Gurgling upper left abdomen
[Leveling up the World] - Academy Arc - Chapter 765
2023.06.10 20:06 LiseEclaire [Leveling up the World] - Academy Arc - Chapter 765
Out there - Patreon (for all those curious or wanting to support :))
At the Beginning
Adventure Arc - Arc 2
Wilderness Arc - Arc 3
Academy Arc - Arc 4
Previously on Leveling up the World…
PERSONAL AWAKENING
Orange clouds floated on a purple sky. There had been a time when Dallion would have found such a sight breathtaking, or at the very least remarkable. Now, it was just another day in his realm. Sitting at the top of Onda’s tower, Dallion stared into the distance.
“Hey, old man!” the teen nymph shouted. “You’re messing up the look!”
If there was one person whose arrogance had grown along with Dallion’s it was Onda. The hammer guardian had always seen himself as a genius and, thanks to the Moonstone in the realm, his opinion of himself had grown even further.
“You’ve no idea how much time and skill it took to get it right!”
Funny. Up to today, Dallion hadn’t minded the attitude. In fact, he hadn’t even noticed it.
“I need some assistance,” he said, glancing down.
At the comment, the guardian froze. There was a spark of emotions within him that was quickly subdued.
“She said not to encourage you,” Onda whispered.
“Harp?” Dallion split into a few instances and looked around. “I won’t be doing anything reckless,” he said with a sigh. “It’s forging related.”
“Forging?” The guardian didn’t sound convinced.
“A while back, you said that there are more complicated things than crafting metals. I want to learn magic crafting.”
“Magic crafting?” Onda shivered slightly while saying the magic word.
“Whatever the proper term is. I know you can do it, so—”
“Can’t.” The guardian quickly interrupted. “She said no magic.”
“Seriously?” Dallion grumbled. “Harp!” he shouted in the direction of the harpsisword’s tower.
Other than a few waves, there was no reaction. Harp was determined not to meddle in his development, and that included not helping him with anything magic related, at least for the time being. After what had happened in Lanitol, Dallion would have thought that he’d be given a pass for reasonable requests. Apparently, that wasn’t the case.
In all honesty, his request wasn’t exactly safe or random. The thought of challenging the archduke’s son had made him remember the duel they’d had back in Nerosal, including the origami weapons the noble had used. Creating such a weapon would be very beneficial in more ways than one. For one thing, Dallion was considering upgrading Lux’s home. Having the firebird follow him about like a bladebow with kaleidervisto sights was starting to get bothersome.
“What about enchanting?” Dallion asked. “I’ve already done that many times.”
The nymph shook his head.
“That was temporary.”
Maintaining his calm exterior, Dallion waited for a short while longer, then left his realm. The first thing he felt was a wave of air hitting him in the face. Moments later, his senses returned to normal.
Normally, entering a realm while flying wasn’t the best of ideas, but it didn’t count while on a cloud fort. Initially, Dallion had wanted to avoid the fuss, but when the squad of furies within the cloud had offered to take them, the choice was made for him.
Aware of their emotions, he knew that the offer was extended mostly because of Diroh. While guard furies assisted mages, they rarely went out of their way to catch up to one mid flight. The rumors of her being royalty must have spread.
“You can rest a bit,” the fury told Dallion. He was a seasoned veteran who didn’t have time for all the rank bullshit. “We won’t reach the Academy till tomorrow.”
One additional day. If Dallion had continued flying on his own, he’d have been there by now.
“Any news?” he asked, suppressing a yawn.
“Where do I start? The Azures are gathering armies in the northeast. Mages too. I’m expecting a major clash in a month at most. The new archduke is also positioning her forces. Now that she’s been given the new spot, she can’t afford to mess up.”
It was tempting to crack a smile. It would be nice if Priscord got humiliated in the upcoming battle, but that was unlikely to happen. The emperor had picked her for the position, which meant that he’d back her up with some of his legions. Losing two archdukes in the same area wasn’t something that would look good.
“Lots of crimsons are also there,” the fury continued. “At least we get to enjoy the skies here for a while.”
Dallion nodded. He, too, was going to join them.
“A bunch of rogues formed a new enclave in the west. It’s out of the empire, so no one’s bothering for now. I told some of your lot that it’s a mistake. No one listened.”
“Someone will take care of them.”
The west, at least, was deprived of any presence. Only the Order was slowly spreading in that direction. No wonder the last Star had made his stronghold there.
“There’s been a few skirmishes in the southeast, but nothing major. The Alliance is keeping the Azures in check. Only minor kingdoms are poking about, trying to get themselves noticed by one of the powers.”
“Yes, everyone’s choosing sides.”
That was true and things were only going to get tougher. Settlements, cities, even small countries were quick to ally themselves to one of the three powers. Even before the war began, several of the minor players had made their intentions known. Most had allied to the empire. Now that its position was shaky, they were looking at the other options. It didn’t end with whole settlements either. Guilds and trade organizations had been moving about, going further to the heart of the empire or out of it. Even hunter dens weren’t immune.
Before leaving Lanitol, Dallion had flown by the structure out of a feeling of nostalgia. What he found was an empty lot. He had expected some of the hunters to have gone—there were many dwarves among them. Yet, the building was missing as well. A more optimistic person might have assumed that the hunters had found a way to take their den as they left the city. In reality, it had likely been absorbed by the overseer. Neutrality was a dangerous notion, especially if those proclaiming to be neutral were strong.
“Over a dozen ghost towns have formed on the border,” the fury said. “If they remain too long without a master, the wilderness will take them.”
“That’s how it usually works.”
The fury glanced at Dallion sideways, but didn’t add anything more. It was obvious he wanted to know more about the fury, just as it was obvious that Dallion had no intention of sharing. The moment of calm had given him a while to relax, and now that adrenalin had loosened its grip, less immediate concerns had resurfaced.
Prophecies, he said to himself. So far, he had heard two. The first had come from a nymph sheet acquired years ago. The dwarf hunter who had found it swore that an otherworlder would bring to the end to the world, or at the very least a substantial change. When combined with what Cleric had shared, the worst might have come to pass. It was Dallion who had made it possible for Adzorg to construct his device. If he found the final pieces, he might pop the barrier between worlds like a soap bubble, letting void creatures pour into reality unimpeded.
If there was nothing you could do, the Order wouldn’t have sent you, Gen said from Dallion’s realm. There’s no point in perfect prophecies.
There is if all you need to do is hide, Dallion replied mentally.
If you’re hiding, you’re not doing it very well.
Dallion smiled. His echo had a suitable sense of humor, even if it didn’t help particularly right now.
“What about vortex gleams?” Dallion asked.
“Vortex gleams,” the fury repeated. “There’s talk of a few out east. The crimsons will know more. They don’t tell the rest of us much.”
“Right.” Dallion leaned back in the sea iron mesh that served as a chair. “Wake me up when we get to the Academy. Don’t stop for anything until we get there, not even assists.”
“You’re the mage.”
If the flight was eventful, Dallion never got to learn about it. Over a day, he spent the time sleeping. To a large part, that was to diminish the fatigue that had stacked up in the last six months. More importantly, though, he was hoping to have a Moon dream. With the curse, he hadn’t been getting anything that might help. This time was no different, although it didn’t bring nightmares either. All it brought was a whole lot of blankness: Dallion closed his eyes one moment, then when he opened them again, he was a few hundred feet from the battle mage building. According to the armadil shield, they had been there for hours, but no one had dared wake him up.
How nice of them, Dallion thought and sat up.
The fury on guard was new—far younger than the previous one, tasked with keeping the cloud stable. Everyone else, Diroh included, was gone.
“Where’s everyone?” Dallion cracked his back. Sleeping on war clouds wasn’t as comfortable as people assumed it would be.
“Your novice was escorted into the building, battle apprentice,” the fury replied, using Dallion’s standard title. “All your things were moved to your room as well.”
“And the furies?”
“They were sent out on another cloud. Katka ordered that we leave you to sleep undisturbed, so—”
“I get the picture.”
Dallion cast a spell, rising up from the cloud. Without a word of thanks, he floated straight to Katka’s room on the upper floor of the building, then went inside. The magic symbols on the walls glowed brighter as he passed. Recognizing him as belonging here, they remained in their present state.
The moment he flew in, the room widened, increasing tenfold in size. This wasn’t normal. Katka wasn’t a fan of modifications, preferring to keep things as they were. Ironically, that made many of the Academy mages see her as a snob. In their eyes, illusions weren’t good enough for her, since she resorted to getting the actual physical thing and bringing it here.
The current modification spell had turned the room into a modern Earth corporate office. There was lots of space, full of desks, cheap plants, water coolers and a glass walled meeting room at the far side. Looking closely, Dallion saw four figures gathered there.
Just great, he thought.
The archmage was present along with Katka. The other two were silhouettes made of cloud matter and water, respectively. That meant that the entire Shimmering Circle had gathered to discuss something. Since Dallion had joined, there had been only one similar meeting. Back then, the “woman” Dallion had seen in Gassil’s memory fragment had also been there, even if no one had formally introduced her to him. There were a few more instances in which she had taken shape to discuss something with Katka. As for the last member, he remained completely unknown. Dallion was aware of his existence, but nothing more.
“Dal,” the archmage’s voice echoed throughout the room, as if he were using loudspeakers. “Join us.”
Taking a deep breath, Dallion made his way to the door of the meeting room and went inside. The conference table was large enough to hold eight people. The seat next to Katka was left free, indicating he was supposed to take it.
“This must be important.” Dallion said, using his magic vision in an attempt to see the people behind the constructs. He was able to see the magic threads connecting the forms to invisible portals, but not what lay beyond. “First time I see everyone gathered.”
The sharp look the archmage gave him quickly told Dallion to tone down the humor.
“We heard what happened down south,” the man said. “What are your dealings with the Order?”
“You know I can’t tell you that,” Dallion said calmly. “Moon vows and all that.”
“Convenient.”
“What I can say is that the Azures tried to take out the archduke.” There was a moment’s pause. “And myself.”
“You were targeted?” Katka asked, more surprised than intrigued.
“I guess Grym is still mad at me for last time. They managed to put echoes in a lot of the people at the banquet. Most of them were normies, but there were a few awakened… as well as the local mage.”
“We know,” the archmage said. “Would have been nice to bring one of them alive for questioning.”
“Wasn’t my fault. The archduke absorbed all the evidence. I did manage to get the mage’s robe, though. If there’s anything to be learned, I’ll find it.”
“Such a marvelous ability,” the cloud woman said. “Sometimes you make me envious.”
“That’s not why I called for this,” the archmage hissed. “A messenger arrived from the emperor himself. The vortex gleam that was spotted not too long ago wasn’t the only one. As it turns out, it’s only a drop in the bucket. There have been twenty-seven confirmed sightings, but unlike the last one, the levels are much higher.”
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this story, consider joining my patreon or check out my other stories on redditserials:
The Scuu Paradox (a Space Opera Sci Fi)
The Cassandrian Theory (a Space Opera Sci Fi)
The Impeccable Adventure of the Reluctant Dungeon (Dungeon Core Adventure Comedy)
Uncharted Waters (An Urban Fantasy Detective Noir)
submitted by LiseEclaire to redditserials [link] [comments]
Adventure Arc - Arc 2
Wilderness Arc - Arc 3
Academy Arc - Arc 4
Previously on Leveling up the World…
PERSONAL AWAKENING
Orange clouds floated on a purple sky. There had been a time when Dallion would have found such a sight breathtaking, or at the very least remarkable. Now, it was just another day in his realm. Sitting at the top of Onda’s tower, Dallion stared into the distance.
“Hey, old man!” the teen nymph shouted. “You’re messing up the look!”
If there was one person whose arrogance had grown along with Dallion’s it was Onda. The hammer guardian had always seen himself as a genius and, thanks to the Moonstone in the realm, his opinion of himself had grown even further.
“You’ve no idea how much time and skill it took to get it right!”
Funny. Up to today, Dallion hadn’t minded the attitude. In fact, he hadn’t even noticed it.
“I need some assistance,” he said, glancing down.
At the comment, the guardian froze. There was a spark of emotions within him that was quickly subdued.
“She said not to encourage you,” Onda whispered.
“Harp?” Dallion split into a few instances and looked around. “I won’t be doing anything reckless,” he said with a sigh. “It’s forging related.”
“Forging?” The guardian didn’t sound convinced.
“A while back, you said that there are more complicated things than crafting metals. I want to learn magic crafting.”
“Magic crafting?” Onda shivered slightly while saying the magic word.
“Whatever the proper term is. I know you can do it, so—”
“Can’t.” The guardian quickly interrupted. “She said no magic.”
“Seriously?” Dallion grumbled. “Harp!” he shouted in the direction of the harpsisword’s tower.
Other than a few waves, there was no reaction. Harp was determined not to meddle in his development, and that included not helping him with anything magic related, at least for the time being. After what had happened in Lanitol, Dallion would have thought that he’d be given a pass for reasonable requests. Apparently, that wasn’t the case.
In all honesty, his request wasn’t exactly safe or random. The thought of challenging the archduke’s son had made him remember the duel they’d had back in Nerosal, including the origami weapons the noble had used. Creating such a weapon would be very beneficial in more ways than one. For one thing, Dallion was considering upgrading Lux’s home. Having the firebird follow him about like a bladebow with kaleidervisto sights was starting to get bothersome.
“What about enchanting?” Dallion asked. “I’ve already done that many times.”
The nymph shook his head.
“That was temporary.”
Maintaining his calm exterior, Dallion waited for a short while longer, then left his realm. The first thing he felt was a wave of air hitting him in the face. Moments later, his senses returned to normal.
Normally, entering a realm while flying wasn’t the best of ideas, but it didn’t count while on a cloud fort. Initially, Dallion had wanted to avoid the fuss, but when the squad of furies within the cloud had offered to take them, the choice was made for him.
Aware of their emotions, he knew that the offer was extended mostly because of Diroh. While guard furies assisted mages, they rarely went out of their way to catch up to one mid flight. The rumors of her being royalty must have spread.
“You can rest a bit,” the fury told Dallion. He was a seasoned veteran who didn’t have time for all the rank bullshit. “We won’t reach the Academy till tomorrow.”
One additional day. If Dallion had continued flying on his own, he’d have been there by now.
“Any news?” he asked, suppressing a yawn.
“Where do I start? The Azures are gathering armies in the northeast. Mages too. I’m expecting a major clash in a month at most. The new archduke is also positioning her forces. Now that she’s been given the new spot, she can’t afford to mess up.”
It was tempting to crack a smile. It would be nice if Priscord got humiliated in the upcoming battle, but that was unlikely to happen. The emperor had picked her for the position, which meant that he’d back her up with some of his legions. Losing two archdukes in the same area wasn’t something that would look good.
“Lots of crimsons are also there,” the fury continued. “At least we get to enjoy the skies here for a while.”
Dallion nodded. He, too, was going to join them.
“A bunch of rogues formed a new enclave in the west. It’s out of the empire, so no one’s bothering for now. I told some of your lot that it’s a mistake. No one listened.”
“Someone will take care of them.”
The west, at least, was deprived of any presence. Only the Order was slowly spreading in that direction. No wonder the last Star had made his stronghold there.
“There’s been a few skirmishes in the southeast, but nothing major. The Alliance is keeping the Azures in check. Only minor kingdoms are poking about, trying to get themselves noticed by one of the powers.”
“Yes, everyone’s choosing sides.”
That was true and things were only going to get tougher. Settlements, cities, even small countries were quick to ally themselves to one of the three powers. Even before the war began, several of the minor players had made their intentions known. Most had allied to the empire. Now that its position was shaky, they were looking at the other options. It didn’t end with whole settlements either. Guilds and trade organizations had been moving about, going further to the heart of the empire or out of it. Even hunter dens weren’t immune.
Before leaving Lanitol, Dallion had flown by the structure out of a feeling of nostalgia. What he found was an empty lot. He had expected some of the hunters to have gone—there were many dwarves among them. Yet, the building was missing as well. A more optimistic person might have assumed that the hunters had found a way to take their den as they left the city. In reality, it had likely been absorbed by the overseer. Neutrality was a dangerous notion, especially if those proclaiming to be neutral were strong.
“Over a dozen ghost towns have formed on the border,” the fury said. “If they remain too long without a master, the wilderness will take them.”
“That’s how it usually works.”
The fury glanced at Dallion sideways, but didn’t add anything more. It was obvious he wanted to know more about the fury, just as it was obvious that Dallion had no intention of sharing. The moment of calm had given him a while to relax, and now that adrenalin had loosened its grip, less immediate concerns had resurfaced.
Prophecies, he said to himself. So far, he had heard two. The first had come from a nymph sheet acquired years ago. The dwarf hunter who had found it swore that an otherworlder would bring to the end to the world, or at the very least a substantial change. When combined with what Cleric had shared, the worst might have come to pass. It was Dallion who had made it possible for Adzorg to construct his device. If he found the final pieces, he might pop the barrier between worlds like a soap bubble, letting void creatures pour into reality unimpeded.
If there was nothing you could do, the Order wouldn’t have sent you, Gen said from Dallion’s realm. There’s no point in perfect prophecies.
There is if all you need to do is hide, Dallion replied mentally.
If you’re hiding, you’re not doing it very well.
Dallion smiled. His echo had a suitable sense of humor, even if it didn’t help particularly right now.
“What about vortex gleams?” Dallion asked.
“Vortex gleams,” the fury repeated. “There’s talk of a few out east. The crimsons will know more. They don’t tell the rest of us much.”
“Right.” Dallion leaned back in the sea iron mesh that served as a chair. “Wake me up when we get to the Academy. Don’t stop for anything until we get there, not even assists.”
“You’re the mage.”
If the flight was eventful, Dallion never got to learn about it. Over a day, he spent the time sleeping. To a large part, that was to diminish the fatigue that had stacked up in the last six months. More importantly, though, he was hoping to have a Moon dream. With the curse, he hadn’t been getting anything that might help. This time was no different, although it didn’t bring nightmares either. All it brought was a whole lot of blankness: Dallion closed his eyes one moment, then when he opened them again, he was a few hundred feet from the battle mage building. According to the armadil shield, they had been there for hours, but no one had dared wake him up.
How nice of them, Dallion thought and sat up.
The fury on guard was new—far younger than the previous one, tasked with keeping the cloud stable. Everyone else, Diroh included, was gone.
“Where’s everyone?” Dallion cracked his back. Sleeping on war clouds wasn’t as comfortable as people assumed it would be.
“Your novice was escorted into the building, battle apprentice,” the fury replied, using Dallion’s standard title. “All your things were moved to your room as well.”
“And the furies?”
“They were sent out on another cloud. Katka ordered that we leave you to sleep undisturbed, so—”
“I get the picture.”
Dallion cast a spell, rising up from the cloud. Without a word of thanks, he floated straight to Katka’s room on the upper floor of the building, then went inside. The magic symbols on the walls glowed brighter as he passed. Recognizing him as belonging here, they remained in their present state.
The moment he flew in, the room widened, increasing tenfold in size. This wasn’t normal. Katka wasn’t a fan of modifications, preferring to keep things as they were. Ironically, that made many of the Academy mages see her as a snob. In their eyes, illusions weren’t good enough for her, since she resorted to getting the actual physical thing and bringing it here.
The current modification spell had turned the room into a modern Earth corporate office. There was lots of space, full of desks, cheap plants, water coolers and a glass walled meeting room at the far side. Looking closely, Dallion saw four figures gathered there.
Just great, he thought.
The archmage was present along with Katka. The other two were silhouettes made of cloud matter and water, respectively. That meant that the entire Shimmering Circle had gathered to discuss something. Since Dallion had joined, there had been only one similar meeting. Back then, the “woman” Dallion had seen in Gassil’s memory fragment had also been there, even if no one had formally introduced her to him. There were a few more instances in which she had taken shape to discuss something with Katka. As for the last member, he remained completely unknown. Dallion was aware of his existence, but nothing more.
“Dal,” the archmage’s voice echoed throughout the room, as if he were using loudspeakers. “Join us.”
Taking a deep breath, Dallion made his way to the door of the meeting room and went inside. The conference table was large enough to hold eight people. The seat next to Katka was left free, indicating he was supposed to take it.
“This must be important.” Dallion said, using his magic vision in an attempt to see the people behind the constructs. He was able to see the magic threads connecting the forms to invisible portals, but not what lay beyond. “First time I see everyone gathered.”
The sharp look the archmage gave him quickly told Dallion to tone down the humor.
“We heard what happened down south,” the man said. “What are your dealings with the Order?”
“You know I can’t tell you that,” Dallion said calmly. “Moon vows and all that.”
“Convenient.”
“What I can say is that the Azures tried to take out the archduke.” There was a moment’s pause. “And myself.”
“You were targeted?” Katka asked, more surprised than intrigued.
“I guess Grym is still mad at me for last time. They managed to put echoes in a lot of the people at the banquet. Most of them were normies, but there were a few awakened… as well as the local mage.”
“We know,” the archmage said. “Would have been nice to bring one of them alive for questioning.”
“Wasn’t my fault. The archduke absorbed all the evidence. I did manage to get the mage’s robe, though. If there’s anything to be learned, I’ll find it.”
“Such a marvelous ability,” the cloud woman said. “Sometimes you make me envious.”
“That’s not why I called for this,” the archmage hissed. “A messenger arrived from the emperor himself. The vortex gleam that was spotted not too long ago wasn’t the only one. As it turns out, it’s only a drop in the bucket. There have been twenty-seven confirmed sightings, but unlike the last one, the levels are much higher.”
The Scuu Paradox (a Space Opera Sci Fi)
The Cassandrian Theory (a Space Opera Sci Fi)
The Impeccable Adventure of the Reluctant Dungeon (Dungeon Core Adventure Comedy)
Uncharted Waters (An Urban Fantasy Detective Noir)
2023.06.10 20:00 Proper_Alarm_5633 [Hair Removal] White peels after strip wax (contains images of it)
![[Hair Removal] White peels after strip wax (contains images of it)](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/Zk_HkTAXYdgLECEUZIk2eLxYW3fjL0u774KRmvweXGE.jpg "[Hair Removal] White peels after strip wax (contains images of it)") | submitted by Proper_Alarm_5633 to SkincareAddiction [link] [comments] |
2023.06.10 19:45 Error_kimchi_berries T has made me a lot hairier than I expected (even more than some cis-men).
I've seen some posts like this before, but we all have our subjective experiences, so here goes...
This is just a vent, I'm not looking for advice, but I would be very happy to hear others' experiences as well.
Been on T since September 2021, but started on a micro-dose, so changes started pretty slow. Increased incrementally until I was at a full dose (1% Androgel, 3 pumps per day, every day) in April 2022. Unlike others on HRT, I have excellent absorption, so Androgel was ideal for me. The last 7-8 weeks, due to high costs, I've been doing injections once a week instead.
At first the hair wasn't that crazy. Little patches on my face, tummy hair, forearm hair got thicker, and the leg hair that used to stop a few inches above the knee now goes all the way up to blend with the "bikini line" hair.
Then, I started developing chest hair (and I'm pre-top surgery, so that's not awkward at all), and there's even a nifty little patch in my clavicle.
Even that wasn't that bad, but now... I have upper arm hair (above the elbows) with little patches on my shoulders and upper trapz that are only getting bigger. Even worse, I've noticed a few darker hairs growing from the middle of my back along the spine.
Shoulder and back hair I find aesthetically quite unappealing (if not borderline repulsive), not that I would ever body-shame others for it, we can't help what our genetics do... But for me this has been a bit of a blow. I've resorted to shaving my upper arms and shoulders.
I'm excited to grow a beard, and in terms of what's grown in, I'd say I'm about 90% there. But now there's hair coming in on the sides of my neck, under my ears. I'm praying it doesn't grow to merge with the hair on my shoulders and trapz.
I don't know my biological dad or his family (I was conceived from a one-night-stand), so I have no one to look to for reference to know just how much hairer I'm going to get. On my mom's side of the family, the only two men I knew passed away, and everyone else I'm no-contact with.
I was excited for body hair, but this is just... Excessive? I swear I'm getting Robin Williams level hairy, and it's beginning to be off-putting.
It doesn't help that I'm pale and all the hair is dark, and I'm very soft and squishy and a little bit overweight. I would be very upset looking like a neckbeard. I used to be very active, but I suffer from chronic pain due to a connective tissue disorder, and I severed my left ACL last month, so it's been difficult trying to get back into shape. So before anyone hops on here to say if I'm concerned about my weight, I should exercise and diet; believe me, I know. I lost 70lbs over pandemic lockdown by restricting calories and cycling 3-4 days a week, 3-6 hours per session. I used to crave physical activity, but now it's all I can do to not have back pain during a walk, or have my hips lock up, or be laid out from chronic migraines.
But back to the topic at hand: I pass as a cute femboy or twink right now, which is fine as my personality is emotive and somewhat flamboyant. I'm by no means stealth yet, so the hair is beginning to be a problem. I can only hope that the structure/shape of my face will continue to change and become more masculine so the hair doesn't look so obviously out of place.
ANYWAYS, if you made it this far, thank you for reading my rant. To be fair, I'm mostly happy with the changes up to now, and I'm looking forward to whatever else is to come. I'm just not thrilled at the aspect of so, so much shaving.
submitted by Error_kimchi_berries to ftm [link] [comments]
This is just a vent, I'm not looking for advice, but I would be very happy to hear others' experiences as well.
Been on T since September 2021, but started on a micro-dose, so changes started pretty slow. Increased incrementally until I was at a full dose (1% Androgel, 3 pumps per day, every day) in April 2022. Unlike others on HRT, I have excellent absorption, so Androgel was ideal for me. The last 7-8 weeks, due to high costs, I've been doing injections once a week instead.
At first the hair wasn't that crazy. Little patches on my face, tummy hair, forearm hair got thicker, and the leg hair that used to stop a few inches above the knee now goes all the way up to blend with the "bikini line" hair.
Then, I started developing chest hair (and I'm pre-top surgery, so that's not awkward at all), and there's even a nifty little patch in my clavicle.
Even that wasn't that bad, but now... I have upper arm hair (above the elbows) with little patches on my shoulders and upper trapz that are only getting bigger. Even worse, I've noticed a few darker hairs growing from the middle of my back along the spine.
Shoulder and back hair I find aesthetically quite unappealing (if not borderline repulsive), not that I would ever body-shame others for it, we can't help what our genetics do... But for me this has been a bit of a blow. I've resorted to shaving my upper arms and shoulders.
I'm excited to grow a beard, and in terms of what's grown in, I'd say I'm about 90% there. But now there's hair coming in on the sides of my neck, under my ears. I'm praying it doesn't grow to merge with the hair on my shoulders and trapz.
I don't know my biological dad or his family (I was conceived from a one-night-stand), so I have no one to look to for reference to know just how much hairer I'm going to get. On my mom's side of the family, the only two men I knew passed away, and everyone else I'm no-contact with.
I was excited for body hair, but this is just... Excessive? I swear I'm getting Robin Williams level hairy, and it's beginning to be off-putting.
It doesn't help that I'm pale and all the hair is dark, and I'm very soft and squishy and a little bit overweight. I would be very upset looking like a neckbeard. I used to be very active, but I suffer from chronic pain due to a connective tissue disorder, and I severed my left ACL last month, so it's been difficult trying to get back into shape. So before anyone hops on here to say if I'm concerned about my weight, I should exercise and diet; believe me, I know. I lost 70lbs over pandemic lockdown by restricting calories and cycling 3-4 days a week, 3-6 hours per session. I used to crave physical activity, but now it's all I can do to not have back pain during a walk, or have my hips lock up, or be laid out from chronic migraines.
But back to the topic at hand: I pass as a cute femboy or twink right now, which is fine as my personality is emotive and somewhat flamboyant. I'm by no means stealth yet, so the hair is beginning to be a problem. I can only hope that the structure/shape of my face will continue to change and become more masculine so the hair doesn't look so obviously out of place.
ANYWAYS, if you made it this far, thank you for reading my rant. To be fair, I'm mostly happy with the changes up to now, and I'm looking forward to whatever else is to come. I'm just not thrilled at the aspect of so, so much shaving.
2023.06.10 19:45 YeetSkeetBoogey [WTS] Daniel Defense MK18 Upper FDE
Timestamp: https://imgur.com/a/lUiYihq
More pics with Timestamp^
BCG pics: https://imgur.com/a/LuV4Noq
Daniel Defense MK18 5.56 Upper FDE
$1050 Shipped
Selling because I decided to run an 11.5” instead.
Upper has somewhere between 800 and 850rds on it. 90% suppressed. Only ever ran Federal, Lake City, and AAC through it. No issues whatsoever. Upper is great and well maintained. Comes in Daniel Defense’s weird brown FDE. Shows very light signs of wear. There are some tiny spots on the pic rails from mounting accessories and one small spot in the finish on the front bottom portion of the hand guard. I included a ton of pics and all wear can be seen in the linked album. All in all, great upper in good shape with tons and tons of life left.
$1050 Shipped
PayPal G&S
submitted by YeetSkeetBoogey to GunAccessoriesForSale [link] [comments]
More pics with Timestamp^
BCG pics: https://imgur.com/a/LuV4Noq
Daniel Defense MK18 5.56 Upper FDE
$1050 Shipped
Selling because I decided to run an 11.5” instead.
Upper has somewhere between 800 and 850rds on it. 90% suppressed. Only ever ran Federal, Lake City, and AAC through it. No issues whatsoever. Upper is great and well maintained. Comes in Daniel Defense’s weird brown FDE. Shows very light signs of wear. There are some tiny spots on the pic rails from mounting accessories and one small spot in the finish on the front bottom portion of the hand guard. I included a ton of pics and all wear can be seen in the linked album. All in all, great upper in good shape with tons and tons of life left.
$1050 Shipped
PayPal G&S
2023.06.10 19:43 Express_Elderberry_8 I have been scammed, what to do
 | Recently I sold a juicy bag on depop and it was cracked and peeling on the inside and the outside was pristine. We noted the condition and added an additional post with extra photos of condition. The original post also alluded to these pics and also it had no pictures of the inside. Which is why there was another post. Now that the item has delivered the buyer has claimed that the bag is ruined and wants a refund. We claim that she has tampered with the bag and made the peeling much worse which is completely obvious. We told her countless times in the claim and before that we record shipments to cover for these cases yet she still is trying to scam us. The straps as you can tell have been bent up to look worse and so has the upper liner of the bag. The magnets and the area around the look in much worse condition and it’s obvious the person was manhandling an already fragile product. She claims we misled her although there were plenty of pictures and she also never asked for pics of inside which I would assume she saw the listing. All in all I’m being harassed now and she’s left a completely un true review on my page and I’ve only had one other bad review like that which came from another juicy bag. They both claim there was a smoke smell although the most recent girl never even said there was a smoke smell until she left a depop review. It’s obvious I’m being scammed but what do I do? submitted by Express_Elderberry_8 to JuicyCouture [link] [comments] |
2023.06.10 19:43 InitialSkill927 "The Story of the Strongest Swordsman in Academy" - Kamen Rider Saber Origin Story
The Story of the Strongest Swordsman in Academy - Kamen Rider Saber Origin Story (強き剣士学園の物語 − 仮面ライダーセイバーの起源, Tsuyoki kenshi gakuen no monogatari − kamen raidā seibā no kigen, lit "The Story of Strong Swordsman Academy - The Origin of Kamen Rider Saber")
Plot: The human world collides with a realm of fairy tales called Wonder World due to a conflict over the Omniscient Tome – a legendary artifact of unparalleled power as a trio of monsters called the Megids mount a failed attempt to claim it and create more of their kind.
A 17 years old young man named Jason who found himself lost in the forest after being awakened in coma. He set out to his journey and discover his new strength and abilities that makes him stronger.
This is the origin story of Kamen Rider Saber from a thousand years ago.
Main Characters:
Public Morals Committee (風紀委会, Fūki-i-kai):
submitted by InitialSkill927 to IsekaiWorkshop [link] [comments]
Plot: The human world collides with a realm of fairy tales called Wonder World due to a conflict over the Omniscient Tome – a legendary artifact of unparalleled power as a trio of monsters called the Megids mount a failed attempt to claim it and create more of their kind.
A 17 years old young man named Jason who found himself lost in the forest after being awakened in coma. He set out to his journey and discover his new strength and abilities that makes him stronger.
This is the origin story of Kamen Rider Saber from a thousand years ago.
Main Characters:
- Jason (ジェイソン, Jeison) - aka The Flame Swordsman, Saber (炎の剣士、セイバー, Honō no kenshi, seibā), Age: 17, Year 1 Class-A - A main protagonist of the series who have awakened in coma and found himself lost in forest. He has no family, no village, just him alone. Later with the girl name Estelle Oceanne she invite him and enrol to Logos Holy Knight Academy. With his "Flame Sword Rekka" (火炎剣烈火, Kaenken Rekka), he fights in fair and square with courage and guidance by his sword. Jason uses his mana to equip fire magic and summon the red fiery dragon known as "Courageous Dragon".
- Estelle Oceanne (エステル・オシアンヌ, Esuteru oshian'nu) - aka The Water Swordswoman, Blades (水の剣士、ブレイズ, Mizu no kenshi, bureizu), Age: 15, Year 1 Class-A - A blonde hair girl who is a royal family of Oceanne Estate and a student of Logos Holy Knight Academy. She saw Jason as he fight his sword style technique, she find him very interesting. She chose him to stay at her estate so that she can teaches him about the academy, the swords and mana ability. With her "Water Current Sword Nagare" (水勢剣流水, Suiseiken Nagare), she fight elegantly, flow like a water with traditional Spanish fencing styles technique. Estelle uses her mana to equip water magic and summon the blue mane lion known as "King of the Beast".
- Roberto Dylando (ロベルト・ディランド, Roberuto dirando) - aka The Thunder Swordsman, Espada (雷の剣士、エスパダ, Kaminari no kenshi, esupada), Age: 17, Year 1 Class-B - A young man who is Estelle's classmate from different class. He is strong, reliable with his trust and strength. With his "Thunderclap Sword Ikazuchi" (雷鳴剣黄雷, Raimeiken Ikazuchi), he fight with electric power with speed and strength. Roberto uses his mana to equip lightning magic and summon the golden Genie known as "Lamp Spirit".
Public Morals Committee (風紀委会, Fūki-i-kai):
- Maya Mirabella (マヤ・ミラベラ, Maya Mirabera) - Leader of Public Moral Committee, Age: 19, Year 3 Class-A - She is a student of Academy Year 3. She has a tomboyish personality, she is also interested in Jason and his sword style technique. She is left-handed with her sword, her mana ability is light magic to manipulate particle attacks.
- Taven Grayson (タヴェン・グレイソン, Tavu~en gureison) - aka The Land Swordsman, Buster (土地の剣士、バスター, Tochi no kenshi, basutā), Age: 18, Year 2 Class-B - He is a tall strong man who is a student of Academy Year 2-B and who look after his little brother Telos. He is laughable, hot-headed, but very strong with his greatsword "Earth Master Sword Gekido" (土豪剣激土, Dogōken Gekido), he is unstoppable with a heavy weapon he carried.
- Sosuke Midoriko (ミドリコ・ソウスケ, Midoriko Sōsuke) - aka The Wind Swordsman, Kenzan (風の剣士、ケンザン, Kaze no kenshi, kenzan), Age: 15, Year 1 Class-E - An energetic young man who is a student of Academy Year 1-E. He was from Japanese nation who trained a Ninjutsu. With his double swords "Wind Twin Sword Hayate" (風双剣翠風, Fūsōken Hayate), he fight to believe that strength is justice. His twin sword can change it into shuriken, two-sword style and one-sword style.
- Yoko Hibiki (ヒビキ・ヨコ, Hibiki Yoko) - aka The Sound Swordswoman, Slash (音の剣士、スラッシュ, Oto no kenshi, surasshu), Age: 18, Year 2 Class-A - A glasses girl who is a student of Academy Year 2-A and a swordsmith of her class. She listen to music on her headphone and she always cover her eyes or face with her hand. In combat, she's uses an enhanced hearing and senses her enemy who is tracking her. With her katana "Sound Sword Suzune" (音響剣錫音, Onkyōken Suzune), she is highly experience by blocking and parry enemies' attacks like a samurai.
- Kuroiwa Kageyama (カゲヤマ・クロイワ, Kageyama Kuroiwa) - aka The Dark Swordsman, Calibur (闇の剣士、カリバー, Yami no kenshi, karibā), Age: 19, Year-3 Class A - Kuroiwa is a student of Year 3, same class as Maya. He has some cold personality, but he's more than a lone wolf. His sword technique are much like a Ronin, with his katana "Dark Sword Kurayami" (暗黒剣月闇, Ankokuken Kurayami), he'll have no mercy but to strike the enemy who stands in his way.
- Meldy Carmen (メルディカルメン, Merudi Karumen) - Student Council President of Logos Holy Knight Academy, Age: 18, Year 3 Class A - Meldy is Student Council President of the Academy who has a coy and innocent-façade. Meldy is talented with one-handed rapier-style and form her mana as her offensive magic with dry ice magic. She is also Maya's closest friend.
- Haruka Suzumura (スズムラ・ハルカ, Suzumura Haruka) - Student Council Treasurer of Logos Holy Knight Academy, Age: 19, Year 3 Class-A - Haruka is a Treasurer of Student Councils who is calm, perceptive, intelligent and good person who is really good at analysis.
- Cathy Villia (キャシー・ヴィリア, Kyashī vu~iria) - Student Council Secretary of Logos Holy Knight Academy, Age: 17, Year 2-A - Cathy is a secretary of Student Council who is very shy and timid. She has an interest of sword crafting, holy swords, the books and suspecting Jason is unrecognisably the new Saber.
- Stacey Luckwell (ステイシー・ラックウェル, Suteishī rakkuu~eru) - Year 1 Class-A, Age: 15 - Stella is a student of Logos Holy Knight Academy who is described as someone whose appearance would easily qualify within the boundaries of cuteness. She also has very large breasts and a curvaceous figure. She is in the same class as Estelle and Haley.
- Haley Violette (ヘイリー・ヴァイオレット, Heirī vu~aioretto) - Year 1 Class-A, Age: 15 - Haley is Stella's best friend and a student of Logos Holy Knight Academy who is a mature and tactful girl and rarely shows emotion. She is in the same class as Estelle and Stacey.
- Joshua Mitchwell (ジョシュア・ミッチウェル, Joshua mitchiu~eru) - Year 1 Class-A, Age: 16 - Joshua is a student of Logos Holy Knight Academy who is inspired to be a hero when he was younger. He was inspired by Jason's sword technique and wishing him to become his apprentice.
- Pam Blossommary (パム・ブロッサムマリー, Pamu burossamumarī) - Year 1 Class-A, Age: 15 - Pam is a student of Logos Holy Knight Academy who is timid and childhood friend of Joshua. She want to useful to help her friends and fight with them.
- Aoi Mizunami (ミズナミ・アオイ, Mizunami Aoi) - Year 1 Class-A, Age: 17 - Aoi is a student of Logos Holy Knight Academy who has some tomboyish and optimistic personality. She owes Jason for saving her from the School festival employees and she took an interest of him for witness his hidden strength by lifting the heaviest block and jog around the course with Estelle. She is trained swordswoman of her clan, she uses her mana ability to enhanced her reversed-blade katana (逆刃刀, sakabatō) and her combat techniques.
- Carlos Di Sandrois (カルロス・ディ・サンドロワ - Karurosu di sandorowa) - Year 1 Class-B, Age: 17 - Carlos is a student of Logo Holy Knight Academy who is in the same class as Roberto and he is Roberto's classmate.
- Bethany Laniez (ベサニー・ラニエズ, Besanī raniezu) - Bethany is a teacher of Year 1 Class A, staff member of Logos Holy Knight Academy. She teaches the students with many trials and challenges to show their own potential skills. She is kind-hearted, but with Jason and Estelle around for doing the challenges very quickly, she become developed unpleasant to the two so then she's giving them a hardest challenge such as double the weight or add extra minutes to do the challenges.
- Cecilia Lumera (セシリア・ルメラ, Seshiria rumera) - Queen of Lumera Kingdom, Master Logos - She is a Queen and the current Master Logos, her duty is to protect the Wonder World and her people.
- Milianda Lumera (ミリアンダ・ルメラ, Mirianda rumera) - Daughter of Queen Cecilia, Princess of Lumera Kingdom - Milianda is a daughter of Queen Cecilia and the Princess of Lumera who is fond to the Wonder World outside and the story books of fairy tales.
- First Master Logos (初代のマスターロゴ, Shodai no masutārogo) - The first Master Logos was the first known holder of the title and the founder of the Sword of Logos. Before his passing, he passes on to Cecilia who is now a new Master Logo and the Queen of her kingdom.
- Marina Oceanne (マリナ・オシアンヌ, Marina oshian'nu) - Marina is Estelles's mother of Oceanne Family who look after her ever since her father went off to his journey to unknown. She deeply care of Estelle very much since she was a proud daughter of her family.
- Sharr Kahn (シャア・カーン, Sha kān) - aka The Void Swordsman, Falchion, (無の剣士、ファルシオン, Mu no kenshi, farushion), Year 3 Class A of Emblem Supreme Knight Academy - Sharr is a student of Emblem Supreme Knight Academy, a rival school of Logos Holy Knight Academy. He's one of the most strongest swordsman in his academy. With his younger sister Shara, he seemly not even care of her but he only care is to beating the students to the bloody pulp.
- Shara Kahn (シャラ・カーン, Shara kān) - Year 1 Class C of Logos Holy Knight Academy - Shara is a student of Holy Knight Academy that met Jason at the festival events. As a result she is Sharr's younger sister who decided to enrol at the Holy Knight Academy. She find Jason and his sword and understood about honor. She might have crush on Jason unrequintedly.
- The Mysterious man (謎の男, Nazo no otoko) - A lone caped warrior wondered around in Wonder World and discover the mystery from the past.
- Sophia (ソフィア, Sofia) - Sophia is a mystic and the guardian of the Sword of Logos' Northern Base. She is a narrator of the series.
- Storius (ストリウス, Sutoriusu) - Storious is a dark and reserved Megid who controls the genre of stories and values knowledge above all else. 1,000 years prior, he was originally a poet who found enjoyment in creating new stories.
- Legeiel (レジエル, Rejieru) - Legeiel is a calm, manipulative Megid who controls the genre of mythical creatures and was originally a humble and friendly individual. Unlike his peers, he does not want to be actively involved, only lending his help when necessary. However, his pride often gets the better of him, especially when things do not go his way.
- Zoous (ズオス, Zuosu) - Zoous is a cruel, hot-headed Megid who controls the genre of animals and was originally a calm and cheerful individual. In spite of his brutish personality, he prefers to fight worthy opponents, sparing those he considers weak or unmotivated to provoke and humiliate them into becoming stronger or more aggressive should they re-encounter each other in battle.
- Desast (デザスト, Dezasuto) - Desast is a hybrid Megid who Storius created on a whim with no purpose in mind, which Desast compensates by fighting ideal opponents.
- Weevil (ウィービル, U~ībiru) - a young prince of his kingdom who is sadistic and mad man with is arrogant and pride personality. He looked down on them who is no use for him. He can do whatever he want when he killed people by tearing off victims limbs.
- Shimi (シミー, Shimi) - Shimi are the footsoldiers of Megid.
2023.06.10 19:28 FabricHardener Flank areas mild stinging pain
30M, for the past 10 days or so I have had an on and off mild stinging or pinching feeling in either my left or right sides (sometimes both). Comes and goes for a few minutes at a time maybe 4-5 times a day, seems to be increasing. Could it by my kidneys? I don't really have any other symptoms and the pain isn't close to my spine at all more like between pelvis and ribs on the sides slightly in back or sometimes in front of my abdomen.
submitted by FabricHardener to medical_advice [link] [comments]
2023.06.10 19:15 MontyAtWork First time watching: how can I watch the show without the interviews? I don't like that they keep ceasing live coverage and making the feed small just to do an interview.
Sorry if this has been asked or isn't appropriate but I've got a big TV and want the feed in full screen rather then having the main race feed a small box in the upper left.
submitted by MontyAtWork to wec [link] [comments]
2023.06.10 19:15 ptahhotep_ Statue of Horemheb and Horus, New Kingdom, late 18th Dynasty (ca. 1319-1292 B.C.)
 | In this nearly life-size statue made of white limestone, Horemheb is seated on the right side of Horus, who places his right arm around the king’s waist. The god’s left hand is holding the sign of life. submitted by ptahhotep_ to AncientCivilizations [link] [comments] The two figures greatly resemble each other. Both have bare upper bodies and wear the short ritual kilt and the double crown. The king is also wearing the striped royal headdress and a false beard. On first inspection, the sculpture appears to be in a perfect state of preservation, but this is deceptive. Horemheb ascends the throne at a complex transitional moment in Egyptian history when, with the “heresy” of Akhenaten over, there is a return to the cult of Amun under Tutankhamun. Because the latter dies young and without heirs, after Ay’s reign it is Horemheb, supreme leader of the army, who takes the crown. The statue has been extensively restored in modern times and several parts were added: the two outer arms and the feet of both statues, the left hand, beard, and the tip of the nose of the king, as well as the beak of the falcon. The appeal of this work lies particularly in the contrast between the traditional rigidity of the overall modelling on the one hand and the face on the other, the style of which has been largely determined by late Amarna art. The realism with which the anatomical details have been represented and the retaining of the portraiture despite the idealizing nature of the piece are a continuation of the art of king Akhenaten. All in all, this sculpture seems to bring us closer to the personality of the forceful statesman Horemheb more than any other of his portraits. |
2023.06.10 19:14 micktalian The Gardens of Deathworlders: A Blooming Love (Part 19)
Part 19 Like Angels Falling from the Heavens (Part 1) (Part 18)
"Dropping in 3… 2… 1. Mission initiated." A synthetic voice read the words off of Tensebwse's HUD and his vision was suddenly filled with the familiar sight of metal and polymer panels rushing past him. “Target ETA, 8 minutes.”
“Alright, ladies!” Tens shouted into his comms-link to the Qui’ztar warriors who were about to experience why the Hell Divers had that name. “Hold on tight! When those retro-thrusters kick, they kick hard!”
"Hold on to what?" The deep yet feminine that called back was equal parts excited and nervous, and even held hints of sarcasm.
"Consciousness." Tens chuckled as he felt himself slowly being pushed towards the planets below.
Despite not feeling too much pressure himself, the Nishnabe warrior was keeping a close eye on both his own acceleration gauge as well as the reads out from his trainees. With his suit and control-AI acting as the central node of the networked machines, he had immediate access to the external and internal sensors of every mech he was in formation with. And, like a good pack leader, Ten wasn't at the front of the group, charging ahead, and possibly going beyond the physical limits of the Qui’ztar warrior women. Rather, he was at the back of the formation, letting the first-time jumpers set a pace they could endure, and watching for signs of overexertion. Even though each woman was nearing the absolute peak of their athletic abilities, the strain they were about to feel would be unlike anything they had ever experienced.
"This isn't that bad." It was Hutloxa who made the remark while sounding a bit too confident.
"We're still on the insertion-burn!" Tens fully laughed into the comms. "Verify trajectory and shield integrity, ladies. It's now or never!"
"Drop zone marked, call out when verified!" Captain Marzima's commanding tone was that of an ardent professional as she knew her commanding officer was watching them carefully.
"Drop Mech 1, confirmed!" A cacophony of voices began calling out in sequence until completing at number 19.
"All units confirmed, Lieutenant!" Marz was doing her job with the precision of a trained expert.
"Excellent, Captain!" Though the praise wasn’t necessary, Tens was starting to get excited as he saw the timer for the retro-thrusters slowly counting down. It had been months since his last time falling into hell and he missed the adrenaline rush. “Remember ladies, you need to keep breathing. If you stop breathing you will pass out. The mechs can and will land on their own if they need to but I need you to stay with me for the whole drop. Do you understand me?!?”
“Sir, yes, sir!” All 20 voices shouted back through the comms in perfect synchronization.
Tens could feel as his heart rate picked up in anticipation as his mind became perfectly clear. Only a few hundred meters below him he could clearly see the highlighted outlines of each of the mechanized walkers he was following towards the ground below. Judging by the angle of their approach, the direction of the planet's rotation, and current placement of the day-night terminator line, they would be hitting their drop zone just as the sun would begin to rise. Though that wasn’t necessarily the intention when planning out this training drop onto the Kyim'ayik’s new colony world, the Nishnabe warrior was looking forward to seeing the sunrise on a new planet. As he watched his countdown time slowly inch closer and closer to the fun part, he hoped that even if some of the women got sick, they would enjoy falling into hell and then being greeted by the morning sun.
“Remember what I said, just keep breath-” Tens almost had his own breath knocked out of lungs as his retro-thrusters began to fire. With a glee none of the women were expecting to hear as they were all rocked by the same forces, the young Nishnabe warrior let out a call of unbridled excitement. “Eeee!”
"What! The! Fuck!" One if the women shouted into the comms though, through the strain, it wasn't clear who.
"You got this!" Tens was able to get out in a surprisingly clear tone. "We're only just over 30 m/s2. This isn't even an emergency drop!"
"Come ladies!" Marz's voice, despite the pressure on her body, was just as strong and confident as it was at the very beginning. "You're deathworlders! You're Qui'ztar! You will endure!"
"You'll build up a tolerance with more drops." Tens added, his ear to ear grin audible as he tried to keep the women going. "Sound off! I need to hear you're still with me!"
"Drop… ugh! Drop mech 1! Still breathing!" The first women called out through labored breaths.
"Drop Mech 2! This is great!" The next voice, in stark contrast to the first, sounded like she was having the time of her life.
In sequence, each of the women called out their number and condition, some showing intense strain and others were clearing having a grand time. It didn't matter to Tens if some of them would need more training, or may not even be cut out for these kinds of missions in the future. The only thing the man cared about at this moment was making sure that they all landed safely. Though it only took a few seconds for each woman to signal they were still conscious and aware, and one a second or two between each one speaking, they were burning through the counter down timer just as quickly as they were beginning to burn through the upper atmosphere of the planet below them. Just before Tens's view of the deep blue oceans beneath him were obscured by the building ball of fire and the blue shimmering from his active shielding, a quaint chain of islands caught his eye. When Captain Marzima finally confirmed that she too was still conscious and able to maintain her professional demeanor, the countdown showed less than six minutes until they touched down.
Like angels of fury falling from the heavens, the 21 mechanized combat walker suits tore their way through the building layers of atmosphere, reentry plasma building with each passing moment. The preprogrammed descent path, having been calculated long in advance, coupled with the lack of incoming fire from the ground to ensured the group of first time jumpers and their experienced instructor had no need for evasive actions. In front of them was a clean and clear route, save for a few sparse clouds, which would see them land directly at the chosen site for the new Kyim'ayik colony. Even though something in the back of the man's mind was telling him not to trust the Arnehilians on the planet below, the idea that even the gray demons who had stolen his ancestors from their home weren't all evil warmed his soul. As the formation of mechs came closer and closer to their target, continuing their dramatic descent as if they were an unstoppable force sent by the Gods, the coastal clearing they were heading towards was highlighted by their HUDs.
"By the Matria- oof!" One of the women called out with a mixture of giggling and exhaustion. "It doesn't let up!"
"Just a couple more minutes!" Tens couldn't help the fact his volume was raised. None of them could. All he could do was shout words of encouragement to spur on the few who were still having trouble acclimating to the strain. "I know you're strong! I know you’re capable! Just keep breathing and you'll be the first Qui’ztar to see a sunrise over the shores of new colony world!"
"Yac'tloma! Chuiom! Are you still with me?!?" Marz's slightly more intense yell caused Tens to trigger the cockpit-view of both of the pilots who got called out.
"Yes, Captain!" Yac responded almost instantly and with a surprising amount of strength. "I think… mmm… I'm finally getting used to it."
"Chuiom!" Marzima shouted again just as a hologram of the Qui’ztar in question popped up on Tens's HUD.
"I'll wake her up." Tens chuckled as he sent a signal to Chu's mech to give her some mild stimulation.
"Fucker!" The woman was instantly awake and Tens could see through the holographic display that she wasn't happy. "Did someone just shock me?"
"No napping till after the debrief!" Tens retorted. "Your vitals are fine and we only got a minute or so left. Keep breathing and stay with me!"
Various readouts across Tens’s HUD were running through numbers faster than the holographic display could refresh. From altitude to effective airspeed, the Nishnabe warrior could see that everything was going perfectly and, despite some of his trainees showing signs of serious exhaustion, he was about as happy as he could be at that moment. Though one of the women did stop breathing for just a moment too long, and needed a bit of prodding to wake back up, the health data the man was cycling through indicated everyone seemed fine, no bones had been broken, and the strain hadn’t caused any unforeseen injuries. Regardless of how strong and capable he knew all of these women to be, and the fact that inertial dampers were reducing the felt forces to about a third of what they should be, each of these Qui’ztar deserved to relax after this. With only a few thousand meters per second of relative velocity left to burn off, and the retro-thrusters maintaining a cool 80 meters per second squared of deceleration, they would all get their moment of peace very soon.
“Is that the Arnehilian settlement?” Hutloxa’s voice cut in through the comms. “It looks really small.”
“Yeup, looks like.” Tens answered while bringing the relevant data up on his HUD. “Just a couple bigger buildings that look like greenhouses, some smaller ones that look like civilian structures, and really simple solar heating and wind energy systems.”
“My systems are telling me there aren’t any defensive systems.” Another of the warrior women added with hints of both confusion and doubt in her voice. “I’ve never seen Grays without some kind of weapons.”
“Remember the brief!” Marz shouted into the brief. “These aren’t Grays, they’re Greens. They’re entirely peaceful and they only have a few personal defense weapons that would barely break our skin.”
“I don’t -ugh-” It sounded like Chu was still struggling with the pressure she was under but was beginning to cope. “I don’t like this. Feels like a trap.”
“Their Mayor said he’s tried to keep his people clear of us.” Despite having more reservation about this situation than he cared to admit, Tens almost hoped he would have the opportunity to meet one of these supposedly peaceful Arnehilians. “But we’ll find out if he actually did it. According to the Admiral, the guy is a total softy and doesn’t like telling people what to do.”
“The ground is coming up fast!” One of the women nervously shouted as Tens noticed his relative velocity gauge showed the mach cones surrounding the mechs were about to dissipate and they would be on the ground in the next few seconds.
“Congratulations, ladies!” Tens shouted in reply as he saw the first mech halt its descent less than a meter off the ground before its massive metal feet could impact the soil. One by one each of the mech stopped just before impact and gently set themselves on to the surface of the planet. “That was your first trip into hell and I hope you enjoyed it!”
There was a chorus of cheers, sighs of relief, and what even sounded like a few tears as 19 of the 20 warrior women began to celebrate their accomplishment. As each of the mechanized walkers shed their re-entry assistance systems, the durable and combat tested thrusters impacted the ground in a series of dull thuds, and complete physical control over the suits was given over the pilots. While a many of the over five meter tall goliaths of metal and poly ceramics jumped up and down, throwing their fist in to air in excitement, some of the others had taken up more leaned forward positions to represent the posture their pilots would be in if they were out of their suits and catching their breath. As the orange and purple sunrise crested the horizon, the Nishnabe warrior couldn’t help but take a moment to simply enjoy the scene around him. Though Tens knew the celebration could and would likely keep going until the recovery shuttle landed to pick them up, he couldn’t help but notice that one of the mech seemed to be staring at the treeline of the clearing.
Quickly interfacing with the sensor system networked into his own, it soon became quite obvious what Captain Marzima was staring at. Just a few dozen meters away, just at the edge of the treeline surrounding the clearing, were four beings which were quickly highlighted on Tens’s HUD and registered as Arnehilian biosignatures. With a quick zoom and directed scan, it became immediately obvious that a small group of children had stuck away from settlement to watch the mechs land. Though they looked quite clean, well fed, and properly cared for, Tens couldn’t shake the feeling that these small, dull-gray beings were somehow different from the silver-skinned bastards whom he hated. It may have been the more healthy, full-figured appearance of their more human-like frames, the simple olive-drab clothing they wore, or possibly even just the more natural appearance of their skin, but they didn’t seem evil at all. Despite the somewhat suspicious nature of beings trying to keep themselves hidden, a smile formed on the Nishnabe warrior’s face as he walked his mech over towards them.
“Hey kids! I can see you!” Tens shouted through his suit’s external speaker system which prompted the children to try to duck behind cover. “The sensors already have you tagged as innocent. You don’t have to hide.”
“Report.” Admiral Atxika’s commanding voice cut into the comms link even though she already knew exactly what was going on.
“Ah, just some kids.” Tens quickly replied with an unbothered tone. “Probably got told to stay away and then did what kids do.”
"I'll contact Mayor Harideth and have him come collect these wayward youth." Atxika replied a bit softer. "Make sure they're safe and uninjured. This planet does have its share of predators."
"You got it." There was real excitement from the warrior as he closed the distance to where the children were still cowering behind cover. "Hey kids, are you alright over there?"
The only reply Tens received as he stopped just a few of his mechs long paces away from the treeline was silence. Despite their attire blending surprisingly well with the lush green forest that surrounded them, the children's attempt to hide behind a large bush was weak at worst and endearing at best. Seeing as they were obviously still afraid of the giant metal machine that was standing just a few meters away, Tens took the initiative, lowered his mech down to a kneeling position, and triggered the cockpit opening procedure.
"Don't be scared." Tens shouted with a caring voice from his now open cockpit. "I've got some snacks for you if you come out."
"But… you're an angel…" One of the children was slowly lifting their head above the bush as they spoke.
"And angels only fall on tyrants and oppressors!" Another child added with an absolutely adorable, squeaky voice while joining the first with their head poking above the bush.
Tens shifted his eyes between the two, unsure of how to respond, but very glad that both children seemed perfectly fine beyond their fear and apprehension. As the other two slowly rose, the Nishnabe warrior opened a small compartment in his cockpit and moved to pull out the promised snacks.
"We… we aren't oppressors…" The child who spoke first was clearly still very concerned about why these angels had fallen so close to her settlement. "Are we?…"
"No, no, no!" Tens quickly answered in the sweetest voice he could muster. "You are innocent children, little ones! You have done nothing wrong. Now, you can eat candied fruit, right?"
"Yes!" The two youngest children shouted in perfect, ecstatic unison.
"But…" The first child, though she was now eying the small packets of treats that Tens had in his hand, obviously still had her reservations. "If we aren't oppressors… Why did you fall so close to our village? Are there oppressors nearby?"
"Ooohhh!" The realization of what was scaring the young girl hit the man like a falling brick. "No, no, no, don't worry, sweetheart. We're just training. Angels have to practice falling so we can do our jobs perfectly when we are called to."
"Huh…" The gray, scaly skinned little girl only looked concerned for a second longer before a huge smile formed across her face and her large blue eyes began to sparkle. "I guess that makes sense. And you all were so beautiful as you fell! Like a wing of fire falling to the ground with the fury of the loving Old Gods!"
"The Old Gods?" Tens half asked while motioning for the children to approach and collect their snacks. "But, more importantly, what are your names, little ones?"
"I'm Valerovum." The first child, who was obviously the leader of this group, announced as she guided the rest from behind the bush and towards Tens and his mech. "And this is Teliuva, Carmoni, and Jokiat."
"It is a pleasure to meet you all." The man bowed slightly before handing the snack packets to Val who then distributed them to her posse. "Do your parents know you're out here? I'm sure they're worried about you."
"Umm…." Val and her gang's eyes grew wide as they realized they might get in trouble for wandering so far away from the safety of their village. However, as if on cue, a new voice called out from the forest behind them.
"Valerovum! Teliuva! Carm-" It sounded like a man was desperately crying out for the young children.
"Over here!" Tens shouted back as loud as he could. "They're safe!"
In the few moments it took for rustling of branches and leaves to close the distance to where Tens and the children were waiting, the kids had already opened their snacks and begun savoring the sweet treats as if it were the very first time they had ever eaten something so sweet. When the olive-drap clad Arnehilian Mayor burst through the bramble, he quickly came to a frozen stop as he saw the four children eating their snacks in front of the Nishnabe warrior and his mechanized walker.
"Mayor Harideth!" Jokiat, the smallest of the four children, ran over the older being, wrapped one of his legs in a tight hug, and then offered the packet of candied fruit up towards him. "This angel has the best snacks I've ever had!"
"They aren't-" The Mayor began before quickly cutting himself off. "Oh, is that right, Jokiat?"
"Yes, yes! You have to try one!" The small child raised the packet of snacks even further towards the Mayor’s dull-gray face.
"They're just candied fruits." Tens clarified after seeing the hints of apprehension on Harideth's face. "They're high in vitamins and sugar content."
“Tha- Thank you!” Harideth took one of the slices of dried, semi-hardened fruit from the package then gave Tens a polite bow before patting Jok on the head lovingly. As he took a delicate bit of the sweet treat, his eyes suddenly grew just as wide as the children’s and he looked like he was eating the most delicious thing he had ever tried.
“Good, right?” The Nishnabe warrior was doing his best to be friendly towards these members of a species that, in any other circumstance, he would have already killed. “I always keep a few packets in my mech just in case I get hungry on a mission.”
“This is wonderful!” The mayor confirmed before bowing again and then redirecting his attention towards the group of children. “Now children, we were worried sick about you! There are predators in this forest. Think about how your mothers would cry if something bad were to happen to you. Let’s get you back to the village before one of those predators finds us.”
“I can escort y’all, if yah want.” Tens chimed in with a genuinely pleasant tone and smile on his face. “I wouldn’t want anything happening to these adorable little ones. If there are predators in this forest, they wouldn’t dare try to attack y’all if me and Loud Bark are with you.”
“Oh, that-” Harideth was about to respectfully decline when Jok interrupted him.
“The angels protect the innocent!” The small child’s shout was quickly followed up by the rest of the children repeating the phrase in near perfect unison. “The angels protect the innocent!”
“That…” The Mayor looked down into Jok’s eyes and saw a sense of hope and serenity that touched his soul before he turned back towards Tens. “That would be quite kind and generous of you. I would truly appreciate it.”
“Tsss! Don’t worry about it!” Tens was all smiles at the prospect of being able to witness a truly peaceful Arnehilian settlement. “It’s gonna be another 30 to 40 minutes before the recovery shuttle gets here, another 20 to 30 minutes to load up all my trainees, and then they can just come pick me up from your village. Besides, angels protect the innocent, right?”
submitted by micktalian to HFY [link] [comments]
"Dropping in 3… 2… 1. Mission initiated." A synthetic voice read the words off of Tensebwse's HUD and his vision was suddenly filled with the familiar sight of metal and polymer panels rushing past him. “Target ETA, 8 minutes.”
“Alright, ladies!” Tens shouted into his comms-link to the Qui’ztar warriors who were about to experience why the Hell Divers had that name. “Hold on tight! When those retro-thrusters kick, they kick hard!”
"Hold on to what?" The deep yet feminine that called back was equal parts excited and nervous, and even held hints of sarcasm.
"Consciousness." Tens chuckled as he felt himself slowly being pushed towards the planets below.
Despite not feeling too much pressure himself, the Nishnabe warrior was keeping a close eye on both his own acceleration gauge as well as the reads out from his trainees. With his suit and control-AI acting as the central node of the networked machines, he had immediate access to the external and internal sensors of every mech he was in formation with. And, like a good pack leader, Ten wasn't at the front of the group, charging ahead, and possibly going beyond the physical limits of the Qui’ztar warrior women. Rather, he was at the back of the formation, letting the first-time jumpers set a pace they could endure, and watching for signs of overexertion. Even though each woman was nearing the absolute peak of their athletic abilities, the strain they were about to feel would be unlike anything they had ever experienced.
"This isn't that bad." It was Hutloxa who made the remark while sounding a bit too confident.
"We're still on the insertion-burn!" Tens fully laughed into the comms. "Verify trajectory and shield integrity, ladies. It's now or never!"
"Drop zone marked, call out when verified!" Captain Marzima's commanding tone was that of an ardent professional as she knew her commanding officer was watching them carefully.
"Drop Mech 1, confirmed!" A cacophony of voices began calling out in sequence until completing at number 19.
"All units confirmed, Lieutenant!" Marz was doing her job with the precision of a trained expert.
"Excellent, Captain!" Though the praise wasn’t necessary, Tens was starting to get excited as he saw the timer for the retro-thrusters slowly counting down. It had been months since his last time falling into hell and he missed the adrenaline rush. “Remember ladies, you need to keep breathing. If you stop breathing you will pass out. The mechs can and will land on their own if they need to but I need you to stay with me for the whole drop. Do you understand me?!?”
“Sir, yes, sir!” All 20 voices shouted back through the comms in perfect synchronization.
Tens could feel as his heart rate picked up in anticipation as his mind became perfectly clear. Only a few hundred meters below him he could clearly see the highlighted outlines of each of the mechanized walkers he was following towards the ground below. Judging by the angle of their approach, the direction of the planet's rotation, and current placement of the day-night terminator line, they would be hitting their drop zone just as the sun would begin to rise. Though that wasn’t necessarily the intention when planning out this training drop onto the Kyim'ayik’s new colony world, the Nishnabe warrior was looking forward to seeing the sunrise on a new planet. As he watched his countdown time slowly inch closer and closer to the fun part, he hoped that even if some of the women got sick, they would enjoy falling into hell and then being greeted by the morning sun.
“Remember what I said, just keep breath-” Tens almost had his own breath knocked out of lungs as his retro-thrusters began to fire. With a glee none of the women were expecting to hear as they were all rocked by the same forces, the young Nishnabe warrior let out a call of unbridled excitement. “Eeee!”
"What! The! Fuck!" One if the women shouted into the comms though, through the strain, it wasn't clear who.
"You got this!" Tens was able to get out in a surprisingly clear tone. "We're only just over 30 m/s2. This isn't even an emergency drop!"
"Come ladies!" Marz's voice, despite the pressure on her body, was just as strong and confident as it was at the very beginning. "You're deathworlders! You're Qui'ztar! You will endure!"
"You'll build up a tolerance with more drops." Tens added, his ear to ear grin audible as he tried to keep the women going. "Sound off! I need to hear you're still with me!"
"Drop… ugh! Drop mech 1! Still breathing!" The first women called out through labored breaths.
"Drop Mech 2! This is great!" The next voice, in stark contrast to the first, sounded like she was having the time of her life.
In sequence, each of the women called out their number and condition, some showing intense strain and others were clearing having a grand time. It didn't matter to Tens if some of them would need more training, or may not even be cut out for these kinds of missions in the future. The only thing the man cared about at this moment was making sure that they all landed safely. Though it only took a few seconds for each woman to signal they were still conscious and aware, and one a second or two between each one speaking, they were burning through the counter down timer just as quickly as they were beginning to burn through the upper atmosphere of the planet below them. Just before Tens's view of the deep blue oceans beneath him were obscured by the building ball of fire and the blue shimmering from his active shielding, a quaint chain of islands caught his eye. When Captain Marzima finally confirmed that she too was still conscious and able to maintain her professional demeanor, the countdown showed less than six minutes until they touched down.
Like angels of fury falling from the heavens, the 21 mechanized combat walker suits tore their way through the building layers of atmosphere, reentry plasma building with each passing moment. The preprogrammed descent path, having been calculated long in advance, coupled with the lack of incoming fire from the ground to ensured the group of first time jumpers and their experienced instructor had no need for evasive actions. In front of them was a clean and clear route, save for a few sparse clouds, which would see them land directly at the chosen site for the new Kyim'ayik colony. Even though something in the back of the man's mind was telling him not to trust the Arnehilians on the planet below, the idea that even the gray demons who had stolen his ancestors from their home weren't all evil warmed his soul. As the formation of mechs came closer and closer to their target, continuing their dramatic descent as if they were an unstoppable force sent by the Gods, the coastal clearing they were heading towards was highlighted by their HUDs.
"By the Matria- oof!" One of the women called out with a mixture of giggling and exhaustion. "It doesn't let up!"
"Just a couple more minutes!" Tens couldn't help the fact his volume was raised. None of them could. All he could do was shout words of encouragement to spur on the few who were still having trouble acclimating to the strain. "I know you're strong! I know you’re capable! Just keep breathing and you'll be the first Qui’ztar to see a sunrise over the shores of new colony world!"
"Yac'tloma! Chuiom! Are you still with me?!?" Marz's slightly more intense yell caused Tens to trigger the cockpit-view of both of the pilots who got called out.
"Yes, Captain!" Yac responded almost instantly and with a surprising amount of strength. "I think… mmm… I'm finally getting used to it."
"Chuiom!" Marzima shouted again just as a hologram of the Qui’ztar in question popped up on Tens's HUD.
"I'll wake her up." Tens chuckled as he sent a signal to Chu's mech to give her some mild stimulation.
"Fucker!" The woman was instantly awake and Tens could see through the holographic display that she wasn't happy. "Did someone just shock me?"
"No napping till after the debrief!" Tens retorted. "Your vitals are fine and we only got a minute or so left. Keep breathing and stay with me!"
Various readouts across Tens’s HUD were running through numbers faster than the holographic display could refresh. From altitude to effective airspeed, the Nishnabe warrior could see that everything was going perfectly and, despite some of his trainees showing signs of serious exhaustion, he was about as happy as he could be at that moment. Though one of the women did stop breathing for just a moment too long, and needed a bit of prodding to wake back up, the health data the man was cycling through indicated everyone seemed fine, no bones had been broken, and the strain hadn’t caused any unforeseen injuries. Regardless of how strong and capable he knew all of these women to be, and the fact that inertial dampers were reducing the felt forces to about a third of what they should be, each of these Qui’ztar deserved to relax after this. With only a few thousand meters per second of relative velocity left to burn off, and the retro-thrusters maintaining a cool 80 meters per second squared of deceleration, they would all get their moment of peace very soon.
“Is that the Arnehilian settlement?” Hutloxa’s voice cut in through the comms. “It looks really small.”
“Yeup, looks like.” Tens answered while bringing the relevant data up on his HUD. “Just a couple bigger buildings that look like greenhouses, some smaller ones that look like civilian structures, and really simple solar heating and wind energy systems.”
“My systems are telling me there aren’t any defensive systems.” Another of the warrior women added with hints of both confusion and doubt in her voice. “I’ve never seen Grays without some kind of weapons.”
“Remember the brief!” Marz shouted into the brief. “These aren’t Grays, they’re Greens. They’re entirely peaceful and they only have a few personal defense weapons that would barely break our skin.”
“I don’t -ugh-” It sounded like Chu was still struggling with the pressure she was under but was beginning to cope. “I don’t like this. Feels like a trap.”
“Their Mayor said he’s tried to keep his people clear of us.” Despite having more reservation about this situation than he cared to admit, Tens almost hoped he would have the opportunity to meet one of these supposedly peaceful Arnehilians. “But we’ll find out if he actually did it. According to the Admiral, the guy is a total softy and doesn’t like telling people what to do.”
“The ground is coming up fast!” One of the women nervously shouted as Tens noticed his relative velocity gauge showed the mach cones surrounding the mechs were about to dissipate and they would be on the ground in the next few seconds.
“Congratulations, ladies!” Tens shouted in reply as he saw the first mech halt its descent less than a meter off the ground before its massive metal feet could impact the soil. One by one each of the mech stopped just before impact and gently set themselves on to the surface of the planet. “That was your first trip into hell and I hope you enjoyed it!”
There was a chorus of cheers, sighs of relief, and what even sounded like a few tears as 19 of the 20 warrior women began to celebrate their accomplishment. As each of the mechanized walkers shed their re-entry assistance systems, the durable and combat tested thrusters impacted the ground in a series of dull thuds, and complete physical control over the suits was given over the pilots. While a many of the over five meter tall goliaths of metal and poly ceramics jumped up and down, throwing their fist in to air in excitement, some of the others had taken up more leaned forward positions to represent the posture their pilots would be in if they were out of their suits and catching their breath. As the orange and purple sunrise crested the horizon, the Nishnabe warrior couldn’t help but take a moment to simply enjoy the scene around him. Though Tens knew the celebration could and would likely keep going until the recovery shuttle landed to pick them up, he couldn’t help but notice that one of the mech seemed to be staring at the treeline of the clearing.
Quickly interfacing with the sensor system networked into his own, it soon became quite obvious what Captain Marzima was staring at. Just a few dozen meters away, just at the edge of the treeline surrounding the clearing, were four beings which were quickly highlighted on Tens’s HUD and registered as Arnehilian biosignatures. With a quick zoom and directed scan, it became immediately obvious that a small group of children had stuck away from settlement to watch the mechs land. Though they looked quite clean, well fed, and properly cared for, Tens couldn’t shake the feeling that these small, dull-gray beings were somehow different from the silver-skinned bastards whom he hated. It may have been the more healthy, full-figured appearance of their more human-like frames, the simple olive-drab clothing they wore, or possibly even just the more natural appearance of their skin, but they didn’t seem evil at all. Despite the somewhat suspicious nature of beings trying to keep themselves hidden, a smile formed on the Nishnabe warrior’s face as he walked his mech over towards them.
“Hey kids! I can see you!” Tens shouted through his suit’s external speaker system which prompted the children to try to duck behind cover. “The sensors already have you tagged as innocent. You don’t have to hide.”
“Report.” Admiral Atxika’s commanding voice cut into the comms link even though she already knew exactly what was going on.
“Ah, just some kids.” Tens quickly replied with an unbothered tone. “Probably got told to stay away and then did what kids do.”
"I'll contact Mayor Harideth and have him come collect these wayward youth." Atxika replied a bit softer. "Make sure they're safe and uninjured. This planet does have its share of predators."
"You got it." There was real excitement from the warrior as he closed the distance to where the children were still cowering behind cover. "Hey kids, are you alright over there?"
The only reply Tens received as he stopped just a few of his mechs long paces away from the treeline was silence. Despite their attire blending surprisingly well with the lush green forest that surrounded them, the children's attempt to hide behind a large bush was weak at worst and endearing at best. Seeing as they were obviously still afraid of the giant metal machine that was standing just a few meters away, Tens took the initiative, lowered his mech down to a kneeling position, and triggered the cockpit opening procedure.
"Don't be scared." Tens shouted with a caring voice from his now open cockpit. "I've got some snacks for you if you come out."
"But… you're an angel…" One of the children was slowly lifting their head above the bush as they spoke.
"And angels only fall on tyrants and oppressors!" Another child added with an absolutely adorable, squeaky voice while joining the first with their head poking above the bush.
Tens shifted his eyes between the two, unsure of how to respond, but very glad that both children seemed perfectly fine beyond their fear and apprehension. As the other two slowly rose, the Nishnabe warrior opened a small compartment in his cockpit and moved to pull out the promised snacks.
"We… we aren't oppressors…" The child who spoke first was clearly still very concerned about why these angels had fallen so close to her settlement. "Are we?…"
"No, no, no!" Tens quickly answered in the sweetest voice he could muster. "You are innocent children, little ones! You have done nothing wrong. Now, you can eat candied fruit, right?"
"Yes!" The two youngest children shouted in perfect, ecstatic unison.
"But…" The first child, though she was now eying the small packets of treats that Tens had in his hand, obviously still had her reservations. "If we aren't oppressors… Why did you fall so close to our village? Are there oppressors nearby?"
"Ooohhh!" The realization of what was scaring the young girl hit the man like a falling brick. "No, no, no, don't worry, sweetheart. We're just training. Angels have to practice falling so we can do our jobs perfectly when we are called to."
"Huh…" The gray, scaly skinned little girl only looked concerned for a second longer before a huge smile formed across her face and her large blue eyes began to sparkle. "I guess that makes sense. And you all were so beautiful as you fell! Like a wing of fire falling to the ground with the fury of the loving Old Gods!"
"The Old Gods?" Tens half asked while motioning for the children to approach and collect their snacks. "But, more importantly, what are your names, little ones?"
"I'm Valerovum." The first child, who was obviously the leader of this group, announced as she guided the rest from behind the bush and towards Tens and his mech. "And this is Teliuva, Carmoni, and Jokiat."
"It is a pleasure to meet you all." The man bowed slightly before handing the snack packets to Val who then distributed them to her posse. "Do your parents know you're out here? I'm sure they're worried about you."
"Umm…." Val and her gang's eyes grew wide as they realized they might get in trouble for wandering so far away from the safety of their village. However, as if on cue, a new voice called out from the forest behind them.
"Valerovum! Teliuva! Carm-" It sounded like a man was desperately crying out for the young children.
"Over here!" Tens shouted back as loud as he could. "They're safe!"
In the few moments it took for rustling of branches and leaves to close the distance to where Tens and the children were waiting, the kids had already opened their snacks and begun savoring the sweet treats as if it were the very first time they had ever eaten something so sweet. When the olive-drap clad Arnehilian Mayor burst through the bramble, he quickly came to a frozen stop as he saw the four children eating their snacks in front of the Nishnabe warrior and his mechanized walker.
"Mayor Harideth!" Jokiat, the smallest of the four children, ran over the older being, wrapped one of his legs in a tight hug, and then offered the packet of candied fruit up towards him. "This angel has the best snacks I've ever had!"
"They aren't-" The Mayor began before quickly cutting himself off. "Oh, is that right, Jokiat?"
"Yes, yes! You have to try one!" The small child raised the packet of snacks even further towards the Mayor’s dull-gray face.
"They're just candied fruits." Tens clarified after seeing the hints of apprehension on Harideth's face. "They're high in vitamins and sugar content."
“Tha- Thank you!” Harideth took one of the slices of dried, semi-hardened fruit from the package then gave Tens a polite bow before patting Jok on the head lovingly. As he took a delicate bit of the sweet treat, his eyes suddenly grew just as wide as the children’s and he looked like he was eating the most delicious thing he had ever tried.
“Good, right?” The Nishnabe warrior was doing his best to be friendly towards these members of a species that, in any other circumstance, he would have already killed. “I always keep a few packets in my mech just in case I get hungry on a mission.”
“This is wonderful!” The mayor confirmed before bowing again and then redirecting his attention towards the group of children. “Now children, we were worried sick about you! There are predators in this forest. Think about how your mothers would cry if something bad were to happen to you. Let’s get you back to the village before one of those predators finds us.”
“I can escort y’all, if yah want.” Tens chimed in with a genuinely pleasant tone and smile on his face. “I wouldn’t want anything happening to these adorable little ones. If there are predators in this forest, they wouldn’t dare try to attack y’all if me and Loud Bark are with you.”
“Oh, that-” Harideth was about to respectfully decline when Jok interrupted him.
“The angels protect the innocent!” The small child’s shout was quickly followed up by the rest of the children repeating the phrase in near perfect unison. “The angels protect the innocent!”
“That…” The Mayor looked down into Jok’s eyes and saw a sense of hope and serenity that touched his soul before he turned back towards Tens. “That would be quite kind and generous of you. I would truly appreciate it.”
“Tsss! Don’t worry about it!” Tens was all smiles at the prospect of being able to witness a truly peaceful Arnehilian settlement. “It’s gonna be another 30 to 40 minutes before the recovery shuttle gets here, another 20 to 30 minutes to load up all my trainees, and then they can just come pick me up from your village. Besides, angels protect the innocent, right?”
2023.06.10 19:12 ptahhotep_ Statue of Horemheb and Horus, New Kingdom, late 18th Dynasty (ca. 1319-1292 B.C.)
In this nearly life-size statue made of white limestone, Horemheb is seated on the right side of Horus, who places his right arm around the king’s waist. The god’s left hand is holding the sign of life.
The two figures greatly resemble each other. Both have bare upper bodies and wear the short ritual kilt and the double crown. The king is also wearing the striped royal headdress and a false beard. On first inspection, the sculpture appears to be in a perfect state of preservation, but this is deceptive.
Horemheb ascends the throne at a complex transitional moment in Egyptian history when, with the “heresy” of Akhenaten over, there is a return to the cult of Amun under Tutankhamun. Because the latter dies young and without heirs, after Ay’s reign it is Horemheb, supreme leader of the army, who takes the crown.
The statue has been extensively restored in modern times and several parts were added: the two outer arms and the feet of both statues, the left hand, beard, and the tip of the nose of the king, as well as the beak of the falcon.
The appeal of this work lies particularly in the contrast between the traditional rigidity of the overall modelling on the one hand and the face on the other, the style of which has been largely determined by late Amarna art.
The realism with which the anatomical details have been represented and the retaining of the portraiture despite the idealizing nature of the piece are a continuation of the art of king Akhenaten. All in all, this sculpture seems to bring us closer to the personality of the forceful statesman Horemheb more than any other of his portraits.
submitted by ptahhotep_ to egyptology [link] [comments]
The two figures greatly resemble each other. Both have bare upper bodies and wear the short ritual kilt and the double crown. The king is also wearing the striped royal headdress and a false beard. On first inspection, the sculpture appears to be in a perfect state of preservation, but this is deceptive.
Horemheb ascends the throne at a complex transitional moment in Egyptian history when, with the “heresy” of Akhenaten over, there is a return to the cult of Amun under Tutankhamun. Because the latter dies young and without heirs, after Ay’s reign it is Horemheb, supreme leader of the army, who takes the crown.
The statue has been extensively restored in modern times and several parts were added: the two outer arms and the feet of both statues, the left hand, beard, and the tip of the nose of the king, as well as the beak of the falcon.
The appeal of this work lies particularly in the contrast between the traditional rigidity of the overall modelling on the one hand and the face on the other, the style of which has been largely determined by late Amarna art.
The realism with which the anatomical details have been represented and the retaining of the portraiture despite the idealizing nature of the piece are a continuation of the art of king Akhenaten. All in all, this sculpture seems to bring us closer to the personality of the forceful statesman Horemheb more than any other of his portraits.
2023.06.10 19:09 ptahhotep_ Statue of Horemheb and Horus, New Kingdom, late 18th Dynasty (ca. 1319-1292 B.C.)
 | In this nearly life-size statue made of white limestone, Horemheb is seated on the right side of Horus, who places his right arm around the king’s waist. The god’s left hand is holding the sign of life. submitted by ptahhotep_ to ancientegypt [link] [comments] The two figures greatly resemble each other. Both have bare upper bodies and wear the short ritual kilt and the double crown. The king is also wearing the striped royal headdress and a false beard. On first inspection, the sculpture appears to be in a perfect state of preservation, but this is deceptive. Horemheb ascends the throne at a complex transitional moment in Egyptian history when, with the “heresy” of Akhenaten over, there is a return to the cult of Amun under Tutankhamun. Because the latter dies young and without heirs, after Ay’s reign it is Horemheb, supreme leader of the army, who takes the crown. The statue has been extensively restored in modern times and several parts were added: the two outer arms and the feet of both statues, the left hand, beard, and the tip of the nose of the king, as well as the beak of the falcon. The appeal of this work lies particularly in the contrast between the traditional rigidity of the overall modelling on the one hand and the face on the other, the style of which has been largely determined by late Amarna art. The realism with which the anatomical details have been represented and the retaining of the portraiture despite the idealizing nature of the piece are a continuation of the art of king Akhenaten. All in all, this sculpture seems to bring us closer to the personality of the forceful statesman Horemheb more than any other of his portraits. |
2023.06.10 19:04 ORDVAI Best way to go about this?
Hi. 23yo M. 236lbs. Non smoker, non drinker.
I have had a upper left way back toothache since May 20th. It started to get worse last week with it being almost constant and worse at night now. I am having face pain on the affected side along with feeling off. My speech is slurring slightly as well that I’ve noticed, though I have no facial swelling. Not sure if my anxiety or this toothache is making my chest / throat somewhat tight but that makes me anxious. My temp is fine and my pulse is fine.
I called a dentist a few weeks back and they said the earliest they can get me in is in August and that’s just to see the hygienist. The dentists are booked until December. They put me on a cancellation list and I haven’t heard back yet at all. I expressed that this was an emergency but they seemed to brush it off.
My insurance only covers 3 dentists around my area and 2 of them are not accepting new patients.
I am anxious about this toothache getting worse and spreading to the rest of my body which I am anxious that it is starting to spread but I am not sure what to do really.
submitted by ORDVAI to askdentists [link] [comments]
I have had a upper left way back toothache since May 20th. It started to get worse last week with it being almost constant and worse at night now. I am having face pain on the affected side along with feeling off. My speech is slurring slightly as well that I’ve noticed, though I have no facial swelling. Not sure if my anxiety or this toothache is making my chest / throat somewhat tight but that makes me anxious. My temp is fine and my pulse is fine.
I called a dentist a few weeks back and they said the earliest they can get me in is in August and that’s just to see the hygienist. The dentists are booked until December. They put me on a cancellation list and I haven’t heard back yet at all. I expressed that this was an emergency but they seemed to brush it off.
My insurance only covers 3 dentists around my area and 2 of them are not accepting new patients.
I am anxious about this toothache getting worse and spreading to the rest of my body which I am anxious that it is starting to spread but I am not sure what to do really.
2023.06.10 18:52 calbert1735 Wild and Free (Galloping). Sure-Lox/The Canadian Group (750pcs). $2 factory-sealed Goodwill purchase. Great fitting pieces, but very glossy!
 | This upper left corner was brutal. A little more than 1 hour for those last 60 pieces. submitted by calbert1735 to Jigsawpuzzles [link] [comments] |
2023.06.10 18:42 someguy3 Introducing Middlemak-NH. A variant that puts all vowels on one hand to maximize alternating hands.
This is a variant of Middlemak that gives:
Middlemak-NH GitHub download.
This was inspired by Northstars placement of H, which I think he got from Nerps.
This is an extraordinary option of Middlemak. Specific details:
1) The most fundamental change is that it puts all the vowels on one hand and most consonants on the other. This maximizes alternating hands (since 75% of all bigrams are between vowels and consonants) while still maintaining a good amount of Qwerty similarity to make it easy to adopt and keep shortcuts the same.
2) Second, this is a pretty impressive reduction in SFB (from Middlemak) by getting rid of NK, KN, NY, NF, and NM (and even AZ). None of those are humongous, but they do add up.
3) It reduces NFBs (from Middlemak). (Explanations on points 3 and 4 get pretty big, the short of it is that it reduces NFBS, massively reduces rolls, and puts in more alternating.) Full details:
3a) Left pinky: being N reduces the ring-to-pinky NFBs even more. WN, SN, and XN are much less common than WA, SA, XA.
3b) Right pinky: being A is slightly worse because it gets rid of the H inside roll. It basically splits the previous HI inside roll to half IA and half AI.
3c) RIght index: being H reduces NFB by replacing ON with OH.
4) It massively reduces rolls, replacing them with alternating hands. Full details:
4a) Left pinky: being N reduces overall rolls with the pinky by a massive 53%. The inside rolls reduce significantly, and the outside rolls to N go to almost nil.
4b) Right hand pinky: being A reduces overall rolls with the pinky by slight 11%. There is an increase in outside rolls with the pinky (previously having H there meant there was basically no outside rolls).
4c) Right index: being H reduces overall rolls with the index by 45%. There is also an increase in outside rolls (because H to vowels is common), but the reduction from removing N is huge.
Added up the three letters on both hands and it’s an impressive 43% reduction in overall rolls.
5) I expect this would reduce pinballing even more, because H is less common than N in the middle of words and in-between vowels.
6) Putting H, as the sole common consonant, on the same hand with the vowels works very well. H has half its bigrams with vowels and half with consonants, so putting it with the vowels means ~half the bigrams are on the opposite hand. That’s not as high as the vowels (86% of bigrams with consonants), but it’s quite high all things considered.
7) This still maintains a good amount of Qwerty similarity. Not just the ZXCV, but pretty much the whole bottom row of ZXCVB_M,.? including the punctuation. On the top row it keeps QW in the same spots. On the middle row it still “keeps” part of the SRT order. The letters TG and NYJ switch on the same finger as well. I think Qwerty similarity can’t be overlooked to make it easier to learn.
Downsides:
1) It introduces ND and NG on the same hand. These really don’t feel too bad going from pinky to index inside roll. And this is pretty small considering the amount of rolls taken out.
2) The hands are a little more unbalanced, with the right hand doing a bit more. But it’s very reasonable and still more balanced than most layouts. There’s no changing that without moving one of the uncommon letters Q, Z, X, V to the vowel hand, which would create knock on changes and likely result in a full change layout.
Conclusion:
I think this is a great option to maximize efficiency with most vowels and consonants on opposite hands.
(I do find it interesting that my variant changes 3 letters on the homerow. Most variants change letters around the edges.)
Middlemak (and Middlemak-NH) I specifically put less common bigrams (OY and OK) on the center column. These are also low with E.
Canary(ansi): There are a ton of NFBs with O and the centre column with OF and OM. Canary ortho still has a lot with OM on its centre column.
CTGAP(final/5) has similar NFBs with O and the centre column compared to Middlemak.
MTGAP is top notch in this regard by putting punctuation on the centre column. Very low pairings.
Nerps has a notable handful more than Middlemak with BO/OB. Not huge but not nothing.
(APTv3 doesn’t have the O on the middle finger. Putting O on the ring-finger-upper-row pushes the NFBs further away but imo puts O in a weaker position.)
If people really want I can put in charts for this. Have them in excel but it’s a lot of data.
Moving on, I’ll add some breakdown charts:
Notes: Sorted by SFB count (see next chart). Ratio >1 indicates right hand dominant, <1 indicates left hand dominant. The hand balance ratios are based on each hand's frequency/distance, right hand divided by left hand. E.g. Middlemak: 51.2% right hand frequency divided by 48.8% left hand frequency equals 1.05. Colemak: 53.2% right hand frequency divided by 46.7% left hand frequency equals 1.14. Hand Balance ratio based on Frequency and Distance is a simple multiplication of the two ratios. I did this because having more frequency and more movement on the same hand amplifies the hand dominance. Or if one hand has more frequency and the other hand has more movement, that would mitigate it to some degree. This is by no means the most definitive way to look at it, but it's what I've managed to come up with. The "Corrected comparison number for left hand dominant" is a hard math thing to explain (that I hope I'm right about anyway). E.g. for Workman listing 0.80 gives the wrong impression the hand dominance is equivalent to 1.2 (20%). But it's actually 1.26 (26%), obtained from 1/0.796=1.26.
I’ve debated how to show this and decided to go with the full nuclear information. Data is from Mayzner revisited in millions (which only has letter bigrams and doesn’t have punctuation data, that’s what the 0’s are).
Notes: This is with index finger pressing C location, how I think most people type. Adding in punctuation the numbers would be higher.
Notes 2: I think some people have misinterpreted what I mean with index pressing C. I mean on the bottom row: Pinky presses Z. Ring presses X. Middle presses nothing. Index presses C, V, B. This is not angle mod, which is: Pinky presses nothing. Ring presses Z. Middle presses X. Index presses C, V, B. Index finger pressing C (not angle) is how I think most people naturally type on a normal ansi keyboard, but it’s hard to know for sure. Most of the time this doesn’t make much of a difference of SFBs. Nerps, APTv3, Canary above have been given as angle mod because that’s what the creators specifically wanted, and it does make a difference. For index pressing C, they go up. Nerps to 38,832, APTv3(ansi) to 30,893. Canary(ansi) to 27,296. On the flip side Middlemak and Middlemak-NH if using the angle mod go down just a tad, not enough to be worth giving numbers. That means Middlemak and Middlemak-NH works for all 3 of index finger pressing C, angle mod, and “proper” ortho typing (Index finger pressing C actually gives the highest SFB count). (I could do yet another chart for 3 total on SFBs, but I think this is enough. Note the ortho chart below for APTv3 and Canary uses their ortho specified layouts.)
Middlemak-NH: This is very impressive and in league with full change layouts. All while keeping Qwerty similarity.
If you want overall percentages with index finger pressing C:
This is from Colemak-DH analyzer. This is quite a bit different and the differences between them are greater. Engram even switches places. This is from a) different corpus used and b) accounting for punctuation. On a) I used Mayzner Revisited which is a massive 5.6 trillion characters (does not have punctuation or spaces). Not sure what Colemak-DH uses but KLAnext considers 1 million to be big and slow. On b) Mayzner Revisited doesn’t have punctuation. Note that Middlemak doesn’t change punctuation while CTGAP, APTv3, and Canary do change them, presumably to reduce SFBs.
Ok I confirmed the big gap is from punctuation. Changing Middlemaks ,./ to ’,. and ’ to / (like Nerps, CTGAP, similar to Canary) gives dramatically lower SFB%. They are listed as (rotate punctuation). I’ll leave it up to the user to decide if they want to change punctuation.
Notes: This is with the middle finger pressing C location, “proper” or ortho style. Same data as above.
If you want overall percentages - middle finger pressing C, Ortho style (Data from Colemak-DH analyzer:
This is from Colemak-DH analyzer. Again quite different. It oddly says Middlemak and Middlemak-NH ortho increases, as opposed to what I found that ortho decreases SFB on both based on Mayzner Revisited. It must come down to the data set used, specifically CT vs CR+CL. And the same as above, the differences between them are larger which again may be from changing punctuation.
Same as above, confirmed the big gap is from punctuation. Changing Middlemaks ,./ to ’,. and ’ to / (like Nerps, CTGAP, similar to Canary) gives dramatically lower SFB%. They are listed as (rotate punctuation). I’ll leave it up to the user to decide if they want to change punctuation. It still oddly says ortho version increases.
*I decided to not include H for Middlemak because of the direction that the bigrams go. (Fyi if H was included, the NHMFKJ would be 31%, and the consonant % minus homerow would still be MFKJ 12%.) But the location of H matters because it’s almost always followed by a vowel. Putting H with the rest of the consonants means the pinballing can start there. Putting H alone on the pinky gives an inside roll.
The way I would read this to make probabilities, eg for Middlemak, would be 1.0*0.8*0.205*0.8...= 0.132 vs Colemak of 1.0*0.8*0.337*0.8...= 0.216 for a quadgram. For a pentagram: Middlemak would be 1.0*0.8*0.205*0.8*0.205 = 0.0269 vs Colemak of 1.0*0.8*0.337*0.8...= 0.0727. You can keep going. Starting with 1.0 to establish the word starts with the consonant on the vowel hand.
There are issues with this, it's based on frequency rather than actual specific _gram information or words.
The Consonant % minus home row is given because the home row is easier to type on. The consonants that are not on home-row are more awkward to move to.
There are more charts at middlemak/wiki that breakdown all the finger distances, frequencies, etc. Very interesting to see if you are concerned about specific finger workload.
submitted by someguy3 to KeyboardLayouts [link] [comments]
QWLDG JFOU: NSRTP YHEIA ZXCVB KM,./Colored changes from Qwerty
Middlemak-NH GitHub download.
This was inspired by Northstars placement of H, which I think he got from Nerps.
This is an extraordinary option of Middlemak. Specific details:
1) The most fundamental change is that it puts all the vowels on one hand and most consonants on the other. This maximizes alternating hands (since 75% of all bigrams are between vowels and consonants) while still maintaining a good amount of Qwerty similarity to make it easy to adopt and keep shortcuts the same.
2) Second, this is a pretty impressive reduction in SFB (from Middlemak) by getting rid of NK, KN, NY, NF, and NM (and even AZ). None of those are humongous, but they do add up.
3) It reduces NFBs (from Middlemak). (Explanations on points 3 and 4 get pretty big, the short of it is that it reduces NFBS, massively reduces rolls, and puts in more alternating.) Full details:
3a) Left pinky: being N reduces the ring-to-pinky NFBs even more. WN, SN, and XN are much less common than WA, SA, XA.
3b) Right pinky: being A is slightly worse because it gets rid of the H inside roll. It basically splits the previous HI inside roll to half IA and half AI.
3c) RIght index: being H reduces NFB by replacing ON with OH.
4) It massively reduces rolls, replacing them with alternating hands. Full details:
4a) Left pinky: being N reduces overall rolls with the pinky by a massive 53%. The inside rolls reduce significantly, and the outside rolls to N go to almost nil.
4b) Right hand pinky: being A reduces overall rolls with the pinky by slight 11%. There is an increase in outside rolls with the pinky (previously having H there meant there was basically no outside rolls).
4c) Right index: being H reduces overall rolls with the index by 45%. There is also an increase in outside rolls (because H to vowels is common), but the reduction from removing N is huge.
Added up the three letters on both hands and it’s an impressive 43% reduction in overall rolls.
5) I expect this would reduce pinballing even more, because H is less common than N in the middle of words and in-between vowels.
6) Putting H, as the sole common consonant, on the same hand with the vowels works very well. H has half its bigrams with vowels and half with consonants, so putting it with the vowels means ~half the bigrams are on the opposite hand. That’s not as high as the vowels (86% of bigrams with consonants), but it’s quite high all things considered.
7) This still maintains a good amount of Qwerty similarity. Not just the ZXCV, but pretty much the whole bottom row of ZXCVB_M,.? including the punctuation. On the top row it keeps QW in the same spots. On the middle row it still “keeps” part of the SRT order. The letters TG and NYJ switch on the same finger as well. I think Qwerty similarity can’t be overlooked to make it easier to learn.
Downsides:
1) It introduces ND and NG on the same hand. These really don’t feel too bad going from pinky to index inside roll. And this is pretty small considering the amount of rolls taken out.
2) The hands are a little more unbalanced, with the right hand doing a bit more. But it’s very reasonable and still more balanced than most layouts. There’s no changing that without moving one of the uncommon letters Q, Z, X, V to the vowel hand, which would create knock on changes and likely result in a full change layout.
Conclusion:
I think this is a great option to maximize efficiency with most vowels and consonants on opposite hands.
(I do find it interesting that my variant changes 3 letters on the homerow. Most variants change letters around the edges.)
Quick thoughts on other layout’s O and centre column NFBs.
One of the issues with putting O on the middle-finger-upper-row is that the EO column has a ton of frequency that pairs with the centre column. Think of Colemak’s HE, but now you have an O as well. I think you have to be careful or they will add up pretty quick.Middlemak (and Middlemak-NH) I specifically put less common bigrams (OY and OK) on the center column. These are also low with E.
Canary(ansi): There are a ton of NFBs with O and the centre column with OF and OM. Canary ortho still has a lot with OM on its centre column.
CTGAP(final/5) has similar NFBs with O and the centre column compared to Middlemak.
MTGAP is top notch in this regard by putting punctuation on the centre column. Very low pairings.
Nerps has a notable handful more than Middlemak with BO/OB. Not huge but not nothing.
(APTv3 doesn’t have the O on the middle finger. Putting O on the ring-finger-upper-row pushes the NFBs further away but imo puts O in a weaker position.)
If people really want I can put in charts for this. Have them in excel but it’s a lot of data.
Quick thoughts on columns
A lot of these layouts share similar columns. For consonants RL, TD, SW. Many vowel clusters are similar. A lot seems to come down to the C and what to do with it. It’s interesting to see Canary put C essentially by itself, which means 4 common letters are put off the homerow. Nerps and CTGAP make SCW. APTv3 makes SC.Moving on, I’ll add some breakdown charts:
Hand balance
Hand balance is a difficult topic. The two most obvious metrics for hand dominance are 1) the frequency of the letters, and 2) the distance the fingers have to travel (which is different from frequency because you don't travel to the home-row). But any pinballing from having too many vowels and consonants on the same hand doesn’t show up in those numbers. Having said that, I’m going to look at frequency and distance.| Keyboard | Vowel Hand | Dominant Hand | Hand Balance ratio based on Frequency | Hand Balance ratio based on Distance | Hand Balance ratio based on Frequency and Distance | Corrected comparison number for left hand dominant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QWERTY | n/a | Left | 0.77 | 1.06 | 0.82 | 1.22 |
| Norman | n/a | Right | 0.93 | 1.27 | 1.19 | |
| Beakl-15 | Left | Right | 1.07 | 1.48 | 1.59 | |
| Workman | Right | Left | 0.97 | 0.82 | 0.80 | 1.26 |
| Dvorak | Left | Right | 1.23 | 1.86 | 2.30 | |
| Middlemak | Right | Right | 1.05 | 1.06 | 1.11 | |
| Colemak | Right | Right | 1.14 | 1.15 | 1.32 | |
| MiddlemakNH | Right | Right | 1.11 | 1.04 | 1.15 | |
| MTGAP | Left | Right | 1.00 | 1.43 | 1.43 | |
| Nerps(ansi) | Right | Right | 1.06 | 0.98 | 1.04 | |
| Engram | Left | Right | 1.09 | 1.43 | 1.56 | |
| CTGAP(final/5) | Right | Right | 1.16 | 1.23 | 1.43 | |
| APTv3 | Right | Right | 1.11 | 1.01 | 1.12 | |
| Canary(ansi) | Right | Right | 1.30 | 1.29 | 1.68 |
SFB (index finger pressing C)
The SFB of Middlemak is still pretty low, but it does come out a tad higher than Colemak’s. Middlemak-NH comes in lower than Colemak (for index finger pressing C).I’ve debated how to show this and decided to go with the full nuclear information. Data is from Mayzner revisited in millions (which only has letter bigrams and doesn’t have punctuation data, that’s what the 0’s are).
| Keyboard | Total SFB | Left hand SFB | Right hand SFB | L Pinky | L Ring | L Middle | L Index | R Index | R Middle | R Ring | R Pinky |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QWERTY | 185,270 | 125,920 | 59,350 | 1,105 | 1,661 | 54,502 | 68,651 | 34,166 | 3,970 | 21,214 | 0 |
| Beakl-15 | 85,917 | 33,527 | 52,390 | 2 | 21,580 | 3,134 | 8,812 | 18,927 | 31,183 | 2,157 | 123 |
| Workman | 78,147 | 29,268 | 48,878 | 1,105 | 3,712 | 2,806 | 21,645 | 27,338 | 5,037 | 16,503 | 0 |
| Dvorak | 70,570 | 28,306 | 42,264 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 28,275 | 12,142 | 16,265 | 8,229 | 5,629 |
| Middlemak | 44,698 | 25,806 | 18,892 | 1,105 | 1,661 | 2,716 | 20,323 | 12,415 | 3,134 | 3,343 | 0 |
| Colemak | 39,023 | 23,336 | 15,687 | 1,105 | 1,267 | 639 | 20,323 | 9,831 | 5,037 | 819 | 0 |
| MiddlemakNH | 36,570 | 24,999 | 11,571 | 298 | 1,661 | 2,716 | 20,323 | 5,094 | 3,134 | 3,343 | 0 |
| MTGAP | 34,151 | 14,550 | 19,601 | 1,147 | 339 | 3,134 | 9,931 | 4,629 | 8,633 | 5,071 | 1,267 |
| Nerps(ansi) | 34,056 | 20,038 | 14,018 | 76 | 2,745 | 1,435 | 15,783 | 7,541 | 3,134 | 3,343 | 0 |
| Engram | 31,167 | 19,467 | 11,700 | 124 | 2,628 | 3,134 | 13,581 | 5,922 | 1,435 | 2,344 | 1,999 |
| CTGAP(final/5) | 30,915 | 20,125 | 10,790 | 54 | 437 | 6,262 | 13,371 | 4,314 | 3,134 | 3,343 | 0 |
| APTv3(ansi) | 24,947 | 14,697 | 10,251 | 1,227 | 6,551 | 1,435 | 5,484 | 2,643 | 5,037 | 1,751 | 819 |
| Canary(ansi) | 24,537 | 13,103 | 11,434 | 23 | 2,745 | 4,528 | 5,808 | 4,957 | 3,134 | 3,343 | 0 |
Notes 2: I think some people have misinterpreted what I mean with index pressing C. I mean on the bottom row: Pinky presses Z. Ring presses X. Middle presses nothing. Index presses C, V, B. This is not angle mod, which is: Pinky presses nothing. Ring presses Z. Middle presses X. Index presses C, V, B. Index finger pressing C (not angle) is how I think most people naturally type on a normal ansi keyboard, but it’s hard to know for sure. Most of the time this doesn’t make much of a difference of SFBs. Nerps, APTv3, Canary above have been given as angle mod because that’s what the creators specifically wanted, and it does make a difference. For index pressing C, they go up. Nerps to 38,832, APTv3(ansi) to 30,893. Canary(ansi) to 27,296. On the flip side Middlemak and Middlemak-NH if using the angle mod go down just a tad, not enough to be worth giving numbers. That means Middlemak and Middlemak-NH works for all 3 of index finger pressing C, angle mod, and “proper” ortho typing (Index finger pressing C actually gives the highest SFB count). (I could do yet another chart for 3 total on SFBs, but I think this is enough. Note the ortho chart below for APTv3 and Canary uses their ortho specified layouts.)
Middlemak-NH: This is very impressive and in league with full change layouts. All while keeping Qwerty similarity.
If you want overall percentages with index finger pressing C:
| Layout | SFB % |
|---|---|
| Qwerty | 6.264% |
| Beakl-15 | 3.575% |
| Workman | 3.053% |
| Dvorak | 2.639% |
| Middlemak | 2.078% |
| Engram | 1.863% |
| Colemak | 1.815% |
| Middlemak-NH | 1.784% |
| Middlemak(rotate punctuation) | 1.614% |
| APTv3 | 1.420% |
| MTGAP | 1.247% |
| Middlemak-NH(rotate punctuation) | 1.272% |
| Nerps(ansi) | 1.207% |
| CTGAP(final/5) | 1.142% |
| Canary(ansi) | 1.062% |
Ok I confirmed the big gap is from punctuation. Changing Middlemaks ,./ to ’,. and ’ to / (like Nerps, CTGAP, similar to Canary) gives dramatically lower SFB%. They are listed as (rotate punctuation). I’ll leave it up to the user to decide if they want to change punctuation.
Ortho SFB
| Keyboard | Total SFB | Left hand SFB | Right hand SFB | L Pinky | L Ring | L Middle | L Index | R Index | R Middle | R Ring | R Pinky |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QWERTY | 195,687 | 136,337 | 59,350 | 1,105 | 1,661 | 86,462 | 47,108 | 34,166 | 3,970 | 21,214 | 0 |
| Beakl-15 | 85,917 | 33,527 | 52,390 | 2 | 21,580 | 3,134 | 8,812 | 18,927 | 31,183 | 2,157 | 123 |
| Workman | 79,561 | 30,682 | 48,878 | 1,105 | 3,712 | 8,206 | 17,659 | 27,338 | 5,037 | 16,503 | 0 |
| Dvorak | 70,365 | 28,101 | 42,264 | 0 | 31 | 1,591 | 26,480 | 12,142 | 16,265 | 8,229 | 5,629 |
| Middlemak | 42,816 | 23,924 | 18,892 | 1,105 | 1,661 | 14,888 | 6,270 | 12,415 | 3,134 | 3,343 | 0 |
| MiddlemakNH | 34,687 | 23,117 | 11,571 | 298 | 1,661 | 14,888 | 6,270 | 5,094 | 3,134 | 3,343 | 0 |
| MTGAP | 34,151 | 14,550 | 19,601 | 1,147 | 339 | 3,134 | 9,931 | 4,629 | 8,633 | 5,071 | 1,267 |
| Nerps(ortho) | 33,861 | 19,843 | 14,018 | 254 | 2,745 | 1,435 | 15,410 | 7,541 | 3,134 | 3,343 | 0 |
| Canary(ortho) | 31,034 | 19,600 | 11,434 | 179 | 2,745 | 10,897 | 5,780 | 4,957 | 3,134 | 3,343 | 0 |
| Engram | 30,848 | 20,036 | 10,812 | 124 | 2,628 | 6,438 | 10,846 | 9,010 | 1,802 | 0 | 0 |
| Colemak | 30,032 | 14,345 | 15,687 | 1,105 | 1,267 | 5,702 | 6,270 | 9,831 | 5,037 | 819 | 0 |
| Hands Down Nue | 28,429 | 17,012 | 11,416 | 1,267 | 5,702 | 3,773 | 6,270 | 10,334 | 126 | 819 | 138 |
| CTGAP(final/5) | 27,449 | 16,659 | 10,790 | 54 | 437 | 7,826 | 8,341 | 4,314 | 3,134 | 3,343 | 0 |
| APTv3(ortho) | 22,871 | 12,620 | 10,251 | 1,267 | 6,551 | 1,435 | 3,366 | 2,643 | 5,037 | 1,751 | 819 |
If you want overall percentages - middle finger pressing C, Ortho style (Data from Colemak-DH analyzer:
| Layout | SFB % |
|---|---|
| Qwerty | 6.575% |
| Beakl-15 | 3.823% |
| Workman | 3.147% |
| Dvorak | 2.625% |
| Middlemak | 2.160% |
| Middlemak-NH | 1.866% |
| Engram | 1.845% |
| Colemak | 1.669% |
| Middlemak(rotate punctuation) | 1.696% |
| Middlemak-NH(rotate punctuation) | 1.354% |
| APTv3 | 1.375% |
| MTGAP | 1.281% |
| Nerps(ortho) | 1.203% |
| Canary(ortho) | 1.070% |
| CTGAP(final/5) | 1.069% |
| Hands Down Nue | 0.949% |
Same as above, confirmed the big gap is from punctuation. Changing Middlemaks ,./ to ’,. and ’ to / (like Nerps, CTGAP, similar to Canary) gives dramatically lower SFB%. They are listed as (rotate punctuation). I’ll leave it up to the user to decide if they want to change punctuation. It still oddly says ortho version increases.
Pinballing stats
| Keyboard | Vowel % | Consonant % | Consonant % minus home row |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beakl-15 | 100% | HKQJX 7.3% | HKQJX 7.3% |
| Canary(ansi) | 95% | NHMFXZ 29.5% | HMFXZ 18.3% |
| Dvorak | 100% | YPKJXQ 8% | YPKJXQ 8.5% |
| Middlemak | 80% | NMFKJ 20.5% | MFKJ 11.9% |
| Middlemak-NH | 100% | HMFKJ 19.4% | MFKJ 9.3% |
| CTGAP(final/5) | 100% | HDFYKX 25.8 | DFYKX 15.6% |
| APTv3 | 100% | NLQJZ 18.5% | LQJZ 7.3% |
| Nerps(ansi) | 100% | HFBKZ 17.8% | FBKZ 7.6% |
| Colemak | 80% | NHLMKJ 33.7% | HLMKJ 22.4% |
| Workman | 80% | NLFPKJ 26.5% | LFPKJ 15.2% |
| MTGAP | 100% | NPJQZ 15.0% | PJQZ 3.8% |
The way I would read this to make probabilities, eg for Middlemak, would be 1.0*0.8*0.205*0.8...= 0.132 vs Colemak of 1.0*0.8*0.337*0.8...= 0.216 for a quadgram. For a pentagram: Middlemak would be 1.0*0.8*0.205*0.8*0.205 = 0.0269 vs Colemak of 1.0*0.8*0.337*0.8...= 0.0727. You can keep going. Starting with 1.0 to establish the word starts with the consonant on the vowel hand.
There are issues with this, it's based on frequency rather than actual specific _gram information or words.
The Consonant % minus home row is given because the home row is easier to type on. The consonants that are not on home-row are more awkward to move to.
There are more charts at middlemak/wiki that breakdown all the finger distances, frequencies, etc. Very interesting to see if you are concerned about specific finger workload.
2023.06.10 18:41 FitCardiologist3003 Terrifyingly disturbing idea for new Family member: The Skinner
Name: The Skinner
Appearance: A frail pale balding man with long strains of hair dangling down his head wearing nothing but bloody underwear. face noseless and mouth skinless with eyelid-less bloodshot eyes. This truly disturbed maniac constantly cackles and giggles to himself.
Lore: A mysterious figure even to the slaughter family, a quiet relative of the Slaughters and so savagely macab that his existence is nothing more than a old legend to the Texan residents. But no, the Skinners presence is becoming increasingly clear as more skinned corpses are found in ditches with an increasing amount of reports of a dead eyed freak roaming in someone else’s blood soaked skin around midnight.
Ability: Skinseek
Preform a special attack that works similarly to the grapple MiniGame where you are pinning the victim down all the while trying to skin them, this MiniGame will work over the course of 15 seconds but the victim can free themselves from your grasp stunning you and the mini game will be left paused at where you left off on the victim before they escaped. If you succeed at skinning the victim their skinless body will twitch and gurgle on blood before dying, you can then wear their skin to disable the family proximity effect. While wearing a victims skin you mimic their movement and appear to be normal looking in the distance but the skin can be seen saggy and bloody upon closer inspection.
Secondary Ability: Flesh Fright
You can hide the skinned corpses inside hiding spots, victims will scream if they discover the hidden body revealing their location to the family. The skinned victims status icon will not change until discovered by a teammate in which they can preform a pulse check that changes their status to dead, the entire time will be given the notification “(insert usernames) body was found”. The family can additionally use this corpse as a limited blood supply for grandpa until it is discovered by another victim.
Question: Wouldn’t voice chats destroy this family member? Well he certainly wouldn’t be as strong but he still has the element of stealth and being a blood donor of sorts to the family, but his power would also be increasingly immense for victims who don’t want to play on mics or party chats.
submitted by FitCardiologist3003 to TXChainSawGame [link] [comments]
Appearance: A frail pale balding man with long strains of hair dangling down his head wearing nothing but bloody underwear. face noseless and mouth skinless with eyelid-less bloodshot eyes. This truly disturbed maniac constantly cackles and giggles to himself.
Lore: A mysterious figure even to the slaughter family, a quiet relative of the Slaughters and so savagely macab that his existence is nothing more than a old legend to the Texan residents. But no, the Skinners presence is becoming increasingly clear as more skinned corpses are found in ditches with an increasing amount of reports of a dead eyed freak roaming in someone else’s blood soaked skin around midnight.
Ability: Skinseek
Preform a special attack that works similarly to the grapple MiniGame where you are pinning the victim down all the while trying to skin them, this MiniGame will work over the course of 15 seconds but the victim can free themselves from your grasp stunning you and the mini game will be left paused at where you left off on the victim before they escaped. If you succeed at skinning the victim their skinless body will twitch and gurgle on blood before dying, you can then wear their skin to disable the family proximity effect. While wearing a victims skin you mimic their movement and appear to be normal looking in the distance but the skin can be seen saggy and bloody upon closer inspection.
Secondary Ability: Flesh Fright
You can hide the skinned corpses inside hiding spots, victims will scream if they discover the hidden body revealing their location to the family. The skinned victims status icon will not change until discovered by a teammate in which they can preform a pulse check that changes their status to dead, the entire time will be given the notification “(insert usernames) body was found”. The family can additionally use this corpse as a limited blood supply for grandpa until it is discovered by another victim.
Question: Wouldn’t voice chats destroy this family member? Well he certainly wouldn’t be as strong but he still has the element of stealth and being a blood donor of sorts to the family, but his power would also be increasingly immense for victims who don’t want to play on mics or party chats.
2023.06.10 18:33 LegalAd1197 What would you think or do about this?
My work place is not remote, we have to be there everyday even though we could, technically wfh. Under certain circumstances we’re able to work from home on occasion. For example, a few of the other people in my same position have worked from home when they’ve had doctors appts, one routinely has her house cleaned every three weeks, another does so occasionally to help with her ailing father. However, the other position in our department is allowed a hybrid schedule (this is already a source of contention with those of us that are only afforded this luxury under certain circumstances and we’ve been asked to lie about it if anyone in upper management asks). Last Friday I took advantage of this opportunity so I could take my child to the doctor. I’ve only done this a handful of times and received approval from my supervisor the day prior. I took my child to the doctor that morning and continued my work day, skipped my lunch to make up for the time and went about my work day. I only left my computer for bathroom breaks and was immediately available when anyone emailed, chatted or called. I was not just sitting at home, I got several tasks completed. However, near the end of the day I got an email that I am no longer afforded the luxury of working from home. If I have a doctors appt I must come in around it, no explanation as to why.
I return to work after the weekend and find out this only applies to me. Everyone else is allowed to still wfh in this circumstance and in fact, one employee did. I was pretty upset about this, but didn’t end up speaking to anyone about it because I was already upset and afraid that if I had to bring it up I’d get upset and make a hasty decision. I also assumed they would talk to me and explain why I was no longer allowed. The entire week went by without any explanation as to why I was being singled out and in a way reprimanded. If there is a problem, how can I fix it if I don’t know what it is? On top of this a co-worker told me that my supervisor spoke to them and asked if they (my coworker) knew if I was going to quit and that I was no longer allowed to wfh.
Towards the end of the week, most of the employees were treating me differently. I have a feeling I am getting fired. But I can’t for the life of me figure out why. Everything was fine last week, I haven’t changed the way I work, I’m always on top of things and am good at my job. I can’t think of anything that I did to be treated like this. I’ve never been reprimanded for anything up until this. I just had my review a month ago and they said I was doing great. Wth could be going on? And why isn’t anyone talking to me about it if I did do something?
submitted by LegalAd1197 to careeradvice [link] [comments]
I return to work after the weekend and find out this only applies to me. Everyone else is allowed to still wfh in this circumstance and in fact, one employee did. I was pretty upset about this, but didn’t end up speaking to anyone about it because I was already upset and afraid that if I had to bring it up I’d get upset and make a hasty decision. I also assumed they would talk to me and explain why I was no longer allowed. The entire week went by without any explanation as to why I was being singled out and in a way reprimanded. If there is a problem, how can I fix it if I don’t know what it is? On top of this a co-worker told me that my supervisor spoke to them and asked if they (my coworker) knew if I was going to quit and that I was no longer allowed to wfh.
Towards the end of the week, most of the employees were treating me differently. I have a feeling I am getting fired. But I can’t for the life of me figure out why. Everything was fine last week, I haven’t changed the way I work, I’m always on top of things and am good at my job. I can’t think of anything that I did to be treated like this. I’ve never been reprimanded for anything up until this. I just had my review a month ago and they said I was doing great. Wth could be going on? And why isn’t anyone talking to me about it if I did do something?
2023.06.10 18:31 mz876129 Double-hung windows, lift rod, how the bracket is called?
Today I cleaned the window, and when I put it down, the bracket on the left lifting road for the upper part got broken. Probably I could replace either the bracket or the whole rod/bar myself but I can't find the replacement. Probably because I don't know the official name for this part. Could you help me with that if you know how it is called?
This the left broken bracket: https://imgur.com/pVVJZPo This the right good bracket: https://imgur.com/b7O59xY
Window: https://imgur.com/SPjOahX
submitted by mz876129 to HomeImprovement [link] [comments]
This the left broken bracket: https://imgur.com/pVVJZPo This the right good bracket: https://imgur.com/b7O59xY
Window: https://imgur.com/SPjOahX
2023.06.10 18:30 kcr141 As If On Q: part 5
Memory transcript subject: Tal, Venlil Space Corps
Date [standardized human time]: December 31, 2136
This was it. Since the incident at Sillis, humanity had gathered as many allies as they could and prepared to confront the federation, and in a few moments, I would be exiting subspace in orbit around Aafa.
By all rights, flying solo into this conflict should have terrified me. Instead, it just felt surreal. Really, I should have been vaporized by an antimatter bomb on the surface of Sillis, but a twist of fate— an unprecedented intervention led me here instead. Now, I was given a chance to scratch one more item off my bucket list, though not quite in the way I had hoped.
I dropped out of FTL, and the rest of Venlil Prime’s contribution to the fleet was close behind. As the Venlil ships joined the attack, I took in the situation before me. Most of our fleet consisted of human ships, however, they were interspersed with vessels from several other species including Mazics, Zerulians, Harchen, and even a few Thafki.
Already, the Kolshians were preparing to meet our advance; I didn’t have much time.
Quickly, I switched FTL configurations and began preparing to travel into subspace once again. Now, I just had to wait.
Up ahead, the two fleets were about to meet when suddenly, the humans’ allies panicked. A large portion of the non-human ships had broken formation, though luckily, they seemed to be recovering quickly. Several UN vessels followed the diverging ships and our fleet was divided into two. In response, the Kolshians split their fleet as well.
At first, I wasn’t sure what all the commotion was about, but it quickly became obvious: the ships that remained on their original course were fighting the Arxur.
There was no mistaking it, the space between us and the Kolshians was filled with Arxur vessels. They were scared, disoriented, and shooting at anything that moved.
As they began taking fire from UN ships, the Arxur sent out a hail.
“You! Humans! What trickery is this!?”
I recognized the huntress’ voice. In the aftermath of Sillis, I had listened to her transmission threatening to make cattle out of humans.
Looks like we found the rest of Shaza’s fleet.
Immediately, this led to more questions.
Was her fleet sent into the future, or had they just been in subspace this entire time?
Were the humans really sure that what I was about to do was safe?
We opted not to send a response, and the only reply offered by the Kolshians was a barrage of rail gun fire. Shaza and her army were getting sandwiched between the opposing fleets.
Stars, I really was spending too much time around Nick.
It wasn’t long before the human alliance and the Kolshians were fighting directly, and it quickly became apparent that the federation had been holding back all this time. Many of their ships were designs that had never been seen before, and they remained unusually composed despite the stress of battle. To top it all off, the Kolshians had us outnumbered significantly. If this worked, however, none of that would matter.
The FTL drive was ready. Immediately, I laid in my course and entered subspace.
Almost instantly, I felt a sickening jolt. The sound that resonated through my ship reminded me of the time Nick accidentally left a spoon in the microwave, and then everything went white.
When Q made Shaza’s fleet disappear, they were thrown into subspace despite the presence of FTL disruptors. Not only that, but there was no indication as to where they had gone. If such an event could be duplicated, the strategic advantage would be obvious, and so the UN’s scientists immediately got to work.
Having sensor readings from when the incident occurred certainly sped things along, but it seemed to me that all the humans really needed was to know that it was possible.
Slowly, I regained my senses. My ears were ringing and my head still hurt, but at least the vertigo had started to clear up. As the dizziness subsided, I suddenly understood what I was seeing out of the viewport:
Clouds!
The humans’ modifications to my drive had worked! Though it certainly wasn’t pleasant, I had passed through the Kolshians’ FTL disruptor field and appeared in Aafa’s lower atmosphere.
As I reduced my altitude, the capital city became visible. Even though the weather was partially overcast, the buildings, all made of glass and metal and constructed in unique, artistic shapes, glittered in the sunlight. The urban landscape below was dotted with patches of green giving credence to the planet’s name Aafa, meaning ‘Garden.’
I made sure the payload was ready and then dived down even lower. I made a pass directly over the city and, when I was in clear view of the School of Flora, I activated the release mechanism and triggered the remote ignition.
Dozens of projectiles flew out from underneath my ship. They spireled around chaotically before detonating and spewing a shower of bright red sparks.
There was no way I had not been seen, so now I just had to wait and hope the Kolshian fleet would get the message.
I began to climb in altitude, and as I did so, I kept an eye on the status of the unfolding battle using my ship’s sensors. It took a while, but eventually, something happened.
The Kolshian fleet doubled back. They turned away from their attackers and began making their way in my direction, rushing to defend Aafa.
As soon as this happened, the humans began broadcasting on an open channel:
“This is commander Fortin of the United Nations fleet, please respond.”
He was met with silence.
“You are no doubt aware that we have breached your defenses, however, we are willing to discuss the terms of a ceasefire, please. respond.”
Again, there was no reply.
As the Kolshian fleet neared the planet, a portion of its ships suddenly changed course. It was the ships that were believed to be autonomous, they all suddenly stopped in place, anchoring their position relative to Aafa. The allied fleet simply flew past them with neither firing on each other.
“I repeat, we are willing to negotiate for a peaceful—”
Commander Fortin was cut of by the voice of Nikonous:
“What did you drop on us?!”
“Chief Nikonous, as I said, we are requesting—”
“Spare the pleasantries predator, tell me what you did!”
“They were fireworks, sir,” Fortin said. “Completely harmless, however they could just as easily have been antimatter warheads, next time they will be. We have the ability to circumvent your FTL disruptors and therefore you cannot defend yourself from such an attack, however, as I told you before, we are willing to discuss the terms of a ceasefire.”
Chief Nikonous did not respond, and after an awkward silence, the commander continued.
“We request that you end all hostility with Earth as well as its allies. Assuming that the federation takes no military action against us, we will do the same.”
“This is unacceptable,” Nikonous replied. “I cannot simply allow more federation worlds to fall into your corruption. Your ‘allies’ fall within our purview.”
“Frankly, you aren’t in a position to demand something like that. Our terms are more than reasonable, and we will not be making concessions.”
“And what of the Arxur? Aren’t they your allies too now? Am I supposed to do nothing about the ones who would see us all dead?”
Like you’ve done anything at all before! I thought to myself.
Commander Fortin, however, gave a very simple response:
“The dominion no longer exists,” he said flatly.
After another long pause, Chief Nikonous huffed.
“Very well, I will consider your request.”
With that, the channel went silent. By this point, I had reached the upper atmosphere of the planet. It was surreal. The battle had stopped completely and the UN fleet was preparing to leave.
I was just about to begin charging my own FTL drive when I noticed something odd. One of the Harchen ships that fought alongside the UN was now barreling forward. Commander Fortin’s voice sounded over the comms channel once again:
“Harchen vessel, please return to formation. Do not engage, I repeat, do not engage!”
The ship continued on its path directly towards Aafa, and even stranger, the Kolshian fleet did nothing to stop it.
Something was off…
As I realized that the Harchen ship was headed in my direction, I moved to intercept.
I was just about to hail them when they opened fire. I was hit before I could react.
Quickly, I tried to shake their target lock, however, my ship’s engines had taken damage limiting my maneuverability.
After managing to establish a target lock of my own, I returned fire. The shots were intended only to disable the vessel, however upon connecting, the ship exploded violently.
It was carrying antimatter bombs. That was the only reason I could think of for the explosion I just saw. Unfortunately, I was beginning to lose altitude and didn’t have time to worry about why the Harchen ship was carrying warheads nor the amount of radiation I had just been exposed to.
The engines were not doing well, however, as I fell down to the surface, I managed to flip my ship around and regain some amount of control.
The landing was not nearly as gentle as I would have hoped, however the hull stayed together and the inertial dampers absorbed the brunt of the impact.
I did a quick survey of the situation. Looking out of the viewport, it appeared I had crashed somewhere outside of any of the Kolshian cities, however I could also see that civilization was not far away.
Turning myself in to the Kolshians seemed like a very risky idea, and I also very much doubted that anyone sided with the humans would be allowed to come rescue me, so I figured my best bet was to try and repair my ship as best I could.
I made my way to the back of the ship and opened the doors to the outside world.
As the ramp extended down to the ground, I spotted a Venlil waiting for me at the bottom; or rather, something that looked like a Venlil.
“Q?” I said nervously.
“Don’t worry, I just want to talk. I promise I won’t bite. unless you ask nicely. ”
Apparently, Q had ditched his extermination officer attire and, for some reason, gotten his fur dyed. The fur on top of his head now had an odd purple streak running through it.
Cautiously, I walked down to the bottom of the ramp.
“Do you uh… do you know what just happened?” I asked.
“With the Harchen ship? Yeah, the federation managed to find some supporters among the Harchen fleet. They were going to sabotage the ceasefire by bombing Aafa on behalf of the UN. ‘Better the civilians die than fall to the predators’ and all.”
I took a moment to absorb this. I had thought that the federation couldn’t disappoint me anymore than they had already, and yet once again, they somehow found a way.
“You know, it’s funny,” I said. “I always wanted to visit Aafa. I mean, this place is beautiful, isn’t it?”
“For me, personally?” Q replied, “Not a huge fan. It’s too… artificial, reminds me of home. Actually, are you by any chance feeling adventurous?”
“I mean, I did just crash land after fighting in a space battle, so I would say so.”
“In that case,” he said, “my offer from before still stands.”
Q turned to face me and extended his paw.
I hesitated briefly, but then I took it and
Error 409: Unresolved sequence, consult user manual for more details
Transcript generation aborted
submitted by kcr141 to NatureofPredators [link] [comments]
Date [standardized human time]: December 31, 2136
This was it. Since the incident at Sillis, humanity had gathered as many allies as they could and prepared to confront the federation, and in a few moments, I would be exiting subspace in orbit around Aafa.
By all rights, flying solo into this conflict should have terrified me. Instead, it just felt surreal. Really, I should have been vaporized by an antimatter bomb on the surface of Sillis, but a twist of fate— an unprecedented intervention led me here instead. Now, I was given a chance to scratch one more item off my bucket list, though not quite in the way I had hoped.
I dropped out of FTL, and the rest of Venlil Prime’s contribution to the fleet was close behind. As the Venlil ships joined the attack, I took in the situation before me. Most of our fleet consisted of human ships, however, they were interspersed with vessels from several other species including Mazics, Zerulians, Harchen, and even a few Thafki.
Already, the Kolshians were preparing to meet our advance; I didn’t have much time.
Quickly, I switched FTL configurations and began preparing to travel into subspace once again. Now, I just had to wait.
Up ahead, the two fleets were about to meet when suddenly, the humans’ allies panicked. A large portion of the non-human ships had broken formation, though luckily, they seemed to be recovering quickly. Several UN vessels followed the diverging ships and our fleet was divided into two. In response, the Kolshians split their fleet as well.
At first, I wasn’t sure what all the commotion was about, but it quickly became obvious: the ships that remained on their original course were fighting the Arxur.
There was no mistaking it, the space between us and the Kolshians was filled with Arxur vessels. They were scared, disoriented, and shooting at anything that moved.
As they began taking fire from UN ships, the Arxur sent out a hail.
“You! Humans! What trickery is this!?”
I recognized the huntress’ voice. In the aftermath of Sillis, I had listened to her transmission threatening to make cattle out of humans.
Looks like we found the rest of Shaza’s fleet.
Immediately, this led to more questions.
Was her fleet sent into the future, or had they just been in subspace this entire time?
Were the humans really sure that what I was about to do was safe?
We opted not to send a response, and the only reply offered by the Kolshians was a barrage of rail gun fire. Shaza and her army were getting sandwiched between the opposing fleets.
Stars, I really was spending too much time around Nick.
It wasn’t long before the human alliance and the Kolshians were fighting directly, and it quickly became apparent that the federation had been holding back all this time. Many of their ships were designs that had never been seen before, and they remained unusually composed despite the stress of battle. To top it all off, the Kolshians had us outnumbered significantly. If this worked, however, none of that would matter.
The FTL drive was ready. Immediately, I laid in my course and entered subspace.
Almost instantly, I felt a sickening jolt. The sound that resonated through my ship reminded me of the time Nick accidentally left a spoon in the microwave, and then everything went white.
When Q made Shaza’s fleet disappear, they were thrown into subspace despite the presence of FTL disruptors. Not only that, but there was no indication as to where they had gone. If such an event could be duplicated, the strategic advantage would be obvious, and so the UN’s scientists immediately got to work.
Having sensor readings from when the incident occurred certainly sped things along, but it seemed to me that all the humans really needed was to know that it was possible.
Slowly, I regained my senses. My ears were ringing and my head still hurt, but at least the vertigo had started to clear up. As the dizziness subsided, I suddenly understood what I was seeing out of the viewport:
Clouds!
The humans’ modifications to my drive had worked! Though it certainly wasn’t pleasant, I had passed through the Kolshians’ FTL disruptor field and appeared in Aafa’s lower atmosphere.
As I reduced my altitude, the capital city became visible. Even though the weather was partially overcast, the buildings, all made of glass and metal and constructed in unique, artistic shapes, glittered in the sunlight. The urban landscape below was dotted with patches of green giving credence to the planet’s name Aafa, meaning ‘Garden.’
I made sure the payload was ready and then dived down even lower. I made a pass directly over the city and, when I was in clear view of the School of Flora, I activated the release mechanism and triggered the remote ignition.
Dozens of projectiles flew out from underneath my ship. They spireled around chaotically before detonating and spewing a shower of bright red sparks.
There was no way I had not been seen, so now I just had to wait and hope the Kolshian fleet would get the message.
I began to climb in altitude, and as I did so, I kept an eye on the status of the unfolding battle using my ship’s sensors. It took a while, but eventually, something happened.
The Kolshian fleet doubled back. They turned away from their attackers and began making their way in my direction, rushing to defend Aafa.
As soon as this happened, the humans began broadcasting on an open channel:
“This is commander Fortin of the United Nations fleet, please respond.”
He was met with silence.
“You are no doubt aware that we have breached your defenses, however, we are willing to discuss the terms of a ceasefire, please. respond.”
Again, there was no reply.
As the Kolshian fleet neared the planet, a portion of its ships suddenly changed course. It was the ships that were believed to be autonomous, they all suddenly stopped in place, anchoring their position relative to Aafa. The allied fleet simply flew past them with neither firing on each other.
“I repeat, we are willing to negotiate for a peaceful—”
Commander Fortin was cut of by the voice of Nikonous:
“What did you drop on us?!”
“Chief Nikonous, as I said, we are requesting—”
“Spare the pleasantries predator, tell me what you did!”
“They were fireworks, sir,” Fortin said. “Completely harmless, however they could just as easily have been antimatter warheads, next time they will be. We have the ability to circumvent your FTL disruptors and therefore you cannot defend yourself from such an attack, however, as I told you before, we are willing to discuss the terms of a ceasefire.”
Chief Nikonous did not respond, and after an awkward silence, the commander continued.
“We request that you end all hostility with Earth as well as its allies. Assuming that the federation takes no military action against us, we will do the same.”
“This is unacceptable,” Nikonous replied. “I cannot simply allow more federation worlds to fall into your corruption. Your ‘allies’ fall within our purview.”
“Frankly, you aren’t in a position to demand something like that. Our terms are more than reasonable, and we will not be making concessions.”
“And what of the Arxur? Aren’t they your allies too now? Am I supposed to do nothing about the ones who would see us all dead?”
Like you’ve done anything at all before! I thought to myself.
Commander Fortin, however, gave a very simple response:
“The dominion no longer exists,” he said flatly.
After another long pause, Chief Nikonous huffed.
“Very well, I will consider your request.”
With that, the channel went silent. By this point, I had reached the upper atmosphere of the planet. It was surreal. The battle had stopped completely and the UN fleet was preparing to leave.
I was just about to begin charging my own FTL drive when I noticed something odd. One of the Harchen ships that fought alongside the UN was now barreling forward. Commander Fortin’s voice sounded over the comms channel once again:
“Harchen vessel, please return to formation. Do not engage, I repeat, do not engage!”
The ship continued on its path directly towards Aafa, and even stranger, the Kolshian fleet did nothing to stop it.
Something was off…
As I realized that the Harchen ship was headed in my direction, I moved to intercept.
I was just about to hail them when they opened fire. I was hit before I could react.
Quickly, I tried to shake their target lock, however, my ship’s engines had taken damage limiting my maneuverability.
After managing to establish a target lock of my own, I returned fire. The shots were intended only to disable the vessel, however upon connecting, the ship exploded violently.
It was carrying antimatter bombs. That was the only reason I could think of for the explosion I just saw. Unfortunately, I was beginning to lose altitude and didn’t have time to worry about why the Harchen ship was carrying warheads nor the amount of radiation I had just been exposed to.
The engines were not doing well, however, as I fell down to the surface, I managed to flip my ship around and regain some amount of control.
The landing was not nearly as gentle as I would have hoped, however the hull stayed together and the inertial dampers absorbed the brunt of the impact.
I did a quick survey of the situation. Looking out of the viewport, it appeared I had crashed somewhere outside of any of the Kolshian cities, however I could also see that civilization was not far away.
Turning myself in to the Kolshians seemed like a very risky idea, and I also very much doubted that anyone sided with the humans would be allowed to come rescue me, so I figured my best bet was to try and repair my ship as best I could.
I made my way to the back of the ship and opened the doors to the outside world.
As the ramp extended down to the ground, I spotted a Venlil waiting for me at the bottom; or rather, something that looked like a Venlil.
“Q?” I said nervously.
“Don’t worry, I just want to talk. I promise I won’t bite. unless you ask nicely. ”
Apparently, Q had ditched his extermination officer attire and, for some reason, gotten his fur dyed. The fur on top of his head now had an odd purple streak running through it.
Cautiously, I walked down to the bottom of the ramp.
“Do you uh… do you know what just happened?” I asked.
“With the Harchen ship? Yeah, the federation managed to find some supporters among the Harchen fleet. They were going to sabotage the ceasefire by bombing Aafa on behalf of the UN. ‘Better the civilians die than fall to the predators’ and all.”
I took a moment to absorb this. I had thought that the federation couldn’t disappoint me anymore than they had already, and yet once again, they somehow found a way.
“You know, it’s funny,” I said. “I always wanted to visit Aafa. I mean, this place is beautiful, isn’t it?”
“For me, personally?” Q replied, “Not a huge fan. It’s too… artificial, reminds me of home. Actually, are you by any chance feeling adventurous?”
“I mean, I did just crash land after fighting in a space battle, so I would say so.”
“In that case,” he said, “my offer from before still stands.”
Q turned to face me and extended his paw.
I hesitated briefly, but then I took it and
Error 409: Unresolved sequence, consult user manual for more details
Transcript generation aborted
2023.06.10 18:26 lilnah Rebecca - Edgerunners
 | submitted by lilnah to SF6Avatars [link] [comments] |
2023.06.10 18:11 chewbaccabrn What is going on with me?
31f 5'8 230lbs
Historical medical issues: Graves disease Surgery for ovarian cyst
Current medical issues: High blood pressure (no found reason) Type 2 diabetes (controlled) Current ovarian cyst and awaiting surgery
Current medications: Ramipril 10mg Ozempic 0.25
About 3mo ago my doctor added hydrochlorothyazide to my ramipril to hopefully lower my bottom number on my blood pressure a bit. He wants the bottom number under 90.
After taking hydrochlorothiazide, I had some side effects including blurry vision and my throat started to feel strange. Particularly, it feels like it's swollen or like there is something in my throat. It was off and on at first, but 3 weekends ago, the throat feeling was enough to irritate me and cause me panic. After researching hydrochlorothiazide, I believed it could be causing me the throat feeling.
So I stopped taking it. I looked up the half life and counted I needed it out of my system for between 4 and 6 days. It worked and my throat issues went away.
Unfortunately my throat is bothering me again so I was wrong. It wasn't the hydrochlorothiazide.
My symptoms are: Feeling like there is something in the back of my throat Feeling like under my chin and upper neck are swollen Sore tongue on left side that seems to extend down the back of the throat My ears feel either slightly plugged or draining or sore My entire neck feels just a bit sore than usual
I do NOT have trouble swallowing
My best guesses are: Something to do with tonsils (tonsilitis/tonsil stones) Some kind of allergic reaction
Any help is appreciated so I can begin to address this in preparation for seeing my doctor next week.
submitted by chewbaccabrn to AskDocs [link] [comments]
Historical medical issues: Graves disease Surgery for ovarian cyst
Current medical issues: High blood pressure (no found reason) Type 2 diabetes (controlled) Current ovarian cyst and awaiting surgery
Current medications: Ramipril 10mg Ozempic 0.25
About 3mo ago my doctor added hydrochlorothyazide to my ramipril to hopefully lower my bottom number on my blood pressure a bit. He wants the bottom number under 90.
After taking hydrochlorothiazide, I had some side effects including blurry vision and my throat started to feel strange. Particularly, it feels like it's swollen or like there is something in my throat. It was off and on at first, but 3 weekends ago, the throat feeling was enough to irritate me and cause me panic. After researching hydrochlorothiazide, I believed it could be causing me the throat feeling.
So I stopped taking it. I looked up the half life and counted I needed it out of my system for between 4 and 6 days. It worked and my throat issues went away.
Unfortunately my throat is bothering me again so I was wrong. It wasn't the hydrochlorothiazide.
My symptoms are: Feeling like there is something in the back of my throat Feeling like under my chin and upper neck are swollen Sore tongue on left side that seems to extend down the back of the throat My ears feel either slightly plugged or draining or sore My entire neck feels just a bit sore than usual
I do NOT have trouble swallowing
My best guesses are: Something to do with tonsils (tonsilitis/tonsil stones) Some kind of allergic reaction
Any help is appreciated so I can begin to address this in preparation for seeing my doctor next week.
2023.06.10 18:09 cobaltchemist is there supposed to be something here that i’m missing? (aka did i already grab the chest and forget about it)
 | it’s right under the upper left portion of spectacle rock in the gerudo mountain region. submitted by cobaltchemist to TOTK [link] [comments] |