Best pokemon for little cup remix

Looking for individual players for a one on one 18+ Homebrew Erotic Role Play: Choose Your Own Adventure. The system, setting, and amount of ERP versus regular roleplay can be discussed before the games first session. The setting can be one of my own design or be based off several established works of fiction. These can range from literature, television, videogames, and etcetera.
What I bring to the table as a Game Master:
Hello everyone I'm Erik and I am an avid player and Game Master. I am into most pop culture and enjoy learning about new works of fiction. I am open and friendly to people from all walks of life and am interested in building a world with my players that feels as real and enjoyable as possible. I am able to do text based games, but am just as easily able to role play in voice chat. I primarily use Discord with Roll20 as necessary, but can be flexible if needed. I am primarily interested in doing one on one games with adult themes, but if a dedicated enough group is interested I am capable of creating a story with them as well.
I have been a player for nineteen years, but for the past ten I have been more active as a Game Master. In that time I have played in and ran several systems ranging from Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, Shadowrun, Star Wars, Star Trek, Call of Cthulhu, A Song of Ice and Fire, D20 Modern, and Hero.
Since joining Roll20 with my original account back in 2014, however, I have been introduced to more homebrew systems and settings. Which has led to me almost exclusively running a homebrew system in established settings. Primarily popular Anime, Video games, Novels, Cartoons, Movies, and Live Action Series.
[Some of these will bleed off into other media]
Anime- HxH, Yu Yu Hakusho, Dragon Ball, Naruto, Attack on Titan, Made in Abyss, Madoka Magica, Gundam, Steins Gate, My Hero Academia, Fairy Tail, FMA, Yugioh, Digimon, Berserk, JoJo, One Punch Man, Gurren Lagann, Magi, Jujutsu Kaisen, and etc.
Video games- Halo, Kingdom Hearts, Life is Strange, Final Fantasy, Mass Effect, Resident Evil, Alan Wake, Metal Gear, Silent Hill, Pokemon, Plague Tale, Persona, and etc.
Novels- Lord of the Rings, ASOIAF, Bartimaeus Trilogy, Witcher, Harry Potter, Ready Player One, and etc.
Cartoons- RWBY, My Little Pony, Voltron, How to Train your Dragon, Young Justice, Adventure Time, Avatar the Last Airbender, Korra, Dragon Prince, and etc.
Movies- Horror, Marvel, Jurassic Park, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars, The Matrix, and etc.
Live Action Series- Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Star Trek, Supernatural, Vampire Diaries, Stranger Things, and etc
Send me a message if you are looking for a one on one GM or a GM for a dedicated group.

Ok when I had my son I promised myself I wouldn’t rush getting back into shape, and even more so since I came out of pregnancy 70lbs less than I was when I started so I wasn’t in a hurry. My little man is gonna be 6 months here soon and I’m ready to start getting back into premarriage shape which i still have about 50lbs to go. I want to take my time so I’m thinking 10lbs a month for the next 5/6 months.
What are your tips for doing this while breastfeeding? Diet etc. my supply already fluctuates and I don’t want to cause any issues in that department.
Height: 5’9
target weight 185/190 (still high but the weight I look my best at, any less and I’m too skinny)
Prepregnancy weight close to 290/300
post pregnancy 230
5 month PP probably around 240
My husband is also getting into shape and doing really low carb but I know personally that just isn’t sustainable for me.

So long story short I got waitlisted at my absolute dream school (UCLA) and most of my other top schools I got into (UMich, USC) I can’t afford. I also got into other UC’s like SD SB Irvine, maybe cal, but I honestly don’t want to go there. I’m thinking abt doing cc and transferring, but I’m scared tbh. My three CC options are:

1. Pierce. I already took 5 dual enrollments with pierce and its the closest to my house.
2. Moorpark. dont really know much abt it, a little far, but doable.
3. Santa Monica. I heard this is the best CC to get into UCLA.

My only goal is to get into UCLA. Idk what to do. if I don’t go to pierce, can I still use the credits I earned there for the other cc’s? Which do you recommend? Which do you not recommend? I plan to major in the sciences and do the TAP program, so which of these three has it best? Which will give me the greatest shot at UCLA.

So long story short I got waitlisted at my absolute dream school (UCLA) and most of my other top schools I got into (UMich, USC) I can’t afford. I also got into other UC’s like SD SB Irvine, maybe cal, but I honestly don’t want to go there. I’m thinking abt doing cc and transferring, but I’m scared tbh. My three CC options are:

1. Pierce. I already took 5 dual enrollments with pierce and its the closest to my house.
2. Moorpark. dont really know much abt it, a little far, but doable.
3. Santa Monica. I heard this is the best CC to get into UCLA.

My only goal is to get into UCLA. Idk what to do. if I don’t go to pierce, can I still use the credits I earned there for the other cc’s? Which do you recommend? Which do you not recommend? I plan to major in the sciences and do the TAP program, so which of these three has it best? Which will give me the greatest shot at UCLA.

So long story short I got waitlisted at my absolute dream school (UCLA) and most of my other top schools I got into (UMich, USC) I can’t afford. I also got into other UC’s like SD SB Irvine, maybe cal, but I honestly don’t want to go there. I’m thinking abt doing cc and transferring, but I’m scared tbh. My three CC options are:

1. Pierce. I already took 5 dual enrollments with pierce and its the closest to my house.
2. Moorpark. dont really know much abt it, a little far, but doable.
3. Santa Monica. I heard this is the best CC to get into UCLA.

My only goal is to get into UCLA. Idk what to do. if I don’t go to pierce, can I still use the credits I earned there for the other cc’s? Which do you recommend? Which do you not recommend? I plan to major in the sciences and do the TAP program, so which of these three has it best? Which will give me the greatest shot at UCLA.

So long story short I got waitlisted at my absolute dream school (UCLA) and most of my other top schools I got into (UMich, USC) I can’t afford. I also got into other UC’s like SD SB Irvine, maybe cal, but I honestly don’t want to go there. I’m thinking abt doing cc and transferring, but I’m scared tbh. My three CC options are:

1. Pierce. I already took 5 dual enrollments with pierce and its the closest to my house.
2. Moorpark. dont really know much abt it, a little far, but doable.
3. Santa Monica. I heard this is the best CC to get into UCLA.

My only goal is to get into UCLA. Idk what to do. if I don’t go to pierce, can I still use the credits I earned there for the other cc’s? Which do you recommend? Which do you not recommend? I plan to major in the sciences and do the TAP program, so which of these three has it best? Which will give me the greatest shot at UCLA.

Hi everyone! I just made this Reddit account to ask this question, excuse the gramma or format for being on mobile. There is an old TV show I saw an episode of a long time ago, this MAY be an Andy Griffith Show episode, but I’m trying to track down the episode/show I’m looking for.
The episode is old, it’s either black and white or when color first came around on TV. I only saw this episode, so I don’t have any other context to the show or the premise.
The episode is about a little boy who works in a little conscience store. I remember it sells candy and cologne, and is ran by an older man, not elderly but older. The little boy is sweeping up the show and accidentally breaks a display bottle of cologne, afraid he’ll get in trouble or fired. So he asks his best friend, who is rich I believe if he can get him another bottle. The rich friend goes shopping with his dad, and brings back the bottle and gives it to the main boy. The main boy takes the bottle and replaces the broken one on the shelf before the clerk noticed. Then a customer came in and tried the newly replaced bottle, and the owner realized the old bottle was broken because the old bottle was just display so it was just full of water. Then the owner teaches the boy a lesson about just telling the truth in the beginning and it would be okay.
I’ve looked for this best I could but Google has failed me, anyone have any ideas as to what I’m looking for? What show I’ve seen? I’ve only seen this episode, so I’m sorry for not knowing much more.

Spoilers for C3E51 ahead.
—
Disclaimer: I’m a diehard CR fan and have seen/listened to every episode of every campaign through at least twice. I’ve heard Matt’s voice more than my own and have nothing but love and respect for the man. He is among the best GMs to ever sit behind the screen (imo only surpassed by Brennan because of improv capability) and is beyond reproach as a human being. I want to clearly state that I mean my words in no way as an attack on him; it’s his game and he has a right to make whatever decisions he wants. I GM myself, so I understand that there’s a narrative to push and I acknowledge that sometimes things just need to go according to plan in this uber-dense plot he’s created…
However…
I was very frustrated with Matt’s ruling to have Chetney make a strength check against Ludinus’ AC when attempting to grapple him.
The grapple action is 100% unequivocally a test of physicality. RAW, it’s a contested roll between the grappler’s Athletics and either the target’s Athletics or Acrobatics. Ludinis honestly should’ve had to make this check at disadvantage because, at the time, he seemed a little preoccupied with the appearance of a certain divine champion in defending a certain level 20 Druid. Even ignoring the disadvantage, using Ludinis’ AC (which is definitely already magically inflated thanks to spells and/or items) as the DC for a grapple nullifies a central aspect of the mechanic.
Most mages have shit physical stats, even at level 20. Travis as a player is strategic and analytical — he quickly (and correctly, judging by Matt’s intervention) judged Ludinus’ weaknesses, then made a move to capitalize on them. Matt altered the mechanic and then used Shield to further magically enhance Ludinis’ AC. It came across to me as punishing a player’s quick-minded ingenuity, especially because it resulted in Chetney being impaled 20ft off the ground, essentially locking him out of the encounter.
The excuse Matt gave for this adjustment was because the grapple was… specifically trying to make it harder for Ludinis to cast spells due to physical restraint? The game designers already created a mechanic for that purpose — GRAPPLING.
I wish that either Travis had pushed back even a little, because I think Matt would’ve reconsidered, or Matt had just secretly fudged a successful Acrobatics check. At least that wouldn’t feel unfair.
Rant over, can’t wait for Thursday.

I've tried for hours to put them back on, it's only the numpad minus key, left alt and right control. I have the keys and the clips behind them are perfectly in tact, as well as the pins that hold the clips in place. Basically, everything's fine, I just can't seem to fit them back in. I took it into Best Buy thinking that they could do it (Plus I didn't want to risk damaging the keys with my amateur jamming). But instead they wanted to take my laptop for two weeks so they could replace the whole keyboard which definitely isn't necessary. (Maybe I'm being arrogant, but I don't see why you should replace something that's otherwise in perfect condition)
​
I managed to bargain with them a little and the guy's looking into shipping the keyboard to the store so they can fix it there. But is there a way I can just fix the keys myself? The clip parts have seperated into two pieces but they aren't broken in anyway

I know majority of women do not want to stay with in-laws no matter how 'nice/tolerable' they are due to various reasons. Neither do I. But, if I were a man I would definitely want to stay with my parents and be there for them when they need me. I have a brother and I always hope that he stays with my parents. I know that I'm the hypocrite here.
I do not want to do that for my husband's parents. Right now we don't, and might not for atleast the next 7-10 years. But at the same time, I also do feel a little guilty because who would look after them when they need us and are lonely. I don’t think I'll ever be okay with staying under the same roof with the in-laws.
What is the best solution or the best living conditions for all parties involved?

Rough masturbation swelling injury about 7-8 months ago. Last couple months finally getting a little better, can gently masturbate again. Odd day here and there where it is a little worse but overall mostly little improvements.
Last night penis pain that wasn't going away, masturbated out of frustration, to my surprise after masturbating (had very little sensation) almost no pain at all for a few hours before sleep.
Started pelvic floor stretches earlier this week which seemed to help a bit, and have done them everyday since, but now all of a sudden pain way worse. Symptoms started similar to prostatitis months ago with hard flaccid rarely. But in the last couple weeks hard flaccid has increased, and tonight it is hurting a lot. More than I ever remember it hurting.
Earlier today it was a little painful, now tonight very painful with no masturbation. Hard flaccid has never hurt so much as tonight after months of small improvements. Pain is right in middle of penis shaft. Usually pain is worse when standing, but sitting down, almost no pain. But tonight pain while sitting down. Never since injury began have I felt much pain just sitting. I did nothing out of the ordinary today.
Maybe just an off day and I'll feel better tomorrow? What are best ways to relieve hard flaccid penis pain when it gets really bad? Is it possible I have internal penile soft tissue damage which is causing the hard flaccid like feeling/pain? And when soft tissue heals (takes about a year I read) the prostatitis/hard flaccid might slowly go away?
(sorry long rant/just sad looking for any hope at this point/thinking i'll be stuck with this uncomfort/pain forever. Stay safe out there friends. Life is fragile.

Hi everyone, this is the first chapter of my debut novel. For information and links to other chapters click the link down below :
Reddit - Dive into anything
The Great One sat on his throne, gazing longingly into the hearts of man. Something was coming and he could feel it. Destiny riding on a white steed, like the tales of man long ago, coming to uncover his secrets. He could see it all, the wall, the castle, and the so-called gods that built it all. The ego of these creatures was laughable, if only the Great One could still laugh. He could still speak sure, but only through means not of man’s common means. Vocal cords were a commodity long since lost in this place.
As the Great One observed the coming destiny he could feel the approaching storm, in a hail of flesh and blood, the only things that the Great One lacked. He would never give up, never retreat to these things as they approached, for this was the Great One. He looked back to the castle, viewing the scene in its entirety, and he felt something like happiness enter him.
Divinity. That is what connected the walls surrounding Dundis castle, not stone or metal, this was not a mere wall but a divine gift from ones above. Divinity sealed the wall, made it whole, the walls sealed together without mark or blemish, something no man could ever replicate. The wall had stood for a century, and would likely last ten more, there was no weakness, no flaw in design. 50 metres tall the wall was unscalable, unbreakable. No man could break the wall, it was the Vaunghe empire’s crowning gift, their wonder of the world. Those that were hired to clean the wall’s dirt and grime were heralded as the truly faithful, and all longed to help the gift of the gods. And yet despite this the Alizian’s watched, standing with armies around the great wall, waiting to breach its crust and destroy the core.
The Vaunghe had watched their foes throw everything they had, hundreds of men attacking the steel doors of the wall to no avail, an attempted archer attack quickly squashed by the wall's height. The Alizian military was strong, a blend of the Alizian warriors and Strolim blacksmiths made for a truly terrifying army. The army was so terrifying that the Vaunghe inside the castle doubted there were any more Vaunghe troops left, this was the end to a long battle between man and man. Even the soldiers left weren’t particularly important, just those lucky enough to guard the king and a few trainees. But the Vaunghe felt their luck running out.
The food supplies had run low, even if the nobles weren’t in the castle there was no chance of resupply. The few men who had eaten in the past few days stood alert, gazing down from the ramparts at the enemy. The soldiers knew they had to either surrender or fight, but the Vaunghe were passionate people, they could never leave behind their identity in favour of life. So the men waited, bows and arrows at the ready, for the next attack. Heavy items such as ingots and chairs lined the rampart, ready to be thrown off at a moments notice.
They had waited in this position for many cycles, and as day turned to night, and night turned to day the Vaunghe were exhausted, finished with whatever feeble attacks these barbarians had planned. They could throw whatever armies and arrows they wanted at the wall but it would remain unphased, forevermore. When the Alizian’s next attacked they would be met with the last strength of the Vaunghe, and it would be a story remembered for milenia by man and the gods.
As the morning sun rose over the wall, the enemy was revealed in all their glory. Even from so high above the Vaunghe could see the glint of silver from the Alizian military. The bright greens of the Alizian armour created a dazzling sensation that they were one with the grass, which blended in so perfectly with their clothes. They stood in their thousands, armed with whatever they could find, and even on the wall the men could see him.
The slaughterer, the murderer, the man, the myth and the legend Osmund stood alone on an overlooking hill. The fiend was well known by the Vaunghe, he was likely the greatest foe that had come from the opposing sides. Vaunghe generals often fled at his coming, or surrendered first, but rumour had it that Osmund gave no mercy. Overseeing his army to destroy everything that was left, the Vaunghe soldiers knew today really was the end. The figure on the hill moved closer to his army and screamed. The battle-cry of the Alizian’s shook fear into each of the Vaunghe atop the rampart, being so loud that it even reached so high.
The hundreds of troops began to move in sync, forming three individual groups of soldiers, with 10 metre spaces between each. Each contingent comprised six hundred men, easily dwarfing the 82 Vaunghe soldiers that were left. But the Vaunghe were not afraid, at least not afraid of a breach anytime soon. These walls were built to withstand any damage, no man could breakthrough one.
Between the troops was movement, indeed there seemed to be movement down all three rows of men in blue. The Strolime empire had finally revealed themselves, with their short stature and mental prowess the Strolime were gifted inventors not expected to appear on the battlefield. And yet here they were, almost one hundred of them hauling forth three large metallic objects. The sun bounced off of these objects into the Vaunghe’s eyes.
None of the men had ever seen objects like these, seemingly composed of pure metals and on wheels. Some thought they were a testament to the gods, some holy objects, others believed it to be some new invention from the Strolime, however none of them could say anything for certain as they were pushed closer and closer to the wall. The Strolomites stopped in their advance, approximately 20 metres away from the wall. The purpose of these objects had yet to dawn on the men, although one of the younger men on the rampart claimed he could see small objects poking through the metal, which was now aimed at a forty-five degree angle towards the wall.
As the Strolimites halted their advance many began to move away into the safety of the Alizian wall, likely afraid of any precautionary Vaunghe archers. One of them, a rather short and plump soldier, stayed with the object, placing a hand on it and turning to the wall. It was a fleeting moment, but for a second it seemed the man was gazing at the Vaunghe soldiers in shame. One last condemnation to the ones that began this war, before it would all come crashing down. But then the moment passed, and the short man moved as the rest did, doing a slight zig zag to avoid arrows.
And now, just as quickly they had come, the Strolomite’s were gone in the ranks of the Alizians, still waiting in their groups for something, and then they came. Three figures, two women and a man, moved between the lines just as the Strolimites before them. These three wore no armour, only the greens of Alizia upon their tunics. They stood beside the objects and began to reach their arms into the underside of it. Before the Vaunghe’s eyes the objects began to turn slightly, aiming even more directly at the wall.
One of the Vaunghe had enough of this display, and raised his bow. There were low winds on this day, and he was a good enough shot to reach at least one of the Alizian soldiers. He aimed his bow, finger on the drawstring, and released. It is likely that this arrow would’ve drawn first blood in this battle, however the arrow never reached its target.
In the split second before the release of the bow, the Vaunghe noticed the smoke billowing out of the bottom of the devices, the flames that shot out, and finally they noticed for not even a fraction of a second the object that shot out of the metallic thing, something white and red that hit the wall in an instant.
The wall shook, and the following barrage of these objects shattered any notion of divinity. Crashing and crumbling the rampart was launched, sending soldiers flying everywhere. The Vaunghe beside the wall were subject to the falling rubble, both the crumbling stone of the walls and the miscellaneous objects they had left upon the wall. All of the objects crushed the few Vaunghe left, save for the few sickly starving soldiers left inside the castle’s inner walls.
Down went the walls, such a harsh strike against the wall that nothing stood in the path of this monster. The roaring splattered through the castle, the screams of the falling wall waking the King himself from his slumber. Such a vast creation had fallen in seconds before the might of the Alizian’s, and now there was nothing left but to watch the battle unfold.
Smoke flooded the inner walls of the castle, casting the few remaining into fits of coughing and blindness. The walls finished their crumbling, and yet the roars didn’t stop. These were not the roars of the wall but the war cries of the soldiers outside, and they began to get louder, echoing through the walls of Dundis and into the ears of the weak nobles and soldiers.
Through the smoke they came, weapons raised and charging the weak. The few that tried to fight were slaughtered, cut down by a sea of green soldiers. Those that were choking, sputtering or raising their hands in defeat were spared, hauled through the hordes and into one of the stables facing the inner wall. They were to be tried and jailed, for no human regardless of their crime should be killed. It is simply not the Alizian way.
Out of the one hundred and fifty two people who were in Dundis, forty two had died in the wall’s destruction, and a further eleven were detained by the Alizian military. There was nothing that the Vaunghe could do, save for locking their doors, shield themselves and hold out for as long as possible. The Vaunghe forces built barricades in their castle, locking away the Alizian combatants for as long as possible. And during all of this Osmund waited. Waiting for his time to end this war, this travesty of battle that had gone on for too long, and that time finally came.
* * * *
Osmund stood alone atop the hill, and watched the madness unfold. The walls crumbled at the face of these weapons with no more effort than a straw house, and the plumes of smoke assaulted his men, although not to the extent of the inner wall. After a few moments of sputtering and choking the men cheered, for this was the moment that they had been waiting for, the end of such a long war now in the Alizian’s favour.
The Vaunghe capital was in shambles, their military long crushed underneath Osmund’s almighty power, and all that was left was the King. Hiding behind his walls as if he didn’t deserve this loss, this final failure in his life. Osmund was willing to spare as many people as he could, it was the Alizian code, but there would be no mercy for the King. This wasn’t one final battle between two great armies, that conflict happened weeks ago, this was the last breaths of a psychotic monarch being silenced amongst the last of his troops.
Osmund gazed longingly at Dundis, the ruined walls and advancing soldiers and doubted. He felt something was off, something was very wrong with all of this. His heart began to thump, as Osmund’s eyes turned every way to understand what was wrong, what abnormality was here. It grew and grew, Osmund began to shake at what was about to happen, nothing was right here Osmund should be somewhere else helping someone, there’s something wrong here something very-
Peace. Osmund’s heart stopped thumping, body stopping its perpetual shaking. He looked again to the marching troops, now almost entirely inside the walls, and looked back to his back, and the reserve Strolomites that now stood. They were cheering, marvelling at the success of the assault, and how the god’s gift had saved so much effort on their part.
Such strange creations composed of metal and flame, Osmund marvelled at the power the gods possessed. These devices were so unique in design Osmund doubted if any army could defeat them. The large red tubes they released could easily destroy an entire village by itself, but with one hundred of them an entire valley could be bathed in flames. Something truly abnormal in this world, something so parallel to the code of battle that no army would ever think of it.
The Vaunghe were once considered to be the greatest fighters, with the tournaments they created bringing forth the greatest warriors from throughout the land. Their dedication and power were unmatched in ferocity and violence, some called the Vaunghe the standing due to their unmatched will to always get back up. Osmund recalled his days in the tournaments, those peaceful days when he was not yet a hero to people, but a simple military man. He was still only Osmu back then, and yet even those of the time knew he would be something special. As Christoff used to say, ‘Ozzie you’re going places, big ones’. Osmund missed Christoff, It had been so long since their last meeting, and all Osmund wanted was to meet again one last time.
Osmund’s assistant came to him, a younger Strolomite by the name of Gizmu. Gizmu was rather muscular for a Strolomite, a strong figure contrasting his associates' plumper bodies, and stature was fairly tall for one of his people at 6’5 ft tall. Hazel hair protruded through a blue helmet, and for the first time Osmund considered what his assistant could look like. Gizmu was one of the many Strolomite’s who refused to show their face until military success, a tradition that Osmund respected. He had no doubt that Gizmu's true face would one day be revealed to him, as the man possessed genuine prowess in the fields of agriculture, something sorely missed in the modern military.
“Osmund, your team is preparing now, they’ll come soon. I advise you to prepare your armour sir, as it won’t be long before you’re sent in.” Osmund sensed mild concern in Gizmu’s voice, but didn’t pursue it.
“Thank you Gizmu, my friend. I’ll begin my preparations, tell the guests to meet me here when they are fully prepared. And do ensure they understand that there is still risk of injury on this mission, ensure each of them wears their armour.” Osmund’s voice was deep and echoed his long life, commanding a sense of authority amongst all Alizian forces.
Osmund left the hill, passing the cheering Strolomite’s and the peasant farmers who supported the army, and entered the rows of tents. They stretched out on either side, one for every four soldiers, until he reached his own tent. Entering Osmund was surprised to discover a fellow commander still asleep in his bed, snoring away peacefully.
Osmund removes his upper clothing, the clean tunic falling to the ground. While removing these clothes Osmund kicks the sleeping man in the leg, which doesn’t actually amount to anything rather than halting his snoring. Osmund kicks the sleeping soldier again, this time in the buttocks, which does a far better job of riling him. The man looks around wide-eyed, before settling onto the sight of the giant Osmund.
“Hey, why'd you kick me? I almost had a bleedin’ heart attack don’t you know not to meddle with a sleepin man?”
“Don’t you know that you were meant to be on the battlefield at the crack of dawn? I don’t know what kind of promotion you’re expecting when you aren’t even going on the battlefield. Do you really want to be Balmun forever?” Osmund spoke coldly, now reaching for his chestplate.
“Well no sir. But the thing is I actually have a very cunning plan, I thought of it all myself.” A smile falls upon the man’s face, whose head bears an uncanny resemblance to a potato.
“And what is that?” Osmund halted his preparations briefly.
“Well if I say I was there but didn't actually go, who’d think I wasn’t? I can just sleep through it all until the battle is won and no one would be the wiser.” Osmund puts a hand onto Balmun’s fleshy shoulder.
“A fine plan, if I wasn’t your commanding officer you buffoon. By the gods I believe some divine creator mistakenly put a turnip in your head instead of a brain because no noble’s son has ever been as frankly idiotic as you have. You’re coming with me to the battlefield, and I suggest you get dressed or you’ll be facing the last of the Vaunghe army with your flopping cock dancing for all to see.” Balmun stood and began to slip some clothes on, as Osmund completed his own set of armour.
Osmund’s armour bore the mark of a noble family, some rich fools who wanted their family crest to be associated with a bloody conflict and a dangerous murderer. Osmund wore it because of the armour’s quality, customfit to encompass Osmund’s 9’5 ft tall body, something no other armour was able to achieve. Osmund’s height was always an oddity, reaching far above the average 8ft heights of most Alizian’s, and making him one of the tallest figures in the lands. It was this height and his skin’s colour that earned him the name of the black death, which he wasn’t particularly fond of due to the mention of his skin. And even then Osmund certainly didn’t feel like a black death, whatever that was meant to be, rather he felt like death itself. Osmund was to be fifty years old by the end of the week, and it showed on his body. The hair that was left on his head was grey, and while still possessing an impressive form Osmund’s body was not in its prime, he was old.
Osmund looked at himself in the full body mirror, grabbing his longsword and leaving the tent, dragging a half dressed Balmun with him. Back through the tents they travelled, back past the now eager Strolomite’s and atop the hill where Osmund’s infiltration team stood. In any other battle Osmund would’ve despised the one that left this group with him, a collection of subpar and mediocre soldiers with all the military future of an Otter in a stew. But then again Osmund’s battle history did feature a lot of important people dying under his watch, so perhaps this was for the better.
The force began with Edmun, a cross between a prostitute and a noble who unfortunately takes more from the noble. An egotistical brat, as well as a greedy goblin of anything that isn’t bolted down, Osmund had borne the unfortunate duty of his company for months, since the initial assault on the capitol. The man could barely hold a weapon, save for slight skill with a flail of all things which he wore by his side. It was a gold plated flail as well, specifically made for beating in the heads of the poor Vaunghe soldiers stupid enough to get close. Blonde hair obscured blue eyes that spoke to his red-light mother, in fact for a noble’s son Edmun had all the appearance of an incestuous dullard. The man had survived by pure luck, and was the only casualty that Osmund wanted his side to suffer.
The Enick twins Humun and Eumun were up next, named after their family crest of the god of alcohol Enick. In contrast to Edmun these were a pair of real soldiers, Osmund had seen the fruits of their labour many times. They were great at the art of flanking, Humon’s greataxe paired alongside Eumun’s spears proved to be an unbeatable combination. The only issue that Osmund had with the pair was their… peculiar relationship. While the two were great fighters, whenever they were together anything else became impossible to comprehend. Osmund had once caught the pair attempting to seduce a goat wearing a knight’s helm, and while they were drunk there is still clear evidence of idiocy amongst them. The pair were identical in appearance, burly figures of 8’5ft, short cut black hair and overgrown beards stretching down their faces, however the distinguishing feature between the two was Eumon’s cleft lip, which gave his speech a lisp.
Josmu was far more a scholar than a soldier, although Osmund enjoyed his presence greatly. Since they first met the pair had hit it off, often discussing each other’s lives in Alizian taverns across the kingdom. A gifted archer, Josmu was the son of two aspiring poets and enlisted into the military voluntarily to assist in the war efforts. Osmund had a great deal of respect for the man, and hoped that the two would one day have a drink together, and ruminate on the past once more.
And then there was Jumun, a gifted soldier and one of the few Osmund thought could take him in his prime. Long strands of red hair ran down her rough face, a pointed nose and peculiar eyebrow shape giving her a perpetual look of disappointment. At a height of 9’2 ft she stood almost toe to toe with Osmund, in fact there were many aspects about her that reminded Osmund of himself. The first was her attitude, she treated every war as a tragedy of its own, and yet she would never fail to perform against her enemies. Skilled in most weapons Jumun’s life had been long and arduous, her worn out armour covered in patches and dents. Osmund had offered her a new set of armour once, to which she vehemently refused, telling Osmund that she wished to end the war in the armour she started it in. Currently she held a single large sword nearly identical to his own, and Osmund predicted that she couldn’t wait for the battle to be over.
The group stood facing the smoking walls, watching the now descending Strolomite’s retrieve the three gifts from the gods. Pushing them back up the hill would take tremendous strength and a long time, which is why nearly double the number of Strolomite’s assisted in the endeavour. Osmund cleared his throat, prompting the looks of the team. All of their eyes were of Balmun, who was somehow already panting after a 2 minute drag through the ground. Osmund released the man and pushed him towards his new comrades, to which he sulked.
Osmund could see through the smoke of the ruins now, noting the strangely high number of bodies present from Osmund’s view. It appeared that there were more forces than originally estimated, as it was initially guessed there were around one hundred and fifty soldiers inside. Judging by the number of corpses inside those numbers clearly forgot to account for the possibility of trainees inside of the castle. This may be a slightly larger fight than initially predicted, although even supposing there were another hundred or so trainees locked inside rooms there were things Osmund could do against that.
“Alright then, good to see that some of you actually bothered to wake up today, Balmun, and I think we all know that this mission is going to end the war.” Balmun raised his hand.
“Yes Balmun?”
“Sir I have a very cunning pl-”
“Shove your plans up your slacker buttocks, you idiot. Now then, I’m gonna say this once, because quite frankly the more chances I give Balmun to interrupt the more likely I’ll butcher myself with this sword. Now then we are the backbone to the forces, our mission is to help take individual points of conflict from alternative points. We will accomplish this with the leaked maps of the castle gained from Vaunghe intelligence. Now then, originally it was believed that we were dealing with only around one hundred and fifty troops, but it looks like someone didn’t remember the number of rookie troops that are trained here, so we could be looking at a few more troops than expected.” Osmund saw the hand raised but tried to ignore it. The man with the potato for a head seemed adamant however, and raised his hand higher. When that didn’t work he raised both arms.
“By the gods what is it?”
“Well sir, what kind of weapons do you think they have?” Osmund stopped in his tracks, not expecting anything even related to an actual important question. A smile formed on his face, it seems that even fools can think every now and again.
“Decent question my friend, we can probably expect the basic mix of swords and axes, likely shields also, but we may have one or two archers running around however it’s unlikely any survived the wall’s collapse.”
“That is good Osmund, once we take a few down I need a weapon, I like the swords myself.”
“What’s wrong with your sword?”
“I left it in the tent sir.” Osmund cupped his hands into his face, cringing against the stupidity of this man.
“Listen…. just everyone follow me please, I mean by the gods man. Come on. Listen I don’t think we will need any armour with us today, we have the single thickest piece of meat just over there as we speak.” Osmund points towards Balmun, who turns to see what everyone is looking at. Without another word Osmund begins to walk down the hill towards the castle, muttering things that even the gods consider a little racy.
* * * *
The ruins of Dundis stood firm in their strength, with the ruined walls blemishing what was once a grand fortress that none had penetrated. Tall spires protrude from the shapeless stone complex. Along the gateway was a path leading directly into the Dundis entrance, which stood slightly ajar. Fragments of the wall had crushed many parts of the outside, with simple wooden stables and trees crushed by the weight of the plummet of the debris. The architecture that remained spoke to the complexities of the Vaunghe, as spiralling patterns adorned the walls of the castle, interlaced with rare jewels that coated the walls. The Vaunghe were so fortunate with minerals that one could find them coating their walls, despite the fact that no one other than a fellow Vaunghe was ever meant to see such a thing.
A veil of embarrassment and determination clashed as the group descended the hill, weapons at the ready. The group had reached the ruins of the wall now, debris coating the grass and the bodies that were surely there. Even destroyed Osmund still felt some of that divine power the Vaunghe always babbled about, he felt the strength in the walls and not for the first time wondered why the gods would bestow such a gift upon such a vile group.
The group began clambering through the ruins, over the cracked pieces of stone and through the divine walls final remains. There was a smell here, the remnants of smoke colliding with the smell of blood, but there was a third smell, one that Osmund knew well. It was the smell of inevitability, heavy in the hair. That which is unlikely to happen always will happen, and when it does the smell adds to it all, the smell of fate and destiny runs through this place.
Inevitability hides everywhere, in the trees and the skies, carried by the wind through it all. From nature it was born, but in man it thrives, the building’s will one day fall, the kingdoms will fade away, and everything will one day lead to something else. From every beginning comes an end, and each end becomes a beginning, this is how it has always been. This place thought itself against such things, and inevitability infected its walls, creeping along slowly rotting the once great walls into a hellish nightmare. Now the bubble has burst, and the smell of inevitability crowds the world, taking over everything.
Moaning. A low whimper. A cry for something. Calls for assistance. A terrified yell. Osmund approaches the source of these noises, his team close behind. At the source of these screams is a Vaunghe soldier, somehow alive after the rampart’s collapse, covered in piles of stone and smoke. His outstretched hand reaches towards Osmund, who in turn takes it.
The man mutters something, sputters blood, and begins to fade. As he does, Osmund moves towards the rocks, feeling against it. Somehow the rocks aren’t as heavy as they should be, and Osmund slowly moves the rocks. The first and second rocks move, and after some struggling Osmund moves the third rock, revealing a bloody leg, spurting forward. Osmund realises how the man survived, the remains of a metal box squashed around him. As the rampart fell the man landed inside, narrowly missing an immediate demise. Now he sat, bleeding in and out of consciousness, and moaning for help. Osmund put his hands around the man, slowly lifting him, and moving forwards into the inner walls.
There are running medics here, and as they see Osmund’s approach they run to him, taking the injured man and placing him onto a table. The man may survive, they told Osmund, however his bleeding may take too much from him. As Osmund turns to leave he hears the voice, the message of the man.
“T-t-th-than-” It was shaky, interrupted by coughs and convulsions, but bore strength, and Osmund felt the ghost of a smile play upon him.
“It wasn’t an issue.” And with that Osmund left the tent, admiring the surroundings in focus for the first time. Eyes bore into him from his party, and yet no one said anything, they couldn’t. Many had called Osmund a monster in his time, they had seen him do bad things to bad people, and yet none would call him a monster, for there is no such thing. Osmund is not some black death, he’s another beast entirely.
For the first time Osmund admired his surroundings, the inner walls were now filled with wreckage, and looked back to the tent. It was amazing how quickly the medics could establish tents, the battle had occurred for less than an hour and already there were three tents established side by side. Besides the wounded Vaunghe soldier were three other injured soldiers, each seeming to be hit by a minor injury likely from the smoke inhalation.
The captured and surrendered were lined up against the castle's wall, being carefully monitored by over sixty members of the contingent. There were only around twelve or thirteen of the captured, smoke-covered and sputtering. On the ground were bodies, those rookies that tried so valiantly to protect what they cared for. They now lay, looking up to the sky blindly.
Osmund saw the bodies and felt his stomach turn. The desire came back. The shaking returned, alongside it the painful sharp stabbing thoughts. Everything changed, he forgot who he was. What kind of person would approve of this, what even was Osmund was he real or fake, how is he even conceiving things like this. What is reality and why is it real, why can’t he understand-
Silence. Peace. Osmund returned to himself, the shaking never happening at all. He looked down at the bodies and continued to walk. There was nothing he could do for them, not anymore. The eyes of his group bore into him, shattering something that had broken a long time ago. He raised his hand and motioned for his team to follow, leaving this travesty of death and life behind.
Footsteps. Osmund turned to their echoing sound, the way they bounced through the place was unbelievable, the way it echoed between the walls and the castle structure itself. Through open castle gates he ran, a messenger in green, sword in its scabbard and now approaching Osmund. The man tripped on something, a large rock of some sort, before standing, dusting himself off and reaching the group.
“Osmund, we have hit the enemy’s points of defence.” The man was young, maybe twenty, and no more than twenty five.
“And? Where are they?”
“There are three fronts, the first is in the scout’s tower where a group of Vaunghe are amassing weapons and barricades fast. We can no longer enter the tower, as the amount thrown down makes common entrance impossible. The second location is the garden, where we believe the last of the nobles and the King himself are. We’ve faced harsh opposition from the enemies, who have formed a wall of shields to protect the door. Finally we have the guard’s quarters, where a few amount of Vaunghe are in active combat as we speak, although that will likely be taken without need for intervention.”
“Good job soldier.”
“Thank you sir.”
Osmund removes a slip of paper from his garb, and admires it in the sunlight. It was a complex map of Dundis, including the secret passages and escape routes of the entire place. It cost the annulment of many Vaunghe men and women, but was worth all the effort. Consulting the map Osmund noted the existence of an escape passageway inside of the tower. It was obscured behind a wall, thus explaining the lack of windows on that side.
“Report back to your commander that we’ll begin with the tower, there are several clear passages into an alternative staircase. Launching a pincer attack we’ll defeat the enemy and allow for the redistribution of forces. By that time I expect the guard’s quarters to be taken, allowing us to completely overflow any opposition protecting the garden.”
“Yes Osmund, I will inform her now.” And with that the young warrior ran back through the castle’s long iron gates.
And thus, the final battle was upon them. Osmund looked upon Dundis, the last symbol of the people who had taken everything from him, the ones who had slaughtered so many innocents, so many that Osmund cared for, and now the end was finally in sight. But it didn’t feel like the end, Osmund could feel no conclusion approaching, it felt like something else, as if this was all leading into something more, some grand massacre the likes of which Osmund had never seen. There’s a darkness ahead, something far worse to come than the echoes of a fallen monarchy, and as Osmund stands he can feel it inside of him, gesturing sensually, awaiting his return to the beginning. In a mental prison of nonexistent existence lies the mother, a slight smile on her lips. She awaits the grasp of Osmund forevermore.

I’m a guy and my best friend cheated on his girlfriend during a vacation, they’ve been together 5+ years. I wasn’t on this trip, he shared it with me a bit later on. I have high respect for my friend and his girlfriend, I have very little close friends and consider them both genuine people. Recently I’ve gone through personal growth, which led me towards becoming a more ethical person (I’ve always been, but holding myself to a standard has become more important) mainly because of substance use and depression. Him sharing that with me in the moment I didn’t have much of a reaction, but now 2 weeks later it’s began to weigh on me significantly. I spoke to him about how I felt and held him accountable, he agreed and it felt good to talk, however, it seemed he still didn’t plan to talk to her (for now at least). The dilemma is I have loyalty to my best friend for confiding a sharing a difficult secret with me, but I also feel a moral obligation to tell to her about it. I’m trying to understand my moral obligation, if any, because I’d be hurting multiple people in any direction. What he did was wrong and I believe she deserves to know, but do I get to hold opinion or is this none of my business to get mingled in?

Good day everyone.
I would like advice on how to confirm if my girlfriend is cheating on me based on the results of our sexual intercourse.
Ok, so my girlfriend and I the last time had sex about less than a month ago and when we had sex that time, she couldn't handle doggy style at all, she said it was really painful and after 2 strokes she told me that she want to switch positions and even the missionary was also a bit painful but I gently got her to tolerate it with gentle penetrations, we live about a 4hour drive from each other and transportation to get their is a pain in the ass and we both don't have a car yet, so we don't get to see each other as often.
On Monday she however came to visit me and will be leaving on Thursday (it's Wednesday morning where I am currently at), on Monday evening we had sexual intercourse and she didn't seem to feel any pain for the entirety of the intercourse, I only did missionary with her, which had me thinking quite a lot (as per my above text it was a bit painful the last time we had intercourse) but I just brushed it off and then yesterday we had intercourse again and this time I tried the doggy style with her again to see her tolerance for it this time considering that she couldn't tolerate it at all the last time and to my surprise, she could handle it without a problem, she does still feel a little pain when I try to go all in but she could handle it much better than the last time which does have me a little more concerned, as what could have changed since the last time we had sex and now, so I'm suspecting that she might have had intercourse with someone else in between our last intercourse and this one, otherwise what other explanation could there be for the amount of tolerance she has for doggy style now compared to the last time? and I know for sure that she does not use any sex toys, she doesn't even masturbate at all.
For some context, we have been together for 5 years now and we have a son together who will be turning 2 in December. About 1.5 years into our relationship she may have found out that I wasn't quite serious about our relationship (she read it in a text that I sent a friend of mine) and I have to admit I wasn't, so after she found out our relationship was a little up and down which then led her to one midnight send me a long message about her wanting to leave me and wanting to get back together with her ex boyfriend and all of that, gave me the reason why she aint feeling happy in the relationship, etc. It was this time when I found out that she read that text message (me not being serious about the relationship) I did some reflecting and noticed that I indeed didn't treat her the way she should be treated as well, nonetheless, I managed to convince her to stay and we continued the relationship.
A month or 2 later, I found out that she had intercourse with another guy (one of the weirdest ways to find out actually) but because at that time I was most probably cheating for the entirety of our relationship (she just never found out), I forgave her for it and we continued our relationship.
Fast forward, about a 1 year after the whole ex and her cheating dilemma, she fell pregnant while she was staying with me, we were staying together for about 1 month at the time and late in the second month she found out that she was about 3/4 weeks pregnant, our relationship took a massive turn and it's the type of turn that everyone would wish for when they are pregnant, we grew really close together, we both really started investing in our relationship, I started falling madly inlove with her and we grew very closer, the respect she had for me before that grew to a further extent.
So 3 months after our son was born she got admitted into the police training program to become a police officer for our country, she went on training from March last year up until December, we never saw each other during that time, simply video calls and calling each other everyday.
I have to point out that before she fell pregnant, we had sexually intercourse almost everyday that we were together (we really love having sex with each other, it has been like that since the beginning and still is) and it was always great, that she could tolerate all sexual positions we did.
However, I believe due to the amount of time we spent apart last year and we haven't had any intercourse since the kid was born, I understood that when we had our first intercourse when she returned in December would be a little painful for her as we basically didn't have any intercourse for about 1 year and 2 months. So from December up until now, we have only seen each other 3 times (when she returned from training in December, I paid her a visit at the place that she is placed early in Feb, which after i left she had to go on other training but this time only lasted a month, when saw each other again after she return from the training early in March) and all of those times we, as usual, had sex everyday (we never spent more than 4 days together as we both work in different places) which were all painful intercourses (especially the doggy style, she couldn't tolerate it at all) for her and now this time all of a sudden she barely feels any pain when we have intercourse, even the doggy style that she couldn't tolerate for the past 3 times we saw each other, which is something I find a little weird.
So i wanted to find out from you guys, could there be some other explanation as to why her tolerance has gone to this level all of a sudden? I have to mention that I am certainly an overthinker, I could take any scenario and turn it into the worst possible scenario that could have me feeling a lil depressed, at first I thought it only happened with my relationship but I have come to notice that it is with everything, I read to much into everything and I'm afraid I might be overthinking again.
I don't have any other suspicions of her cheating that I can think of, as our relationship has been in its best phase ever since her pregnancy, we couldn't have been happier, but I also can't rule out any possibilities simply because everything is great between us.
TL;DR: the last time girlfriend and I had sex (earl in March), she couldn't tolerate doggy style at all and also found the other styles (like missionary) a little painful, but last night when we had sex she didn't feel any pain during missionary, and her tolerance with doggy style has gone up significantly, is there any other reason for this or is cheating the only one? She is leaving tomorrow and I wanted to ask her tonight how she could explain that to me but figured I would first hear from you guys as I might be overthinking.
TIA

Xbox Games

Title	Console	Price (USD)	Region
MLB The Show 23 Deluxe Edition	Xbox	50	Global

​
Playstation Games

Title	Console	Price (USD)	Region
WWE 2K23 Icon Edition (season pass, dlcs etc transfers if you gameshare to your NA account	PS4 & PS5	60	Europe
Clash: Artifacts of Chaos	PS4 & PS5	20	Europe
Transport Fever 2 Console Edition	PS4 & PS5	30	Europe
Townsmen PSVR2	PS5	25	North America
Football Manager 2023	PS4 & PS5	30	North America
Scars Above	PS4 & PS5	28	Europe
Chef Life Simulator	PS5	25	Europe
Townsmen VR PSV2	PS5	20	North America
Octopath Traveler 2	PS4 & PS5	45	Europe
Cities VR: Enhanced Edition PSV2	PS5	20	Europe
Cave Digger 2: Dig Harder PSVR2	PS4 & PS5	15	Europe
Colossal Cave	PS5	20	North America
Overland	PS4 & PS5	10	North America
Dungeon Munchies	PS5	10	North America
Overland	PS4 & PS5	12	North America
Emoji Kart Racer	PS5	15	North America
Broken Lines	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
GRIME: Colors of Rot	PS5	15	North America
Do Not Open	PS5	20	Europe
Last Day of Lazarus	PS5	13	Europe
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed	PS4 & PS5	15	Europe
Dakar Desert Rally Deluxe Edition	PS4 & PS5	20	North America
LEGO Brawls	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
The Tomorrow Children: Phoenix Edition Island Explorer	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
Strategic Mind: Fight for Freedom	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
Serial Cleaners	PS4 & PS5	15	Europe
S.W.A.N.: Chernobyl Unexplored	PS4	10	North America
Path of Titans + Founders Pack	PS5	20	North America
DreadOuts 2	PS4/PS5	15	North America
Two Hundred Ways	PS4	7	North America
Train Valley	PS4	7	Europe
Arcadegeddon	PS4/PS5	15	North America & Europe
Hourglass	PS4	10	North America
My Universe - Green Adventure: Farmers Friends	PS4	18	North America
Escape Game - FORT BOYARD 2022	PS5	18	North America
Lumberjack's Dynasty	PS4	15	North America
Tour de France 2022	PS5	25	Europe
Demon's Tier+	PS5	6	North America
This War of Mine Final Cut	PS5	15	North America
Ogre: Console Edition	PS4 & PS5	14	North America
Best Month Ever!	PS4 & PS5	10	Europe
The Fortress Deluxe	PS4 & PS5	10	North America
Rogue Lords	PS4 & PS5	15	Europe
Metal Tales Overkill	PS5	10	North America
Winkeltje: The Little Shop	PS5	10	North America
Cathedral	PS4 & PS5	8	Europe
Liberated: Enhanced Edition	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
Windlands 2	PS4 & PS5 (PSVR required)	10	North America
A Juggler's Tale	PS5	10	North America

​
PC Games

Title	Platform	Price (USD)	Region
The Last of Us Part I Remake	Steam	45	Global
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners - Chapter 2: Retribution	Steam	25	Global
Leap	Steam	10	Global
Climber: Sky Is The Limit	Steam	5	Global
Sunblaze	Steam	8	Global
MADiSON	Steam	18	Global
Re:Legend	Steam	8	Global
Hard West 2	Steam	15	Global
Civitatem	Steam	8	Global
Terraformers	Steam	7	Global
Arcadegeddon	Epic Store	10	Global
The Tenants	Steam	12	Global
My Time at Sandrock	Steam	15	Global
Tennis Manager 2022	Steam	15	Global
Captain of Industry	Steam	15	Global
Space Engineers	Steam	15	Globalc
Bunhouse	Steam	10	Global
Nero	Steam	10	Global
Pro Cycling Manager 2021	Steam	10	Global
Rogue Lords	Steam	13	Global
Totally Accurate Battle Simulator	Steam	8	Global
Solaris Offworld Combat	Steam	8	Global
Boombox	Steam	8	Global

Xbox Games

Title	Console	Price (USD)	Region
MLB The Show 23 Deluxe Edition	Xbox	50	Global

​
Playstation Games

Title	Console	Price (USD)	Region
WWE 2K23 Icon Edition (season pass, dlcs etc transfers if you gameshare to your NA account	PS4 & PS5	60	Europe
Clash: Artifacts of Chaos	PS4 & PS5	20	Europe
Transport Fever 2 Console Edition	PS4 & PS5	30	Europe
Football Manager 2023	PS4 & PS5	30	North America
Townsmen PSVR2	PS5	25	North America
Scars Above	PS4 & PS5	28	Europe
Chef Life Simulator	PS5	25	Europe
Townsmen VR PSV2	PS5	20	North America
Octopath Traveler 2	PS4 & PS5	45	Europe
Cities VR: Enhanced Edition PSV2	PS5	20	Europe
Cave Digger 2: Dig Harder PSVR2	PS4 & PS5	15	Europe
Colossal Cave	PS5	20	North America
Overland	PS4 & PS5	10	North America
Dungeon Munchies	PS5	10	North America
Overland	PS4 & PS5	12	North America
Emoji Kart Racer	PS5	15	North America
Broken Lines	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
GRIME: Colors of Rot	PS5	15	North America
Do Not Open	PS5	20	Europe
Last Day of Lazarus	PS5	13	Europe
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed	PS4 & PS5	15	Europe
Dakar Desert Rally Deluxe Edition	PS4 & PS5	20	North America
LEGO Brawls	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
The Tomorrow Children: Phoenix Edition Island Explorer	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
Strategic Mind: Fight for Freedom	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
Serial Cleaners	PS4 & PS5	15	Europe
S.W.A.N.: Chernobyl Unexplored	PS4	10	North America
Path of Titans + Founders Pack	PS5	20	North America
DreadOuts 2	PS4/PS5	15	North America
Two Hundred Ways	PS4	7	North America
Train Valley	PS4	7	Europe
Arcadegeddon	PS4/PS5	15	North America & Europe
Hourglass	PS4	10	North America
My Universe - Green Adventure: Farmers Friends	PS4	18	North America
Escape Game - FORT BOYARD 2022	PS5	18	North America
Lumberjack's Dynasty	PS4	15	North America
Tour de France 2022	PS5	25	Europe
Demon's Tier+	PS5	6	North America
This War of Mine Final Cut	PS5	15	North America
Ogre: Console Edition	PS4 & PS5	14	North America
Best Month Ever!	PS4 & PS5	10	Europe
The Fortress Deluxe	PS4 & PS5	10	North America
Rogue Lords	PS4 & PS5	15	Europe
Metal Tales Overkill	PS5	10	North America
Winkeltje: The Little Shop	PS5	10	North America
Cathedral	PS4 & PS5	8	Europe
Liberated: Enhanced Edition	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
Windlands 2	PS4 & PS5 (PSVR required)	10	North America
A Juggler's Tale	PS5	10	North America

​
PC Games

Title	Platform	Price (USD)	Region
The Last of Us Part I Remake	Steam	45	Global
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners - Chapter 2: Retribution	Steam	25	Global
Leap	Steam	10	Global
Climber: Sky Is The Limit	Steam	5	Global
Sunblaze	Steam	8	Global
MADiSON	Steam	18	Global
Re:Legend	Steam	8	Global
Hard West 2	Steam	15	Global
Civitatem	Steam	8	Global
Terraformers	Steam	7	Global
Arcadegeddon	Epic Store	10	Global
The Tenants	Steam	12	Global
My Time at Sandrock	Steam	15	Global
Tennis Manager 2022	Steam	15	Global
Captain of Industry	Steam	15	Global
Space Engineers	Steam	15	Globalc
Bunhouse	Steam	10	Global
Nero	Steam	10	Global
Pro Cycling Manager 2021	Steam	10	Global
Rogue Lords	Steam	13	Global
Totally Accurate Battle Simulator	Steam	8	Global
Solaris Offworld Combat	Steam	8	Global
Boombox	Steam	8	Global

​
https://www.reddit.com/IGSRep/comments/mc209m/xterno50s_igs_rep_page/

This will definitely make me sound like an awful person (which I probably am) but I need to get this off my chest. As much as I love my best friend, she's a bitch sometimes.
I have a best friend, who we will call J, and J is neurodivergent (supposedly). She's never had a proper diagnosis by a doctor and although she's waiting for one, I don't think she has any problems other than mood swings and being occasionally emotional. It almost feels like she's hoping for something to be wrong with her so that she can use it to her advantage. Even as of right now, she tells people she's autistic and has ADHD, and uses it to get out of things when she doesn't want to participate. J also has used this to fake cry and get out of classes she doesn't want to be in.
J has also admitted to me that she views other people as less and often guilt trips and manipulates people, even people she cares about.
She also cops out of fun activities and uses her mental health as an excuse. One time there was a "city experience" which is when our school goes to the city and everyone in the grade does fun activities together. We were going to mini golf and J left mid game because she was "getting sensory issues" even though the only thing she had to touch was the golf club. Then J said it was because she didn't like the way the grass looked and was getting "overstimulated" because of it. I find this really annoying because she does this so often. When an activity doesn't go her way she will just cop out and go on her phone which annoys me because I do want to make memories with her. I want to spend time on fun things with her. When she cops out of activities, I feel pressured to also drop the activity and go comfort her.
Not only that, she will sometimes judge me for having fun. At the same "city experience" we did a silent disco. I know that might not be everyone's cup of tea and although J didn't want to do it I wanted to. I decided I wanted to have some fun for the first time in a while and I did. The silent disco was so much fun but when I went back to J and told her I had a good time, she judged me for having more fun than she did.
I was angry with her for these things but I never told her because I feel like I can't be mad at her. She has struggles and problems which are worse than mine and I don't want to add onto that. I feel like I have no right to be angry at her, I feel like I'm not ALLOWED to be angry at her. When I'm angry at her I usually just have to suck it up and keep it in, or if we get into a fight I always end up apologizing.
She also gets mad at me over the smallest things.
This isn't the best example, but the other day there was this kid who's been picking on us for a while and J stood up for herself which I was really proud of her. But also she was speaking in a British accent and I have a habit of pointing out when someone randomly changes to a British accent. (J is born and raised in Australia, never been to England). So I point it out and tell her to chill out because it's better to just not engage with him. All he did was talk in an annoying voice to us and jokingly said "put your phone away, we're in school". The guy picking on us was an asshole and everything but it was clearly a joke since class hadn't started.
J got super mad at this and didn't tell me. Just gave me that "vibe". So obviously I do what I always have to end up doing because her form of solving problems is the silent treatment. I try talk to her but she ignores me so I message her apologizing.
I didn't mean a word I said in that apology.
This was the apology:
" I’m sorry if you're mad at me J, you can just tell me that. I'm not going to be upset at you for being mad at me. He was an asshole. I wasn't trying to make fun of you, I was just pointing it out purely from habit. I'll avoid doing things like that in the future. I often make these mistakes because I struggle with reading the room and didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
She responded with "sure" and more passive aggressive messages whenever I tried to reassure her that what I said wasn't with ill intent and it was out of habit. These included "I thought you'd be different" or "considering you're my best friend ____"
I'm so tired of constantly apologizing to her and I know that I do have fault in this but I don't feel guilty for it. She's so sensitive she breaks so easily and only focuses on her own side of the story and never cares about how I feel. (or most other people as long as she benefits from it)
I'm aware that that wasn't the best situation to make a joke about a British accent but I really don't feel bad about it. She's so tiring to deal with because she's constantly doing this and getting upset over everything and I never feel like I can get mad at her because she's already "going through a lot". I know what she's going through and honestly it sounds bad but it doesn't sound THAT bad. She's pretty (and she knows it), she's got a loving sister, a good dad, gets a lot of the things she wants, is talented and people love her.
I'm pretty much her shadow because everything about me, she's better at. I'm good at art but she's better. I may be pretty but she is beautiful. I'm sad but she's 'depressed'. I have decent music taste but hers is better. I love certain things but she loves them more. Teachers and students like me but they like her more. That kind of stuff. She's definitely the main character and people sometimes refer to me as "J's best friend" rather than my name.
To be honest, I'm only keeping her around because I don't want to be alone. I don't have many other friends. She's alright 50% of the time and I need her for emotional support sometimes. Other than that, I sometimes consider saying "If you don't forgive me, I'm alright with that. If our friendship ends because of you I don't care, and you best believe I won't really give a shit". (She depends on me a lot more than I depend on her.)
This sounds evil, manipulative and horrible but I'm so sick of her selfishness and her being an asshole but getting away with it. I don't mean my apologizes because I find it very difficult to see when I'm in the wrong. I don't tell her any of this because I'm planning on keeping her around for entertainment. I can't lose her because I don't want to look like a lonely freak.
I'm probably just an asshole and I shouldn't think like this because she's got it worse than me and I'm her best friend. I am meant only to comfort her. I should feel guilty for saying all these things about her and having these thoughts against my best friend.
But I'm starting to not give a shit about her cause this happens so often it's not even funny anymore. This is just a cycle.

My door locks are totalled, my ignition barrel is totalled, mechanic friends removed the ignition barrel and am able to start with the transponder in the immobiliser without having to “put the key in” (just use it to turn the little plastic bit that turns the ignition after the barrel)
My question is; I have purchased a new ignition barrel/key/radio unit and door lock, what is the best process to go through to get it fixed and sorted?
I’m getting very mixed messages from a variety of people.
Locksmiths have said they can alter the purchased locks to suit my existing key.
How will this affect the immobiliser that’s programmed into the ECU? I have the immobiliser ring still in place, but the new ignition barrel doesn’t have the same system.
The wreckers I purchased it from suggested that it would work with the help of a locksmith.
I’m confident the locksmith will be able to rejig the mechanical component (have been quoted around $140 Australian for getting both done) of the lock; however the immobiliser component is worrying me.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Also; I am not interested in taking it to a Subaru dealer because they charge rather exorbitant prices for the privilege.
Thanks in advance..

looking for a way to kickstart your day, nothing beats a cup of coffee. But everyone also know that finding a good cup of Coffee Near Me McKinney can be tricky. At Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea, they pride theirselves on selling only the best coffee available in the area. From their regular blends to their seasonal favorites, their selection will give you everything you need to start your day off right.

Welcome to the DAT, summoner! Post questions regarding team composition, content progression, game mechanics, or anything else in this thread. If you are able to help your fellow summoners, please take some time to contribute to the community and answer some questions yourself as well!
A lot of helpful guides and resources can be found in the subreddit mega wiki.

If you ask a question please give ALL relevant information!

• Your monster box: Upload a screenshot to Reddit directly or an image hosting site like imgur or use swarfarm. Sort your box by "Grade" and try to include all 4*s and LD nat 3*s.
• Your current progression: Where you currently are in the game, what your teams are, what content you need help with and what you have tried so far.
• For ToA, which enemies are on the floor you're stuck on.
• For PvP, indicate what rank you are trying to achieve, i.e. currently F3 want to get C1 Arena. For RTA also share your rank percentage.

The less people have to clarify or look up to help you, the more likely you will get a fast response.

Beginner friendly/farmable PvE teams

Recommended progression: GB10 -> ToAN -> GB12 -> ToAH -> (DB11 ->) NB12 -> R5 and Rifts
Fast progression: GB12 -> (DB11 ->) NB12 -> BJ5 -> Tricaru DB12
Note that for NB12 a few violent sets (especially on twins) are making things a lot easier so before tackling Necropolis you might want to farm a little bit of DB11, it also gives you Guard runes for Tricaru.

• GB10: Vero (L), Fran, Loren, Lapis, Shannon/second awakened (2A) Kro
• Legacy GB10 teams typically include Belladeon, Bernard, or Darion. These units are outdated and can be skipped.
• GB12: Vero (L), Fran, Loren, 2A Kro, Shannon/Lapis/2A Naomi
• DB12: Verde (L), Fran, Loren, Sig, Elsharion or Verde (L), Vero, Fran, Loren, Spectra (2A)
• PB10: Verde (L), Colleen/Fran, 2A Raoq, 2A Kro, 2A Spectra/Yen/Pang. You can also use 2A Jultan to tank the boss (on multiple Will sets).
• SB10: Fran, Loren, 2A Kro, 2A Raoq, Ling Ling
• NB12: Lapis (L), Colleen/Fran, Loren, 2A Raoq, 2A Kro/Raoq (NB10 guide). Twins are a much better choice and should be used if possible. You can also directly use Tricaru.
• ToA(H): Fran (L), Lapis, Verde, Loren, Vero/2A Kro/2A Spectra. Use Tyron if you have him. 2A Sath/Thrain are good options if you want to go for a dot team, do not use Baretta as he's terribly outdated.
• R5: Front Line: Xiong Fei, Darion Back Line: Colleen, 2A Kro, Tesa, Theo/Xiao Lin/Belladeon
• R5 stat minimum: You need 25k HP and 1.5k DEF for FL units and 20k HP and 0.8-1k DEF for BL units. Healers and your cleanser should have 100% RES after lead.
• Rift unit options: Xiao Lin, Theomars, Fran, Colleen, and 2A Kro can be used in most of your rift teams. FL Mav/Bernard is good for Water rift and Lapis is good for Fire and Dark rifts. Twins are great in all rifts.

You still need appropriate rune quality and turn order! Do not expect to beat a dungeon just by having these units

Common speed teams

• R5 - BJ5: Colleen, Baleygr, Janssen, Dagora, Loren, lead unit (BJ5 guide)
  
• DB12 - Tricaru: Verde (L), 2A Icaru, 2A Icaru, 2A Icaru (guide (Note: DEF requirement is 3300)) (Cheatsheet) (Calculator)
  
• NB12 - Tricaru: Either add Astar or replace Verde with her (on vamp, same stats). Adding Astar and Lushen to clear waves first also works.
  
• GB12 - dots dots dots: 2A Sath, Mellia, Mellia, 2A Tatu, dot unit/Lushen (guide)
  
• PB10 - Tricaru: Kill towers first (usually L>R>B but some people reported R>L>B working better for them).
  
• SB10 - dots dots dots: 2A Sath, Mellia, Mellia, 2A Tatu, dot unit/Lushen
  

PvE accuracy requirements

Rifts need no ACC. R5 needs 15%. SB10 needs 25%. PB10 39%. ToA(H), GB10, and NB10 45%. DB10, GB12, NB12 and ToA Hell 55%. DB12 needs 65%.

General tips and answers to Frequently Asked Questions:

• NEVER feed non-farmable monsters! (you can feed dupes for skill ups)
• Save your devilmons! In general you do not want to give devilmon to 4* units, Sigmarus and Jeanne are the best early game candidates. Veromos does not need devilmon.
• Best summon stone targets: Tyron, Lushen, Shaina, Sabrina, Talia. For PvP Khmun, Skogul, Galleon.
• Check the events for free energy, mana, and other beneficial stuff. To find the current event pages use the button below the energy/mana counter in-game.
• Lapis can farm Faimon Hell on the free 6* level 15 vampire/revenge runes provided by the challenges. She should be your first 5* and probably 6* as well.
• Shield sets can reduce the HP/DEF requirements on other units and multiple shield sets will stack to form one larger total shield. Each set contributes a shield equal to 15% of the base HP of the monster they are equipped on.
• White artifacts from B2 are cheap to upgrade and can give you a massive stat boost early.
• Hall of Heroes (HoH) should be attempted as high as you can climb. Reps like Rica or Verad can help a lot. Mid/late game players can get 5 extra copies of the HoH monster using almighty scroll pieces after each floor at the small cost of 2000 guild points for each extra monster.
• Most nat 5*s are PvP exclusive and should be set aside in storage till you make some progress on PvE. Some exceptions are CC units like Rica for ToA, cleansers like Anavel for starter R5, and Perna for rifts.
• Dimensional hole energy should be spent as soon as possible, always try to stay under the energy cap (recharge rate: 1 per 2h). 2A Kro first, then Spectra or Raoq.
• Need advice on RTA? Check this post first
• Looking for ToA Hell guidance? Take a look at this FAQ post.
• Swarfarm provides a bestiary for monster stats and data logs.

For more information please check out the more exhaustive FAQ.
If you see someone using monster icons, you can learn how to use them yourself: https://www.reddit.com/summonerswawiki/icons .
To set your user flair please visit the Reddit website (do not use the mobile app) and edit it there (example picture).

[Previous] [First] [Next]
Memory transcription subject: Andes Savulescu-Ruiz, Human Director at the Venlil Rehabilitation and Reintegration Facility. Universal translator tech.
Date [standardized human time]: December 1, 2136
After Larzo left, I read the reports for a few of the children that didn't have translators yet. Something wasn't adding up. There were dozens of notes of "predator disease", with symptoms as broad as "inability to sit still" and "flat affect". I'd heard comments from the psych department about being shocked by how much aliens sucked at psych, but I didn't expect it to be so bad, especially given how good they were at neuro. It reminded me of "hysteria" diagnoses. The tag just became code for "freaked a nurse out once".
Once I read everyone's file, I put the helmet back on and headed to the North Wing (primarily staffed by Venlil and Zurulians) to check on them in person. I really needed a new visor. Putting it on and off all the time was proving to be a hassle. There were some new models I’d seen in “specialty human stores” near the refugee camps, where the visor had a stiff structure at the top and a loose cloth-like one at the bottom, allowing for ease of eating. It looked just like all the others from outside, while being vastly more comfortable. That seemed like something I could stand wearing all day.
I went through all the high-priority language-acquisition kids who'd gotten the implant. They were incredibly shy, and liked to huddle up close, but had taken well to them. Two of the smaller kids were holding up toy spaceships and making whooshing noises with them. The visiting teachers had already cleared most of them for starting classes here, and if they proved they could handle it, they might start attending a special education school outside the facility to help them with socialisation. A few of the boys, who tended to skew younger, were watching a screen together. Two girls and a boy were playing with construction blocks quietly. Some of the kids with implants were even attentively listening to one of the nurses read from a book and show them the pictures. None of them were any flavour of literate(obviously), but their impairments seemed minimal and likely to be reduced over time if given sufficient support.
It seemed we had gotten absurdly lucky. The other facilities had more catatonic kids. I counted two out in the corner with vacant eyes, but they were huddled together at least. Prosocial behaviour. Some others were twitchy and clearly hypervigilant, but they were responsive.
Then I went through the ones with the scary scans. Like I suspected, the kids with "predator disease" just looked like kids to me. Maybe a little hyper or rambunctious, but they'd just discovered elbow-room. Both reactions made sense: huddle together for a sense of safety or explore everything everywhere all at once the moment you suddenly can.
It was reassuring! Just because a brain looks fucked up, it doesn't mean it is. Brains, especially those of children, are incredibly malleable. People with hemispherectomies live largely normal lives, after all. There were stories of concentration camp survivors complaining about the quality of their food within weeks of being freed.
Hedonic adaptation is often greater than we give it credit for. A creepy brain scan is just one data point. Watching them interact made me orders of magnitude more optimistic about their prospects.
Two of them were fighting over a toy with all their might. One eventually won and the other fell on her butt. The victor ran off and hid behind a filing cabinet. Instead of crying for help, the losing kid seemed to just glare and begin plotting her revenge. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the quiet seething coming from that adorable little fuzzball.
"Is this typical of them since their arrival?" I asked a human aide.
"Yeah. Kinda wild for Venlil, but I think that's probably better than the ones that are basically catatonic. Thoughts, Director?"
"I agree. But we might have to move them around soon. I'm a little concerned about some of the tags in their files."
She nodded and went to help someone else bring in a box of storybooks.
I found I kinda liked the deferential way in which the other doctors and nurses and aides treated me as I checked on them. "Yes, sir", "of course, Director Andes". Larzo just called me Andes, which was fine, but I liked feeling important sometimes.
One of the girls in the low priority group kept sneaking glances at me. She had a speckled pattern of dark spots on her white fur, with two big black shapes around her eyes and a round smaller one around her mouth. She reminded me of a dalmatian my neighbour had, when I was a kid. It was aggressively cute. She rushed up to the aide that was handing out snacks, made some growling noises and pointed at me.
Hmm. That must be one of the ones they said struggled with language.
"Oh that? That's the human director,” the nurse said, squatting down to be at eye level with the kid, then added in a hushed tone “don't get too close to the humans. They're predators."
That seemed a little crazy to me (if she can call me a predator, can't I take off the stupid helmet? Was that not the information we were trying to keep from them? Was I going to have to reprimand the anxiety-filled rabbit-sheep on her third day of work?) but the little girl with the spots didn't seem freaked out at all. She just kept staring at me.
It might have been a little creepy if she wasn't so adorable.
The nurses and aides--especially the Venlil ones--seemed most comfortable with the babies, who would be sent to adoptive homes soon enough, as they had the best chance of a smooth reintegration into Venlil society.
The older kids had a curfew, and specific meal times, but were otherwise encouraged to wander around the different sources of enrichment built into the first floor of the North Wing, from playgrounds to books, to a little room filled with data pads that had child-friendly cartoons. There were some classes, but the psych specialist had decided that after being so cooped up, the kids would struggle with the concept of freedom, and so we should make it as clear as possible that they now had it. I headed back to my office which existed in a smaller section between the two wings.
There were a few things in need of cleaning up, but they'd all been addressed. I took off my helmet and got to work on my first report to the Committee for Rescued Venlil Rehabilitation - Human Division (CRVR-HD).
Perhaps an hour into that process, I met my venlil counterpart. He passed by my office door and let out a startled squeak. He dipped into his office, left his bag inside, and poked his head into my office. I thought I saw a shadow move when he did, but I assumed I must have imagined it. That or it was some sort of space butterfly in the periphery of my vision.
"H-h-hello... H-h-human..."
I took a deep breath, which he found somehow intimidating. I took another deep breath, to avoid getting pissed off by him finding breathing intimidating.
"Hello, you are Doctor Karim, right?"
"Yes, yes, and you, um, you are, uh. Um." I couldn’t tell if he had genuinely forgotten my name, or if he was just that freaked out.
"Andes Savulescu-Ruiz."
He frowned. "Not Doctor?"
I shrugged. "My university got blown up, so I'm not really sure what the status is on my credentials. But I did finish my doctorate, if that means anything to you."
He started shaking a little less and walked closer to me.
"Y-yes, I was-was told. Doctor Andes is fine, you have earned it."
I gave him a nod. He nodded back.
"I had, um, assumed that I would b-be um. Director of… this facility. I did not know what to expect of a human um, co-uh. Co-Director."
"To be honest, I don't know what to expect either. When they told me I would be spearheading this, I didn't think there would be a human division and a venlil division. I assume it's so you guys don't have to boss humans around if it freaks you out."
"Yes," Karvim said. "Yes, most certainly. And for your predatorial expertise."
My what? "...Go on?"
"These children. They have been reared–if we can call it that–by and among predators, for the most part. We do not know if they have acquired predator disease, but even that framework is currently being questioned. So your perspective will be vital. Not to mention you are known to communicate with the Arxur, which we… may have need of." He looked a little pissed off about that last part. I decided not to focus on it too much.
"...Good to know," I said, positively baffled about my supposed predatorial expertise.
“I will begin my work now. Feel free to leave. It would be better to avoid unnecessary overlap,” he said. I realized then that he was expecting some sort of tagging in-and-out where we don't actually interact.
“We’ll have to discuss that later,” I said, “human sleep-wake cycles don’t map well onto venlil ones.
“So I’ve heard. Have a good rest of your shift,” he said, and headed out.
As though summoned by mention of “predatorial expertise”, Shaleth called me two minutes later, and nearly gave me a heart attack.
“Andes, I have been returned to my people in exchange for your pets. How are you finding them?” he said, like it was the most natural thing in the world! I nearly jumped out of my seat when he popped up.
“What the fuck? Doesn’t this shit have caller ID? What are you doing?” I scrambled to lower the volume and figure out the settings on the app.
“You are not happy to hear from me?” he asked, clearly a little miffed. Did he ask Asleth for my info?
“I’m at work! You can’t just call me at work. I’m working with–”
“With the cattle, yes, the ones you like so much. I asked you how you were finding them,” he repeated, clearly not grasping the whole I am at work situation.
“They’re… Doing as well as we could expect, Shathel. Some are better than others.”
“Well I hope they’re worth the effort. The lab meat you sent in exchange is really quite delightful, you know? I believe I understand now why the Chief Hunter is so eager to have an alliance with you Humans.”
“Well… Good. Cruelty-free, you know?”
“Ah, but sometimes the cruelty is the best part!” he said, like a whole-ass supervillain. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Sure, Shaleth, sure, the brutal murder is the best part of eating,” I said with a roll of my eyes.
“Spend enough time with those quivering creatures, and you’ll soon see it my way,” he said smugly. “Send me a message when you are not at work. I demand to know what has happened since you arrived on the most succulent of planets. You look healthy.”
He ended the call and I groaned, leaning back into my chair and rubbing my temples. I ran a hand through my hair, leaned back against my chair, and only then did I notice a little white tail, with little black spots peeking out from behind one of my bookcases.
“...Hey there, little lamb,” I said, a little concerned about how much of that she’d heard. I was pretty sure it was the same little girl who’d pointed me out to the nurse. She peeked out from behind one of my boxes of books, and stared directly at me. Still cute. “Did you need something?”
She didn’t say anything.
“...Should I call a nurse?”
Nothing.
“You know I don’t actually think you’re food, right? We’re not gonna eat you. Is this okay? Should I put my visor back on?”
The stare remained.
“...Alright, how about… I just go over here…” I slowly got off my seat and walked over to the door, “and I open the door… And then I back away so that–” In a blink, she scurried out of my office.
“...Well, that’ll be an interesting conversation with Dr. Vemla,” I muttered, and finished up my report. Once done and sent, I headed over to the Psych floor on the North Wing. Doctors Vemla and Rodriguez were having a heated discussion.
"--don't understand the needs of the Venlil. The signs! We are different from humans!"
"I know," Rodriguez said, trying to placate her. "But what I have seen thus far is entirely explicable through trauma, I don't want to write these children off."
"Then I should transfer them over to you," Vemla said pointedly, as if it was a threat.
"I don't see why not," Rodriguez said, giving her a little shrug.
"Everything good here?" I asked. Vemla was a little startled by my appearance, but seemed grateful suddenly.
"I fear we may be leaning a little too much into the human comfort with predatory behaviour," she said, "one of these children bit another one. And the way they move their tails… as if they had weights attached to them. It's unnatural."
I nodded. "Okay… I believe the proposed course of action is wise, then. If you think these children are dangerous, they pose the least danger to human workers. Transfer them over to Rodriguez. We'll see about housing details when the South Wing is finished in a couple of days and they've stopped pouring in from the main hospitals."
"Very well," she said, looking suitably satisfied. "It will be a good way to test the efficacy of the human way of handling these cases."
"I agree," Rodriguez said.
"...Alright," I said, "Doctor Rodriguez, can we talk?"
She led me into her office, closed the door and took off her visor.
"One of the kids saw me talking to an Arxur," I said. She paled, then tried to force herself into a more neutral expression.
"Um. And why exactly–"
"It was a surprise call, I didn't know he had my info," I explained, hoping it didn't look too defensive.
"And the child, how are they?"
"...Seemed fine?"
She looked at me curiously. "Fine? No crying, no shrieking, no shaking?"
"Yeah. I opened the door and she scurried out like a mouse caught with a cookie in a spotlight."
Rodriguez provided me with a patented Psychologist-grade "Interesting".
"I thought so."
"Could you identify this child?"
"Oh sure. She looks like a dalmatian with big spots on her eyes and mouth."
She nodded. "Keep an eye out for her. I think I know who it is. I'll notify you when I have a session with her."
"Sounds good," I said, and headed out the door. "Good luck with your new patients."
She nodded. "Thank you, Director."
I decided to clock out and hit the gym after that. The notion of the gymnasium for recreational purposes seemed to be entirely alien to the Venlil. Soldiers exercised, as did exterminators (or, some of them, anyhow). But it seemed to be more of a duty than a desire, which is why the “gym” was just a room with a soft floor, a couple of small treadmills for testing purposes, weights, and–paid out of my own fucking pocket–a set of gymnastic rings. Between the prohibition of “predatory” pursuits like martial arts and the fact that everything was heavier and harder, I’d settled into an annoyingly difficult yoga routine.
Larzo came by at around the fourth pose. I shifted the weight from one leg to the other and he stared for three whole breaths.
“Can I help you?” I asked, glancing back at him before focusing on my form again.
“... Yes, I was… I was looking for you and thought you’d… Could I draw you, when you do this?” he asked.
“Sure?” I said, because what else do you say when an alien marsupial asks to draw your yoga poses? “Why were you looking for me?”
“Well, I noticed a curious pattern among some of the children and I thought we should have a meeting about it.”
“Schedule it with Karim,” I said. “I clocked out five minutes ago.”
Larzo scoffed. “As if he would listen to me. Come on, Andes.”
“Alright, I’ll schedule it during my next couple of shifts, now what do you–”
As I shifted to a “rainbow bridge” pose, looking at him upside down, I noticed two venlil little girls staring from behind the rack of weights. One was the one who’d been in my office, and the other one was black with a scruffy white band around her neck that didn’t reach her shoulders and white hair on top.
Their ears were startled up when they noticed me looking at them. I looked off to the side to see them better through a mirror instead of directly.
“What do I what?” Larzo asked. I slowly brought a finger to my lips. The girls had stopped looking at me so intently, and instead were facing each other and hissing, with the occasional growl or baring of teeth. Were they having an argument? Could they do that?
One of them saw I was still looking at them through their reflection and grabbed the other. They scurried out of sight. Only then did Larzo notice them.
“Oh. I saw one of them earlier. She had a scratch.”
“The one with the little spots snuck into my office. Cute, aren’t they?” I said, switching to a handstand as slowly as I could. “Sneaky too. I wonder what they’re up to.”
---
SECURITY FOOTAGE VIDEO TRANSCRIPT, MODIFIED TRANSLATOR SETTINGS ANDES-5
[standardized human time]: December 1, 2136
[Four venlil girls sit inside a room, each on their own bed. They are identified as 85731-C, 85763-D, 86392-B, 85719-A. Henceforth referred to by the last digit and letter of their designation.]
1-C: I found the room the big one works in.
2-B: I saw him too. He's not that big, some of the other bosses are bigger.
1-C: He's the strongest. And they know it. They bow their heads and say yes sir.
9-A: What are you trying to do? Do you want them to eat you?
1-C: I am trying to give us an advantage. It worked before. Find the biggest boss. Get the biggest boss on our side. We get extra treats and don't die.
3-D: Never go alone. Always together. Bad idea.
9-A: Why are you like this?
2-B: You have no idea if that worked. They could have been fattening us up.
1-C: They didn’t. They brought us here. Because we were good.
2-B: They brought plenty of prey here. We are not special. Never be first or last, most or least, best or worst.
3-D: Never volunteer, never call attention.
2-B: See? 85763-D Understands! Why can’t you understand, 85731-C?
1-C: I understand better than you. New place! New rules!
2-B: You’re slow and stupid and soon they’re going to realize you’re too ugly to be a productive girl and any babies you have will be slow and stupid too, and they’ll eat you instead of taking you to breed.
1-C: You’re slow and stupid! You can’t even hide from them! I hid for a long time and he didn’t even notice me, but with you there he noticed right away!
2-B: Of course you’re good at hiding, there’s nothing to look at!
[1-C runs out of the room]