First Next
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Approximated Earth Date: 3. May. 2235
Teresh's ship entered the Sol system at long last.
Having taken a good two cycles of FTL (faster-than-light) travel to reach. Looking at his diagnostics, he began to perform a LRS (long range scan) of the surrounding planets. Surprisingly, planet No. 626 proved to be the only one with a stable atmosphere. It was perfectly understandable to someone like Teresh. The kooli's own planet was well suited to their needs and they had a difficult time surviving on gas giants or planets with an acidic atmosphere. He went to brush a few stray feather's out of his face, he had to be presentable for the new additions to the Valaxi Empire. It still amazed him, that out of all the child species under the Valaxi, that they had chosen his to make the first contact with the inhabitants of planet No. 626. It was a dream come true for himself and would reflect well on his family's name.
As he began to speed closer to the blue and green sphere, he was curious as to the level of technology the aliens possessed. From what data the Valaxi had collected from afar, it seemed they were around a level 3 class civilization. Having succeeded in attaining space travel, but not FTL travel as far as they were aware. His talons gripped the ship's steering handles tightly. There would be no mistakes on this venture, Teresh was sure of it. He could not return to General Vorin's home in failure, it would spell ruin for him and his family.
He sighed, exhaling a breath. His taloned hand reached up and flipped a few switches, broadcasting a hailing frequency on all available channels. Then, he activated the universal translator around his neck. As he spoke, it would relay his message in all documented languages.
Here we go, he thought to himself.
"Hailing any available, this is Shrike Teresh on behalf of the Valaxi Empire. Flight signature 07-12-2136. I wish to make contact with planet No. 626 and conduct diplomacy. My vessel possesses no weaponry, and I will consent to any scans that you request," Teresh concluded.
He flipped another switch to set the hail to repeat and sat back, exhaling.
Shrike huh? I guess it is a bit odd to hear it out loud. This is the first time I've been at the head of a ship, and the authority of one too, he bemused.
Typically, only the Valaxi piloted for high profile missions, diplomatic or otherwise. It was quite fair of them, they were the more intelligent, more advanced species after all. The kooli were thankful that they even got to fly Valaxi manufactured ships. It was obvious to anyone who has flown them that they handled far better, even if the controls were less friendly. As he thought to himself, a voice suddenly came over the communicator. Almost jostling him out of his seat.
"Vessel number 07-12-2136, you are to deactivate your hail and power down your engines. Failure to comply will result in your immediate seizure," the voice explained.
Is that what they sound like? He wondered. It was very different to anything he had heard before. His own people often spoke in a range of high to low tones, even reaching what some would call a shrill. The Valaxi's dialogue was much more refined and noble, often louder in tone due to their inherent dominance. Then there was the Bouva, Zeesh, Leo-oup, and so on, but nothing like this. The voice spoke in a very composed but neutral tone like his computer. Almost as if it was disinterested in the conversation. He wasn't going to complain though, he was going to do exactly what he was sent to do: comply.
He shut off the hail with a single switch, and then pulled back a lever to cool his engines until he was gently floating in space. He could see the speck of the planet in the distance. His ship currently listing by a larger, dark blue planet. From his scan, he found that it's composition was comprised mostly of dense fluids. Their crystalline structure being recognized as several substances and elements he was familiar with. Ammonia, methane, and water to name a few.
Teresh awaited the arrival of the aliens as he clicked his talons together, a bad habit of his. Hoping that the aliens were not looking to feast on his flesh. His eyes traced along the vastness of space, and then he saw it. He nearly jumped out of his seat as the ship grew larger in his viewport. It was easily five times the size of his vessel, dwarfing it as its shadow began to cast over him. The ship itself was squarer and more rectangular in shape. With a large body and small bridge elevated near the back. Far less elegant to the Valaxi craft that he was used to seeing, and even comparatively to the other species. Though, it was as much as he could expect from a fledgling species. Incredibly pragmatic, with almost no flair or elegance to speak of. It was mostly a dull brown and black in color, sporting some bright yellows with some kind of language written on the side.
"Computer, translate the writing to kooli," he announced, then drawing a talon around the script on the monitor in front of him.
A robotic voice answered him: "Analyzing input... Output: UNE Tarva."
As soon as he read the name, his ship jostled. He was able to catch himself on his chair, but found his ship gently being pulled towards the other.
Ah, so they've developed projected gravitational fields. Perhaps they aren't as primitive as I thought, Teresh concluded.
It wasn't the most impressive feat by any means, usually tractor technology was one of the first to come after space exploration, but it was a good sign. In part, it shows that this species is civilized enough not to immediately fire upon strangers or unrecognized ships. Even if they had, at least he would have perished instead of a Valaxi representative.
The front section of the vessel opened, revealing a large empty space with a few raised platformed areas and stairs leading to them. At the sight of them, Teresh noted that these creatures could not fly like himself. Most likely quadrupedal if he had to guess. He was actually quite astonished by how much space was afforded to his vessel. This was most likely a carrier, meant to hold many smaller ships during conflict. Why such a valuable ship was on its own is a question he couldn't answer. A flagship like this should have been surrounded by their navy if they had one.
"Computer, identify any and all weapons on the ships exterior," he spoke to it again, using the monitor to sieve back through the footage to find evidence of any.
Once more, he heard the generated voice speak, "Analyzing input... compressing footage... The query seems to possess: One, communication tower. One, hanger. Twelve, viewports. One, bridge. And four, unidentified objects."
The computer outlined them for him to see. They were located both on the top and bottom half of the ship, assuming it was mirrored. What he was able to see resembled a black box or base attached to a long tube. With what wiring he could see; it could be evidence of either laser or ion weaponry. Though, ion was a bit of a stretch considering their technology level. Still, for a flagship it was quite impressive. Much more heavily armed than most of the ships in the kooli's decommissioned navy. It paled in comparison to the Valaxi's capabilities, but it was important data to gather. Thankfully for them, they would not need a navy once they became a child species. The Valaxi always cared for and protected their children. They could rely on their military instead of their own.
There was movement in the corner of his eye, and he darted up to see a large hatch open on the platformed area. He strained his eyes as three figures emerged, his heart racing. They were much taller than himself, even matching the height of a Valaxi soldier. Wearing protective suits that were orange in color, he saw reflective, curved black mirrors turn towards his ship.
Was that their head, or another covering? He couldn't tell.
This clearly was their military. These soldiers were dressed head to toe in protective gear meant to shield them from harm. Their large mirror faces meant to intimidate their enemy and reflect their own fear back in them. Such cruel tactics and equipment, the abundance of weaponry on the ship, they had to be warmongers! Reaching down, he attempted to set off his distress signal, finding it disabled and nonfunctional. They had trapped him! He was going to be tortured or eaten and used as a weapon against the Valaxi. Teresh began to pray to his ancestors, asking them to protect his family and General Vorin's as they drew closer. He snatched the ceremonial blade at his hip, awarded to those chosen to go on these missions. His last show of loyalty to the empire was going to be dying an honorable death. He brought the blade to his neck as his ship's landing bay opened, feeling sharp pain in his neck.
"H-hello!? Sorry, the ship's nav can be a bit off-putting. It was from a prison ship," A voice called out. It was much softer, and lower in tone than the one he heard before. Its words echoing through his translator.
Sorry? Prison? I knew it, they're trying to manipulate me so they can imprison and torture me, Teresh panicked, though it stayed his blade.
He curled up in his chair, refusing to turn. Thankfully the translator masked his fear in his voice, "D-Don't come any closer, I won't let you take me alive!"
"Woah! Woah buddy! Hey, let's stay calm. I heard your hail, but it was garbled by system interference. We were just coming to pick you up," the voice replied. The fake sympathy in its voice sickened him.
Help him? Dressed in full regalia and on a prison ship no less! He would become a political prisoner at best and tortured to death at worst.
"You said this was a prison ship, y-you're going to capture and torture me for information. I won't let you!" Teresh yelled, though the translator could only do so much.
"Buddy, jeez! No! The ship’s nav was from a prison ship," The figure stopped, the steps no longer drawing closer. "Look, my name's Tom. I'm from Arizona. Let me take you back home, okay? Are you armed?"
Despite every instinct telling him to end it here, he swallowed and nodded. Then, realizing that they couldn't see him. His translator rumbled, "I have a weapon. Don't come closer."
"Alright, that's okay. I won't come any closer. Do you think you could put the weapon down for me?" Tom asked.
The Valaxi warned him about this throughout his training. Once surrendered, they would try to take as much information about the empire from them. Using it against him and his family. He couldn't bear to imagine the harm that these aliens could inflict on his home, even if the Valaxi were more than capable of exterminating them.
"Y-You're going to-" he began.
"I'm not going to torture you. No one is going to torture you. We want to help you. Take you somewhere safe," Tom continued, sounding almost compassionate in tone.
Even though he knew it was a lie, he clamped down on his beak. If there was a chance they were telling the truth, he could still complete his mission and bring honor to his family's name. There was always the blade if they weren't.
"O-Okay," Teresh muttered, the translator barely picking it up.
"Good!" Tom voice raised, causing Teresh to squawk in fear.
“Oh, sorry, sorry.” His voice suddenly softened again, "Didn't mean to be loud there. Do you think you could turn towards me now? Teresh, right?"
He flinched at hearing his own name through the translator. What options did he have? Either take a risk and listen to these aliens, or... damn it. He couldn't do it. Still a coward, even to the end.
With hesitancy, he began to turn his chair. Eyes widening as he saw the alien standing only a few of its strides away. It was bipedal, over a third taller than himself, towering above with two long arms with five talons each. Though, perhaps that was the wrong word since they appeared rather blunt. The bright orange of his suit was accented with black marks, including one down the middle in a perfect line. Teresh could see his own reflection in the black mirror of the creatures face. He looked small and afraid, curled up like a hatchling and clutching a small knife dotted with his blood. The creature held out its hands, causing him to flinch.
"O-oh wow. You... you're really..." the translator sputtered. Teresh heard a rumble from the beast as it composed itself, "My... My name is Tom. It's nice to meet you Teresh."
Although the taste of bile was in my throat, I swallowed and spoke, "G-Greetings Tom, my name is Teresh. I'd like to ask for your surrender."

Hi PubTips,
​
Been in the early stage of query letters but have gotten very few responses. As a recent lurker I thought I would ask for help improving my query letter. As a note, I think my opening line is better than a comp, but I use to have the following line " My novel, Laura’s War is similar to the style of a Tim O’Brien’s war novel mixed with The Shift by Theresa Brown, by applying the arc of a war novel to the heroism of nurses in a hospital during the COVID pandemic." I have also discovered the book Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult might be a better comp in terms of recent book sales so I purchased a copy but I won't comp a book I have not yet read. Any suggestions would be helpful.
​
Dear [agent],
My book Laura’s War takes the arc of a war novel and puts it into the story of a nurse during the pandemic. It seeks to be both thought provoking and engaging as it discusses the modern issues of our time with people facing a fast-paced atmosphere knowing that their actions means the difference between life and death. The novel is complete at 77,000 words. [personalized sentence, as someone interested in...]
The war stories of these last few years should not be about men in combat, but about women in hospitals, working as nurses. The frontlines of our war were not fought on foreign fronts but here, on our own ground. The soldiers of this war were not holding guns but stethoscopes. At the start of the novel, Laura Green, the eponymous protagonist and narrator of Laura’s War, is just your typical studious senior in high school, obsessed with schoolwork, taking AP courses, and looking forward to starting college. But the pandemic changes her world entirely. Rather than heading to college, Laura chooses to fight the pandemic head-on as a nurse tech. This choice throws her into a world of challenges dramatically different from schoolwork. Laura is at the forefront of the pandemic, faced daily with life and death decisions.
Currently, I work as an engineer and account technologist in the semiconducting industry. I have a wide range of experience in the material science field spanning national lab work, academic work, and industrial experience. As a PhD with a liberal art background, I have been a voracious reader my entire life. This is my first extended work of fiction, which was inspired to capture the zeitgeist of the pandemic, showing those who took the pandemic seriously, and their attempts to deal with many conspiracy theorists. The work is informed through interviews with nurses, nurses’ memoirs, and the following of nursing forums.
[personal paragraph to agent]
As per your submission instructions, there is a [requirement] excerpt below. If you wish to see the entire manuscript, or if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.
Kind regards,
Robinwriteslit

I’m a 25 year old Pansexual woman in the UK looking for a serious relationship but not in a rush. I am I don’t mind a distance but I prefer to avoid a LDR where there is little or no opportunity to visit often.
A little about me: I guess I would be considered a goth. 🤷‍♀️ I’m an avid gamer and would really love to find a partner who would join me. I also love anything creepy. Horror films, scary games, exploring abandoned buildings, creepy podcasts. I’m a fan of anime and manga so I’m happy to share that hobby as well.
I’m quite the romantic and my love language is words of affirmation, quality time and often physical touch. Action is nice and all but words speak louder to me as I can clearly understand them so lay that cheesy sappy romance talk on me. Pet names make me melt. Spending time together is super important but I’m good with having time apart too I know Its important. Sometimes I come off as a little clingy but it's just my way of showing I care. Equally, sometimes I may seem distant but I'm just that way sometimes. I promise I don't get upset about you doing your thing or hanging with other people.
I am plus size but working hard on my weight loss and overall health. It’s a long journey! Encouragement is appreciated but so is acceptance as it’s a slow process 🙂 I am also neurodivergent (autistic) and appreciate if you could be patient with me and don't be shy to ask if you don't understand what that is or what I need. A heavy amount of anxiety comes along with that so just fyi. I am child free and prefer if you are also. I am Sub if you are into that. Not super important to me if you aren’t. Bonus points if you are a cosplayer!
I love to talk to my partner but I am also a quiet person in general. I love to listen so if you are chatty that works for me. Voices are a nice thing for me. I like sleep calls when I feel comfy and cozy. Singing or humming to me will put me right out. Super effective if you add the head pets!
If any of that sounds like what you are looking for then drop me a message and let’s chat! Tell me a little bit about yourself. Sorry if I’m slow to reply it takes me time when meeting new people 😅 Please don't just say Hi and nothing else.

I know developers don’t put useful release notes in their version updates anymore, but I still wish WU would. The app is so central to my day I’d geek out over any changes. I end up noticing them eventually, I guess. I did see the app name changed from Guided Meditations to Beyond Meditation.

I have to say that infect/toxic/poison is one of my least favorite mechanics, mostly due to the uninteractability of the counters once placed. But, I’m also having some of the most fun I have in a while because of my UB Poison Control deck, based around things like [[Prologue to Phyresis]], [[Vraska’s Fall]], and [[Infectious Inquiry]]. These cards all effectively read as “Do effect control likes and deal 2 damage. Your opponents can’t gain life”. This just makes me miss one of my favorite archetypes in CounterBurn. I guess so I’m not just spouting my love for CounterBurn and dislike of poison, why do you think Wizards hasn’t made CounterBurn playable in so many years? Is there a reason any of the cards I listed above couldn’t be printed with damage attached instead of poison counters? Think we’ll ever see it return or will U/R remain solely in the realm of UR Delver Tempo et al. ?

It’s bullshit. Being in a relationship would literally fix like 90% of my problems. I wouldn’t be depressed anymore, I would have motivation to work on myself and get healthier so my physical and mental health issues would disappear or at least be vastly reduced. I would do better at uni due to that heightened mental clarity when now I’m struggling with classes. I would have the energy to go out and do things. I could handle bad things life throws my way much easier if I had that support and someone I could lean on rather than them feeling life ending like they do now. My mental health is a main cause of my financial problems because I can’t get a job but guess what if I actually put effort into my appearance due to wanting my partner to find me attractive and if my mental health was better I’d probably be able to get a job. I’d have much more motivation for that too because I wouldn’t want my partner to be dating an unemployed loser. I would have someone to live for and wouldn’t want to kill myself every fucking day. But guess what, this won’t ever fucking happen and I will keep being depressed until I finally off myself because I won’t be able to handle the crushing loneliness anymore.
Fuck anyone who says “you don’t need a relationship to be happy”, especially if they are in or have had several relationships.

I am The Bard, who must admit some certain fondness for some of my subjects over others. Any historian naturally becomes attached to some characters, and obtains a bias towards them. I am no different in this regard.
It hung like the bones of an ancient lizard king, awesome even in its deiscation. Highest of the high places, casting forth the dying light of the age, and covering the cosmos in an intense metaphysical shadow. None were beyond its antumbra, and heaven and hell alike were bound within its deepest umbra. The weight of history pressing down on reality was bound up here. Here, amidst the ruins of what had once been the seat of the first and greatest king of the age, where dragons first caught fire in their breaths, where they sang and the world was changed. Here, in ruined majesty, lay the breathless word of awe and mournful nostalgia. A kingdom who’s shadow was graven onto the name of the world itself.
Akar. The first and true Akar. The plane of Io. The birthplace of Bahamut and Tiamat, and where the king of heaven died, and the end of the age began.
Many were the treasure seekers, pilgrims, historians, and other sundry who wandered those halls. Many more were the defenders. The servants of Bahamut and Tiamat alike, agreeing only in this, that the ancient palace, their once true and perfect home, should not be defiled by pillagers and scoundrels. So, suffice it to say the presence of the Black Hound Scoundrels was not welcomed.
Raymond’s sword was broken, again. He’d liked that one too, an ancient ilithid weapon, projecting a blade of light though a psionic focusing crystal. It had served him well, right up until the point where the blue dragon’s lightning bolt had overloaded the arcane technology and blown it up in his hand. He was also missing a limb again, but this was less troublesome than when he was alive.
He hit the ground hard as he fell back, rolling over and over on the black marble floor. Several things were definitely broken. They had found themselves near to their goal, in what had likely been a planetarium of sorts before the fall of Io. The room was filled with great orbs, each one depicting in full a different plane of existence, and how they moved and danced around one another in the great cosmic game. Each globe was about three times the size of a man in radius, and formed of material from the plane it depicted. The floor was graven of marble quarried from the negative energy plane itself, malefic energies safely disapated, and opposite it, a ceiling of glowing hypermatter from the positive energy plane supplemented the light of what appeared to be a miniature star in the center of the room.
That light was quickly obscured as the earth shook from the impact of an ancient blue dragoness landing in front of it. One of Tiamat’s consorts, fair and terrible as the sea and stars. The room crackled with static electricity, a storm system building within the confined space from the raw elemental power of the ancient dragon. She stalked forwards, reading another blast fit to reduce Raymond to ashes. As she opened her mouth, something hit her in the chin. The lightning backfired, and blew dragoness and defender alike back.
Pure angel-white armored boots tore up the surface next to Raymond as Elsior ground to a halt. Her wings flared, tensing for another burst of motion. Aegis snapped to the side in a ready position as the white lion guarded her friend. “Ray, you doing okay?”
”Fine. Just give me a moment.” Raymond replied. He focused, charging the depleted stone around him with his power, awakening a fragment of its prior energies. Once charged, he drew it up around himself, reforming his lost limb from the planar material. “Right. Good to go.”
”We cannot afford to be delayed by this guardian overlong.” Aegis warned through their shared mental link. “It must be removed rapidly.”
”Cualli can’t hold her. That’s how the last one broke.” Lamora warned. The changeling flashed into being, emerging from the form of a microscopic bacterium, only to deliver a devastating slash across the dragoness’s face. Her silver blade slashed horn and eye alike, sending the dragoness reeling with an eye cut out and a horn crashing to the floor. The shapeshifter goddess caught the blood from the wound in her palm, then in a crash of thunder, there were two dragonesses in the room, grappling with one another with fang and claw, tearing up the room in their struggle.
”Well best figure something out soon, we’re running out of zombies.” Keelah replied. The kobold, well, not exactly a kobold any longer, reported from the entrance to the room. Beyond it, the corridor was filled with the sound of clashing blades. She snapped around the corner, twin crossbows raised. Demonic energies began to charge from her weapons, then snapped out in a howling chorus as a rain of hellfire burst from the twin weapons. Tiamat’s lesser forces felt the sting of Avarice and Arrogance, as they rained amidst their ranks. She heard the chant of an Abashai sorcerer, and focused. The chanting devil had their spell cut off midway as Keelah fired a focused blast that punched through the sorcerer’s bodyguards and into his skull. The demonic energy exploded, rending the sorcerer to pieces and covering the nearby minions with gore. She fired another shot, this one a scything wave, and bisected a trio of white abashai that had managed to break through Raymond’s wall of zombies.
Despite her efforts, the undead were flanked, and annihilated. “Correction.” She updated. “We are out of zombies.”
”This necessitates a mightier minion.” Raymond remarked. “Cover me!” He pressed his hand to the black surface of the floor, and began to channel. At the same time, Lamora lost her grapple with the blue dragon, who threw her down with her teeth upon her throat. Unfortunately for the dragoness, biting a changeling is somewhat less than effective, as Lamora flowed like mercury away from the bite, taking on her true form and landing a devastating counter-slash along the dragonness’s wing. It turned towards her, roaring in anger, only to be checked and knocked back by a brilliant white flash.
As several of the dragoness’s teeth fell to the ground, Elsior landed, blade directed at the dragoness. “I’ve never fought a dragon before. Have to say, you’re disappointing.” This enraged the dragoness, who focused her fury upon the white lion, and the chamber shook with their battle.
As Raymond focused, the ground began to raise up into an arch. The sorcerer remained focused utterly on his work, defenseless as he chanted a ritual of awakening and binding. The minions of Tiamat surged forwards towards him, but then there came the sound of the unbreakable breaking. With a chime of shattering time, Keelah re-entered the fray. The fourth dimension cracked about her, as the demoness of time channeled the power of the abyss into the gears of the cosmos themselves.
She was about them and untouchable, fragmented across a dozen parallel worldlines, each one tangled in a gordian knot as reality bent at her whim. Her enemies were slowed, moving in molasses as no speed could avail them, and she likewise was a blur, her newfound abyssal power amplifying her speed, and time accelerating around her to push demonic enhancements even further. She was a one-woman platoon, single-handedly trapping the forces of Tiamat with enfilade fire, sniping their commanders into paste, blasting, ripping, and tearing the horde with a storm of abyssal energy.
Then, it was done. Raymond’s ritual completed as the gate stood ready. With a shout of warning, he activated it. The weak died instantly, reduced to their fundamental elements as the power of the negative energy plane ripped into the planetarium. A singularly unfortunate dragonborn was too near to the gate when it activated, and was pulled through, his body stretching out weirdly as the dimensional distortion inflicted a status scientifically know as “spaghettification” upon him.
Then from the gate came winged death, or perhaps death in the shape of wings. It came with an unsound, an unshriek, and an unboom. Its form perhaps suggested a vulture, or some other kind of carrion bird. But it was an impression, an image in the mind which tried to attach something known to the unknown thing. It was a storm of many black wings, and many eyes. About it was an unflame, an echo of the silence before the first words were spoken. The men of Akar called these creatures Nightstalkers, for they were the hunters and the dragons of the deathly plane. The shape of death, with it antithetical resonance, fell upon the brightest source of life, the blue dragoness. The two forces ripped against one another, lightning flashing desperately as silence smothered the thunder.
The scoundrels ran. “Minion.” Keelah grumbled as time wearily mended itself around her. “Minon. Minion implies you can control that thing!” She growled.
”Theoretically, I can.” Raymond replied. “Though I’d rather not try to put theory into practice right now.”
”So, in other words, you aren’t controlling it.” Keelah said.
”Why do you think I’m running too?” Raymond replied, and Keelah started running faster.
Then, they were there. They knew it at once, the presence of the place was palpable. A wrongness, a sorrow, a stain and scar upon the fabric of the world, invisible but impossible to miss or ignore. Raymond and Lamora felt their stomachs churn, their hair stand on end. Their senses screamed at them that this was a place nobody should be in, a place that should not exist. An absolute defilement hung upon the area, an abomination of desecration so severe that the world screamed around then.
Elsior fell to a knee, struggling to breathe from the overwhelming pressure of the area. Even empowered by Aegis, the dragonborn felt it more strongly than any of them, a death so profound its mere memory was enough to cause her heart to briefly stop, fitfully start, and then stop again. If she remained overlong, it would kill her. The effect upon Keelah was less severe, but without an artifact to protect her, she suffered terribly. The kobold was not a kobold any longer, her shape was formed from the material of the abyss, held together by her sheer ego more so than by any natural law. In this place, her scales screamed, writhed, and began to rip off her body into a twisting coil around her. Her skin boiled under it, her crossbows reknit themselves into her flesh. She retained her shape, her size, but more and more she leaned further away from the draconic heritage and into her new demonic nature to desperately avoid the ancestral agony gathered in this place.
It was odd, one of the simpler rooms in the great planetary palace. A dining room, with three chairs suited for draconic beings. It hadn’t been touched in centuries, nothing had even been here to shed the dead skin cells that would produce dust. Whatever meal they had been eating was long since rotted away, but the table was still half-set, broken plates and cookware scattered. It was as though it might have been left only a few minutes ago. If not for the blood, so much blood. It painted the walls, the floor, the ceiling, the furnitutre. Dried and set like stone into the fabric of the world, the blood of Bahamut, of Tiamat, and of their father.
This was where Io had died. This was where Bahamut and Tiamat’s war began, where they ripped their father’s heart from his chest and tore it in twain, split between them. It still carried the echo of Io’s dying scream, a memory potent enough to bring those with draconic blood to their knees. A memory potent enough to help fuel the birth of a new god of the dead.
”Ray. Grab it. Quickly.” Elsior ordered. “We aren’t meant to be here. Nobody is meant to be here.”
”On it.” Raymond replied, setting down his staff. It began to flicker, grey light sweeping out from it and scanning over the room again and again and again. Ghostly images began to form, memories of the room, playing back in reverse across the centuries. It had been so long that the process would take some time. “It’s set.” Raymond said, and placed a charm on the staff to return to him when it had captured the memory sufficiently. “Let’s get out of here.” He said, moving quickly back towards the planetarium. Everyone knew what waited for them there, it was better than this place.
”I just hope that your staff can get you the memory fast enough.” Keelah grumbled, piecing herself back into her false form. “There’s been trouble enough with-“
”Keelah, if you jinx us I’m going to kick you halfway back to the abyss.” Elsior cut her off.
Lamora stiffened. “Too late. She’s coming. Ray, timeline on that memory?”
”No idea.” Raymond replied. “At its current rate, maybe five minutes.” He started to sprint, and the others continued, Elsior picking up Keelah to bear her along more swiftly. “Maybe the nightstalker can slow-“
He went silent as they emerged back into the planetarium, and the world rent. An overwhelming dominance threatened to stop the hearts of everyone. The nightstalker turned its many-eyed gaze towards the rift and what came through. Drawn like a moth to a flame, it turned its gaze from the desiccated remains of the ancient blue dragoness and hurled itself towards the coming prismatic light. There was a sound like an earthquake, like a hurricane, and like a meteorite impacting as pure chaotic energy ripped it apart, blasting the apex predator of the Negative Energy Plane to dust in an instant.
The ground shook, as a thing unmatched in beauty and in horror stepped through. Five heads snaked on five necks, built upon a powerful body. The very magic of the room trembled as an impossibly powerful aura made the strands of the universe quiver. Five voices spoke in one, in absolute rage and fury, as Tiamat, queen of dragons, made her presence and displeasure known. “YOU DARE. YOU DARE, TRESPASS UPON MY HOME, IN THE PRESENCE OF MY PAIN? YOU COME, CRAWLING AMIDST THE TOMB OF GODS, AND THINK TO ROB IT, TO DARE TO STEAL FROM THE QUEEN OF DRAGONS?”
Lamora covered the scoundrels in a spell of invisibility, but Tiamat turned her gazes upon it and stripped the spell away with all the ease of a mother throwing away a sheet a troublesome child was trying to hide under. “I SEE YOU THERE, LAMORA, FALSE GODLING, PATHETIC LITTLE EXCUSE FOR A DEITY. EVEN IN YOUR MIGHTIEST FORM YOU WERE NO MATCH FOR ME. DO YOU THINK THIS LATEST MORTAL YOU USURPED WILL AVAIL YOU?”
Another head turned towards Elsior, towards Aegis. “I SEE YOU ALSO, DEVIANT, REMNANT AND REGRET. HOW MUCH THE TRUE YOU FEARS YOU, HOW ALIKE YOU ARE IN YOUR COWARDICE AND WEAKNESS. DAUGHTER, TRAITOR, CHILD OF THE USURPER. THAT TRINKET WILL NOT AVAIL YOU. BOW DOWN AND WORSHIP ME, AND I MAY SHOW YOU MERCY.”
Still another, full of wrath, gazed upon Raymond and he quietly thanked Adonai he no longer had a digestive system. “THE SAME WILL NOT BE SAID OF YOU, SORCERER, PARASITE, THIEF. HOW MUCH I REMEMBER YOU, BROKEN AND IN AGONY BY A MERE FAMILIAR, A CONCUBINE, AND NOW YOU THINK TO AVENGE YOURSELF UPON ITS MASTER BY OBTAINING GODHOOD? BY STEALING AWAY THE MEMORY OF MY GREATEST AGONIES TO EMPOWER YOURSELF? HAH. YOU, A FAILURE MORE TIMES THAN EVEN MY TREASURES CAN COUNT. FAILURE AS A FATHER, AS A LEADER, AND NOW YOU THINK TO BE A GOD? THE PUNISHMENT FOR YOUR ARROGANCE WILL BE LEGENDARY. YOUR SCREAMS WILL ECHO THROUGH THE MILLENIA, AND YOUR PAIN WILL BE ETCHED UPON THE STARS, SO THAT EVEN HELL SHALL GAZE UP AND SHUDDER. THEN ALL SHALL KNOW THAT I AM TIAMAT, HIGH GODDESS OF THE HIGH GODS, MY WRATH IS MIGHTY, MY VENGANCE SURE.”
”AND AS FOR YOU.” She finished, snarling at Keelah. “Who’s familiar are you again?”
Keelah grinned. "I am the goddamn eggshell caught in the universe's gears, holding it back from sheer spite even when I should be broken. I am the demoness of time, the greatest thief in the cosmos, the abyss couldn't hold me, and heaven can't keep me out. I am Ordani, a godslayer, and a true daughter of Io. In other words bitch, I'm your worst nightmare!"
There was a moment of stunned silence as Tiamat processed that she’d just been defied in the midst of her holy fury. Furthermore, that she’d been defied by a kobold of all things. A slave race dared to defy the queen of the universe? She was simply stunned by the audacity. Then, she ceased to be stunned, and became enraged. All five heads focused on the kobold, opened their mouths, and the battle was on.
A wave of annihilating prismatic energy roared towards Keelah, only to be intercepted by Lamora. As perhaps one of the most powerful attacks in the cosmos bore down on her, Lamora simply raised up her blade, and cut. The wave of destruction parted like the red sea, as Lamora stood, framed by the light of her blade and the apocalypse crashing past her and her party. She may have been the weakest among the gods, but to underestimate the heroine with a thousand faces was the utmost folly!
Elsior roared a battle cry and rocketed forwards, blade set to pierce the dragon queen’s adamantine hide. Only for her to miss, entirely. She paused, confused for a moment as Tiamat seemed to utterly vanish. However, as she looked down, and beheld a prismatic dragonborn, it was clear she had only changed her shape. A blast of supercooled acid hit the white lion, beginning to melt through her armor as it froze her solid to the ceiling.
Time shattered around Keelah as she took cover behind the planets, opening fire with a dozen piercing shots. They shattered in the air a meter from Tiamat’s form, and she calmly waved a hand. One of the planets Keelah was cowering behind exploded into corrosive gasses, instantly melting two timelines to goo. The gas rapidly spread, forcing Keelah to cover her mouths and hold fire, lest she risk igniting the gas.
Tiamat raised her hand, and fired a blast of fire. It was no stream as with a normal breath weapon, but a concentrated ball of heat and death, more akin to a fireball than a normal breath weapon. Raymond hurled a singularity at a nearby planet, dragging it off course and into the path of the fireball. The fireball hit it, and ripped the planet apart, sending magma spraying throughout the room. Irritated, Tiamat glared towards Raymond. A moment later, a bolt of lightning ripped out of nowhere and slammed into the mage. He went sprawling, body ablaze. As he rolled, he lifted his hand, and redicrected the energy. The power was still enough to blast his directing arm to ashes, but he managed to send the majority of the attack back at Tiamat.
The queen of dragons didn’t even deign to block the attack, letting the bolt of lightning pass harmlessly over her. She was the daughter of chaos itself, and no elemental magic could harm her, not even her own. The blade of Lamora on the other hand, could. As Tiamat was blinded from being inside a lightning bolt, Lamora struck, landing a glancing blow on the dragon queen’s arm. The hero’s blade slashed open the virtually indestructible scales, drawing a goddess’s blood. The dragon queen’s eyebrows suddenly raised, and she retreated away from Lamora, teleporting to the other side of the room and firing off another blast in her direction.
Keelah moved clear of the gas, and began hammering Tiamat’s position with fire. Tiamat once again blocked it, only for one of the bolts to vanish, replaced with a now one-armed mage. Raymond held a spike of pure negative energy in his remaining hand like a spear, and drove it into the wound Lamora had opened. The spear drove in, and wrapped itself around the dragon queen’s arm like a shackle. Tiamat’s eyes went wide, and she smiled briefly before moving in to rip Raymond’s head off. He shouted an alert. “Her magic’s sealed! Now!”
Tiamat’s foot swung with enough force to reduce the mage’s torso to paste, but it didn’t connect with him. Raymond vanished, and the dragon queen’s heel instead connected with the brilliant white armor of the White Lion. Elsior grunted, but she had traded blows with Ascalon, Tiamat was still murderously strong, but she wasn’t a fighter. “My turn.” She replied, stepping in and answering with an attack that hurled Tiamat across the room.
Tiamat landed on her feet, scales smoking but unbroken. Even a full-powered attack from Aegis could only bruise her scales, not break them. The power of a trueborn goddess was not something any mortal weapon, even an artifact, could overcome with simple brute force. That didn’t seem to stop the scoundrels though, as Elsior charged, Keelah opened fire, and Raymond hurled another singularity, this one aimed directly for Tiamat’s throat.
Tiamat smirked, and reality bent. Elsior found herself suspended in the air, dangling from invisible threads. A wall of crystal interposed itself between Keelah’s bolts and their target, and Tiamat conjured a staff of similar crystal, using it to focus a blast at Raymond’s singularity. The miniature black hole froze solid, fell to the floor, and shattered.
”Magic sealed my as-gh!” Elsior swore, as Tiamat crossed the distance and struck her. Her armor unraveled, and the dragonborn lost her grip on Aegis. She hit the ground sprawling, chest caved in and body starting to tear itself apart. It was like she was coming apart at the seams, body fraying like a damaged tapestry.
”It is sealed, this is something else entirely!” Aegis shouted, blade struggling in the threads before Tiamat casually picked the greatsword up in one hand to examine it like a child studying a new toy.
”Indeed, oh treasure mine.” Tiamat mused. “I am Tiamat, axiomatic to dragons. Where they are, I am also. All dragons, and all things that are called dragons. Do you understand? Besides, I could hardly call myself the greatest sorceress in the cosmos if I limited my self to only a single continuity’s power.”
Aegis tried to fight back, forming armor to restrict the dragon queen’s movements, but he could find no purchase. Every time he tried to manifest the restricting plates, he found his progress blocked by strange structures, as though the underlying threads of reality had been woven into armor for the dragon queen.
Lamora struck, and was deftly parried by Aegis. The two goddesses clashed for a few seconds. Lamora was far more skilled, but the gap in raw power was too much. Tiamat was toying with her. Keelah circumvented the wall of crystal and prepared to fire, but the wall collapsed into eyes, which intercepted her bolts with freezing rays of their own, before turning towards her. Raymond reformed his arm, and shaped a singularity into a staff. He swapped with Lamora, giving to buy the cleric time to heal Elsior.
With a two handed blow, Tiamat shattered Raymond’s staff, staggering the mage. Then, she drove the blade into his stomach, and twisted. Raymond was a spirit, not a man, but this was still a ruinous blow, and he fell forwards onto the blade. Still, he grit his teeth, and vanished, taking the blade with him. Lamora reappeared in his stead, and in a single motion, slashed open Tiamat’s throat. The dragon queen staggered back, before her blood flash froze, keeping her avatar in the fight. Lamora lunged to finish her, but invisible threads caught her blade and redirected it. With a thunderclap, her blade severed the shackle sealing Tiamat’s magic.
In a surge of power, Tiamat resumed her true form and hurled Lamora back. Her power was simply too great for the scoundrels to face even this aspect. Keelah opened fire, piercing the dragon queen’s hide with many bolts, and then ran for cover as Tiamat swept her tail out and threw half the room at the kobold in return.
Raymond leaned on Aegis like a cane, holding his essence in with one hand. He focused, mending himself to the point where he wasn’t about to disapate, but the effort left him weakened. He was practically out, and nothing was even slowing Tiamat down. He looked about, and gaze focused on the sun in the center of the room. He had one more gambit.
”I have an idea. Give me a moment, and time moving as fast as possible on that star.” He requested.
”I hope this one works Ray.” Keelah warned, and then fired a bolt. The sun began to spin faster. Elsior took back her blade, and with a roar of challenge, once more faced down the queen of dragons. Her brilliant blade met the fang, claw, and crushing tail of the dragon goddess, their blows shaking the ground, before Tiamat focused another prismatic blast and hurled her back. She advanced, as ruin came to the planetarium around her. The orbs were desiccating, falling back to their component elements and being drawn irrevocably to the star in its center, which began to swell and turn a sickly red.
Tiamat advanced on Raymond as he chanted, focus entirely on his spell. Keelah bombarded her but her attacks were only pinpricks. She prepared a blast to finish the mage, only to be intercepted by Lamora’s fist, and the bellowing roar of a Tarrasque. The sight of that monster drove Tiamat into a berserk frenzy, and she threw herself at Lamora’s mightiest form with an animalistic rage. She bit and tore and rent, tearing massive chunks off of the changeling. Her magic and breath weapons seemed forgotten as she screamed in utter rage and hate for the thing in front of her. All Lamora could do against the onslaught was defend, and not to protect herself truly, but to simply die more slowly.
”There’s not enough mass!” Aegis warned, as the last of the planets were dragged into the swirling maelstrom of the star.
”Then we’ll have to use acceleration as a substitute!” Raymond retorted, and hurled a singularity into the heart of the star. “Elsior! Throw the sun at her!”
Elsior looked at Raymond like he was crazy, and then shrugged. If this didn’t work, they were all dead anyways. She hurled herself into the heart of the star, trusting her armor to protect her from the incredible forces at work. With a cry, she threw the dying sun at the queen of dragons. “ORDER ON ME!”
Raymond threw the last of his power into briefly phasing the scoundrels out of existence, as the star impacted Tiamat and exploded. The queen of dragons was resilient, but even her armor was nothing before the force of a supernova. The planetarium vanished as the power of a collapsing star, even a miniature one, ripped it apart. But as the blinding light faded, Tiamat still stood, smoking and battered, stunned, and breathing heavily, but stood.
But so also did the scoundrels! Emerging back into existence, they attacked with everything they had left. Keelah blinded the dragon queen with an unendring rain of abyssal bolts, giving cover for Lamora to take on her true form and carve a ruinous slash across one of Tiamat’s throats. Elsior took the chance, shedding her armor and moving with enough force to create a sonic boom, she struck the weakened throat with all her might. In a spray of divine blood, the head severed, and with a crash, the red head of Tiamat fell to the ground.
Tiamat’s rage was incalculable. Her wings stirred up a veritable hurricane, throwing the scoundrels off of her as she took flight. The scoundrels looked up, and awe came upon them as the empress of dragons began to cast a spell of incomprehensible power. She wove together ley lines, the very flows of magic through the cosmos, and she wove them into being, not one, but five at once. Then, they began to align, one to each cardinal direction, and one pointed like a targeting beam directly at the scoundrels.
Raymond was unconscious, so Lamora called Cualli to hand and activated it. The scoundrels vanished into the staff, and it vanished into itself seconds before the spell began to activate. A beam of brilliant white light filled the air, and the ley-lines collapsed into themselves, into the directing one, and hurtled downwards. The scoundrels re-appeared on the Astral Hound moments before a spell powerful enough to shatter a planet detonated on the space they had just been standing. Akar’s ancient magics held it together, directing the force outwards. The plane survived, barely, with a seventy-mile wide hole punched through it, straight from one end to the other.
Keelah rushed to the Astral Hound’s helm and swiftly began directing the aethership away from Akar as fast as it could go, supplementing her own power to accelerate it through time and space even faster. They watched with baited breath, as they prayed that Tiamat’s aspect wouldn’t chase them down. Forutnately for them, the damaged avatar was destroyed by its own working. Within Ascalon’s domain, the true dragon queen raged that her prey had escaped her, though privately, she was mildly amused that any mortal had managed to push one of her avatars so far. It was the first time in a very, very long while.
”Did you get it?” Keelah asked as soon as Lamora restored Raymond to consciousness. “Because that was far too close to have been for nothing.”
Raymond focused on the staff, and projected out the memory. “Yeah, and I see why Tiamat didn’t want us to find it.” He replied. The hazy grey memory stood clear, as Io breathed his last, and his daughter wept for what she had done.
”Well that’s a fascinating little parcel of information, beyond simply its use in creating our own deity to counter her.” Aegis remarked. “But perhaps not the most actionable piece we recovered on this expedition. Did any of you notice what wasn’t there?”
”Even as supposedly the good half you’re an insufferable smart-ass you know that?” Keelah replied. “Just fucking tell us.”
”Takes one to know one mini-Mat.” Aegis replied. “There were no forces from Ascalon’s own armies. It was exclusively Tiamat’s.”
”Given her response to us being there, I think she’d have killed him if he tried to add his own.” Elsior replied. “Though, that probably wouldn’t stop him.”
”Exactly.” Aegis replied. “He’d only avoid having his own forces around to monitor the situation, and probably try to kill all of us, if there wasn’t already something else he needed them for. He’s preparing to make his move.”
”Another invasion of Akar?” Raymond guessed. “It’s only been fifty years. He can’t be ready for that so quickly.”
”We don’t take losing well.” Aegis replied.
”Fair enough. Even so, we’re going to need more information, and more firepower.” Raymond considered. “This memory is only a part of what I’ll need, and the energies required will take more than a little while to accumulate.”
”So,” Keelah considered. “What I’m hearing is that we need to break into heaven again.”
”And persuade an archangel to not only avoid killing us, but come with us. Because there’s no way Kazador will come with us without her.” Elsior groaned. “And maybe somehow pick up Matlal on the way, providing he’s not busy on the mortal front.”
”He will be. Can’t keep himself out of trouble that one.” Lamora remarked. “Though as for persuading Senket, I suspect she has words for Ascalon long overdue.”
”No doubt. So, in the interest of not having to ask Kaz to reforge me, please don’t tell her who’s soul is in this sword.” Aegis requested, with not a little fear.

Logline: After realising that his life has stagnated, a neurotic thirtysomething embarks on a quest to grow up and improve his life, while juggling the responsibilities of being his brother’s best man and the needs of his best friends.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/das61mc8cnp1fny/Mid%20Life%20101%20v2.1.pdf?dl=0
Hi there, Reddit. :)
This script is probably still in the relatively early stages of development, but I guess I wanted to see if there’s a strong enough idea here worth pursuing before I embark on a full re-draft?
Specific issues aside from that:

• Are the characters coming across strongly and believably?
• Is there enough heart to it?
• Could you see where the series would go from here? Does it work as a pilot?
• I feel the comedy side could definitely do with a punch-up, maybe? Although as I said, early-ish draft right now so I’m mainly concerned about plot/story/characters.
• Any other notes will be welcome as well, no matter how harsh! Except maybe not that harsh.

And just in case any phrases/spelling looks weird, while I have written some scripts in ‘American English’ before, this is very much written in ‘British English’. I do this primarily so I can claim to be bilingual on my resume.
Thanks in advance for reading! :D

Hello, some days ago I got my new Hisense A7! At fordt it was a big change: No google services, no colors, slow response time. But I begin to like it! :)
Today I was at an amazon hub locker to get my prdered package. Scanning the barcode was not s problem, the laser of the amazon locker could rrsd the code.
So I guess scanning barcodes or QR codes from an e-ink device is not a problem? At least if the code isn't colorful. Or did you ever encounter problems with this topic?
Thank you!

My Czech born GF and I (U.K national) were on holiday in the Czech Republic visiting her family as she was pregnant. Long story short whilst on holiday she had some complications and subsequently gave birth in the Czech Republic making my daughter a Czech National like her mother. She decided to quit her job in the U.K and we both decided to live here for a year or two. I am waiting on a long term VISA to be able to stay here longer however we have been refused local national insurance as they are claiming I work in the U.K therefore we must got via U.K insurance. My daughter and GF are both born in the Czech Republic, why would the fact I am employed in the U.K and covered by U.K national health have anything to do with my daughters insurance in the country she was born.
Any advice would be helpful. Thanks.

ex dumped me out of the blue. my birthday was yesterday and he didn’t wish me. I expected him to reach out and Atleast wish me cuz I played a valuable part in his life at some moment. I guess not. I can’t stop crying. It sucks when the person you value doesn’t reciprocate. I would do anything for him. I hate love. I want to stop feeling.

The National Air traffic services (NATS) run an apprenticeship every now and then to become an air traffic controller. They say you need GCSE’s and A-levels at a certain level (which I have) to apply, and to be over 18. They don’t say you need a degree or any specific experience, as all training is provided.
However, I’m wondering if anyone here is an air traffic controller or knows someone who is, who can lend some advice on how to improve my chances of getting in. Although it’s not required, would a degree help my application at all? What kind of experience would make me stand out? Any tips about completing the application and training process and securing a job offer?

I just recently determined I fit SC best after second guessing due to my weight. Thought I was romantic but tiny florals and romantic details don’t suit me, while classic styles in soft fabrics like silk and satin do.
Now that I know my type, I am really struggling to narrow down my wardrobe for truly flattering styles for me and am struggling to keep a few good coats. I want a long soft camel trench coat with belted waist, but I read a lot that says we don’t look good in long coats. Anyone have experience with this? Specifically a coat that falls around ankle length. I also have rain coats this length and can’t tell if they look good or I just like them enough I’m trying to make myself believe they work. Lol.
I can’t try the one I want on since it’s online, but I’m curious, can us SC sometimes get away with a long coat? Are there things I should consider when getting a coat? Or specific lengths that work. I was hoping this would be a lifetime piece.

Disclaimer: I am enormously fortunate to have the freedom that I do and this is very much a first world problem. I’m at a huge crossroads and the pressure to make the right decision is enormous. I'm a Masters student in theoretical physics and I have a very mixed background: I have performed research in condensed matter experiment/computation and high-energy theory. My interests lie mostly in condensed matter theory, but honestly I enjoyed the experiments I did in the past quite a bit. It seems that I have been rejected from all condensed matter theory PhD positions I applied to. I have two great offers in condensed matter experimental groups that would allow me to do a mix of theory and experiment, but I’m afraid that would make me uncompetitive for a theory postdoc. On the other hand, I have been shortlisted and will likely have an offer in a high-energy theory group due to my current supervisor’s connections. However, the job market there is, from what I’ve heard, much worse than condensed matter. Couple that with various cost of living and salaries for different cities to factor in, it becomes very hard to decide.
All these topics interest me, but I feel that the more I try to convince the groups that I am truly interested in their research (I’d be very happy spending the next 4 years doing any physics!), the harder it is for me to convince myself that I’d like to do these things. I keep second-guessing myself - did I just absorb my supervisor's interests by osmosis? Are they truly my own? The issue is, I can’t let myself go and not think about it for, since one of my offers has a deadline soon and more interesting PhD positions are always popping up, requiring further applications. Finally, perhaps the most nerve-wracking aspect, is the idea that going down one path of interest almost definitely cuts me off from my other interest. What if I might find out a few years down the road that I chose the wrong field?
It seems like an impossibly difficult situation with no way out, and I'd appreciate advice from those who have had to face such choices in the past, and how they managed to overcome it.

Moved in to a new build at the start of the year / end of last. There’s still some issues that we are waiting to be resolved (most notably they’ve put in the wrong upgraded oven). The site manager has asked us to fill in the NHBC survey, but I’m wondering if I should wait till they’ve addressed most of the issues first? I guess in my mind I’m thinking that once we’ve filled it in, we’ve lost our leverage and they’ll put less effort in. Or is it the opposite where they’ll try address them with more urgency?

First of all I’m 15 F my friend is 15 M and idk I guess I’m getting uncomfortable with him like how before he touches my shoulder, I’ll admit it was very uncomfortable but yk he does it to my other friend so I thought of it as nothing and tried to just be chill with it. I don’t want him to just do that randomly it’s weird the way he also grabs it but I also don’t want to sound mad or I don’t want it to offend him or anything. I don’t know how am I going to do this maybe it’s just easy as telling him not to touch me I mean he’s a good guy we’ve all been friends for a couple of months so I think he is a good guy.
Also another friend of mine is just too much her jokes are just offensive sometimes I know your mom jokes should be taken lightly but it’s getting out of hand and it sounds offensive already as for now I don’t want to have any issues with any of them. I know this is just her kind of humor but I just don’t like it. It gets a little personal you know? I don’t know how to set these boundaries and I don’t want it to seem like it’s a big deal that I need to have serious talk with them

First of all I’m 15 F my friend is 15 M and idk I guess I’m getting uncomfortable with him like how before he touches my shoulder, I’ll admit it was very uncomfortable but yk he does it to my other friend so I thought of it as nothing and tried to just be chill with it. I don’t want him to just do that randomly it’s weird the way he also grabs it but I also don’t want to sound mad or I don’t want it to offend him or anything. I don’t know how am I going to do this maybe it’s just easy as telling him not to touch me I mean he’s a good guy we’ve all been friends for a couple of months so I think he is a good guy.
Also another friend of mine is just too much her jokes are just offensive sometimes I know your mom jokes should be taken lightly but it’s getting out of hand and it sounds offensive already as for now I don’t want to have any issues with any of them. I know this is just her kind of humor but I just don’t like it. I don’t know how to set these boundaries and I don’t want it to seem like it’s a big deal that I need to have serious talk with them

The basics you already know

There are hundreds of books and guides about how to design an IQ test with statistical testing. Yet there is no accessible guide on how to design visual items like matrices/matrix reasoning. This will be a very low-brow intro to how to become top level in just days.
Below in Table 2 you can see how well the various item groups on one of the most popular children IQ test measure intelligence. Matrix reasoning does fairly well. Right below math, vocabulary, and trivia items.
https://i.imgur.com/YvaxwHl.png
The above table is for WISC. The adult version of the same test is called WAIS. It features similar item groups and they are described in Table 9.1 below.
https://i.imgur.com/oBQgYb9.png
Of course there are 100 other ways to measure intelligence. While the crystalized intelligence tests focused on vocabulary are great and fast they are not ideal for measuring fluid intelligence which is the raw brain power no matter the knowledge acquired.
Below is an example of matrix reasoning from WISC defined as “select the item that completes the matrix”. This is not an official item, but it looks close to what you find in legit IQ tests.
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1089/7850/products/wisc_matrix__57333.1410563234.1280.1280__08155_2048x.jpeg?v=1483559713
To replicate this level of design you need to have a bunch of panels then a missing piece people can select from a range of answer options. Usually you have 5 to 8 answer options to pick from. With 5 options a random guess will give you a 20% likelihood of guessing right by chance. Which is very high, but it makes for a simple test where the puzzle element is the focus of attention and random noise is kept to a minimum. Keep in mind answer options takes some time to design so start with only 5.
The item needs to be visually clear and big enough to clearly see all details on a smartphone. Some people have bad vision and it’s also not fun to spend 20-30 seconds on just trying to look through a puzzle and the answer options. It’s way more fun and relaxing to just do the puzzle right away. Everything needs to be clear besides the solution.

Adobe Illustrator

I will explain what you need to know to create such a puzzle is Adobe Illustrator.
The new versions require brand new PCs. But if you can get the 2018 version it will run fine. Though keep in mind Adobe software is very buggy so the 2018 version has a ton of huge bugs in simple tools so you need to learn how to work around that. It will take you about a week to learn Adobe Illustrator on a level where you can make puzzles in higher quality than what you find in the WAIS test. It's very easy. It's just a step above Paint. And much easier than Paint 3D.
Adobe Illustrator saves files in a vector format where even if you print or save the image the size of a house it will be exactly the same quality as if it was a small PC image - as you draw in vectors/lines not pixels. This is amazing for IQ matrices as the quality is perfect no matter what.
First thing. The image below shows the Artboard Tool. An AI file can consist of different canvases/images. You can save them as a single image file or as individual files. This is useful if you want to create an online test where people just click the answer panel itself instead of selecting a letter or number somewhere below the image.
https://i.imgur.com/434EtEu.png
Secondly, turn on the grid in the View menu. As you see below it creates squares. And Snap to Grid makes sure everything you draw snaps to these grids which means that everything will be 100% symmetrical right away without you needing to move anything around. You can then go into “Edit - Preferences - Guides & Grid” to adjust the grid size. Take note of the size of your canvas to create grids that make all your matrix panels symmetrical.
https://i.imgur.com/AhD8Zei.png
Only tools you need from the side menu are Line Segment Tool for drawing lines and the shape tool for drawing various shapes. And furthermore the Eyedropper Tool and Shape Builder Tool are quite handy shortcut tools for more advanced users. The Shape Builder Tool can cut and combine objects while the Eyedropper tool just colors them the same color you select somewhere else. You can also use the Select menu to select all shapes of a certain color then recolor them with a click.
https://i.imgur.com/ihtK3JV.png
Just by using the line and shape tool you can draw symmetrical shapes using the grid to measure everything as it snaps into place. The Line Segment Tool also has options for rounded corners.
https://i.imgur.com/1xIvhMT.png
That’s it. This takes 5 minutes to learn in Adobe Illustrator. If you look up beginner guides on Youtube they will have you create beautiful illustrations in just a day. It really is this simple. You are welcome to ask me for help if you get stuck somewhere. I like helping out.
Perfect intro guide. This guy is a king: https://youtu.be/Ib8UBwu3yGA
If you draw a line or shape over a shape and select both objects a Pathfinder menu will appear with options. Below you see an option to cut the circle in half where I drew the line. But we can also combine shapes or remove parts of them.
https://i.imgur.com/2DWGQAz.png
Below I made the WISC triangles with the shape tool. It can make squares, triangles, stars, and many other shapes in about 3 seconds. I made the rhombuses by drawing lines on the grid. Then I selected all the lines and clicked Shape Builder Tool and clicked inside the rhombus. The lines combined and became one single shape. Next we can use the text tool to add text. Resize by holding down shift so that the shape remains the same aspect ratio no matter the size. Shift also makes sure objects are 90 or 45 degrees and not crooked. In the image below you can see how I resized the letter A and then copy-pasted it into the grid lines by holding down alt and dragging it. Later I can change the text for answers options.
https://i.imgur.com/GVn8PLm.png
In the bottom right of the image above you see a color palette I made manually. I try to use it as much as possible as 8% of men are red-green colorblind. You don’t need to think about the colors if you can’t mess up anyhow. But in reality you can also just avoid using red and green of the same shade. Dark red and light green would go perfectly together and not look alike. This is something you can see for yourself by going into View - Proof Setup - Color blindness. It will show you how your drawing looks like to colorblind people.
Or upload an image or a PDF file with all images to this site to check your work.
https://www.color-blindness.com/coblis-color-blindness-simulato
Below you can see the colorblind Proof Setup colors. I used 2 different colorblind palettes for the 2 rows to imitate what WISC did even though it’s silly to mix like this. You can see how blue, white, black, grey remain the same. While reds and greens fade into a brown-yellow color.
https://i.imgur.com/tVpRSNn.png
That’s it. You now understand the basics and can make your own test in no time. You can search Google for short videos on how to do each single step you are confused about. But the basics are extremely simple and will only take hours to learn. Otherwise just ask me for help.

Puzzle design basics

I have made hundreds of items in various categories so I can write about this for hours. But this is the fast and simple intro to the basics.
In a proper IQ test or just a for-fun puzzle quiz you need clear intro items. At the start of the test you show the logical rules you will apply later on in harder items. Colorshift, rotation, plus and minus, movement etc. For harder items you need a 3 by 3 grid with a missing panel or maybe 6 panels in a row with a missing panel. Either way will look clear and logical to test takers as long as you introduce it all slowly. If you have 50 items then the first 25 items will be very easy to make sure the lower IQ people can solve some of the test and to teach advanced test takers that logical rules could be found in columns instead of just rows. Don’t ever have a user tell you he was confused about what to do in the test. In the best items the test taker will see some pattern, but not see it fully right away. It’s also important that items are sorted in an Excel file by what puzzle style it is. An early intro item should present some logical solutions used later on. But don’t use 2 similar puzzles close to each other. Rotation and movement is such an obvious puzzle item that it will be used a lot, but it’s still important to not use the same logical rules for similar items as test takers will solve one and then easily apply the solution to everything else.
The hardest part is making the answer options. With only 5 options the answer options will be extremely crucial to figuring out the solution. Which is why the test should not reveal the answers too directly. A bad test will for example too often have the correct answer share some rotation or color with 2-3 other options. While totally wrong answers will look unique in every way. You can reveal some of the answer like the rotation or color, but try not to reveal everything. An AI just guessing on the answers with most in common with other answers, without even looking at the question itself, will likely do quite well on an IQ test.
Unfortunately people who never attended school will not be able to take a matrice test. Their IQ is very low anyhow, but they also just don’t have any test taking training. It’s the same issue we have with word tests. You need to read to be able to take them. This matrix design is universal, but maybe only for people who have attended basic schooling.
The famous Raven’s matrice test has over 200 items in an online database where each test is created by combining items of specific difficulty levels and of different puzzle solutions. This way no online test is the same yet all are equally difficult and varied. Once you have the difficulty level, puzzle solution, and g loading for each item you are good to go and can combine items into a single test.

Looking for testers

I'm right now looking for 50 testers for a batch of items. We are making a free online IQ test with some very creative ideas for how it will work. If you have interest please send me a DM and if I get 25+ DMs I will send everyone a link. It's very important that we get people who have the time and energy to take it seriously and not just look at items for fun as otherwise it will mess up our data - as I was told by EqusB who instructed me about this. The next item batch will have a stopwatch of 25 min. Prolific was not a success as people often just spent 9 min on a 30 min test. So I'm looking for more focused people and hopefully I can find a few here. I also welcome ideas on design, colors, puzzles. Anything really. We are all learning.
I will make a post about this test. Keep in mind this is NOT an IQ test yet. Just a collection of raw items. We need way more testing before it's done. So it's not a test you take for fun and then get a score. Hopefully it will be fun to just solve puzzles.

been attending church online since we moved to a new city and tried to find different ones. My husband works in pest control and he does a church. He mention the woman,let’s say Sally, was very nice and was interested in meeting his family and invited us to her church. A Pentecostal one. We didn’t know anything about Pentecostal and the next time he worked on their church he asked and said Sally said they just follow the book of acts. I heard things about dress attire so I had my husband ask and Sally said no dress code. Sally and others have been great professional friends with my husband for a while. Well we decide to show up because we want to find a church to go to physically. We went in and as we were approaching seats the usher ushered us to some specific seats. Sally saw us and came to sit with us. Things were going good until the pastor said some off things. He mentioned “don’t listen to anyone but me. I’m your pastor don’t listen to any online pastors don’t listen to tv evangelist don’t listen to any social media pastors” - weird for me because like hey we listen to online (YouTube) pastors all the time and I feel like we especially my husband have grown soo much. Tv evangelists? Ok yeah I guess?? But if people are getting in a sermon and learning from it then what’s it to him? Idk. Then he continued and said later on “God doesn’t speak to you he speaks to me(the pastor) so I can tell you. Don’t listen to anyone saying God spoke to them he only speaks to his men who are the pastors” ??? That rubbed me all kinds of wrong for obvious reasons. So God isn’t speaking to me because I’m not a pastor? That’s just so wrong. He mentioned other weird things like no friends outside church, trying to only work in church or keep no friends from work, only dating in church, no having worldly convos other than church people. That’s leading on the devils path Ugh I know that having wrong bad friends are bad I guess like leading you into trouble But for example my husband didn’t know God before me and look at him now, loves the Lord so I’m like what? So not evangelizing and opening people up to God is bad and I’m just suppose to walk past them because they aren’t in church So end of the service and some other people that showed up around us were other people my husband sees while spraying. They seemed nice. Kept mentioning I’ll see you next time I want to see you next time etc. An official (idk correct term he just gave announcements before the pastor spoke) made a weird look at my husband. And it was noticeable and Sally just said oh it’s fine he’s just probably shocked about your hair and laughs. And we were like what. Sally said that they normally don’t have men with long hair or facial hair (husbands hair is to his shoulders and a mustache). That kinda explains why I was noticing that no women had makeup on or showed little to no skin or had turtle neck dresses on when it was a nice warm day out. Opposite to me with makeup on and normal spring like dress, a dress I’m able to wear to work. And my husband had on jeans and a pullover t-shirt. I just felt weird about it. Anyways I noticed NO one was leaving after the 100-11:15 service ended. It was lunch time for the kid and I was getting hungry myself. So I just waited patiently while Sally and the others were talking. So I kinda gave my husband a look like so what’s next? So he ask “what’s everyone doing now” and they said oh we usually all stay for the next service 11:30-1:00 and the return back for the 6-9pm service. And I was like “oooh well the kid” and she said they had an kids section but understood if we had to go. Sally walked us to the car and said she you next time.
Sorry if this post is all over the place. I just didn’t feel right. I even woke up around 2am just thinking about it. We want to get into church physically to be closer to God. My husband has good friends but I don’t have any so I was excited to meet people and be friends with. Sally is so nice and sweet I could see myself being friends with her. She loved my LO and it was nice….until the pastor started preaching. Our old church (1hr away) was a come as you are church. I have clothes for everyday wear I don’t have any dresses like theirs. My husband is a shorts all year guy except the jeans he wore on Sunday. We love his hair and mustache alll the way. Is this the Pentecostal experience. I feel judge instead of invited.
I also fear that if we don’t go back that this will be a divide in the relationship with the church workers (Sally and others) when my husband goes back and works there. Will they treat him differently? I think about the message the pastor was saying about friends. Would he be considered worldly now? We are also back to square one with finding another church. I feel guilt because I was the one to push us to go.
I don’t know my intent of posting I just felt like letting it out, especially since it’s been on my mind. Is this the Pentecostal experience. Am I overthinking. The churches I listen to online are nondenominational and are against rules. And now I feel rules. I know it’s as simple as not going back. But anxiety here and people pleasing it’s like ugh should we give in another try??