned down for not having front desk experience. I get turned down for laundry and instead get pushed to being a lobby person because of my "personality". It gets described as almost like a restaurant hostess position with tip potential, the base pay is higher than my past job so eh. I get hired. After a delay in paperwork, we show up two weeks later for orientation. Nothing out of the ordinary except we are told that we have to put the hotel together ourselves once we get the permits to be on location. We train at two hotels. Nothing remarkable except workers were drinking guest coffee and apparently the housekeepers were running the clock. Our breakfast manager gets into an argument with some of us during the computer training section because we need to be quiet and do our work. First crack in the social fabric.
We finally get the permits to be on the premises. Less than a week of being on site, a house keeper and the breakfast manager start arguing. Not long after that, the same housekeeper got fired for cussing out our HR lady while arguing with the head chef in the elevator going home.
During a planned power outage caught two workers giving head in one of the rooms while I was putting hangers in each room. My partner for the same task would never return to work after lunch.
We were promised an extended weekend near the hotel opening. The day before said weekend, corporate came by and canceled that weekend. Everyone was pissed and I was the only one of few people to show up on Sunday. Around this time, my manager decided to fill our staffing gaps with a staffing company. Two of these workers were caught spying on everyone else to take pictures on everyone and go to my manager with the pics. My manager also cussed out the staffing company because how dare people want to be off on Sunday or have a life outside the hotel. Go cuss out corporate for being a bunch of tone deaf idiots.
My manager sent me and 3 others to go clean the employee break area. We did not need that many people. I could have done it alone myself. I have to once the hotel opens anyway. I decided to just delegate different cleaning tasks and then finish up once they are done. Breakfast manager comes in and just starts sweeping for no reason. My boss comes in and chews me out in front of other people. I do later get an private apology in our gym, but I felt I was set up.
We are allowed to visit bars but not drink alcohol and must be at tables, not the bar section itself. Breakfast manager was going to Lynch's for lunch and having a beer, and then showing the pics of said beers to my co-workers. The managers in general got caught with some apple based alcohol in their office as well.
So once the hotel opens, our positions become malleable. I was told I would be either Lobby or Houseman. I have to now do the duties of both + room service. And no, people don't tip for room service, at least I am paid decent enough, then again I don't pay rent so maybe I am speaking from a privileged position.
Let's talk about the two spies - They are the other lobby-person and our main houseman. Everyone hates cleaning windows. The other lobby-person is supposed to handle such a job but neglects them. After back and forth with my manager, I handle windows now. Our houseman is supposed to handle the upper floors + take out the trash. He is seen constantly on the second floor laughing it up with laundry and doing lobby person stuff. I asked for a assistant and was denied, but the other lobby-person gets one. He was slacking off so hard that he neglected to clean the guest laundry for three days, and as such we got complaints daily about it being dirty. I now handle the guest laundry. I caught him following me and taking pics. And some other workers came up to me and said they heard him in conversation with my manager over these pics. Apparently the pair wouldn't work until our manager came to work, and would sit for hours in the break room, yet complained about our graveyard shift worker doing the same. They started disappearing in the morning before the manager came in. No one knew where they went. We found out at last what they were up to. They got caught in one of these house keeping closest having sex. This same person is about to get promoted. Suck your way to the top top top.
We were having issues with keeping housekeeping closets stocked because our houseman was busy having a party in laundry. I started stocking them myself during my shift. Due to the benefits of such, people during my shift(not me anymore) have to stock the closets now. We had a similar issue with laundry as there is only some much we can wash and dry in one 8 hour shift. I suggested we open up a night shift for laundry. In the meantime I would wash and dry as I could. We eventually got a night-shift. Laundry flows so much better now.
They choose a terrible color for our lobby floor. White and it's various shades including cream are hard to keep clean. Especially with the foot traffic from people coming to and from the bar. After an complaint from bar staff about the spots our temp cleaning machine missed. I got the idea to just take some industrial de-greaser and scrub the floors myself. It took three days. It so also happens that our president was coming for a visit, so my little idea of scrubbing the floors also saved everyone's tooshies. Did I get a thanks? No. "When are you gonna clean up your mess" was the response while I waited on the floors to dry because degreasers take forever. I have to put down wet floor signs so that we don't get sued to oblivion if someone slips. Sorry that wet floor signs aren't aesthetic. Dirty floors aren't either you know.
I got written up twice. Once for leaving early and not telling graveyard shift such. I was told by my manager that if I arrive late to shift my leaving time so I am still giving the company 8 hours of work. The same for the vice versa. It was also around the time when I realized that I was now also doing houseman duties despite what I was told and promised. So written up for following manager instructions and low key insubordination because excuse me for trying to do the job I was contracted for. I arrive early to work and leave exactly at the appointed time. You just written me up into more money. Thanks.
The second time was really really my fault. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have been doing social media on my current accounts for like 6-7 years. Work + keeping up with it was getting a little overwhelming last month and I worked myself into going to work, doing social media stuff up to two hours before before my next shift with no sleep, and went to work. I was exhausted and should have sent myself to the break room. I was instead chilling with front desk between tasks and that got caught on camera. My manager also was trying to accuse me of not cleaning the bathrooms properly, but after seeing my process realized that it wasn't me. And I didn't get any verbal warnings that I was picking up bad behaviors. Straight to write up. She gives me this look after that incident, but that might do to now wearing sunglasses and a mask to work. I clean bathrooms for a living now. Excuse me if I don't want to be breathing in poop and pee particles + these heavy cleaning materials. My mother is sick with cancer, I don't need to be bringing anything home. Period. Also the lighting is too bright, thus shades.
Oh, yes the Lobby-person position. It's just another term for janitor. I asked to be transferred to the kitchen after my manager got caught making fun of me to other managers and suggesting ways to fire me, but she blocked the transfer. I went in an asked for a raise, radio silence.
Starting today or Monday is associate/employee appreciation week. It is also time for our 90 day assessments. I fully expect to be fired this week, so maybe these posts will last for only one more post.
See you next Sunday.
2023.06.04 06:04 One-Yam2819 She really needs to pick her spots, when wearing those long white gloves đ€ŠââïžThey don't fit every occasion. Jackie O...No
 | submitted by One-Yam2819 to WhitePeopleTwitter [link] [comments] |
2023.06.04 06:01 CakeDude34 A Hypothetical Fallout RTS
So have been thinking about a hypothetical Fallout RTS that could be interesting and Bethesda would have options for factions and mechanics so I thought of some.
Major Factions on launch
Minutemen
East Coast Brotherhood(Fallout 4)
Railroad
Institute
No particular reason I chose the Fallout 4 factions over the New Vegas ones I just wanted to have 4 factions on launch
DLC Factions Ideas
Realistic options
NCR
Caesarâs Legion
Vegas
Master
Enclave (Fallout 2)
These guys have decent options for content and useful array of troops that they would be realistic factions options
Possible factions
Enclave (Fallout 3)
East Coast Brotherhood (Fallout 3)
West Coast Brotherhood
Nuka World Raiders
Some faction from Fallout 76
These factions are possible but can't really think of much to flesh them out like how can I make the West coast Brotherhood stand out from the east coast variants. Thinking that the West Coast Brotherhood, Fallout 3 Brotherhood and Fallout 3 Enclave can be subfactions that you can chose when you start the game up
Strengths and weaknesses of the Base game factions
Generally how I thought of the Factions abilities is that I based on Lore and stuff we see in games, example give with the Enclave from Fallout 2 we see that they don't like outsider so that will be reflected in how they work
Minutemen- Good all arounder with easier time capturing settlements (more on that in the Gameplay) for resource production with maybe access to T-45 so they can hold their own against the Brotherhood. Also I am thinking they would be more defensive of the four base game factions as they will generally want to defend areas to hold out for reinforcements.
East Coast Brotherhood(Fallout 4)- Access to high end energy weapons and Power Armor. Weakness more Expensive Units and slower to build said units and capture time on settlements is slowed
Railroad- Smallest armies of the base game factions but higher quality troops and relying more on Hero like units such as Deacon and Glory and good tech options with Gauss rifles and Railroad Heavy Armor
Institute- Cheap and disposable units in Gen 1 and Gen 2 synths and powerful units in Coursers with maybe some Super mutants for fun. However Coursers are not cheap and slow to build and the Institute will have a terrible time capturing Settlements.
Some DLC factions Strengths and Weaknesses
NCR-access to good units in the form of Rangers and Heavy Troops but both will have a limit and are costly, for the majority will have to be the standard trooper. Along with this lack of good hero like units or none at all, canât think of any charter that would fit except maybe Oliver or Boone along with a penalty to working with minor factions (I will touch on those in a bit)
The Legion- Cheap troops that level up the more combat they experience becoming better and better until reaching a limited number of Praetorian Guards. Good heroes in the form of Lanius, Joshua Graham, and maybe Ulysses. Downsides lack of a good tech tree with your better units coming from your soldiers being upgraded. Also when they capture settlements they enslave them for a time penalty on resource production as the settlers adjust to the new rule.
Vegas- Powerful Securitron Mk 1 units and has an easier time getting caps and can gain access to Mk 2 series. Downside said Mk 2 series requires the Platinum chip to be gained, an expensive and slow tech to research that would take a while to gain and would be an end game tech for Vegas. Along with a lack of good units outside of the Securitrons, after all the White Gloves run at the courier with dressing canes
Master- Strong mutants that can hold their own along with nightkin for more hit and run tactics. Downsides Mutants require a new resource specific to the Master, Humans which he will need to make new Mutants that can be gain from settlements of all types but is gained slowly and the Master has an option to take people from settlement for a cost of resource production for a time
Enclave (Fallout 2) best Power Armor available in the form of the Mark 1 and access to Gen 2 mutants to perform as a stop gap troop. Can not capture settlements only wipe them out and colonize faster than other factions and gain a production boost for them as well and gain more resources from their buildings
Gameplay
Every Faction has access to Hero Units on top of their standard units. These will be either Companions from said faction, Preston for the Minutemen, faction leaders Legate Lanius, or both if they have good options Maxson or Danse from Fallout 4. Each one will be better in different roles when compared to others like Danse would probably be one of the better ones from a combat perspective but Preston would be better in a support role.
There will be minor factions on the map like Boomers, Great Khans, Children of Atom or Brotherhood chapters if no player is a Brotherhood faction. They can give you rewards in the form of troops or abilities to aid in the battle if you manage to secure their loyalty, or be wiped out so no one can get it though it will be difficult. Also should note if they are secured by one faction then they will not be able to be taken control by another faction so they will have to be killed, though if the faction like the NCR gets the loyalty of the Boomers and the NCR is defeated then they go back to neutral. You can think of them like shops from Warcraft 3 where you can buy potions or items from them
Along with the more neutral factions there would be one the map hostile like raiders or hostile fauna that can be kill for exp for heroes or Legions soldiers
The map will have settlements around that are the key to getting resources such as food, water, caps and other items that can be captured and can act as staging ground for attacks. Idea based of the resource points from Company of Heroes
Once a settlement is taken it will have to be captured by force for a cost of production for a time or destroyed so the opponent canât take it back. I am thinking that player owns it they can destroy it to prevent it from falling to the enemies hands
If a settlement is wiped out the player will be able to recolonize it for the same benefit. Thought it will be while for it come back online. This could be annoying to programed but it would be interesting to see
You can also build resource production buildings in your base that can give you resources but they will produce less than settlements but some factions will be able to get more out of them such as the Enclave and Institute.
Tech
How tech would work is that you can research it in dedicated buildings, for example a âresearch hubâ is where you would research better armor or weapons. Another way is to have specific buildings to get it like in Starcraft, for example to build NCR rangers at your barracks you would need a Ranger station or something like that.
There would also be unique tech for some factions as mentioned before Gauss rifles and Railroad Heavy armor would be given to the Railroad and Mark 1 Power Armor for the Enclave.
Conclusion
So here are some of the ideas and general concepts of how I think a Fallout RTS would work and would like to hear what everyone else thinks.
submitted by CakeDude34 to Fallout [link] [comments]
Major Factions on launch
Minutemen
East Coast Brotherhood(Fallout 4)
Railroad
Institute
No particular reason I chose the Fallout 4 factions over the New Vegas ones I just wanted to have 4 factions on launch
DLC Factions Ideas
Realistic options
NCR
Caesarâs Legion
Vegas
Master
Enclave (Fallout 2)
These guys have decent options for content and useful array of troops that they would be realistic factions options
Possible factions
Enclave (Fallout 3)
East Coast Brotherhood (Fallout 3)
West Coast Brotherhood
Nuka World Raiders
Some faction from Fallout 76
These factions are possible but can't really think of much to flesh them out like how can I make the West coast Brotherhood stand out from the east coast variants. Thinking that the West Coast Brotherhood, Fallout 3 Brotherhood and Fallout 3 Enclave can be subfactions that you can chose when you start the game up
Strengths and weaknesses of the Base game factions
Generally how I thought of the Factions abilities is that I based on Lore and stuff we see in games, example give with the Enclave from Fallout 2 we see that they don't like outsider so that will be reflected in how they work
Minutemen- Good all arounder with easier time capturing settlements (more on that in the Gameplay) for resource production with maybe access to T-45 so they can hold their own against the Brotherhood. Also I am thinking they would be more defensive of the four base game factions as they will generally want to defend areas to hold out for reinforcements.
East Coast Brotherhood(Fallout 4)- Access to high end energy weapons and Power Armor. Weakness more Expensive Units and slower to build said units and capture time on settlements is slowed
Railroad- Smallest armies of the base game factions but higher quality troops and relying more on Hero like units such as Deacon and Glory and good tech options with Gauss rifles and Railroad Heavy Armor
Institute- Cheap and disposable units in Gen 1 and Gen 2 synths and powerful units in Coursers with maybe some Super mutants for fun. However Coursers are not cheap and slow to build and the Institute will have a terrible time capturing Settlements.
Some DLC factions Strengths and Weaknesses
NCR-access to good units in the form of Rangers and Heavy Troops but both will have a limit and are costly, for the majority will have to be the standard trooper. Along with this lack of good hero like units or none at all, canât think of any charter that would fit except maybe Oliver or Boone along with a penalty to working with minor factions (I will touch on those in a bit)
The Legion- Cheap troops that level up the more combat they experience becoming better and better until reaching a limited number of Praetorian Guards. Good heroes in the form of Lanius, Joshua Graham, and maybe Ulysses. Downsides lack of a good tech tree with your better units coming from your soldiers being upgraded. Also when they capture settlements they enslave them for a time penalty on resource production as the settlers adjust to the new rule.
Vegas- Powerful Securitron Mk 1 units and has an easier time getting caps and can gain access to Mk 2 series. Downside said Mk 2 series requires the Platinum chip to be gained, an expensive and slow tech to research that would take a while to gain and would be an end game tech for Vegas. Along with a lack of good units outside of the Securitrons, after all the White Gloves run at the courier with dressing canes
Master- Strong mutants that can hold their own along with nightkin for more hit and run tactics. Downsides Mutants require a new resource specific to the Master, Humans which he will need to make new Mutants that can be gain from settlements of all types but is gained slowly and the Master has an option to take people from settlement for a cost of resource production for a time
Enclave (Fallout 2) best Power Armor available in the form of the Mark 1 and access to Gen 2 mutants to perform as a stop gap troop. Can not capture settlements only wipe them out and colonize faster than other factions and gain a production boost for them as well and gain more resources from their buildings
Gameplay
Every Faction has access to Hero Units on top of their standard units. These will be either Companions from said faction, Preston for the Minutemen, faction leaders Legate Lanius, or both if they have good options Maxson or Danse from Fallout 4. Each one will be better in different roles when compared to others like Danse would probably be one of the better ones from a combat perspective but Preston would be better in a support role.
There will be minor factions on the map like Boomers, Great Khans, Children of Atom or Brotherhood chapters if no player is a Brotherhood faction. They can give you rewards in the form of troops or abilities to aid in the battle if you manage to secure their loyalty, or be wiped out so no one can get it though it will be difficult. Also should note if they are secured by one faction then they will not be able to be taken control by another faction so they will have to be killed, though if the faction like the NCR gets the loyalty of the Boomers and the NCR is defeated then they go back to neutral. You can think of them like shops from Warcraft 3 where you can buy potions or items from them
Along with the more neutral factions there would be one the map hostile like raiders or hostile fauna that can be kill for exp for heroes or Legions soldiers
The map will have settlements around that are the key to getting resources such as food, water, caps and other items that can be captured and can act as staging ground for attacks. Idea based of the resource points from Company of Heroes
Once a settlement is taken it will have to be captured by force for a cost of production for a time or destroyed so the opponent canât take it back. I am thinking that player owns it they can destroy it to prevent it from falling to the enemies hands
If a settlement is wiped out the player will be able to recolonize it for the same benefit. Thought it will be while for it come back online. This could be annoying to programed but it would be interesting to see
You can also build resource production buildings in your base that can give you resources but they will produce less than settlements but some factions will be able to get more out of them such as the Enclave and Institute.
Tech
How tech would work is that you can research it in dedicated buildings, for example a âresearch hubâ is where you would research better armor or weapons. Another way is to have specific buildings to get it like in Starcraft, for example to build NCR rangers at your barracks you would need a Ranger station or something like that.
There would also be unique tech for some factions as mentioned before Gauss rifles and Railroad Heavy armor would be given to the Railroad and Mark 1 Power Armor for the Enclave.
Conclusion
So here are some of the ideas and general concepts of how I think a Fallout RTS would work and would like to hear what everyone else thinks.
2023.06.04 05:30 PunkrockPopeye Beat Em'!
 | "Beat Em'!" submitted by PunkrockPopeye to funny [link] [comments] Sometime among the events of the very first Kinder Cosmic... The director of the United States Space Force marches back and forth before a gathered group of several hardened space marines all standing at attention within a large training room as he addresses the group with a general Patton like speech. USSF Director: Ladies and gentlemen...We are at the precipice of the dawn of a new age! *The group murmurs amongst one another curiously. USSF Director: Time and time again threats from opposing galaxies, dimensions, and outer worlds; some beyond the very realm of human comprehension have descended upon our little blue marble suspended in space and threatened our quality of life, our society, our safety, our sovereignty and our very existence! *Several members of the group shudder and gasp as the director continues his sermon. USSF Director: If the citizens of this United States, no...The very world itself are to maintain our status qu- *The group diverts their attention behind the director towards the sound of a loud, laborious sigh. *The director shoots a disapproving glare at the alien grey known as Alpha as he continues to speak. USSF Director: As of late, the only force standing between the citizens of this planet and total annihilation has been... The lady astronaut and appointed liaison to the greys; one Luna Valentina gently pushes the little grey alien known as Jorg towards the middle of the room as she whispers in his earholes. Luna: ...Go ahead, Jorg! *Dressed in a bright red silk dress and miniskirt with a purple bandanna tied tightly around the crown of his head; Jorg stares at the hem of his dress with either side clasped tightly within his hands as he swings his hips from side to side and hums happily as the dress flutters back and forth. The USSF Director sighs apathetically as he continues to speak, pointing at the little grey now standing beside him. USSF Director: W-What... *The Director shields his mouth and whispers to Alpha and Luna as Jorg continues swaying unmoved and unbothered. USSF Director: What th-....What is this? *Luna laughs and smiles as she replies patiently. Luna: The only way I could get him to cooperate is if I let him wear his dress! *The Director stares at Jorg still humming and fluttering from side to side and then Alpha confusedly. Alpha: He thinks it makes him stronger... *Luna giggles as she follows Alphaâs words. Luna: He...he doesn't understand how feminism works! *The Director stares at the flamboyant grey and then Alpha once more. *Alpha throws his hands up as he replies. Alpha: Who the hell am I to tell him otherwise? As far as I know it probably does! *The USSF Director sighs frustratedly as he quips. USSF Director: Jesus fucking Christ...Can he fight wearing it? *Alpha smirks mischievously as he speaks. Alpha: ...Jorg? Jorg can fight in anything, anywhere, at anytime! USSF Director: Fine...Well I guess we'll conti- *Suddenly the Director is interrupted by a massive, muscled and imposing Sergeant who addresses the group obnoxiously. Sergeant: Why is that little alien wearing a fuckin' miniskirt!? Luna snaps defensively. Luna: HE'S IN TOUCH WITH HIS FEMININE SIDE! *A private nearby mutters knowingly. Private: Well, I heard that lil' shit is completely unhinged! *The group of hardened space marines murmur amongst one another as Luna plants her hands on her hips and speaks once more. Luna: NO HE ISNâT! HE SAVED YOUR IGNORANT ASSES! *The Sergeant points at the preoccupied grey as he speaks once again. Sergeant: That scrawny, 80 lbs, ugly ass little critter? Saved what? Ru Paul's drag race? *The private glares at the Sergeant standing beside him confusedly as he continues to speak. Private: Where the hell have you been man!? You didn't hear about what happened in Tulsa? *The Sergeant cuts a sidelong glance at the private as he continues to speak. Sargeant: Stationed abroad... No phones, or internet, or TV, or electricity, or running water...not even a fuckin working toilet! So no...I don't know "what happened in Tulsa". Private: ...Oh. Well I HEARD he leveled half a city fighting some interstellar Lovecraftian planet killer... USSF Director: OFFICIALLY THAT WAS A LEVEL 4 EARTHQUAKE! Private: SURE BOSS! whatever y'all say, it's not like it hasn't been cycling all over Tiktok for months... USSF Director: RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA! A DIVERSIONARY TACTIC TO UNDERMINE UNITED ST- *Alpha sighs again loudly. *As the group continues to bicker incessantly the USSF Commander from "Kinder Cosmic: Paradise Lost" strolls into the training room and smiles with a large grin as he leans against a supply depots consignment widow and addresses it's quartermaster casually. Commander: Has it started yet!? QuarterMaster: ....Has what started yet? *The Commander grins mischievously as he continues to speak. Commander: Say...Are you a bettin' man? Quarter Master: On what exactly? Commander: Costello over there of course! *The Quarter Master stares at the grey still preoccupied with his pretty dress and then the Commander once again. Quarter Master: That sick lookin, effeminate little space midget against ALL OF THEM!? *The Commander smiles knowingly. Commander: You bet your ass! *The QuarterMaster doubles a glance back and forth between the grey and the Commander as he speaks. QuarterMaster: How drunk are you? Commander: VERY! QuarterMaster: How much do you wanna put down on him? *The Commander reaches into his pocket then slams several stacks of money upon the window's table as he speaks. Commander: My ENTIRE goddamned pension! *The Quarter Master stares at the little grey smiling as he swings in his pretty red dress and then the hardened military veterans and finally, the grinning Commander once more. Quarter Master: You're on! *The USSF Director silences the gathered, bickering and murmuring group as he interjects. USSF Director: QUIET! *The group of military commandos quickly stand at attention as the USSF Director commences pacing and continues his addressment once again while Luna smiles knowingly and Alpha shakes his head from side to side...also knowingly. USSF Director: THE POINT IS! That we're facing a potential threat that is completely out of human understanding, the very laws of physics itself and our current martial capabilities! *The USSF Director points at the greys; Alphaâs arms folded as he stands like a solemn statue and Jorg still hyperfocused as he busily plays with his red dress. USSF Director: Although they ARE friendl- *Alphaâs face sours distastefully as he hisses underbreath. Alpha: Pshhh... *The Director darts a sharp glare at Alpha who returns it with a twisted, smug expression and then at Luna who shrugs her shoulders casually. USSF Director: ....Although they ARE NOT THE ENEMY we can not let the future of humanity... *The Director stares at Jorg who is still absolutely lost within his own world as he continues to speak. USSF Director: ...Rest upon the strapless shoulder blades of one four and a half foot; morally and mentally compromised little...whatever in the hell this thing is. *The Director points towards Jorg as he flutters and sways repeatedly. *Luna retorts defensively as Alpha comments sarcastically. Luna: HEY! Alpha: Well...I mean, he's right. Man's still kinda a misguided idiot but when he's right he's right! *The Director glares at Alpha once more as his subordinates murmur and contemplate his directive aloud amongst one another. Private: We are so, so, so completely and utterly screwed... *The Sergeant standing besides the private shrugs apathetically as he speaks. Sergeant: I don't see what the big deal is... *The director marches to and fro once again as he continues to speak. USSF Director: That being said! The ONLY WAY to adjust our combat to this new enemy is simulated combat WITH THE ENEMY! Private: I'M NOT FIGHTING THOSE THINGS! *Alpha smiles slyly and quips sarcastically as The Director retorts with a commanding tone. Alpha: ....Sissy! USSF Director: Oh yes you will private! Unless of course you want... AN EXTRA WORK DETAIL! Private: GOD-DAMNIT! *The Director grins as he continues to speak. USSF Director: Besides! You'll only be facing a single extraterrestrial opponent today, Alpha has adamantly refused to participate in this exercise... *Alpha retorts sharply. Alpha: I said, "You can go fuck yourself", that's what I said. *Luna erupts with a riotous laughter as the USSF Director glares at Alpha in return. *The Sergeant points towards Jorg still playing with his fluttering dress. Sergeant: And lil' Miss Doubtfire over here? HE'S supposed to be our opponent!? *Luna beams with pride as she retorts. Luna: I wouldn't underestimate Jorg! He's wildly talented! Sergeant: At what!? Martha Stewart style homesteading? *The group snickers as Luna giggles and returns a mischievous grin and then quips once more. Luna: THAT TOO! *Alpha clarifies casually as the group murmurs and looks on at the little grey still lost amongst the surrounding atmosphere. Alpha: Consent for Jorg is kind of a non-issue, he's barely aware of where he is half the time. When goaded he does have a certain instinctive enthusiasm for martial combat under the right conditions. I don't even know where he learned it, he just came back one day and knew it innately. Like a telekinetic amalgamation of something between Ong-Bak and Jet Li... *The Private stares at the little grey in suspended disbelief. Private: Under...what conditions? *Alpha grins knowingly; as he responds. Alpha: Basically...You've got to manage to piss him off. Private: "Piss him off?" *The Sergeant cracks his knuckles as he smiles belligerently. Sergeant: Well this should be easy! *Alpha shrugs unknowingly. Alpha: Maybe...Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't! To evoke this reaction from Jorg or to "Piss him off"; it is like this ingrained psychological trigger. It isn't so much guided as a form of premeditated anger as a kind of pro-active defense mechanism. He's not even really fully aware when he does it. I think it may be a kind of "Fight or Flight" reaction he just does. Except Jorg...well...Jorg pretty much always chooses to fight. *The privates eyes widen curiously as he stares the little grey up and down before him. Private: Is he...is he dangerous!? *The USSF Commander laughs heartily as he slams his hand upon the provisional warehouse window and retorts excitedly. USSF Commander: YOU CAN BET YOUR ASS HE IS! *The QuarterMaster glares at the USSF Commander as he chimes in. QuarterMaster: I wanna replace my bet! *The USSF Commander replies snarkily. USSF Commander: TOO LATE ASSHOLE! *Alpha, Luna, The Director and the group of soldiers all divert their attention towards the Commander and QuarterMaster until Alpha continues speaking. Alpha: Jorg!? Dangerous? I mean...IF YOU DESERVE IT then I dunno... *Alpha shrugs apathetically. Alpha: ...Maybe? I really doubt he'd actively kill anyone though. *The private throws his hands into the air and addresses Alpha frustratedly as the group murmurs amongst themselves once more. Private: THE FUCK YOU MEAN "MAYBE" AND YOU "DOUBT HE'LL KILL ANYONE"!? *Alpha shrugs once more... Alpha: It's Jorg...Jorg is Jorg! You'll see... *The private stares at the two greys one after another then retorts underbreath as he turns to walk away. Private: I'm so not fuckin doing this... USSF Director: MORE WORK DETAIL! Private: GODDAMNIT! Sergeant: Well I think they're full of shit... Private: THEY TORE APART AN ENTIRE MILITARY BASE "JUST BECAUSE". Sergeant: Of Non-combatant "week-long warriors" I bet! Might as well be a buncha national guardsmen...I mean...JUST LOOK AT HIM! *The Sergeant points towards Jorg still swaying giddily. Sergeant: ...There's no way in hell that little queer fella could take a seasoned soldier! *Luna retorts defensively. Luna: JORG ISNâT GAY! HE'S JUST SENSITIVE AND HE'S VERY SPECIAL! *Luna cuts her gaze towards Alpha seeking confirmation. Luna: He isn't...is he? *Alpha shrugs unknowingly and apathetically as the group murmurs amongst themselves once more. *The Private suddenly turns then approaches a series of lockers and containment bins stowing riot gear, defensive equipment and padded suits much like one that would be used to disarm a bomb or train a K-9 attack dog as nearly all of his peers follow suit... Private: I'm not fucking with this lil dude without my PPE! *The Sergeant snorts obnoxiously in response as he watches. Sergeant: I don't need that crap...Besides, it's hard to move or fight with all that bullshit on! Whatchu gonna do? Bumper car bang him to death with it? *The Private shrugs undisturbed. Private: ....Whatever! The crowd gathers all around the little grey warily; some armed with things like MMA gloves, hand-wraps, Batons and extended martial defense metallic rods as they all approach the grey from all angles. Suspicious and cautious at exactly what the little grey might do and exactly how he might respond. That is all but one, the boisterous military Sergeant who readies himself and then throws the very first strike at the seemingly defenseless and unsuspecting Jorg. Without ever even lifting his eyes from the hem of his dress, in a matter of moments warping the surrounding spectators very perception of time; Jorg shifts his head slightly towards the left as the Sergeant's fist narrowly misses the grey by a hair's length. *The USSF Commander slams his hand upon the provisional warehouses window once more as he retorts giddily. USSF Commander: HAH! What happens next can best be described through the conveyance of a matter of collective very short-lived and somewhat difficulty perceived moments. The next soldier and the next and the next and the next; all of them simultaneously rush towards the little grey slinging their fists and their weapons towards the inattentive and unbothered little grey. Jorg bobs, weaves, and feints his big grey bandanna wrapped head not unlike a hyperactive, super-powered Muhammad Ali; as fist and all flies from every perceivable angle, not ever touching him...not even once, his attention still diverted towards his fluttering dress all the while. Another military combatant rushes forewords and thrusts a kick towards the grey; to which he spins out of reach with seamless grace as yet another kick comes flying from it's opposing direction to which the grey quickly ducks then loops his body around from underneath...still playing with the hem of his pretty red dress still humming to himself gleefully as Luna erupts with laughter. Sergeant: What...what the hell IS THIS!? Luna: I TOLD YOU! Private: He....He never even LOOKED at us...NOT ONCE! *The Director stares at Luna and Alpha then questions them curiously. USSF Director: Why isn't he defending himself? Alpha: ...Probably because Jorg doesn't see any of you as a threat. *The boisterous military Sergeant walks towards Jorg then plants a single finger upon his forehead then slowly pushes him backwards; to which Jorg sways back then forwards then rests in the exact same position of which he'd originally been. Sergeant: What do you mean he doesn't see us as a threat? *Alpha responds casually. Alpha: I mean exactly what I said! Jorg only reacts when driven towards it from an outside stimulus; when he himself, someone he cares about, or perhaps even others are under certain conditions of diress such as a threat or pressure or the friction of oncoming conflict. It is very difficult to tell exactly when this trigger will set off from an outside perspective but FOR JORG these lines are ingrained within his very being. It's like a reflex, he doesn't even have to think about it. Private: How is it he can move so quickly like that? I could barely even see him doing it! Alpha: Part of it is because Jorg instinctively compounds his telekinesis with Kinetic energy. The other is because he's clairvoyant, prophetic even. This doesn't just apply to the precepts of time or it's passage through the universe itself but also to an outside stimulus. But just like almost all things concerning Jorg; he isn't fully aware of what he's doing and what he does it its all interdependent on outside stimulus and outside perception and interpretation. In short, Jorg is like a living mirror in everything he does and reasons for doing them. A reflection of one's self whether they even realize it or not. He could punch through a two inch steel wall or bulletproof plate glass window faster than you could blink if he wanted to... *Alpha shrugs casually. Alpha: ...Only problem is it takes alot for Jorg to actively feel inclined to do so. Well...sometimes. All that being said apparently he sees absolutely none of you as an inclination for him to act...and so...he doesn't. He doesn't see any of you as a threat! *The Sergeant fumes angrily and frustratedly as he stares at the preoccupied little alien frustratedly and then speaks angrily. Sergeant: WHADDYA MEAN "HE DOESN'T SEE ME AS A THREAT"!? I'M A GODDAMNED NAVY SEAL! I DID TWO TOURS IN AZKABAN! *Alpha replies to the Sergeant flatly and unflinching. Alpha: Exactly what I just said...Your limited human capabilities and physicality to Jorg is a non-issue. You're not big enough, strong enough, forceful enough or physically capable through your own recognizance of being a perceivable threat to him. *The Sergeant stands from the opposing side of the playful grey in the little red dress then angrily unbuttons and unholsters his service weapon as he holds it in both hands, pointed towards the ground. *The USSF Commander laughs a riotous laugh as he spectates from the warehouse window some distance away then pounds the desk upon it once more as he goads the Sergeant playfully. USSF Commander: YOU GET EM HOSS! *The Commander quickly turns towards it's QuarterMaster then whispers as he winks towards his glare. USSF Commander: ....Fucking idjit! *Lunaâs eyes widen with worry as she begins to speak. Luna: I WOULDN'T DO TH- *Alpha calmly places a gentle hand upon Lunaâs shoulder as he knowingly interjects solemnly yet very mischievously. Alpha: Nah....Let em'. The Sergeant steadies his firearm upon the grey methodically as all of his compatriots watch onwards nervously. And what happens next, again...Can best be explained by a breakdown of a series of events that through our perception of time unfolded within a matter of moments. ...But to Jorg himself? Well, that's another matter entirely. Just like one perceptive light switch suddenly being flicked on from deep, deep, deep within Jorgâs psyche. The little grey suddenly raises his head; his black, saucer shaped eyes widened with a perfectly aligned subconscious awareness. One of them twitching erratically above a maddened grin as above and all throughout this training room; the loud deafening roar of electric guitar reverberates one ear-splitting and most deafening melody. Loudly cutting through the awkward silence not unlike a high-powered circular saw this melody is that of the song "Beat It" the cover of an infamous Michael Jackson tune preformed by the band "Fall Out Boy". https://youtu.be/Qt54wA7Z2LY And as this guitar melody drones and roars throughout the intercom and sirens of the facility all around; As Alpha smirks smugly and Luna laughs...and then gasps. What follows suit could be quite accurately articulated as a series of movements so perceivably fast, powerful, and deadly accurate that one could quite convincingly say that Jorg DID move faster than a human could blink. He quickly utilizes his telekinetic energy with one hand to jerk the firearm out from within the Sergeant's grasp not unlike a vaulted football ripped from between a running back's fingers. And as this pistol flies and spins towards Jorg he launches himself into the air, quickly preforming a spinning back kick that smacks against the gun sending it ricocheting and flipping once more until it hurtles directly dead center of the Sergeant's face sending him spiraling and sprawled out upon the ground nearby while the gun itself deflects, is thrown against a nearby wall and then misfires. Space Marine: SHIT...MY LEG! And as the lyrics of the song echo and vibrates all throughout this training room, quaking its walls and cushioned floormats with every progressing spoken word; the frightened private quickly turns to sprint in the other direction, absolutely ANY direction away from Jorg. But little did he know; it was far, far, far too late... Jorg harnesses his telekinetic energy to rip the man's legs out from beneath him, as he does Jorg quickly sprints forward, leaps into the air again like a telekinetic grasshopper then dead drops his knee into the private's back. As Jorg "ground and pounds" the back of the privates combat protective headgear repeatedly in rapid succession; not unlike quick repeating Wing-Chun punches into the back of the man's head, striking and bouncing his forehead off of the training floor's cushioned material all to the rhythm of this melody. The surrounding marines look around at one another, murmuring in a stunned confusion as the private cries for help. Private: G-G-GET I- *WHACK! *BANG! *POW! *WHOMP! *THUMP-THUMP-THUMP! Private: GET IT OFFA ME! *The USSF Director points at the private then addresses the fearful combatants sternly. USSF Director: ...WELL!? HELP HIM! *One of the remaining combatants turns to kick Jorg off of the private when the grey quickly stops then pivots as if in anticipation of said strike; catches the man's ankle then smiles with a malevolent grin before twisting it with a loud *CRACK! *Luna squints her eyes closed and winces painfully as Alpha grins a grin very much reflective of Jorgâs and they both comment. Luna: Oooooooh! Alpha: Fuck em'... Elsewhere at the provisional warehouse window the USSF Commander slams his hand down upon the table once more as he also comments; smiling at the QuarterMaster with a shit eating grin all the while. USSF Commander: That looked like it HURT LIKE HELL! GET EM' HOSS! *The QuarterMaster also comments, sneering distastefully. QuarterMaster: I fuckin' hate you... Elsewhere amongst the whirlwind of rapid, successful strikes and all to a melody; Jorg now stands his miniskirt fluttering in training room's AC cooled air along with the motion of his movements with the Marine's now broken ankle held between the palms of his hands; the man still wailing with pain. In an amount of time accumulating to less than the passage of a few seconds; the grey spins and leg sweeps the other man's remaining limb, tossing him upwards into the air before kicking him in the abdomen with a telekinetically reinforced strike that sends the man hurtling into and bouncing off of the nearest wall. As another approaching soldier moves in to strike Jorg the grey quickly hops a foot into the air once more; then quickly plants a deflective side kick in rapid, fluid succession into the center of the man's chest which sends him staggering back just a few paces. *The soldier hardens himself as he pounds his chest then closes in on Jorg once more. Space Marine: IS THAT ALL YOU GOT!? And as this melody continues to pound with a thunderous roar all throughout the training room; Jorg smiles a sadistic smile. While the man races forwards to preform a takedown upon the little grey, Jorg quickly and acrobatically dips his head and upper abdomen towards the ground. With a certain level of martial flexibility mirroring that of a Shaolin Monk the grey lifts the pad of his foot from behind towards where his head originally was, arching it upwards and from behind his backside with his torso now angled downwards, he then slams the bottom of his foot into the Marine's forehead; stunning him instantaneously. Jorg quickly rights his equilibrium and with a fluid, unceasing movement uses that very same leg to plant a telekinetically charged front kick into the man's sternum; sending him flying backwards and crashing into yet another padded wall. Space Marine: YOU CRAZY LITTLE SHIT! A remaining marine shouts at Jorg and then races towards him from a flanked position sending his own angled "axe kick" towards the grey's abdomen. And as this melody pounds and reverberates the ether all around from every perceivable direction; without so much as a moments hesitation, forethought, or consideration Jorg side steps then archs his own leg around the own man's "Axe Kick" locking it into place. *The Marine's eyes meet the grey's; whose deep, darkened saucer shaped eyes are deadlocked onto his own. Shining with a glossy, detached madness as the grey's smile widens. And with their legs locked in place, Jorg intentionally restricts the man's movement; the Marine's remaining free leg trembles as he utters words of fear and astonishment. Space Marine: Oh....SHI- *Before the man can even get the words out the grey hops into the air with his remaining leg with the other still locked in place, then uses his free leg to dropkick the soldier dead center of his chest with another telekinetically reinforced strike before quickly releasing his leglock to send the man vaulting into another padded wall not unlike a human bullet. And as this resounding melody finally tolls onwards towards it's completion; the little grey still stands in the middle of this training room. In the exact spot in which he'd originally began; surrounded by moaning, bloody, blackened and bruised human cadavers. Who at this point are each and all very, very much alive; though perhaps their pride...not so much. *Luna shakes her head from side to side as the USSF Director speaks. USSF Director: Well...we're never doing that again! *Alpha stares at the director and smiles with an air of apathy. Alpha: I could have told you but you'd never have listened... *The private spits a mouthful of blood onto the ground as he slowly gathers his strength to try to lift himself from it, next to the still unconscious Sergeant lying face down on the floormat beside him. Private: We are so...so...so fucked. *At the provisional warehouse window the QuarterMaster counts out the last of his debt and then slams it upon the table towards the USSF Commander's outstretched smile now grinning from ear to ear. USSF Commander: It was nice doin' business with you! QuarterMaster: Shut the hell up... |
2023.06.04 04:20 Cephalomagus 2023 Season 3 Release Notes [Pre-Release Version]
The Release Notes for 2023 Season 3 have been posted on the iRacing Forums!
Find them posted here:
https://forums.iracing.com/discussion/42721/2023-season-3-release-notes-pre-release-version#latest
Or read them below!
========================================================================
Our Dirt Taskforce has completed their work on the Dirt Refresh Project shared with the community back in February, and we are excited for you to experience the fruits of their labors. The Spotter System has received a Race Control-focused set of updates and new calls that will liven up your racing and keep you better informed about what is happening on the track and in the race. New challengers approach - you will now have the ability to add AI Opponent Rosters to your Hosted Sessions that utilize the Heat Racing format! We are excited to announce we have been investing time into saving you time, loading time to be precise, and this Season Release includes a first phase of loading optimizations that should get you into the driverâs seat just a little bit faster. Willow Springs International Raceway is proud to pioneer a new 3D Foliage System that automatically populates the environment with grasses, shrubs, and other creations of Mother Nature. USB Audio Hot Swapping is now fully enabled and supported by iRacing for all of your headset and speaker needs. A new Graphics Option has also been added which controls the display of all cockpit obstructions instead of this parameter being car setup specific.
The New Damage Model has been put into practice on eleven additional cars. And last but not least our AI Drivers have mastered eight new cars and twenty-four new track configurations. Welcome to iRacing 2023 Season 3!
Season highlights include:
Full 2023 Season 3 Release details are below.
submitted by Cephalomagus to iRacing [link] [comments]
Find them posted here:
https://forums.iracing.com/discussion/42721/2023-season-3-release-notes-pre-release-version#latest
Or read them below!
========================================================================
2023 Season 3 Release Notes [Pre-Release Version]
This is the iRacing 2023 Season 3 Release! This release contains both content and upgrades for 2023 Season 3, which officially starts on June 12th! This season update includes three new cars: Cadillac V-Series.R GTP, Ligier JS P320, and Porsche 911 GT3 R (992). iRacing also expands its track offerings to include MotorLand AragĂłn (7 configs) and Willow Springs International Raceway, as well as a new 2023 Cup config for Chicago Street Course.Our Dirt Taskforce has completed their work on the Dirt Refresh Project shared with the community back in February, and we are excited for you to experience the fruits of their labors. The Spotter System has received a Race Control-focused set of updates and new calls that will liven up your racing and keep you better informed about what is happening on the track and in the race. New challengers approach - you will now have the ability to add AI Opponent Rosters to your Hosted Sessions that utilize the Heat Racing format! We are excited to announce we have been investing time into saving you time, loading time to be precise, and this Season Release includes a first phase of loading optimizations that should get you into the driverâs seat just a little bit faster. Willow Springs International Raceway is proud to pioneer a new 3D Foliage System that automatically populates the environment with grasses, shrubs, and other creations of Mother Nature. USB Audio Hot Swapping is now fully enabled and supported by iRacing for all of your headset and speaker needs. A new Graphics Option has also been added which controls the display of all cockpit obstructions instead of this parameter being car setup specific.
The New Damage Model has been put into practice on eleven additional cars. And last but not least our AI Drivers have mastered eight new cars and twenty-four new track configurations. Welcome to iRacing 2023 Season 3!
Season highlights include:
- Cadillac V-Series.R GTP
- Ligier JS P320
- Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)
- MotorLand AragĂłn (7 configs)
- Willow Springs International Raceway
- New Track Configuration: Chicago Street Course - 2023 Cup
- Dirt Racing Refresh Project
- New Spotter Calls and Updates for Race Control
- Hosted Session AI Heat Racing
- Phase 1 of Loading Time Improvements
- 3D Foliage System
- USB Audio Device Hot Swapping
- Cockpit Obstruction Removal Graphics Option
- New Damage Model for 11 Vehicles (Cadillac V-Series.R GTP, Dirt Late Model (ALL), Ligier JS P320, NASCAR Truck Series Trucks, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992), Porsche 911 GT3 R (992), and Renault Clio R.S. V)
- AI Racing for 8 Cars (Aston Martin DBR9 GT1, Cadillac CTS-V Racecar, Cadillac V-Series.R GTP, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R GT1, Ford GT GT2, Ligier JS P320, Porsche 911 GT3 R (992), and Radical SR10)
- AI Racing at 24 Track Configurations (Autodromo Nazionale Monza - GP without first chicane, Junior, and GP without chicanes, Chicago Street Course - 2023 Cup and Prototype, Circuit of the Americas - East and West, Irwindale Speedway - ALL FIVE Configs, MotorLand AragĂłn - ALL SEVEN Configs, Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway - Mini, New Smyrna Speedway, Twin Ring Motegi - East and Oval, and Willow Springs International Raceway)
- Hundreds of new and optimized official iRacing vehicle setups
Full 2023 Season 3 Release details are below.
iRACING UI:
--------------------------------------------------------------Hosted Racing
- The Create Starting Grid functionality and button are now disabled whenever both Heat Racing and AI Opponent Roster are selected for an Event.
AI Racing
- AI Drivers have completed an extensive training course for participating in the Heat Racing format!
- - - Heat Racing is now available for Hosted Sessions using AI Rosters!
- - - This is a brand new feature implementation for both AI Racing and the Heat Racing format.
- - - - - It is important to note that this feature is only available for Hosted Racing events at this time. AI Drivers still need the support of real humans in their Sessions or artificial chaos would surely ensue.
Tracks
- All Track location information has been standardized and updated. All Track locations are now identified by: City, State/Province, Country.
Leagues
- Fixed an issue where the names of AI Drivers who won League Series Sessions were forgotten when viewing the League Season Schedule.
Paint Shop
- A new sponsor, Maconi Setup Shop, has been added to the Paint Shop!
- Fixed an issue with a missing font for the Stock Car Pro Series Class Cars.
SIMULATION:
--------------------------------------------------------------Windows Support
- With the release of iRacing 2023 Season 3, the Windows 8.1 operating system is no longer able to successfully launch the iRacing application.
- - - Microsoft officially dropped support for Windows 8.1 on January 14th, 2023. As a result of this, it is no longer compatible with our software, and it will fail to launch.
- - - If you need help installing or running iRacing on Windows 10 or 11, please contact Customer Support here: https://support.iracing.com. Customer Support cannot get iRacing to work on Windows 8.1.
Race Servers
- Race Server capacity has been expanded to allow for nine different car models to be present within a Session.
- A userâs average lap time will no longer exclude laps that had been labeled as âinvalidâ.
- Fixed an issue where some Open Practice Race Servers were closing early due to inactivity.
- Fixed an issue where track temperatures were changing wildly if the Session was restarted (via AI Racing controls for example).
Loading
- Some adjustments have been made to how video memory resources are loaded.
- Some car loading algorithms have been optimized.
Dynamic Track
- The manner in which the dynamic track algorithm was calculated on surfaces has been improved, particularly along outside track edges.
- Fixed an issue where the visual display of some dynamic track data including dirt, marbles, and rubber was not functioning correctly on some track segments.
Race Control
- The algorithm for generating race splits based on car classes has been improved slightly.
- Short Parade Laps are now available for use at the following additional track configurations:
- - - Barber Motorsports Park - Full Course
- - - Brands Hatch Circuit - Indy
- - - Canadian Tire Motorsports Park
- - - Charlotte Motor Speedway - Roval, Roval - 2018, & Roval Long
- - - Circuit Park Zandvoort - Grand Prix
- - - Circuit Zolder - Grand Prix, & Alternate
- - - Daytona International Speedway - Oval - 2008, Road Course - 2008, & Moto - 2008
- - - Hockenheimring Baden-WĂŒrttemberg - PEC - Outer
- - - Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Oval - 2009, Open Wheel Oval - 2009, Road Course - 2009, & Bike
- - - Long Beach Street Circuit
- - - Mount Panorama Circuit
- - - Phillip Island Circuit
- - - Talladega Superspeedway
Qualifying Scrutiny
- The Qualifying Scrutiny system has been adjusted to better handle cases where cars needed time to get up to speed after leaving their starting location.
Dirt Racing
- A variety of updates as a result of the Dirt Refresh Project have been enabled!
- - - This project enlisted a focus group of developers, vehicle dynamicists, and testers who did a deep dig through everything that makes our Dirt Racing tick, and theyâve emerged with some sweeping improvements and updates.
- - - Dirt track parameters as a whole have been updated, including:
- - - - - Racing dirt properties at all levels of wear and wetness
- - - - - Dirt height variance, depth, and hardpan behavior
- - - - - Track wear parameters
- - - - - Tire rubber accumulation
- - - - - Dirt displacement from tires
- - - - - The formation of track roughness and perturbation
- - - - - The progression of dynamic track data has been updated for all dirt tracks
- - - All Dirt Racing tires have been updated with some of the following improvements:
- - - - - New wear rates based on the hardness and wetness of the dirt racing surface
- - - - - Dirt displacement parameters
- - - - - The manner in which tires calculate their contact on undulating dirt surfaces has been improved.
AI Racing
- AI Drivers have completed an extensive training course for participating in the Heat Racing format!
- - - Heat Racing is now available for Hosted Sessions using AI Rosters!
- - - This is a brand new feature implementation for both AI Racing and the Heat Racing format.
- - - - - It is important to note that this feature is only available for Hosted Racing events at this time. AI Drivers still need the support of real humans in their Sessions or artificial chaos would surely ensue.
- AI Drivers are now fully trained and capable drivers for the following new vehicles:
- - - Aston Martin DBR9 GT1
- - - Cadillac CTS-V Racecar
- - - Cadillac V-Series.R GTP
- - - Chevrolet Corvette C6.R GT1
- - - Ford GT GT2
- - - Ligier JS P320
- - - Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)
- - - Radical SR10
- AI Drivers have memorized and are ready to race for the gold at the following new tracks and configurations:
- - - Autodromo Nazionale Monza - GP without first chicane, Junior, and GP without chicanes
- - - Chicago Street Course - 2023 Cup and Prototype
- - - Circuit of the Americas - East and West
- - - Irwindale Speedway - ALL 5 Configurations
- - - MotorLand AragĂłn - ALL 7 Configurations
- - - Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway - Mini
- - - New Smyrna Speedway
- - - Twin Ring Motegi - East and Oval
- - - Willow Springs International Raceway
- AI Drivers have graduated from yet another season of advanced education classes. Training for 2023 Season 3 included the following programs:
- - - Kinesthetics for Preventing Pace Lap Panic
- - - [PHY-220] Drafting Speed Predictions
- - - White-Knuckle Door-to-Door Racing: A Retrospective
- - - Fast Cars Beware: Slow Cars
- - - Slow Cars Beware: Fast Cars
- - - AI Program Upgrade IV: Reaction Timing (Class: Pistol Shrimp)
- - - Danny S.âs Pre-School Seminar: Left-Hand Makes the âLâ!
- - - The Technical Know-How Overlaps for GTP & Rocket Ship Piloting
- - - SuperTravel SuperProgram 2023: SuperSpeedways
- - - Lessons from Slot Car Racing on Racing Lines
- - - Tire Compound Connoisseur Magazine (Spring â23 Issue)
- - - Brake Pad Dissection - a Science Lab Qualified Course
- AI Drivers have improved their driving skills with the following vehicles:
- - -
NASCAR Cup Series Next Gen Cars - - -
NASCAR Trucks - - - BMW M Hybrid V8
- - - Dallara P217
- AI Drivers have improved their driving skills at the following track configs:
- - - Atlanta Motor Speedway - Oval
- - - Bristol Motor Speedway - Dual Pit Roads & Single Pit Road
- - - Canadian Tire Motorsports Park
- - - Daytona International Speedway - Oval
- - - Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle
- - - iRacing Superspeedway
- - - Talladega Superspeedway
- AI Drivers and their cars are now immediately removed from the world at the end of a Session. For safety.
- Fixed a handful of AI System issues including:
- - - Fixed an issue where custom Paint Schemes were not appearing on AI Drivers in Replays.
- - - Fixed an issue where AI Drivers could lag up to several seconds after the green before hitting the gas for standing starts in Hosted Sessions.
- - - Fixed an issue where AI Drivers could incur gain-time penalties while they were being towed back to their pit box. We donât know what they were doing to Race Control staff to earn them, but it should be fixed now.
- - - Fixed an issue where multiple âPitting Inâ notifications could be received.
- - - Fixed an issue with the display of AI Driver names on the Entries tab for Replays.
- - - Fixed an issue where AI Drivers appeared to be using the incorrect dive plane for the Dallara P217.
New Damage Model
- The New Damage Model is now active on the following additional vehicles:
- - - Cadillac V-Series.R GTP
- - - Dirt Late Model (ALL)
- - - Ligier JS P320
- - - NASCAR Truck Chevrolet Silverado
- - - NASCAR Truck Ford F150
- - - NASCAR Truck Toyota Tundra TRD Pro
- - - Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992)
- - - Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)
- - - Renault Clio R.S. V
- Some New Damage Model system code has been reorganized to make future development easier.
Auto Fuel
- Spotters and Team Members may now control their driver's Auto Fuel state.
Spotter
- The iRacing Spotter System has received some updates to help make it more accurate and dynamic. It is now better able to read Race Control events as they occur on the track, and a variety of new Spotter Calls have been added:
- - - Car in Front/Behind is Pitting
- - - Faster Car Approaching
- - - Gaining/Losing the car in front
- - - Leader Change
- - - Leader Lap Time
- - - Leader is Lapping You
- - - Session New Fastest Lap
- - - Your Personal Best Lap Time
- - - Time Remaining in Session 20/10/5 Minutes
- - - Settings for these new messages have been added to the â[SPCC]â section of the âapp.iniâ file.
- - - - - These messages will only play if âChattinessâ is set to MEDIUM or HIGH, and they are turned on in the âapp.iniâ file, which they are by default.
- A new âSilenceâ function has been added for the Spotter.
- - - In the Sound Options Menu, users can bind a key press that will interrupt and stop any current spotter message and temporarily disable future messages for a short duration. The duration of the hush may be adjusted via the âhushDurationâ variable in the âapp.iniâ file, found in the â[SPCC]â section.
- âLeader Carâ calls now returns the leader car in the same class as the player car. This means all spotter messages pertaining to the leader will now reference the leader in the same class as the player, instead of the outright leader.
- - - Messages include:
- - - - - Leader is pitting now
- - - - - Leader is at Start/Finish
- - - - - You're catching the leader
- - - - - One lap to win (if you are the leader car)
- Both Italian spotter packs have been updated and improved!
- - - Many thanks to Renzo A. Olivieri and Marco Arcidiacono!
- The Race Laps remaining spotter message logic has been updated.
- Fixed an issue with the fuel spotter calls when the pit entry location was dramatically different from the Start/Finish line location.
Graphics
- A new Graphics Option has been added: Hide Cockpit Obstructions.
- - - This option hides several visually obstructive elements from the world, including: Halo, A-Pillar, and Rock Screen.
- Vehicles that utilize the New Damage model have had their car model format adjusted to reduce video memory demands.
- Improved the accuracy of steering angles for viewing your opponentsâ carsâ wheels.
- Adjust brake light exposure on some cars to try to prevent them from turning white when viewed from a distance.
- Updated the system which processes the hiding and displaying of halos for Replays.
- GGX blended dirt texture shaders have been improved.
- SpeedTree lighting has been updated.
- The graphics Option for SpeedTree self-shadowing has been removed.
- - - The visual benefits were minimal and the processing needs were demanding.
- Tooltips have been added for SSAO parameters.
- A new SDK for SpeedTree has been integrated.
- Fixed an issue where the reverse and unseen sides of some SpeedTree faces were being rendered, wasting processing time.
- Fixed an issue where distortion particles were not rendering properly unless they were inside the car.
- Fixed an issue where motion blur would trigger whenever the garage was visited.
- Fixed an issue where motion blur was appearing at different amounts on different parts of the same car.
3D Foliage System
- A new environmental graphics feature option has been added to the graphics options menu: Foliage!
- - - The new Foliage system procedurally generates 3D foliage of an appropriate biome type at specified tracks. Foliage may include grasses, shrubs, boulders, cacti, flowers, and other small environmental assets. 3D foliage has no impact on driving or physics, but should decorate the world much more realistically.
- - - In the Graphics Options menu, there are several levels of detail that may be selected for use by the 3D Foliage System which can customize your visual experience and your rendering performance. You may also select to disable the system entirely.
- - - With this release, only Willow Springs International Raceway has been seeded by the new 3D Foliage system so far, but Mother Nature always finds a way to spread!
Visual Effects
- Lighting for particle effects has been improved.
- The PopcornFX SDK has been updated to the latest version.
Audio
- Audio Hot Swap support has been added to iRacing!
- - - Forgot to plug in your headset before the race starts? iRacing now detects your device when it's plugged in, even during a race. If you've selected "System Default" from the sound options, audio automatically moves to the new device when the default changes. If you have selected a specific audio endpoint, it activates once it's available.
- - - Runtime audio device switching is now supported. When the default device is selected, a new default device can be chosen in Windows, and the Simulator will use the new device. If a specific device is selected, it will be used in the Simulator when it is activated in Windows.
- - - - - disableWindowsCoreAudio=0 When enabled (1), this option disables any Windows Core Audio integration (native windows audio).
- - - - - disableAudioDeviceChangedEvents=0 When enabled (1), this option disables dynamic audio device changing.
- - - Please note: Audio Hot Swapping is enabled by default.
- A new Audio Options setting has been added which allows you to assign a System Communication Default Device.
- A new audio option, âambientMusicDisabledâ, has been added to the âapp.iniâ file.
- - - 0 is the default value. Setting this parameter to 1 will disable all environment music that is normally played over the PA system while in the Simulation.
- Dynamic brake sounds have been rebalanced.
- Audio for load transmission on a variety of cars has been improved.
- The engine audio for all Pace Cars has been adjusted and optimized.
Environment
- New color and texture variations have been added for a variety of parked vehicles found around the tracks.
Interface
- Enhanced the right-click pop-up menus on the Session/Replay screen, and the Driving screen, to provide the option for private messaging (PM-ing) an individual user, the current driver of a car, or a car's entire Team (which includes a driver's spotters/crew in non-team sessions).
- - - Existing Admin/Race Control operations applied to a car that would have PM-ed someone on the team have been updated to message the whole team, instead of just one team member.
- - - Manually PM-ing a car number using "/#N", with N being the displayed car number, including leading zeros if shown, will now PM the whole team.
- - - To PM just the team member that's currently driving the car, use "/#N@" (add the @ symbol immediately after the car number). If the team's car is in its pit stall but the driver has gotten out of the car, that user is still PM-ed. If the team's car is not even in the world, no PM is sent when attempting to message its current driver, and you will be informed of this.
- - - - - To prevent receiving duplicate messages, if you would receive a chat message you sent because the target includes you (you're on the target team, you're the target team's driver, or you're talking to yourself!), you only receive the message due to being associated with the target of the message. That is, the message is not separately echoed directly back to you.
- - - You can continue to manually PM an individual using the existing mechanism of specifying their name after the "/".
- Text chat responses to Race Control Admin commands now identify the targeted entry with the team name and car number, instead of the name of the driver. In non-driver-swap events, the âteam nameâ is the driver's name.
- An option for the units selection has been updated to âEnglish (USA)â for clarity.
Camera
- A new highest option level, âUltraâ, has been added for Motion Blur.
- Fixed an issue with Driver View Pitch/Roll chassis effects so that when the view is locked to the horizon the car can now roll farther without the camera following the position of the car. This should help reduce motion sickness in VR if you use this feature.
- Fixed an issue for whenever a carâs center-of-mass left the camera frame, all motion blur on the car was lost.
- Fixed an issue where the focus of the camera was getting unwanted motion blur for cockpit cameras.
- Fixed an issue with motion blur on cars when using multiple displays.
Controls
- The automatic parking brake that holds a car still when you come to a stop will now fully apply itself anytime the car comes to a stop, rather than waiting for the user to hold the brake pedal down once stopped. This should help prevent cars from accidentally rolling away when you come to a quick stop but fail to fully engage the brake pedal.
- The Reset Button now prevents users from putting you into the car if your steering wheel needs assignment. Doing this now will take you to the Controls Wizard and allow you to assign and calibrate your driving controls.
- The test for XInput devices has been simplified.
- Fixed an issue that could cause some joysticks to fail to calibrate properly if the previous calibration was similar enough to the new calibration.
- Fixed an issue in the Options screen where the inputs (shifter, wheel, etc) would not respond if a button was held down on a wheel.
Force Feedback
- When calibrating a wheel, iRacing now checks that your selected maximum wheel angle and Force Feedback status match what we expect based on your detected hardware. A notification will appear if these do not match.
- - - This is an effort to detect common errors with certain wheels, either that do not have the correct drivers installed or that have a maximum wheel angle set to a very low value by default. If you receive this notification, or need help setting up your racing wheel, please reach out to Customer Support.
- iRacing will now try to automatically detect your racing wheelâs maximum force, and adjust the wheel force slider accordingly. This is used to help us safely and automatically calculate the force levels to send to your wheel. We can't always know how your wheel is set up, so this may be an overestimate of your maximum force level. This is the safer guess, but in some instances it may limit how strong of a force you can request from the simulation. In those cases you can turn off the âauto-modeâ and manually set your wheelâs peak value, if known.
- Improved the force auto tune button so that it takes the wheels maximum force into account. This will lighten up the auto tune as the wheel force increases.
- - - There is a new scaling parameter in the âapp.iniâ file, âautoForceFactorâ. This value defaults to 0.5, and allows you to adjust the aggressiveness of the reduction. Setting â[Force Feedback] autoForceFactor=1â will remove all reduction, giving you a 1:1 force output. Setting it to 0 will effectively always give you 6 Nm of peak force at the wheel. Any value in between will blend between these two extremes. The default value of 0.5 should be a good value for most users.
- A mappable button (Ctrl-A) has been added to apply the Auto Force adjustment found in the F9 Black Box.
- For the Auto Force Feedback peak force detection, data collected when the car is out of control will now be suppressed. Also, data collection will be paused for several seconds immediately after an incident. The goal is to make this system more stable and consistent, even if you wreck.
- For Force Feedback, a safety check has been added to detect if the wheel jumped in position (ie: we lost/gained communication with the wheel). If a communication interruption is detected, Force Feedback will be suppressed momentarily for safety.
- A new slew rate limiter filter that is controlled via the smoothing slider is now available in the Force Feedback options tab.
- - - This filter limits the rate of change of the force feedback signal so your wheel can't accelerate beyond a fixed value. In essence it smooths out the large jolts while leaving the rest of the signal alone. A value of 25% will have almost no impact on your regular driving, while softenting out curb or wall impacts, and a value of 75% will smooth out most rumble strips and make curb hits almost invisible. If you find that you have to turn down the FFB forces below the level you would like because the jolts from curbs or accidents are too large, then try turning this filter up instead. Try a value of 50% to start, and turn it down to 25% if you feel it is too much.
- - - - - You can go back to the old boxcar filter via the â[Force Feedback] smoothingFilterType=1â entry in the âapp.iniâ file.
Replays
- Chat messages and incident point accruement are now saved and viewable with Replays.
- Fixed an issue where custom Paint Schemes were not appearing on AI Drivers in Replays.
Telemetry
- Live brake line pressure (LFbrakeLinePress) has now been zeroed out and will no longer show a value.
- - - Disk based brake line pressure is still available (LFbrakeLinePress), and now has any ripple from the abs modulation included in its value.
- - - A new BrakeABSCutPct value has been added to the disk based telemetry that shows the percent of brake force reduction being applied by the ABS system.
- Driver suit, body, face, and helmet type ids have been added to the session string.
Official iRacing Sporting Code
- A variety of updates have been made to the Official iRacing Sporting Code, including:
- - - A new section 6.8.3. has been added which describes the correct behavior for Starting from Pits.
- - - Restructured the paragraphs describing Rolling Starts for improved clarity for both Oval and Road racing.
- - - Better explained how multiclass cars grid, and defined what starts a multiclass race.
- - - License Class images have been updated.
- - - Identified that Joker Laps may not be used for time-based competitions at Rallycross Tracks.
- - - A reminder has been added that it is unacceptable for suspended or restricted Members to use alternate accounts.
- - - Identified that nefarious tactics may also not be used during Races, and removed a poor example of nefarious behavior.
- Review the latest version of the Official iRacing Sporting Code here:
- - - https://www.iracing.com/iracing-official-sporting-code/
2023.06.04 04:00 Kazevenikov Cryptid Chronicle - Chapter 31
Thanks and Credits in the Comments Section due to LONG chapter.
Chapter 31: A Whale of a Tale and itâs All True
âITâS FUCKING J-POD!â
Kalai watched in shock and awe as the two humans collectively lost their minds, hopping up and down and letting loose a series of high pitched vocalizing as she, Papa, and Mama Sakalbi stared in confusion at the two ecstatic aliens.
Andy turned and ran back to where Kalai and her parents were still staring in amazement and held his hand out, face alight and happier than sheâd ever seen him before. âBinoculars! Quick! I want to see whoâs out there!â Mama Sakalbi tentatively held them out, and he took them with a nod of thanks before rushing back to the bow. Kalai started as he jumped up on the bow and balanced against the roller horns to spot the black and white whales that were swimming fast towards the net.
âEyes on Mama Shachi! Look, over there, see her?â Kalai approached cautiously as Andy pointed in the direction of a cluster of porpoising black shapes that were coming nearer.
âEyes on! I got Grammie Slick out there too; the WHOLE PODâS HERE!â Jackie cut loose an undulating cry and waved her hands as little geysers of water and air shot out from the water on the other side of the net.
Kalai nearly jumped when a miniature version of the Orcas from the clone tank at Headquarters breached the water, leaping almost twice her height into the air before splashing back down in a massive wave.
âLook at that! Butterballâs getting some good air these days!â Andy crowed as he hopped back down from the bow and passed the binoculars to Jackie.
âButterball?â Mama Sakalbi asked as she and Papa joined them. Kalai stared as the Orcas formed a line and charged at the middle of the âSâ bend in the net before diving down in front of it, sending a wave that pushed the corks back. She saw the spouts and the dorsal fins rise again for another charge at the net.
âHeâs the baby, only about four years old. Grammie Slickâs taking the family hunting, see how theyâre flattening the net out? Weâre about to have a great fucking day!â Andy took Jackieâs shotgun and took it back to the cabin as Kalai and her parents crowded the rail.
âWhat are they doing?â Mama Sakalbiâs question was directed at Jackie and the woman turned to answer with a gigantic smile.
âHerding! See the ones circling around the net?â Jackie pointed to the two dorsal fins that were almost invisible in the fog that was starting to burn off in the morning sun that had started to clear the eastern mountains. âTheyâll be starting to round up small schools of salmon once theyâre done turning our net into a reef. Right now, theyâre running along the line and probably seeing what they have to work with.â
Mama Sakalbi did a double take, âYou must be joking, that level of intelligence would almost be-â
âHuman?â Jackie interrupted with a smile, âYeah, thatâs our original teachers out there. We learned to fish from them.â
âI was going to say âsentientâ, but I take your point. What I want to know is, what are they doing?â Mama Sakalbi gestured out at them, with a bewildered look on her face.
âTheyâre using the net as a sea wall. Thing is, the netâs hard to see in the water, but the fish can feel it. Theyâll put their heads into the net, but that doesnât catch them. Theyâll try to swim around it so thatâs why we put an âSâ bend. Thatâs where most of the fish get tangled.â Andy returned and picked up the explanation. âSee in the center of the line? That fin with the black and white little checkmark behind it? Thatâs Grammie Slick, the Matriarch. Sheâs around sixty now, and grew up out here LONG before you all came down. They donât always do this, but I guess with you all keeping the fishing fleets docked, she saw the net and wanted a big meal for the family. Theyâre going to keep pushing the net until itâs in the shape of a crescent and herd a bunch of small schools into a big baitball with pickets to keep the fish pinned in the middle. You watch, thereâll be salmon jumping all over in the middle as they school up.â
âThatâs when youâll see them charge up the center and take big old mouthfuls of salmon. Itâll be a smorgasbord for âem!â Jackie pulled up Andyâs omnipad and started recording.
âWait, but you hate seals for competing with you for food, why are you this excited about Orcas who take so much more?â Papa asked as he also took out his omnipad and started recording as the pod of Orcas finished repositioning their net just as Andy described.
âBecause theyâre using the nets as a reef to trap the fish! See? Look! There they go! The wolves are out scaring every salmon in the area here!â Kalai dug her own omnipad out at Andyâs words and watched as the dorsal fins sank below the waves, with only a faint and fading wake to tell where theyâd gone.
âNow watch âem set pickets! Theyâre going to start patrolling the outside of the net. When they get enough salmon in the middle, theyâre going to charge. When they do, watch the entire middle section of our corks go under from the salmon trying to get away. They get whole heaping mouthfuls of food and we get a full net!â
Kalai watched the Orcas swimming in circles around the net like Helix Sharks, and felt a pang of fear seeing the big predators that seemed so gentle and inquisitive in the tank. âBut what if they get caught in the net?â
Jackie suppressed a laugh before sweeping an arm out at the net. âIâve never seen that happen before, and I havenât even heard of it happening before⊠at least not here in the Salish Sea. All our Orcas grew up around these nets, so theyâll either avoid them or use them like they are right now.â
âI think itâs because they can see them and the fish canât. Either way, weâre in for a show!â Andy patted Kalai on the back before pushing Kalai and Mama Sakalbi forward.
For a long while, the surface was calm, save for the circling Orcas as they all watched. Then, by degrees, there was movement on the surface of the water as fish the length of Kalaiâs arm started to jump and kick in the baitball. Kalai watched, fascinated, as Orcas seemed to appear and disappear along the edges but never approached the middle of the net.
All the fins disappeared from the surface and an eerie stillness settled over the water. Suddenly, the water in the middle of the crescent erupted, with hundreds of fish shooting out of the water and a sudden surge that hit and pushed the corks outward before they sank completely out of sight. Jackie and Andy started vocalizing those strange undulating cries again, raising their fists in the air before shouting something in their language. From as best as Kalai could guess, it was encouragement as the Orcas started breaching and jumping. In those moments, Kalai could catch glimpses of their mouths full of salmon.
Kalai watched as the terrified fish swarmed towards the net, and watched as many seemed to jump over it and swim away as the Orcas gorged themselves on the enormous school of salmon they had trapped. It was an awe inspiring sight to see, and Kalai lost herself in the moment watching the amazing display of symbiotic hunting and fishing between them and the Orcas.
The engine of the boat turning over broke the spell they were all under as Andy moved the boat at a dead slow pace back towards the net. âAlright, letâs haul it in and reset for âem! Jackie! Get on the bow with the billhook!â Jackie whooped in agreement and gently pushed passed Kalai to grab a long pole with a small metal hook at the end.
âWeâre gonna have to work fast. Theyâre hungry, and we all want salmon today,â Andy called over the sound of the engine as they approached the giant buoy that marked the end of the net. âDoc! Open that hatch back there and watch your step! Mrs. Vaida, stand clear in the cabin; I want no accidents today, and three on deckâs going to be a crowd with how many fish weâre going to be taking in. Kalai, I want you back in the-â
Kalai shook her head as she put her omnipad away. âI can do it! Let me help!â she was riding the high feeling of watching the Orcas, and seeing Andy and Jackie preparing to go to work while she was to be just a passenger galled her.
Kalai saw Andy give Jackie a look that she couldnât quite interpret. âAlright, but youâll work with me picking fish. Jackie, youâre on the Drum; trade places with me!â
Kalai saw Jackie huff and give Andy a piercing look as she handed off the billhook. âWatch out for jellies, they tend to explode,â the native woman muttered to Kalai as she took over at the net drumâs controls. Kalai was about to volunteer to grab the line with the hook, given her longer reach, but Andy had already leaned almost all the way over the side. Kalai had a momentary scare as Andy seemed to dip forward, seemingly in danger of falling overboard, until he seemed to almost levitate himself using his lower legs back into the boat and pulled the line over the roller horns. She stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do when Andy braced a foot against the side and began to pull on the line and feed it back towards Jackie.
âWay, haul away, weâll hang and haul together! Way, haul away, haul away Joe!â
Though she didnât understand the words, Kalai knew a sailing song when she heard one and didnât wait for any instruction. She moved forward opposite Andy and lent a hand, pulling the heavy line in to the cadence of his chant. After two verses, Kalai heard the whine of hydraulics and the slack in the line behind them went taught.
âStand back! Here we go!â Andy called to her and the line began pulling the net back aboard. Kalai looked back to see that Jackie had wrapped the line around the center pole of the drum, with the wheel turning to pull the line and net in out of the water. A small set of guide poles that moved when Jackie twitched the controls kept the line evenly distributed on the drum as the first corks and the dripping wet net began to appear out of the water.
âPut your hoods up!â Andy yelled at her over the noise of the machines, and demonstrated the motion. âItâll keep the water, seaweed and Jellies out of your face and eyes, and take this!â Andy tossed her what appeared to be a handkerchief and he mimed the act of tying it around her face like a mask.
âWhat about you? Youâre sleeveless!â Kalaiâs voice was slightly muffled from the cloth as she tied it around her face before pulling up both hoods.
Andy didnât respond, except to grin at her as he leaned out to watch the net coming up out of the water before it got pulled aboard.
From behind her, Kalai heard Jackie start singing another human sailing song. It was a bit fast paced, and Andy joined in for the chorus. On the third time she heard it, she joined in too.
âBlow ye winds in the morninâ, Blow ye winds, high ho! Haul away your running gear, And blow ye winds, high ho!â
âComing up!â Andy shouted as there were several loud thunks before six large salmon appeared in the giant fluorescent green tangle of the net. The drum stopped, bringing the fish to a halt as Andy pulled on the corkline and scurried his hands back and forth, gathering the net up as he did until he reached the first fish. Kalai watched in awe as he seemed to magically pull the fish from the tangle and shake it out onto the deck. The second one seemed to be resting on top of the tangle and he flipped it over the corkline and shook the fish out onto the deck.
âJust watch these first few. When you get a feel for how Iâm doing this, jump in. Until then, slide these beauties back towards the stern. Jackieâll pitch âem into the hold.â
Kalai nodded and watched Andyâs movements intently. It looked like sorcery, with how fast he moved his hands and zeroed in on a fish. As soon as he was done, heâd whistle to Jackie, who kept singing the cadence out to pull more of the net in, only to stop when more fish were pulled up and over the horns.
The song changed twice before Kalai felt confident enough to jump in. She almost got tangled in the net herself trying to pull out her first fish, but Andy gave the net a quick tug and she was free again. Maddeningly, the fish had simply fallen out of the net without any help from her, and she fumed just long enough for Andy to point to one that was closer to her.
âHoist up the thing, batten down the whatsit! Whatâs that thing spinning, somebody should stop it! Turn hard to Port! Thatâs not Port, NOW I GOT IT! Trust me, Iâm in control!â
On the second refrain, Kalai managed to dig her first fish out and drop it to the deck. She let out a whoop, and Andy paused for a moment to give her a quick applause.
âThatâs one, girl! Thereâs a thousand left if weâre lucky!â Jackie called out as Andy sang a verse and tackled another fish in the net.
âKeep an eye on the lead line; make sure it doesnât go over the corks!â Andy called as Kalai ran down her second fish and was about to throw the excess net over the other side. She stopped, and Andy helped her get the fish without tangling the net.
It took until the end of the song for Kalai to find her rhythm, and soon she and Andy were running down fish in the net in a crisp and quick manner. Kalai felt like she could go faster, but Andy had cautioned her to keep pace with the songs, as there was still a lot of net to go. When Kalai spared a glance at the length of net still in the water, she saw that Andy wasnât kidding. It looked like they hadnât even really started to reel it all in. Ok, itâs hard work, but so is sailing, and heâs my size so I should be able to keep up with him. If he can do it, I can do it!
âHaul away you rollinâ kings! Heave away, Haul away! Haul away youâll hear me sing, Weâre bound for South Australia!â
Andy was impressed. Kalai had jumped in without complaint, and she was very coachable. He could feel himself start to flag as they were starting to come to the last third of the net, but Kalaiâs persistence, even though she was sweatier and more haggard than he was, kept him going.
The pile of salmon was almost as deep as their calves, and the deck was getting slick with fish slime. For that matter, so was Andy. In a momentary lull in the fish coming over the horns, Andy caught a glimpse of himself shimmering with all the scales that had flown off the fish as they scraped against the net to hit the deck, flopping. He took a big gulp of air and Kalai groaned as she straightened up, cracking her back as she twisted and bent to relieve her aching muscles.
Andy groaned a bit and looked back towards the stern. It was getting hard to see over the amount of net theyâd pulled back in, but he could see Doc and Mrs. Vaida doing their best to help throw and shove the piles of salmon into the hold. Everybodyâs getting their hands dirty today. Andy smiled and heaved a happy sigh. This, this is what I want. Being out on the water and doing good, hard work.
âSHIT, JELLYFISH!â Kalai shouted as she twisted away to hide her face behind her rain slicker hood. Andy blinked just in time as a wet squelching sound sent a spray of disintegrating jellyfish exploding all over the bow as the net bunched up and got squeezed together.
Andy felt it splatter all over his arms, neck, and face, before he felt it start to slide down his shirt to his chest. Almost immediately, he started to feel the burn. His arms, neck, and chest he could stand, but the blossoming pain on his lips, eyelids, cheeks, and most horribly the inside of his nose overwhelmed all his conditioned pain tolerance.
âFUCK!â Andy screamed. âFUCKING FUCKER! RIGHT IN MY FUCKING FACE! GOD FUCKING DAMNIT! FUCK!â Andy only barely avoided bringing his hands to his face. It was a hard fought thing to deny his instinct to try and scrape it off, but he felt his boots loose purchase and his feet slide out from under him. He hit the pile of fish that surrounded him hard. He was aware of Kalai yelling for her father and Mrs. Vaida, while Jackieâs braying laugh carried over everything else.
Andy felt Kalai trying to grab him, but her gloves were too slick to get a grip and all she did was spread the stingers more evenly over his arms. Andy kept his eyes squeezed shut as he heard Jackie start to direct the confused and panicking aliens.
âHold your breath, cuz, vinegar incoming!â
Andy felt the bitter stinging splash as Jackie poured a steady stream of vinegar out from what he assumed was the giant jug he kept for these occasions underneath the little kitchenette in the cabin. Though nothing about the intensity of the burn changed, in the back of his mind, Andy knew that it was killing the stinging cells.
âAlright, Kally, take that bucket and fill it with seawater from over the side, then dump it on him.â
Andy sputtered a bit and spit as he scrabbled onto his knees. He steadied himself with one hand on the rail beside him and the other which found the corkline. He kept his eyes shut and growled as the burning spread from his hairline down to his navel. A sudden bracing splash of cold water nearly bowled him back over. Without warning, Andy hadn't had time to get a breath and he sputtered and yowled as the water soaked down under his rain gear.
Andy shook his head like a dog, whipping his braid back and forth before daring to open his eyes. âSon of a BITCH!â Andy growled as he got a look at Kalai holding an empty bucket, while Jackie was shooâing Mrs. Vaida and Dr. Heâosforos away to give him some room.
âJesus, quit your bawlin,â you big baby, youâre acting like youâve never been stung before!â Jackie called back to him as Andy ripped the gloves off his hands and plunged them over the side to clean off the stingers.
âItâs in my fucking nose you horseâs ass!â Andy shouted back as he splashed his face. A few strings of purple stingers fell into the water and Andy reared back aboard. âUgh, get another bucket of seawater! I can still feel this shit!â
âAndrei, as a medical professional, I advise you to cease work and-â
Andy looked over as Dr. Heâosforos spoke but waved him off mid sentence. âI appreciate it Doc, but Iâve had it far worse than this. Thereâs a brown and yellow bottle in one of the drawers under the bench that says âMotrinâ. Get me the bottle or enough to tranq a cow, and Iâll go back to work just fine.â
Kalai let loose a piercing scream and Andy looked over just in time to see her rocketed herself backwards, dropping the bucket over the side. The Doctor caught his daughter before she fell into the hold, but he too had a look of fear plastered on his face. Andy and Jackie moved to the side to see what had scared her so badly, and the two of them couldnât help but laugh out loud.
Grammie Slick and two of her daughters were there, sticking their heads out of the water with their mouths open, while Butterball was playing with the bucket.
Jackie laughed and stuck her hand out, rubbing the Orca matriarch on the snout. âRaggedy Andyâs fine, Grammie Slick! Heâs just milking it for sympathy from these gullible hwunâeetums!â
âWhat in the Balance of Nature is going on here?â Mrs. Vaidaâs shocked voice caused Andy and Jackie to look at her as she stared dumbfounded at the Orcas that were gathering alongside the boat.
âOh theyâre just saying âhi.ââ Andy shrugged with a smile, despite the burning.
âMore like âWhat the hell, cousins, you still got fish to pick. Quit loafinâ around and get another set in!ââ
âJackie, Motrin⊠NOW!â Andy growled at her. Jackie blew a raspberry at him before diving into the cabin.
âTheyâre pretty friendly, if youâd like to be introduced,â Andy held out a hand and motioned for Kalai and her father to step forward. Andy dipped his hand in again to make sure it was clear of any stinging cells, before he gently guided the hesitant Kalai to stick her ungloved hand out toward Grammie Slick.
One of the daughters blew a spout before sliding back under water, but Grammie gave a few clicks before briefly touching Kalaiâs outstretched hand. âKalai, this is Grammie Slick, Matriarch of J-Pod. Grammie, this is Kalai⊠a purple hwunâeetum.â Andy laughed a bit at the look of incredulity on Kalaiâs face and the concern on her fatherâs.
There was a series of shutter clicks from behind Andy, and he turned to see Sakalbi snapping pictures as fast as she could. Kalai was clearly torn between fear and wonder as she held perfectly still and silent for Grammie, who was letting her touch her before she slid back under the water herself. Andy laughed as several clicks and whistles from the pod reverberated through the hull of the boat and he leaned back in.
âAlright, breakâs over,â Andy called as he caught the flying bottle of pills Jackie threw at him. He popped two and swallowed them dry before washing the gloves off and putting them on. The extra rinse would have to wait, and heâd have to tough it out until they got back to shore. His boots squelched as he picked his way through the fish on the deck to get back to his station and nodded for Jackie to restart the drum.
It was another twenty minutes before the last of the net was pulled aboard and they were able to clear away all the fish into the hold. Andy stuck his head in and smiled. In a single set, theyâd filled three quarters of it, and they had more than enough fish for the gathering and to feed another ten to fifteen families besides. The spouts and the clicks of J-Pod hanging around the boat, however, told Andy that they wanted their reef back and were still hungry.
Andy ordered them to prep the net for another set and helmed his boat again, only to bomb out in a straight line and let J-Pod take care of the fishing from that point on. Once theyâd finished, Andy moved the boat out of the Orcasâ way and stood outside the cabin with Jackie while the three aliens crowded the bow, watching and recording the whales going to work a second time.
âOk, I think we might get a moment to talk,â Andy muttered to Jackie in Salishian. âNew orders from the Council. Thereâs going to be a raid.â
Jackie sucked in a breath and looked at him, all levity gone. âCambrians, Militia, or the Dummy Bunnies?â
âMilitia and the Interior.â
Jackie whistled softly in surprise as her eyebrows shot up. âReally poking the bear, cuz⊠When and where?â
âUncle Willy wants us to hit the Militia Supply Depot out by Tanner on Saturday,â Andy growled quietly as he watched Kalai pointing to Grammie Slickâs dorsal as she swam out on the picket around the net.
âYou mean the one close to the Snoqualmish?â
âYeah. Full raid, weâre to hit it and take any supplies, especially military, that we can and destroy what we canât. The messier we can make it the better. Weâll meet up with the Resistance on the old Bessemer Logging road by Hancock Creek and they get half for taking the credit. Me and Chuckâve been assigned to âleadâ you.â Andy nodded and tried to flick some of the fish scales off himself, but got nowhere.
Jackie sat down on the rail with a groan before looking back up at him with a smirk. âYou mean babysit on overwatch while we do the real work.â
Andy pursed his numb lips together and considered the ramifications of folding his arms on the jellyfish burns that had started to go quiet thanks to the Motrin. âGrandma and the Council want me to âget my hands dirty.ââ He gritted his teeth in frustration.
âWhat? Iâm sorry, that sentence made zero sense.â Jackie shook her head like sheâd just been slapped.
Andy couldnât keep the frustration and anger out of his tone when he spoke. âApparently there are doubts about my loyalty to the tribe and whether or not Iâve lost my way.â
Jackie huffed in amusement. âEveryone knows the Councilâs fucking stupid, but this is a new level of dumb. You got us land back, you got them to allow you to break the rules to feed our people, theyâre fixing the fuck ups on our waterways because of you and they think youâve gone to the dark side?â Jackie started laughing at the nonsense of the politics.
âLast time we talked, you thought I was playing with fire and-â Andy started to throw back at her before she snorted loudly.
âResults talk, cuz. Three of our Hatcheries returned, and my whole family drawing good money in Imperial Credits? Fuck, even if you had sold out, we need more Clan Heads doing the same thing.â She smiled as she nodded towards their guests on the bow.
âThey still donât trust that I know what Iâm doing,â Andy growled as he folded his arms unconsciously and immediately regretted it.
Jackie snorted. âOf course they donât. You didnât talk to them or get their permission first. Hell, Iâm surprised your grandma didnât chuck you out on your ear for even suggesting that you should work for the dummy bunnies.â Jackie stretched and hopped up and around Andy to grab a water bottle. âBut itâs working out. Thereâs land being returned, money in our hands, and food about to be on our table. Youâre doinâ what a Chief is supposed to do.â
Andy scoffed and started to object. âIâm no Chief-â
Jackie gave his shoulder a slap and grinned evilly as a starburst of pain and burning cut through the painkillers, shutting Andy up mid-protest. âYou keep saying you arenât, but that donât make it true.â She resumed her seat as Andy fought the yowl of pain back so as not to give her the satisfaction. âI mean, case in point, what are you going to do with all these fish Grammieâs catching for us right now?â
Andy blinked a few times as he regained his composure and thought seriously about his answer. âWeâll pull fifteen for the gathering they got invited to⊠Then all the fish you can pack into the truck goes to the Exiles. The rest? Iâll call Chuck and get some folks from the Council to claim the rest and distribute it to the families that need it.â
Jackie deepened her voice and adopted a cowboy drawl. âHe never eats until he sees the pots are full of meat in the lodges of the widows and orphans-â
âThatâs Comanche Law, not Salish, and thatâs from a John Wayne movie, you ass.â Andy huffed and Jackie giggled wickedly, flipped him off.
âStill havenât refuted my point, cuz.â Jackieâs singsong voice caused Andy to glare spitefully at her, until she raised her hands defensively. âAlright, youâre not a Chief. So, Not Chief Tsuâtitsiâuqw; you need to get your hands dirty and lead a raid. Iâll scrape up what we need and scout the target. You just meet up with us Saturday night at the Snoqualmish Casino and Iâll put a gun in your hands. Donât worry, weâll only get dirty enough to make the Council happy.â
âIâll be a bit late; Iâm escorting them to the Hwatcom Family Gathering on Friday.â Andy took a step back as Jackie stood up and twisted a bit to stretch out.
âNo surprise there, grandpaâs an old school traditional Indian. Theyâre dummies, but theyâre trying to do right by us, finally. Again, thanks to you, Chie-â Andy slapped the back of her head hard and growled at her, but she just started laughing, making him even madder.
âAlright, enough. Letâs get on the bow and not look like weâre sketchy Indians plotting to attack an Imperial fort.â Andy snarled, shoving her past him while she just kept laughing.
Andy stomped forward, aware of the wet sounds his boots made as he walked. Kalai turned and smiled at him as he moved to stand beside her and her father. âSo how are they doing out there?â
âThey just started their attack. This is fascinating! Their coordination, their ingenuity, and adaptation to human activity is astounding! I wish I had brought observation drones!â Sakalbi was glued to the binoculars and holding her omnipad up while she muttered observations into the speaker. Andy was content to watch as the pod put on a repeat performance and the net sagged again until they all came up and started swimming lazily around the net and the boat. All of them except Butterball and one of his older brothers. The two seemed to be getting into a jumping contest.
âHeâs feeling a bit hyper. Must be nice to be full,â Jackie commented as the two whales took turns jumping out of the water and twisting in the air. Andy smiled and nodded and felt a hand go to his shoulder. He looked down and saw it was Kalai making eyes at him. Andy hid the grimace at the burn and gave her a wink.
âThat oneâs getting closer, should we be concerned?â Andy looked over at Dr. Heâosforos and Kalai quickly moved her hand as they watched Butterball getting closer and closer with each jump.
Jackie hopped up and straddled the railing as Andy and Kalai shared a concerned look. Jackie hooked a hand around one of the roller horns and peered down into the water. âI donât think so, I mean he knows weâre-â
The sudden appearance of a flying adolescent Orca only a scant few feet away from the boat right next to the lot of them cut Jackie off. Most of them only had enough time to watch the little playful bastard hang in the air for a moment before he twisted to almost shoulder punch the water as he came back down. Andy had just enough presence of mind to pull Kalai and her father down, and braced himself as the plume of water rose from where Butterball landed.
âOh shi-â Andy heard Jackie say before water cascaded down on them and drenched them all, sending the boat rocking violently.
It took a moment for Andy to recover and he helped the two Shil back to their feet. âQuick check, is everyone alright?â
âHEY! WHAT THE HELL, BUTTERBALL! GRAMMIE! YOU HAVE A TALK WITH YOUR GRANDSON! HEâS GONNA GET SOMEONE KILLED ONE OF THESE DAYS!â Jackie screamed at the water, shaking her fist.
A camera shutter sounded and a dripping wet Mrs. Vaida stood, wide eyed in fear, staring out over the water.
Andy started laughing at the sight of his boss soaked to the bone, her hair and her fur a dripping mess. âThat picture right there? You can title it: âAngry Native Woman Yells at Whale.ââ
Kalai looked like she was on Krekâs doorstep. Akilâeas knelt next to her as he finished his examination and was looking over the readings on his omnipad. His daughter sat in front of the cabin on the little step, legs splayed out in front of her while she leaned against the railing on the side of the boat. Her father stood next to her as he finished a quick check of her vitals and her viral load.
âUnsurprisingly, youâre a bit elevated, but given your numbers over the last week, thatâs saying that youâve come back up to your normal levels.â Akilâeas had been worried. When theyâd hauled in the net the second time, Kalai had stayed on the bow with the boy, Andy, while Akilâeasâd stood over the human womanâs shoulder and studied the controls.
Akilâieas had also pitched in and helped fill the hold, but when he and Sakalbi could no longer stuff them in, theyâd given up and stood out of the way. His old friend and colleague had spent the rest of the time recording, either the large predators that continued to circle and play around the boat, or the seemingly inefficient fishing practice of Andy and his people. No wonder he was so big, and his brother had been that strong. It beggared belief that their people worked at that backbreaking pace for so long, but there Andy stood, proud and tall at the end of it, while he and Sakalbi struggled to stay standing.
Akilâeas had to focus on keeping his hands from shaking and retrieved another water bottle for his exhausted daughter. Andy had them moving at a slow pace back towards a different harbor from the one theyâd left that morning. Theyâd stopped briefly at the pier theyâd started from to allow Jackie to disembark. The two humans packed all the fish that couldnât fit in the hold up to Jackieâs truck and filled the bed of it without any help. She drove off with close to a hundred fish.
Now with the deck cleared, Andy told them they were on their way to the harbor most of his Band used. The trip had been slower going than the morning had been, but only because they were riding much lower in the water than they had been.
âKing Tritonâs farewell,â Kalai muttered looking up. Akilâeas followed his daughterâs gaze up to see a flock of white and gray seabirds calling out loudly as they kept pace with the boat as it headed towards the docks.
âIt means workâs almost over. Itâs a great sound, isnât it?â Andy called out from the cabin where he sat at the helm.
Kalai shifted herself with great effort to look around the door to the cabin. âIt sounds amazing.â
The smile Andy gave Kalai caused Akilâeas to have a pang of fatherly protectiveness, and only fatigue kept the scowl off his face. âJust wait, weâll clean a few once weâve off-loaded to the families. Fresh salmon tonight for everyone, and Iâm cooking! Doc, weâd love to have you, too.â
âIâd love to but-â
Kalai grabbed his arm and stopped him. âTrust me, Papa, you donât want to miss it.â
Akilâeas chewed his tongue for a moment, looking from Andy to Kalai. Sakalbi caught his eye and nodded emphatically. âAlright, if youâll allow me to help. You must be exhausted.â
Andy beamed at Akilâeas, âYou wonât hear me turn down free help.â
âVaascon fellas donât have no frills, Haul away, haul away! Theyâre plain and skinny as a lodthfish gill, And weâre bound away for Vaasconia!â
Kalai sat back and started singing between sips of water. Akilâeas sat down next to her and joined in the chorus for a Vaascon sailing song. It was strange to think that these humans also sang to their sea gods to placate them and coordinate the work. What else could you expect from a sailorman? Some things call to the soul across time and evidently even the gulf space and peoples.
âSo heave him up my Turry Turry girls, Haul away, haul away! Heave him up and let the sails unfurl! And weâre bound away for Vaasconia!â
Andyâs voice joining in on the chorus startled Akilâeas and Kalai and they both turned to look back at him.
He gave them another wide grin, âI started learning some of the sail songs after Kalai told me about sailing on Shil.â
âAkilâeas, a word?â Sakalbi motioned with her head towards the bow and offered him a hand up. He followed her to the bow, leaving the two children singing together.
The harbor mouth was coming up fast, and between the noise of the engine and the net drum keeping them out of sight, there was some privacy. âIâve heard some rumors about your feelings toward humansâŠâ Sakalbi leaned against the railing, giving him the look that every teacher and professor had when questioning a belligerent student. When Akilâeas didnât answer her, save to throw her back his own look, she continued. âKalai is quite taken with Andy. Itâs been quite a refreshing thing to see her come out of her shell.â
âItâs a vacation romance, nothing more.â Akilâeas felt his stomach clench and couldnât stop himself from looking back.
âI donât think so, Akilâeas. This is the first time Iâve seen her so on thorns and thistles around anyone, much less a male. Sheâs been very keen around him.â The smile she gave him was a bit galling, but he had to admit, he didnât really know Kalai as well as Sakalbi and her spouses.
âHe is⊠Iâm sure he is a very nice young man, but as a fit consort for a soon to be Duchess? No, and Iâve yet to meet a human that is.â The thought of a human becoming the next Duke Heâosforos was absurd. Sure there had been the occasional non-Shil Kho-liebhaberin or even the one Duke Aurarâian Heâosforos who was a Triki, but a human? âTheyâre far too individualistic and self centered to rise to the responsibilities of the Peerage.â
âThatâs not exactly as large a sample size as you think it is, Leas. If you had Andy in your class, or on your crew, disregarding the fact that heâs human, what would your read on him be?â
Akilâeas locked his jaw and pursed his lips, defiantly. âI donât know.â
âCome on, Leas, youâre better than me at reading people, and Iâm damn good at it.â He hated how Sakalbiâs eyes flashed and her right ear would twitch when she thought she had the upper hand in an argument. He huffed a sigh and decided to play her little game, just to humor her enough so that sheâd drop the subject.
âDependable, fastidious and competent, judging by the state of his equipment and his boat. Self sacrificing, diligent, hard working, given what Iâve observed today. Heâs got a temper, but it takes a bit to get there, and heâs carrying some pretty heavy emotional scars.â Heâd not seen very much of Andy, but the old Sailing Master and Professor in him started to come out and assess the boy just as he would any of his students or junior sailors.
âThatâs my read, too. Doesnât sound so individualistic and self-centered to me. Blighted Nature, Leas, from what Iâve learned about him and his people, he broke with several of their traditions and customs to help us. Heâs stuck his neck out far further for us than we would have for him and his people, for no other reason than to try and save his homeland. Were he an Erbian on Myr or even back home in Vaasconia, thereâd be Groom-War over his hand.â
Akilâeas was a bit piqued about her statement, âWhat about your daughter? Kalai made no secret about little Sitry mooning after him, and her disapproval of their courtship.â
âShe thinks sheâs in love, and it very well might be that she is, but Kalaiâs disapproval should tell you what it tells me, given your own rather astute assessment of the man.â
âHEY DOC! TAKE THE WHEEL, I GOTTA DRUM US IN!â Andyâs voice cut their conversation short as Akilâeas turned to look back around the drum. Andy waved him back as he slowed their approach to come in. âTake us to Dock 5, straight back and to port.â
âStraight back and to larboard, aye!â Akilâeas rattled off as he traded places with Andy at the helm.
Kalai heaved herself up to stand as Andy grabbed a large leather circle and ran forward to jump up on the bow. As Akilâeas piloted the boat into the harbor and made the turn, he saw a large crowd of humans gathered on the pier and the shore. As soon as they were in sight, he watched as Andy, standing tall, began to drum a beat and vocalize, projecting his voice over the water to those on shore. Akilâeas sputtered a bit in surprise as he guided the boat slowly towards the open mooring.
âThatâs their call. His familyâs song lets the people on shore know who he is and that heâs friendly.â Kalai looked back at Akilâeas before moving inside the cabin to stand next to her father. âAll the families know it, but only he is allowed to sing it. Itâs their version of a family crest and coat of arms. Elder Hwatcom taught us about those. Thereâll be a reply in a second granting us permission to come ashore.â
There was indeed a response of drumming and singing from the assembly of humans as many started to crowd forward carrying what appeared to be coolers. Andy reappeared and took the controls back and reversed to kill their forward momentum as Sakalbi threw out their mooring lines to the waiting humans. Andy killed the engine and moved quickly out of the cabin to speak in a language that Akilâeas did not recognize. There seemed to be a bit of confusion from those gathered on the dock, but Andy opened the hatch to show the hold full of fish.
âDonât thank me, thank them. Sockeye and Kings to all comers, courtesy of the Vaidas and the Vaida Warren!â Andy shouted happily in Vatikre as he pulled two giant fish out by their gills and handed them off to the applauding humans.
Sakalbi managed to shoot Akilâeas a smug look before she plunged her hands into the mass of fish and began helping Andy hand them out to the people.
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Possible Late Post Due to Vacation. I will try to post on time, but it may be as late as 6/12/23
submitted by Kazevenikov to Sexyspacebabes [link] [comments]
Chapter 31: A Whale of a Tale and itâs All True
âITâS FUCKING J-POD!â
Kalai watched in shock and awe as the two humans collectively lost their minds, hopping up and down and letting loose a series of high pitched vocalizing as she, Papa, and Mama Sakalbi stared in confusion at the two ecstatic aliens.
Andy turned and ran back to where Kalai and her parents were still staring in amazement and held his hand out, face alight and happier than sheâd ever seen him before. âBinoculars! Quick! I want to see whoâs out there!â Mama Sakalbi tentatively held them out, and he took them with a nod of thanks before rushing back to the bow. Kalai started as he jumped up on the bow and balanced against the roller horns to spot the black and white whales that were swimming fast towards the net.
âEyes on Mama Shachi! Look, over there, see her?â Kalai approached cautiously as Andy pointed in the direction of a cluster of porpoising black shapes that were coming nearer.
âEyes on! I got Grammie Slick out there too; the WHOLE PODâS HERE!â Jackie cut loose an undulating cry and waved her hands as little geysers of water and air shot out from the water on the other side of the net.
Kalai nearly jumped when a miniature version of the Orcas from the clone tank at Headquarters breached the water, leaping almost twice her height into the air before splashing back down in a massive wave.
âLook at that! Butterballâs getting some good air these days!â Andy crowed as he hopped back down from the bow and passed the binoculars to Jackie.
âButterball?â Mama Sakalbi asked as she and Papa joined them. Kalai stared as the Orcas formed a line and charged at the middle of the âSâ bend in the net before diving down in front of it, sending a wave that pushed the corks back. She saw the spouts and the dorsal fins rise again for another charge at the net.
âHeâs the baby, only about four years old. Grammie Slickâs taking the family hunting, see how theyâre flattening the net out? Weâre about to have a great fucking day!â Andy took Jackieâs shotgun and took it back to the cabin as Kalai and her parents crowded the rail.
âWhat are they doing?â Mama Sakalbiâs question was directed at Jackie and the woman turned to answer with a gigantic smile.
âHerding! See the ones circling around the net?â Jackie pointed to the two dorsal fins that were almost invisible in the fog that was starting to burn off in the morning sun that had started to clear the eastern mountains. âTheyâll be starting to round up small schools of salmon once theyâre done turning our net into a reef. Right now, theyâre running along the line and probably seeing what they have to work with.â
Mama Sakalbi did a double take, âYou must be joking, that level of intelligence would almost be-â
âHuman?â Jackie interrupted with a smile, âYeah, thatâs our original teachers out there. We learned to fish from them.â
âI was going to say âsentientâ, but I take your point. What I want to know is, what are they doing?â Mama Sakalbi gestured out at them, with a bewildered look on her face.
âTheyâre using the net as a sea wall. Thing is, the netâs hard to see in the water, but the fish can feel it. Theyâll put their heads into the net, but that doesnât catch them. Theyâll try to swim around it so thatâs why we put an âSâ bend. Thatâs where most of the fish get tangled.â Andy returned and picked up the explanation. âSee in the center of the line? That fin with the black and white little checkmark behind it? Thatâs Grammie Slick, the Matriarch. Sheâs around sixty now, and grew up out here LONG before you all came down. They donât always do this, but I guess with you all keeping the fishing fleets docked, she saw the net and wanted a big meal for the family. Theyâre going to keep pushing the net until itâs in the shape of a crescent and herd a bunch of small schools into a big baitball with pickets to keep the fish pinned in the middle. You watch, thereâll be salmon jumping all over in the middle as they school up.â
âThatâs when youâll see them charge up the center and take big old mouthfuls of salmon. Itâll be a smorgasbord for âem!â Jackie pulled up Andyâs omnipad and started recording.
âWait, but you hate seals for competing with you for food, why are you this excited about Orcas who take so much more?â Papa asked as he also took out his omnipad and started recording as the pod of Orcas finished repositioning their net just as Andy described.
âBecause theyâre using the nets as a reef to trap the fish! See? Look! There they go! The wolves are out scaring every salmon in the area here!â Kalai dug her own omnipad out at Andyâs words and watched as the dorsal fins sank below the waves, with only a faint and fading wake to tell where theyâd gone.
âNow watch âem set pickets! Theyâre going to start patrolling the outside of the net. When they get enough salmon in the middle, theyâre going to charge. When they do, watch the entire middle section of our corks go under from the salmon trying to get away. They get whole heaping mouthfuls of food and we get a full net!â
Kalai watched the Orcas swimming in circles around the net like Helix Sharks, and felt a pang of fear seeing the big predators that seemed so gentle and inquisitive in the tank. âBut what if they get caught in the net?â
Jackie suppressed a laugh before sweeping an arm out at the net. âIâve never seen that happen before, and I havenât even heard of it happening before⊠at least not here in the Salish Sea. All our Orcas grew up around these nets, so theyâll either avoid them or use them like they are right now.â
âI think itâs because they can see them and the fish canât. Either way, weâre in for a show!â Andy patted Kalai on the back before pushing Kalai and Mama Sakalbi forward.
For a long while, the surface was calm, save for the circling Orcas as they all watched. Then, by degrees, there was movement on the surface of the water as fish the length of Kalaiâs arm started to jump and kick in the baitball. Kalai watched, fascinated, as Orcas seemed to appear and disappear along the edges but never approached the middle of the net.
All the fins disappeared from the surface and an eerie stillness settled over the water. Suddenly, the water in the middle of the crescent erupted, with hundreds of fish shooting out of the water and a sudden surge that hit and pushed the corks outward before they sank completely out of sight. Jackie and Andy started vocalizing those strange undulating cries again, raising their fists in the air before shouting something in their language. From as best as Kalai could guess, it was encouragement as the Orcas started breaching and jumping. In those moments, Kalai could catch glimpses of their mouths full of salmon.
Kalai watched as the terrified fish swarmed towards the net, and watched as many seemed to jump over it and swim away as the Orcas gorged themselves on the enormous school of salmon they had trapped. It was an awe inspiring sight to see, and Kalai lost herself in the moment watching the amazing display of symbiotic hunting and fishing between them and the Orcas.
The engine of the boat turning over broke the spell they were all under as Andy moved the boat at a dead slow pace back towards the net. âAlright, letâs haul it in and reset for âem! Jackie! Get on the bow with the billhook!â Jackie whooped in agreement and gently pushed passed Kalai to grab a long pole with a small metal hook at the end.
âWeâre gonna have to work fast. Theyâre hungry, and we all want salmon today,â Andy called over the sound of the engine as they approached the giant buoy that marked the end of the net. âDoc! Open that hatch back there and watch your step! Mrs. Vaida, stand clear in the cabin; I want no accidents today, and three on deckâs going to be a crowd with how many fish weâre going to be taking in. Kalai, I want you back in the-â
Kalai shook her head as she put her omnipad away. âI can do it! Let me help!â she was riding the high feeling of watching the Orcas, and seeing Andy and Jackie preparing to go to work while she was to be just a passenger galled her.
Kalai saw Andy give Jackie a look that she couldnât quite interpret. âAlright, but youâll work with me picking fish. Jackie, youâre on the Drum; trade places with me!â
Kalai saw Jackie huff and give Andy a piercing look as she handed off the billhook. âWatch out for jellies, they tend to explode,â the native woman muttered to Kalai as she took over at the net drumâs controls. Kalai was about to volunteer to grab the line with the hook, given her longer reach, but Andy had already leaned almost all the way over the side. Kalai had a momentary scare as Andy seemed to dip forward, seemingly in danger of falling overboard, until he seemed to almost levitate himself using his lower legs back into the boat and pulled the line over the roller horns. She stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do when Andy braced a foot against the side and began to pull on the line and feed it back towards Jackie.
âWay, haul away, weâll hang and haul together! Way, haul away, haul away Joe!â
Though she didnât understand the words, Kalai knew a sailing song when she heard one and didnât wait for any instruction. She moved forward opposite Andy and lent a hand, pulling the heavy line in to the cadence of his chant. After two verses, Kalai heard the whine of hydraulics and the slack in the line behind them went taught.
âStand back! Here we go!â Andy called to her and the line began pulling the net back aboard. Kalai looked back to see that Jackie had wrapped the line around the center pole of the drum, with the wheel turning to pull the line and net in out of the water. A small set of guide poles that moved when Jackie twitched the controls kept the line evenly distributed on the drum as the first corks and the dripping wet net began to appear out of the water.
âPut your hoods up!â Andy yelled at her over the noise of the machines, and demonstrated the motion. âItâll keep the water, seaweed and Jellies out of your face and eyes, and take this!â Andy tossed her what appeared to be a handkerchief and he mimed the act of tying it around her face like a mask.
âWhat about you? Youâre sleeveless!â Kalaiâs voice was slightly muffled from the cloth as she tied it around her face before pulling up both hoods.
Andy didnât respond, except to grin at her as he leaned out to watch the net coming up out of the water before it got pulled aboard.
From behind her, Kalai heard Jackie start singing another human sailing song. It was a bit fast paced, and Andy joined in for the chorus. On the third time she heard it, she joined in too.
âBlow ye winds in the morninâ, Blow ye winds, high ho! Haul away your running gear, And blow ye winds, high ho!â
âComing up!â Andy shouted as there were several loud thunks before six large salmon appeared in the giant fluorescent green tangle of the net. The drum stopped, bringing the fish to a halt as Andy pulled on the corkline and scurried his hands back and forth, gathering the net up as he did until he reached the first fish. Kalai watched in awe as he seemed to magically pull the fish from the tangle and shake it out onto the deck. The second one seemed to be resting on top of the tangle and he flipped it over the corkline and shook the fish out onto the deck.
âJust watch these first few. When you get a feel for how Iâm doing this, jump in. Until then, slide these beauties back towards the stern. Jackieâll pitch âem into the hold.â
Kalai nodded and watched Andyâs movements intently. It looked like sorcery, with how fast he moved his hands and zeroed in on a fish. As soon as he was done, heâd whistle to Jackie, who kept singing the cadence out to pull more of the net in, only to stop when more fish were pulled up and over the horns.
The song changed twice before Kalai felt confident enough to jump in. She almost got tangled in the net herself trying to pull out her first fish, but Andy gave the net a quick tug and she was free again. Maddeningly, the fish had simply fallen out of the net without any help from her, and she fumed just long enough for Andy to point to one that was closer to her.
âHoist up the thing, batten down the whatsit! Whatâs that thing spinning, somebody should stop it! Turn hard to Port! Thatâs not Port, NOW I GOT IT! Trust me, Iâm in control!â
On the second refrain, Kalai managed to dig her first fish out and drop it to the deck. She let out a whoop, and Andy paused for a moment to give her a quick applause.
âThatâs one, girl! Thereâs a thousand left if weâre lucky!â Jackie called out as Andy sang a verse and tackled another fish in the net.
âKeep an eye on the lead line; make sure it doesnât go over the corks!â Andy called as Kalai ran down her second fish and was about to throw the excess net over the other side. She stopped, and Andy helped her get the fish without tangling the net.
It took until the end of the song for Kalai to find her rhythm, and soon she and Andy were running down fish in the net in a crisp and quick manner. Kalai felt like she could go faster, but Andy had cautioned her to keep pace with the songs, as there was still a lot of net to go. When Kalai spared a glance at the length of net still in the water, she saw that Andy wasnât kidding. It looked like they hadnât even really started to reel it all in. Ok, itâs hard work, but so is sailing, and heâs my size so I should be able to keep up with him. If he can do it, I can do it!
Andy was impressed. Kalai had jumped in without complaint, and she was very coachable. He could feel himself start to flag as they were starting to come to the last third of the net, but Kalaiâs persistence, even though she was sweatier and more haggard than he was, kept him going.
The pile of salmon was almost as deep as their calves, and the deck was getting slick with fish slime. For that matter, so was Andy. In a momentary lull in the fish coming over the horns, Andy caught a glimpse of himself shimmering with all the scales that had flown off the fish as they scraped against the net to hit the deck, flopping. He took a big gulp of air and Kalai groaned as she straightened up, cracking her back as she twisted and bent to relieve her aching muscles.
Andy groaned a bit and looked back towards the stern. It was getting hard to see over the amount of net theyâd pulled back in, but he could see Doc and Mrs. Vaida doing their best to help throw and shove the piles of salmon into the hold. Everybodyâs getting their hands dirty today. Andy smiled and heaved a happy sigh. This, this is what I want. Being out on the water and doing good, hard work.
âSHIT, JELLYFISH!â Kalai shouted as she twisted away to hide her face behind her rain slicker hood. Andy blinked just in time as a wet squelching sound sent a spray of disintegrating jellyfish exploding all over the bow as the net bunched up and got squeezed together.
Andy felt it splatter all over his arms, neck, and face, before he felt it start to slide down his shirt to his chest. Almost immediately, he started to feel the burn. His arms, neck, and chest he could stand, but the blossoming pain on his lips, eyelids, cheeks, and most horribly the inside of his nose overwhelmed all his conditioned pain tolerance.
âFUCK!â Andy screamed. âFUCKING FUCKER! RIGHT IN MY FUCKING FACE! GOD FUCKING DAMNIT! FUCK!â Andy only barely avoided bringing his hands to his face. It was a hard fought thing to deny his instinct to try and scrape it off, but he felt his boots loose purchase and his feet slide out from under him. He hit the pile of fish that surrounded him hard. He was aware of Kalai yelling for her father and Mrs. Vaida, while Jackieâs braying laugh carried over everything else.
Andy felt Kalai trying to grab him, but her gloves were too slick to get a grip and all she did was spread the stingers more evenly over his arms. Andy kept his eyes squeezed shut as he heard Jackie start to direct the confused and panicking aliens.
âHold your breath, cuz, vinegar incoming!â
Andy felt the bitter stinging splash as Jackie poured a steady stream of vinegar out from what he assumed was the giant jug he kept for these occasions underneath the little kitchenette in the cabin. Though nothing about the intensity of the burn changed, in the back of his mind, Andy knew that it was killing the stinging cells.
âAlright, Kally, take that bucket and fill it with seawater from over the side, then dump it on him.â
Andy sputtered a bit and spit as he scrabbled onto his knees. He steadied himself with one hand on the rail beside him and the other which found the corkline. He kept his eyes shut and growled as the burning spread from his hairline down to his navel. A sudden bracing splash of cold water nearly bowled him back over. Without warning, Andy hadn't had time to get a breath and he sputtered and yowled as the water soaked down under his rain gear.
Andy shook his head like a dog, whipping his braid back and forth before daring to open his eyes. âSon of a BITCH!â Andy growled as he got a look at Kalai holding an empty bucket, while Jackie was shooâing Mrs. Vaida and Dr. Heâosforos away to give him some room.
âJesus, quit your bawlin,â you big baby, youâre acting like youâve never been stung before!â Jackie called back to him as Andy ripped the gloves off his hands and plunged them over the side to clean off the stingers.
âItâs in my fucking nose you horseâs ass!â Andy shouted back as he splashed his face. A few strings of purple stingers fell into the water and Andy reared back aboard. âUgh, get another bucket of seawater! I can still feel this shit!â
âAndrei, as a medical professional, I advise you to cease work and-â
Andy looked over as Dr. Heâosforos spoke but waved him off mid sentence. âI appreciate it Doc, but Iâve had it far worse than this. Thereâs a brown and yellow bottle in one of the drawers under the bench that says âMotrinâ. Get me the bottle or enough to tranq a cow, and Iâll go back to work just fine.â
Kalai let loose a piercing scream and Andy looked over just in time to see her rocketed herself backwards, dropping the bucket over the side. The Doctor caught his daughter before she fell into the hold, but he too had a look of fear plastered on his face. Andy and Jackie moved to the side to see what had scared her so badly, and the two of them couldnât help but laugh out loud.
Grammie Slick and two of her daughters were there, sticking their heads out of the water with their mouths open, while Butterball was playing with the bucket.
Jackie laughed and stuck her hand out, rubbing the Orca matriarch on the snout. âRaggedy Andyâs fine, Grammie Slick! Heâs just milking it for sympathy from these gullible hwunâeetums!â
âWhat in the Balance of Nature is going on here?â Mrs. Vaidaâs shocked voice caused Andy and Jackie to look at her as she stared dumbfounded at the Orcas that were gathering alongside the boat.
âOh theyâre just saying âhi.ââ Andy shrugged with a smile, despite the burning.
âMore like âWhat the hell, cousins, you still got fish to pick. Quit loafinâ around and get another set in!ââ
âJackie, Motrin⊠NOW!â Andy growled at her. Jackie blew a raspberry at him before diving into the cabin.
âTheyâre pretty friendly, if youâd like to be introduced,â Andy held out a hand and motioned for Kalai and her father to step forward. Andy dipped his hand in again to make sure it was clear of any stinging cells, before he gently guided the hesitant Kalai to stick her ungloved hand out toward Grammie Slick.
One of the daughters blew a spout before sliding back under water, but Grammie gave a few clicks before briefly touching Kalaiâs outstretched hand. âKalai, this is Grammie Slick, Matriarch of J-Pod. Grammie, this is Kalai⊠a purple hwunâeetum.â Andy laughed a bit at the look of incredulity on Kalaiâs face and the concern on her fatherâs.
There was a series of shutter clicks from behind Andy, and he turned to see Sakalbi snapping pictures as fast as she could. Kalai was clearly torn between fear and wonder as she held perfectly still and silent for Grammie, who was letting her touch her before she slid back under the water herself. Andy laughed as several clicks and whistles from the pod reverberated through the hull of the boat and he leaned back in.
âAlright, breakâs over,â Andy called as he caught the flying bottle of pills Jackie threw at him. He popped two and swallowed them dry before washing the gloves off and putting them on. The extra rinse would have to wait, and heâd have to tough it out until they got back to shore. His boots squelched as he picked his way through the fish on the deck to get back to his station and nodded for Jackie to restart the drum.
It was another twenty minutes before the last of the net was pulled aboard and they were able to clear away all the fish into the hold. Andy stuck his head in and smiled. In a single set, theyâd filled three quarters of it, and they had more than enough fish for the gathering and to feed another ten to fifteen families besides. The spouts and the clicks of J-Pod hanging around the boat, however, told Andy that they wanted their reef back and were still hungry.
Andy ordered them to prep the net for another set and helmed his boat again, only to bomb out in a straight line and let J-Pod take care of the fishing from that point on. Once theyâd finished, Andy moved the boat out of the Orcasâ way and stood outside the cabin with Jackie while the three aliens crowded the bow, watching and recording the whales going to work a second time.
âOk, I think we might get a moment to talk,â Andy muttered to Jackie in Salishian. âNew orders from the Council. Thereâs going to be a raid.â
Jackie sucked in a breath and looked at him, all levity gone. âCambrians, Militia, or the Dummy Bunnies?â
âMilitia and the Interior.â
Jackie whistled softly in surprise as her eyebrows shot up. âReally poking the bear, cuz⊠When and where?â
âUncle Willy wants us to hit the Militia Supply Depot out by Tanner on Saturday,â Andy growled quietly as he watched Kalai pointing to Grammie Slickâs dorsal as she swam out on the picket around the net.
âYou mean the one close to the Snoqualmish?â
âYeah. Full raid, weâre to hit it and take any supplies, especially military, that we can and destroy what we canât. The messier we can make it the better. Weâll meet up with the Resistance on the old Bessemer Logging road by Hancock Creek and they get half for taking the credit. Me and Chuckâve been assigned to âleadâ you.â Andy nodded and tried to flick some of the fish scales off himself, but got nowhere.
Jackie sat down on the rail with a groan before looking back up at him with a smirk. âYou mean babysit on overwatch while we do the real work.â
Andy pursed his numb lips together and considered the ramifications of folding his arms on the jellyfish burns that had started to go quiet thanks to the Motrin. âGrandma and the Council want me to âget my hands dirty.ââ He gritted his teeth in frustration.
âWhat? Iâm sorry, that sentence made zero sense.â Jackie shook her head like sheâd just been slapped.
Andy couldnât keep the frustration and anger out of his tone when he spoke. âApparently there are doubts about my loyalty to the tribe and whether or not Iâve lost my way.â
Jackie huffed in amusement. âEveryone knows the Councilâs fucking stupid, but this is a new level of dumb. You got us land back, you got them to allow you to break the rules to feed our people, theyâre fixing the fuck ups on our waterways because of you and they think youâve gone to the dark side?â Jackie started laughing at the nonsense of the politics.
âLast time we talked, you thought I was playing with fire and-â Andy started to throw back at her before she snorted loudly.
âResults talk, cuz. Three of our Hatcheries returned, and my whole family drawing good money in Imperial Credits? Fuck, even if you had sold out, we need more Clan Heads doing the same thing.â She smiled as she nodded towards their guests on the bow.
âThey still donât trust that I know what Iâm doing,â Andy growled as he folded his arms unconsciously and immediately regretted it.
Jackie snorted. âOf course they donât. You didnât talk to them or get their permission first. Hell, Iâm surprised your grandma didnât chuck you out on your ear for even suggesting that you should work for the dummy bunnies.â Jackie stretched and hopped up and around Andy to grab a water bottle. âBut itâs working out. Thereâs land being returned, money in our hands, and food about to be on our table. Youâre doinâ what a Chief is supposed to do.â
Andy scoffed and started to object. âIâm no Chief-â
Jackie gave his shoulder a slap and grinned evilly as a starburst of pain and burning cut through the painkillers, shutting Andy up mid-protest. âYou keep saying you arenât, but that donât make it true.â She resumed her seat as Andy fought the yowl of pain back so as not to give her the satisfaction. âI mean, case in point, what are you going to do with all these fish Grammieâs catching for us right now?â
Andy blinked a few times as he regained his composure and thought seriously about his answer. âWeâll pull fifteen for the gathering they got invited to⊠Then all the fish you can pack into the truck goes to the Exiles. The rest? Iâll call Chuck and get some folks from the Council to claim the rest and distribute it to the families that need it.â
Jackie deepened her voice and adopted a cowboy drawl. âHe never eats until he sees the pots are full of meat in the lodges of the widows and orphans-â
âThatâs Comanche Law, not Salish, and thatâs from a John Wayne movie, you ass.â Andy huffed and Jackie giggled wickedly, flipped him off.
âStill havenât refuted my point, cuz.â Jackieâs singsong voice caused Andy to glare spitefully at her, until she raised her hands defensively. âAlright, youâre not a Chief. So, Not Chief Tsuâtitsiâuqw; you need to get your hands dirty and lead a raid. Iâll scrape up what we need and scout the target. You just meet up with us Saturday night at the Snoqualmish Casino and Iâll put a gun in your hands. Donât worry, weâll only get dirty enough to make the Council happy.â
âIâll be a bit late; Iâm escorting them to the Hwatcom Family Gathering on Friday.â Andy took a step back as Jackie stood up and twisted a bit to stretch out.
âNo surprise there, grandpaâs an old school traditional Indian. Theyâre dummies, but theyâre trying to do right by us, finally. Again, thanks to you, Chie-â Andy slapped the back of her head hard and growled at her, but she just started laughing, making him even madder.
âAlright, enough. Letâs get on the bow and not look like weâre sketchy Indians plotting to attack an Imperial fort.â Andy snarled, shoving her past him while she just kept laughing.
Andy stomped forward, aware of the wet sounds his boots made as he walked. Kalai turned and smiled at him as he moved to stand beside her and her father. âSo how are they doing out there?â
âThey just started their attack. This is fascinating! Their coordination, their ingenuity, and adaptation to human activity is astounding! I wish I had brought observation drones!â Sakalbi was glued to the binoculars and holding her omnipad up while she muttered observations into the speaker. Andy was content to watch as the pod put on a repeat performance and the net sagged again until they all came up and started swimming lazily around the net and the boat. All of them except Butterball and one of his older brothers. The two seemed to be getting into a jumping contest.
âHeâs feeling a bit hyper. Must be nice to be full,â Jackie commented as the two whales took turns jumping out of the water and twisting in the air. Andy smiled and nodded and felt a hand go to his shoulder. He looked down and saw it was Kalai making eyes at him. Andy hid the grimace at the burn and gave her a wink.
âThat oneâs getting closer, should we be concerned?â Andy looked over at Dr. Heâosforos and Kalai quickly moved her hand as they watched Butterball getting closer and closer with each jump.
Jackie hopped up and straddled the railing as Andy and Kalai shared a concerned look. Jackie hooked a hand around one of the roller horns and peered down into the water. âI donât think so, I mean he knows weâre-â
The sudden appearance of a flying adolescent Orca only a scant few feet away from the boat right next to the lot of them cut Jackie off. Most of them only had enough time to watch the little playful bastard hang in the air for a moment before he twisted to almost shoulder punch the water as he came back down. Andy had just enough presence of mind to pull Kalai and her father down, and braced himself as the plume of water rose from where Butterball landed.
âOh shi-â Andy heard Jackie say before water cascaded down on them and drenched them all, sending the boat rocking violently.
It took a moment for Andy to recover and he helped the two Shil back to their feet. âQuick check, is everyone alright?â
âHEY! WHAT THE HELL, BUTTERBALL! GRAMMIE! YOU HAVE A TALK WITH YOUR GRANDSON! HEâS GONNA GET SOMEONE KILLED ONE OF THESE DAYS!â Jackie screamed at the water, shaking her fist.
A camera shutter sounded and a dripping wet Mrs. Vaida stood, wide eyed in fear, staring out over the water.
Andy started laughing at the sight of his boss soaked to the bone, her hair and her fur a dripping mess. âThat picture right there? You can title it: âAngry Native Woman Yells at Whale.ââ
âUnsurprisingly, youâre a bit elevated, but given your numbers over the last week, thatâs saying that youâve come back up to your normal levels.â Akilâeas had been worried. When theyâd hauled in the net the second time, Kalai had stayed on the bow with the boy, Andy, while Akilâeasâd stood over the human womanâs shoulder and studied the controls.
Akilâieas had also pitched in and helped fill the hold, but when he and Sakalbi could no longer stuff them in, theyâd given up and stood out of the way. His old friend and colleague had spent the rest of the time recording, either the large predators that continued to circle and play around the boat, or the seemingly inefficient fishing practice of Andy and his people. No wonder he was so big, and his brother had been that strong. It beggared belief that their people worked at that backbreaking pace for so long, but there Andy stood, proud and tall at the end of it, while he and Sakalbi struggled to stay standing.
Akilâeas had to focus on keeping his hands from shaking and retrieved another water bottle for his exhausted daughter. Andy had them moving at a slow pace back towards a different harbor from the one theyâd left that morning. Theyâd stopped briefly at the pier theyâd started from to allow Jackie to disembark. The two humans packed all the fish that couldnât fit in the hold up to Jackieâs truck and filled the bed of it without any help. She drove off with close to a hundred fish.
Now with the deck cleared, Andy told them they were on their way to the harbor most of his Band used. The trip had been slower going than the morning had been, but only because they were riding much lower in the water than they had been.
âKing Tritonâs farewell,â Kalai muttered looking up. Akilâeas followed his daughterâs gaze up to see a flock of white and gray seabirds calling out loudly as they kept pace with the boat as it headed towards the docks.
âIt means workâs almost over. Itâs a great sound, isnât it?â Andy called out from the cabin where he sat at the helm.
Kalai shifted herself with great effort to look around the door to the cabin. âIt sounds amazing.â
The smile Andy gave Kalai caused Akilâeas to have a pang of fatherly protectiveness, and only fatigue kept the scowl off his face. âJust wait, weâll clean a few once weâve off-loaded to the families. Fresh salmon tonight for everyone, and Iâm cooking! Doc, weâd love to have you, too.â
âIâd love to but-â
Kalai grabbed his arm and stopped him. âTrust me, Papa, you donât want to miss it.â
Akilâeas chewed his tongue for a moment, looking from Andy to Kalai. Sakalbi caught his eye and nodded emphatically. âAlright, if youâll allow me to help. You must be exhausted.â
Andy beamed at Akilâeas, âYou wonât hear me turn down free help.â
âVaascon fellas donât have no frills, Haul away, haul away! Theyâre plain and skinny as a lodthfish gill, And weâre bound away for Vaasconia!â
Kalai sat back and started singing between sips of water. Akilâeas sat down next to her and joined in the chorus for a Vaascon sailing song. It was strange to think that these humans also sang to their sea gods to placate them and coordinate the work. What else could you expect from a sailorman? Some things call to the soul across time and evidently even the gulf space and peoples.
âSo heave him up my Turry Turry girls, Haul away, haul away! Heave him up and let the sails unfurl! And weâre bound away for Vaasconia!â
Andyâs voice joining in on the chorus startled Akilâeas and Kalai and they both turned to look back at him.
He gave them another wide grin, âI started learning some of the sail songs after Kalai told me about sailing on Shil.â
âAkilâeas, a word?â Sakalbi motioned with her head towards the bow and offered him a hand up. He followed her to the bow, leaving the two children singing together.
The harbor mouth was coming up fast, and between the noise of the engine and the net drum keeping them out of sight, there was some privacy. âIâve heard some rumors about your feelings toward humansâŠâ Sakalbi leaned against the railing, giving him the look that every teacher and professor had when questioning a belligerent student. When Akilâeas didnât answer her, save to throw her back his own look, she continued. âKalai is quite taken with Andy. Itâs been quite a refreshing thing to see her come out of her shell.â
âItâs a vacation romance, nothing more.â Akilâeas felt his stomach clench and couldnât stop himself from looking back.
âI donât think so, Akilâeas. This is the first time Iâve seen her so on thorns and thistles around anyone, much less a male. Sheâs been very keen around him.â The smile she gave him was a bit galling, but he had to admit, he didnât really know Kalai as well as Sakalbi and her spouses.
âHe is⊠Iâm sure he is a very nice young man, but as a fit consort for a soon to be Duchess? No, and Iâve yet to meet a human that is.â The thought of a human becoming the next Duke Heâosforos was absurd. Sure there had been the occasional non-Shil Kho-liebhaberin or even the one Duke Aurarâian Heâosforos who was a Triki, but a human? âTheyâre far too individualistic and self centered to rise to the responsibilities of the Peerage.â
âThatâs not exactly as large a sample size as you think it is, Leas. If you had Andy in your class, or on your crew, disregarding the fact that heâs human, what would your read on him be?â
Akilâeas locked his jaw and pursed his lips, defiantly. âI donât know.â
âCome on, Leas, youâre better than me at reading people, and Iâm damn good at it.â He hated how Sakalbiâs eyes flashed and her right ear would twitch when she thought she had the upper hand in an argument. He huffed a sigh and decided to play her little game, just to humor her enough so that sheâd drop the subject.
âDependable, fastidious and competent, judging by the state of his equipment and his boat. Self sacrificing, diligent, hard working, given what Iâve observed today. Heâs got a temper, but it takes a bit to get there, and heâs carrying some pretty heavy emotional scars.â Heâd not seen very much of Andy, but the old Sailing Master and Professor in him started to come out and assess the boy just as he would any of his students or junior sailors.
âThatâs my read, too. Doesnât sound so individualistic and self-centered to me. Blighted Nature, Leas, from what Iâve learned about him and his people, he broke with several of their traditions and customs to help us. Heâs stuck his neck out far further for us than we would have for him and his people, for no other reason than to try and save his homeland. Were he an Erbian on Myr or even back home in Vaasconia, thereâd be Groom-War over his hand.â
Akilâeas was a bit piqued about her statement, âWhat about your daughter? Kalai made no secret about little Sitry mooning after him, and her disapproval of their courtship.â
âShe thinks sheâs in love, and it very well might be that she is, but Kalaiâs disapproval should tell you what it tells me, given your own rather astute assessment of the man.â
âHEY DOC! TAKE THE WHEEL, I GOTTA DRUM US IN!â Andyâs voice cut their conversation short as Akilâeas turned to look back around the drum. Andy waved him back as he slowed their approach to come in. âTake us to Dock 5, straight back and to port.â
âStraight back and to larboard, aye!â Akilâeas rattled off as he traded places with Andy at the helm.
Kalai heaved herself up to stand as Andy grabbed a large leather circle and ran forward to jump up on the bow. As Akilâeas piloted the boat into the harbor and made the turn, he saw a large crowd of humans gathered on the pier and the shore. As soon as they were in sight, he watched as Andy, standing tall, began to drum a beat and vocalize, projecting his voice over the water to those on shore. Akilâeas sputtered a bit in surprise as he guided the boat slowly towards the open mooring.
âThatâs their call. His familyâs song lets the people on shore know who he is and that heâs friendly.â Kalai looked back at Akilâeas before moving inside the cabin to stand next to her father. âAll the families know it, but only he is allowed to sing it. Itâs their version of a family crest and coat of arms. Elder Hwatcom taught us about those. Thereâll be a reply in a second granting us permission to come ashore.â
There was indeed a response of drumming and singing from the assembly of humans as many started to crowd forward carrying what appeared to be coolers. Andy reappeared and took the controls back and reversed to kill their forward momentum as Sakalbi threw out their mooring lines to the waiting humans. Andy killed the engine and moved quickly out of the cabin to speak in a language that Akilâeas did not recognize. There seemed to be a bit of confusion from those gathered on the dock, but Andy opened the hatch to show the hold full of fish.
âDonât thank me, thank them. Sockeye and Kings to all comers, courtesy of the Vaidas and the Vaida Warren!â Andy shouted happily in Vatikre as he pulled two giant fish out by their gills and handed them off to the applauding humans.
Sakalbi managed to shoot Akilâeas a smug look before she plunged her hands into the mass of fish and began helping Andy hand them out to the people.
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Possible Late Post Due to Vacation. I will try to post on time, but it may be as late as 6/12/23