​
Kedosik warriors of the east
Long ago in a time where there was no beginning nor end, the northern continent of the New World was populated by vast prairies, enormous grasslands stretching out for miles and miles with great herds of bison and gazelle passing through like whales in the sea. In this age, the Wind-Rider tribes flourished creating massive territories with varying cultures and traditions across these almost eternal plains. The Wind-Riders paid no mind to the greater world around them ignoring the conflicts of the world and focusing only on their survival. But even this could not last forever. With the civil war in the Elven kingdom of Ulthaun at its end, the elves of Nagarythe began a great pilgrimage to the inland ocean that would later be known as the Sea of Malice.
As the Druchii arrived on the continent and founded the terrible Tower of Cold, the Wind-Riders sensed their malevolent presence even in the south. The northern tribes were already strained thin due to the Chaos incursions from the North Pole. So to have an entire colony of brutal elves arrive and begin claiming the land was not exactly the best circumstances. Even today the Northern tribes are hardly even spoken of, many believe they were the first victims of the Dark Elves in their new "homeland". Wind-Rider shamans all over soon after prophesized great clouds of darkness enveloping the continents with one terrible master behind them, a cursed being: Malekith the Witch King.
The Shamans' Prophecies proved to be true in a sense, as the gluttony and greed of the Druchii grew so too did their ambition. Under the command of Malekith himself, Dark Elf Dreadlords expanded their territories into the south, letting no one stand in the way of their progress. Many tribes attempted to reach diplomacy with the Druchii, only for Dark Elven assassins to slaughter the entire tribe in the dead of the night. Word reached the southern tribes of this, and so they prepared for battle. Old stories tell of Druchii attempting to capture a piece of Wind-Rider land, only for the entire platoon to be ambushed by the Centaurs and killed with arrows strong and straight enough to slay a Kraken in one shot. Unfortunately, this was never fully effective.
Many wars broke out between these Centaurs and Elves, and most of the time the Elves won very bloodily. Entire tribes were slaughtered and sacrificed to the Bloody Handed God, villages burned to the ground, and countless artefacts and even Wind-Riders themselves were burned in great immolation piles. For decades hope for the Wind-Riders seemed foolish and impossible, until a story began spreading throughout Naggaroth, one that managed to ignite the fires of rebellion once again. A story that even drew the attention of the Black Council itself: the story of Thundercaller the Liberator.
According to this popular tale in 1728 IC, the Lepoyta tribe was massacred leaving only a few survivors including the soon-to-be chief Thundercaller. The young chieftain managed to rally the remaining warriors to attack the Dark Elf city that arose from the captured Lepoytan land. The attack started well but the Centaurs were soon overwhelmed by the sheer forces of the Druchii. Many of the party were slain leaving only Thundercaller and his two dearest friends. The Dark Elves chased them for days leading to a Canyon seen as holy by Wind-Riders, It seemed to be the end for Thundercaller until as if some sort of divine miracle a storm appeared out of nowhere. Suddenly an enormous eagle with lightning erupting from its wings blocked out the sun and released a fury of elemental forces upon the Dark Elf forces, decimating them within a matter of minutes. Once the Druchii were dealt with, the titanic bird looked back at Thundercaller, giving the Wind-Rider a stare of approval before disappearing with the wind.
Not long after the story had spread, reports of successful slave revolts throughout Naggaroth began popping up, all sharing one common trait: A Wind-Rider Centaur adorned by lightning and thunder itself began rallying the slaves and leading them to freedom. These reports were kept secret from the public and known only by the Black Council themselves. Whether these stories are true or not their effect is clear, Wind-Rider will not stand by as the Druchii defile their continent. Battles are still common in the middle of Naggaroth to this day, and they are unlikely to end anytime soon.
________________________________________________________________________
This was an interesting one, Centaurs were somewhat like this in Old lore until Centigors were introduced and these guys were thrown in the trash without a second thought.

(Credit to a certain legend for the title reference👀)
Welcome to yet another totally normal entry on this totally normal day where I have a totally normal pfp, Reddit banner and display name. We are now on the last character I like, before we reach the greats of this cast. And we just so happen to run into Nick's love-interest

#8th: Lill

Lill is an ambitious, noble and kind girl-scout troop leader who is used to working with very young kids, and has joined this show to try to interact with more older people, as well as having a new experience. Lill starts this season off with some serious protagonist energy, being the first one to introduce herself in the confessional and being given relatively more focus as she initially interacts with others. However, if you’ve read my last entry, you’ll likely know she gets eliminated as early as episode 4. Basically, it doesn’t take long before her experience and instincts kick in, and she susses Fiore. But unfortunately, her attempts to tell others about her suspicions don’t end well for her as people either think she’s crazy (including the guy who supposedly loved her smh), or are aware of Fiore’s true nature but are just playing dumb in virtue of being in an alliance with her. This ultimately leads to her early downfall, but not before everyone else in the elimination ceremony gets proven that she was right all-along (no thanks to Jared pulling a Chris)
There’s not nearly as much to cover with Lill as there was with her love-interest. Though I’ll start off by talking a little bit more about her and Nick’s romance plot. As I said before, I think they are Skave done right. Both couples share common ground in that…there really wasn’t much if any real chemistry between them. Seriously, all their interactions consisted of were them saying how much they like each other. It is worth noting they did have an actual conversation at least one point, but it’s barely explained or even hinted at why they actually like each other. So in that respect, I think their romance failing was a very respectable writing decision. But this time, it’s actually handled far better than Skave. As I said before, both of them have some flaws throughout this conflict. And on Lill’s end, she low-key comes off as kind of entitled at times by being mad at Nick. Nick wasn’t obligated to jump to conclusions and vote Fiore out despite there not being 100% proof of her being problematic. Despite this, she was hurt and frustrated that even the guy who had feelings for her, believed her suspicions. Though like I said, both of their less-than-favorable traits just make them more realistically and understandably flawed rather than unlikable. It’s also easy to sympathize with her in various ways, just like Nick. Despite her suspicions, no one believed her, and then her love-interest out of all people got so fed up with her to the point he said some very hurtful things regarding her. It’s worth noting, even in episode 4 when they had a fight with each other, Lill later on said she still liked Nick and wanted their romance to work. But alas, Nick’s confessional where he straight-up hoped to never see her again was really what pushed their romance over the edge. This isn’t to throw shit at Nick by any means, but I definitely respect her for turning him down even as he tries to apologize for what he said, but still forgives him. She makes her boundaries clear, but is still willing to move forward on good terms with him. Overall, it’s a well-handled failed romance plot that enhances both characters
Aside from this, there’s also her general role as a decoy protagonist. And I think it’s also handled well and plays into some established flaws she has. I think another reason Lill was unable to get people on her side is her lack of experience with interacting with older people, which she even touches on in the beginning. So it makes sense her social game went down the drain as she tried to expose a very innocent-looking 6 year old as an impostor. And her being the first one to pick up on Fiore’s facade has the added explanation that she’s incredibly different and unusual compared to almost any other kid she’s worked with, which I also find cool. Overall, Lill is a pretty interesting and well-utilized character with a strong and likable personality. For the record, I really did low-key get vibes that she would be a protagonist. And similar to Ashley, she was even one of the characters who I started to root for more in hindsight when I watched the first episode. So seeing her be eliminated quite earlier on was a bit of a surprise, meaning the writers did their jobs well
​
I think I got this post done, but huh, I feel like there’s something missing…
And that wraps up another entry. Not much to say aside from thank you to those who are supporting this series. I’m kinda tempted to say “peace out”, but…there’s just something missing in this post. I wonder what it could be...
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OH SHIT, I almost didn’t bully Will at all in this write-up. Huh wait, what should I say? Uhh, uhh, oh I know!
Will has more balls than Lill and every other female in AC (before you get surprised, check what day it is😉)
Don’t worry Will, I’ll stop bullying you and your goofy-ass man bun when it stops being funny...as in never (OHHHHHHH, PRAAAAANK, PRAAAANK, APRIL FOOLS, THE CAMERAS ARE OVER THERE JAJAJAJAJAJAJAHUAHUAHUAROFLROFLROFLROFLROFL)
Ok I’m done being stupid in parentheses now, peace✌️

This is sort of a broad post with many facets and I don't have a TLDR. I was in a high-control "spiritual" group from age 21-30 and am having some challenges readjusting to many of the "realities" of life. I don't know where to go to for help and would greatly appreciate outside perspectives.
I'm starting my 2nd year as an apprentice plumber after finishing first in my trade school (once I decided to leave said group).
I believe that one of the triggers for addictive/self-destructive behavior is trying to avoid challenging emotions. I struggle with binge eating maybe 50% of evenings and I live with my mother. She has been wonderfully supportive since I decided to make my own decisions in life and doesn't charge me rent, never will and will allow me to stay as long as I want to.
Last year I paid off $7,000 of credit card debt and maxed my new Roth IRA. The year before I paid $6,000 of delinquent capital gains tax. All these debts were due to squandering an inheritance from my grandfather due to me having a good heart, being gullible perhaps and not having any financial literacy until I decided that personal sovereignty was very important to me.
Anyways, living with my mother has allowed me to save a little money, but I'm not happy with the emotional/social dynamic. I don't want to speculate too much, but I think I reject the kind of love my mother wants to give me. She's getting better about seeing me as an adult, but still does things like trying to speak for me to others while in my presence, kind of normal mothering stuff for a little boy, I guess. She's retired and I think sort of has a tendency to live vicariously through others. I don't think it's healthy and so I don't really talk about my life much or communicate much with her at all. I respect her, but we're into different things and frankly, as adults, don't have a lot of common interests, which is fine. Me living with her is putting a fair strain on both of us I think, but she'll never ask me to leave.
We don't eat together for various reasons. Partially it's scheduling, she's more into snacking and I don't like talking while eating. Also, although I don't show it outwardly, I think I get triggered by her questions. I feel like I'm being interrogated and as an adult, I don't owe her any answers.
I think one of my triggers for binge eating is feeling trapped and not in control of my life. I'm wondering if living on my own will help me to "man up" for lack of a better phrase and just make my life work. I've lived alone and with roommates before in many different situations. However I also struggled with binge eating/drinking while living alone in situations where I didn't feel in control, or I didn't like my life circumstances, such as my boss being my landlord, etc. I did learn some independence even though I was in a cult lol. I was told what part of the work to go to, what country to go to, then left and forgotten about. I had to find odd jobs with limited handman/farm skills and couldn't make any commitments. I had to make it work.
I'm hedging my bets that being more independent will help me to overcome my self-destructive habits. Frankly, I've struggled with food addiction before I even got involved in the high-control group. I'm not overweight and am actually very fit, but you know when you have a problem.
I haven't confessed this to anyone in my life, but I started seeing a therapist a couple months ago and have talked about using food to cope. I have a good relationship with some of my family members but I guess I just don't want sympathy. There was a time maybe 12-13 years ago I had a major eczema issue with my skin, lived with my mother and told my sisters I wasn't interested in going to see a Western medical practitioner. Frankly, the crying, begging and emotional strain of having people care about me with good intentions can be a lot to bear. It doesn't always make things better.
I have hobbies, but I don't fully express myself and my interests around my mother and family members. I'm hoping that living on my own (even with roommates), I can focus on increasing my earning potential, work occasional side jobs and focus on my hobbies (singing, Spanish language, martial arts, yoga, etc.) and that this purpose will help me to face uncomfortable emotions and not rely on coping in negative ways.
I'd like to move out of the house and keep reworking my budget, but it's tough. I currently make $21.50/hr. but if I go to another company, I may be taking a pay cut. Although currently, I don't have any benefit package from my job and with a different company, I'd have a package. I currently have about $21,000 in a HYSA that is a combination of an emergency fund and new catruck savings.
I drive a Toyota Solara with 246,000 miles that's been well-cared for. I just put in a new alternator and new tires. Part of my hesitation in leaving my company and current city is that I don't know how much longer this car will last. I don't want to be somewhere I don't know anybody and have to deal with towing a scrap car, potentially missing work at a new company, getting a rental car and finding something reliable with Uber's and whatnot. I don't necessarily NEED a truck but am looking at everything from Tundras to Rangers because it will help me keep options open for weekend side jobs and also to move living situations if I need to.
At my current job, I'm not getting the best training (but it's okay and I can make it work), but I have a company van, they may have given me a little too early (7 months in). So, if my personal car breaks down on a weekend while I have a work van and I'm living with my mother, it's not a huge deal. Problem is, I live in a HCOL area, but I could probably find a roommate and keep my housing/utility costs under $850/mo.
My credit is 694 and I don't want to have a car loan that is less than 91.5% paid off while potentially needing to have a landlord run my credit. 694 should be fine for an apartment, but not if I add a mostly unpaid car loan.
My buddy's mother and her partner have a mother-in-law suite they are trying to rent out in a major city 1 hour away from me. They would charge below market value and there is a good plumbing company in the area I would try to get in with. They are known for having a wonderful paid training program (they actually subcontract out their training). I'd likely take a pay cut but get benefits I'm currently paying for myself (dental, health, retirement). I would probably be someone's helper for 2-6 months before getting my own work vehicle. This is an option.
I guess there's a part of me that feels bad to leave my current company. There is sideways and upward mobility, I have enough say (due to my work ethic and intellect) that I can mostly work with who I want to. They took a chance on me, pay me decently (started me at $20 and now got an additional $1.50 after 10 months) and they make a decent effort to teach me stuff. Problem is they aren't organized with how they bill jobs, among other thing. Some jobs are time and materials, some things are flat rate, some things are a total toss up and some are charity for the church, which takes money out of the employees pockets. At the risk of sounding like I'm slandering them, a good few of the guys are pot heads and even smoke at work. Warnings have been given, but nobody gets fired. If you splash too much water out of a small puddle, I guess you're only left with mud. But I still believe that a company should have standards. Small family company and management doesn't really command respect. We lose money on efficiency and productivity. Guys 6 years in still don't know how to solder and make what I make, some less. One of our lead plumbers makes $.50 an hour more than I do.
So my point is that I could do okay if I stayed in this city with my current job, for now, but I wouldn't be relying on being around people with a growth mindset. I would be relying on my own drive, which is fickle. I'm driven, but I feel like I'm also influenced by my environment. If I stay here, I'd continue seeing my therapist, but if I move to the larger city with arguably the better company, I'd probably find another therapist and would also have access to a couple different men's groups, but nothing like Overeaters Anonymous or Smart Recovery. There are options though for help if I need it, more so in the larger city.
I'll add that my former cult is based out of the larger city with these opportunities. They aren't like a major Church, but are low-key, Christian-influenced Andean Shamanic type people who are followers of someone very charismatic with a few allegations of sexual harassment, although nothing is concrete so far (I think). If I moved there, I may run into the people I left who I was very close to for 9 years. Wouldn't be a big deal I don't think, but I might have to face that.
Budget: $2,900 monthly net income
$693 food (inflated due to not feeling comfortable in my mom's kitchen to cook healthy/cheap)
$541 IRA contributions
$150 catruck savings
$100 gas
$80 clothes/shoe allowance
$80 counseling copayments
$70 health insurance
$70 Verizon bill
$55 car maintenance
$50 supplements
$35 dental insurance
$25 cleaning/maintenance
That leaves me with $951 for rent/utilities, but perhaps more. My food spending should go down substantially if I live alone, but it might not go down if I have to share a kitchen with someone.
I get bonuses at work but don't build my budget around that or anything I make from side jobs.
My mother has decided to pay my car insurance and I won't necessarily complain about that.
The last thing I'll add is that I enjoy taking ice baths and am trying to pursue difficult things in order to build up my discipline. If you've read all that, thank you and I hope you can offer some insight that maybe I'm missing. Also, if there's another sub I should post this, suggestions are welcome and appreciated. Have a great weekend!

The anger was both generalized and specific - it was directed against the world, the injustices, my boss, my wife, ALL THE ASSHOLES, and just about everything in my past and present, - AND it was directed against me and all the shitty things I did, said, or thought....
I know now it came from very old fear which morphed into a self esteem that was warped, full of holes, made of soggy cardboard - blah blah blah.... (learning this was important - but letting it go was even more so)
For a while I had been a professional angry young man, doing social work in really rough areas, me against the landlords and the rest of the oppressive system. And for a while it sort of worked, but all the while I was drinking and the rut was getting muddy because I was pissing in it.
Then I was 39, and it was time. Alcohol had caught up with me and was really starting to beat me up. Remarkable circumstances happened and I got sober. (Details if you go to my posts)
And as I got sober I realized just how angry and miserable I was - and for a while extra angry because I couldn't drink any more.
I did not get sober immediately or completely, and in one of those slips I remember the thought came to me, "you're using alcohol to self medicate your anger, what if it goes out of control when you finally quit?" Glad to say that did not happen, it turned out that alcohol was actually helping fuel my rage under the guise of blowing off steam... or giving me the excuse to act inappropriately or whatever...
I had to learn not to take everything personally, I had to learn not to take myself too seriously, but at the same time have confidence in who I was becoming. I learned a lot of this in AA - there are other ways, but it is what worked for me.
I can still have my moments, but they do not last and are much less crazy making. Took a while, but what a relief...
All this to say, stick with it, you are not alone in your struggles, the end result will very much be worth it.

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Respect Cheshire

"I don't even trust myself."

Jade Nguyen grew up the daughter of criminals. Her father was an assassin for the League of Shadows, and when her parents separated she went with her father to learn the art of assassination under his tutelage. She would later become an assassin herself, donning the grinning mask of a cat and taking the name Cheshire, and in that role come into opposition not only with the Team, but with her sister Artemis.
Scaling: 1. Artemis/Tigress 2. Red Arrow 3. Aqualad 4. Kid Flash 5. Miss Martian 6. The Team

Strength

Striking

• Kicks Artemis a distance away, disappears
• Kicks a henchman back into four others and they don't get up
• KOs Kid Flash with a kick to the face
• Kicks Artemis through a piece of wood
• Kicks away Black Manta

Mobility

• Leaps atop and across rooftops
• Leaps atop several people in a crowd
• Flips over a security fence
• Leaps down from a considerable height
• Easily leaps atop the roof of a building
• Leaps down on a target, and proceeds to leap behind cover after being shot

Durability

Concussive

• Tackled by Tigress and gains the upperhand before getting kicked into a large pipe and recovering
• Tackled away by Kid Flash and recovers a moment later
• Tackled by Kid Flash and recovers during the fight
• Recovers from Red Arrow tackling her
• Takes a tackle from Kid Flash and bounces back a moment later to exchange blows

Explosive

• Bounces back from the periphery of an explosion from Artemis
• Gets up from a massive explosion that wrecked a room
• Artemis' arrows blows her mask off but have no other effect
• Quickly recovers from the periphery of an explosion from Red Arrow's arrow

Endurance

• Proceeds to leap behind cover after being shot and gets the bullet removed without anesthetic

Speed

• Dodges several energy blasts
• Deflects Artemis' arrows and exchanges blows with her, confident she can continue deflecting arrows
• Tackles Artemis out of the way of falling debris
• Ducks under an arrow after it is fired
• An arrow is fired from behind her and she turns and strikes it out of the air with a sai
• Dodges an arrow fired from behind her
• Slices Red Arrow's net arrow apart midair
• Slices another arrow fired at her out of the air with a sai
• Slices one arrow out of the air and kicks away another with a flip
• Slices multiple arrows fired at her out of the air
• Deflects another arrow
• Leaps through, deflects, and ducks under several arrows before ducking under Sportsmaster's discus attack from behind her

Skill

Stealth

• Sneaks past Artemis and Miss Martian while they argue telepathically
• Cheshire catches Artemis sneaking despite Artemis descending from an invisible ship moments prior
• Removes the tracker placed on her and identifies a tracker placed on Artemis
• Stealthily takes out guards and sneaks into a complex while holding a baby
• Scuba dives and infiltrates a submarine stealthily
• Infiltrates a submarine and subdues a guard
• Stealthily takes out a guard on a submarine alongside Sportsmaster
• Sneaks into the air ducts of a submarine
• Infiltrates an international summit as a traditional ceremonialist
• Uses a flashbang to disappear from between opponents

Combat

• Dodges and disarms Artemis
• Takes out Artemis and Red Arrow in melee,
• Outfights Artemis
• Disarms Aqualad and puts him in a lock
• Redirects Miss Martian's attack, slamming her into a door and kicking her across the room
• Disarms and incapacitates a League of Shadows guard, choking him out and beats up all a small army of ninja along with Arsenal while keeping her baby happy
• Outfights several armed guards
• Exchanges attacks with Artemis
• Outfights Aqualad
• Outfights Aqualad and KOs him after poisoning him
• Exchanges attacks with Red Arrow
• Exchanges blows with Red Arrow and coordinates with Sportsmaster

Tactics

• Runs away to pursue her target while her allies distract the Team
• Anticipates getting broken out of her cell at the right moment, ducking away from an explosion that blew Red Arrow back
• Feigns incapacitation to get the jump on Artemis and overcome her in a melee, knocking her out with a precise hit
• Follows her orders, although intimates that she would enjoy killing her target regardless
• Uses her allies as a distraction to sneak in through a window to gain a sight on her target and leaps after the target a moment later only to find how she's been duped

Equipment

Sai

• Throws her sai, which embeds int oa submarine's wall even when deflected
• Sai stabs into a submarine's wall
• Sai embeds in a wall even after Aqualad deflects it

Sword

• Cuts herself out of netting
• Stabs a metal door on a submarine to lock it shut
• Stabs a submarine door
• Uses a collapsible sword

Shuriken

• Rapidly throws several shuriken
• Disarms Deathstroke with a shuriken
• Throws shuriken at Deathstroke he deflects
• Releases four shuriken simultaneously
• Uses a shuriken to cut through Red Arrow's repelling line

Poison

• Throws several poison-coated shuriken Aqualad intercepts
• Aqualad says he's largely immune to Cheshire's jellyfish toxins, though they take effect
• Fires 3 poisoned bolts into Aqualad's chest to test the limits of his immunity
• Outfights Aqualad and KOs him after poisoning him

Mask

• Communicates a discreet message to her partner through her mask
• Her mask has built in air filters that protect her from Artemis' knockout gas
• Her mask has sensors that detect the traces of footprints to track quarry
• Mask protects her from her own smoke bomb

Smoke bombs

• Uses smoke bombs to obscure her attack
• Uses a smoke bomb that dissipates Aqualad's water construct and obscures her escape
• Uses a smoke bomb as a distraction for her entrance into a room

Tasers

• Uses a small ball that releases an incapacitating electric shock on a guard
• Tasers a guard into unconsciousness
• Tosses a taser on Black Manta that incapacitates him

Misc.

• Has a rocket launcher
• Uses several beads to make Kid Flash trip
• Uses a flashbang to disappear from between opponents

---
Appropriately-sized shoutout to IamNotaChinaboo for collecting and clipping several gifs!

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Get Andrew Tate - The Real World by chatting me on +44 759 388 0762 on Telegram/Whatsapp.
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To get Andrew Tate - The Real World contact me on:
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Reddit DM
Email: silverlakestore[@]yandex.com (remove the brackets)

Get Andrew Tate - The Real World by chatting me on +44 759 388 0762 on Telegram/Whatsapp.
I have Andrew Tate - The Real World.
Andrew Tate - The Real World is your ticket out of the Matrix.
The Real World is a global community of like-minded individuals striving to acquire an abundance of wealth.
After being banned Andrew Tate created The Real World as a means to teach everyone how to get rich, outside of the reach of the Matrix.
For the first time in history you will read and learn things outside of the Matrix control.
The Real World by Andrew Tate comes with its own complete infrastructure - servers, university and even own bank.
Copywriting, Freelancing, Amazon FBA and more is covered inside Andrew Tate's The Real World.
To get Andrew Tate - The Real World contact me on:
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Email: silverlakestore[@]yandex.com (remove the brackets)

It was morning. Around forests and meadows. Summer was slowly beginning. Only a month has passed since the end of the war. The crisp Andaroln air was in the air. On a chestnut horse, Lord Kylian Tarington came to the city of Lira. A city that, several years ago, still belonged to the Sundaroln Empire.
During the war, it was taken over by the Kingdom of Andaroln. And the lord of the city was Silas Tarington. Then in the war with the Kingdom of Ithrandil, the elves occupied this city and it was occupied for years. The stalemate caused by losses on both sides prolonged the war. The Andarolians would not be satisfied with peace if even part of their territory remained in the hands of the Elves.
Now that the borders are back to what they were before the war and no one has gained anything, Kylian has returned to the city where he spent his teenage years. His father died in the war Lira belongs to him now. He was a thin man in his twenties of medium height, with a round face, a low forehead, a small potato nose, large, prominent ears, short black hair, and a goatee. He wore a simple leather vest, trousers and boots. He was looking at the city with a happy look from his small green eyes.
It was a city surrounded by a wall, but at first glance, the glory days of the defensive structure are over. The once black wall, made of Sundaroln bricks scorched by fire magic, had gaps that were only partially filled with simple ordinary stones. The Sundaroln magic strengthened the wall, but the Andaroln stonemasons could not recreate it. Andarolian stone walls were up to thirty feet high. The Sundarolians could build three times as tall.
The Lord's companion was his Father's steward, Sir Thalis. A man in his fifties with short blond hair and green eyes, a wide mustache and a small rounded nose. In steel mail and half helmet.
— Sir Thalis, you have always been faithful to my Father, but I am a completely different man. Will you be faithful to me even if I turn my Father's legacy upside down and make it mine? — Young Lord asked.
— I will follow you, my Lord, whatever your beliefs, I swore to you and before that to your Father Silas — Sir Thalis replied.
They entered a gate guarded by guards. It resembled an arch. There were neither bars nor a wooden gate with bolts.
— Lord Tarington — the guard bowed when he saw the Hare Crest on the cloak thrown over the horse.
— It's a pleasure to welcome you to Lira.— He added.
— I will go to the palace at once, I would like to receive my advisers at once. — He said to the guard and left.
They passed simple wooden huts. Some of them were burned, and some were crushed by the stones from the catapults that flew over the wall during the assault. Fire was burning in some of the fireplaces. Driving down an unpaved road. They passed through the northwest gate of the city and found themselves in its northwestern part. This part was inhabited mainly by Andarolians and Andarolian buildings prevailed here. The townspeople looked at them curiously. The city was divided into four parts and was the second largest city in Andaroln. Separated by the crossing of the Iliana's River with the Tascal's River, which is a kind of border between the Sundaroln Empire and the Kingdom of Andaroln. The Lord's Palace was located in the south-eastern part of the city. That's where he was heading.
As they approached the bridge. A paved road appeared, and houses from wood scorched by fire magic appeared. Sundaroln buildings prevailed here. They were black, but with beautiful clay tile roofs and glass windows, not just wooden shutters for holes in the walls like Andaroln homes.
Now the looks of curiosity turned to contempt. There were many Sundarolans in the city who did not feel Lira belonged to Andaroln. In addition, due to the slightly darker complexion of former Imperial citizens, the inhabitants could easily recognize the origins of other inhabitants. And that just gave them more reasons to hate themselves.
They finally reached the Palace. A beautiful marble building with soaring towers and huge red glass windows. The roof was also covered with clay tiles. The palace was surrounded by a ten-feet-high marble wall. More of a fence than a fortification. Two guards stood at the gate to the wall. Armed with spears and a round wooden shield bearing the Crest of the Kingdom of Andaroln.
They bowed as Kylian and Thalis rode in. Then they entered the palace as the grooms took the horses from them. The young Lord walked the red carpet towards the throne, passing the rows of marble columns of the great throne room. Even the throne rooms in the palaces of the Sundaroln Empire were made as if the Emperor himself would sit there. Behind the throne hung a great Banner with a white hare on a blue background. Kylian sat on the throne. Lord Thalis stood at the steps to the marble throne. The two guards who guarded the throne bowed as their Lord passed them.
Soon the advisers arrived, they were nobles in beautiful furs and leather boots. One of them came out against the Lord. It was immediately apparent to Tarington that they were all Andarolians. An older man with long, well-groomed gray hair and a gray beard stepped ahead of the rest.
— Your Lordship, we are glad to see you back. — Said the adviser.
— Joren, what can you tell me about the current situation in the city? — Lord Kylian asked.
— Well, Your Lordship, the wall of the city is destroyed, we are effectively pacifying the Sundaroln independence movements. There is drought and food shortages. — Joren replied.
— Then I have a task for you, gather the guards and find any representative of this resistance, tell him I want to talk to him — Lord Tarington ordered.
— Lord, do you want to talk to these people who kill our people in dark alleys, burn granaries, and contribute to all sorts of crimes? — the advisor asked incredulously.
— I gave you an order, Joren. — Kylian answered him briefly, annoyed.
— Yes, Lord — The adviser left, not looking thrilled.
— There are supposedly elves here, is that true? I'd like to see them — Lord Tarington said.
— Follow me, please — one of the guards said. Kylian and Thalis followed him. To the left of the throne. To the stairs down. The guard began to speak, he was an Andarolian about Kylian's age. He wore tabard mail and a half-helmet like most of Lira's guards.
— In the dungeon under the palace there are important Elven commanders who ruled Lira, they are powerful mages, so they are guarded by our mages. Overall, there are over two thousand high elves in Lyra, but those are the ones your Lordship wants to talk to, right? — Guardsmen asked.
Thalis was a bit struck by the fact that some guard started a conversation with the Lord so uninvited, without even asking permission. However, Lord Tarington took no notice of it.
— Yes, I want to meet them. — He responded.
They passed rows of empty cells. Bars and only small covered windows through which you can't even stretch your hand. The dungeon under the palace is a dark room lit by torchlight. The air was heavy and smelled like death. Five mages in blue robes stood at the end of the hall, accompanied by two more guards, guarding the cell. They bowed as the Lord came. A baby's cry rang out. Kylian hadn't expected to hear him in a place like this. In a slightly larger cell, he saw about ten High Elves, including a woman with a small child. They had small straw beds on the stone floor and five buckets. They were all handcuffed and dressed only in linen tunics. They had silver skins and all kinds of hair colors. Their eyes shone with different colors of yellow and green. Tarington looked with disgust at the conditions in which the starved elves lived.
— Why are they so crammed into one cell? — Kylian Asked.
— We don't have enough mages to keep an eye on each one individually — one of the magicians replied.
— Take this woman, find her a chamber in the palace until we find an alternative — Kylian ordered.
The guard took the keys and opened the cells. He went inside. And he went to the elf, grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the cell. One of the elves aggressively ran to the bars.
— Where are you taking her? — He asked. He had long hair the color of dried grass and yellow eyes. Like most elves, he was slim, tall, and narrow-shouldered.
— To a better place, somewhere where she she will have a bed and can wash up, you'll come with us. — the Lord answered him, and the attendant guard seized him by the arm.
— What is your name? — he asked the elf
— Tommen — He replied. They returned with the Elf back to the throne room. However, Kylian did not sit on the throne, he stood face to face with Tommen.
— Uncuff him — He ordered guards.
— I don't think that's very reasonable, you know I'm a mage — replied the elf contemptuously.
— You're so starved that you won't even let out a spark, I know a thing or two about magic, listen, I can't let you go. — Lord Tarington said.
— I'm your prisoner why would you do that? — said the Prisoner.
— I can't let you go, because even if I do, you won't cross the east pass anyway, they're building a castle there, there's a lot of Andarolians there, and as prisoners you're completely useless. — Kylian replied
Meanwhile, several Sundarolans entered the throne room, accompanied by Joren and the city guards.
— You are not interested in farming, you want our knowledge and magic, we will not pass it on to the Andarolians, you are our enemies. — said the elf.
Lord Tarington spoke loudly — Not to the Andarolians, but to the people of Lira, today it will not mean the same thing, if you want to get out of these dungeons and become citizens of Lira, you must give something in return. The Lira has burned too many times, I'll make sure this was the last time. To achieve this, we need to repair the wall, I know you know barrier spells that will harden it, we need weapons, and we need to solve the drought problem. For this you need cooperation. — he paced the room and looked at the Sundarolians now. — Yours too, can you fix the wall? — He ended with a question.
— Why would we repair the Andarolian wall? — replied a middle-aged Sundaroln man with dark eyes and black hair. Dressed in linen clothes.
— Because the southern one is whole, and that's where the Empire is, after all, the northern one is for defense against Andaroln, that's also in your favor, isn't it? — Kylian asked. The Sundaroln fell silent.
— Believe in me and I will believe in you — Lord Tarington began, and turned back to the Elf. — I know you don't like this lifestyle, in Ithrandil you are guardians of the balance of nature and you live in harmony with it, but you have no other home — He said.
The Andarolans present in the hall were shocked..
— Joren, have the townspeople gather at the palace, I have a speech to give — Kylian ordered.
— He didn't ask me if I agreed — Tommen said to Thalis.
— Consider it respect to you, no Andaroln Lord would ever offer it to you, they just thought you were too smart to turn down the offer. — Thalis replied to him.
— We're not some Fall Elves to be driven by money and power.. — the Elf added, but he knew that Lord Kylian was right. They will not return to the Elven Kingdom. And what he wants to create may turn out to be good
Two hours later it was noon. Lord Tarington was standing on the balcony of the palace. It was a Sundaroln thing. The palaces had balconies so that you could speak to the people from them. Outside the walls of the Palace, there were a lot of people. Were all the inhabitants really here? Everywhere he looked, the streets were packed. He spoke.
— Dear people of Lira, I am your new Lord, so I want to announce the changes that are coming. Today is an important date, in about a year you will choose a new ruler of Lyra. — conversations began in the background — For the city from this day forward will be called the Free City of Lira, no Kingdom, or Andaroln, or Ithrandil, or Empire of Sundaroln, none of them has kept you safe. You have suffered sieges and occupations again and again. If they can't keep us safe, then we have to do it ourselves, and to do that, we have to build our city together across divisions such as race and ethnicity. We will use the common knowledge that diversity allows us to do. We'll make it strong. We need schools that will teach young generations, not only to write and read, but even magic, because here in our Lira, access to magic and science will not be determined by social status, long live free Lira — he shouted at the end and raised his fist in the air.
The crowd fell silent. People looked at each other. Finally someone broke out of the crowd and also raised his fist in the air. — Long live the free Lira — He shouted. More and more people started joining. Finally the crowd started chanting "Long live the free Lira"
More as alwyas on my Wattpad. Please share If you like it.

Chapter fucking 60, and we answer the biggest question that’s existed since chapter two. I tried my best, so i really hope you like it. Point out any logic faults or inconsistencies as soon as you spot them, cuz i don’t want to ride this chapter out and have to contort later to accommodate it. Have fun, guys. I’ll see your opinions and theories in the comments!
First Prev Next Royal Road
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Adam leaned away from the recording device, the man sitting on a single chair next to a woman seated to his right, his partner smiling brightly as she took his hand. The room seemed to be a Union passenger accommodation aboard some transit craft, though the lack of flourishes suggested it was not a public ship. Adam cleared his throat, giving the woman an excited look before addressing the device.
“This will be our first contact with the newly discovered sapient races, and as such, a few of us representing Humanity have decided to record our experiences. All that we know so far is that they are insectoid in nature, and have developed in a peaceful society with a heavy focus on the arts. From architecture to sculpting, and anything else that involves making something into something else.”
He glanced to the woman, a passive excitement on his face as he got over the initial nervousness.
“My wife, Clara, and i are both excited to have been given the opportunity to participate. She is a xeno-pediatric specialist, so we hope to glean more information from her expertise while we are there. Out of the several hundred Humans who were selected to contribute to this introduction to the broader galaxy, we feel our reports back to the Union may aid in deciding if they will be welcomed with open arms, or if they will be assigned a section of the cosmos that they will be allowed to occupy without outside influence.”
Clara almost bounced out of her chair at the opportunity to chip in. “We look forward to presenting this log to the Human representatives, and we hope you find our findings useful in your decision!”
Adam laughed, reaching forward to end the recording. “You just want to meet their babies.”
“Of cour-”
The video flicked to the next scene, the area now an intricately carved, if a little rustic, room that seemed to be primarily dug out of stone, though it held lighting and very basic furniture carved out of the wall.
Adam had changed clothing, his wife not in the frame as the man visibly tried to get comfortable on the hard seat, his professional presentation abandoned as he spoke more casually. “It’s been two days, give or take, since we have arrived. The language barrier has been eased by a rudimentary translator that we were provided, but once we mentioned the issue to our hosts, they asked for one themselves and set to work in an attempt to improve it.”
The man chuckled as he gave up trying to make the stone less difficult to sit on. “It’s looking like the Union had sectioned off a newly developed planet for these introductions, with the Atmo’s blessing, and we are the fifteenth species to be shown to these people, though the first who require the kind of comforts like this.”
He gestured around the room. “The amenities you see that were provided to us were done in a few hours, once we described what we would need. We were hesitant to complain, rock isn’t exactly the best material to sleep on, but they asked if Clara would like to accompany them while they try to adjust our room as we wait for arrangements elsewhere.” The man snorted, a look past the device given to something else in the room. “It was pretty amusing to watch her walk out with an eight-foot-tall mantis-arachnid, i have to say.”
His eyes widened. “Right! The Atmo! I forgot to describe them.”
Joseph glanced at Pan, her paw gripping his hand firmly as she watched with a slightly worried expression. Violet seemed very interested in the two sets of subtitles under the video as the man described her race in far greater detail than the Grand Hunter would want to, using several anatomically correct words that sounded more like an incantation than anything recognizable.
“...And their forelimbs are two longer blades that they use for pretty much everything. It would be difficult to say how much they would be able to accomplish if they didn’t have a ‘sister-species’ with more manipulation to assist them.” Adam mused, a hand reaching up to scratch at his chin. “They’re much the same, though. From our limited translations, they seemed to have been a case of divergent evolution that converged again after gaining seven manipulator appendages rather than the two weapon-focused ones that the Atmo use. The Kuoori are visually similar, though lower in number. They’re the ones working on the translator, by the way.”
Clara’s voice called from off-screen, the volume lacking as she seemed to be talking from across the room. “You said you’d wait longer!”
Adam held his hands up in deference. “I just wanted to get the boring stuff out of the way!”
“We’re visiting our homestead tomorrow, and you want to spend the day giving them-”
The screen flickered as a feminine hand covered the image, the next frame of the video starting inside a much nicer construction, the furniture having moved locations around the room suggesting they had changed venue and looking far more comfortable for it. Several of the instalments looked much like the ‘Atmo couch’ that Mama had made for themselves at the base.
Clara spoke up before her husband could start. “We’re visiting a new wing of the habitation compound!”
“It’s a nest.” Adam corrected with a glare, though the smirk showed he was far more amused than annoyed at his wife’s enthusiasm.
She stuck her tongue out at him, all pretenses of the video being educational tossed out the window. She turned back to the device with a smile a mile wide. “They live in huge groups! I couldn’t count them all, but i think there are upwards of three-hundred here alone! And there are several places like it!”
“It’s a sea of colour.”
“It’s beautiful and you know it.” She countered playfully, prodding his cheek with her knuckle. Adam chuckled, pushing away the offending limb.
“I don’t think i mentioned how many colours there are.”
Clara lit up at the chance to talk more. “They are recorded to cover most of the visible spectrum, from what i was told, but majority seem to be shades of red and blue, with some green and yellow being far less common.”
“They’re also very eager to ask us about our interpretations of art.”
The woman rolled up her pants leg to display a stylized tattoo of a lighthouse against stormy seas. “They seen this and within an hour they started adding the style to one of their newest rooms.”
Adam rested his cheek on a fist, watching his wife with an amused and loving smirk. “I heard one of the other groups showed them origami and twenty minutes later there were forty Atmo asking for sheets of paper.”
Clara looked at her husband in surprise. “Really?”
“Yeah. Apparently another group-”
The scene changed to a stabilized recording, the device being carried by one of the two. A few moments passed as they panned over the expansive tunnel network brightly lit by a slightly green shade of white light, tens of Atmo stopping to wave to the couple once the pair had started the gesture. Clara’s voice again became prominent.
“We’re visiting their nursery today!” She whispered into the device, though it was pretty damn loud for what should have been quiet.
“Hatchery.” Her husband corrected, not very concerned by her volume. She waggled the recording device in his direction, answering that small question.
“We get to see the little baby Atmo!”
Adam shook his head, his own excitement showing through. “They’ll be in their eggs.”
“We get to see the little baby Atmo eggs!”
The scene cut to the ‘hatchery’, carefully carved divots lining shelves where hundreds of rice-looking ‘eggs’ sat upon what looked to be very soft materials that seemed closer to silk than anything else Joseph could identify. Each egg seemed to be about large enough to reach past his knee if you were to stand them up, making the scale of the room rather impressive. Adam had taken the device, his wife being supervised by an amused Atmo that looked oddly familiar, the blue coloration striking him as the same that Mama sported, though the green tint and similarity between the ones he had seen so far made it pretty clear that it was exceedingly unlikely for his Atmo to be the same one. He raised a brow at the chipped blade, though it was on the opposite side and thus settled the suspicion.
Clara tentatively pet an egg, glancing at the watchful Atmo every so often to make sure she wasn’t doing anything wrong, though her face was filled with wonder rather than worry. She asked if it would be okay to hold one, the subtitled response from the Atmo directing her to an area where the eggs were hardened and more able to manage her handling.
The woman looked to be in euphoric shock as she cradled the seed of life in her arms, Adam absently commenting from behind the device with a suppressed chuckle. “This is what happens when you get your wife pregnant.”
The screen flickered, a slightly longer pause between clips giving Joseph a chance to look at Pan. The female seemed to have been watching the Human woman cradle the egg with a longing deeply set in her eyes, the paw not resting within his hand laid to her stomach. The Grand Hunter gave her paw a squeeze, getting a sad smile in return before the next part of the video played.
Adam was alone in the room, though the distant voices suggested that Clara and someone else were talking in another part of wherever they were staying. Occasional clicks were replied to with laughter or questions, the woman’s voice carrying further than the indeterminate gender of the other. The man shook his head.
“If it wasn’t obvious; they finished working on the translator.” He turned his head to point at a thin cut behind his ear. “It wasn’t forced, before you ask. One of the groups apparently brought along an entire medical ward worth of textbooks and files, and just gave it to the Atmo. Looks like half of the time they spent with the device was training a separate version for text so that they could figure out how to implant it safely.”
Adam held up his hand to stop an imaginary rebuttal. “I know what you’re thinking, but we got to watch it be installed on several people who volunteered, and twenty three doctors confirmed it was on the up-and-up. Honestly, the Kuoori could probably perform a heart transplant in a couple minutes if they wanted to. Either way, we learned a few things!”
He clapped his hands softly. “They have royalty! Sort of. It’s complicated. There’s a ‘sub-species’ of sorts that are a bit smaller than the normal Atmo, and they have a slightly different exoskeleton structure than the usual you have seen so far. The biggest visual identifier is their legs. Atmo typically have conical legs, where as the sub-species have more angular legs. Think kite-shields or an orchid mantis. They can breed with normal Atmo, but the offspring are always female, have a very low chance to take after their mother, as far as their legs, and those who do are raised from hatching to lead. They spend most of their formative years under the guidance of one or more ‘Advisors’, kind of like guardians or parents for Humans, that helps guide them through morals, values, so on and so forth.”
His rolling hand showed how briefly he was condensing the history of the position, a muttered comment about how Clara was going to re-do it all in greater detail later showing that he was mostly just recording to remind his wife in future what to mention.
“The position is chosen by the ‘Hatcher’, who raises them to the point where they are able to begin the process, and approved by the mother Queen, if she is still able. Then the Hatcher will take a more supportive role in their life, rather than being directly influential. Think of it as a maid taking care of the kids until they are old enough for tutors to become available in old houses of nobility. Anyway. The ‘Advisor’ acts as their guardian and compass for how to act as a Queen, and it’s not a position taken lightly. The rest of the Nest’s second priority is the ‘Advisor’, after the young Queen herself, obviously.”
Adam leaned back on the carved couch, the soft material over it looking similar to what was used in the hatchery. “We were invited to see a ceremony as several Queens are nearing the proper age, though it won’t be until a year or so. We’re expecting the process to take about three, before we’re brought back to Sol, so it should make a fun addition to our time here.”
“Adam!” Clara called. “Red want’s to know if you want to meet her son! He hatched a few months ago!”
The man shunted his eyes closed, visibly pained at the moniker as he muttered something about Atmo adoring Human naming conventions. “Do i have a choice?”
“Do you want to sleep on the floor?”
A sigh escaped the man as he grinned, reaching for the device as he got up from his seat. “We’re recording it, ri-”
A clip of Adam on his knees playing with a tiny yellow Atmo was accompanied by Clara squealing every time the young one successfully caught her husbands hand between its blades, the two-foot tall child looking to the large Red Atmo in excitement with each victory in the little game that had developed.
Joseph felt Pan’s grip on his hand tighten, a tear building in her eye as her gaze refused to move away from the scene. Violet sat on the floor with her legs tucked underneath her as she silently continued the viewing.
The next clip showed that quite some time had passed, Adam looking like he hadn’t shaved in quite a while as he sat on the floor against a wall, the device held in his hand and pointed towards him.
“Clara went into labour early.” He started, the exhausted expression only saved by the smile of disbelief. “I know it’s been a long while since we’ve documented anything, but I’ll go over that later. For now? Remember those textbooks and the like that were given when they asked for a translator? Well, It happened to cover c-sections, and If it wasn’t for Red and Jack, I’d probably be here crying as opposed to just tired after helping our baby boy take his first breaths.”
The man laughed, a tear of relief running down his cheek. “We didn’t even get time to really figure out what was wrong. Jack, sorry, Red’s partner... Yeah, they like the sound of our names and insisted that we give them nicknames. Jack took one look at Clara and in all of thirty seconds we had twelve Atmo rushing us to their Human hospital. Yeah. Human hospital.”
A fresh chuckle emerged from the man. “Turns out that they were implementing every single thing they could copy from those books. Entire fields were populated by Atmo involved in this ‘mixed species introduction’ who wanted to be able to help their new friends. Some martial arts guys from a few sectors over even showed off their skills and now it’s a popular past time amongst the species. They’re sponges for information. Best yet? They learned that we have over a thousand languages, and have started work on adaptive translators, just because they were worried they wouldn’t be able to talk to any new Humans. It’s insanity.”
He paused, soft clicking was subtitled as a request for him to return since Clara had woken up. He winked to the device. “Time to go tell my wife she’s the first woman to be fully cut open by a new species.”
Static overtook the screen, Pan’s wide-eyed glance in his direction being met with his own. Joseph looked down to Violet, the Atmo seeming transfixed on the screen and oblivious to the importance of the information dumped on them so offhandedly.
A series of clunks and assorted handling noise ripped the question from his mouth as he refocused on the video, the scene switching to what looked to be several months later, based on the growth of the baby boy laying in a red Atmo’s arms next to Clara as she played with the now slightly larger yellow Atmo child. The two’s conversation was barely coherent as the noise from the four garbled most attempts to parse any particular words. Adam called out to them, gaining the attention of all but the baby boy who seemed more interested in slapping the exoskeleton of his seat rather than humour his father.
“So, what are we excited about?”
Clara rolled her eyes, looking far more well rested than Joseph would expect a new mother to be. “Just say that the next selection for the ‘Advisors’ is tomorrow, Adam.”
The husband sighed audibly. “At least pretend to document something.”
“I’m busy!”
“Playing with Michael.”
“He’s adorable!”
Red chittered, the subtitled text labelling her thoughts on how cute the Human baby was in return. Clara laughed, picking up the small Atmo in her arms and receiving a small cut on her arm from not being careful enough. Red started to worry before the woman dismissed her concerns and reassured Michael that it wasn’t his fault, the young insect taking greater care to tuck his blades, much to Adam’s amusement.
A flicker of the footage transitioned the scene to a massive hall with tall ceilings, large pillars sporting the style of Clara’s tattoo and several other more ‘realism’ inspired works that Joseph recognized from some co-workers who often decorated their skin. Many Atmo were standing orderly around the room as the device panned to show off the gathering, settling towards the ‘front’ of the room where three Atmo, each looking a lot like Violet, angular legs and all, sat on modified blocks. The three were different colours, two a shade of blue and one an almost orange colour, and all had ten Atmo standing nearby behind them.
Four young Atmo ‘Queens’ that were only slightly larger than Violet waited patiently as one of the adult Queens gave a speech about why each ‘Advisor’ was chosen, two falling into the category of an appreciation or excellence in one form of art or another, though one was chosen for their involvement in the newly developed medical fields that would enable them to assist their new friends.
One last young Queen remained, the rest being escorted out with commentary from the Human couple. She approached the orange Queen, her color almost the same tint, as the adult Atmo left her seating to address the room instead of remaining at rest. Clara apparently prodded Adam in her excitement in the different procedure, a hushed yell masquerading as a whisper for him to make sure he was getting a good angle.
A longer speech was given, vague and broad, until the Queen mentioned that she would be entrusting her heir personally to someone who may offer lifetimes of new experiences and values that would be irreplaceable to her people. An Atmo pushed Adam from behind to usher him to the Queen, the device snatched from his hands by Clara as she squeaked in excitement. It followed the man as he was presented to the Queen, a familiar blue Atmo approaching from off to the side. The Hatcher from when Clara held the egg, if Joseph was right.
The Hatcher lowered itself to Adam’s level, resting her blades over his back like the other Hatchers did for their selected Advisors, placing their head to his as the Queen continued her speech and Clara asked a nearby Atmo for an explanation of the gesture.
The response described it as a vestigial display of trust, for leaving one’s blades far from oneself leaves your life forfeit to whomever you do it to. The only people that a Hatcher would do it with is those they entrust the young Queens to, and a Queen will do it to accept. There existed no higher honour than to have the formality performed, so it was rare that one would, but if someone wished to deny, they would separate.
Clara visibly bounced in excitement, her voice cracking from tears of joy as Adam, hesitant and confused, accepted the embrace from the Hatcher, young Queen, and even the orange Queen herself, once she publicly announced that Humans were to be considered ‘allies of the Atmo’ in light of their contribution to their society and willingness to integrate.
The venue exploded into excited clicks and chitters, Clara doing nothing to fight her overwhelming emotions.
Joseph’s eyes started to dry from how wide they had grown, the strain stinging slightly as he looked down to Violet, the daughter having shrunk into herself as she watched passively. A million thoughts flashed through his mind, several of which were dedicated to replaying the moments where something exceedingly close to the video happened back when it was just them in the cave.
“Adam, have you seen Mary?” Clara’s voice called, the scene changing back to the place where they were staying, presumably with Red. The man quickly gestured for the orange juvenile Queen to hide behind the couch he was sitting on with a smirk, the Atmo quietly chittering as she complied.
“No, why?”
She entered the room, taking two steps before a loud click and a jumping figure emerged from behind the seating, causing Clara to jolt with a hand to her chest as she tried to look angry at her husband for encouraging the behaviour. Adam laughed, winking to ‘Mary’ and giving her a subtle thumbs-up as his wife tossed a pillow at him.
Many clips played, each snippets into the everyday life of the young Queen becoming more and more like a genuine child to the pair. Mary holding the baby and feeding him, her sleeping on Adam as Clara laughed, the group walking around the outside and Mary excitedly escorting them from place to place. It looked perfectly natural to Joseph.
They were a family. The Human couple had fully embraced the Atmo as their second child, and the young Queen seemed delighted for every second on display. Even going so far as to stomp all six legs in sequence when denied her request to stay up late so that she might watch the baby for a little longer, much to the couple’s suppressed amusement.
Static signified the next transition, Adam sitting at a table with a muscular man and chatting, Clara’s voice behind the device halting their joking for a moment. “So what did you do, Steven?”
The man, Steven, laid down his cup and pointed at the woman off-screen, a smirk on his face giving away his amusement. “I held a fighting competition.”
“With his Queen.” Adam added, his own entertainment gained from the reiteration of the conversation.
“Becky wanted to see what would happen if Humans and Atmo competed!” Steven laughed as he defended himself.
“And?” Clara chipped in, prodding him to get to the point. Steven shook his head as he worked down the chuckles.
“Well, David clocked Mark, the Atmo, and sent the big guy to the ground. It was a tense moment, I’ll tell you now.” Steven widened his eyes, his lips drew thin, though the smile still tugged the expression to a positive one. “Once Mark was helped back up, he complimented David, and the entire fucking arena blew up in cheers from everyone. Even Becky looked worried for a minute.”
“Because you almost caused a cross-species diplomatic incident.” Adam chided with a bemused shake of his head.
“Hey,” Steven pointed a finger at the husband, raising his cup with his free hand. “Becky loved it so much that she’s been taking lessons from the rest of us, and the Atmo have started joining in on our training to learn the art properly instead of just using it to dance.”
Clara snorted behind the device. “The art of smacking people with sticks?”
“And fists.” Steven added, laying one arm over the backrest of his chair. “It’s not everyday that you spar with living weapons.”
Adam reached over to smack the man over the head. “She’s supposed to be like your child.”
“And I’d want my kids to know how to fight off a bully!”
The wife sighed loudly. “You military boys...”
“Send it to the Union!” Steve protested, some of his drink spilling outside of the cup with the raised hand. “It’s a pretty good case to have them join if we show off how willing they are to embrace other cultures.”
Adam opened his mouth to argue, shutting it as he considered the point and giving Clara a conceding tilt of his head. “Sounds like a good idea to me. Every other race seems pretty isolationist. Can’t hurt to show some ‘unity’ to the Union.”
Clara perked up, her voice contemplative. “I’ll send it in the morning. Right now though, i need to go pick up Daniel from Red. The poor girl was nice enough to babysit for me for us to have this little get-together.”
“Tell Jack i said to-”
Static again, though this time it was just Adam sat alone at a table, his stubble showing that he had skipped shaving for a while. The man ran his fingers through his hair as he exhaled.
“It was a mistake. A huge fucking mistake, to send that to the Union.”
He rubbed the stress out of his eyes.
“They sent a retrieval force after Steven for ‘violation of protocol and intention to cause discord’. Ten armed soldiers came to crash the tournament and dragged him kicking and screaming.” Adam cycled a deep breath. “Becky did what her Advisor had taught her... She fought the bullies.”
A hoarse laugh escaped the man, his eyes glazing over for a moment as he spoke.
“It was a slaughter. Once the Queen made her decision, every Atmo who could fight, did. Steven and the guys ended up helping out part way through, once the guns started firing. One minute, forty seconds. It took a minute-forty from Steven yelling at a soldier approaching his Queen, to three dead Atmo and two dead Humans, surrounded by ten dead Union species.”
Adam leaned forward in his chair, his eyes hazy yet still meeting the device. “I don’t know what’s going to come of this, but we’ve been talking with the various adult Queens... They normally don’t gather like this, each controlling their own territory and convening for important events, but it would be a massive cultural and societal blow if this planet gets taken out, so we suggested an alternative. Sol.”
He braced his head against his thumb. “The system has flooded with Union ships, but if the tech guys can work with the Kuoori, we might be able to scramble their systems enough to sneak out a few ships. Maybe send them in random directions for a while before they set out to inhabit a few planets in our system to help them get back on their feet, where it’s safe. Where the Union won’t find them.”
He sighed, closing his eyes tightly. “We’ll find out.”
The screen flickered, Mary, the juvenile orange Queen, gently held the baby boy on her blades while Clara and Adam watched with strained smiles from the couch. Steven and a red young Queen, Becky, apparently, both stood by the wall.
Steven spoke first, his voice loud and intense as he snarled at the husband, Mary purring to soothe the Human child. “A planet-breaker. A FUCKING planet-breaker, Adam! They nuked the shipyard!”
“I KNOW, Steven...” Adam toned back his own shouting when Mary looked at him warily. “I know... We have eight ships ready... out of an expected two hundred.”
Clara touched her husband’s shoulder tenderly, worry evident in her expression. “Did they say what they’re going to do?”
“Fuck knows.” Steven threw his arm to the side. “The Queens want to send two hundred adults and forty eggs per ship.”
“That’s all?” She asked, her voice almost painfully dejected at the prospect of so few being given the chance to live.
“That’s it.” He confirmed, his rage bubbling under the surface. He lightly gestured to Becky. “They want to send the next batch of Queens to hatch en route, and enough Atmo to raise and provide for the rest.”
Adam scowled. “What about the Kuoori? They saved Clara’s life and sacrificed more than half their population to build these damned ships.”
Steven shook his head. “The Kuoori want to make a stand. They said that they have spent much of their existence being protected by the Atmo, and it’s their turn to do the same. They’ll be helping us distract the fleet.”
“But we don’t even have proper escape pods! How in the hell are they going to survive anywhere without the Kuoori to back them up?”
“It will be slow, but they are still an intelligent people, Adam.” Clara reassured him, her grip tightening on his shirt as the baby began to whine. She thanked Mary for holding him and left to feed the child. Adam rested his hands in his head as Steven exhaled, his anger exhausted.
“Adam, look. I know that we didn’t get everything ready, and there are lines that are going to be crossed, but this is their best bet. We get them out of the system and to Sol through whatever means we can. They’ll take backwater, never used routes. We’ll get something sorted for if shit goes south and they need to get off.”
“And then what, Steven? The fighters want to follow us to hell, the medical teams want to delay that journey as long as possible, and everyone else is fighting for the chance to defend the very people who spelled their doom.”
“It’s very Human of them, right?”
Adam laughed, though it came off as hollow. “Tooth and nail, to the last... What about us?”
“We’re staying.”
“Stev-”
“You’re going. You’re taking Clara and the kid. Mary and Becky are going with you too.” He held up a hand at the protesting Atmo without turning his head. “It’ll be a smaller shuttle on a more direct route to Sol. We managed that much, it looks like. You can take maybe twenty others and some eggs. It won’t be great for a population, but they’ll bounce back with that many.”
“The seed-ships?”
“Like we agreed. Random routes to get them far away from this shit-show and then straight to Sol. It might be more than a few years, but the Queens should be hatched and ready to learn from the group you guys land with. They can hear what happened to them.”
The screen flickered again as Mary knocked it off the table in her curiosity, the anxious fidgeting leading her to interact with it.
Adam sat back in the original room where he made his declaration to Humanity, the bottle of alcohol half empty and no attempt was made to hide it this time.
“They managed to do it, at least.” He started, his expression flat as emotional exhaustion had taken even tears from him. “The seed-ships got out and will arrive in Sol... whenever, i suppose. The new translators were given to all of them and implanted in the young while they were in their eggs, so there shouldn’t be too much friction whenever they meet us. Schematics are available aboard the ships.”
He took another drink.
“Though we lost almost everyone. The Union kept up the planet-breakers. We got to watch as each world exploded. Kuoori, Human, Atmo... All obliterated.” The man took a breath and emptied his glass, a slight slur working its way into his voice. “Clara and Daniel are with Mary and Becky to help calm them down, and I’m here setting up the automated message for the seed-ships to use before they get out of range.”
The man slipped lower in his chair as he stared at the ceiling. “About a thousand Atmo are on each ship, all said and done. It was the most we could convince them to pack. Though, most of those numbers are whatever we could get from the Hatchery before it went up. Each ship was given two Queen eggs... the mothers didn’t want to abandon their people and new allies.” He laughed, some genuine feeling behind it. “Sarah, the orange Queen that left Mary with me, told me to raise her as my own along with Becky, once she accepted that Steven was trusting me with her. That, although it had been a short time, she thought Humanity would take care of her people... That they could live with us, and be better for it.”
Adam lowered his gaze to the device again. “The speech was something else, I’ll say that much. They addressed as many Atmo as they could and told those who would be leaving to find Humans, and they will find a home. A new Nest. A Family.” A tear, held in reserve for this specific memory, trailed down his cheek. “I want to believe that you will give it to them. Please. For the people who saved my wife, my child, and myself. For the people who gave me... Two beautiful and curious daughters, i suppose.”
Adam cycled a breath, fetching another cigarette from his pocket and igniting it in his mouth, taking a long draw before speaking as he exhaled. The sound of wood being carved inside of the terminal room filled the silence that the first exhale of smoke allowed, though Joseph was too focused to pay it any mind.
“They’re gone now. Red, Jack, Steven... Little Micheal... The Union took them with fire and brimstone as they raided and stole whatever they could before the rounds dropped. I watched it happen... We’ll arrive near Sol in a few months, since we need to fly under the radar, but this message will be distributed to all eight ships. Most will never know what a Human looks like, just that the few Adults and Hatchers were told roughly what to look for, and to entrust us with their lives. To do what Sarah and the other Queens asked of them before they made their last stand with their people.”
He nodded his head, taking another puff. The rapid scratching ceased after a small delay, a muted clatter punctuated the recorded words. “Let’s not let them down this time.”
Adam extinguished his smoke, folding his hands and sitting up straight, licking his lips with a tongue that was barely effective. “This has been Adam Callam. Hopefully, this isn’t the first time you have seen this message. If not, then i hope that you send whatever people are on this ship to their family. I hope it eventually includes you. Adam out. As Sarah said to those seeking refuge in the stars; May the Nest guide you to greatness, inspire your craft, and give you hope, for you are a pillar of the Atmo.”
The screen went dark, leaving the Terminal room to be dimly illuminated by the ambient light streaming in from the hall. A single line of Atmo text was translated below with the words Adam ended with, a familiar series of runes Joseph had seen on his armour that Mama crafted for him so long ago, displayed as the last frame of the video. The final words spoken from a Queen to her doomed people with a single wish that they might find somewhere to belong with a people they had just met, yet embraced wholly.
A choked sob came from Pan, the gravity of Violet’s situation hitting her like a canon.
Joseph’s adoptive daughter had lost everything before she was even able to know what she should have had. Her mother was dead, along with almost all of her own kind. Those that survived were sent in a desperate gambit to find somewhere that they wouldn’t be killed for just existing, and based on the fact that the Union had this message and not Humans, it didn’t look to be working out too well, to say nothing of the fact that her own ship had ended up so far from its destination and crashed into the one he was on.
It was the only answer he could come up with. The Union fucked with the cruise, dragged it all the way out here, and parked it directly in the path of the escaping Atmo ship. Add on whichever was taken out before it got to Sol, and that’s likely seven seed-ships still unaccounted for. He’d want to say that Adam had made it, but Rob not knowing about this before now suggested that it was the family's ship that was...
Who’s to say the other seven made it?
Violet, and whatever Atmo survived on this planet, could very well be the last of their people in existence... All because Humans taught them how to fight for sport.
Pan threw herself at him, the vocal crying stinging his soul to its core. He wrapped his arms around her and helped her to the ground next to Violet, the Atmo still quietly staring at the script displayed on the frozen screen.
A tablet lay next to her on the floor, Lilhun and Atmo script hastily scratched as if she was trying to reply to the desperate wish of a dead man in every way she thought might work, then discarded as the reality and futility of such actions set in.
Joseph held the tablet for Pan to read, his gentle patting drawing her attention between breaths. Her voice hitched while she read it, claws digging into his skin as her agony for the child renewed with his own before her screeching needed to be muffled by his chest. He felt his eyes burn as he rubbed her back and braced her head into his embrace, the heat pouring down his face contrasting the arctic chill in his core as her translation echoed in his ears.
“Please tell mother i found one, and that I hope she can meet him soon.”
Next

I went out to with friends and ended up drinking on a friends rooftop until 5am. I live in a nearby suburb but there were no trains until 7am so I was going to get a hotel but once I saw it was that late a guy friend said some of us could just pass out at his apartment. His roommate and one other guy said they would double up with one other girl who they were good friends with and that me and my guy friend could stay in the other room. I had just met the girl that day so I understand why she didn’t want to share a bed with a stranger. He had an air mattress so I was going to sleep on that and let him have the bed since he was doing me a favor. I went to the bathroom and when I came out the air mattress was gone and my guy friend was passed out in bed. I figured someone else had grabbed it to use and didn’t know what to do. The next day I found out the roommate thought I was fine sleeping in the same bed as my guy friend and had put it away.
They have a flex 2 meaning they don’t have a living room bc living in nyc is expensive so they made the living room into a bedroom, this is relevant bc there is no couch. They had hardwood floors in a dirty apartment so I didn’t want to lay on the ground. I have a boyfriend so I didn’t feel like it was right to sleep in the bed with a male friend. I slept in a desk chair for an hour and was so uncomfortable that I got in bed. I slept with my head at the foot of the bed, with a pillow in between us, laid on top of the covers since he was under them, and slept in my jeans and sweater. I got up before everyone and went to buy coffee bc I can’t sleep in late.
We had all had plans to get brunch so I go back to the apartment a couple hours later to meet up with everyone. My guy friend answers in his boxers and goes to finish getting ready. I then see him put on pants that were on the ground the night before. I know they were there because I heavily considered sleeping on the ground. This means my guy friend slept in his sweater and boxers. I had no idea because he was in bed when I came out of the bathroom I know he is just comfortable around me he thought nothing of it but I feel sick even though nothing sexual or romantic happened.
My friends all think I’m insane for feeling bad that I laid on the bed for an hour. And they all said that him being in boxers is okay and even more okay because I truly didn’t know. I feel like my boyfriend will hate me and I hate myself I should have just stayed in the desk chair. I remember sitting there rationalizing to myself that it’s no different than a couch or separate beds but I feel racked with guilt. How much detail do I give my boyfriend? I believe strongly in honesty but what level of detail is relevant? Do I bring up the boxers part? I feel insane

This sticky is to help us help each other (and ourselves!) by offering and requesting gem friends and requesting dragons for co-op breeding.

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• Please don't post just to thank people, just reply that they are also added. It will just make the thread more difficult to read for others. If you want to thank someone please do it by DM.
• You may 'ping' people from other threads to add them here. such as typing their username in a comment as such, "u/maydaytaytay you said you needed a singularity dragon in another post?"
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Gem Friends

Please make all gem friends offers/requests under the "GEM FRIENDS" top pinned comment below. Please do not try to post your own "GEM FRIENDS" comment.

Co-Op Breeding

If you want a specific dragon within your game, please post a comment of a dragon you want. If you see a dragon you already want posted, please upvote it so that it is more visible and users can reply to it. Do not reply to it saying you also need it, just upvote it.
If you ask for a dragon, PLEASE try offer one of your own dragons back to the community in a separate comment. Offering one dragon to the community does not stop you using any dragon you like for your own co-op breeding. Remember to quickly select the dragon you are offering to others in its habitat and touch the blue heart in the top left. This way you can offer that dragon to your friends while your own co-op cave uses a different one. Always remember to switch back to your "chosen" dragon if you breed in the co-op cave with any other dragon.

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Gamecenter no longer works. Facebook still does work.

Hello everyone,
Could anyone help me with this? I'm looking for the title and author of a vintage children's book where all characters are animals. The illustration style is fanciful, with many flourishes and decoration. I remember that some scenes happened during the night, under a blueish moonlight. The tone and the story are both utterly fantastical and naive. I read this short book as a child in the '80s. It is probably European. If I remember it well, the whale seemed to be somehow bejewelled in the end.
Thanks in advance for your time and help.

Hey, all. I'm just looking for some opinions, advice, and a little bit of a space to organize my thoughts.
I have a 2016 Forester XT with 84k miles on it. I bought it used in 2020 from Carvana, right before the world shut down. I am the 4th owner.
I love this car, but it has already been the most expensive car I've ever owned.
July 2021, SOA paid in full to have the engine completely resealed due to seepage. Ever since then, I had been dealing with a gas or exhaust smell that I feel hinted at an exhaust manifold leak. I took it back a couple of times, and the dealer service dept. kept telling me they couldn't recreate the problem, or told me it was normal in winter, etc.
I took it in recently because I was having some surging when coming to a stop, and I thought it was the CVT. They instead found the engine was running lean, and changed some sort of sensor that I can't remember the name of. In the process, they found a small cam carrier leak (quoted $6k), but Reddit quickly reassured me it's not vital to do right now.
Now, the smell is more prominent, and almost smells like something is burning. I took it back in, and they told me they still want to do the cam carriers, and now add in the exhaust manifold, as well as all of the hard fuel lines. They said it would be a minimum of 20 hours of labor, and I'm looking at like $7-8k for all services.
They told me they did not see any safety concerns, so I took the car back and they advised I reach out to SOA again.
I do plan to call SOA, and maybe that will be the end of the story. They were fantastic the first time, so my hope is I get the same generosity this time around.
If they cannot help, or cannot help enough, my next step would be a second opinion at an independent Subie mechanic, but they're 35 minutes away.
If nobody can help, I think I would have to trade the car in for another Subaru and let it be the dealership's problem.
The thing is, I'm losing trust in this car's long term reliability. I don't want to trade it in, and wanted to try to get 10-15 years out of it. While I'm not a CVT hater, I'm concerned the extended warranty will expire and then the CVT would fail.
Carvana offered $6k over what I owe on the car. I'm in a position where I can afford to trade in and get something else (ideally under $25k with a warranty), but prices are still pretty ridiculous in my area right now. $30k for a 2018 Crosstrek? No.
But I also love this car, and don't want to get rid of it. But I can't afford the costly repairs on this thing. I do maintenance myself, but don't have the space to do larger repairs. It's draining my mediocre savings each year.
What would you do in my situation?

I am a 24 year old white male (I know you are supposed to mention personal information about what demographic you are).
Two nights ago, I noticed that my eye was hurting. I would experience mild pain in my eye every time I blinked or rubbed my left eye. Imagine the pain you feel when spraining your ankle. I experienced the equivalent of that in my left eye. This is obviously worse than a sprained ankle, because at least when my ankle is sprained, I can sit still, apply ice to my ankle and my ankle won't hurt. When I experienced that kind if pain in my eye, it is not that simple.
I went to bed, woke up the next morning and my eye felt even worse than it did the previous night (presumably from sleeping on that side). Over the course of the day, my eye started hurting less. I went to bed. I woke up this morning and once again my eye hurts as bad as it did the the previous morning. I looked in the mirror and, underneath my left eye, there appears to be a tiny bump, it looks like a wart.
Click this link ( https://blog.walgreens.com/health/skin-health-conditions/warts-on-the-hands-causes-symptoms-and-treatments.html ) to see a photo of a wart. The bump underneath my eye looks exactly like the one in that photo. I am 99% sure that that bump under my eye is a wart.

Okay, wholesome doesn't work. Another Yandere post it is then.
Word Processor file available upon request. Any SFX included are just suggestions for reference. If you want to use the script, then you can change whatever you want, and post it wherever you want. Monetization OK. Please just let me see the finished product. Credit me by putting「Script by The Mousou Koujou https://www.youtube.com/@TheMousouKoujou 」in your description, and if possible, placing this image at some point in the video, like an outro: Business Card
START
[Excited] Good morning honey~. It's time to wake up~
It's a nice, beautiful Sunday~, so I thought I'd bring you breakfast in bed. Is that okay? I have all of your favorites. Eggs sunny side up~. Bacon~ Pancakes~ and some white grape juice. Extra sweet. I would stake my pride as a chef on how delicious this is. Besides, I know you love this stuff, so please, eat up.
(Pause)
[Dejected] You…don't look excited. Are you...not hungry?
Still?
You've been acting like that for quite some time, you know. I can't tell if you're feeling unwell, or just messing with me. Although I'm leaning toward the latter.
You really don't want anything, huh. [Worried] Is it…my fault? Do you not like my cooking anymore? Even though you said you always looked forward to it at my restaurant? What changed? O-or maybe I'm the one who changed. I did start shopping at a different Supermarket. I guess there might be a subtle nuance in the flavor.
[Excited] But I'm surprised you could pick up on something like that. Your palate must be very sophisticated! (giggle)
[Dejected] But…your face is telling me I'm wrong. I wonder what it could be then.
(Sigh) Oh well. Asking you like this won't really get us anywhere. The important thing is that you eat anyway. You have to keep your strength up. Brace yourself. This'll sting a bit.
(She rips off the tape covering his mouth https://youtu.be/Gp9s_eGQqT8 )
Now that that's out of the way. Open your mouth. Come on. Open up. Please~~
(Pause)
Honey…I already told you. Y-you need to eat. You've been on this weird diet of yours for long enough. It can't be healthy. And you know that your health and comfort are my top priorities.
(Pause)
[A little sad] Of course I mean that! Why would you think otherwise? The first thing you said all day, and it's a little hurtful. I love you more than anything, so of course I want to keep you healthy. Have I really not made that clear? What…what can I do to prove it to you? Should I cook you something else? Do you want me to bake you some desserts this time? Or are you just tired of my cooking, and want some takeout?
[Nervous] B-because I don't mind. R-really, I don't. Everyone needs a ch-change of pace. You won't, uh, hurt my feelings if you say you want someone else's cooking, e-every once in a while. So will that…make you happy?
(Pause)
I'm…"missing the point?" Please, just explain what's wrong so I can try to fix it. That's what I do now, I fix things for the both of us, so please just trust me.
(Pause)
You...want to go?
(Giggle)
Go where, exactly? Can you be a little more specific? The bathroom? The kitchen?
Oh, do you wanna see the view from the porch? It is very scenic. I love to sit out there and just think. Mainly I think about the future, after you give up on these little games of yours, and just let me take great care of you. I'm sure we'll get there one day, and I'm really looking forward to it. But until then…
Ah, sorry, I got distracted. So, where do you want to go?
(Pause)
Home?
(Laughing)
Wha- (giggle) what kind of joke is that, dear? (Giggle)
[Happy] Or is your silly diet finally messing with your memory now too? I really have to work on that. This is your home, Sweetie. I told you that when I brought you here, but I'll tell you as many times as I need to. This is your home. This is our home. A place for the 2 of us to be happy and free, together. Maybe you're not completely sold on the idea, but I still think it sounds lovely.
(Pause)
You don't…feel free, huh. Yeah…yeah I get that. I guess that's partially my fault. I just haven't been able to do enough for you.
[Reassuring] B-but I swear, the restraints are only temporary. As soon as you truly adjust to our new living situation, I'll gladly remove all of them.
[Worried] But for now, it's just…well it's not safe for us to do that. N-not yet, anyway. You're still unwell. You remember, don't you? When I first brought you here, you started thrashing around, trying to hurt me and yourself.
[Sad] That was so scary…
So I can't let you do that to yourself again. I just don't know what I would do if you got hurt because of me.
(Pause)
Yes, yes I do understand what I'm doing.
[Happy] I'm making a safe and healthy environment for the two of us. From the beginning, I knew it would be a lot of work. There are new challenges every day. I…still make mistakes. But that's what being a couple is all about. Making sacrifices together for a brighter future, together with the one you love.
(Pause)
What do you mean?
I've made plenty of sacrifices for you. Not to mention risks…
Getting you here wasn't easy. We're lucky we got a taxi driver that didn't care about the state you were in. Plus, there are still times when I have to throw people off your trail. if I didn't spend so much time preparing this, I would have been busted a while ago.
Anyway, please don't question my commitment to this relationship.
(Pause)
(Scoff) Now you're just being dramatic. Don't say you want out of this relationship. I know for a fact that you're lying. You can't trick me now. Not after all those sweet things you did, and said. There's no way you didn't want this to happen.
You came to my restaurant so often, that I started looking forward to your visits. They were the highlight of my week. You were so adventurous, always trying a different item on the menu. And no matter what you ordered, when you finished eating, you would look so full, and satisfied. Your joy was written all over your face whenever you came by to thank me personally. One day I simply realized, or rather, remembered: that the entire reason I became a chef, was to see someone make a face like that, all because of my cooking.
So you see, you made my dream come true. And I wanted to repay you for that kindness,
But I know we could both agree that once a week wasn't enough. So I decided I would become your part-time personal, live-in chef, …and your full-time girlfriend! (giggle)
I'm sure you're tired of hearing that silly joke, but you keep acting like you had nothing to do with this decision, so I have to remind you every~ time.
[Happy] Not that I mind. It's such an adorable love story. One that I hope never ends. And that's why~
[Serious] I need you to eat the food that I prepare for you. I'll get it into your stomach one way or another. This is your last chance to actually enjoy your meal.
(Pause)
No, I won't tell you what that means, but you'll find out if you keep behaving this way. Is that really what you want? Please, just make it easy for yourself, and eat.
(Pause)
(Sigh) I didn't know you could be so stubborn. I would admire it if it wasn't so detrimental. Just remember: I warned you. I'll be off to the kitchen, and when I get back, you'll wish you listened.
(Footstep sfx that fade out as she walks out of the room.)
(Long pause)
(Blender noises for 10 seconds)
(Long Pause)
(Footstep sfx that fades in as she returns)
You know I…thought this would be a punishment, but this special breakfast smoothie I made for you…
[Genuine surprised] Actually looks kind of appetizing. Not that I would drink it, but still. It's full of all the things I brought over before, minus the grape juice. Instead, I substituted about half a cup…of my love for you. (Giggle)
S-sorry, I just (giggle) couldn't resist.
Anyway, You can still make this easy for yourself, so please, don't resist. Drink it down, as quick as you can. Just get it over with, y'know? Open up.
(Pause)
D-dear, please. I don't wanna do this either. So take the bottle and…
(Pause)
Just…
[Annoyed] …Drink it already!
I'll shove it down your throat if I have to!
(she pushes him down https://youtu.be/1wn0OXTQ-Jo )
Stop! Struggling! Just! Drink the! Damn! Smoothie already!
(Several deep gulping sounds)
(Speaker heavy breathing/gasping for several seconds as they catch their breath.)
You…put up…quite a…struggle…for someone…so…malnourished.
(2 deep breaths)
But now it's over. It wasn't so bad, right? Better than starving, don't you think?
Oh, you're…dribbling a bit. Let me wipe that clean.
(Fabric sounds as she wipes his mouth)
[Happy] There~ All better. Can't have your pretty face getting all messy. (Giggle)
[Dejected] You…still look upset.
I wish you would at least tell me why you were so against eating my cooking. If you did, then I could just fix it, and we could move on. So please, be honest with me.
(Pause)
"Worried?" Worried about what?
(Pause)
Oh…
Okay, um…
Y-yeah, that makes sense, actually. I drugged your food once to bring you here, and you're scared I'll do it again. That's only natural. Um, I'm sorry for that. I really am. I was just so desperate to run away with you, but I know how you can be a little shy. I thought if I asked you to leave with me, you might say no, even though I knew we both wanted it. So I just thought…it would be easier if I took the choice out of your hands. I mean, if you didn't seize the opportunity, I'm sure you would have spent your life regretting it. But now, you don't have to worry about that. You don't really have to worry about anything, actually. That's what I'm here for. I think we've been here long enough for you to acknowledge how well I've been caring for you. Bathing you, pampering you, (giggle) and of course feeding you.
[under her breath] Although you tried to resist all of that…
The point is!
I'm your girlfriend now. And I promise, I will never neglect you and your health. Really, the only one doing that is you.
If you won't take care of yourself, then I'll just have to do it for you. If you don't want that, then you have to find a way to prove it to me. Otherwise, the restraints will stay where they are, as will you. So what do you say?
(Pause)
Dear?
H-honey?
[Serious, angry]
You ungrateful little…!
How dare you say that to me, after all the effort I put into this for you!
God, you really are too stubborn for your own good. But I'll figure it out. You see, I have a lot more of my…(giggle) special seasonings. The kind that put you to sleep? Those were just the tip of the iceberg.
I have some that will make you feel like you're burning from the inside out~,
or like your stomach is twisting into a knot~,
or make your mind blank and pliable so I can make you see things my way.
All 100% organic, and without any major lasting side effects, they'll do the job.
Don't worry, I won't use any of the really dangerous stuff around you. I don't want to hurt you too~ badly.
No, I'll make sure to save that for~…oh that's right. (Short, Evil laugh) The people who come to my restaurant, looking for you. I guess the police are just doing their jobs, so I can't hold it against them.
[Annoyed] But your clingy ex girlfriend just can't take a hint. Well I guess we're the only ones who know that you're dating me now, so she probably thinks you two are still together. But that doesn't mean she needs to keep pestering me at the shop. I think it's obvious that you're not going to suddenly contact her or anything, but she still keeps coming around. Sometimes, she tells me things about your life together.
(Scoff) It seems she had just enough self awareness to know she was a terrible cook herself. She even considered that her lack of skill might have scared you away. (Laughing)
But most of the time, she came to ask me about you, instead. About what you were like when you visited. Why the hell does she need to ask me? She was dating you first, right? Was she really so vapid that she didn't learn anything about you in your time together? I think that would be pretty pathetic, and it would mean I made the right choice bringing you here, where you can be properly appreciated, by me of course. (Giggle)
[Mischievous, whispered in his ear] So yeah, the next time she comes around~, i'll have to give her some…extra service, on the house of course, and put her out of her self-absorbed misery.
[Switch ears] But that doesn't mean it'll be quick, or painless. How much she suffers is completely up to me. At least, it should be. But who knows. I can't say she puts me in a good mood. It would be a shame if I…accidentally went overboard.
(Pause)
You can complain all you want, but that's not what will make me change my mind. You know what you have to do.
(Pause)
[Happy] Awww, really~?
You'll eat all~ my food from now on? No matter what?
You promise~?
(Pause)
[Serious] Say it. Say 'you promise'.
(Pause)
[Happy] That's great, honey~
[Serious Whispering in ear] I'll be holding you to that. Don't forget now, it's not just you that will have to pay the price. If you just give me a chance, you'll see that you're lucky to be here with me. Maybe you don't see it now, but I have plenty of time to change your mind.
So, now that you won't give me a hard time anymore, what would you like for dinner? It's a good day, so I'll cook whatever~ you want. Unless you really need take-out, then I'll order that instead. Just let me know. You know that all I really want to do is make you happy, right?
So tell me what you want for dinner.
(Pause)
Hmm?
Oh, That's right, I didn't ask about lunch. But that's because…you won't be needing it.
(Pause)
Because you're gonna sleep through your lunch time, like a baby.
Yeah, I guess you were right to be worried about me putting something else in your food. But in my defense, I only added it after you forced me to make that smoothie. That's only fair, right? A baby throwing a tantrum has to be put back to bed. Hopefully, you're less cranky when you wake up again in the evening. And when you do, I'll have some of your favorite foods laid out. So look forward to it.
I know it's early in the morning but…good night dear~
(Giggle)
END

(Just to preface, this is not an April Fools joke everyone! This is a legit written review on a game I’m genuinely passionate about.)
**Prelude**
Mario has been participating in one kind of sport or another since the 80s. From tennis to soccefootball to basketball to the Olympics, if there’s a sport out there Mario has most likely done it. But by far the oldest Mario sports series, which was inaugurated in 1987, is Mario Golf. You may think of golf as an “old people” sport, mainly reserved for country clubs with too much cleared grassland… and you may very well be right about that. You may also think that golf video games aren’t anything special; after all indie devs put out golf games all the time. But throw in Mario in there and things suddenly change. Golf became fun, accessible, and exciting to master, all thanks to a new developer on the scene: Camelot.
Ever since they took over the Mario Golf series in the late 90s, Camelot have developed every single entry since on both home consoles and handhelds. The home console entries typically focus on arcadey sports action while the handheld entries focused on being single player RPGs. Toadstool Tour on GameCube is still a fan favorite played by millions due to its refined controls, deep mechanics, and Mario charm. And while the Mario Golf series had a great run in the early 2000s, shortly afterwards they just… stopped for a while. For context, the last Mario Golf game before World Tour was the GBA one back in 2004. Fans had to wait 10 whole years for a new one, so will it be worth the wait?
**This Game Has Loads of Depth!**
After nearly a decade of waiting, [Mario Golf World Tour](https://youtu.be/5LfPg9lpx2k) finally launched on the 3DS on May 2, 2014, and right from the start things we’re gonna be different. Unlike previous handheld iterations, World Tour follows more in line with the console games. This was also true for the previous Mario Tennis game on 3DS, however that one was severely lacking in terms of content and gameplay depth. Folks were worried that Mario Golf would similarly be dumbed down for its 3DS debut.
World Tour was seemingly Camelot’s big apology for that tennis rushjob, and so they made sure this time to keep the accessible yet deep gameplay of Toadstool Tour intact. You can adjust the spin of your ball, apply fade or draw to adjust its flight path, and even use Mario Kart-style items to further strategize your shots. And if you were struggling to pull off any of these maneuvers, don’t worry! There’s a built-in training facility to practice these techniques to your heart’s content. All of this creates a gameplay experience that rewards your skill as a player rather than dumb luck.
**This Game Has Tons of Characters and Stages!**
Back when the game launched, there were 17 playable characters you could unlock and play as. Most of the regulars from previous entries returned, along with some surprising newcomers. Each character also has their own unique stats and shot arcs to consider when you’re picking which stage to play on.
And those stages oh man. World Tour launched with a whopping 10 golf courses, the most of any Mario Golf game to date. 4 of those are more traditional courses with 18 holes each, and the other 6, dubbed “Mario World” courses, contain 9 holes each and feature much more Mario-inspired visual themes, course hazards, and mechanics to consider. Now there was a way to obtain even more courses and characters, but I’ll talk about that towards the end.
**This Game Has Tons of Content for Both Single Player And Multiplayer!**
This was probably the biggest point of contention with the Switch-era Mario sports games: the lack of content immediately available at launch. And if the sheer number of characters and courses didn’t clue you in already, World Tour was dead set on overloading the player with content right out of the box.
In terms of multiplayer, all of the standard game modes from previous Mario Golf games return, including the standard Stroke Play, the 1v1 mode Match Play, the decathlon-inspired Point Play, and the time attack-based Speed Golf. Yes, Speed Golf was in fact not a new mode introduced on the Switch. You can also adjust the wind strength, whether items and coins appear on the field, whether everyone should take turns or tee off at the same time (a first for the series), and whether or not to enable randomized clubs (known as Club Slots). And all of this can be played locally or online for up to four players.
But if you fancy yourself more of a solo player, don’t worry because this game offers plenty for that crowd too. There’s an entire single player mode called the Castle Club, an RPG-lite campaign kind of like the previous handheld Mario Golf games! Here you play as your Mii and you must rise through the ranks by winning three progressively more difficult tournaments on the aforementioned 18-hole courses. You can also partake in the various extra practice challenges to improve your skills or just for fun.
But arguably more substantial than the Castle Club is the dedicated Challenge Mode section. Now this is where all the good stuff is at. Are you a fan of the Mission Mode from Mario Kart DS? What about the Striker Challenges from Mario Strikers Charged? Well this is surely going to keep you busy for a really long time. These challenges are how you unlock the various courses and characters for multiplayer, and the rate of unlocks is pretty smooth! These range from collecting enough coins, shooting through rings, beating the course under the time limit, taking on a character in a Match Play session, and so much more! And guess how many of these challenges are there. If you correctly guessed 200 on your first try, I’m willing to bet you cheated and looked up the answers.
**This Game Is Dang Beautiful For 3DS Standards!**
That last section went on a little longer than I thought, so let’s bring it back for this next section. Simply put, the visuals and music in this game are a real treat for 3DS owners. Camelot made sure every course in this game immediately stands out unlike Toadstool Tour or Super Rush, and the music that plays is audible candy. There are a ton of delightful remixes to listen to, from the underwater theme from SMB1, the title screen music from Yoshi’s Story, a super jazzy rendition of DK Jungle, and even Peach Gardens from Mario Kart DS!
The characters are all nicely animated and their hole animations are all really elaborate, almost like the character animations from Mario Strikers Charged. But don’t take it from me, [watch them for yourself](https://youtu.be/9vaD1euDzsA) and see how much love and care was put into them!
**This Game Had… Actually Good DLC?!**
Back in the early 2010s, paid DLC was still very much a foreign concept that not all publishers knew how to get right without pissing off a lot of people. Looking at you, Capcom. But when Mario Golf World Tour first launched, it also came with a first for any Nintendo game: a [season pass](https://youtu.be/dm2K7lkZxqI). This terrified a lot of people back in 2014, because Nintendo had only just got into the DLC game with titles like Fire Emblem Awakening and New Super Mario Bros 2. Yet despite all those gripes, I feel that World Tour did DLC right in this particular instance. The base game actually wasn’t full price, it was only $30 dollars. And the season pass included 4 new characters (all of whom were newcomers to the series) and 6 new golf courses that were actually remakes of the 6 courses from Mario Golf 64. I loved using Toadette to clear challenges, Nabbit for his animations, Rosalina because of course, and Gold Mario to farm for coins!
And all of that extra content came at the affordable price of $15 dollars, which was cheaper than the other 3DS titles with paid DLC and set a new standard for post launch game support for games like Mario Kart 8 and Smash Brothers. It certainly beats the “free updates” model Nintendo loves doing with their Switch games anyway. Unfortunately as of last week, it is no longer possible to purchase this DLC officially, but I’m sure if you’re really committed you’ll find a way.
**Conclusion**
Holy crap, this review was SO much longer than I originally anticipated! So that was my giant schpeel on Mario Golf World Tour for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, what I genuinely believe is the best Mario sports game I ever played. Y’know this game went under the radar of most Nintendo fans, likely because Mario Kart 8 on Wii U was just coming out around that time. Reviews at the time were pretty sparse but generally really positive, and according to VGChartz it sold roughly half a million copies, and that’s being generous.
But if any of what I said interests you at all, don’t skip out on this one. Just because it’s a Mario sports game doesn’t mean it’s a filler title or something that isn’t worth keeping an eye out for! People are still playing Toadstool Tour to this day, in part because of how disappointing the recent sleight of Switch titles have been for a lot of players. World Tour is probably up there with those GameCube greats, and it deserves to be played by as many people as conceivably possible. This was, by all accounts, the last truly excellent Mario sports game we ever got and the last amazing game Camelot ever put out.

TW: Self Harm
TLDR: wife just told me she’s started self harming for the first time since she was a teenager. Has suggested before that any issues we’re having are the most detrimental things for her, meaning I can’t help but feel like it’s my fault and I hate having this much poweeffect on her.
My wife (28F) and I (27M) have been together 7 years, married for 3.
Its the typical reddit “everything’s perfect 90% of the time except for…” story, where we as people connect really well but there’s some large underlying issues we have been addressing for some time. Namely my fluctuating (but generally lower) sex drive, and her lack of ambition/motivation. I personally feel like both issues are able to be overcome, but need more stable attention from each of us. We have seen a therapist about these issues, and are committed to making this work.
My wife has a history of depression and severe specific anxieties. She’s had bouts with depression during our time together which has contributed to her lower motivation, but from what she’s told me, it had been far better than it was for her as a teenager.
Multiple times in the past, my wife has told me that the issues we have affect her the most out of any life issue in terms of mood. By this I mean an argument we have affects her more than like a bad day at work, etc. Even minor disagreements cause her to deflate and withdraw.
We’d just gotten to the end of an argument and were reconciling with physical contact and verbal affirmations when she told me that she’d started self-harming again for the past week for the first time since high school. I asked what she was doing so I could look out for warning signs and she told me she was burning herself with a lighter where I wouldn’t notice (back of knees).
I’m ashamed to admit my first reaction after the initial shock was feeling like it was my fault, given she has stated our issues affect her the most. I didn’t mean to make it about me but all I could picture was her doing something more severe and the feeling that it would be on me. She said she told me so it would hold her accountable to her actions, but it feels like too much weight to place on me given I’m also allegedly the source of a lot of her negative feelings.
She doesn’t have friends outside of my friends (whom she rarely sees), doesn’t go out/have hobbies that take her out of the house, and doesn’t interact with people outside of her job or immediate family. I think this contributes to why even slightly negative interactions affect her so severely, as it’s such a high percentage of her social diet.
I’ve encouraged her to connect with people at work, join a women’s gym/Pilates class to try and meet people, etc, but I don’t think she’s made a new friend outside of my friends in all the time I’ve known her.
I’ve told her she needs to speak to someone qualified to handle this, and I’m considering suggesting a break where she goes home to her parents for a while to get her out of the environment causing this. I hate the responsibility and pressure I have in this situation. I want to be the one there for her but not if that itself is a risk.
I need advice on whether creating distance is the right thing here for her safety, how best to support her, etc. Thanks.

This is a long read so bear with me. I met my friend, let’s call her x, one and a half years ago, we instantly clicked and we became very close. I work at the same place that x works at, and I am a tutor for something similar to SAT exams, which students take to get accepted into college and university, x is a secretary. both me and x want to get into med school, for that purpose we have to take an exam, the educational institute that her and I work at offers a course that prepares students for this exam, both her and I took it and it wasn’t a good course, it lacked a lot of things and just overall didn’t prepare us that well. Which means that I failed my med acceptance exam and I have to take yet another gap year to redo that exam again this year( it’s done only once every year).naturally, I decided to try a different course that’s offered by a different institute, the course had a higher rate of success for the students, and after giving it a lot of thought I decided to join it. When x finds out about this, she confronts me about it, she says she’s bothered because of what I did and that I ruined everything for our institution and coworkers who run that course. When she hit me with all those claims I was shocked, not only is it my personal choice to study where I want, but her accusing me of causing major damage just because I joined a different course was an exaggeration on her part. This happened around four months ago, and ever since it did I felt like something was broken between us. I became more distant from her and just stopped hanging around her so much, she tried talking to me and I’d tell her why I am bothered and she would say something like “ I didn’t mean it that way” or “you misunderstood me” or” I said it because I care about you”. Now during these months that passed ever since that event happened, I’d teach courses at the institute I work out, and she’d do things that I feel are just personally against me. For example, if I allow my students a long break and we order food and eat it together she’d take pictures and post the ones I am not in, when I try and ask her about postponing a meeting she immediately fires off saying well you should’ve told me before, no matter how early on I tell her, even though I cover up for other tutors last minute a lot of the times. I confronted her about all those things and she’d dismiss it by saying “well you’re new to this work and don’t know why I react that way”, or “oh you just show up late for the photo”. A new tutor my age has joined our institute, and x has befriended her, I have too but for example today we had a staff meeting and all three of us went to a restaurant with the other workers, at the dinner table, x and her would keep giving each other this flattery and when x would speak to me she’d say listen I love you too BUT she has a special place in my heart or something like that. I don’t know if it’s just my mind playing games on me and picking up all those little things from her behavior and interpreting them in this way, but I just feel like some opposition is arising and I need to hear an opinion from another perspective and POV . Where did I go wrong? And how can I be judging her too hard or the wrong way?
TLDR; my [20F] friend [21F] at work blamed for something that isn’t true, and ever since then our friendship has never been the same. She does things at work that make it seem like she’s doing it just to piss me off and I don’t know how to react to that.

When discussing to retire in Southern Europe it came up that retiring abroad may be only for the rich. This article about retiring in SE Asia came in timely :-)
"Many Americans operate under the misconception that you have to be rich to retire overseas. The truth is that you have to be rich to retire in the United States.
The United States has the 10th highest cost of living in the world. It varies from state to state, but even in lower-cost states like Mississippi, you need a healthy annual budget to be able to go beyond meeting basic needs and live comfortably.
In many places throughout the world, goods and services cost much less than they do in the United States, which allows you to reduce your monthly expenses. Currency advantages can further enhance savings if you move to a country where the U.S. dollar is strong against the local currency.
Moving to a lower-cost country does not mean you need to compromise on quality of life. The quality of medical care, infrastructure and other important considerations can be as high as, or even superior to, U.S. equivalents in certain locations.
Here are eight places where you could embrace a high standard of living while enjoying a life of adventure and discovery on a budget of as little as $1,000 per month."
​

• Chiang Rai, Thailand.
• Corozal, Belize.
• Cuenca, Ecuador.
• Granada, Nicaragua.
• Medellín, Colombia.
• Tagaytay, The Philippines.
• Kyrenia, Northern Cyprus.
• Chitré, Panama.

https://money.usnews.com/money/retirement/baby-boomers/slideshows/the-cheapest-places-to-retire-abroad-on-1-000-per-month