Apple watch series 3 42mm touch screen replacement bd
Dark Souls
2011.02.02 06:44 ChingShih Dark Souls
A community dedicated to Dark Souls I, game released for PC, PlayStation 3 and 4, Xbox 360/One, and Switch (Remastered).
2015.01.13 23:05 bobdigga Mi Band
Subreddit for members to ask questions and share their content, ideas, and experiences with their Mi Bands.
2012.02.13 11:54 StoneColdSteveHawkng Console Repair
2023.06.03 02:43 mardiff712 I've (mostly) gone 5 months without pulling after 10 years of struggling. So can you.
It’s been 5 months and my eyebrows are more full than they’ve been in 10 years.
I'm 24 years old, and unlike a lot of people with trich, I'm a guy. I've got no idea when it started, but it's been a very long time. I didn't even know it was a problem for a while, and then one day I noticed my eyebrows were looking sparse. There was no trauma or anything - my mom used to tell me I have bushy eyebrows, so maybe that's why I began, and I continued because, like everyone else, I got addicted to how it feels to pull them.
Up through high school and about half way through college, I thought it was just a weird habit I had. Some people stutter, some people aren't very good at making eye contact, some people bite their nails, I pull eyebrows. Big whoop. Then it started to be consistently bad, and my eyebrows, although never reaching a *really* bad stage, were consistently much thinner than they should be. My mom would tell me to stop pulling them, I knew I should stop, but I couldn't. It was addictive.
Probably about 4 or 5 years ago, I discovered that it was a real disorder. While I was interested to know that it was more common than I realized *and* and that people actually researched how to solve stuff like this, it wasn't all that comforting. More so, it just validated I had an actual problem. Nevertheless, I tried a bunch of things, like like logging when I did it (didn’t find this useful because there was no way I was going to consistently keep up this strategy), trying to occupy my hands (doesn’t help since you can’t always occupy them).
Eventually, over the course of the past 5 years, I've found habits and learned about my ticks and have eventually gotten to the point where I think my eyebrows look pretty close to how they did before, albeit new pores are sprouting hairs daily and a solid number of hairs are a little whiter than they probably should be. Miraculously, I don't think I've permanently lost any follicles, since my eyebrows are both pretty full (even if they aren't symmetrical, since they never were in the first place - another reason I probably started).
So, I wanted to list things that work for me. These obviously won't work for everyone, but they did in my case. I'll start with the most useful.
submitted by mardiff712 to trichotillomania [link] [comments]
I'm 24 years old, and unlike a lot of people with trich, I'm a guy. I've got no idea when it started, but it's been a very long time. I didn't even know it was a problem for a while, and then one day I noticed my eyebrows were looking sparse. There was no trauma or anything - my mom used to tell me I have bushy eyebrows, so maybe that's why I began, and I continued because, like everyone else, I got addicted to how it feels to pull them.
Up through high school and about half way through college, I thought it was just a weird habit I had. Some people stutter, some people aren't very good at making eye contact, some people bite their nails, I pull eyebrows. Big whoop. Then it started to be consistently bad, and my eyebrows, although never reaching a *really* bad stage, were consistently much thinner than they should be. My mom would tell me to stop pulling them, I knew I should stop, but I couldn't. It was addictive.
Probably about 4 or 5 years ago, I discovered that it was a real disorder. While I was interested to know that it was more common than I realized *and* and that people actually researched how to solve stuff like this, it wasn't all that comforting. More so, it just validated I had an actual problem. Nevertheless, I tried a bunch of things, like like logging when I did it (didn’t find this useful because there was no way I was going to consistently keep up this strategy), trying to occupy my hands (doesn’t help since you can’t always occupy them).
Eventually, over the course of the past 5 years, I've found habits and learned about my ticks and have eventually gotten to the point where I think my eyebrows look pretty close to how they did before, albeit new pores are sprouting hairs daily and a solid number of hairs are a little whiter than they probably should be. Miraculously, I don't think I've permanently lost any follicles, since my eyebrows are both pretty full (even if they aren't symmetrical, since they never were in the first place - another reason I probably started).
So, I wanted to list things that work for me. These obviously won't work for everyone, but they did in my case. I'll start with the most useful.
- Work on all parts of yourself: This is without a doubt the most important thing for me, and I think it is for everyone, yet I see it mentioned so infrequently. My pulling was worst when I was least equipped to deal with stress. In college, I didn't exercise, drank a lot, slept and ate poorly, and had lower confidence. It was also worst when I watched porn regularly. All of those activities make you feel like crap, and even worse, they ruin your ability to deal with stressful situations. I'm now older and live alone, which makes it much easier to control my life, but I have a good job, workout (lift and run) regularly, eat fairly healthy, drink but less often and in smaller quantities, and very rarely watch porn (except for the occasional relapse). I have way less moodswings, my lows are less frequent and less low, my anxiety comes less often, and I know how to address it (sleep, eating, exercise), and I'm hungover less often. It's a combination of two things - doing difficult things to increase your willpower (ex. exercise, eating healthy and not crap even if you want to, going to bed on time, and simply doing what you think you should be doing) and removing obstacles that test your willpower so you can spend it on things that need it, like fighting trich (more on this later). All these things have made me a much more resilient person, and as such, trich has largely faded away as a total side effect. If you do not have the other parts of your life under control, you're simply going to have an incredibly difficult time addressing any nervous disorder. It will require an immense amount of willpower that you probably do not have.
- Being aware of triggers: For me, the biggest trigger is when you get anxiety. I've learned that I get this in moments where I am doing nothing, but attempting to begin an action. For example, when I sit down at work and start thinking about what code I'm going to write. An equivalent action to eyebrow pulling would be opening up a website like Reddit to surf on rather than start working. They are both addictive responses searching for a positive response to cope with stress. You need to know your triggers because you need to start either finding strategies to push through these situations, avoid them altogether. Both is preferable - it's hard to push through these scenarios, and requires willpower, which I believe is finite. So limiting how often you have to is optimal.
- Replacing the action: I know most of you are girls, so my advice doesn't really help here, but I started pulling out my chest hair instead. My chest hair is kinda thick and isn't much to look at anyways, so it doesn't matter if I pull them. The feeling is obviously very close to pulling an eyebrow, but has none of the negative effects attached.
- Addressing other addictive tendencies: Aside from trich, I have two - porn and general internet addiction. When I'm drunk, high, hungover, or just my willpower to do hard things drops, and I suffer for it, and I notice that when I do one of my 3 addictions, the others will probably flare up, too. So, for porn, I just made a hard and fast rule to not watch any. I still jack off, but just to my imagination, and, well, after that I don't have the urge to watch porn anymore. As for internet addiction (addiction is a strong word, I think, but it describes the tendency to get home and jump on the internet immediately, surfing websites), I by in large have stopped this over many years. I was first addicted to reddit in college for years, which I weaned off. Then Twitter, which I stopped by deleting by account with no record of who I follow, so I couldn't easily recreate my experience. Then a forum for soccer, which I still visit regularly, but I lock myself out of my account for months at a time so I can't respond to anyone and get sucked in for hours.
- Accept it's a process, and you will relapse: I still pull eyebrows all the time. I also end up watching porn probably once every other month or so when I'm drunk or high, and like I said before, I still go on websites I'm addicted to (ex. this one). I see people on this subreddit posting about their streak of X days, which reminds me of AA, and while I get the sentiment, you will relapse from trich. In AA, you have to somehow go acquire alcohol, which is a process with a lot of steps. Trich is just one simple hair pull. What's important is that you don't get crazy mad at yourself when it happens. I pulled an eyebrow writing this post. I'm ok with it. The average person has 3 eyebrows fall out naturally everyday - the goal is just to move closer and close to that average all the time, and if you're even remotely close to that, the effects won't be noticeable. If you consider yourself a failure if you pull out one eyebrow and lose motivation to attack trich, you're going to cause your mood to spiral out of control, and that's going to make you pull more hairs. I'm probably going to have a somewhat severe relapse in the future, especially if I go through a difficult life event. It's fine. It happens. What's important is what I do when that happens.
- Actually groom your eyebrows and keep your fingernails short: I'm guessing girls probably do this already, but as a guy, I never really considered this. I use tweezers to clip certain hairs and I use scissors to cut hairs when they get too long. This prevents me from having the excuse that probably started everything, which is that my eyebrows aren’t naturally perfect, and I probably tried to fix them by picking at them, and then got addicted to the feeling. If my nails are long, it is so easy to pull out eyebrows. If thy aren’t, it’s a lot harder to pull out. I still touch my eyebrows pretty often, but when my nails are short I usually don’t pull any out. This has gotten even more effective as time has gone on, as I think the roots have strengthened since I haven’t pulled hair out in a while. The trimming and care has been especially important in keeping me from relapsing hard. For the first couple years, I would often tell myself I was really going to focus on beating trich. Eventually, my eyebrows would grow back in a little bit (enough that it was noticeable to me), I would get overjoyed I was making progress, and then I would see an eyebrow growing in a place that seemed like it was making my eyebrow was worse. I would pull it. I would then feel another, or even more likely, feel another that felt out of place (the most likely thing to make an eyebrow feel like it should be pulled is if 1. It is new and short, or 2. It is directly next to an eyebrow that just got pulled, making it feel weirdly long since it is next to a hole). I would then pull that, and then another, and then another. Before you know it, half my eyebrow is gone. The most important thing here is to build concrete rules for what you are allowed to pull, and follow them. I started out as telling myself I couldn’t pull anything - good idea in practice, but eventually eyebrows got long and I would pull em, and relapse. After a couple iterations, I found that my working formula is tweezing only those that are directly in the center of my face (literally the exact middle. If my tweezers are placed directly in the middle, not a nanometer to the left or right and can’t get it, it stays), then that can be tweezed. If a hair is too long, then cut it. This must all be done using tools and in front of a mirror so you can visually see and not feel with fingers. I genuinely think one of the biggest issues with those with trich is that it becomes a response to your sense of touch. If it is restricted to your sense of sight, it is not as addictive.
2023.06.03 02:41 TheUnderscoreIsHere Xbox repeatedly kicks me out of game, please help.
Just bought a new to me Xbox Series S. It started up fine for me when I got home, was able to start downloading games without any issues and I let it sit and download them while I went about my day.
One of the games that I downloaded (which I was the most excited to play, btw) was Farcry 5. Every time I open the game, it will play for between 3-15 minutes and then crash. The audio lags and makes the through the TV speaker buzzing noise, and it kicks me out and goes back to the Home Screen.
I have checked the game and console for updates, erased and re-downloaded the game, and restarted the Xbox several times to no avail. I feel pretty SOL and from the research I’ve done I can’t figure out why I can’t get this to work.
submitted by TheUnderscoreIsHere to XboxSupport [link] [comments]
One of the games that I downloaded (which I was the most excited to play, btw) was Farcry 5. Every time I open the game, it will play for between 3-15 minutes and then crash. The audio lags and makes the through the TV speaker buzzing noise, and it kicks me out and goes back to the Home Screen.
I have checked the game and console for updates, erased and re-downloaded the game, and restarted the Xbox several times to no avail. I feel pretty SOL and from the research I’ve done I can’t figure out why I can’t get this to work.
2023.06.03 02:41 Coberz I'm still micro stuttering on 1660 super
its been almost 2 weeks and nothing has worked from shutting off game bar presence and factory reset I've tried going to previous drivers and nothing worked I'm really lost here like everything stutters just being on my home screen and watching videos I've never had this problem before this I had left my pc off for 3 months because I was away I notice the stutter goes away when I uninstall my graphics drivers but comes right back after they reinstall please somebody help
submitted by Coberz to nvidia [link] [comments]
2023.06.03 02:39 HinamizawaVictim [CA][US][Selling] More New Singles and Sets Added! Angelic Layer, Blame singles, Blood Blockade Battlefront, Eyeshield 21 Complete, Ghastly Prince Enma Burning Up, Story of Saiunkoku Season 1 DVD, Tokyo Babylon omnibus, Triage X, Vagabond singles and More
Hi everybody, below is my list of anime, manga and light novels available for sale. Some new items have been added - anything that's in the timestamp but not listed below has been sold. - I've tried to address most potential questions below, but feel free to ask me any questions.
Please comment on the thread before sending me a PM or Chat message, especially given the new feedback system in place. Please make sure your shipping address is updated on your PayPal account before sending payment.
No holds for longer than 1-2 days and throw out the first offer if you want to negotiate, though prices are firm for some things.
I won't split any sets unless it's stated otherwise.
I'm a Canadian seller that is willing to ship to most places on this planet. Prices are based in Canadian dollars - the listed USD price is provided as a reference, as FX rates fluctuate slightly every day. (PayPal will automatically convert your USD/local currency to CAD when you pay.) Local pickup and payment can be arranged if you live in the Greater Toronto Area.
Timestamp
Pics
Blood-C: The Last Dark (Blu-Ray+DVD, SAVE Edition) - $80 CAD / $61 USD
Ghastly Prince Enma Burning Up Premium Edition (Blu-Ray+DVD) - $300 CAD / $230 USD
Occult Academy Premium Edition (BD) - $220 CAD / $168.50 USD
The Story of Saiunkoku Season 1 Complete Collection (DVD) - $230 CAD / $176 USD
Canada - starts at $11 CAD with tracking, but can increase depending on distance, whether you live in an area that Canada Post deems as rural, and weight. I may consider shipping via Canada Post Lettermail ($7 CAD, no tracking provided) for books at or below $25 CAD if it fits within the size limits. Please provide me with your postal code for an accurate shipping quote.
USA - starts at $11 CAD (around $8.50 USD) including tracking for 1-2 normal sized volumes. Price will increase slightly for 3+ books and depending on weight and insurance.
Europe - starts at $15 CAD for one normal sized volume to most European countries. Please provide me with your postal code for an accurate shipping quote.
Anywhere else - I will need you to provide me with your postal code and country, so I can provide you with a shipping quote.
Light Novels:
Pics
Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion Stage 2 - Knight & Stage 3 - Sword - $150 CAD / $114.75 USD (Will Not Split)
The Asterisk War Vol. 3 - $130 CAD / $99.50 USD
Manga - Single Volumes:
Pics
20th Century Boys Vol. 22 - $100 CAD / $77.50 USD
A Drifting Life (spine has creasing) - $40 CAD / $30.50 USD
Biomega Vol. 3 - $75 CAD / $57.50 USD
Black God Vol. 11 - $40 CAD / $30.50 USD
Blood Blockade Battlefront Vol. 2 - $30 CAD / $23 USD (partial set also available below)
Boys Over Flowers Vol. 19 - $55 CAD / $42 USD
Boys Over Flowers Vol. 24 - $55 CAD / $42 USD
Casino Lily (BL, Sealed) - $40 CAD / $30.50 USD
Cowboy Bebop Vol. 3 - $30 CAD / $23 USD
Dr. Slump Vol. 16 - $110 CAD / $84 USD
Freezing Vol. 19-20 - $85 CAD / $65 USD
Haganai: I Don't Have Many Friends Vol. 8 - $45 CAD / $34.50 USD
He's My Only Vampire Vol. 4 - $40 CAD / $30.50 USD
Hey Class President! Vol. 1 (BL, Sealed) - $60 CAD / $46 USD
Highschool of the Dead Vol. 2 - $20 CAD / $15.50 USD
Innocent Bird Vol. 3 (BL) - $85 CAD / $65 USD
Inu x Boku SS Vol. 2 (front cover is bent inwards, but no creasing except for a small one by the X) - $20 CAD / $15.50 USD
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 3 Vol. 1 (Paperback release, no Stardust Crusaders subtitle on the cover) - $20 CAD / $15.50 USD
Judge Vol. 6 (G3 condition) - $70 CAD / $53.50 USD
Kannazuki no Miko Vol. 1 (Sealed) - $40 CAD / $30.50 USD
Lady Snowblood Vol. 1 - $50 CAD / $38.50 USD
Kill la Kill Vol. 1 - $35 CAD / $27 USD
Knights of Sidonia Vol. 15 - $60 CAD / $46 USD
Magika Swordsman and Summoner Vol. 5 (has black remainder mark on the bottom) - $25 CAD / $19.50 USD
Monster Hunter: Flash Hunter Vol. 6 - $75 CAD / $57.50 USD
Neon Genesis Evangelion Vol. 13 - $45 CAD / $34.50 USD
Nodame Cantabile Vol. 13 - $50 CAD / $38.25 USD
Private Teacher! Vol. 3 (BL) - $183 CAD / $140 USD
Red River Vol. 1 - $25 CAD / $19 USD
Stay Close to Me - $70 CAD / $53.50 USD
Stepping on Roses Vol. 5 - $52.50 CAD / $40 USD
Strike the Blood Vol. 6 - $50 CAD / $38.25 USD
The Testament of Sister New Devil Storm! Vol. 3 - $85 CAD / $65 USD
This Ugly Yet Beautiful World Vol. 1 - $40 CAD / $30.50 USD
To Love-Ru Vol. 5-6 - $60 CAD / $46 USD
Tokyo Babylon Omnibus Vol. 1 (G2-3 condition) - $35 CAD / $27 USD
Yowamushi Pedal Vol. 6 - $95 CAD / $72.50 USD
Yu-Gi-Oh! Millennium World Vol. 1 - $20 CAD / $15.50 USD
Manga - Sets:
Prices for sets include shipping and tracking to Canada and the USA. Other countries, please inquire for a shipping quote. Sets will not be split up unless stated otherwise!
Pics
Angelic Layer Omnibus Vol. 1-2 (Dark Horse release) - $110 CAD / $84 USD
Blood Blockade Battlefront Vol. 1-3 & 5-7 (Vol. 1 has a black remainder mark on the bottom) - $600 CAD / $459 USD (Separate vol. 2 also available above)
Blame! Vol. 1-2 (Tokyopop release) - $100 CAD / $76.50 USD
Breath Vol. 1-5 (BL, Complete Series) - $500 CAD / $382.50 USD
Eyeshield 21 Vol. 1-37 (Complete Series, Vol. 21-22 are sealed) - $1300 CAD / $995 USD
Fruits Basket Vol. 16 & 18-21 - $95 CAD / $72.50 USD, Vol. 16 available separately for $25 CAD / $19 USD including shipping to Canada and the USA
Gunsmith Cats Revised Edition Vol. 1-4 and Gunsmith Cats Burst Vol. 1-5 (Complete Series) - $750 CAD / $574 USD
Hey Class President! Vol. 1-2 - $185 CAD / $141.50 USD
Kamichama Karin Vol. 1-7 (Complete Series, Vol. 1, 4 & 6 have faded spines) - $65 CAD / $49.50 USD to the USA, $70 CAD to Canada
Love Com (Lovely Complex) Vol. 1-15 - $690 CAD / $528 USD
Madness Vol. 1-2 (BL, Complete Series) - $40 CAD / $30.50 USD
Monster Vol. 4-6 (singles) - $95 CAD / $72.50 USD
Monster Vol. 4-6, 12 and 15 (singles) - $135 CAD / $103.25 USD; Vol. 12 separately is $50 CAD / $38.25 USD including shipping to Canada and the USA; Vol. 15 separately is $50 CAD / $38.25 USD including shipping to Canada and the USA
Please Tell Me! Galko-chan Vol. 1-2 - $115 CAD / $89 USD
Rabbit Man, Tiger Man Vol. 1-2 (BL) - $195 CAD / $149 USD
Tegami Bachi Vol. 2-7 - $95 CAD / $72.50 USD
The Big O Vol. 1-6 (Complete Series) - $217 CAD / $160 USD
Tokyo Babylon omnibus Vol. 1-2 (Dark Horse release) - $175 CAD / $134 USD (separate Vol. 1 available)
Toriko Vol. 1-6 (Vol. 2 is in G3 condition) - $120 CAD / $92 USD
Triage X Vol. 1-11 (Vol. 11 is Sealed) - $550 CAD / $421 USD
Vagabond Vol. 3-12 (Single Volume release) - $440 CAD / $336.50 USD
submitted by HinamizawaVictim to mangaswap [link] [comments]
Please comment on the thread before sending me a PM or Chat message, especially given the new feedback system in place. Please make sure your shipping address is updated on your PayPal account before sending payment.
No holds for longer than 1-2 days and throw out the first offer if you want to negotiate, though prices are firm for some things.
I won't split any sets unless it's stated otherwise.
I'm a Canadian seller that is willing to ship to most places on this planet. Prices are based in Canadian dollars - the listed USD price is provided as a reference, as FX rates fluctuate slightly every day. (PayPal will automatically convert your USD/local currency to CAD when you pay.) Local pickup and payment can be arranged if you live in the Greater Toronto Area.
Timestamp
Anime:
Prices include shipping and tracking to Canada & the USA for anime. If you live anywhere else, I will need you to provide me with your postal code and country so I can provide you with a shipping quote.Pics
Blood-C: The Last Dark (Blu-Ray+DVD, SAVE Edition) - $80 CAD / $61 USD
Ghastly Prince Enma Burning Up Premium Edition (Blu-Ray+DVD) - $300 CAD / $230 USD
Occult Academy Premium Edition (BD) - $220 CAD / $168.50 USD
The Story of Saiunkoku Season 1 Complete Collection (DVD) - $230 CAD / $176 USD
Books:
Shipping costs for single volumes of manga or light novels:Canada - starts at $11 CAD with tracking, but can increase depending on distance, whether you live in an area that Canada Post deems as rural, and weight. I may consider shipping via Canada Post Lettermail ($7 CAD, no tracking provided) for books at or below $25 CAD if it fits within the size limits. Please provide me with your postal code for an accurate shipping quote.
USA - starts at $11 CAD (around $8.50 USD) including tracking for 1-2 normal sized volumes. Price will increase slightly for 3+ books and depending on weight and insurance.
Europe - starts at $15 CAD for one normal sized volume to most European countries. Please provide me with your postal code for an accurate shipping quote.
Anywhere else - I will need you to provide me with your postal code and country, so I can provide you with a shipping quote.
Light Novels:
Pics
Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion Stage 2 - Knight & Stage 3 - Sword - $150 CAD / $114.75 USD (Will Not Split)
The Asterisk War Vol. 3 - $130 CAD / $99.50 USD
Manga - Single Volumes:
Pics
20th Century Boys Vol. 22 - $100 CAD / $77.50 USD
A Drifting Life (spine has creasing) - $40 CAD / $30.50 USD
Biomega Vol. 3 - $75 CAD / $57.50 USD
Black God Vol. 11 - $40 CAD / $30.50 USD
Blood Blockade Battlefront Vol. 2 - $30 CAD / $23 USD (partial set also available below)
Boys Over Flowers Vol. 19 - $55 CAD / $42 USD
Boys Over Flowers Vol. 24 - $55 CAD / $42 USD
Casino Lily (BL, Sealed) - $40 CAD / $30.50 USD
Cowboy Bebop Vol. 3 - $30 CAD / $23 USD
Dr. Slump Vol. 16 - $110 CAD / $84 USD
Freezing Vol. 19-20 - $85 CAD / $65 USD
Haganai: I Don't Have Many Friends Vol. 8 - $45 CAD / $34.50 USD
He's My Only Vampire Vol. 4 - $40 CAD / $30.50 USD
Hey Class President! Vol. 1 (BL, Sealed) - $60 CAD / $46 USD
Highschool of the Dead Vol. 2 - $20 CAD / $15.50 USD
Innocent Bird Vol. 3 (BL) - $85 CAD / $65 USD
Inu x Boku SS Vol. 2 (front cover is bent inwards, but no creasing except for a small one by the X) - $20 CAD / $15.50 USD
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 3 Vol. 1 (Paperback release, no Stardust Crusaders subtitle on the cover) - $20 CAD / $15.50 USD
Judge Vol. 6 (G3 condition) - $70 CAD / $53.50 USD
Kannazuki no Miko Vol. 1 (Sealed) - $40 CAD / $30.50 USD
Lady Snowblood Vol. 1 - $50 CAD / $38.50 USD
Kill la Kill Vol. 1 - $35 CAD / $27 USD
Knights of Sidonia Vol. 15 - $60 CAD / $46 USD
Magika Swordsman and Summoner Vol. 5 (has black remainder mark on the bottom) - $25 CAD / $19.50 USD
Monster Hunter: Flash Hunter Vol. 6 - $75 CAD / $57.50 USD
Neon Genesis Evangelion Vol. 13 - $45 CAD / $34.50 USD
Nodame Cantabile Vol. 13 - $50 CAD / $38.25 USD
Private Teacher! Vol. 3 (BL) - $183 CAD / $140 USD
Red River Vol. 1 - $25 CAD / $19 USD
Stay Close to Me - $70 CAD / $53.50 USD
Stepping on Roses Vol. 5 - $52.50 CAD / $40 USD
Strike the Blood Vol. 6 - $50 CAD / $38.25 USD
The Testament of Sister New Devil Storm! Vol. 3 - $85 CAD / $65 USD
This Ugly Yet Beautiful World Vol. 1 - $40 CAD / $30.50 USD
To Love-Ru Vol. 5-6 - $60 CAD / $46 USD
Tokyo Babylon Omnibus Vol. 1 (G2-3 condition) - $35 CAD / $27 USD
Yowamushi Pedal Vol. 6 - $95 CAD / $72.50 USD
Yu-Gi-Oh! Millennium World Vol. 1 - $20 CAD / $15.50 USD
Manga - Sets:
Prices for sets include shipping and tracking to Canada and the USA. Other countries, please inquire for a shipping quote. Sets will not be split up unless stated otherwise!
Pics
Angelic Layer Omnibus Vol. 1-2 (Dark Horse release) - $110 CAD / $84 USD
Blood Blockade Battlefront Vol. 1-3 & 5-7 (Vol. 1 has a black remainder mark on the bottom) - $600 CAD / $459 USD (Separate vol. 2 also available above)
Blame! Vol. 1-2 (Tokyopop release) - $100 CAD / $76.50 USD
Breath Vol. 1-5 (BL, Complete Series) - $500 CAD / $382.50 USD
Eyeshield 21 Vol. 1-37 (Complete Series, Vol. 21-22 are sealed) - $1300 CAD / $995 USD
Fruits Basket Vol. 16 & 18-21 - $95 CAD / $72.50 USD, Vol. 16 available separately for $25 CAD / $19 USD including shipping to Canada and the USA
Gunsmith Cats Revised Edition Vol. 1-4 and Gunsmith Cats Burst Vol. 1-5 (Complete Series) - $750 CAD / $574 USD
Hey Class President! Vol. 1-2 - $185 CAD / $141.50 USD
Kamichama Karin Vol. 1-7 (Complete Series, Vol. 1, 4 & 6 have faded spines) - $65 CAD / $49.50 USD to the USA, $70 CAD to Canada
Love Com (Lovely Complex) Vol. 1-15 - $690 CAD / $528 USD
Madness Vol. 1-2 (BL, Complete Series) - $40 CAD / $30.50 USD
Monster Vol. 4-6 (singles) - $95 CAD / $72.50 USD
Monster Vol. 4-6, 12 and 15 (singles) - $135 CAD / $103.25 USD; Vol. 12 separately is $50 CAD / $38.25 USD including shipping to Canada and the USA; Vol. 15 separately is $50 CAD / $38.25 USD including shipping to Canada and the USA
Please Tell Me! Galko-chan Vol. 1-2 - $115 CAD / $89 USD
Rabbit Man, Tiger Man Vol. 1-2 (BL) - $195 CAD / $149 USD
Tegami Bachi Vol. 2-7 - $95 CAD / $72.50 USD
The Big O Vol. 1-6 (Complete Series) - $217 CAD / $160 USD
Tokyo Babylon omnibus Vol. 1-2 (Dark Horse release) - $175 CAD / $134 USD (separate Vol. 1 available)
Toriko Vol. 1-6 (Vol. 2 is in G3 condition) - $120 CAD / $92 USD
Triage X Vol. 1-11 (Vol. 11 is Sealed) - $550 CAD / $421 USD
Vagabond Vol. 3-12 (Single Volume release) - $440 CAD / $336.50 USD
2023.06.03 02:36 CarnaSnow Language Laws in Quebec & the “Language Police”
When have they not created controversy?
The language debate has been going on for centuries, and yet, it still manages to garner a lot of attention even today. Whether the attention is positive (rarely) or negative (mostly), it’s there, and I think we need to slow down a little and look at everything we’ve got before giving an opinion.
Many of the complaints are about the fact that anglophones are being refused certain rights or are outright being discriminated against when it comes to receiving provincial services in Quebec. I can’t speak about individuals (because we all know there are some assholes out there, no matter who we’re speaking about), but I can explain the law. And that’s what this post is going to be about.
This series of posts will contain:
- An explanation of the language law (Bill 101 and its recent update, Bill 96), as well as what it means for anglophones, allophones and francophones. (this post)
- An explanation of the OQLF (Office Quebecois de la langue française) as well as what it can do and cannot do. (this post)
- A review of the different language laws of the past (ever wondered what Law 17 was about? Or about what happened in Manitoba during its creation, and after? And what about those laws that Prince Edward Island passed, but of which we don’t have any physical evidence?)
- A little look at Quebec’s position in the past (not a history lesson of course, but I think it can help people understand the province’s position today)
- A link to the different resources I used, if you’d like to read them yourself (a warning however: many will be in French. You can always use Google translate, but please be aware that it may not convey the original meaning)
Moreover, a disclaimer: I am NOT a lawyer or a political analyst, or anything; I’m merely a random person who decided to do some research. I do think my research is accurate, although it is most likely not complete and superficial. I wish I could dig deeper and give you all an amazing analysis, but that’s simply impossible with my current skills. However, I do hope you learn more from this, just like I did, and that it pushes you to investigate further! Don’t hesitate to comment and ask questions, though I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to answer them all.
I’d like to add that this text is greatly influenced by Wikipédia, so I won’t claim to be the only author of it. However, any translations are my own. In relations to that, please forgive any mistakes that may appear in this text; English isn’t my first language, and though I do claim to be bilingual and to have a general great understanding of the language, I do sometimes forget certain terms, unfortunately.
With that said, let’s jump in!
In the 1970s, the Union nationale (who had passed the law) lost to the Liberals of Robert Bourassa, who then decided to attempt to create a new law in 1974: Bill 22 (again, ‘ancestor’ of Bill 101). They somehow managed to make everyone angry. People who supported the use of only French were mad that English could still be used at work without any limits, and people who supported the right to choose were mad that children needed to pass an English knowledge test before being able to be admitted in an English school. It did, however, make French the official language in the province. But the Liberals were hit hard and lost the elections in 1976.
The winners of the election of 1976 were the Parti Quebecois, the creators of Bill 101. The law is passed in 1977, and while a majority of francophones are happy (an approval rate of 80,6%), anglophones are not. That’s because, by making French the reference language in Quebec, English loses its status of sometimes-dominating language in some neighborhoods, and messes with the linguistic balance (mostly in Montreal). Thus, we have the exodus of anglophones; around 83 000 anglophones choose to leave the province during the mandate of the Parti Quebecois. Many left due to fear and frustration, although it’s worth noting that that’s the sort of speech many anglophone newspapers used at the time.
But was the law really that bad? Did it justify so many people being scared and leaving? Well, we have to look a bit more at Bill 101 to understand. Let’s look at it title by title:
Title 1: Has 9 chapters that say that French is the official language of legislation, justice, administration, parapublic organisms, work, trade & affairs and finally, teaching.
Title 2: Defines 5 fundamentals rights that all Quebecers have, namely.
- Everyone has a right to receive communication in French from all governmental branches, professional orders, employees associations and enterprises established in Québec.
- Everyone has a right to speak in French during deliberative assemblies.
- Everyone has a right to work in French.
- Everyone has a right to be served in French and to be informed in French.
- Everyone admissible to studying in Quebec has a right to receive their education in French.
Title 3: About the linguistic officialization, toponomy and francization of civil administration and enterprises
Title 4: It establishes the Conseil supérieur de la langue française.
Title 5 & 6: Defines the provisions and penal sanctions, as well as various transitional provisions.
Now that we’ve established the different titles, let’s take a look at the different provisions:
Langue de la législation et de la justice (Language of legislation and justice) :
Bills and regulations within the National Assembly, the tribunals and the Quebecois judicial system need to be printed, adopted, and sanctioned in BOTH FRENCH AND ENGLISH. Both versions have the same judicial value. State regulations need to be in both languages, but those from municipalities and school service centers don’t necessarily have to be.
Moreover, in a judicial context, it is a person’s right to express themselves in either French or English, orally or on paper.
Langue de l’administration (Language of the administration):
The government, the ministries and other organisms of public administration need to be designated by the French denomination, and their publications, communications, contracts and display also need to be in French. Moreover, administration employees need to have an appropriate knowledge of French.
Langue des organismes parapublics (Language of parapublic organisms) :
Enterprises of public utility, professional orders and their members need to offer their services and the texts destined to the public in French. They must also freely provide a translation of texts that concern them. Communications with the State, moral people and their members is also in French unless there’s an exception. If you want to be a member of a professional order, you must have an appropriate understanding of French.
Langue du travail (Language of work) :
French is the usual and normal language of work. Employers and unions need to communicate with the employees in French and write their collective conventions in French. Promotions and work offers must also be written in French. An employee cannot be penalized because they don’t have sufficient understanding of a language other than French or require the knowledge of a language other than French to get a job (unless, of course, knowledge of this language is necessary for the job).
Langue du commerce et des affaires (Language of trade and affairs) :
French is mandatory for; containers of a product, wrappings, documents, inscriptions, catalogues, brochures, leaflets, commercial directories, softwares, games, toys, adhesion contracts, contracts and documents attached to them, job application forms, purchase orders, bills, receipts, public displays, commercial publicity and names of businesses (for the last 3, there are some exceptions; for example, certain businesses that have already registered their name with the Canadian government don’t have to add French to their name. Some still choose to).
Langue de l’enseignement maternel, primaire et secondaire (Language of maternal, primary and secondary education) :
French is the language of all three of those. However, children who have at least one Canadian parent who received most of their schooling (primary or secondary) in English in Canada can have access to English schools (Canada clause). For higher education, cegeps and universities need to have a usage and quality policy on the French language.
Various provisions:
French and another language can be used side by side if a certain law doesn’t require the exclusive use of French. This affects the redaction of texts or documents, where French can be used with either one or multiple languages. However, French needs to be at least as EQUALLY visible as the other language(s).
Linguistic officialization:
Ministries and organisms related to the public administration can create committees to evaluate shortcomings when it comes to the use of certain terms. They can suggest the use of more appropriate terms or expressions, who then need to be suggested or normalized by the OQLF. Once that last part is done, those terms/expressions then become mandatory in the public administration.
(Skipping toponymy because this is getting long, but there’s basically a Commission that takes care of all the names of places and the Charter defines their competencies)
(Same for the francization of the administration and enterprises)
Conseil supérieur de la langue française (Superior Council of the French Language) :
The Charter defines their role and their composition. Their role is to advise the minister responsible for the French Language (it’s currently Jean-Francois Roberge, the previous minister of Education).
For sanctions, to quickly go over it: 600$ to 6000$ for physical people and between 1500$ and 20 000$ for moral people (double if they do it again).
And we’re done with the most technical part of this post! We still haven’t gone over Bill 96, but believe me, it’ll be way shorter than that. But we’re still not done with Bill 101, so let’s keep going.
Anglophone and Indigenous minorities have, of course, certain rights that are recognized by the Constitution. Therefore, those rights must be respected and that’s what the Charter does. For example:
- When laws are published in both French and English, both versions are equally valid.
- People can speak to the tribunal in English.
- Judgements can be made available in either French or English, if someone asks for a translation (depends on if the judgment was first released in French or English)
- The law doesn’t apply to Indigenous reserves, but to the local Indigenous language outside of it. That means that outside of the reserve, local Indigenous languages are submitted to the legislation, same as English or any language other than French.
Of course, ever since its adoption, the law was the subject of many controversies and invalidations by the Supreme Court of Canada. Therefore, the Quebec government was forced to change the law accordingly. Other times, the provincial government chose to change without being forced to (like with Bill 96). To go over them quickly:
Law 178: Superior Court of Quebec invalidates dispositions that mandates French as the sole language that can be used on displays. The decision is confirmed in 1988 by the Superior Court of Canada. Robert Bourassa (Quebec Liberal Party) is therefore forced to act and chooses to change the law so that French is still mandatory outside, but can be used alongside other languages inside, as long as it is predominant. He uses the derogation clause. Nobody is happy once again, for completely different reasons, and 3 ministers decide to resign a few days later.
Invalidation of article 73: Now, children from anywhere in Canada can now have access to English schools (before, it was only if their education had been mostly in English in Quebec). The Constitution of 1982 now made it a right for any Canadian to receive education in the minority language of the province. The requirements of the Charter still apply, but now, to a Canada-wide scale. That right is then added to the Charter with Law 86.
Law 86: Without being forced to, the government passes a law that ends the mandatory use of only French in commercial displays. Bilingual displays are authorized if French is visibly dominant. The law also makes sure that judicial services are offered in both French and English, which wasn’t the case before.
- Why it wasn’t the case: When the law was first adopted, it made it so that bills tabled at the National Assembly had to be written in French and trials had to be conducted in French, unless both parties agreed for it to be done in English. Camille Laurin (the father of the law), and the council of ministers knew that those provisions would go against the Constitution (the British North America Act), but that they wanted t o protest against the fact that only Quebec had to provide those services in both languages, as all the other provinces in English Canada were exempted (therefore, only English was fine, no French version was mandatory). The Supreme Court invalidated these articles, and thus, the law was changed.
The next important change is with Bill 96, but before we get to that, we`ve just got a few parts parts left.
Other Countries
Did you know? Other countries were inspired by Quebec’s language policy:
The Baltic countries; to protect their respective languages against Russian. Some complained about a one-way bilingualism, in which, for example, Lithuanians learnt Russian and Lithuanian, but Russians only learnt Russian because there wasn’t a need for them to learn Lithuanian. Mart Rannut, vice-doyen of research at the department of psychology at Tallinn University, in Estonia, has even said (about Bill 101), that it has << touched 1/6 of the planet >>.
Catalonia: The legislation in Quebec had a big impact during the sociopolitical debate about the protection of Catalan against castellan in Spain. Catalan was made mandatory in public function because of a law inspired by Law 101.
China: The country was inspired by the law when they wrote one of their decisions, whose goal was to promote standard mandarin.
Israel: English is perceived as a threat against Hebrew, although for now, the Quebec law has only influenced linguists and a few politicians.
Wales: Law 101 had a big impact in Wales too, but unfortunately, couldn’t be implemented the same way it was in Baltic countries, as Gaelic speakers are a minority in the UK. Colin H. Williams, a professor and researcher at the Gaelic department at Cardiff University, said that many lessons can be learnt from Quebec’s experience.
Porto Rico: A law adopted in 1991 made Spanish the only official language of this place. It was inspired by Law 101. It was repealed in 1993.
Did you expect China to be there? Me neither honestly. According to the same Tallinn researcher, many Soviet countries were inspired by Quebec’s law. However, I haven’t done much research about this, so I won’t go deeper into this (although it’s very interesting to learn about).
Before going further, I’d like to explain the role of an organization that is often mentioned in the media. The so-called ‘language police’, whose role I’ll explain. I’ll also talk about some of the limits they have, as well as a particular incident that many people keep bringing up.
The OQLF (Office québécois de la langue française) :
The OQLF was created in 1961, although it didn’t have as many responsibilities as it does now. Those were expanded in 1977, with the adoption of the Charter of the French language. Because, yes; the OQLF was there way before Law 101.
The organization has many responsibilities, including:
- Making sure the Charter of the French language is respected.
- Keeping an eye on the evolution of French in Quebec and giving a rapport to the minister at least every 5 years.
- Making sure that French is the language used at work, during communications, for trade and affairs. Taking the measures they deem necessary to make sure French is promoted.
- Must help define and elaborate francization programs as is foreseen in the law.
- Can assist and inform compagnies, organisms, and more about better words/terms they can use to make sure they stay up to date with the development of French in Québec.
- Can receive observations and suggestions about what could be done better to develop French and apply the law. Those can then be taken to the minster.
- Must establish the necessary research programs to the application of the law. Can conduct studies they deem necessary for those programs.
- Can conclude agreements and participate in projects with any person or organism.
- Can conclude agreements with a different government than the one in Québec, one of its ministries, and international organization or an organism that is linked to that government. That is possible as long as it follows the law in place in Québec.
While the OQLF’s more ‘active’ role is often the most highlighted, it’s far from the only one they have. And they don’t spend all of their time treating complaints either; finding more appropriate French words, following the evolution of French in the province, assisting compagnies and answering their questions and cooperating with different organizations is what they do the most often.
But since receiving, treating, and acting upon complaints is what they’re most known for, let’s address that.
Most years, the OQLF receives a few thousand complaints. Those complaints are sent by Quebecers who feel like their right to be served in French in Québec is affected. However, the OQLF doesn’t act upon all of these, and even then, most of the complaints they act upon are solved rather quickly. Most don’t make the news.
Many complaints are ignored and considered to be invalid. Others were already solved by the time the OQLF could intervene. Sometimes, the products were immediately taken off the shelf. Finally, sometimes, the complaints were made too late, and could not be treated.
For the fines, those don’t happen too often. For example, in 2006, they were only 127 fines that were given, between 250$ and 5000$.
All in all, there’s not really much ‘police’ in that. And that’s mostly the reality.
Some incidents did get out of hands of course (like the famous Pastagate incident, for which the OQLF admitted having been ‘overzealous’ and for which the head of the organization at the time, Louise Marchand, resigned), but it’s really not common. For most cases in which the complaint was appropriate, compagnies or people simply correct the mistake.
Now, for the part many were probably waiting for, the very, very controversial bill adopted in 2021…
What is the truth? What are the lies? What should you be angry at? All the answers you might be seeking are here.
A mini disclaimer before we start this section: I am merely human, and therefore, have an opinion on this subject which I’ve researched as much as I could. Of course, I’ll give you all the facts so that you can then make a decision yourself, but there are some things I personally disagree with (or agree with) that might be more obvious than others. Anyway, let’s start.
What did Bill 96 include?
When it was first introduced, the bill provided for the creation of a French language commissioner (whose designation would have to be approved by 2/3 of the National Assembly) as well as for the creation of a ministry of the French language.
It amended the Charter to change and include certain things:
- Laws can still be adopted in both languages, but when there is a misunderstanding between both versions, the French version will prevail.
- All judgements given in English will have to be translated in French.
- The knowledge of a language other than French cannot be required during the nomination of a provincial judge, unless the justice minister deems it necessary.
- Regulations don’t have to be written in English anymore, because the requirement of bilingualism (of the British North America Act of 1897) didn’t include regulations.
- For schools, English cegeps now have a limit, and can only accept 17,5% of the entire Québécois student population. Non-anglophones students will also have to complete the French exam (mandatory in French cegeps) to receive their diplomas. The student quota doesn’t apply to universities.
- Enterprises that have between 25 and 49 employees will need to obtain a francization certificate, just like enterprises with more than 50 employees. Law 101 will also apply to federal enterprises.
- Bilingual municipalities have their bilingual status removed if their population isn’t mostly anglophone anymore. However, they can ask to maintain that status with a resolution. As of today, all 48 municipalities concerned with this part of the law have adopted such a resolution to keep their status.
- Civil status documents obtained in English in a different Canadian province must be translated. Before, only documents written in a language other than French and English were concerned (so, mostly documents from other countries)
- The preliminary of the Quebec Civil Code is modified to say that it is now interpreted in harmony with the Charter of the French language, and not only with the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.
- Modifies the Profession Code to say that an inability to maintain an appropriate knowledge of French constitutes a derogatory act to the dignity of someone’s profession.
- Modifies the Constitution of 1867 to add the recognition of the Québécois nation and French as its sole official language. Uses the derogatory clause.
- Makes it so that after 6 months, an immigrant will have to communicate with the government in French.
- Gives the power to inspectors in charge of the application of the law to penetrate, at any reasonable hour, in any place aside from a house, where an activity concerned by the law is happening.
Those are most of the changes included in Bill 96. However, the law still has some limits. For example:
- Article 133 of the Constitution of 1867 (concerning the bilingualism of Quebec and the Canadian parliament) cannot be modified without the authorization of the Canadian parliament. Therefore, the part that was added (French is the sole official language of Quebec), is technically not valid. However, I don’t think the federal government intervened as of now (or plans to), so it’s there.
- For article 530 of the criminal code, the protected right to be heard in common law doesn’t actually say that the judge must speak English or even just understand it (the stoppage Société des Acadien c. Association of Parents). However, later, with a different stoppage (R. c. Beaulac), it was declared that the tribunals have to be institutionally bilingual to make sure both official languages can be used. Since criminal law is under federal jurisdiction, Quebec’s attempt to create a unilingual judicial system could meet some obstacles. However, the use of the derogatory clause by the province complicates things.
- It is still a right to receive medical services in English. While Quebec could have attempted to eliminate that right, it didn’t. Same goes for 9-1-1 (fun fact: only Quebec and New-Brunswick are forced to give 9-1-1 services in the minority language of their province. None of the others do), even though Indigenous people and anglophones were worried about that.
Bill 96 certainly goes further than the previous version of Bill 101 did, and that has many people worried. I myself don’t completely agree with some of the changes here. But let’s not fall into misinformation, because that helps absolutely no one. Fear and panic are also emotions we should avoid acting upon, no matter if we agree or disagree with the law. And please, no Nazi comparisons; they did much, much worse and I think it’s clear to all (or at least, I hope it is) that the Quebec government is absolutely not on the verge of committing a mass genocide. Accusations like that will only make people go on the defensive and are an obstacle to dialogue. We’ll get nowhere, still be mad and frustrated, and continue the cycle for even longer.
It may sometimes look like this debate will never end, like francophones and anglophones are destined to forever disagree when it comes to language, but in the end, nothing is eternal. I’m sure we’ll get somewhere one day, even if that day is years away.
Anyway, that’ll be it for part 1! Stay tuned for part 2, where we’ll take a look at the different language laws that were once in place in other provinces: Ontario, Manitoba, British-Columbia, even the territories had some! I’ll also do my best to write about the current language laws in the other provinces and compare the situation of Franco-Albertans and Fransaskois (for example) with the situation of anglophones in Québec.
Sources:
- Wikipédia (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charte_de_la_langue_fran%C3%A7aise) for most of my information (the site is well-organized and I mostly followed their organization)
- OQLF website (https://www.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/charte/changementslegislatifs/?gclid=CjwKCAjwrpOiBhBVEiwA_473dKae6mSlJbQPGLgRox_ACQLIs3VDA263wB5RiIMCgE4ubyVlAUOTchoCnZUQAvD_BwE) mostly concerns labour laws
- The Canadian Encyclopedia (https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/farticle/loi-101) bit of history and legal obstacles
submitted by CarnaSnow to Bridgingthesolitudes [link] [comments]
The language debate has been going on for centuries, and yet, it still manages to garner a lot of attention even today. Whether the attention is positive (rarely) or negative (mostly), it’s there, and I think we need to slow down a little and look at everything we’ve got before giving an opinion.
Many of the complaints are about the fact that anglophones are being refused certain rights or are outright being discriminated against when it comes to receiving provincial services in Quebec. I can’t speak about individuals (because we all know there are some assholes out there, no matter who we’re speaking about), but I can explain the law. And that’s what this post is going to be about.
This series of posts will contain:
- An explanation of the language law (Bill 101 and its recent update, Bill 96), as well as what it means for anglophones, allophones and francophones. (this post)
- An explanation of the OQLF (Office Quebecois de la langue française) as well as what it can do and cannot do. (this post)
- A review of the different language laws of the past (ever wondered what Law 17 was about? Or about what happened in Manitoba during its creation, and after? And what about those laws that Prince Edward Island passed, but of which we don’t have any physical evidence?)
- A little look at Quebec’s position in the past (not a history lesson of course, but I think it can help people understand the province’s position today)
- A link to the different resources I used, if you’d like to read them yourself (a warning however: many will be in French. You can always use Google translate, but please be aware that it may not convey the original meaning)
Moreover, a disclaimer: I am NOT a lawyer or a political analyst, or anything; I’m merely a random person who decided to do some research. I do think my research is accurate, although it is most likely not complete and superficial. I wish I could dig deeper and give you all an amazing analysis, but that’s simply impossible with my current skills. However, I do hope you learn more from this, just like I did, and that it pushes you to investigate further! Don’t hesitate to comment and ask questions, though I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to answer them all.
I’d like to add that this text is greatly influenced by Wikipédia, so I won’t claim to be the only author of it. However, any translations are my own. In relations to that, please forgive any mistakes that may appear in this text; English isn’t my first language, and though I do claim to be bilingual and to have a general great understanding of the language, I do sometimes forget certain terms, unfortunately.
With that said, let’s jump in!
The controversial Bill 101 and the even-more controversial Bill 96
The first ‘ancestor’ of Bill 101 is Bill 63 which was passed at the of the 1960s in an attempt to solve a conflict opposing French Canadians and Italian immigrants in St-Leonard, or at least, that’s where it started; the conflict then became a provincial-wide issue, and the government was pressured to react to it. While it was supposed to promote the use French, it mostly let allophones have access to English schools, which, considering the time…they took advantage of. Can’t blame them, but it did kind of ruin the purpose of the law.In the 1970s, the Union nationale (who had passed the law) lost to the Liberals of Robert Bourassa, who then decided to attempt to create a new law in 1974: Bill 22 (again, ‘ancestor’ of Bill 101). They somehow managed to make everyone angry. People who supported the use of only French were mad that English could still be used at work without any limits, and people who supported the right to choose were mad that children needed to pass an English knowledge test before being able to be admitted in an English school. It did, however, make French the official language in the province. But the Liberals were hit hard and lost the elections in 1976.
The winners of the election of 1976 were the Parti Quebecois, the creators of Bill 101. The law is passed in 1977, and while a majority of francophones are happy (an approval rate of 80,6%), anglophones are not. That’s because, by making French the reference language in Quebec, English loses its status of sometimes-dominating language in some neighborhoods, and messes with the linguistic balance (mostly in Montreal). Thus, we have the exodus of anglophones; around 83 000 anglophones choose to leave the province during the mandate of the Parti Quebecois. Many left due to fear and frustration, although it’s worth noting that that’s the sort of speech many anglophone newspapers used at the time.
But was the law really that bad? Did it justify so many people being scared and leaving? Well, we have to look a bit more at Bill 101 to understand. Let’s look at it title by title:
Title 1: Has 9 chapters that say that French is the official language of legislation, justice, administration, parapublic organisms, work, trade & affairs and finally, teaching.
Title 2: Defines 5 fundamentals rights that all Quebecers have, namely.
- Everyone has a right to receive communication in French from all governmental branches, professional orders, employees associations and enterprises established in Québec.
- Everyone has a right to speak in French during deliberative assemblies.
- Everyone has a right to work in French.
- Everyone has a right to be served in French and to be informed in French.
- Everyone admissible to studying in Quebec has a right to receive their education in French.
Title 3: About the linguistic officialization, toponomy and francization of civil administration and enterprises
Title 4: It establishes the Conseil supérieur de la langue française.
Title 5 & 6: Defines the provisions and penal sanctions, as well as various transitional provisions.
Now that we’ve established the different titles, let’s take a look at the different provisions:
Langue de la législation et de la justice (Language of legislation and justice) :
Bills and regulations within the National Assembly, the tribunals and the Quebecois judicial system need to be printed, adopted, and sanctioned in BOTH FRENCH AND ENGLISH. Both versions have the same judicial value. State regulations need to be in both languages, but those from municipalities and school service centers don’t necessarily have to be.
Moreover, in a judicial context, it is a person’s right to express themselves in either French or English, orally or on paper.
Langue de l’administration (Language of the administration):
The government, the ministries and other organisms of public administration need to be designated by the French denomination, and their publications, communications, contracts and display also need to be in French. Moreover, administration employees need to have an appropriate knowledge of French.
Langue des organismes parapublics (Language of parapublic organisms) :
Enterprises of public utility, professional orders and their members need to offer their services and the texts destined to the public in French. They must also freely provide a translation of texts that concern them. Communications with the State, moral people and their members is also in French unless there’s an exception. If you want to be a member of a professional order, you must have an appropriate understanding of French.
Langue du travail (Language of work) :
French is the usual and normal language of work. Employers and unions need to communicate with the employees in French and write their collective conventions in French. Promotions and work offers must also be written in French. An employee cannot be penalized because they don’t have sufficient understanding of a language other than French or require the knowledge of a language other than French to get a job (unless, of course, knowledge of this language is necessary for the job).
Langue du commerce et des affaires (Language of trade and affairs) :
French is mandatory for; containers of a product, wrappings, documents, inscriptions, catalogues, brochures, leaflets, commercial directories, softwares, games, toys, adhesion contracts, contracts and documents attached to them, job application forms, purchase orders, bills, receipts, public displays, commercial publicity and names of businesses (for the last 3, there are some exceptions; for example, certain businesses that have already registered their name with the Canadian government don’t have to add French to their name. Some still choose to).
Langue de l’enseignement maternel, primaire et secondaire (Language of maternal, primary and secondary education) :
French is the language of all three of those. However, children who have at least one Canadian parent who received most of their schooling (primary or secondary) in English in Canada can have access to English schools (Canada clause). For higher education, cegeps and universities need to have a usage and quality policy on the French language.
Various provisions:
French and another language can be used side by side if a certain law doesn’t require the exclusive use of French. This affects the redaction of texts or documents, where French can be used with either one or multiple languages. However, French needs to be at least as EQUALLY visible as the other language(s).
Linguistic officialization:
Ministries and organisms related to the public administration can create committees to evaluate shortcomings when it comes to the use of certain terms. They can suggest the use of more appropriate terms or expressions, who then need to be suggested or normalized by the OQLF. Once that last part is done, those terms/expressions then become mandatory in the public administration.
(Skipping toponymy because this is getting long, but there’s basically a Commission that takes care of all the names of places and the Charter defines their competencies)
(Same for the francization of the administration and enterprises)
Conseil supérieur de la langue française (Superior Council of the French Language) :
The Charter defines their role and their composition. Their role is to advise the minister responsible for the French Language (it’s currently Jean-Francois Roberge, the previous minister of Education).
For sanctions, to quickly go over it: 600$ to 6000$ for physical people and between 1500$ and 20 000$ for moral people (double if they do it again).
And we’re done with the most technical part of this post! We still haven’t gone over Bill 96, but believe me, it’ll be way shorter than that. But we’re still not done with Bill 101, so let’s keep going.
Anglophone and Indigenous minorities have, of course, certain rights that are recognized by the Constitution. Therefore, those rights must be respected and that’s what the Charter does. For example:
- When laws are published in both French and English, both versions are equally valid.
- People can speak to the tribunal in English.
- Judgements can be made available in either French or English, if someone asks for a translation (depends on if the judgment was first released in French or English)
- The law doesn’t apply to Indigenous reserves, but to the local Indigenous language outside of it. That means that outside of the reserve, local Indigenous languages are submitted to the legislation, same as English or any language other than French.
Of course, ever since its adoption, the law was the subject of many controversies and invalidations by the Supreme Court of Canada. Therefore, the Quebec government was forced to change the law accordingly. Other times, the provincial government chose to change without being forced to (like with Bill 96). To go over them quickly:
Law 178: Superior Court of Quebec invalidates dispositions that mandates French as the sole language that can be used on displays. The decision is confirmed in 1988 by the Superior Court of Canada. Robert Bourassa (Quebec Liberal Party) is therefore forced to act and chooses to change the law so that French is still mandatory outside, but can be used alongside other languages inside, as long as it is predominant. He uses the derogation clause. Nobody is happy once again, for completely different reasons, and 3 ministers decide to resign a few days later.
Invalidation of article 73: Now, children from anywhere in Canada can now have access to English schools (before, it was only if their education had been mostly in English in Quebec). The Constitution of 1982 now made it a right for any Canadian to receive education in the minority language of the province. The requirements of the Charter still apply, but now, to a Canada-wide scale. That right is then added to the Charter with Law 86.
Law 86: Without being forced to, the government passes a law that ends the mandatory use of only French in commercial displays. Bilingual displays are authorized if French is visibly dominant. The law also makes sure that judicial services are offered in both French and English, which wasn’t the case before.
- Why it wasn’t the case: When the law was first adopted, it made it so that bills tabled at the National Assembly had to be written in French and trials had to be conducted in French, unless both parties agreed for it to be done in English. Camille Laurin (the father of the law), and the council of ministers knew that those provisions would go against the Constitution (the British North America Act), but that they wanted t o protest against the fact that only Quebec had to provide those services in both languages, as all the other provinces in English Canada were exempted (therefore, only English was fine, no French version was mandatory). The Supreme Court invalidated these articles, and thus, the law was changed.
The next important change is with Bill 96, but before we get to that, we`ve just got a few parts parts left.
Other Countries
Did you know? Other countries were inspired by Quebec’s language policy:
The Baltic countries; to protect their respective languages against Russian. Some complained about a one-way bilingualism, in which, for example, Lithuanians learnt Russian and Lithuanian, but Russians only learnt Russian because there wasn’t a need for them to learn Lithuanian. Mart Rannut, vice-doyen of research at the department of psychology at Tallinn University, in Estonia, has even said (about Bill 101), that it has << touched 1/6 of the planet >>.
Catalonia: The legislation in Quebec had a big impact during the sociopolitical debate about the protection of Catalan against castellan in Spain. Catalan was made mandatory in public function because of a law inspired by Law 101.
China: The country was inspired by the law when they wrote one of their decisions, whose goal was to promote standard mandarin.
Israel: English is perceived as a threat against Hebrew, although for now, the Quebec law has only influenced linguists and a few politicians.
Wales: Law 101 had a big impact in Wales too, but unfortunately, couldn’t be implemented the same way it was in Baltic countries, as Gaelic speakers are a minority in the UK. Colin H. Williams, a professor and researcher at the Gaelic department at Cardiff University, said that many lessons can be learnt from Quebec’s experience.
Porto Rico: A law adopted in 1991 made Spanish the only official language of this place. It was inspired by Law 101. It was repealed in 1993.
Did you expect China to be there? Me neither honestly. According to the same Tallinn researcher, many Soviet countries were inspired by Quebec’s law. However, I haven’t done much research about this, so I won’t go deeper into this (although it’s very interesting to learn about).
Before going further, I’d like to explain the role of an organization that is often mentioned in the media. The so-called ‘language police’, whose role I’ll explain. I’ll also talk about some of the limits they have, as well as a particular incident that many people keep bringing up.
The OQLF (Office québécois de la langue française) :
The OQLF was created in 1961, although it didn’t have as many responsibilities as it does now. Those were expanded in 1977, with the adoption of the Charter of the French language. Because, yes; the OQLF was there way before Law 101.
The organization has many responsibilities, including:
- Making sure the Charter of the French language is respected.
- Keeping an eye on the evolution of French in Quebec and giving a rapport to the minister at least every 5 years.
- Making sure that French is the language used at work, during communications, for trade and affairs. Taking the measures they deem necessary to make sure French is promoted.
- Must help define and elaborate francization programs as is foreseen in the law.
- Can assist and inform compagnies, organisms, and more about better words/terms they can use to make sure they stay up to date with the development of French in Québec.
- Can receive observations and suggestions about what could be done better to develop French and apply the law. Those can then be taken to the minster.
- Must establish the necessary research programs to the application of the law. Can conduct studies they deem necessary for those programs.
- Can conclude agreements and participate in projects with any person or organism.
- Can conclude agreements with a different government than the one in Québec, one of its ministries, and international organization or an organism that is linked to that government. That is possible as long as it follows the law in place in Québec.
While the OQLF’s more ‘active’ role is often the most highlighted, it’s far from the only one they have. And they don’t spend all of their time treating complaints either; finding more appropriate French words, following the evolution of French in the province, assisting compagnies and answering their questions and cooperating with different organizations is what they do the most often.
But since receiving, treating, and acting upon complaints is what they’re most known for, let’s address that.
Most years, the OQLF receives a few thousand complaints. Those complaints are sent by Quebecers who feel like their right to be served in French in Québec is affected. However, the OQLF doesn’t act upon all of these, and even then, most of the complaints they act upon are solved rather quickly. Most don’t make the news.
Many complaints are ignored and considered to be invalid. Others were already solved by the time the OQLF could intervene. Sometimes, the products were immediately taken off the shelf. Finally, sometimes, the complaints were made too late, and could not be treated.
For the fines, those don’t happen too often. For example, in 2006, they were only 127 fines that were given, between 250$ and 5000$.
All in all, there’s not really much ‘police’ in that. And that’s mostly the reality.
Some incidents did get out of hands of course (like the famous Pastagate incident, for which the OQLF admitted having been ‘overzealous’ and for which the head of the organization at the time, Louise Marchand, resigned), but it’s really not common. For most cases in which the complaint was appropriate, compagnies or people simply correct the mistake.
Now, for the part many were probably waiting for, the very, very controversial bill adopted in 2021…
Bill 96
I’m sure everyone (or at least, those who follow the news) remember the multiple debates that happened (and are still happening) about this law adopted around 2 years ago. Articles were written, protests were organized, Indigenous people weren’t happy; it was messy. Some misinformation was even spread around, like the idea that anglophones wouldn’t be able to receive medical services in English anymore (which, to be clear, isn’t true).What is the truth? What are the lies? What should you be angry at? All the answers you might be seeking are here.
A mini disclaimer before we start this section: I am merely human, and therefore, have an opinion on this subject which I’ve researched as much as I could. Of course, I’ll give you all the facts so that you can then make a decision yourself, but there are some things I personally disagree with (or agree with) that might be more obvious than others. Anyway, let’s start.
What did Bill 96 include?
When it was first introduced, the bill provided for the creation of a French language commissioner (whose designation would have to be approved by 2/3 of the National Assembly) as well as for the creation of a ministry of the French language.
It amended the Charter to change and include certain things:
- Laws can still be adopted in both languages, but when there is a misunderstanding between both versions, the French version will prevail.
- All judgements given in English will have to be translated in French.
- The knowledge of a language other than French cannot be required during the nomination of a provincial judge, unless the justice minister deems it necessary.
- Regulations don’t have to be written in English anymore, because the requirement of bilingualism (of the British North America Act of 1897) didn’t include regulations.
- For schools, English cegeps now have a limit, and can only accept 17,5% of the entire Québécois student population. Non-anglophones students will also have to complete the French exam (mandatory in French cegeps) to receive their diplomas. The student quota doesn’t apply to universities.
- Enterprises that have between 25 and 49 employees will need to obtain a francization certificate, just like enterprises with more than 50 employees. Law 101 will also apply to federal enterprises.
- Bilingual municipalities have their bilingual status removed if their population isn’t mostly anglophone anymore. However, they can ask to maintain that status with a resolution. As of today, all 48 municipalities concerned with this part of the law have adopted such a resolution to keep their status.
- Civil status documents obtained in English in a different Canadian province must be translated. Before, only documents written in a language other than French and English were concerned (so, mostly documents from other countries)
- The preliminary of the Quebec Civil Code is modified to say that it is now interpreted in harmony with the Charter of the French language, and not only with the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.
- Modifies the Profession Code to say that an inability to maintain an appropriate knowledge of French constitutes a derogatory act to the dignity of someone’s profession.
- Modifies the Constitution of 1867 to add the recognition of the Québécois nation and French as its sole official language. Uses the derogatory clause.
- Makes it so that after 6 months, an immigrant will have to communicate with the government in French.
- Gives the power to inspectors in charge of the application of the law to penetrate, at any reasonable hour, in any place aside from a house, where an activity concerned by the law is happening.
Those are most of the changes included in Bill 96. However, the law still has some limits. For example:
- Article 133 of the Constitution of 1867 (concerning the bilingualism of Quebec and the Canadian parliament) cannot be modified without the authorization of the Canadian parliament. Therefore, the part that was added (French is the sole official language of Quebec), is technically not valid. However, I don’t think the federal government intervened as of now (or plans to), so it’s there.
- For article 530 of the criminal code, the protected right to be heard in common law doesn’t actually say that the judge must speak English or even just understand it (the stoppage Société des Acadien c. Association of Parents). However, later, with a different stoppage (R. c. Beaulac), it was declared that the tribunals have to be institutionally bilingual to make sure both official languages can be used. Since criminal law is under federal jurisdiction, Quebec’s attempt to create a unilingual judicial system could meet some obstacles. However, the use of the derogatory clause by the province complicates things.
- It is still a right to receive medical services in English. While Quebec could have attempted to eliminate that right, it didn’t. Same goes for 9-1-1 (fun fact: only Quebec and New-Brunswick are forced to give 9-1-1 services in the minority language of their province. None of the others do), even though Indigenous people and anglophones were worried about that.
Bill 96 certainly goes further than the previous version of Bill 101 did, and that has many people worried. I myself don’t completely agree with some of the changes here. But let’s not fall into misinformation, because that helps absolutely no one. Fear and panic are also emotions we should avoid acting upon, no matter if we agree or disagree with the law. And please, no Nazi comparisons; they did much, much worse and I think it’s clear to all (or at least, I hope it is) that the Quebec government is absolutely not on the verge of committing a mass genocide. Accusations like that will only make people go on the defensive and are an obstacle to dialogue. We’ll get nowhere, still be mad and frustrated, and continue the cycle for even longer.
It may sometimes look like this debate will never end, like francophones and anglophones are destined to forever disagree when it comes to language, but in the end, nothing is eternal. I’m sure we’ll get somewhere one day, even if that day is years away.
Anyway, that’ll be it for part 1! Stay tuned for part 2, where we’ll take a look at the different language laws that were once in place in other provinces: Ontario, Manitoba, British-Columbia, even the territories had some! I’ll also do my best to write about the current language laws in the other provinces and compare the situation of Franco-Albertans and Fransaskois (for example) with the situation of anglophones in Québec.
Sources:
- Wikipédia (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charte_de_la_langue_fran%C3%A7aise) for most of my information (the site is well-organized and I mostly followed their organization)
- OQLF website (https://www.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/charte/changementslegislatifs/?gclid=CjwKCAjwrpOiBhBVEiwA_473dKae6mSlJbQPGLgRox_ACQLIs3VDA263wB5RiIMCgE4ubyVlAUOTchoCnZUQAvD_BwE) mostly concerns labour laws
- The Canadian Encyclopedia (https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/farticle/loi-101) bit of history and legal obstacles
2023.06.03 02:35 MechRxn I [37M] am unsure if I should contact my [35F] ex
My ex left me back in early March. She broke up with me because I went to a wedding for my cousin in Mexico and I had promised I would take her with me. I couldn’t afford to. I told her this, she still ended things over a broken promise. It was one of a few I broke. We had dated for a year prior and in January we had a huge argument in front of her son and we didn’t speak for 3 weeks. We started trying to reconnect but from January 1st onward I paid for everything. She never once paid for meals or things we did. I was often paying for her and her son and sometimes her mom who lives with her. I started to resent her SLIGHTLY because of this. We went on a trip with her son and mom and we got two rooms so her mom (why her mom came with) could watch him after he went to bed and her and I could spend time together. Well that didn’t happen, all three of them stayed in one room and she didn’t want to go out because she said she felt unwell. I got very upset as I told her I felt used by her for this trip. I told her I needed time with her just her and I. I said some rude things to her in front of her son which I regret.
On Sunday her son left for 3 weeks to stay with his dad for the summer. She has let me back in a little bit, and I spent time with her and her son Saturday and Sunday. On Monday, she didn’t text me all day and I lost it. I called her even though she said she didn’t want to talk, and I lost it on her. I said I can’t lose her and her son and it feels like I am/I have. Tuesday morning I texted her an apology and asked when her son comes home exactly, she replied with “mechrxn please stop”. I assume this to mean please stop contacting me. I haven’t contacted her since.
For context, we nearly put $ down on a wedding venue back in November after dating for 9 months. She has absolutely been my person sans the baggage of her mother living with her and the situation with her sons father (nasty/abusive).
In past relationships I would reach out after a few days. But I think I’ve grown a little bit here (aside from breaking promises and blowing up on her Monday, completely on me and my insecurities) and have decided to not contact her at all until she contacts me.
I do want her, I am in love with her and I have bonded with her son who is on the spectrum, I want her to be my wife one day but I am trying to be objective and understand this ship may have sailed a while ago. I love her enough to do what she asks of me. It is worth noting that since she ended things in March we haven’t touched or even hugged let alone kiss etc. I realize most will say to move on. I have therapy setup for next week to address my issues (likely from childhood sexual abuse I received) and will begin the work on myself. I appreciate your input. Should I contact her yes or no? Is 2-3 weeks long enough to wait if I “should” contact her?
submitted by MechRxn to relationship_advice [link] [comments]
On Sunday her son left for 3 weeks to stay with his dad for the summer. She has let me back in a little bit, and I spent time with her and her son Saturday and Sunday. On Monday, she didn’t text me all day and I lost it. I called her even though she said she didn’t want to talk, and I lost it on her. I said I can’t lose her and her son and it feels like I am/I have. Tuesday morning I texted her an apology and asked when her son comes home exactly, she replied with “mechrxn please stop”. I assume this to mean please stop contacting me. I haven’t contacted her since.
For context, we nearly put $ down on a wedding venue back in November after dating for 9 months. She has absolutely been my person sans the baggage of her mother living with her and the situation with her sons father (nasty/abusive).
In past relationships I would reach out after a few days. But I think I’ve grown a little bit here (aside from breaking promises and blowing up on her Monday, completely on me and my insecurities) and have decided to not contact her at all until she contacts me.
I do want her, I am in love with her and I have bonded with her son who is on the spectrum, I want her to be my wife one day but I am trying to be objective and understand this ship may have sailed a while ago. I love her enough to do what she asks of me. It is worth noting that since she ended things in March we haven’t touched or even hugged let alone kiss etc. I realize most will say to move on. I have therapy setup for next week to address my issues (likely from childhood sexual abuse I received) and will begin the work on myself. I appreciate your input. Should I contact her yes or no? Is 2-3 weeks long enough to wait if I “should” contact her?
2023.06.03 02:34 KharAznable cheap deck under $30 part 33
Star warrior-battleguard
https://ygoprodeck.com/deckbuilde?e=2y79kkXJ7RQDDDvt3skMwrqTTzPCsFPNAabQIBamI1MLGQpCWhhh_LXQAuY9uU-BeK9kKMPe5fmMy2Z-YeSe4csMwkdX3mJpUa1jAOGc5k5GEK6tus9YFh0Dx5uXM7OCsPClOAYYjqxOZnmv_o-l9dE3zAxAMHPVR8Z9JntYQXj_-q9g-ET5HdMS7mrW99uPMMp2TGIW-7mXAQaKSxKLFMoTi4oy84sA
https://yugiohdeck.github.io/#nSN26MpGIt3N2hRy5Mt1gPiEoEUlVDjK4iYRUcN0Al1r5W28gqjN6lvp71PpN0y02YC6bVTiofiWEjEwbZHfen1K4tu3QOns4L2kJ8Y3tZZ/Evevsxet;PjVTLbw0vq+t/Py7iPka9hdInEt+9clEDqL35F0=:star%20warrior
note: an update (more like sidegrade) to the previous version of star warrior deck. I decide to go with a version that is lean more on the warrior side with battleguards and feast of the wild. Feast of the wild is not once per turn and can is searchable by battleguard cadet and we use isolde to summon cadet from deck. So what here is several plans for the deck
- summon isolde, hopefully with 1 of the lv5, special cadet search feast, use feast to special 2 lv5 then link summon proxy f magician using isolde + cadet, fusion summon something.
- the usual plan, special thrasher, tribute it for kaiza, kaiza banish thrasher to dump kaiki. On opponent turn special kaiki to fusion summon raidjin.
double hooking is pretty decent to summon kaiki and todoroki on your turn so you can fusion something using the monster summoned by double hooking.
Phoenix blade is our recoverable discard fodder for double hooking or fusion recycling plant.
Fusion recycling plant can be used to get our 1 polymerization into rotation. Discard something and add poly from GY or deck and on end phase recover 1 fusion material from GY. It also activates on opponent turn so the fusion eff of kaiki can return 1 material to your hand which you can use as fusion material or discard fodder.
Degeneraider Machine
https://ygoprodeck.com/deckbuilde?e=i1p1ntlnmQHrs9LJTAyLBVhWLtdkkft5ivnBn3JWGHZ88p5pSX0vi1JtE4vwyRCG6SXcrHzZPCwwfNu_hCmdV51VQPsyw6WVa5l_zJ-CDMOR1cksGVXr4DjORZfVbkkh451lcsysy1yYYPjaKSc4lnSeywrCdu1XmRmAwJ-tImtD0GpWlzXTGUD42fI_MA6Y4c18VD2MEYQVr9sw-NtyFKweBNJT81KLEjNTUovicxOTMzLzUgE%7E
https://yugiohdeck.github.io/#efVLTTCmTFSbrzMEKMAYU09SvK+R5rv+cGu/kQWRSMgn0iQqZIm0LdJdgY1h2nQ/22k4azo0ysQVW1OkuUn/jjG9rLK56aOlqIvJcaQ+WPU24pEpgXSFla3Z1DGZ6sOfI=;uiDJ7atSgES9YiQjqfmmlzCglWJ8WB5rkK8W0/k=:generaider_machine
note: a somewhat modified version based on theory of deck here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUYLUXT-YE4 and https://ygoprodeck.com/deck/generaider-gadget-n-r-event-260436. The deck makes me wonder what we can do with newer generaider support (vala and laevatein) and a bunch of cheap cards IRL. And the list is somewhat the result. The gameplan is simple
Vala is pretty good girl. We can send her as cost for kujikiri curse and can special herself from GY by sending a generaider card. If she is summoned, she can summon a generaider from hand/gy. Giving you easy access to her...I mean her xyz form, laevatein, if you so desire. But I'm a man who like big machine so I opt for mountain slicer and enterblathnir instead.
Metalfoes-ancient warrior
https://ygoprodeck.com/deckbuilde?e=W1CXwrQAiE-teseYGJbODMPL0_KYDayUWGC49usMBhiOKP7NCMOzBSoYYPjJgVnMMGw-Q5YRht9_SWKRSa1lPrA1mqlguzoLCOf92890YZ81HP9e-5L5591vDPs0eJmFdz1nFoyewBjx-CALAxAcW-uKWUPajtmxbjVjeqc7Awg3rf-HsGWbDrPyRXUGGMhNLUnMSctPLdZNzEvOTM0rUShPLCrKzC8CAA%7E%7E
https://yugiohdeck.github.io/#TI/UEe66yls6sw7XmanYRHRhiY9X3P25rGHgQm9zWByZHZg/4xenat9ZRxS3a4DCe3cJX/83KO77Q301/2j23flYaUXy+e6E0yC2IswedYQ=;fVW4yz4bKE1b8goR4lnh/V8EsstrRBPokaA=:metalfoes-ancient%20warrior
note: another metalfoes deck. Metalfoes has been the bread archetype of ygo. It is pretty servicable on its own, but you can slam a lot of things into them as long as it makes sense. This list is no different. Here is 1 of the plan:
- have a metalfoes scale set combination from deck.
- sun mou to send metalfoes combination from field to gy to get double search off sun mou and combination.
- sun mou search zhuge liang, and combination search....something to complete the scale I guess, or maybe vanisher if you have complete scale. On new chain zhuge liang special himself, sun mou can trigger to bounce opponent monster if you go 2nd.
- link summon double dragon lord, and search another sun mou.
- complete the scales and pend summon sun mou. If you want to play around nibiru you can just stop there, use the new scale to pop old scale and search another combination to end on double dragon lord + sun mou bounce eff+search off combination.
- do your metalfoes things. Which is too broad to answer. Metalfoes does not have the most obvious going 1st end board. Your pure metalfoes combo end board probably just end on mithrilium+combination+full metalfoes fusion+vanisher in ED/hand/GY in a good day. The end board gives us option to summon orichalc on opponent turn, trigger mithrilium+combination, mithrillium summon vanisher, and combination sumon mithrillium. This gives you 3 body and a banish from field or gy, and orichalc can destroy opponent card if it is sent to gy.
Therion beatdown
https://ygoprodeck.com/deckbuilde?e=879Rw_KsOoEVhB9d3Mq4_eRvFqXidGYQNt75gun9eTZWEP7f7s3IGW8Jxv9U5JlAWO20KyMIX-t9B4xXPH3GBMLJP3wZYXjZ7C_MLatcmWC4SyaLGYYjq5NZjq28xdKiWsdgt6SQMazTmzXuGi8Yr3aawuTrcZCFAQjKFwcyTe4NZlrr8JRxiUAWc33ANcb9fJ5MmdOYWZfM0maAgZKM1KLM-Lz45Py8kqL8HAA%7E
https://yugiohdeck.github.io/#j5sJ7ZAlQ42ujxM+8mzWzuZFLouTNoNn98UuH/0nK+EyHyT+ii5ZNHc+9aXNy1EU34Y8+k3TKRaqE21DkVxje1lm1U4yH4lhEuNIfNS4lWaG6y9KUQqtmCkJqA==;SnGyaeVArVtQhSJ1lB/Ukh1+0DlmlBXNUiA=:therion_control
note: The crashing price of lily borea and discoloseum gives us good opportunity to make our therion deck better. This built is based on the fum control on the previous part. We go blind 2nd nearly every time, remove the more normal summon reliant sea mare and ogier, but we add in lonefire to turbo out lily, which also require normal summon, but with better payoff. Lily can search discoloseum a field spell that basically reward you for battling opponent monster, either send a therion card to gy to replace battle destruction and recover 1 therion monster to hand if your monster is destroyed. But most of the time we use its search eff.
the mekk-knight package is there as beatstick and negation bait, they also can be used as link material and target for duke. Linkslayer works as backrow removal and discard outlet for therion monsters. the mekk-knight and linkslayer alongside therions can be used as link material for demiurgy and gives demiurgy bonus nuke effect.
BLS-Ursarctic
https://ygoprodeck.com/deckbuilde?e=O3ZwBfMxIP6-K5IFhC1nNLPC8KZ5V1lAuFF7GyMIP1-pxAzCDf4LWEG4cUU5Awy7BJxghOGrWw7B8f6WUOZvd26wgPDBQj8mEG5Z5QrHkdXJLC2qdQwgfN3QnxmEJ_xIZoJhoRNvGUGYAQkk5SQmZ8fnlBaXpBbFF_fnpGSmFgEA
https://yugiohdeck.github.io/#dRg41Fm6/6wcwc81Z6yjbFcDNCqeetAnwEHeogc5CgiZwrTV2qwl+zY3PaSc44MkWqhOMb2sofiWEmnmOvJjuJDPbkCU:black_luster_soldier
note: This is not a BLS ritual deck. BLS ritual have same issue with Dark magician Ritual deck. The deck is just awkward. Their ritual is lv8, but main deck monsters are gaia the fierce knight monster with level 7. The ritual also does not help either, all of them must tribute exactly level 8, some even require you to sned LIGHT and DARK monsters. Forcing you to play awkward level 1 DARK/LIGHT monster. Not the worse thing ever since 1 of them can be from GY, but more attention must be paid when deck building the ritual version while they payoff is, eeeh. So I ditch the ritual build and just play the usrarctic version + sacred soldier. Probably post the ritual build for another time.
The gameplan is just simple. Just an updated version of ursarctic deck here (Some of tech choice there like guan yun can also be played here if you want). We blind 2nd and use lv8/7 ursarctic as disruption by tributing our high level monsters. then summon something big (BLS's/advent dragon) to inflict massive damage.
Both chargin/arisen gaia act as tribute fodder for ursarctic monster then ursarctic monster on the field are tribute fodder for advanced dragon. The gaia monsters float into other things when tributted, charging can search a BLS monster, and arisen can special a BLS monster from hand/GY. Gateway to chaos is our searcher for those gaia monsters. The ratio for ursarctic monsters can be better tuned to your liking.
We have 2 BLS boss monsters in envoy of the beginning and sacred soldier. Both are searchable by charging gaia. Envoy have some line of play with advance dragon, special envoy, banish something, tribute it to summon advance dragon, destroy another, advance attack, bring back envoy frm gy, banish another monster. The banish eff is once per turn per copy. Sacred soldier must be tribute summoned or special summoned using arisen trigger eff. Its banish eff is "when..you can..." eff so make sure arisen eff is CL1.
Superheavy-zefra
https://ygoprodeck.com/deckbuilde?e=U5E6yKgCxb6bNRml5FuYQbhUJpIRhLV54pjfvX-CAsPJW9azntPhZYFhXsc9rDrTE5nT6xMZLzccYMn8785oNK_QWWT6dxYYnmchxzA9bzMLDEdWJ7NIMxbB8YWNbxlhuO7bTlYQ7pgvx7Q1v4iZAQjEmi4zJ7ccYv32-zrTulQj1mduV1gqsyYwRDP9Y-npmMa6z2wy00s2Y6Z-DPeYq_M_MDJAQVVqWlFifHFibmlRYiYA
https://yugiohdeck.github.io/#OCNEmSmzTVwg+NRWRx1mvBhWzk7+7tfaMbA0szu3iCGrYZcsSwv7OzAgNNKP/tK3GeMme8uKYHjieZZt0vxje1ljkAjee2x0O3Ps/SHp+IW5N9qg;enBCzcKEY1a//7NMmWuZqI3MiQanln8BLbWZB+VSZtfKMwbpXvAH8nwXntA=:zefra_samurai
note: the new superheavy samurai engine is pretty neat 1 card full scale engine, you scale wakaushi, use his eff to scale monk big benkei and special iself. Then use big benkei eff to search soulgaia booster, equip soulgaia booster to wakaushi then special booster from s/t zone. Now we have level8 or rank4 engine without eating our normal summon. If we want to get full scale, we can use soulgaia booster and wakaushi as synchro material to scale wakaushi from ED. Of course since we play zefra deck, we would like our high scale to be zefraath that copies zefraniu scale so we don't do the last part. Instead we use soulgaia booster+ushiwaka as xyz material for gallant granite to search zefraath. This will free up our providence+oracle to search more important tools. Sakitama is our other way to get lv4 bodies to the field before eating our "normal" normal summon for turn. If you already have access to zefraath, the superheavy package can be used as synchro material for void ogre dragon, a big dragon with s/t negate if you emptied your hand. Other option will be use wakaushi as tuner to summon synchro longyuan with zefraniu. Overall you have good amount of option for your extra deck.
submitted by KharAznable to u/KharAznable [link] [comments]
https://ygoprodeck.com/deckbuilde?e=2y79kkXJ7RQDDDvt3skMwrqTTzPCsFPNAabQIBamI1MLGQpCWhhh_LXQAuY9uU-BeK9kKMPe5fmMy2Z-YeSe4csMwkdX3mJpUa1jAOGc5k5GEK6tus9YFh0Dx5uXM7OCsPClOAYYjqxOZnmv_o-l9dE3zAxAMHPVR8Z9JntYQXj_-q9g-ET5HdMS7mrW99uPMMp2TGIW-7mXAQaKSxKLFMoTi4oy84sA
https://yugiohdeck.github.io/#nSN26MpGIt3N2hRy5Mt1gPiEoEUlVDjK4iYRUcN0Al1r5W28gqjN6lvp71PpN0y02YC6bVTiofiWEjEwbZHfen1K4tu3QOns4L2kJ8Y3tZZ/Evevsxet;PjVTLbw0vq+t/Py7iPka9hdInEt+9clEDqL35F0=:star%20warrior
note: an update (more like sidegrade) to the previous version of star warrior deck. I decide to go with a version that is lean more on the warrior side with battleguards and feast of the wild. Feast of the wild is not once per turn and can is searchable by battleguard cadet and we use isolde to summon cadet from deck. So what here is several plans for the deck
- summon isolde, hopefully with 1 of the lv5, special cadet search feast, use feast to special 2 lv5 then link summon proxy f magician using isolde + cadet, fusion summon something.
- the usual plan, special thrasher, tribute it for kaiza, kaiza banish thrasher to dump kaiki. On opponent turn special kaiki to fusion summon raidjin.
double hooking is pretty decent to summon kaiki and todoroki on your turn so you can fusion something using the monster summoned by double hooking.
Phoenix blade is our recoverable discard fodder for double hooking or fusion recycling plant.
Fusion recycling plant can be used to get our 1 polymerization into rotation. Discard something and add poly from GY or deck and on end phase recover 1 fusion material from GY. It also activates on opponent turn so the fusion eff of kaiki can return 1 material to your hand which you can use as fusion material or discard fodder.
Degeneraider Machine
https://ygoprodeck.com/deckbuilde?e=i1p1ntlnmQHrs9LJTAyLBVhWLtdkkft5ivnBn3JWGHZ88p5pSX0vi1JtE4vwyRCG6SXcrHzZPCwwfNu_hCmdV51VQPsyw6WVa5l_zJ-CDMOR1cksGVXr4DjORZfVbkkh451lcsysy1yYYPjaKSc4lnSeywrCdu1XmRmAwJ-tImtD0GpWlzXTGUD42fI_MA6Y4c18VD2MEYQVr9sw-NtyFKweBNJT81KLEjNTUovicxOTMzLzUgE%7E
https://yugiohdeck.github.io/#efVLTTCmTFSbrzMEKMAYU09SvK+R5rv+cGu/kQWRSMgn0iQqZIm0LdJdgY1h2nQ/22k4azo0ysQVW1OkuUn/jjG9rLK56aOlqIvJcaQ+WPU24pEpgXSFla3Z1DGZ6sOfI=;uiDJ7atSgES9YiQjqfmmlzCglWJ8WB5rkK8W0/k=:generaider_machine
note: a somewhat modified version based on theory of deck here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUYLUXT-YE4 and https://ygoprodeck.com/deck/generaider-gadget-n-r-event-260436. The deck makes me wonder what we can do with newer generaider support (vala and laevatein) and a bunch of cheap cards IRL. And the list is somewhat the result. The gameplan is simple
- We go 1st and summon qliphort genius using lefty-righty driver package or thetherwolf or just activate drone (just remember, hornet drone is a warrior and not a machine, link it up to kagari first)
- Get boss stage ready either you activate on turn 1 or flip boss fight on opponent draw/standby phase
- if your opponent add card(s) from their deck to their hand (including on draw phase), boss stage will summon dovelgus. Make sure you don't summon dovelgus on zone pointed by genius.
- on summon of dovelgus, boss stage will spam generaider token, including to the zone pointed by genius.
- use genius eff to search high lv machine monster, I have no idea atm what to search. You technicaly can search floodgate-y monster like spell canceller, cracking dragon or maybe gizmek uka (then uka can summon a barrier statue, but the zone is full of token if you summon it using dovelgus on step 6, so uka is more of deterrence). The high level monsters we put in there are machina citadel/fortress and some questionable gizmek card. I just want to summon gizmek okami, that's all there is.
- Use dovelgus to tribute monster(s) pointed by genius to summon whatever you just searched. And if you summon 2 monsters at the same time, genius gets another search.
Vala is pretty good girl. We can send her as cost for kujikiri curse and can special herself from GY by sending a generaider card. If she is summoned, she can summon a generaider from hand/gy. Giving you easy access to her...I mean her xyz form, laevatein, if you so desire. But I'm a man who like big machine so I opt for mountain slicer and enterblathnir instead.
Metalfoes-ancient warrior
https://ygoprodeck.com/deckbuilde?e=W1CXwrQAiE-teseYGJbODMPL0_KYDayUWGC49usMBhiOKP7NCMOzBSoYYPjJgVnMMGw-Q5YRht9_SWKRSa1lPrA1mqlguzoLCOf92890YZ81HP9e-5L5591vDPs0eJmFdz1nFoyewBjx-CALAxAcW-uKWUPajtmxbjVjeqc7Awg3rf-HsGWbDrPyRXUGGMhNLUnMSctPLdZNzEvOTM0rUShPLCrKzC8CAA%7E%7E
https://yugiohdeck.github.io/#TI/UEe66yls6sw7XmanYRHRhiY9X3P25rGHgQm9zWByZHZg/4xenat9ZRxS3a4DCe3cJX/83KO77Q301/2j23flYaUXy+e6E0yC2IswedYQ=;fVW4yz4bKE1b8goR4lnh/V8EsstrRBPokaA=:metalfoes-ancient%20warrior
note: another metalfoes deck. Metalfoes has been the bread archetype of ygo. It is pretty servicable on its own, but you can slam a lot of things into them as long as it makes sense. This list is no different. Here is 1 of the plan:
- have a metalfoes scale set combination from deck.
- sun mou to send metalfoes combination from field to gy to get double search off sun mou and combination.
- sun mou search zhuge liang, and combination search....something to complete the scale I guess, or maybe vanisher if you have complete scale. On new chain zhuge liang special himself, sun mou can trigger to bounce opponent monster if you go 2nd.
- link summon double dragon lord, and search another sun mou.
- complete the scales and pend summon sun mou. If you want to play around nibiru you can just stop there, use the new scale to pop old scale and search another combination to end on double dragon lord + sun mou bounce eff+search off combination.
- do your metalfoes things. Which is too broad to answer. Metalfoes does not have the most obvious going 1st end board. Your pure metalfoes combo end board probably just end on mithrilium+combination+full metalfoes fusion+vanisher in ED/hand/GY in a good day. The end board gives us option to summon orichalc on opponent turn, trigger mithrilium+combination, mithrillium summon vanisher, and combination sumon mithrillium. This gives you 3 body and a banish from field or gy, and orichalc can destroy opponent card if it is sent to gy.
Therion beatdown
https://ygoprodeck.com/deckbuilde?e=879Rw_KsOoEVhB9d3Mq4_eRvFqXidGYQNt75gun9eTZWEP7f7s3IGW8Jxv9U5JlAWO20KyMIX-t9B4xXPH3GBMLJP3wZYXjZ7C_MLatcmWC4SyaLGYYjq5NZjq28xdKiWsdgt6SQMazTmzXuGi8Yr3aawuTrcZCFAQjKFwcyTe4NZlrr8JRxiUAWc33ANcb9fJ5MmdOYWZfM0maAgZKM1KLM-Lz45Py8kqL8HAA%7E
https://yugiohdeck.github.io/#j5sJ7ZAlQ42ujxM+8mzWzuZFLouTNoNn98UuH/0nK+EyHyT+ii5ZNHc+9aXNy1EU34Y8+k3TKRaqE21DkVxje1lm1U4yH4lhEuNIfNS4lWaG6y9KUQqtmCkJqA==;SnGyaeVArVtQhSJ1lB/Ukh1+0DlmlBXNUiA=:therion_control
note: The crashing price of lily borea and discoloseum gives us good opportunity to make our therion deck better. This built is based on the fum control on the previous part. We go blind 2nd nearly every time, remove the more normal summon reliant sea mare and ogier, but we add in lonefire to turbo out lily, which also require normal summon, but with better payoff. Lily can search discoloseum a field spell that basically reward you for battling opponent monster, either send a therion card to gy to replace battle destruction and recover 1 therion monster to hand if your monster is destroyed. But most of the time we use its search eff.
the mekk-knight package is there as beatstick and negation bait, they also can be used as link material and target for duke. Linkslayer works as backrow removal and discard outlet for therion monsters. the mekk-knight and linkslayer alongside therions can be used as link material for demiurgy and gives demiurgy bonus nuke effect.
BLS-Ursarctic
https://ygoprodeck.com/deckbuilde?e=O3ZwBfMxIP6-K5IFhC1nNLPC8KZ5V1lAuFF7GyMIP1-pxAzCDf4LWEG4cUU5Awy7BJxghOGrWw7B8f6WUOZvd26wgPDBQj8mEG5Z5QrHkdXJLC2qdQwgfN3QnxmEJ_xIZoJhoRNvGUGYAQkk5SQmZ8fnlBaXpBbFF_fnpGSmFgEA
https://yugiohdeck.github.io/#dRg41Fm6/6wcwc81Z6yjbFcDNCqeetAnwEHeogc5CgiZwrTV2qwl+zY3PaSc44MkWqhOMb2sofiWEmnmOvJjuJDPbkCU:black_luster_soldier
note: This is not a BLS ritual deck. BLS ritual have same issue with Dark magician Ritual deck. The deck is just awkward. Their ritual is lv8, but main deck monsters are gaia the fierce knight monster with level 7. The ritual also does not help either, all of them must tribute exactly level 8, some even require you to sned LIGHT and DARK monsters. Forcing you to play awkward level 1 DARK/LIGHT monster. Not the worse thing ever since 1 of them can be from GY, but more attention must be paid when deck building the ritual version while they payoff is, eeeh. So I ditch the ritual build and just play the usrarctic version + sacred soldier. Probably post the ritual build for another time.
The gameplan is just simple. Just an updated version of ursarctic deck here (Some of tech choice there like guan yun can also be played here if you want). We blind 2nd and use lv8/7 ursarctic as disruption by tributing our high level monsters. then summon something big (BLS's/advent dragon) to inflict massive damage.
Both chargin/arisen gaia act as tribute fodder for ursarctic monster then ursarctic monster on the field are tribute fodder for advanced dragon. The gaia monsters float into other things when tributted, charging can search a BLS monster, and arisen can special a BLS monster from hand/GY. Gateway to chaos is our searcher for those gaia monsters. The ratio for ursarctic monsters can be better tuned to your liking.
We have 2 BLS boss monsters in envoy of the beginning and sacred soldier. Both are searchable by charging gaia. Envoy have some line of play with advance dragon, special envoy, banish something, tribute it to summon advance dragon, destroy another, advance attack, bring back envoy frm gy, banish another monster. The banish eff is once per turn per copy. Sacred soldier must be tribute summoned or special summoned using arisen trigger eff. Its banish eff is "when..you can..." eff so make sure arisen eff is CL1.
Superheavy-zefra
https://ygoprodeck.com/deckbuilde?e=U5E6yKgCxb6bNRml5FuYQbhUJpIRhLV54pjfvX-CAsPJW9azntPhZYFhXsc9rDrTE5nT6xMZLzccYMn8785oNK_QWWT6dxYYnmchxzA9bzMLDEdWJ7NIMxbB8YWNbxlhuO7bTlYQ7pgvx7Q1v4iZAQjEmi4zJ7ccYv32-zrTulQj1mduV1gqsyYwRDP9Y-npmMa6z2wy00s2Y6Z-DPeYq_M_MDJAQVVqWlFifHFibmlRYiYA
https://yugiohdeck.github.io/#OCNEmSmzTVwg+NRWRx1mvBhWzk7+7tfaMbA0szu3iCGrYZcsSwv7OzAgNNKP/tK3GeMme8uKYHjieZZt0vxje1ljkAjee2x0O3Ps/SHp+IW5N9qg;enBCzcKEY1a//7NMmWuZqI3MiQanln8BLbWZB+VSZtfKMwbpXvAH8nwXntA=:zefra_samurai
note: the new superheavy samurai engine is pretty neat 1 card full scale engine, you scale wakaushi, use his eff to scale monk big benkei and special iself. Then use big benkei eff to search soulgaia booster, equip soulgaia booster to wakaushi then special booster from s/t zone. Now we have level8 or rank4 engine without eating our normal summon. If we want to get full scale, we can use soulgaia booster and wakaushi as synchro material to scale wakaushi from ED. Of course since we play zefra deck, we would like our high scale to be zefraath that copies zefraniu scale so we don't do the last part. Instead we use soulgaia booster+ushiwaka as xyz material for gallant granite to search zefraath. This will free up our providence+oracle to search more important tools. Sakitama is our other way to get lv4 bodies to the field before eating our "normal" normal summon for turn. If you already have access to zefraath, the superheavy package can be used as synchro material for void ogre dragon, a big dragon with s/t negate if you emptied your hand. Other option will be use wakaushi as tuner to summon synchro longyuan with zefraniu. Overall you have good amount of option for your extra deck.
2023.06.03 02:27 Sharinganprincess91 [F4M] Fandom Roleplay. Looking for more partners. (Super freaking bored and looking 🙃😞)
Side note: I've added a password, so read carefully. If you message me WITHOUT the password, your messages are automatically IGNORED. tired of getting hit up with people who don't read 😒. It's ridiculous cause I've ignored 5+ chats cause none of them contained the password. Things are written for a reason.
Facts about me:
1: if you don't like 50/50 mixture of sex scenes and story, don't bother hopping into my inbox. I'm fine with sex scenes, but when it's constantly back to back, the roleplay itself gets boring.
2: Be literate. No one liners. I like to write..it's annoying when I send a 2-3 paragraph response and I get 3 lines...just...no. I am not accepting people who are just starting out! If you aren't experienced in writing or roleplaying, kindly stay out of my inbox.
3: Be okay with playing canon characters. I'm mainly doing fandom roleplays right now and it's going to be Canon x my oc. No, I'm not doing double ups. Do not even ask, because the answer will be no every time. I do not give a shit if you think that makes me 'lazy' or 'selfish', if you've got a problem, you can simply ignore or block me. Commenting on my post to bitch and whine about me not doubling up will only result in me blocking you. The ONLY time I'll double up, and if I'm confident enough, I'll only do female characters. I suck at males. Got a problem? Not my issue. Block and move on.
4: Roleplay in third person. I can't and won't adapt to first. Don't even bring up the idea of you playing first person and me playing third. Believe it or not, I've been asked this twice and that is just a hell no for me. The only time I do first, is when I'm writing into my book.
5: if you don't know how to share ideas, then don't bother messaging me. I'm tired of carrying the story when the other person doesn't help. If you've got ideas, then PLEASE speak up! Your opinion on the roleplay matters too! I'm an easy going person, and easy to get along with (dispite my rules).
6: DO NOT control my character. I control what she says, does, hears, sees, ect. I don't control yours, so don't control mine. HOWEVER, if it's highly necessary and needed, then run it by me first and ask me. Just leave me some wiggle room so I can make a decent response. Failure to comply by this rule, results in immediate drop of the rp.
End Note:
Yes, I've updated my rules just a tad. I do not care if it makes me sound mean or rude, because I'm neither of these things. I'm just tired of putting these rules down for a specific reason and they go ignored because I can tell when someone hasn't read them, and lied about it. I'm just trying to get my point across and roleplay. I'm a very easy going person who loves to make friends on the side (which I've somewhat given up on making friends...only a selective few have actually gained my friendship).
Do not hop into my inbox with a simple 'hey' 'hi' 'sup', etc and for God's sake, don't message me with a 'rp?'and proceed me to flash me with your talliwhacker. I promise you, you'll get your feelings hurt and I'll be here laughing at ya 😂. Nobody wants a peen on their screen. Do not send me an image of your one eyed noodle. Thank you. The password is pineapple.
Fandoms & Pairings
Deadpool (Wade x my oc)
The Adam's family
Pokemon ((MAYBE. Don't be nasty about it either!))
Bridgerton (or something like it. Can be Oc x Oc)
Disney Decedent's (or anything Disney) (oc x oc)
Orange is the new black (this can be oc x oc).
Criminal Minds (REALLY wanna do)
Marvel:
Loki x my oc
Spiderman (Tom Holland) x my oc
Dog The Bounty Hunter (REALLY wanna do):
Dog Chapman x my oc
The walking dead (REALLY wanna do!!):
Daryl X my oc
Batman x my oc
Lucifer (Netflix show series) x my oc (really wanna do)
The Originals: Klaus x my oc (PLEASE !! I REALLY wanna do this one!)
American Horror Story: Tate x my oc (REALLY wanna do)
Dragon Ball Z - Super (vegeta x my oc) (really wanna do)
Naruto: Minato x my oc
Harry Potter (thanks to the wonderful world of rp, the characters will be 18 or older. For me, I'd like it if it was Draco x my oc. REALLY wanna do)
Game Of Thrones (I'm still very early in the show, but I think we could think of something!)
Once Upon A Time:
killian x my oc, REALLY wanna do 🥺.
Avatar the last Airbender:
Zuko x my oc
Twilight:
Jacob x my oc
(Course, our version will be alot better than the movies).
If any of these interests you, message me!
End note part 2:
Congratulations! You've made it to the end. Still interested? You've got the password. Message me and let's get started 😁.
submitted by Sharinganprincess91 to roleplaying [link] [comments]
Facts about me:
- I have been roleplaying since 2012. Yes, I got experience under my belt, and yes, my ideas usually have really long reads, but don't let that scare you off! After the starter is off, I may lower myself down to a decent paragraph or two, sometimes three! It all depends on what I've got to work with.
- My timezone is EST. I'm awake from 9am - 2am and I'm usually free unless I'm busy doing house chores, out of the house, asleep, or playing video games on my switch. I'm usually become REALLY active at or around 8pm.
1: if you don't like 50/50 mixture of sex scenes and story, don't bother hopping into my inbox. I'm fine with sex scenes, but when it's constantly back to back, the roleplay itself gets boring.
2: Be literate. No one liners. I like to write..it's annoying when I send a 2-3 paragraph response and I get 3 lines...just...no. I am not accepting people who are just starting out! If you aren't experienced in writing or roleplaying, kindly stay out of my inbox.
3: Be okay with playing canon characters. I'm mainly doing fandom roleplays right now and it's going to be Canon x my oc. No, I'm not doing double ups. Do not even ask, because the answer will be no every time. I do not give a shit if you think that makes me 'lazy' or 'selfish', if you've got a problem, you can simply ignore or block me. Commenting on my post to bitch and whine about me not doubling up will only result in me blocking you. The ONLY time I'll double up, and if I'm confident enough, I'll only do female characters. I suck at males. Got a problem? Not my issue. Block and move on.
4: Roleplay in third person. I can't and won't adapt to first. Don't even bring up the idea of you playing first person and me playing third. Believe it or not, I've been asked this twice and that is just a hell no for me. The only time I do first, is when I'm writing into my book.
5: if you don't know how to share ideas, then don't bother messaging me. I'm tired of carrying the story when the other person doesn't help. If you've got ideas, then PLEASE speak up! Your opinion on the roleplay matters too! I'm an easy going person, and easy to get along with (dispite my rules).
6: DO NOT control my character. I control what she says, does, hears, sees, ect. I don't control yours, so don't control mine. HOWEVER, if it's highly necessary and needed, then run it by me first and ask me. Just leave me some wiggle room so I can make a decent response. Failure to comply by this rule, results in immediate drop of the rp.
End Note:
Yes, I've updated my rules just a tad. I do not care if it makes me sound mean or rude, because I'm neither of these things. I'm just tired of putting these rules down for a specific reason and they go ignored because I can tell when someone hasn't read them, and lied about it. I'm just trying to get my point across and roleplay. I'm a very easy going person who loves to make friends on the side (which I've somewhat given up on making friends...only a selective few have actually gained my friendship).
Do not hop into my inbox with a simple 'hey' 'hi' 'sup', etc and for God's sake, don't message me with a 'rp?'and proceed me to flash me with your talliwhacker. I promise you, you'll get your feelings hurt and I'll be here laughing at ya 😂. Nobody wants a peen on their screen. Do not send me an image of your one eyed noodle. Thank you. The password is pineapple.
Fandoms & Pairings
Deadpool (Wade x my oc)
The Adam's family
Pokemon ((MAYBE. Don't be nasty about it either!))
Bridgerton (or something like it. Can be Oc x Oc)
Disney Decedent's (or anything Disney) (oc x oc)
Orange is the new black (this can be oc x oc).
Criminal Minds (REALLY wanna do)
Marvel:
Loki x my oc
Spiderman (Tom Holland) x my oc
Dog The Bounty Hunter (REALLY wanna do):
Dog Chapman x my oc
The walking dead (REALLY wanna do!!):
Daryl X my oc
Batman x my oc
Lucifer (Netflix show series) x my oc (really wanna do)
The Originals: Klaus x my oc (PLEASE !! I REALLY wanna do this one!)
American Horror Story: Tate x my oc (REALLY wanna do)
Dragon Ball Z - Super (vegeta x my oc) (really wanna do)
Naruto: Minato x my oc
Harry Potter (thanks to the wonderful world of rp, the characters will be 18 or older. For me, I'd like it if it was Draco x my oc. REALLY wanna do)
Game Of Thrones (I'm still very early in the show, but I think we could think of something!)
Once Upon A Time:
killian x my oc, REALLY wanna do 🥺.
Avatar the last Airbender:
Zuko x my oc
Twilight:
Jacob x my oc
(Course, our version will be alot better than the movies).
If any of these interests you, message me!
End note part 2:
Congratulations! You've made it to the end. Still interested? You've got the password. Message me and let's get started 😁.
2023.06.03 02:23 Swirlsntwirls Help? Uber won’t let me drive and I’ve been driving for them for a year
 | submitted by Swirlsntwirls to UberEATS [link] [comments] |
2023.06.03 02:22 RandyOri Please help! What is causing this issue?
Quick backstory… I’ve been having issues with games exiting fullscreen for a few weeks now. But recently now my screen constantly flickers… I am unsure as to what may be the cause of it. Does anyone what is the cause and or fix. I replaced my display port cable already, so I’m assuming it’s either the GPU, or anything else in my PC. I built my PC about 3-4 years ago.
submitted by RandyOri to PcBuild [link] [comments]
2023.06.03 02:22 TheKraytDragon Dark Cloud Fandub with complete voice cast
Hello fellow Dark Cloud fans! I have been working on this fandub of the first Dark Cloud game for years and it’s finally done. I have over 100 voice actors involved.
This miniseries will have 16 episodes that are about 30-40 minutes long. It’s edited to feel like a TV show. Some gameplay is included and putting back together villages in georama mode is as well.
For the music, I tried to keep it from sounding repetitive so I edited out a lot of music and replaced it with tracks in an effort to keep it fresh. For example, the music that plays when you are indoors does not play every time Toan goes indoors. I used music from Dark Cloud 2 for a lot of it since it has the same feel.
This is an incredibly niche project and I don’t anticipate it getting very many views, but I would love if just 100 people found enjoyment in watching this series! If you love the story of the first game, I’m sure you will appreciate this.
So I am sharing it on here so it can hopefully get some exposure. My plan is to release one episode a month right now. I hope you enjoy!
https://youtu.be/Ia11ltkJF_w
submitted by TheKraytDragon to DarkCloud [link] [comments]
This miniseries will have 16 episodes that are about 30-40 minutes long. It’s edited to feel like a TV show. Some gameplay is included and putting back together villages in georama mode is as well.
For the music, I tried to keep it from sounding repetitive so I edited out a lot of music and replaced it with tracks in an effort to keep it fresh. For example, the music that plays when you are indoors does not play every time Toan goes indoors. I used music from Dark Cloud 2 for a lot of it since it has the same feel.
This is an incredibly niche project and I don’t anticipate it getting very many views, but I would love if just 100 people found enjoyment in watching this series! If you love the story of the first game, I’m sure you will appreciate this.
So I am sharing it on here so it can hopefully get some exposure. My plan is to release one episode a month right now. I hope you enjoy!
https://youtu.be/Ia11ltkJF_w
2023.06.03 02:19 ArcaneBat Psilocybin Trip Report (after one year)
Hey everyone,
I wanted to share my first psilocybin trip I had in August 2022, in case it helps anyone who were in similar situation as mine. I haven't had any more trips since then, and the last experience I had with psilocybin really made me much calmer and grounded. I am looking to take it again sometime this summer. I personally feel it's best to thread psychedelic world carefully, after due diligence.
--- Background ---
I am 26 years old male, who had a terrible anxiety since early childhood. Since my early 20s, I really was intrigued by psychedelics including LSD and Psilocybin, after I discovered its non-addictive nature, and its potential benefits on mental well-being. However, I had no reliable and legal way, so I decided to postpone. I steered clear of every other drugs, excluding occasional alcohol and caffeine.
Last year, my anxiety was really making me crippled. It was not super intense, but was constant throughout my entire day almost everyday. I was searching for any long-term solutions, that didn't involve pharma medications. During last summer, I realized that I got a chance to source Psilocybin through magic truffles in Netherlands.
-- Pre-trip preparation --
Starting from a month before the trip, I looked up on the internet about the potential pros and cons of consuming psilocybin, finding every podcasts on this substance and even read some books about the study in Johns Hopkins. After careful consideration, I decided to consume psilocybin, and ask a sober friend to accompany me as a trip sitter for physical safety.
--Trip Day--
On the day of my trip (pun intended), I went to Netherlands with said friend and purchased 10g of magic truffles, and consumed around 8g on an empty stomach. I ate some potato chips to cover the unpleasant aftertaste, and drank some water.
45 minutes after consumption, I started to notice slight changes in my visual senses, and started seeing vibrations on the grass and repeated patterns of branches on trees. Soon after, my friend suggested me to take a walk, which I complied.
Then, these visual changes continued for another 90 minutes or so. During this time, the visual distortions kept getting stronger, seeing patterns in almost every object. Whenever I looked at the ground, I felt as if I was looking at it with magnifying glasses. I also felt as if I was looking at the world through a 4k television screen.
At around 2 hours mark, I started to lose my perception of time. Initially, I felt the time was passing extremely slow and extremely fast at the same time. Then after some time passed, I realized that I really lost the track of time, and the concept of time seemed illusionary to me (including the concept of past, present and future).
At 3-5 hour mark after consumption, I really wanted to find some answers to why I am constantly crippled by anxiety. However, I was unable to focus on any thought. All the thoughts in my head simply appeared and disappeared within seconds. Therefore, I understood it's futile to try to find any answers to my questions. Then, I wanted to talk to my friend, but it was impossible to talk, because I forgot what I was trying to convey to him after 3 seconds. I was hyper aware during this time, noticing every single details in everyday mundane objects, which frankly overwhelmed me.
Soon after, my friend dropped me at my house, and parted ways. I decided to take a shower while I was still tripping. It was probably not a smart idea, as it was very overwhelming to feel every droplets of water on my skin. It was really hard to stop showering. Somehow, I managed to finish showering, and lied on my bed. At this point, I started to regain my sense of time and soberness.
--Post-Trip Integration--
There are the realizations I had after I reflected on what I experienced during my trip.
1) My thoughts are not who I am. They simply appear and disappear every moments. Thoughts are supposed to help and guide me. But, I am not my thoughts.
2) Human brain takes a lot of shortcuts in its normal/sober state. In some extent, sober brain hallucinates to fill any gaps in our everyday perceptions. A trivial example would be an optical illusion, but our brains take so many shortcuts most people cannot fathom.
3) I clinged to an idea of me. It probably resonates with a lot of people. Almost all people feel they have to become a certain character to fit in a society, family: lawyer, carpenter, student, father, mother etc. The bottom line is that most of us have an idea of who we are, or who we should become. I realized that these are just roles we play, not who we are on a fundamental level, a pure consciousness.
4) Most of us, either consciously or subconsciously, believe that our perception is reality. But, my psychedelic trip helped me feel that my 5 senses (sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste) were simply information or content in my consciousness. What we know as "real world" could be a simulation or a dream. I already knew these in an intellectual level, but this time I know it on an experiential level.
--Effects on my psyche--
On the upside, It reduced my anxiety significantly, and made me more grounded. I feel it's now much easier to express myself clearly on a social setting or during arguments/confrontations.
However, I feel it decreased my emotional reactions to everything, including bad and good events. Now, I tend to remain calm in both good and bad times, making me more stoic, so to speak.
--Conclusion--
I actually wanted to write a psilocybin trip report, just a day or week after my trip. But, I decided to postpone writing to allow more integration into my psyche. Overall, it was a meaningful experience to me, and it reduced my constant anxiety drastically.
However, I feel I have to go deeper into psychedelic world to really change my life to what I would love to have. Perhaps one or two high doses (hopefully under professional or Buddhist/semi-religious setting) would be enough, I think.
If you have read this far, thank you and I hope it helped you to gain some information on psilocybin. If you want to reach out to me, feel free to DM me :D.
submitted by ArcaneBat to Psychonaut [link] [comments]
I wanted to share my first psilocybin trip I had in August 2022, in case it helps anyone who were in similar situation as mine. I haven't had any more trips since then, and the last experience I had with psilocybin really made me much calmer and grounded. I am looking to take it again sometime this summer. I personally feel it's best to thread psychedelic world carefully, after due diligence.
--- Background ---
I am 26 years old male, who had a terrible anxiety since early childhood. Since my early 20s, I really was intrigued by psychedelics including LSD and Psilocybin, after I discovered its non-addictive nature, and its potential benefits on mental well-being. However, I had no reliable and legal way, so I decided to postpone. I steered clear of every other drugs, excluding occasional alcohol and caffeine.
Last year, my anxiety was really making me crippled. It was not super intense, but was constant throughout my entire day almost everyday. I was searching for any long-term solutions, that didn't involve pharma medications. During last summer, I realized that I got a chance to source Psilocybin through magic truffles in Netherlands.
-- Pre-trip preparation --
Starting from a month before the trip, I looked up on the internet about the potential pros and cons of consuming psilocybin, finding every podcasts on this substance and even read some books about the study in Johns Hopkins. After careful consideration, I decided to consume psilocybin, and ask a sober friend to accompany me as a trip sitter for physical safety.
--Trip Day--
On the day of my trip (pun intended), I went to Netherlands with said friend and purchased 10g of magic truffles, and consumed around 8g on an empty stomach. I ate some potato chips to cover the unpleasant aftertaste, and drank some water.
45 minutes after consumption, I started to notice slight changes in my visual senses, and started seeing vibrations on the grass and repeated patterns of branches on trees. Soon after, my friend suggested me to take a walk, which I complied.
Then, these visual changes continued for another 90 minutes or so. During this time, the visual distortions kept getting stronger, seeing patterns in almost every object. Whenever I looked at the ground, I felt as if I was looking at it with magnifying glasses. I also felt as if I was looking at the world through a 4k television screen.
At around 2 hours mark, I started to lose my perception of time. Initially, I felt the time was passing extremely slow and extremely fast at the same time. Then after some time passed, I realized that I really lost the track of time, and the concept of time seemed illusionary to me (including the concept of past, present and future).
At 3-5 hour mark after consumption, I really wanted to find some answers to why I am constantly crippled by anxiety. However, I was unable to focus on any thought. All the thoughts in my head simply appeared and disappeared within seconds. Therefore, I understood it's futile to try to find any answers to my questions. Then, I wanted to talk to my friend, but it was impossible to talk, because I forgot what I was trying to convey to him after 3 seconds. I was hyper aware during this time, noticing every single details in everyday mundane objects, which frankly overwhelmed me.
Soon after, my friend dropped me at my house, and parted ways. I decided to take a shower while I was still tripping. It was probably not a smart idea, as it was very overwhelming to feel every droplets of water on my skin. It was really hard to stop showering. Somehow, I managed to finish showering, and lied on my bed. At this point, I started to regain my sense of time and soberness.
--Post-Trip Integration--
There are the realizations I had after I reflected on what I experienced during my trip.
1) My thoughts are not who I am. They simply appear and disappear every moments. Thoughts are supposed to help and guide me. But, I am not my thoughts.
2) Human brain takes a lot of shortcuts in its normal/sober state. In some extent, sober brain hallucinates to fill any gaps in our everyday perceptions. A trivial example would be an optical illusion, but our brains take so many shortcuts most people cannot fathom.
3) I clinged to an idea of me. It probably resonates with a lot of people. Almost all people feel they have to become a certain character to fit in a society, family: lawyer, carpenter, student, father, mother etc. The bottom line is that most of us have an idea of who we are, or who we should become. I realized that these are just roles we play, not who we are on a fundamental level, a pure consciousness.
4) Most of us, either consciously or subconsciously, believe that our perception is reality. But, my psychedelic trip helped me feel that my 5 senses (sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste) were simply information or content in my consciousness. What we know as "real world" could be a simulation or a dream. I already knew these in an intellectual level, but this time I know it on an experiential level.
--Effects on my psyche--
On the upside, It reduced my anxiety significantly, and made me more grounded. I feel it's now much easier to express myself clearly on a social setting or during arguments/confrontations.
However, I feel it decreased my emotional reactions to everything, including bad and good events. Now, I tend to remain calm in both good and bad times, making me more stoic, so to speak.
--Conclusion--
I actually wanted to write a psilocybin trip report, just a day or week after my trip. But, I decided to postpone writing to allow more integration into my psyche. Overall, it was a meaningful experience to me, and it reduced my constant anxiety drastically.
However, I feel I have to go deeper into psychedelic world to really change my life to what I would love to have. Perhaps one or two high doses (hopefully under professional or Buddhist/semi-religious setting) would be enough, I think.
If you have read this far, thank you and I hope it helped you to gain some information on psilocybin. If you want to reach out to me, feel free to DM me :D.
2023.06.03 02:15 mr_bollocks Long term effects of watching lots of tv (4+ hours) for certain events (e.g. flights)
My wife and I have a 3 year old toddler girl. We try to restrict screen time (tv or phone) to 1 hour a day, and a little more on the weekends. However on occasion, we will give our daughter more screen time if there is special reason. For example, we just went on a 10 hour flight and she used the Ipad for 4 hours. Another example would be a dinner party where she is the only toddler in the group so we give her the phone for 3 hours.
I am looking for information if there are long term effects for toddlers periodically binge watching for many hours. I think that as long as it is once in a while then it is ok while my wife wants our daughter to go on screen detox for days to compensate for the binge watch. Anybody have any information or relatable experiences?
submitted by mr_bollocks to Parenting [link] [comments]
I am looking for information if there are long term effects for toddlers periodically binge watching for many hours. I think that as long as it is once in a while then it is ok while my wife wants our daughter to go on screen detox for days to compensate for the binge watch. Anybody have any information or relatable experiences?
2023.06.03 02:13 Akuzos How I would see perfect vita (or next ps handheld)
Since no one asked I want to discuss perfect vita or next sony console design since it bothers me sometime I wanted to share my thoughts somewhere. I was always fan of the vita looks, but they are some things that in my opinion would make perfect vita, or maybe something like the next handheld from sony. First of all, I much more like looks of the fat model overall, but slim did actually really great job in some ways, so I will start with combining the two. Firstly, I would just make a better fat model, that would just have some choices brought from slim. For example, micro usb (or usb-c) rather than proprietary cable, as much as it doesnt bother me, i think usb-c would make everything much better, even things like data transfer. Also the top, rounded side of vita with volume and power buttons from slim looks imo much better than fat models flat top, i also like the little led that tells you status instead of ps button glowing in front of you while you play. I actually would not touch anything from the fat front because in my opinion it looks hella better than the slim models more rounded plastic-ish style, I especially hate the speakers and rounded start and select, it just looks bad, i would still keep the round ps button, but did start and select as a rounded rectangles (something like 3000 psp) it would be the most stylish look for the buttons. As of technical things (but thats more of a next console obviously), I would add the l3/r3 and l2/r2 buttons, they are necessary in today standards, and would get rid of a back touch panel, or at least make it smaller, its great addition for sure but it was just too big, you could lie your hands on it without accidentally prompting something in game. Also ui is horrible, its the worst ux decision ever to not let the user use buttons to control the system or games uncharted or monkey ball. If touch is dead on your screen you are basically forced to replace it, since you cant even start the console without touching the screen. What I personally thing would be massive improvement is just making ui like in the ps4/switch cause its really good layout (i would prefer ps3/psp thing but it will most likely never return). And the last thing I forgot is to get rid of the front camera, as much as the back camera is really cool (like psp camera, photos from ps vita have this retro vibe and i really like how they look) front camera was useless and just took some place so why to bother? What do you thing about it? How would you see another ps handheld or ideal vita?
submitted by Akuzos to vita [link] [comments]
2023.06.03 02:12 Omansurver The second part of the fourth section of a certain super well-made-like-oh-my-god-this-is-so-good literary piece of media that was inspired by a animated piece of media, or the second part of the fourth chapter.
So yeah, second part. I forgot to say the page count last time of this chapter last time, so I'll say it now. Chapter four is about fifty pages long, so it fits the bill when it comes to these things. Not much else to say, so enjoy.
* * *
Jacob pondered.
On what exactly? Oh fine, I’ll tell you.
Jacob had just received what was, hopefully, a relatively unfiltered version of the recent events and situation on the planet. After about an hour of explanation, A had finished on the arrival of the disassembly drones, and the subsequent widespread assault on the worker drones. When Jacob had asked for the specific story of A’s squad, A had skirted around it, only lightly touching upon the subject. It was slightly suspicious, but Jacob didn’t plan on doing anything about it.
However, if it was the truth, it only raised more questions than answers. The fact that a company was willing to exterminate the entirety of what was probably a massive investment was just baffling. Jacob could only come up with two explanations, one of which was rather worrying to think about. The first was that of changing times; perhaps the company was so rich, and technology so advanced, that the worker drones could be replaced with the ease of buying another shipload of tissues. If you threw away an entire box of tissues, it would be annoying to say the least, but it wouldn’t cost a lot to just get another one.
But, it just didn’t make sense to Jacob that that would be the case. The United States military in the time of Jacob had heaps, thousands of missiles, and could afford to replace them as they were used. But if they all disappeared at once? It would take lots of time, money, and effort to replace each and every single last one of the lost payloads, and not to mention the logistical nightmare it would be.
So, that led Jacob to his other solution, one that insinuated a scenario far more confusing and sinister. If the company decided to just annihilate every worker drone, which is a very radical and illogical decision by a galaxy-spanning megacorporation, then it would line up with certain other decisions made by other people in the past.
During the Second World War, the U.S. government was fearful of a potential Japanese invasion. They believed that, if they did land boots on American soil, that the Japanese-Americans would rise up, taking the side of the invaders. And so, Roosevelt made the Executive Order 9066, ordering over one hundred and twenty thousand Japanese-Americans to be interned in concentration camps, where they would remain until near the end of the war.
This was an apt example for how even the most level-headed of individuals could make bad decisions under the influence of fear. If Jacob assumed that the same was true for this day and age, then perhaps the administration at the company had sent machines to kill the entire worker drone populace due some or maybe even all of them being much more dangerous than what was being let on. It was a bit far-fetched, but was the one of the only viable solutions at the moment, aside from his theory that nothing was real and they were all figments of the imagination of a being so complex they were nothing but fiction to it, but the chances of that were little to none.
Right?
Jacob’s pondering was interrupted by someone waving their hand in front of his face.
“Ugh, hello?” A snapped his fingers twice. “You there?”
Jacob blinked, refocusing on his present company. “Uh yeah, just processing.”
A scoffed. “Processing what? I thought humans were superior or something?”
Jacob smacked A’s hand out of his face. “Me too.”
A raised an LED eyebrow.
“Doesn’t matter.” Jacob waved hand in a dismissive way. “What now?”
“I dunno. That's all I had.” A shrugged.
“Nothing else you’re hiding?” Jacob questioned.
“No. There isn’t.” A glared at Jacob. “Now drop it.”
Jacob held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, jeez man, calm down. I just don’t wanna be bored for however long I’m stuck here.”
“Yeah well, that's not really my problem.” A stated.
Jacob didn’t reply, only sighing, before standing and getting up out of his seat.
A startled. “Wait, where are you going?”
“Out.” Jacob simply replied.
“Why?” A inquired.
Jacob shrugged. “Bored.”
A got to his feet as well. “Fine then. I guess I’m going as well.”
“You’re coming with?” Jacob asked incredulously.
“Yeah. I can’t have you running off and getting yourself killed.” A reasoned.
“They kept saying that too.” Jacob grumbled.
“Who said that?” A tilted his head.
“K and X.” Jacob answered. “Also, why don’t y’all have normal names? Why just letters?”
“I dunno.” A non-committedly replied.
“Huh.” Jacob took that as a cue to leave, turning to the ladder.
A followed closely behind, waiting until Jacob had gone through the small exit to ascend himself.
Jacob didn’t bother to use the ladder on the way down, buckling his knees and dropping the last few feet, hearing the snow crunch beneath him. He had been prepared to absorb the impact, but it seemed like whatever advanced mechanics his suit possessed had done the job all by itself, which was pretty nice. He made a mental note to test out the capabilities later on, just to get a general sense of the limits and what would be a danger to him.
Jacob heard a similar crunching noise behind him, causing him to look backwards, seeing A just awkwardly standing there.
“Just gonna follow me? Really?” Jacob was slightly annoyed.
“Yeah. I’ve gotta keep you safe until someone else takes you off my hands, or else I’ll-” A cut himself off.
Jacob took note of that, inferring what he might have been about to say. It only served to confirm his notion that he was sort of a VIP on the planet. He was to be protected at all costs, which was pretty nice for Jacob.
“So, you gonna do anything?” A asked.
* * *
The sound of snow crunching filled the empty room as the pair walked into it.
“Can we go back already?” X complained.
“No, and be quiet.” K scolded him. “It’s too echoey in this room, it’s annoying.”
X scoffed. “Pff, it’s fine. Nobody’s around for miles, we’re all good. Now when can we go back?”
K rolled her eyes. “We can go back when we find something, You heard what he said.”
“What who said?” X inquired.
“You idiot, our squad leader!? Our boss that we’ve spent who knows how long with!?” K cried out.
“Calm down, just messing around.” X leaned against the wall.
“Whatever, you know what A said. We can’t come back until we’ve found water.” K reminded X.
“Why do we even need it? I’m sure he’ll be fine.” X waved off the issue.
“He’ll die.” K deadpanned.
“He can walk it off.” X waved off the issue again.
“I don’t care, just get off the wall, we’ve gotta search every building.” K gestured for X to follow.
“How can we even find anything in here? Everywhere else we’ve checked has been empty.” X took his place next to K.
“You never know, now get to it.” K kicked over a rock, exposing a small marble.
X trotted over to a dented metal counter on one side of the room, peering underneath it.
“Nothing here, this is useless.” X whined.
“Shut up.” K called out.
X surprisingly obliged, kneeling down and searching the small cabinets that were connected to the counter. After finding nothing but a small skeleton huddled inside one of them, X sighed heavily, before making his way over to a large metal box. It might’ve been taller than him if it wasn’t tipped over on its side, with an assortment of power cords snaking out from an outlet on the back of it. Seeing a small handle on the front, X tugged on it, the slight rust giving way to superior strength.
However, X’s eyes went wide with shock, which changed to glee.
“Hey, look what I’ve found!” X called out to K.
K’s head whipped up, staring at the prize that X was brandishing. “You found- what is that?”
If the two had any idea what warm food was, they would’ve recognized the lumpy frozen good that X had in his hands as a perfectly preserved rotisserie chicken. If they had any sort of reheating device, and if they had proper taste buds, they might have been able to enjoy the sweet experience of a Thanksgiving dinner. However, they were ignorant robots who were about as smart as a middle schooler, so the only reaction that they, or at least one of them had, was confusion.
“I dunno, but it says chicken on the side!” X proudly exclaimed.
“What’s chicken?” K questioned.
“I’m . . . not sure . . . but I’m pretty sure it's food.” X’s LED eyebrows furrowed in thought.
“How do you know that?” K asked.
“Uh, I don't?” X seemed more confused than ecstatic now.
K shook her head. “Did you find anything useful?”
“Well I found this clear thing, but it only says something called ‘Dasani’ on the side.” X held up a clear plastic bottle, putting his finger in quotation marks when he said it.
“Give me that!” K dashed across the room, snatching the item out of X’s hands.
“Wha- hey!” X tried to grab at it, but K held it out of his reach.
“Back up!” K swatted X in the face, inciting a squawk of surprise.
“I found it first, give it back!” X shot back, tackling K, causing the bottle to roll across the ground.
The two began slugging at each other, scrabbling across the ground for dominance over a goddamn bottle, like a gang of the aforementioned middle schoolers. Nearly crushing the contested item multiple times, the two spent a good thirty seconds duking it out. And after K finally managed to curl into a ball around the bottle, X tried to no avail to recapture his former possession.
“You motherfu-” X was cut off by a noise from the door that led deeper into the building
The two highly professional disassembly drones shot to their feet, their gazes snapping to the origin of the sound. Standing there was a figure, about the same height as K and X, with familiar black plating and armor, kneeling down to grab a small blue marble that was on the floor. It appears as though the idiot had been trying to be sneaky to avoid capturing the attention of the killer robots, which clearly didn’t go as planned.
“Uh, hi.” The drone said after a moment of silence.
Even more silence.
The military drone took that as a cue to scoop up the marble, before dashing out of the room.
K and X instantly took chase, with K pocketing the small bottle for later. The military drone wasn’t quite fast, but it did make use of its head start well. The unnamed drone disappeared behind the corner, with the pair of disassembly drones right on his heels. However, when K turned around the edge, a bullet tore through the air, finding its home in her head. Completely unprepared, she fell to the ground.
X, contrary to what some might do, didn’t stop to assist her, instead just simply vaulting over her body, speeding onward. He was rapidly closing the distance between him and the military drone, when his prey suddenly whipped around with a pistol in its hand. X, unlike his comrade, was prepared for this inevitability, turning to the side and out of the path of the trio of bullets as they flew by him. X followed up on this by diving down onto the hapless drone, trying to skewer it on gleaming metal claws.
The drone didn’t have a chance to fight, but unknown to X, he did have time to press the small panic button on its jawline, or where the jawline would be if it was a human. If anyone on this planet was familiar with standard police or even military practice, they would recognize the small button as the useful yet annoying panic button.
For a bit of context, the panic button is usually represented as a small and easy-to-access device that, when activated, sends out an emergency distress signal that would notify the proper authorities of the panic button’s location and a dire situation. The panic button is common in the military, police personnel, elderly homes, schools, corporate buildings, apartment buildings, and basically everywhere else that isn’t a ghetto.
The drone, however, proved to be much smarter than his predecessors, much to the dismay of X. It dove to the side, dropping down and through a weakened rusty grate. As X’s claws scraped against the wall, the fleeing drone tossed a metal panel that was blocking the way out to his side, before dashing through the door. X jumped down to the lower floor, before continuing his chase.
A flurry of bullets ripped towards him, but X brought his arm up, letting his forearm absorb the projectiles that hit, and most missed. The drone ran down a comically long flight of stairs, taking three steps at a time. The stairs continued downward, eventually opening up to a basement with a gaping hole in the wall, which led straight into darkness. The drone nearly fell into the hole from the momentum of jumping down the stairs. But, it just managed to skid to a stop at the edge.
X landed at the foot of the stairs, crouching to absorb the impact. X’s gaze focused on the drone that was pointing the pistol at X, sights drawing a solid bead on his head. However, when it pulled the trigger, it was only met with a slight clicking sound. The drone gaze jerked down to the pistol, then straight back up to X, who was now diving towards it, claws outstretched.
The drone jumped backwards, losing his balance. Its foot slipped off the edge, and while the sudden space between it and X saved its life for the time being, it did have to contend with gravity, which was now pulling on the drone by a considerable amount.
X watched as the drone tumbled down the pit, hitting the sides. However, the sides of the pit were both sloped and slick with a thin sheet of ice, causing the drone to slide down to the bottom. The drone slammed against a large rusty metal pipe, which was a solid indicator of the pit’s identity as a sewer.
The drone scrambled to its feet, caving the skull in of a skeleton that appeared to have been a former inspector when one took into account the corpse’s clipboard and tattered clothes. X slammed down onto the large pipe, causing it to resonate like a gong. The drone snatched up a small length of rusty metal rebar that had impaled itself on the ground, the edge of the steel surprisingly sharp. The drone adopted a fighting stance, pointing the business end towards X.
The robotic predator didn’t care, however, just simply stabbing his prey with his own pointy stick, the sharp end of his nanite acid tail. The sharp tool stuck itself in the drone’s shoulder, causing it to drop the bar and curse. X took the opportunity to grip the drone by the head, while digging the claws of his other hand in its chest. X then looked into the opaque black visor of the military drone, before pulling in two opposite directions.
The effects were made known quickly, with the head of the military drone migrating away from its home connected to the body. Oil splashed down onto X, who took the opportunity to feed. X dropped the head, letting it hit the ground with a clang, dropping the body as well.
X stood over the fallen corpse, claws gleaming with oil. K landed next to him, retracting her wings.
“So you got it?” K asked.
“No I didn’t, he got away. This body right here is just a random pigeon, and you’re just hallucinating.” X replied sarcastically. “Also, how the hell did you get here so fast?”
K rolled her eyes. “Oh, be quiet. I’m just making sure, because knowing you, you would probably let him go for the funny.” She ignored his latter question.
“Well now that you mention it . . .” X looked sorrowfully at the body.
K punched him in the arm. “Whatever, we gotta go. I seriously doubt that he was alone-”
She was cut off yet again by a loud crash that originated from the hole up on the wall. The duo whipped around, only to see several guns pointed straight at them.
“Sup.” X nodded at the intruders.
* * *
The sound of conversation could be audibly heard from the lit tent.
The tent had been designated as the de facto headquarters for the former facility personnel, with a smaller offshoot serving as a meeting room for the leadership. The offshoot tent in question was currently being used for its purpose, with an emergency meeting being called. Not because of the discovery of a dead body, but for a different matter entirely.
“Can anyone at least tell me how this happened?” The Lead Engineer leaned on the table.
One of the data officers stepped forward. “We believe that when we were evacuating the facility, an error occurred that declassified the file.” They answered.
“An error did this.” The General wasn’t convinced.
“Well, yes. The computers had been degrading for a while now, and we had noticed that several of our autonomous programs were misbehaving, or just outright not working at all.” The data officer replied.
“And we did nothing about this?” The General glared at the trio of data officers that had joined them.
“We actually were doing all we could, but we didn’t have the materials to make a complete fix.” The Lead Engineer interjected.
“Why didn’t you tell me then!?” The General exclaimed.
“I did. You probably just forgot again.” The Lead Engineer suggested.
“What? I have the best memory here.” The General puffed out his chest proudly.
“Alright then, what were we just talking about?” The Lead Engineer inquired.
The General frowned. “We were talking?”
The Lead Engineer facepalmed. “Goddamn idiot.”
One of the data officers stepped up. “Uh, sir? There is still the matter of the ones who discovered the information.”
“Oh yeah, uh, dump them off the eastern bridge.” The Lead Engineer waved off the issue.
With a simple nod, the data officers left, accompanied by a few guards as well. The Lead Engineer sat back in his chair, before steepling his fingers on the desk. He looked back and forth between the assembled leadership, before the General spoke up.
“So, are we gonna continue or what?” He crossed his arms.
“Yes, sorry.” The Lead Engineer motioned to one of his ministers. “You take the lead, Kane.”
Kane got up, walking to the front of the tent, dragging a projector on a cart with him. When he arrived, he pulled down the white screen, securing the hook on a latch on the bottom. He then adjusted the cart, facing the lens towards the screen. He then attached a laptop to the projector, pressing a few buttons and fiddling with a few switches, cursing once. Finally, the projector flickered to life, shining an image onto the screen.
Kane cleared his throat. “Ahem, so. What you are seeing here is the first page of the document in question. As you can see here, it appears to be warning against a drone viewing whatever the contents of this file is.” Kane flicked to the next slide. “It continues to vehemently express this multiple times, not really differing in its warning at all.”
One of the military ministers, Alicia, raised her hand. “Uh, question?”
Kane paused. “What is it?”
“Its warning against drones? She asked.
“Yes, it is. I’ll explain this later on, so save your questions for the end please.” Kane looked back to the projection, skipping through the slides until he landed on the first one without a warning.
“Ah, here we go. So, as you can see here, this appears to be a logo for JCJenson-'' Kane was interrupted by a faint, “In Spaaaaacee!” from an unknown source. “Uh, anyway, as all of you know, JCJenson was the company that owned this planet, and the one that provided the drones that the government were using in their facility, which was us.” Kane flicked to the next slide.
“Here we can see a title for a project, along with several bits of accompanying information, like locations, associates, page number, references, you get the picture.” Kane then produced a long ruler from what seemed like thin air, before pointing the end at one of the words. “Pay attention to this one here ‘AbsoSolv’ as it’ll come up several times later on.” Going to the next slide, Kane cleared his throat yet again.
“This page is more confusing, as it appears to be mentioning several unit serial numbers that don’t match up with standard format, which are mixed in with several other ones that are in different format, like this one here,” Kane pointed his stick at a random one from the line. “This one says, S-010011X01, which I believe has a main identifying letter instead of a string of numbers based on time of construction.”
“Additionally, while some of these feature the normal serial numbers that worker drones use, they have another identifier after it, separated by a dash.” Kane flipped to the next slide.
“This one is more straightforward, as it appears to be featuring a set of technical designs of a modified worker drone with the serial number and other associated information listed at the top. The notes on the side are observations on the modifications that can be seen in the designs. Some of the original worker drone parts can be seen, but a majority of the inner and outer mass seem to have been altered or replaced with a substance that is described as ‘fleshy’. You can see at the very bottom a signature of an unknown human administrator, and a notice that marks the drone for ‘disassembly’ as an addendum can be seen that marks whatever this is as a failure, and a recommendation to request more data from their source.”
Kane took a breath, before going to the next slide. “This is essentially the same as the last one, and this continues for a few slides. Nothing of note can be found in them, save for a few different serial numbers that were listed in one of the prior slides.”
Kane flicked to the next slide. “This one has two addendums, which I will say in a moment. The image is different as well, with noticeably less random mutations and more of a form taking place. This one was supposedly much more successful than the others, and while it was still marked as a failure, the first addendum said that the team working on the project should strip the data from the drone in as best a condition as they could. The second one simply noted they were naming the specific strain of code they were using to ‘Absolute Solver’. The addendum does not mention any reason or motive behind the name, only noting the fact that their shareholders would be pleased.”
“The next one is the first apparent success in the line of experiments that JCJenson seemed to be doing. A single growth can be seen protruding from the back of the spinal transmitter, and several other growths have sprouted inside. However, it is noted that the drone survived the process, and remained somewhat coherent for a period of time afterwards, which seems to be an outlier when considering the others. There isn’t an addendum on this one, only a request from the team for more extensive data from their source to compare to this experiment.”
“This trend continues for a good while, so I’ll just summarize the important bits for all of you.” Kane stated. “Each version continued to show more and more productive attributes and traits, as is par the standard course. Throughout the notes, requests, and addendums, whoever was typing up the document repeatedly noted some things that I will review later, such as Absolute Solver, the ‘source’, Camp 98.7, Cabin Fever Labs, and disassembly drones.”
Kane flicked to the final slide. “This is the final page, with some items to note. It appears to be a reiteration of the specifics of the agreement between the government and JCJenson, with a few additional key things. It includes the standard formalities and the usual junk that we all know, but something else as well. When mentioning the exchange of data that came from the asset-” Kane paused as the room underwent an uncomfortable shuffle in their seats. “They mention a clear correlation between this project that JCJenson is, or was, working on, and the asset. They also instructed the government contacts that any unauthorized personnel, which included government agents, were now barred from entering Camp 98.7 due to ‘hazardous environmental conditions’ and that this was nonnegotiable.”
Kane turned away from the projector, clasping his hands in front of himself. “And now to explain.”
“From what me and the team I assigned could gather, we deduced the meanings and purposes behind several items that were mentioned in this file. The first and most obvious, the ‘source’ that is mentioned. They are receiving data from this source, which seems to be essential to the development of what they were working on. Based on their words, we figured that the source is likely the asset, and yes, the same asset that we are all familiar with.” Kane paused, seemingly to let his words sink in.
“Continuing on, we began to dissect what Camp 98.7 was. It was very clearly a location of sorts, but where it was and what it was used for was more complicated. While we never arrived at a solid conclusion, we believed that the most likely avenue was that Camp 98.7 might have been an outpost of sorts, perhaps used in conjunction with these Cabin Fever Labs.”
“On the matter of the Cabin Fever Labs, we can clearly assume that research and development of this Absolute Solver was being conducted there, and perhaps Camp 98.7 was a sort of staging ground or other type of location related to the lab. We believe that the location of one or both of these sites are hidden within another file.”
“And perhaps the most intriguing and complex matter of them all, Absolute Solver. We figured that it was likely that this Absolute Solver was instrumental in whatever experiments they were doing, or even being one of the subjects of the experiments themselves. From what we gather, Absolute Solver is something, maybe a piece of alien machinery, some sort of unknown lifeform, an experimental strain of cutting-edge code, one of those things, but whatever it is, it is not something that is ‘normal’. It appears to have a unique effect on those it hosts or comes into contact with, rapidly generating new organic material, with sometimes uncontrolled effects. While the file only shows the experiments that used drones, we don’t know if any humans or other organic lifeforms were included either. Likely not, considering the legality of the situation, but it's open to discussion.”
Kane took a large breath, before continuing.
“And finally, the disassembly drones. They seem simple, but my team believed it to be heavily related to our current situation. They aren’t mentioned very often, but they appear to be a direct result of their experiments or related to one. From what we could gather, they are meant to, well, disassemble. Drones on par with military-grade ones that are capable of a variety of things, like bullet fire, rocket launching, melee combat, flight, digital warfare, and regeneration.” Kane watched as his words dawned upon his audience, expressions filling with shock.
“Yes, those drones. The disassembly drones that we read about are likely some variant of the unknown assailants that attacked the facility, and stole the asset in the process.”
The General sputtered. “B-but that would be a severe political incident! If those drones were under the command of JCJenson, and they stole GOVERNMENT property, then they would be liable for retaliation!”
Kane tried to calm the room. “Now, hold on, I’m not done-”
The Lead Engineer also appeared to be shocked. “Why didn’t you tell me this earlier!?”
“You told me to wait for the meeting!” Kane exclaimed.
The room erupted into disarray.
“We need to mobilize, hunt down those damn traitors!”
“What's their last known location!?”
“Where is the nearest transmitter, send out a request for retaliatory action!”
Suddenly, a drone burst into the room, knocking over the projector cart in the process. Everyone turned to look at him, ceasing the chaos for a moment.
“Er, uh, sirs?” The drone asked.
“Yes?” The General and the Lead Engineer stood up at the same time.
“I, uh,” The drone looked back and forth between the two administrators. “Well, we received a panic signal from one of our scouts.”
The General scoffed. “Why would that be enough to warrant our intervention? He probably just tripped on a conveniently placed banana peel.”
The messenger fidgeted nervously. “Well, his partner reported moments before the signal came in that he heard gunshots.”
The administrative drones shared a collective uneasy look.
“What did you do?” The General asked slowly.
“The officers who received the signal first sent in two of the patrol squads that were nearby at the time.” The messenger answered.
The drones in assembly all either looked down in disappointment or facepalmed.
The General spoke up after a moment. “Send in a squad as fast as you can to their last known location. Only veterans, and outfit them with heavy weaponry and explosive ordnance.” The General paused, before adding an afterthought. “And give them some cutting equipment too.”
The messenger blinked in surprise. “Wait, sir, are you sure-”
“Just tell the officers already!” The General slammed his fist down onto the cheap plastic table, which formed a crack.
The messenger saluted quickly, before dashing out of the room.
The Lead Engineer took a cursory look at the assembled drones, before he sighed.
“We’re screwed.”
* * *
“Are you going back anytime soon?”
Jacob looked back at his unwanted companion.
“No.” He answered simply, before resuming his casual trot.
“We’re getting too far away from the spire, and the sun is coming up in an hour or two. I for one don’t want to get caught out.” A insisted.
“Well I don’t die from a bit of sunlight, so too bad.” Jacob stepped over a tire rim.
“I’m not sure that’s your choice.” A stated.
Jacob paused and looked backward. “Oh, so you’re bossing me around now?”
“Maybe, if you keep on making dumb decisions like this.” A stopped as well.
“Pff, I’ll be fine.” Jacob waved his hand in the air to emphasize his point.
“You won’t last ten minutes.” A dead-panned.
“Nah, I’ll speedrun this stuff, I’ll be off-planet in an hour.” Jacob proudly said.
A shook his head and sighed. “Whatever you say.”
Jacob didn’t answer.
Jacob then looked around. “Wait, where are we? I wasn’t keeping track.”
“And you said that you would- whatever, we’re like, three miles away from the base.” A replied.
“Huh, went that far?” Jacob asked.
A frowned. “Three miles isn’t that far-”
A was interrupted by a rather loud crack that resonated through the landscape.
Jacob blinked. “Uh, ok then-”
Jacob was also interrupted by a trio of cracks and bangs, sounding slightly familiar.
“Are those-” Jacob was, yet again, interrupted by even more bangs.
“-gunshots?” He finished.
“I wouldn’t worry, those idiots are probably either messing around, or they found a worker drone to kill.” A nonchalantly answered.
“Shouldn’t we go check it out though?” Jacob inquired.
“It isn’t a problem.” A said, annoyed.
“Well it would give me something to do.” Jacob insisted.
A checked the time, before looking at the horizon for signs of sunlight.
“Eh, fine. Wouldn’t hurt, I guess.” A shrugged.
“Nice.” Jacob grinned underneath his ballistic visor.
* * *
K sliced through the head of the last desperate drone, before spitting out a bullet.
“You done?” K called out to X.
“Yeah, I guess. By the way, do you still have my Dasani thing?” X looked at K hopefully.
“Yes, I do. And besides, it isn’t yours, it's for Jacob.” K answered.
“What? Why is he getting it? Why not me?” X exclaimed.
“Because it's water, idiot. An uncontaminated source, like A told us, remember?” K glared at X.
“I guess, but that's water?” X asked.
“Yes, it is. It matches the description.” K replied
“Description?” X questioned.
“Yeah, the description. You know what description means, right?” K seemed even more annoyed.
“I know what it means.” X snapped. “But how do you know what water looks like?”
K just shrugged, before turning towards the exit.
“Come on, we gotta get back soon.” She flew upwards, landing on the ledge.
X followed suit, tracing their steps back through the building. X looked back up at the rusty grate that the drone had fallen through, which he now identified as being part of a weirdly placed catwalk. Scanning the environment, X found that the only entrance to the small alcove would be the hole in the catwalk. The basement that the small room was connected to didn’t have an entrance either, only having the gaping hole in the side of the room, which likely wasn't intended. That would mean that a person would have to chop through the sewer wall to get into the basement and adjoining alcove, or jump off the catwalk. Both of those options didn’t make any sort of sense at all. In fact, the catwalk wasn’t even needed, someone could have just removed the entire basement-and-alcove plan entirely, which also removed the necessity for a catwalk. All in all, whoever designed the building was either high off of some crazy drugs, an idiot, or both.
But, none of these thoughts went through X’s head, as he was only thinking about the devastating loss of his cool plastic bottle.
K hefted herself up onto the rusty catwalk, with X following close behind. K went through the doorway, only for a rather eventful event to stop her momentarily.
A rocket screamed through the air, smacking K straight in the chest. The resulting explosion blew X backwards and K apart, with oil splashing onto the ground in the process. With a clatter, X hit the ground, slightly dazed. He looked to his left to see what looked like the arm of K, twitching slightly. X tried to get up, only to fall again, after he put his weight on a hand that wasn’t there.
X, seeing the failure of Operation: GTFU, adjusted his position so that he could get up with his other hand only, which was thankfully still there. Investigating his left arm, he could see that everything down from the elbow had been separated from himself in the blast. He didn’t have time to look for it or go get it, so he simply let the matter go.
Standing up, X stared through the smoke, before diving back down onto the ground when another rocket came streaking past him. It scratched his face, sending small sparks up, before heading down the other hallway. X pointed his own rocket launcher into the fog, before firing off a flurry of shots. He heard explosions, but wasn’t rewarded with screams or grunts of pain. Problematic, to say the least.
X took the opportunity to kick K’s assorted dismembered body parts down into the lower alcove, where she should eventually reassemble herself. She was really taking a beating recently, and she would probably be frustrated about that when X was all done, but that wasn’t his problem-
X nearly met the same fate as K when another rocket flew from the open doorway, the fog starting to clear up. X jumped up and over the RPG, letting it fly into the unexplored depths of the building. He couldn’t do this dance forever, so he made the executive decision to charge into the unknown.
* * *
Anyway, I'll be posting the next part tomorrow, so hang on tight for the singular person that made it to the end. No need to like, this is purely for my own benefit. See ya.
submitted by Omansurver to MurderDrones [link] [comments]
* * *
Jacob pondered.
On what exactly? Oh fine, I’ll tell you.
Jacob had just received what was, hopefully, a relatively unfiltered version of the recent events and situation on the planet. After about an hour of explanation, A had finished on the arrival of the disassembly drones, and the subsequent widespread assault on the worker drones. When Jacob had asked for the specific story of A’s squad, A had skirted around it, only lightly touching upon the subject. It was slightly suspicious, but Jacob didn’t plan on doing anything about it.
However, if it was the truth, it only raised more questions than answers. The fact that a company was willing to exterminate the entirety of what was probably a massive investment was just baffling. Jacob could only come up with two explanations, one of which was rather worrying to think about. The first was that of changing times; perhaps the company was so rich, and technology so advanced, that the worker drones could be replaced with the ease of buying another shipload of tissues. If you threw away an entire box of tissues, it would be annoying to say the least, but it wouldn’t cost a lot to just get another one.
But, it just didn’t make sense to Jacob that that would be the case. The United States military in the time of Jacob had heaps, thousands of missiles, and could afford to replace them as they were used. But if they all disappeared at once? It would take lots of time, money, and effort to replace each and every single last one of the lost payloads, and not to mention the logistical nightmare it would be.
So, that led Jacob to his other solution, one that insinuated a scenario far more confusing and sinister. If the company decided to just annihilate every worker drone, which is a very radical and illogical decision by a galaxy-spanning megacorporation, then it would line up with certain other decisions made by other people in the past.
During the Second World War, the U.S. government was fearful of a potential Japanese invasion. They believed that, if they did land boots on American soil, that the Japanese-Americans would rise up, taking the side of the invaders. And so, Roosevelt made the Executive Order 9066, ordering over one hundred and twenty thousand Japanese-Americans to be interned in concentration camps, where they would remain until near the end of the war.
This was an apt example for how even the most level-headed of individuals could make bad decisions under the influence of fear. If Jacob assumed that the same was true for this day and age, then perhaps the administration at the company had sent machines to kill the entire worker drone populace due some or maybe even all of them being much more dangerous than what was being let on. It was a bit far-fetched, but was the one of the only viable solutions at the moment, aside from his theory that nothing was real and they were all figments of the imagination of a being so complex they were nothing but fiction to it, but the chances of that were little to none.
Right?
Jacob’s pondering was interrupted by someone waving their hand in front of his face.
“Ugh, hello?” A snapped his fingers twice. “You there?”
Jacob blinked, refocusing on his present company. “Uh yeah, just processing.”
A scoffed. “Processing what? I thought humans were superior or something?”
Jacob smacked A’s hand out of his face. “Me too.”
A raised an LED eyebrow.
“Doesn’t matter.” Jacob waved hand in a dismissive way. “What now?”
“I dunno. That's all I had.” A shrugged.
“Nothing else you’re hiding?” Jacob questioned.
“No. There isn’t.” A glared at Jacob. “Now drop it.”
Jacob held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, jeez man, calm down. I just don’t wanna be bored for however long I’m stuck here.”
“Yeah well, that's not really my problem.” A stated.
Jacob didn’t reply, only sighing, before standing and getting up out of his seat.
A startled. “Wait, where are you going?”
“Out.” Jacob simply replied.
“Why?” A inquired.
Jacob shrugged. “Bored.”
A got to his feet as well. “Fine then. I guess I’m going as well.”
“You’re coming with?” Jacob asked incredulously.
“Yeah. I can’t have you running off and getting yourself killed.” A reasoned.
“They kept saying that too.” Jacob grumbled.
“Who said that?” A tilted his head.
“K and X.” Jacob answered. “Also, why don’t y’all have normal names? Why just letters?”
“I dunno.” A non-committedly replied.
“Huh.” Jacob took that as a cue to leave, turning to the ladder.
A followed closely behind, waiting until Jacob had gone through the small exit to ascend himself.
Jacob didn’t bother to use the ladder on the way down, buckling his knees and dropping the last few feet, hearing the snow crunch beneath him. He had been prepared to absorb the impact, but it seemed like whatever advanced mechanics his suit possessed had done the job all by itself, which was pretty nice. He made a mental note to test out the capabilities later on, just to get a general sense of the limits and what would be a danger to him.
Jacob heard a similar crunching noise behind him, causing him to look backwards, seeing A just awkwardly standing there.
“Just gonna follow me? Really?” Jacob was slightly annoyed.
“Yeah. I’ve gotta keep you safe until someone else takes you off my hands, or else I’ll-” A cut himself off.
Jacob took note of that, inferring what he might have been about to say. It only served to confirm his notion that he was sort of a VIP on the planet. He was to be protected at all costs, which was pretty nice for Jacob.
“So, you gonna do anything?” A asked.
* * *
The sound of snow crunching filled the empty room as the pair walked into it.
“Can we go back already?” X complained.
“No, and be quiet.” K scolded him. “It’s too echoey in this room, it’s annoying.”
X scoffed. “Pff, it’s fine. Nobody’s around for miles, we’re all good. Now when can we go back?”
K rolled her eyes. “We can go back when we find something, You heard what he said.”
“What who said?” X inquired.
“You idiot, our squad leader!? Our boss that we’ve spent who knows how long with!?” K cried out.
“Calm down, just messing around.” X leaned against the wall.
“Whatever, you know what A said. We can’t come back until we’ve found water.” K reminded X.
“Why do we even need it? I’m sure he’ll be fine.” X waved off the issue.
“He’ll die.” K deadpanned.
“He can walk it off.” X waved off the issue again.
“I don’t care, just get off the wall, we’ve gotta search every building.” K gestured for X to follow.
“How can we even find anything in here? Everywhere else we’ve checked has been empty.” X took his place next to K.
“You never know, now get to it.” K kicked over a rock, exposing a small marble.
X trotted over to a dented metal counter on one side of the room, peering underneath it.
“Nothing here, this is useless.” X whined.
“Shut up.” K called out.
X surprisingly obliged, kneeling down and searching the small cabinets that were connected to the counter. After finding nothing but a small skeleton huddled inside one of them, X sighed heavily, before making his way over to a large metal box. It might’ve been taller than him if it wasn’t tipped over on its side, with an assortment of power cords snaking out from an outlet on the back of it. Seeing a small handle on the front, X tugged on it, the slight rust giving way to superior strength.
However, X’s eyes went wide with shock, which changed to glee.
“Hey, look what I’ve found!” X called out to K.
K’s head whipped up, staring at the prize that X was brandishing. “You found- what is that?”
If the two had any idea what warm food was, they would’ve recognized the lumpy frozen good that X had in his hands as a perfectly preserved rotisserie chicken. If they had any sort of reheating device, and if they had proper taste buds, they might have been able to enjoy the sweet experience of a Thanksgiving dinner. However, they were ignorant robots who were about as smart as a middle schooler, so the only reaction that they, or at least one of them had, was confusion.
“I dunno, but it says chicken on the side!” X proudly exclaimed.
“What’s chicken?” K questioned.
“I’m . . . not sure . . . but I’m pretty sure it's food.” X’s LED eyebrows furrowed in thought.
“How do you know that?” K asked.
“Uh, I don't?” X seemed more confused than ecstatic now.
K shook her head. “Did you find anything useful?”
“Well I found this clear thing, but it only says something called ‘Dasani’ on the side.” X held up a clear plastic bottle, putting his finger in quotation marks when he said it.
“Give me that!” K dashed across the room, snatching the item out of X’s hands.
“Wha- hey!” X tried to grab at it, but K held it out of his reach.
“Back up!” K swatted X in the face, inciting a squawk of surprise.
“I found it first, give it back!” X shot back, tackling K, causing the bottle to roll across the ground.
The two began slugging at each other, scrabbling across the ground for dominance over a goddamn bottle, like a gang of the aforementioned middle schoolers. Nearly crushing the contested item multiple times, the two spent a good thirty seconds duking it out. And after K finally managed to curl into a ball around the bottle, X tried to no avail to recapture his former possession.
“You motherfu-” X was cut off by a noise from the door that led deeper into the building
The two highly professional disassembly drones shot to their feet, their gazes snapping to the origin of the sound. Standing there was a figure, about the same height as K and X, with familiar black plating and armor, kneeling down to grab a small blue marble that was on the floor. It appears as though the idiot had been trying to be sneaky to avoid capturing the attention of the killer robots, which clearly didn’t go as planned.
“Uh, hi.” The drone said after a moment of silence.
Even more silence.
The military drone took that as a cue to scoop up the marble, before dashing out of the room.
K and X instantly took chase, with K pocketing the small bottle for later. The military drone wasn’t quite fast, but it did make use of its head start well. The unnamed drone disappeared behind the corner, with the pair of disassembly drones right on his heels. However, when K turned around the edge, a bullet tore through the air, finding its home in her head. Completely unprepared, she fell to the ground.
X, contrary to what some might do, didn’t stop to assist her, instead just simply vaulting over her body, speeding onward. He was rapidly closing the distance between him and the military drone, when his prey suddenly whipped around with a pistol in its hand. X, unlike his comrade, was prepared for this inevitability, turning to the side and out of the path of the trio of bullets as they flew by him. X followed up on this by diving down onto the hapless drone, trying to skewer it on gleaming metal claws.
The drone didn’t have a chance to fight, but unknown to X, he did have time to press the small panic button on its jawline, or where the jawline would be if it was a human. If anyone on this planet was familiar with standard police or even military practice, they would recognize the small button as the useful yet annoying panic button.
For a bit of context, the panic button is usually represented as a small and easy-to-access device that, when activated, sends out an emergency distress signal that would notify the proper authorities of the panic button’s location and a dire situation. The panic button is common in the military, police personnel, elderly homes, schools, corporate buildings, apartment buildings, and basically everywhere else that isn’t a ghetto.
The drone, however, proved to be much smarter than his predecessors, much to the dismay of X. It dove to the side, dropping down and through a weakened rusty grate. As X’s claws scraped against the wall, the fleeing drone tossed a metal panel that was blocking the way out to his side, before dashing through the door. X jumped down to the lower floor, before continuing his chase.
A flurry of bullets ripped towards him, but X brought his arm up, letting his forearm absorb the projectiles that hit, and most missed. The drone ran down a comically long flight of stairs, taking three steps at a time. The stairs continued downward, eventually opening up to a basement with a gaping hole in the wall, which led straight into darkness. The drone nearly fell into the hole from the momentum of jumping down the stairs. But, it just managed to skid to a stop at the edge.
X landed at the foot of the stairs, crouching to absorb the impact. X’s gaze focused on the drone that was pointing the pistol at X, sights drawing a solid bead on his head. However, when it pulled the trigger, it was only met with a slight clicking sound. The drone gaze jerked down to the pistol, then straight back up to X, who was now diving towards it, claws outstretched.
The drone jumped backwards, losing his balance. Its foot slipped off the edge, and while the sudden space between it and X saved its life for the time being, it did have to contend with gravity, which was now pulling on the drone by a considerable amount.
X watched as the drone tumbled down the pit, hitting the sides. However, the sides of the pit were both sloped and slick with a thin sheet of ice, causing the drone to slide down to the bottom. The drone slammed against a large rusty metal pipe, which was a solid indicator of the pit’s identity as a sewer.
The drone scrambled to its feet, caving the skull in of a skeleton that appeared to have been a former inspector when one took into account the corpse’s clipboard and tattered clothes. X slammed down onto the large pipe, causing it to resonate like a gong. The drone snatched up a small length of rusty metal rebar that had impaled itself on the ground, the edge of the steel surprisingly sharp. The drone adopted a fighting stance, pointing the business end towards X.
The robotic predator didn’t care, however, just simply stabbing his prey with his own pointy stick, the sharp end of his nanite acid tail. The sharp tool stuck itself in the drone’s shoulder, causing it to drop the bar and curse. X took the opportunity to grip the drone by the head, while digging the claws of his other hand in its chest. X then looked into the opaque black visor of the military drone, before pulling in two opposite directions.
The effects were made known quickly, with the head of the military drone migrating away from its home connected to the body. Oil splashed down onto X, who took the opportunity to feed. X dropped the head, letting it hit the ground with a clang, dropping the body as well.
X stood over the fallen corpse, claws gleaming with oil. K landed next to him, retracting her wings.
“So you got it?” K asked.
“No I didn’t, he got away. This body right here is just a random pigeon, and you’re just hallucinating.” X replied sarcastically. “Also, how the hell did you get here so fast?”
K rolled her eyes. “Oh, be quiet. I’m just making sure, because knowing you, you would probably let him go for the funny.” She ignored his latter question.
“Well now that you mention it . . .” X looked sorrowfully at the body.
K punched him in the arm. “Whatever, we gotta go. I seriously doubt that he was alone-”
She was cut off yet again by a loud crash that originated from the hole up on the wall. The duo whipped around, only to see several guns pointed straight at them.
“Sup.” X nodded at the intruders.
* * *
The sound of conversation could be audibly heard from the lit tent.
The tent had been designated as the de facto headquarters for the former facility personnel, with a smaller offshoot serving as a meeting room for the leadership. The offshoot tent in question was currently being used for its purpose, with an emergency meeting being called. Not because of the discovery of a dead body, but for a different matter entirely.
“Can anyone at least tell me how this happened?” The Lead Engineer leaned on the table.
One of the data officers stepped forward. “We believe that when we were evacuating the facility, an error occurred that declassified the file.” They answered.
“An error did this.” The General wasn’t convinced.
“Well, yes. The computers had been degrading for a while now, and we had noticed that several of our autonomous programs were misbehaving, or just outright not working at all.” The data officer replied.
“And we did nothing about this?” The General glared at the trio of data officers that had joined them.
“We actually were doing all we could, but we didn’t have the materials to make a complete fix.” The Lead Engineer interjected.
“Why didn’t you tell me then!?” The General exclaimed.
“I did. You probably just forgot again.” The Lead Engineer suggested.
“What? I have the best memory here.” The General puffed out his chest proudly.
“Alright then, what were we just talking about?” The Lead Engineer inquired.
The General frowned. “We were talking?”
The Lead Engineer facepalmed. “Goddamn idiot.”
One of the data officers stepped up. “Uh, sir? There is still the matter of the ones who discovered the information.”
“Oh yeah, uh, dump them off the eastern bridge.” The Lead Engineer waved off the issue.
With a simple nod, the data officers left, accompanied by a few guards as well. The Lead Engineer sat back in his chair, before steepling his fingers on the desk. He looked back and forth between the assembled leadership, before the General spoke up.
“So, are we gonna continue or what?” He crossed his arms.
“Yes, sorry.” The Lead Engineer motioned to one of his ministers. “You take the lead, Kane.”
Kane got up, walking to the front of the tent, dragging a projector on a cart with him. When he arrived, he pulled down the white screen, securing the hook on a latch on the bottom. He then adjusted the cart, facing the lens towards the screen. He then attached a laptop to the projector, pressing a few buttons and fiddling with a few switches, cursing once. Finally, the projector flickered to life, shining an image onto the screen.
Kane cleared his throat. “Ahem, so. What you are seeing here is the first page of the document in question. As you can see here, it appears to be warning against a drone viewing whatever the contents of this file is.” Kane flicked to the next slide. “It continues to vehemently express this multiple times, not really differing in its warning at all.”
One of the military ministers, Alicia, raised her hand. “Uh, question?”
Kane paused. “What is it?”
“Its warning against drones? She asked.
“Yes, it is. I’ll explain this later on, so save your questions for the end please.” Kane looked back to the projection, skipping through the slides until he landed on the first one without a warning.
“Ah, here we go. So, as you can see here, this appears to be a logo for JCJenson-'' Kane was interrupted by a faint, “In Spaaaaacee!” from an unknown source. “Uh, anyway, as all of you know, JCJenson was the company that owned this planet, and the one that provided the drones that the government were using in their facility, which was us.” Kane flicked to the next slide.
“Here we can see a title for a project, along with several bits of accompanying information, like locations, associates, page number, references, you get the picture.” Kane then produced a long ruler from what seemed like thin air, before pointing the end at one of the words. “Pay attention to this one here ‘AbsoSolv’ as it’ll come up several times later on.” Going to the next slide, Kane cleared his throat yet again.
“This page is more confusing, as it appears to be mentioning several unit serial numbers that don’t match up with standard format, which are mixed in with several other ones that are in different format, like this one here,” Kane pointed his stick at a random one from the line. “This one says, S-010011X01, which I believe has a main identifying letter instead of a string of numbers based on time of construction.”
“Additionally, while some of these feature the normal serial numbers that worker drones use, they have another identifier after it, separated by a dash.” Kane flipped to the next slide.
“This one is more straightforward, as it appears to be featuring a set of technical designs of a modified worker drone with the serial number and other associated information listed at the top. The notes on the side are observations on the modifications that can be seen in the designs. Some of the original worker drone parts can be seen, but a majority of the inner and outer mass seem to have been altered or replaced with a substance that is described as ‘fleshy’. You can see at the very bottom a signature of an unknown human administrator, and a notice that marks the drone for ‘disassembly’ as an addendum can be seen that marks whatever this is as a failure, and a recommendation to request more data from their source.”
Kane took a breath, before going to the next slide. “This is essentially the same as the last one, and this continues for a few slides. Nothing of note can be found in them, save for a few different serial numbers that were listed in one of the prior slides.”
Kane flicked to the next slide. “This one has two addendums, which I will say in a moment. The image is different as well, with noticeably less random mutations and more of a form taking place. This one was supposedly much more successful than the others, and while it was still marked as a failure, the first addendum said that the team working on the project should strip the data from the drone in as best a condition as they could. The second one simply noted they were naming the specific strain of code they were using to ‘Absolute Solver’. The addendum does not mention any reason or motive behind the name, only noting the fact that their shareholders would be pleased.”
“The next one is the first apparent success in the line of experiments that JCJenson seemed to be doing. A single growth can be seen protruding from the back of the spinal transmitter, and several other growths have sprouted inside. However, it is noted that the drone survived the process, and remained somewhat coherent for a period of time afterwards, which seems to be an outlier when considering the others. There isn’t an addendum on this one, only a request from the team for more extensive data from their source to compare to this experiment.”
“This trend continues for a good while, so I’ll just summarize the important bits for all of you.” Kane stated. “Each version continued to show more and more productive attributes and traits, as is par the standard course. Throughout the notes, requests, and addendums, whoever was typing up the document repeatedly noted some things that I will review later, such as Absolute Solver, the ‘source’, Camp 98.7, Cabin Fever Labs, and disassembly drones.”
Kane flicked to the final slide. “This is the final page, with some items to note. It appears to be a reiteration of the specifics of the agreement between the government and JCJenson, with a few additional key things. It includes the standard formalities and the usual junk that we all know, but something else as well. When mentioning the exchange of data that came from the asset-” Kane paused as the room underwent an uncomfortable shuffle in their seats. “They mention a clear correlation between this project that JCJenson is, or was, working on, and the asset. They also instructed the government contacts that any unauthorized personnel, which included government agents, were now barred from entering Camp 98.7 due to ‘hazardous environmental conditions’ and that this was nonnegotiable.”
Kane turned away from the projector, clasping his hands in front of himself. “And now to explain.”
“From what me and the team I assigned could gather, we deduced the meanings and purposes behind several items that were mentioned in this file. The first and most obvious, the ‘source’ that is mentioned. They are receiving data from this source, which seems to be essential to the development of what they were working on. Based on their words, we figured that the source is likely the asset, and yes, the same asset that we are all familiar with.” Kane paused, seemingly to let his words sink in.
“Continuing on, we began to dissect what Camp 98.7 was. It was very clearly a location of sorts, but where it was and what it was used for was more complicated. While we never arrived at a solid conclusion, we believed that the most likely avenue was that Camp 98.7 might have been an outpost of sorts, perhaps used in conjunction with these Cabin Fever Labs.”
“On the matter of the Cabin Fever Labs, we can clearly assume that research and development of this Absolute Solver was being conducted there, and perhaps Camp 98.7 was a sort of staging ground or other type of location related to the lab. We believe that the location of one or both of these sites are hidden within another file.”
“And perhaps the most intriguing and complex matter of them all, Absolute Solver. We figured that it was likely that this Absolute Solver was instrumental in whatever experiments they were doing, or even being one of the subjects of the experiments themselves. From what we gather, Absolute Solver is something, maybe a piece of alien machinery, some sort of unknown lifeform, an experimental strain of cutting-edge code, one of those things, but whatever it is, it is not something that is ‘normal’. It appears to have a unique effect on those it hosts or comes into contact with, rapidly generating new organic material, with sometimes uncontrolled effects. While the file only shows the experiments that used drones, we don’t know if any humans or other organic lifeforms were included either. Likely not, considering the legality of the situation, but it's open to discussion.”
Kane took a large breath, before continuing.
“And finally, the disassembly drones. They seem simple, but my team believed it to be heavily related to our current situation. They aren’t mentioned very often, but they appear to be a direct result of their experiments or related to one. From what we could gather, they are meant to, well, disassemble. Drones on par with military-grade ones that are capable of a variety of things, like bullet fire, rocket launching, melee combat, flight, digital warfare, and regeneration.” Kane watched as his words dawned upon his audience, expressions filling with shock.
“Yes, those drones. The disassembly drones that we read about are likely some variant of the unknown assailants that attacked the facility, and stole the asset in the process.”
The General sputtered. “B-but that would be a severe political incident! If those drones were under the command of JCJenson, and they stole GOVERNMENT property, then they would be liable for retaliation!”
Kane tried to calm the room. “Now, hold on, I’m not done-”
The Lead Engineer also appeared to be shocked. “Why didn’t you tell me this earlier!?”
“You told me to wait for the meeting!” Kane exclaimed.
The room erupted into disarray.
“We need to mobilize, hunt down those damn traitors!”
“What's their last known location!?”
“Where is the nearest transmitter, send out a request for retaliatory action!”
Suddenly, a drone burst into the room, knocking over the projector cart in the process. Everyone turned to look at him, ceasing the chaos for a moment.
“Er, uh, sirs?” The drone asked.
“Yes?” The General and the Lead Engineer stood up at the same time.
“I, uh,” The drone looked back and forth between the two administrators. “Well, we received a panic signal from one of our scouts.”
The General scoffed. “Why would that be enough to warrant our intervention? He probably just tripped on a conveniently placed banana peel.”
The messenger fidgeted nervously. “Well, his partner reported moments before the signal came in that he heard gunshots.”
The administrative drones shared a collective uneasy look.
“What did you do?” The General asked slowly.
“The officers who received the signal first sent in two of the patrol squads that were nearby at the time.” The messenger answered.
The drones in assembly all either looked down in disappointment or facepalmed.
The General spoke up after a moment. “Send in a squad as fast as you can to their last known location. Only veterans, and outfit them with heavy weaponry and explosive ordnance.” The General paused, before adding an afterthought. “And give them some cutting equipment too.”
The messenger blinked in surprise. “Wait, sir, are you sure-”
“Just tell the officers already!” The General slammed his fist down onto the cheap plastic table, which formed a crack.
The messenger saluted quickly, before dashing out of the room.
The Lead Engineer took a cursory look at the assembled drones, before he sighed.
“We’re screwed.”
* * *
“Are you going back anytime soon?”
Jacob looked back at his unwanted companion.
“No.” He answered simply, before resuming his casual trot.
“We’re getting too far away from the spire, and the sun is coming up in an hour or two. I for one don’t want to get caught out.” A insisted.
“Well I don’t die from a bit of sunlight, so too bad.” Jacob stepped over a tire rim.
“I’m not sure that’s your choice.” A stated.
Jacob paused and looked backward. “Oh, so you’re bossing me around now?”
“Maybe, if you keep on making dumb decisions like this.” A stopped as well.
“Pff, I’ll be fine.” Jacob waved his hand in the air to emphasize his point.
“You won’t last ten minutes.” A dead-panned.
“Nah, I’ll speedrun this stuff, I’ll be off-planet in an hour.” Jacob proudly said.
A shook his head and sighed. “Whatever you say.”
Jacob didn’t answer.
Jacob then looked around. “Wait, where are we? I wasn’t keeping track.”
“And you said that you would- whatever, we’re like, three miles away from the base.” A replied.
“Huh, went that far?” Jacob asked.
A frowned. “Three miles isn’t that far-”
A was interrupted by a rather loud crack that resonated through the landscape.
Jacob blinked. “Uh, ok then-”
Jacob was also interrupted by a trio of cracks and bangs, sounding slightly familiar.
“Are those-” Jacob was, yet again, interrupted by even more bangs.
“-gunshots?” He finished.
“I wouldn’t worry, those idiots are probably either messing around, or they found a worker drone to kill.” A nonchalantly answered.
“Shouldn’t we go check it out though?” Jacob inquired.
“It isn’t a problem.” A said, annoyed.
“Well it would give me something to do.” Jacob insisted.
A checked the time, before looking at the horizon for signs of sunlight.
“Eh, fine. Wouldn’t hurt, I guess.” A shrugged.
“Nice.” Jacob grinned underneath his ballistic visor.
* * *
K sliced through the head of the last desperate drone, before spitting out a bullet.
“You done?” K called out to X.
“Yeah, I guess. By the way, do you still have my Dasani thing?” X looked at K hopefully.
“Yes, I do. And besides, it isn’t yours, it's for Jacob.” K answered.
“What? Why is he getting it? Why not me?” X exclaimed.
“Because it's water, idiot. An uncontaminated source, like A told us, remember?” K glared at X.
“I guess, but that's water?” X asked.
“Yes, it is. It matches the description.” K replied
“Description?” X questioned.
“Yeah, the description. You know what description means, right?” K seemed even more annoyed.
“I know what it means.” X snapped. “But how do you know what water looks like?”
K just shrugged, before turning towards the exit.
“Come on, we gotta get back soon.” She flew upwards, landing on the ledge.
X followed suit, tracing their steps back through the building. X looked back up at the rusty grate that the drone had fallen through, which he now identified as being part of a weirdly placed catwalk. Scanning the environment, X found that the only entrance to the small alcove would be the hole in the catwalk. The basement that the small room was connected to didn’t have an entrance either, only having the gaping hole in the side of the room, which likely wasn't intended. That would mean that a person would have to chop through the sewer wall to get into the basement and adjoining alcove, or jump off the catwalk. Both of those options didn’t make any sort of sense at all. In fact, the catwalk wasn’t even needed, someone could have just removed the entire basement-and-alcove plan entirely, which also removed the necessity for a catwalk. All in all, whoever designed the building was either high off of some crazy drugs, an idiot, or both.
But, none of these thoughts went through X’s head, as he was only thinking about the devastating loss of his cool plastic bottle.
K hefted herself up onto the rusty catwalk, with X following close behind. K went through the doorway, only for a rather eventful event to stop her momentarily.
A rocket screamed through the air, smacking K straight in the chest. The resulting explosion blew X backwards and K apart, with oil splashing onto the ground in the process. With a clatter, X hit the ground, slightly dazed. He looked to his left to see what looked like the arm of K, twitching slightly. X tried to get up, only to fall again, after he put his weight on a hand that wasn’t there.
X, seeing the failure of Operation: GTFU, adjusted his position so that he could get up with his other hand only, which was thankfully still there. Investigating his left arm, he could see that everything down from the elbow had been separated from himself in the blast. He didn’t have time to look for it or go get it, so he simply let the matter go.
Standing up, X stared through the smoke, before diving back down onto the ground when another rocket came streaking past him. It scratched his face, sending small sparks up, before heading down the other hallway. X pointed his own rocket launcher into the fog, before firing off a flurry of shots. He heard explosions, but wasn’t rewarded with screams or grunts of pain. Problematic, to say the least.
X took the opportunity to kick K’s assorted dismembered body parts down into the lower alcove, where she should eventually reassemble herself. She was really taking a beating recently, and she would probably be frustrated about that when X was all done, but that wasn’t his problem-
X nearly met the same fate as K when another rocket flew from the open doorway, the fog starting to clear up. X jumped up and over the RPG, letting it fly into the unexplored depths of the building. He couldn’t do this dance forever, so he made the executive decision to charge into the unknown.
* * *
Anyway, I'll be posting the next part tomorrow, so hang on tight for the singular person that made it to the end. No need to like, this is purely for my own benefit. See ya.
2023.06.03 02:11 buckeye-hawk86 Cold Feet
It should have been the happiest day of our lives. Esther and I were to be wed in the middle of August after a month’s long courtship. The plans had been made, the feast was being prepared and I was a nervous wreck. How could I not be?
We formally met last fall at the harvest festival, though we’d been aware of each other our whole lives. In a small town like Sprucevale, Ohio, everybody knew everybody.
Her father didn’t like me, which I suppose is common for those who have daughters who fall in love. Her mother was too busy taking care of the younger children in the family to pay any mind to what her eldest child was doing with her life.
When I wasn’t working on my family's farm, I would walk over to see Esther. She was always smiling, and usually surprised to see me, especially when the snow was blowing and most folk elected to stay indoors close to a fire. The more time I spent with her, the more I knew she was the one for me.
As the ground thawed and the flowers began to bloom, I started working up the courage to ask her father for her hand. I’ll never forget the day I decided to do it. I rode over to their house, wearing my Sunday best and ready to do whatever it took to get his blessing. My bravery quickly faded, however, when I walked into the barn and saw him standing near his horse with a rifle.
It turned out, he was getting ready to go hunting and he invited me along. I knew I couldn’t say no, even if I wasn’t properly dressed for the occasion. As we rode out, he asked me if I had come over to see his daughter again. Stumbling over my words, I told him that I had, in fact, come to see him. When he didn’t say anything in return, I carried on telling him how I loved his daughter and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.
I wasn’t sure if I was rambling on too much or if he was just not listening, at least until we reached a clearing where a large buck was standing at least a hundred yards away. Esther’s father grabbed his gun from its holster, took aim and fired.
The buck went down right away.
Turning back to look at me, he had a big smile on his face. After what felt like an eternity, he told me I had his blessing to marry Esther but he cautioned me to remember that day. I helped him load the buck and then rode off before he could change his mind or show off more hunting skills.
Returning to the farm, I found Esther and asked her to ride with me to one of our favorite spots. We were standing beneath a flowering dogwood tree next to the river when I asked her to marry me. She tried to pretend she hadn’t heard me just so I would ask it again before she finally said yes.
So, spring faded into summer, and we decided on a wedding date of August 12. We had a big party to celebrate the engagement and I started working on our future home with the help of my father and brother. It seemed as though nothing could go wrong, but if it had all gone right, I wouldn’t be here now.
As August drew closer, I found my nerves getting the better of me. My stomach was causing me pain from time to time, with the frequency increasing with each day.
Weddings in a small town are a big deal, and everyone gets involved in one way or another. The house was complete by the first of August and I moved in to make sure everything was right for our future family. Esther wanted to see it, but I told her she would have to wait for the night of the wedding as it was supposed to be a surprise for her.
A few days before the wedding, I confided in my father how my nerves had been bothering me and he assured me it was normal to have butterflies going into such a big event. I took his word for it, though I wish I hadn’t.
The day before we were to be wed, I found myself in a lot more pain. Not wanting to be a bother to anyone, I decided to take a walk and try to calm down. There was a trail near my new house that went along the river, and I thought the calm of the water would help. As I walked, I found the pain growing worse and worse in my stomach, until I felt like I was about to split open.
I held my right side as I walked, feeling worse and worse with each step. My vision started to blur and I felt myself falling off the bank, into the river below. I passed out and the pain finally subsided.
When I woke, I was back in my house, unsure of how I got there or what day it was. As I climbed out of bed, I heard a knock at the door followed by the voice of my brother asking why I wasn’t at the wedding. Panicking, I yelled back that I was on my way as I dressed and ran to the door. By the time I got outside, he was gone, likely back to the ceremony to tell everyone I was coming.
I hurried down the road, managing to arrive as several guests were leaving. I tried to stop them, but they ignored me as they walked past. I heard a few whispers from people wondering why I didn’t show up, some even saying they expected as much. My own father said he wasn’t surprised that I backed out after being as nervous as I was.
I was starting to get upset at them for ignoring me when I saw Esther sitting on the steps of the altar. She was staring off as if in shock, and I walked up to her expecting some kind of response only to be met with silence when I apologized.
I reached my hand out to touch her shoulder, but it went right through. She shuddered and looked around, putting her hand up to where I tried to touch her. As the realization hit me, I stumbled backwards, landing on the ground.
I was dead.
But that couldn’t be. I would know if I had died, right? I thought about falling into the river, how I had floated away. Where was my body? Someone had to be looking for me, they had to know I wouldn’t just leave the love of my life at the altar.
I tried again to comfort Esther, to get her attention, but nothing worked. She sat there, a blank look on her face, for hours. All the guests had gone home and the food was starting to spoil before her friends finally convinced her to go inside and lie down. I followed her, sitting on the bed and watching as she finally drifted off to sleep.
The next few days were rough for both of us. She kept asking why I had left her, crying and refusing to eat anything. All I could do was watch as she became a completely different person. The light in her eyes that I had fallen in love with was gone, replaced by darkness. Her friends finally convinced her to eat small amounts, but she only did it to make them go away.
Over the next several months, she faded more and more. Her parents tried to make her leave the room, but she just sat, stone-faced, as they did everything from asking politely to yelling at her. Even they eventually gave up, leaving her alone with only me to watch as she withered.
By late November, I started going out for walks when she slept. The pain of seeing her like that was unbearable. At first, I would only go out for a few minutes at a time, but I started staying out longer and longer. After a few walks I got the idea to start looking for my body, hoping in the back of my mind that finding it would somehow break the spell over Esther and she would be able to move on and find happiness again.
I walked for miles every night, looking up and down the river. After a while I forgot what I was even doing out there. The nights seemed to be growing darker, and the days were barely distinguishable from the night. The wind blew snow all around me, but I didn’t feel cold.
One morning, I returned from my stroll to find the bed, where Esther usually laid, empty. I felt relief surge through me as I believed she had finally moved on. Then I heard crying from the front room.
Walking through the house, I found Esther’s mother on a chair near the fireplace, sobbing into her hands. The rest of the family was gathered as well, but Esther was nowhere to be seen.
I was only able to take in the scene for a moment before it faded, darkness taking over again. As the light returned, I found myself in the cemetery. It was spring and a crowd was gathered around one of the graves. As I walked up, a feeling of grief overwhelmed me and I heard someone say she died of a broken heart.
As I looked around at the crowd, I saw someone dressed in white standing at the gate to the grounds. Esther had a look of rage on her face as she vanished before my eyes. I tried to find her, explain what happened, but she kept disappearing.
I walked constantly around the town, looking for her. She would show herself from time to time, always with a look of hatred before leaving again. The buildings around us faded and crumbled, but we remained.
The small town became nothing more than a legend, and we stayed. Some days I don’t even remember why we do this, play this game. Some days I can’t remember why it was supposed to be the happiest day of our lives.
submitted by buckeye-hawk86 to libraryofshadows [link] [comments]
We formally met last fall at the harvest festival, though we’d been aware of each other our whole lives. In a small town like Sprucevale, Ohio, everybody knew everybody.
Her father didn’t like me, which I suppose is common for those who have daughters who fall in love. Her mother was too busy taking care of the younger children in the family to pay any mind to what her eldest child was doing with her life.
When I wasn’t working on my family's farm, I would walk over to see Esther. She was always smiling, and usually surprised to see me, especially when the snow was blowing and most folk elected to stay indoors close to a fire. The more time I spent with her, the more I knew she was the one for me.
As the ground thawed and the flowers began to bloom, I started working up the courage to ask her father for her hand. I’ll never forget the day I decided to do it. I rode over to their house, wearing my Sunday best and ready to do whatever it took to get his blessing. My bravery quickly faded, however, when I walked into the barn and saw him standing near his horse with a rifle.
It turned out, he was getting ready to go hunting and he invited me along. I knew I couldn’t say no, even if I wasn’t properly dressed for the occasion. As we rode out, he asked me if I had come over to see his daughter again. Stumbling over my words, I told him that I had, in fact, come to see him. When he didn’t say anything in return, I carried on telling him how I loved his daughter and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.
I wasn’t sure if I was rambling on too much or if he was just not listening, at least until we reached a clearing where a large buck was standing at least a hundred yards away. Esther’s father grabbed his gun from its holster, took aim and fired.
The buck went down right away.
Turning back to look at me, he had a big smile on his face. After what felt like an eternity, he told me I had his blessing to marry Esther but he cautioned me to remember that day. I helped him load the buck and then rode off before he could change his mind or show off more hunting skills.
Returning to the farm, I found Esther and asked her to ride with me to one of our favorite spots. We were standing beneath a flowering dogwood tree next to the river when I asked her to marry me. She tried to pretend she hadn’t heard me just so I would ask it again before she finally said yes.
So, spring faded into summer, and we decided on a wedding date of August 12. We had a big party to celebrate the engagement and I started working on our future home with the help of my father and brother. It seemed as though nothing could go wrong, but if it had all gone right, I wouldn’t be here now.
As August drew closer, I found my nerves getting the better of me. My stomach was causing me pain from time to time, with the frequency increasing with each day.
Weddings in a small town are a big deal, and everyone gets involved in one way or another. The house was complete by the first of August and I moved in to make sure everything was right for our future family. Esther wanted to see it, but I told her she would have to wait for the night of the wedding as it was supposed to be a surprise for her.
A few days before the wedding, I confided in my father how my nerves had been bothering me and he assured me it was normal to have butterflies going into such a big event. I took his word for it, though I wish I hadn’t.
The day before we were to be wed, I found myself in a lot more pain. Not wanting to be a bother to anyone, I decided to take a walk and try to calm down. There was a trail near my new house that went along the river, and I thought the calm of the water would help. As I walked, I found the pain growing worse and worse in my stomach, until I felt like I was about to split open.
I held my right side as I walked, feeling worse and worse with each step. My vision started to blur and I felt myself falling off the bank, into the river below. I passed out and the pain finally subsided.
When I woke, I was back in my house, unsure of how I got there or what day it was. As I climbed out of bed, I heard a knock at the door followed by the voice of my brother asking why I wasn’t at the wedding. Panicking, I yelled back that I was on my way as I dressed and ran to the door. By the time I got outside, he was gone, likely back to the ceremony to tell everyone I was coming.
I hurried down the road, managing to arrive as several guests were leaving. I tried to stop them, but they ignored me as they walked past. I heard a few whispers from people wondering why I didn’t show up, some even saying they expected as much. My own father said he wasn’t surprised that I backed out after being as nervous as I was.
I was starting to get upset at them for ignoring me when I saw Esther sitting on the steps of the altar. She was staring off as if in shock, and I walked up to her expecting some kind of response only to be met with silence when I apologized.
I reached my hand out to touch her shoulder, but it went right through. She shuddered and looked around, putting her hand up to where I tried to touch her. As the realization hit me, I stumbled backwards, landing on the ground.
I was dead.
But that couldn’t be. I would know if I had died, right? I thought about falling into the river, how I had floated away. Where was my body? Someone had to be looking for me, they had to know I wouldn’t just leave the love of my life at the altar.
I tried again to comfort Esther, to get her attention, but nothing worked. She sat there, a blank look on her face, for hours. All the guests had gone home and the food was starting to spoil before her friends finally convinced her to go inside and lie down. I followed her, sitting on the bed and watching as she finally drifted off to sleep.
The next few days were rough for both of us. She kept asking why I had left her, crying and refusing to eat anything. All I could do was watch as she became a completely different person. The light in her eyes that I had fallen in love with was gone, replaced by darkness. Her friends finally convinced her to eat small amounts, but she only did it to make them go away.
Over the next several months, she faded more and more. Her parents tried to make her leave the room, but she just sat, stone-faced, as they did everything from asking politely to yelling at her. Even they eventually gave up, leaving her alone with only me to watch as she withered.
By late November, I started going out for walks when she slept. The pain of seeing her like that was unbearable. At first, I would only go out for a few minutes at a time, but I started staying out longer and longer. After a few walks I got the idea to start looking for my body, hoping in the back of my mind that finding it would somehow break the spell over Esther and she would be able to move on and find happiness again.
I walked for miles every night, looking up and down the river. After a while I forgot what I was even doing out there. The nights seemed to be growing darker, and the days were barely distinguishable from the night. The wind blew snow all around me, but I didn’t feel cold.
One morning, I returned from my stroll to find the bed, where Esther usually laid, empty. I felt relief surge through me as I believed she had finally moved on. Then I heard crying from the front room.
Walking through the house, I found Esther’s mother on a chair near the fireplace, sobbing into her hands. The rest of the family was gathered as well, but Esther was nowhere to be seen.
I was only able to take in the scene for a moment before it faded, darkness taking over again. As the light returned, I found myself in the cemetery. It was spring and a crowd was gathered around one of the graves. As I walked up, a feeling of grief overwhelmed me and I heard someone say she died of a broken heart.
As I looked around at the crowd, I saw someone dressed in white standing at the gate to the grounds. Esther had a look of rage on her face as she vanished before my eyes. I tried to find her, explain what happened, but she kept disappearing.
I walked constantly around the town, looking for her. She would show herself from time to time, always with a look of hatred before leaving again. The buildings around us faded and crumbled, but we remained.
The small town became nothing more than a legend, and we stayed. Some days I don’t even remember why we do this, play this game. Some days I can’t remember why it was supposed to be the happiest day of our lives.
2023.06.03 02:10 Expensive-Ad762 Apple Watch Series 3 38mm 42mm GPS + WiFi + Bluetooth Gold Gray Silver - Good eBay
 | submitted by Expensive-Ad762 to dg123 [link] [comments] |
2023.06.03 02:09 AlbionPaleRouge 5 tips for finding a date.
tip 1 - Stop watching pron and touching the worm.
tip 2 - Eat right and get into shape.
tip 3 - Learn to dress well and take good care of your hygiene
tip 4 - Save money and get a passport.
tip 5 - go overseas and find a woman that will actually appreciate all of that hard work you put in.
submitted by AlbionPaleRouge to dating_advice [link] [comments]
tip 1 - Stop watching pron and touching the worm.
tip 2 - Eat right and get into shape.
tip 3 - Learn to dress well and take good care of your hygiene
tip 4 - Save money and get a passport.
tip 5 - go overseas and find a woman that will actually appreciate all of that hard work you put in.
2023.06.03 02:08 starman_o NGD: my first Tele
 | Player series Telecaster. Replaced the original Strat style 6 saddle bridge with the Tele style 3 saddle bridge and the white pickguard for a black one. submitted by starman_o to telecaster [link] [comments] The next thing I plan to replace is the nut which is cut very poorly as the high E string is very close to the edge of the fretboard. Suggestions for an appropriate replacement are very much appreciated. In the future i would also replace the control plate as the pickup selector switch and the volume knob are too close to my preferance and it is very hard to switch from the neck pickup position. Again, sugestions for replacement are welcomed and appreciated :D. |
2023.06.03 02:04 imaginex20 USA-CA [H] Breville Barista Touch [W] Local PayPal, Venmo, Zelle
I have a Breville Barista Touch for sale. I originally purchased this 2/22 but delivered sometime in March/April 2022. It’s been great to me but I upgraded to a BDB.
I have the following accessories that comes with the machine:
https://i.imgur.io/U74plpi_d.webp?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium
https://imgur.com/a/jKot6B6
I am located in Northern California / Bay Area.
submitted by imaginex20 to coffeeswap [link] [comments]
I have the following accessories that comes with the machine:
- Normcore v4 Level tamper
- IMS Precision basket
- Etsy grinder cove replaces hopper
- Bean hopper
- Spinny distributor tool
- All the stock baskets
- Bottomless portafilter
- Sworks design puck screens
https://i.imgur.io/U74plpi_d.webp?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium
https://imgur.com/a/jKot6B6
I am located in Northern California / Bay Area.
2023.06.03 02:03 OnlySmiles_ My problems with Bravely Default's ending
(Spoilers, obviously)
Some loose background on this game’s story: The game heavily revolves around a girl named Agnes and her fairy companion, Airy. Agnes’s core duty is to cleanse the corruption on 4 elemental crystals and restore a different part of the world (Restoring the wind crystal brings the winds back, restoring the water crystal cleanses the oceans, etc.), and she’s joined by 3 others on her journey (Tiz, Ringabel, and Edea). As well, cleansing all 4 crystals is also said to seal up a chasm that spawned in the world and destroyed Tiz’s home village.
The process of clearing these 4 crystals involves Agnes praying to them to restore their light, and something that Airy constantly perpetuates is for Agnes to not put too much energy into the crystals for the risk of disastrous consequences including the destruction of the crystal. Upon restoring all 4 crystals, they are brought to a pillar of light by Airy who attempts to close the chasm. This ends up backfiring and sending them all back to the beginning of their journey, with Airy having no idea what went wrong.
The game continues in this way through multiple of these time loops with Airy continuing to claim that she has no idea what’s going wrong, and inevitably the party starts to get suspicious of her actions. This eventually culminates with Tiz and Agnes meeting a sage in secret, who claims that he’d been prophesied about Airy being a malevolent force and that destroying the crystals doesn’t actually do anything outside of stopping the pillar of light from appearing, and that the crystal would even eventually restore itself given enough time. The sage also makes a point to Agnes about “knowing when to disobey”. The two of them then leave to cleanse the last crystal in the loop.
Which brings me to my rant.
Upon cleansing the crystal, and as you’re purifying it, Airy prompts you to stop in the same way that she’d done through the game up to this point. However, in this instance, you’re given the option to keep going, to which Airy protests that you’re being reckless, growing increasingly scared and attempting to get you to back down. After enough time, Airy eventually tries to stop you by force, turning into a monstrous creature to take down Agnes, and revealing that she’d been lying all along and using the pillars as a way of gathering power. However, Agnes destroys the crystal before Airy can get to her, sealing away her chances at reaching the pillar, and culminating in a final battle against her where she claims she’ll have her revenge.
This is a really interesting section of the game, because it openly subverts one of the biggest rules the game had been perpetuating up to this point, before culminating in a battle against your companion throughout the entire game. I remember even feeling super excited after the sage’s conversation because I recognized what I’d need to do in that moment.
There’s just one slight problem:
This is the bad ending.
Finding this out really bummed me out, but okay, what’s the true ending like?
Well, after purifying the crystal, the party collectively decides to “be patient and go along with her” before going through another loop. Upon going through the pillar at the end of that loop, Airy transforms into her “true form” (the same form she took in the crystal room in the bad ending), along with revealing herself as a servant of a being known as “Ouroboros”. After another battle against her, she sulks away to gather power, eventually reaching her “ultimate form” with help from Ouroboros, and leading to another battle before finally being defeated and abandoned by her master.
We are then introduced to Ouroboros, whose goal is to consume multiversal worlds that’ve been connected as a result of activating the pillars of light, and using that power to destroy what he describes as the celestial realm (I know this is a major simplification, but that’s not really the point of this rant). After defeating Ouroboros, the party returns to their original timeline, and the game is over.
Now, the true ending on its own is fine in concept, but it annoys the hell out of me for a few reasons.
The first I’ve already somewhat touched upon, but I feel like the bad ending from both a gameplay and writing perspective is far more interesting than the true ending. The “knowing when to disobey her” bit is super cool, and there’s a real satisfaction in breaking one of the game’s core rules while watching the one who’s been playing you along the whole game turn to panic.
With the true ending, on the other hand, it just feels like you’re playing into her with no resistance, despite already being told she’s dangerous and not to be trusted. It even seems to come at a surprise to everyone, like there was no way she could ever have malicious intentions.
(The true ending also requires going through yet another loop, which isn’t too terrible and adds some neat insight through the side quests, but it reminds me just a bit too much of Haruhi’s infamous Endless 8)
The second reason is that Ouroboros kind of comes out of nowhere. To be a little more specific, it feels like the game tried to one-up a fight that was already perfect, and somewhat diminished it in the process.
Think about the setup for Airy: Your longstanding ally throughout the entire game, essentially one of the first characters you meet, acting as the final obstacle. Someone that every party member, for one reason or another, has an intense vendetta against. It’s an incredible climax.
But Ouroboros? You don’t even hear about him until Airy reveals herself, and you don’t see him until after you actually defeat her, where he gives a somewhat lackluster Q/A before officially fighting him. It’s not inherently a bad fight, and the game does well in building up the fight retroactively with the knowledge of what the pillars of light were actually doing, but it really does just kind of hit you in the face.
In a sense, it reminds me a lot of (Persona 5) Shido into The Holy Grail/Yaldabaoth
I dunno, it just feels like it would’ve been far more interesting if Airy had been gathering power for herself instead, rather than simply being a servant.
(But then we also wouldn’t get “Serpent Devouring the Horizon” so…)
submitted by OnlySmiles_ to CharacterRant [link] [comments]
Some loose background on this game’s story: The game heavily revolves around a girl named Agnes and her fairy companion, Airy. Agnes’s core duty is to cleanse the corruption on 4 elemental crystals and restore a different part of the world (Restoring the wind crystal brings the winds back, restoring the water crystal cleanses the oceans, etc.), and she’s joined by 3 others on her journey (Tiz, Ringabel, and Edea). As well, cleansing all 4 crystals is also said to seal up a chasm that spawned in the world and destroyed Tiz’s home village.
The process of clearing these 4 crystals involves Agnes praying to them to restore their light, and something that Airy constantly perpetuates is for Agnes to not put too much energy into the crystals for the risk of disastrous consequences including the destruction of the crystal. Upon restoring all 4 crystals, they are brought to a pillar of light by Airy who attempts to close the chasm. This ends up backfiring and sending them all back to the beginning of their journey, with Airy having no idea what went wrong.
The game continues in this way through multiple of these time loops with Airy continuing to claim that she has no idea what’s going wrong, and inevitably the party starts to get suspicious of her actions. This eventually culminates with Tiz and Agnes meeting a sage in secret, who claims that he’d been prophesied about Airy being a malevolent force and that destroying the crystals doesn’t actually do anything outside of stopping the pillar of light from appearing, and that the crystal would even eventually restore itself given enough time. The sage also makes a point to Agnes about “knowing when to disobey”. The two of them then leave to cleanse the last crystal in the loop.
Which brings me to my rant.
Upon cleansing the crystal, and as you’re purifying it, Airy prompts you to stop in the same way that she’d done through the game up to this point. However, in this instance, you’re given the option to keep going, to which Airy protests that you’re being reckless, growing increasingly scared and attempting to get you to back down. After enough time, Airy eventually tries to stop you by force, turning into a monstrous creature to take down Agnes, and revealing that she’d been lying all along and using the pillars as a way of gathering power. However, Agnes destroys the crystal before Airy can get to her, sealing away her chances at reaching the pillar, and culminating in a final battle against her where she claims she’ll have her revenge.
This is a really interesting section of the game, because it openly subverts one of the biggest rules the game had been perpetuating up to this point, before culminating in a battle against your companion throughout the entire game. I remember even feeling super excited after the sage’s conversation because I recognized what I’d need to do in that moment.
There’s just one slight problem:
This is the bad ending.
Finding this out really bummed me out, but okay, what’s the true ending like?
Well, after purifying the crystal, the party collectively decides to “be patient and go along with her” before going through another loop. Upon going through the pillar at the end of that loop, Airy transforms into her “true form” (the same form she took in the crystal room in the bad ending), along with revealing herself as a servant of a being known as “Ouroboros”. After another battle against her, she sulks away to gather power, eventually reaching her “ultimate form” with help from Ouroboros, and leading to another battle before finally being defeated and abandoned by her master.
We are then introduced to Ouroboros, whose goal is to consume multiversal worlds that’ve been connected as a result of activating the pillars of light, and using that power to destroy what he describes as the celestial realm (I know this is a major simplification, but that’s not really the point of this rant). After defeating Ouroboros, the party returns to their original timeline, and the game is over.
Now, the true ending on its own is fine in concept, but it annoys the hell out of me for a few reasons.
The first I’ve already somewhat touched upon, but I feel like the bad ending from both a gameplay and writing perspective is far more interesting than the true ending. The “knowing when to disobey her” bit is super cool, and there’s a real satisfaction in breaking one of the game’s core rules while watching the one who’s been playing you along the whole game turn to panic.
With the true ending, on the other hand, it just feels like you’re playing into her with no resistance, despite already being told she’s dangerous and not to be trusted. It even seems to come at a surprise to everyone, like there was no way she could ever have malicious intentions.
(The true ending also requires going through yet another loop, which isn’t too terrible and adds some neat insight through the side quests, but it reminds me just a bit too much of Haruhi’s infamous Endless 8)
The second reason is that Ouroboros kind of comes out of nowhere. To be a little more specific, it feels like the game tried to one-up a fight that was already perfect, and somewhat diminished it in the process.
Think about the setup for Airy: Your longstanding ally throughout the entire game, essentially one of the first characters you meet, acting as the final obstacle. Someone that every party member, for one reason or another, has an intense vendetta against. It’s an incredible climax.
But Ouroboros? You don’t even hear about him until Airy reveals herself, and you don’t see him until after you actually defeat her, where he gives a somewhat lackluster Q/A before officially fighting him. It’s not inherently a bad fight, and the game does well in building up the fight retroactively with the knowledge of what the pillars of light were actually doing, but it really does just kind of hit you in the face.
In a sense, it reminds me a lot of (Persona 5) Shido into The Holy Grail/Yaldabaoth
I dunno, it just feels like it would’ve been far more interesting if Airy had been gathering power for herself instead, rather than simply being a servant.
2023.06.03 02:03 Drfunky0811 Condensate U Trap on AC leaking in attic. Help/advice!
Hi All,
My central air conditioner is in the attic of my ranch style home in NJ. Saw water pooling through my ceiling drywall this afternoon and went up to investigate.
Observed steady drip from the bottom of the u trap on the main condensate outlet. I have two condensate outlets on my system, the regular one that lets out on the far side of the house near the condenser and a safety line (in the event of the regular getting clogged) that lets out in the garage on the opposite side of the house... The leaky trap is only on the regular line, from what I can tell.
Had a few questions:
1) why would this be happening? While I observed the drip, and water in the trap, I didn't see a clear leak at any of the joints. As well, I brushed out the trap... There was debris in it, but ultimately it didn't change much... Ie, the trap itself wasn't clogged
Similarly, if there was a clog, I don't understand why it wouldn't reroute to the safety condensate line... Unless that is also clogged and for some reason the system is leaking at the trap rather than into the drip tray under the system
2) the dripping water wound up running along a joist that spanned under the AC unit, and pooling on the other side on both sides of said joist. While I turned off the AC and sopped up as much loose water as I could under the insulation, there is still a span of ~2-3 ft of batten under the AC unit that I couldnt get under to dry.
I'm thinking the best play is to remove the insulation (I should be able to pull it out from under the AC despite not being able to get my arm/body under it), let it air out for a week or two, then put in extra/old but fresh batten I have up in my attic. Thoughts? I'll never be able to fully dry the space by hand and will just need to trust that it air dries because I can't get undeorient myself in a way to fully get my arm under and dry everything... Which is concerning me a bit.
3) what's the general rule as to whether or not drywall needs to be replaced? I probably have a 7-8" circle of lightly damp to the touch drywall visible in my living room. In theory, this is a one-time problem.
Appreciate the tips!!!! Please feel free to add anything else you think might be pertinent or ask questions for additional details.
submitted by Drfunky0811 to HomeImprovement [link] [comments]
My central air conditioner is in the attic of my ranch style home in NJ. Saw water pooling through my ceiling drywall this afternoon and went up to investigate.
Observed steady drip from the bottom of the u trap on the main condensate outlet. I have two condensate outlets on my system, the regular one that lets out on the far side of the house near the condenser and a safety line (in the event of the regular getting clogged) that lets out in the garage on the opposite side of the house... The leaky trap is only on the regular line, from what I can tell.
Had a few questions:
1) why would this be happening? While I observed the drip, and water in the trap, I didn't see a clear leak at any of the joints. As well, I brushed out the trap... There was debris in it, but ultimately it didn't change much... Ie, the trap itself wasn't clogged
Similarly, if there was a clog, I don't understand why it wouldn't reroute to the safety condensate line... Unless that is also clogged and for some reason the system is leaking at the trap rather than into the drip tray under the system
2) the dripping water wound up running along a joist that spanned under the AC unit, and pooling on the other side on both sides of said joist. While I turned off the AC and sopped up as much loose water as I could under the insulation, there is still a span of ~2-3 ft of batten under the AC unit that I couldnt get under to dry.
I'm thinking the best play is to remove the insulation (I should be able to pull it out from under the AC despite not being able to get my arm/body under it), let it air out for a week or two, then put in extra/old but fresh batten I have up in my attic. Thoughts? I'll never be able to fully dry the space by hand and will just need to trust that it air dries because I can't get undeorient myself in a way to fully get my arm under and dry everything... Which is concerning me a bit.
3) what's the general rule as to whether or not drywall needs to be replaced? I probably have a 7-8" circle of lightly damp to the touch drywall visible in my living room. In theory, this is a one-time problem.
Appreciate the tips!!!! Please feel free to add anything else you think might be pertinent or ask questions for additional details.