PUBG MOBILE
Reggaeton Remix Dance Contest
CONTEST OFFICIAL RULES
NO ENTRY FEE. NO PURCHASE OR OBLIGATION IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE THE CHANCES OF WINNING. ODDS OF WINNING WILL DEPEND ON THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ELIGIBLE ENTRIES RECEIVED WORLDWIDE. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR WHERE REGISTRATION, BONDING OR LOCALIZATION REQUIRED. SUBJECT TO ALL NATIONAL, REGIONAL AND LOCAL LAWS.
This Reggaeton Remix Dance Contest (the “Contest”) is in connection with the video game PUBG MOBILE (the “Game”), and is governed by these official rules (“Official Rules”), the Game’s EULA available at https://www.pubgmobile.com/terms.html (“EULA”), the Game’s privacy policy available at https://pubgmobile.proximabeta.com/privacy/en.html (“Privacy Policy”), and any additional rules on the applicable Contest webpage. By submitting an entry to the Contest, you are accepting the terms and conditions of participation on the applicable Contest webpage, the Official Rules, the EULA, and the Privacy Policy.
The sponsor of this Contest is ZAM Network, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company with an office at 12777 W. Jefferson Blvd – Building E, Los Angeles, CA 90066 (“ZAM” or “Sponsor”).

1. Promotion Period

The Contest begins on June 8 at 12pm PDT and runs through June 21 2023 at 11:59pm PDT (the “Promotion Period”).

1. Eligibility

In order to be eligible, participants must be at least (whichever is higher): (i) 18 years old, or (ii) the age of majority in their state or country of their legal residence as of the date of entry, who have an active email account and Internet access. This Contest it not open to legal residents of Bangladesh, China, Colombia, Dubai, Egypt, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, Quebec of Canada, Singapore, South Australia and QLD, South Korea, Turkey. Any additional eligibility requirements will be indicated in the additional terms found on the applicable Contest webpage. Persons identified as “Blocked Persons” or persons subject to applicable sanctions prohibitions, including, without limitation, those persons listed on the U.S. Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List are not eligible to participate in the Contest. Employees of ZAM, Proxima Beta Pte. Ltd., Krafton, and their respective parent company, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotion, fulfillment or other coordinating agencies, individuals providing services to them through an outsourcer or temporary employment agency during the Promotion Period, and their respective immediate family members and persons living in the same household, are not eligible to participate in the Contest.

1. Entry Instructions

To participate in the Contest and be eligible for a potential prize, participants must complete one of the entry methods indicated on the applicable Contest webpage during the Promotion Period. One entry per individual, household and/or email address is permitted, regardless of method of entry, unless expressly set forth to the contrary in the additional terms found on the applicable Contest webpage. Multiple participants are not permitted to share the same email or other account needed for participation. Any attempt by any participant to obtain more than the stated number of entries by using multiple/different email or addresses, accounts, identities, registrations and logins, or any other methods will void that participant’s entries and that participant may be disqualified. Use of any automated, programmed or robotic system or the like entry methods to participate is prohibited and will result in disqualification. Each potential winner may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder. All entries become property of ZAM and none will be acknowledged or returned.
Social Media Entry: Collect your best PUBG MOBILE content; then upload your content to social media with the hashtag #PUBGMRRDC + #CONTEST.

• Entries must be original and not violate any third-party rights, and the entrant must have all rights necessary to submit the entry.
• Entries may not contain material that (a) is obscene, defamatory, libelous, threatening, pornographic, racially or ethnically offensive, or encourages conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or violate any law; (b) infringes, misappropriates or violates a third party’s patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, contractual rights, moral rights or other intellectual property rights, or rights of publicity or privacy, or any other rights of third parties; (c) violates, or encourages any conduct that would violate any applicable law or regulation or would give rise to civil liability; (d) is fraudulent, false, misleading or deceptive; (e) is grossly harmful, racially or ethnically objectionable, disparaging, blasphemous, libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, pedophilic, vulgar or offensive; (f) promotes discrimination, bigotry, racism, hatred, harassment or harm against any individual or group; (g) is violent, bullying, or threatening or promotes violence, money laundering or gambling, terrorism, or actions that are threatening or disrespectful to any person or entity; (h) harms minors in any way; or (i) promotes illegal or harmful activities or substances.
• Entries must follow the community guidelines and terms of service of the social media platform used for entry (where applicable).
• Participants may enter any number of times, but are only eligible to win once per week during the Contest Period.
• Sponsor may reject any entries that are found, as determined by ZAM in its sole discretion, to be in violation of these Official Rules.

1. Drawing; Notification of Winners

All Contest entries meeting the requirements of these Official Rules will be entered into the Contest. A panel of judges appointed by Sponsor (“Judges'') will review the entries based on the judging criteria specified below and confirm/select the number of Contest winners as indicated on the Contest Page. The Judge's determination of the Contest winners is final and binding, subject to the below.
Judging Criteria:
Creativity: Creativity of the designs.
Originality: The uniqueness of the entry.
Popularity: The amount of social media interaction (e.g., likes and reposts) a post gets.

1. Prize

Each winner will receive the prize below. No cash or other substitution, assignment or transfer of the prize is permitted, except at the sole option of ZAM, who has the right to substitute a prize with another of comparable or greater value. Winner is responsible for all income or other taxes and fees associated with the receipt and/or use of the prize. The odds of winning a prize depend on the total number of eligible entries received. ZAM will not replace any lost or stolen prizes. ZAM will use all reasonable efforts to deliver prizes in a timely fashion.
Prizes:
5 winners will each win UC valued at US$100

1. Intellectual Property
2. Ownership of the pre-existing underlying intellectual property of the entrant remains the property of the entrant subject to Sponsor’s rights to reprint, display, reproduce, perform, use, and exhibit the entry for the purpose of administering and promoting the Contest and for Sponsor’s marketing and advertising purposes. By participating in the Contest, each entrant grants to Sponsor a non-exclusive, worldwide, fully paid, royalty-free, perpetual, transferable license, with the right to sublicense, to reprint, display, reproduce, perform, use, and exhibit (including the right to make derivative works of) the entry and materials and information submitted on and in connection with the Contest or use or receipt of the prize for any and all purposes in any medium. If an entrant is selected as a winner, instead of the license granted above, each entrant grants to Sponsor an exclusive, worldwide, fully paid, royalty-free, perpetual, transferable license, with the right to sublicense, to reprint, display, reproduce, perform, use, and exhibit (including the right to make derivative works of) the entry and materials and information submitted on and in connection with the Contest or use or receipt of the prize for any and all purposes in any medium. Each participating entrant hereby warrants that any entry and other materials and information provided by entrant are original with entrant and do not violate or infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity, moral rights or other intellectual property or other rights of any person or entity, and do not violate any applicable laws, rules or regulations. If the entry or information or materials provided by entrant contain any material or elements that are not owned by entrant and/or which are subject to the rights of third parties, entrant represents he or she has obtained, prior to submission of the entry and information or materials, any and all releases and consents necessary to permit use and exploitation of the entry, relevant information and materials by Sponsor in the manner set forth in these Official Rules without additional compensation.

Each entrant warrants that the entry and materials and information provided do not contain information considered by entrant, its employees or personnel, or any other third party to be confidential, and that the entry, materials and information provided do not violate any laws or regulations. Entrant agrees that Sponsor has the right to verify the ownership and originality of all entries and that, upon Sponsor’s request, entrant must submit a written copy of any release or permission entrant has received from a third-party granting entrant the right to use such property. Entrant understands and acknowledges that in the event a submission is selected as a winning entry, and entrant’s ownership, rights and the originality of the entry cannot be verified to the satisfaction of Sponsor or is in any other way ineligible, Sponsor may select an alternate winner based on the same judging criteria.

1. Except to the extent prohibited by law, entrants waive the benefit of any “moral rights” or “droit moral” or similar rights in any country to any content that they upload, submit or otherwise provide to Sponsor associated with the Contest (“Entrant Content”). In addition, when an entrant creates, appears in, uploads, or posts Entrant Content, that entrant grants Sponsor a non-exclusive, transferable, worldwide, royalty-free, unrestricted, perpetual, irrevocable, license, with the right to sublicense, to such entrant’s name, likeness, and voice, including in connection with commercial or sponsored content. This means, among other things, that such entrant will not be entitled to any compensation from Sponsor, its affiliates, or its business partners if such entrant’s name, likeness, or voice is conveyed through the game or any related services, or on one of Sponsor’s business partner’s platforms.
2. Disputes

In the event of a dispute as to any participant, the authorized account holder of the email address associated with the entry will be deemed to be the participant. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person assigned an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted address. Each potential winner may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder. ZAM will make final determination of identity of participants and timing of entries in its sole discretion.

1. Additional Conditions

ZAM reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate, modify or suspend the Contest in whole or in part, if in ZAM’s opinion (a) the Contest is not capable of running as planned by reason of the occurrence of any event beyond its control including, but not limited to, fire, flood, epidemic, pandemic, earthquake, explosion, labor dispute or strike, act of God or public enemy, communications, equipment failure, utility or service interruptions, riot or civil disturbance, terrorist threat or activity, war (declared or undeclared), interference with the Contest by any party, or any federal, state, local or provincial government law, order, or regulation, order of any court or jurisdiction, or other cause not reasonably within ZAM’s control, or (b) any other factors beyond ZAM’s reasonable control corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of the Contest, in all instances without liability to the participants. ZAM also reserves the right to disqualify any participant or winner, as determined by ZAM, in its sole discretion.

1. List of Winner(s)

Individuals may request the name of the winners by emailing Sponsor at [email protected] with the subject line: “Reggaeton Remix Dance Contest Winners List”, within 90 days from the end of the Contest.

1. Personal Information

ZAM may collect personal data about participants online, in accordance with its privacy policy and as may be more specifically set forth in these Official Rules and the Privacy Policy.

1. Disclaimers and Limitations on Liability. ZAM MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING ANY PRIZE OR YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE CONTEST. BY ENTERING THE CONTEST OR RECEIPT OF ANY PRIZE, EACH ENTRANT AGREES TO RELEASE AND HOLD HARMLESS THE CONTEST ENTITIES, ANY THIRD-PARTY SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS UTILIZED FOR THE CONTEST, AND THEIR SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, SUPPLIERS, DISTRIBUTORS, ADVERTISING/CONTEST AGENCIES, AND PRIZE SUPPLIERS, AND EACH OF THEIR RESPECTIVE PARENT COMPANIES AND EACH SUCH COMPANY’S OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES AND AGENTS (COLLECTIVELY, THE “RELEASED PARTIES”) FROM AND AGAINST ANY CLAIM OR CAUSE OF ACTION, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PERSONAL INJURY, DEATH, OR DAMAGE TO OR LOSS OF PROPERTY, ARISING OUT OF PARTICIPATION IN THE CONTEST OR RECEIPT OR USE OR MISUSE OF ANY PRIZE. THE RELEASED PARTIES ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR: (1) ANY INCORRECT OR INACCURATE INFORMATION, WHETHER CAUSED BY ENTRANTS, PRINTING ERRORS OR BY ANY OF THE EQUIPMENT OR PROGRAMMING ASSOCIATED WITH OR UTILIZED IN THE CONTEST; (2) TECHNICAL FAILURES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO MALFUNCTIONS, INTERRUPTIONS, OR DISCONNECTIONS IN PHONE LINES OR NETWORK HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE; (3) UNAUTHORIZED HUMAN INTERVENTION IN ANY PART OF THE ENTRY PROCESS OR THE CONTEST; (4) TECHNICAL OR HUMAN ERROR WHICH MAY OCCUR IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE CONTEST OR THE PROCESSING OF ENTRIES; OR (5) ANY INJURY OR DAMAGE TO PERSONS OR PROPERTY WHICH MAY BE CAUSED, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, FROM ENTRANT’S PARTICIPATION IN THE CONTEST OR RECEIPT OR USE OR MISUSE OF ANY PRIZE. If for any reason an entrant's entry is confirmed to have been erroneously deleted, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, entrant’s sole remedy is another entry in the Contest, provided that if it is not possible to award another entry due to discontinuance of the Contest, or any part of it, for any reason, Sponsor, at its discretion, may elect to hold a random drawing from among all eligible entries received up to the date of discontinuance for any or all of the prizes offered herein. No more than the stated number of prizes will be awarded. In event that production, technical, programming or any other reasons cause more than stated number of prizes as set forth in these Official Rules to be available and/or claimed, Sponsor reserves the right to award only the stated number of prizes by a choosing from all legitimate, unawarded, eligible prize claims. In the event Sponsor is prevented from continuing with the Contest as contemplated herein by any event beyond its control, including but not limited to fire, flood, earthquake, explosion, labor dispute or strike, act of God or public enemy, or any federal, state or local government law, order, or regulation, or other cause not reasonably within Sponsor’s control (each a "Force Majeure" event or occurrence), then subject to any governmental approval which may be required, Sponsor shall have the right to modify, suspend, or terminate the Contest. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these rules shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision.
2. Indemnification

You agree to release, indemnify, defend and hold ZAM and its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, directors, officers, employees, sponsors and agents, including advertising and promotion agencies, and assigns, and any other organizations related to the Contest, harmless, from any and all claims, injuries, damages, expenses or losses to person or property and/or liabilities of any nature that in any way arise from participation in the Contest or acceptance or use of a prize or parts thereof, including, without limitation, (a) any condition caused by events beyond ZAM’s control that may cause the Contest to be disrupted or corrupted; (b) the prize, or acceptance, possession, or use of the prize, or from participation in the Contest; and (c) any printing or typographical errors in any materials associated with the Contest.

1. Publicity

Except where prohibited, by participating in the Contest, you consent to the use of your name, photograph, likeness, voice, opinions, information, biographical information, entry and statements attributed to you (if true), hometown and jurisdiction of residence for advertising, publicity and promotional purposes, including without limitation, inclusion in ZAM’s newsletters, social media accounts and affiliated websites and the applicable Contest webpage, without further compensation.

1. Governing Law

These Official Rules, and any action related thereto, will be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, federal arbitration law and the laws of the State of California without regard to conflict of laws provisions. Except as otherwise expressly set forth in Section 15 “Dispute Resolution and Arbitration” the exclusive jurisdiction for all Disputes (defined below) that you and ZAM are not required to arbitrate will be the state and federal courts located in Los Angeles County, California and you and ZAM each waive any objection to jurisdiction and venue in such courts.

1. Dispute Resolution and Arbitration
2. Mandatory Arbitration of Disputes. We each agree that any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to these Official Rules or the breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation or validity thereof or participation in the Contest (collectively, “Disputes”) will be resolved solely by binding, individual arbitration and not in a class, representative or consolidated action or proceeding. You and ZAM agree that the U.S. Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of these Official Rules, and that you and ZAM are each waiving the right to a trial by jury or to participate in a class action. This arbitration provision shall survive termination of these Official Rules.
3. Exceptions. As limited exceptions to Section 15(a) above: (i) we both may seek to resolve a Dispute in small claims court if it qualifies; and (ii) we each retain the right to seek injunctive or other equitable relief from a court to prevent (or enjoin) the infringement or misappropriation of our intellectual property rights.
4. Conducting Arbitration and Arbitration Rules. The arbitration will be conducted by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules (the “AAA Rules”) then in effect, except as modified by these Official Rules. The AAA Rules are available at www.adr.org or by calling 1-800-778-7879. A party who wishes to start arbitration must submit a written Demand for Arbitration to AAA and give notice to the other party as specified in the AAA Rules. The AAA provides a form Demand for Arbitration at www.adr.org. Any arbitration hearings will take place in the county (or parish) where you live, unless we both agree to a different location. The parties agree that the arbitrator shall have exclusive authority to decide all issues relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability and scope of this arbitration agreement.
5. Arbitration Costs. Payment of all filing, administration and arbitrator fees will be governed by the AAA Rules, and we won’t seek to recover the administration and arbitrator fees we are responsible for paying, unless the arbitrator finds your Dispute frivolous. If we prevail in arbitration we’ll pay all of our attorneys’ fees and costs and won’t seek to recover them from you. If you prevail in arbitration you will be entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses to the extent provided under applicable law.
6. Injunctive and Declaratory Relief. Except as provided in 13(b) above, the arbitrator shall determine all issues of liability on the merits of any claim asserted by either party and may award declaratory or injunctive relief only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by that party’s individual claim. To the extent that you or we prevail on a claim and seek public injunctive relief (that is, injunctive relief that has the primary purpose and effect of prohibiting unlawful acts that threaten future injury to the public), the entitlement to and extent of such relief must be litigated in a civil court of competent jurisdiction and not in arbitration. The parties agree that litigation of any issues of public injunctive relief shall be stayed pending the outcome of the merits of any individual claims in arbitration.
7. Class Action Waiver. YOU AND ZAM AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. Further, if the parties’ Dispute is resolved through arbitration, the arbitrator may not consolidate another person’s claims with your claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of a representative or class proceeding. If this specific provision is found to be unenforceable, then the entirety of this Dispute Resolution and Arbitration section shall be null and void.
8. Severability. With the exception of any of the provisions in Section 15(f) (“Class Action Waiver”), if an arbitrator or court of competent jurisdiction decides that any part of these Official Rules is invalid or unenforceable, the other parts of these Official Rules will still apply.
9. Languages. These Official Rules may be made in multiple language versions. In the event of a dispute as to the terms of different language versions, the English version shall prevail.
10. Country Specific Notices.
11. If any provision of these Official Rules is invalid under the law, rules, or regulations of a particular country, it will only apply to the extent permitted.
12. No Affiliation with Social Media Channels.
13. This Contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or associated with, any of the social media channels used in connection with this Contest. Entrants understand that entrants are providing information to Sponsor and not to the social media channels. The information provided by entrants will only be used as described in these Official Rules and the Game’s Privacy Policy.

For any feedback or questions regarding these Official Rules, the Contest, winners, or prizes, you can contact Sponsor by sending an email to: [email protected]

As an avid gamer and dedicated member of this community, I've been fortunate enough to delve deep into this enthralling game, relishing the experiences, adventures, and intricate game mechanics that Blizzard thoughtfully crafted. Currently playing as a level 75 rogue, and coordinating closely with my guild mates, we represent all of the classes, from level 70s to 80s.
I want to begin by acknowledging the fantastic work Blizzard has done thus far. Despite a few server issues and minor bugs, which are inevitable given the complexity of game development, the overall quality, enjoyment, and immersion that the game provides is truly exceptional. The gameplay is captivating, the lore engaging, and the design exquisite. I'm having a blast, and I'm truly appreciative of the talent and dedication that has been put into creating this experience.
Drawing upon my insights from countless hours of gameplay, extensive collaborations with my guild, and my enthusiasm for the potential of this game, I've compiled a list of suggestions that I believe could further enrich our experiences. These suggestions are grounded in the philosophy of "low effort, high return," aimed to boost the game's functionality and immersive qualities, without overtaxing your development resources.
These are not criticisms, rather, they are contributions from passionate gamers who wish to contribute to the ongoing success and evolution of this game we have all come to love. I genuinely believe that these additions and tweaks could bolster the enjoyment and satisfaction of players and solidify a promising future for the game as we approach the start of season one.
1. Inventory Management:

• Implement a "search" feature as soon as possible to facilitate finding specific items.
  • The search should include any text within the time (name, stat, ability, etc.)
• Add a similar search feature to the skills and paragon board to reduce time wasted when searching for the next skill to specialize into. The current tag search feature does not meet user needs.

2. On-Character Storage:

• Implement a "gem bag" for separate storage of gems. Space is limited and these take up almost 1/3 of characters slots.
• Increase the size of the "aspect bag" from 2 rows to at least 3 rows, to be consistent with the size of other storage units.
• Segregate consumables from non-stackable keys. (Or remove key drops and replace with the equivalent powder to craft your own. Reduce the powder return on salvaged keys to 1/10th the key cost so a person is required to run dungeons to get more)

3. Nightmare / Dungeons:

• Enhance keys by adding a feature to display whether a dungeon has been completed.
• Introduce a shift-click function to a key to display its corresponding location on the map.
• Include a searchable map feature and in-game map overlay. (This should have been day 1)
• Address issue where dungeons do not consistently mark objective locations (e.g., Travel to the Shaman's Lair).
• Fix pin lines' functionality within dungeons.
• Add “Dungeon Complete” where the quest info is when the dungeon is completed. (Lots of dungeons just abruptly end and I’m not sure if its done or not without looking at the map)

4. Storage Capabilities:

• Increase storage capacity beyond the current limit of 4 slots. The inventory management in this game makes me not want to play.
• Explore the option of selling premium bag slots in the shop, similar to the Path of Exile (POE) model. Examples include a Gem bag, Aspect Bag, Nightmare Dungeon Bag, and Consumable Bag, with premium features like crafting or unlimited slots for Potions, Aspects, etc..)

5. Gold Generation:

• Rebalance gold drops and item sell/breakdown rates, so players don't have to choose between breaking down gear or looting to sell. Possible solutions include significantly increasing end-game gold drops or significantly decreasing prices. (Players should be able to break down all items and sustain gold off gold drops. Feels bad to have to choose or to have to pick up everything just to get money which is gone after a few rolls.
• Address issue of world bosses not dropping enough gold, especially the gold world boss.

6. Loot Usage:

• Improve the usefulness of gems. Consider a system like in Diablo 3 where upgrading many gems adds stats to gear.

7. Missing Game Features:

• Include iconic Diablo elements like the cow level or gold dungeon.

8. Vendor Loot:

• Review balance of vendor loot. Consider if obtaining "Best in Slot" items or close to from a vendor is too easy or undermines the looting and crafting system. Maybe vendor loot should stop at Sacred.

9. Player Stats:

• Include command features for statistics, such as /played /deaths etc.

10. Player Specifications:

• Implement dual or multiple specs system, allowing players to easily switch between different build configurations, similar to World of Warcraft: Wrath or Diablo 3. Make it a 1 time cost per spec slot so you can freely switch between each. Maybe 1 million gold per spec up to 4.

11. Dungeon Functionality:

• Review dungeon objectives and enemy balance. Players prefer more straightforward objectives and enemy variety. (I have completed every dungeon and there are only like 4 different objects mixed in. Need more variety or NO variety at all. I just want a good old fashion D3 or POE experience where I kill X that spawns a boss to kill or can just b-line the boss and kill. The objectives get old REALLY FAST. (Get rid of kill all enemies, I hate that.)
• Consider a mob counter feature (e.g., POE Greater than 50 mobs).
• Show a "COMPLETED" sign when the dungeon is complete (Also listed above).
• Allow items dropped in a group to be account-bound and tradable within the group for X amount of time like every other game.
• Address issue with "missed animus". These need a larger radius. I miss animus and have to back track too much.

12. Loot Filter:

• Include a configurable option for what to display on the screen. There are already an option for sounds, should extend this to hide or show.

13. Aspect Extraction Cost:

• Review aspect extraction cost, particularly for items of the same tier. It makes little sense that the same aspect with the same rolls cost more based on the gear level.

14. Rerolling:

• Add a feature to display reroll options like Diablo 3. I have no idea what I am gambling on. This is a must have.

15. Cellars and Renown:

• Review the purpose of cellars, which currently do not contribute to renown. These should give at minimum 10-20 renown. Grinding renown has been a daunting task and not very fun.

16. Map Features:

• Make the map searchable and allow for custom permanent markers for Points of Interest.

17. Achievement Notifications:

• Improve the visibility and accessibility of achievement notifications. If someone gets an achievement and it shows up in chat, I should be able to click that and see what the achievement and rewards are.

18. Mount Mechanics:

• Improve horse speed and movement consistency, particularly with terrain interaction. (Horse is way to slow and clunky)

19. Experience Gain:

• Rebalance leveling speed and experience gain in various dungeon types. You shouldn’t be grinding to 100 on standard dungeons over Nightmare dungeons. The harder content should reward significantly more experience just like Diablo 3, PoE or any other modern ARPG.

20. Scaling:

• Implement scaling level caps based on World Tier. (My suggestions below)

· WT1: 50 · WT2: 50 · WT3: 70 · WT4: 80 . WT4: All Events like Hell Tide, legions, world bosses should have full scaling
Reddit, please feel free to continue to add to these suggests.

Main hub thread with the full 131 rankings
Anchors aweigh, my boys, anchors aweigh
Farewell to foreign shores, we sail at break of day, of day
Through our last night ashore, drink to the foam
Until we meet once more, here's wishing you a happy voyage home
Navy is one of the oldest football programs in the country, having fielded their first team in 1879. With that comes a history of excellence, as it should with the Navy, who as a program is top 25 in all-time wins for FBS schools, has 2 Heisman winners, and a national title in 1926. Quarterback Roger Staubach, known as “Captain America”, was the winner of the 1963 Heisman and is an NFL Hall of Famer, the only QB in history to achieve both feats.

Best Seasons and Highlights

1. 2015: 19. Navy: 11-2 (25.276) 2. 2019: 19. Navy: 11-2 (24.894) 3. 2009: 28. Navy: 10-4 (13.712) 4. 1996: 28. Navy: 9-3 (8.642) 5. 2013: 42. Navy: 9-4 (7.584) 6. 2004: 31. Navy: 10-2 (6.282) 7. 2010: 41. Navy: 9-4 (4.625) 8. 2016: 47. Navy: 9-5 (3.576) 9. 2008: 44. Navy: 8-5 (3.107) 10. 2006: 42. Navy: 9-4 (2.051) 11. 2014: 53. Navy: 8-5 (-0.393) 12. 2005: 45. Navy: 8-4 (-2.572) 13. 1997: 51. Navy: 7-4 (-3.492) 14. 2007: 57. Navy: 8-5 (-4.937) 15. 2012: 61. Navy: 8-5 (-5.454) 16. 2003: 62. Navy: 8-5 (-7.845) 17. 2017: 64. Navy: 7-7 (-9.488) 18. 1984: 62. Navy: 4-6-1 (-12.294) 19. 1985: 59. Navy: 4-7 (-16.923) 20. 2011: 78. Navy: 5-7 (-18.345) 21. 1995: 67. Navy: 5-6 (-20.772) 22. 1999: 77. Navy: 5-7 (-22.534) 23. 2021: 93. Navy: 4-8 (-24.879) 24. 1990: 83. Navy: 5-6 (-25.375) 25. 2022: 101. Navy: 4-8 (-25.436) 26. 1993: 90. Navy: 4-7 (-34.187) 27. 2020: 111. Navy: 3-7 (-34.632) 28. 1998: 92. Navy: 3-8 (-36.294) 29. 1989: 85. Navy: 3-8 (-36.349) 30. 1983: 92. Navy: 3-8 (-38.305) 31. 1988: 90. Navy: 3-8 (-38.616) 32. 2018: 110. Navy: 3-10 (-42.027) 33. 1994: 93. Navy: 3-8 (-43.185) 34. 1986: 97. Navy: 3-8 (-46.615) 35. 2002: 109. Navy: 2-10 (-51.419) 36. 1987: 99. Navy: 2-9 (-52.186) 37. 1992: 100. Navy: 1-10 (-54.324) 38. 2000: 108. Navy: 1-10 (-56.258) 39. 1991: 105. Navy: 1-10 (-56.694) 40. 2001: 114. Navy: 0-10 (-60.702) Overall Score: 11207 (78th) 

• 220-256-1 record
• 0 conference titles
• 9-7 bowl record
• 2 consensus All-Americans
• 8 NFL players drafted

No conference titles? Navy’s bad! Kidding of course, they didn’t have a chance to win any as an independent until 2015 when they joined the AAC. As you can see on the list above, Navy’s clearly had some bad years, with a whopping 14 seasons of 3 or less wins. To make up for it, they’ve achieved some remarkable highs for a service academy, with 11 finishes inside my top 50. A 10-2 season in 2004 narrowly misses out on Navy’s top 5 seasons because of their 107th ranked strength of schedule that year. Despite some remarkable QB play in recent years from Keenan Reynolds and Malcolm Perry, the 2 consensus All-Americans are both from RB Napoleon McCallum in 1983 and 1985, who finished 6th and 7th in Heisman voting in those years, respectively. Speaking of Keenan Reynolds, he set the NCAA career record for rushing TDs in 2015, accumulating 88 in his 4 year career.

Top 5 Seasons

Worst Season: 2001 (0-10 overall, Independent)
Navy gets a pass for 2001. 2 weeks into the season, the September 15th game against Northwestern was cancelled shortly after the 9/11 attacks. The Army-Navy game was more than a game this year, with President George W. Bush taking part in the on-field coin toss. Army prevailed 26-17 on the day. Navy LB Brian Stann ribbed that Navy only got pregame visits from President Bush and Senator John McCain, while Army received an impassioned speech from General Norman Schwarzkopf. The game finished off a stressful year for Navy, who fired head coach Charlie Weatherbie after an 0-7 start. On-field lows were a 7-70 loss to Georgia Tech, a loss to 3-9 Tulane, and of course the Army-Navy Game. Navy hired Paul Johnson for 2002, who’d turn around the program for good. If you’re an MMA fan, you probably recognize Brian Stann who I quoted above. Stann went on to become a successful UFC fighter and commentator, joining Fox Sports after his retirement from MMA in 2013.
5. 2013 (9-4 overall, Independent)
A season with many highs. A 3-1 start included a 41-35 win over Indiana and 28-10 over Air Force. After losing 2 straight to strong Duke and Toledo teams, Navy went 5-1 the rest of the regular season, only losing 34-38 to a Notre Dame team that finished in the top 25. Wins included 24-21 over Pitt, 58-52 in 3OT over a San Jose State team coming off an 11-2 year, and 34-7 in the Army-Navy Game. A perfect ground game of 366 rushing yards against Middle Tennessee in the bowl led to a 24-6 win to finish 9-4 in Navy’s second to last season as an Independent. QB Keenan Reynolds (more on him later) threw for 1000+ yards with 8 TD 2 INT, but most importantly ran for 1346 yards and 31 TD, setting an NCAA record for rushing TDs in a season by a QB. Reynolds also ran for 7 TD against San Jose State, an NCAA record. Outside of Reynolds, longtime New England Patriots long snapper Joe Cardona was also on this team, and didn’t have a bad snap all season long.
4. 1996 (9-3 overall, Independent)
Even for as bad as 2001 was, Charlie Weatherbie’s teams had their moments. A 5-1 start featured 3 wins over Power 6 teams: 10-6 over Rutgers, 64-27 over Duke, and 47-18 over Wake Forest. That set up a Shamrock Classic game in Ireland between Navy and Notre Dame. A 54-27 win for Notre Dame set a record for the longest winning streak over an annual opponent at 33 games. Unfazed, Navy won 3 more straight including a nice 36-26 win over Georgia Tech in Atlanta. But even so, Weatherbie’s teams…left a lot to be desired. Navy watched their 21-3 lead over Army evaporate by the end of the game, stopped at the goal line twice for a 28-24 Army victory. To be fair, this was one of Army’s best teams of the past few decades, and they finished ranked #25. Navy rebounded to beat Steve Mariucci’s Cal team in the Aloha Bowl 42-38 to finish 9-3. Navy OC Paul Johnson left to become Georgia Southern’s head coach, and would go on to perfect the triple option at Navy from 2002-07 and institute it at Georgia Tech from 2008-18. WR LeBron Butts (no relation to the basketball player) had 14 catches for 179 yards and 2 TD.
3. 2009 (10-4 overall, Independent)
Oh look, one of my all time favorite players, QB Ricky Dobbs. Dobbs was a steady work horse all season. He only averaged 3.6 yards per carry, but had the 3rd most carries in the nation with 315 and ran for 1203 yards with an NCAA QB record 27 TD. The record wouldn’t be broken until 2013 by Navy’s own Keenan Reynolds. Dobbs led a steady offense combined with a great defense (19.4 PPG allowed), leading to Navy’s 2nd double digit win season since 1905. Navy had a chance to tie #6 Ohio State with 2 minutes left, but their 2 point conversion attempt was returned by OSU for 2 pts themselves, making the final score 27-31. A 14-27 loss two weeks later to Pitt turned out to be another quality loss, with Pitt going on to finish 10-3 and #15. A 10-4 final record included wins such as 16-13 over 8-5 Air Force, 38-35 over 8-5 SMU, 13-10 over Wake Forest, 17-3 over Army, 35-13 in the bowl over 8-5 Missouri, and the pièce de résistance, 23-21 over #19 Notre Dame in South Bend. Previously on a 43-year losing streak to the Irish heading into 2007, this was now the 2nd time in 3 years Navy had beaten Notre Dame, previously unthinkable.
2. 2019 (11-2 overall, 7-1 American)
After Keenan Reynolds left for the NFL, the QB position had big shoes to fill. Following a stopgap 9-5 record in 2016, 2017 arrived. Zach Abey took the majority of snaps, but Malcolm Perry was too talented to keep off the field, far and away the best athlete on the team. Perry had a monstrous year with 9 starts at slot back and 3 at QB, rushing for 1182 yards and 11 TD on 8.6(!) YPC, and was the team’s 2nd leading receiver with 13 catches for 303 yards and 2 TD. Perry started 5 games at QB in 2018, but dealt with injuries en route to a 3-10 season. That led to a mysterious 2019, with Navy picked 5th in the 6-team AAC West Division.
A 2-1 start showed potential, with a 42-10 win over East Carolina and close 23-35 loss to one of the conference favorites in Memphis. A 34-25 win over an Air Force team that would finish 11-2 showed Navy was back to their winning ways, with a real chance at a bowl as long as Perry stayed healthy. Navy reeled off blowout win after blowout win, eventually getting up to #23 before losing to #16 Notre Dame 20-52. Now at 7-2, Navy still had a shot at making the AAC title game. Perry showed up big against #25 SMU, rushing for 195 yards and throwing for 162 in a 35-28 win. After beating Houston 56-41, Navy just needed Memphis to drop one game, but the Tigers won out to make the AAC title game at 11-1. Navy played Army in the last game as usual, and Perry WENT NUCLEAR. He didn’t throw a single pass, rushing for 304 yards on 29 carries with 2 TD in a 31-7 win. In the bowl against 8-4 Kansas State, Perry again went for 200+ on the ground, winning 20-17 on a last second FG. Navy finished the year #20 in the country.
Perry went off all year long, winning AAC Offensive POTY with 1084 passing yards 7 TD 3 INT with 2017 rushing yards and 21 TD on 6.8 YPC. Perry legitimately was one of the quickest athletes in the country, if you watch his highlights he looks like a quicker but slower Kyler Murray. Because of this he was drafted in the 7th round by the Miami Dolphins as a WR, and has caught 9 passes for 92 yards and 1 TD in the NFL.
1. 2015 (11-2 overall, 7-1 American)
2015 was a magical year not just for Navy fans, but for college football fans following Navy. QB Keenan Reynolds was the darling of football, and went down as arguably the greatest option QB in college football history. Reynolds became one of football’s biggest stories as Navy kept winning throughout the year, starting 9-1 with wins such as 33-11 over 8-6 Air Force, 29-17 over 8-5 USF, and 45-20 over #13 Memphis. Navy got as high as #15 in the nation and was one of the favorites to earn the Group of 5’s spot in a New Years 6 bowl. After a loss to Houston the dream ended, but they still had the Army-Navy game to tend to. The game earned its biggest rating this century with a 5.1 overnight, mostly due to Reynolds’ star power. Reynolds finished 5th in Heisman voting, and when he wasn’t invited to the ceremony, people protested and lobbied for changing the invitation rules. A 44-28 win in the bowl over 8-4 Pitt capped Navy’s first ever 11 win season, and their highest finish in over 50 years at #18.
Navy announced the retirement of Reynolds’ #19 jersey after the season, joining a short list of Roger Staubach (12), Joe Bellino (27), and Napoleon McCallum (30). Navy’s 36 wins in Reynolds’ 4 years tied the class of 1909 for the most ever by a 4-year Navy squad. Reynolds finished as the NCAA’s all-time leading rushing TD leader with 88. In 2015 he threw for 1203 yards 8 TD 1 INT with 1373 rushing yards and 24 TD. This was the 3rd straight season he finished top 5 in rushing TDs in the country. He earned 3rd Team All-American status, won the AAC Offensive POTY, and won the James E. Sullivan Award given to the most outstanding collegiate or Olympic athlete in the United States. After the season, he was drafted in the 6th round by the Baltimore Ravens, the first Navy QB drafted since Roger Staubach in 1964.

5th Quarter

What do you remember about Keenan Reynolds and that 2015 season? How about Malcolm Perry? Who was the better passer, runner, and overall player between the two? Is Reynolds the greatest option QB of all time, even over Tommie Frazier? What other Navy moments/games/plays/players do you remember? How does Navy look to fare in the upcoming seasons? Does Ken Niumatalolo get enough credit in the college football media for what he’s done at Navy? What else is on your mind about Navy?
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Chapter 3: The Noise In Ether
For this story I had to consult with five Gojids. I didn’t want to be insensitive for what happened on Cradle.
---
Memory Transmission Subject: Barm, Gojid Survivor
Date [Standardized Human Time]: October 15, 2136
The sight of empty streets and abandoned homes was a horrible reminder of the aftermath that happened merely a month ago. To prevent the invasion of the human homeworld, Earth, they struck us first, targeting only our military facilities and paralyzing our forces. Any civilian casualties were the victims of stampede, humans only killed resisting combatants. When the victory was theirs, unexpectedly Arxur showed up out of nowhere and took advantage of our nonexistent defense. Humans had no chance to resist the grays, but they evacuated as many Gojids as their capacity allowed. They took us into refugee camps on Earth and Venlil Prime for the indefinite period. This is what really happened. Despite being predators, humans did not eat any Gojid and did not collaborate with the Arxur, and they did not put us in cattle farms on Earth, as the rumors implied.
Still, I can’t say I could ever forgive humans for what they did. Our culture has been shattered and our populace was decimated. I have returned only when humans formed a questionable alliance with the Arxur and retrieved control over Cradle. Our towns were completely forsaken. The infrastructure needed full reconstruction. The biggest cities were populated only by a fraction of previous denizens. There were not enough people to keep the civilization functioning like the old times. Many Gojids were working in the primary economic sector, mainly agriculture. The other sectors were maintained less, aside from shopkeeping and maybe medical help. Speaking of that field, there was a high demand for medical service, as previous doctors, nurses and specialists were dead, missing or did not return to Cradle.
My job was to secure the abandoned facilities from further decay. That involves critical branches such as sewage, waterworks and power plants. There were already issues with sewage overflowing in the cities and corroding pipes. When we emerged from the shuttles, we were greeted by a foul fetor coming from the manholes. I was glad when I was chosen to do a power plants inspection instead. Not only because of the filthy environment but because of my pressing desire to remain as far as I can from the populace. The time of invasion and stationing on the homeworld of predators was traumatic enough to afflict some kind of predator disease. In fact, it was probably the most abnormal kind of predator disease known to the Federation. Sometimes I could hear the voices of other Gojids, usually in the presence of radio receivers or any electrical speaker device. The voices were like eavesdropping the arguing bystanders out of context, sometimes they were screaming in fear or talking directly to me, giving me hints and sharing opinions. I could not sleep properly in the presence of my TV. It was acute enough that I could have let myself be screened if only these humans didn’t paralyze our medical care. The concept of being locked in a predator disease facility was unnerving, knowing in what state people leave them, but I suppose I could be a threat to society right now. If I could not get help, I would serve remotely, not endangering the already struggling community. But I couldn’t avoid being escorted by my colleagues to the nuclear plant.
There were two other Gojids with me, a middle-aged Solem and one not much older than me, Nadra. To my dismay, I’ve been given a handheld two-way radio to communicate inside the power plant. As I took it, I braced myself for more hallucination episodes, but it was not something I couldn’t just ignore. What adds up to my horrible situation is that Ki-yu, one of our two moons, is at perigee, and the pulling effect on tides might have an indirect effect on our success as well as the psychological welfare. Adding the possible radiation, I realized I want to get it over with as soon as possible. As I approached the looming silhouette of the nuclear plant, a sense of foreboding gripped me. The once bustling facility now stood in eerie silence, its towering structure’s a haunting reminder of the power it once harnessed. The rust was eating away any metallic surfaces. Even there I could smell the fetor of clogged drainage systems.
My colleagues and I cautiously made our way inside, our flashlights piercing through the thick darkness that enveloped the corridors. The rhythmic hum of machinery that once filled these halls were replaced by an unsettling silence, broken only by the sound of our own footsteps echoing off the walls. We were merely in an entrance hall, studying the layouts and evacuation routes on the closest map before splitting up. Nadra went to locate the emergency power generator in the auxiliary building, Solem went to check the turbine building and I headed toward the generator building. I passed the locker room before I stood in front of big metal doors that could not budge. I saw the keypad scanner on the side. I reached for my transceiver and informed my friends of my defeat, hoping that someone could fetch a crowbar from the tool supply.
“I left my keycard in locker fifteen.“ The voice resonated on my radio. It did not belong to any of my colleagues. A sudden realization hit me that it must be a hallucination, my predator disease. My quills bristled from the haunting presence. I waited a moment to calm my nerves. That delusion brought me the idea to scan through the lockers. I started checking from the beginning. The hallucinations are a part of my broken brain, therefore they could not know more than me to be that precise. Most lockers were either empty or closed all the way until locker fifteen. It actually contained a keycard. I thought to myself that I’m turning into my brother, who also had magic luck, until he hadn’t. I hoped he didn’t suffer in his last moments.
“H e ’ s n o t w i t h u s .” Enraged at my mirage I grabbed my radio and tossed it as hard as I could. The lights flickered suddenly, catching me off guard and only after a while I noticed that the device bounced from the wall without shattering unfortunately. The transceiver responded with a more familiar voice. “The generator is on, but hurry up. It’s almost running on fumes” Nadra must have located the emergency generator, her voice was a blissful reminder of what was real and what wasn’t. Having power means I could unlock the doors and operate the control panels. I made my way inside the reactor building, completely forsaking the cursed communication device. The giant reactor hall was bathed only by flickering emergency lights casting eerie shadows across the hulking machinery. The air hung heavy with a metallic scent, a reminder of the radioactive presence that still lingered within the facility. The buzzing of my dosimeter was unnerving. Having my health in mind, I did not want to linger in this place any longer than necessary. My primary objective was to ensure the safe shutdown of the nuclear reactors. In the absence of regular maintenance, the reactors could pose a significant threat if left unattended. I could see the control room only by the strong yellow lights illuminating through the window, it was the only well-lit room. The control panels were coated in dust, their screens displaying cryptic symbols and error messages. It was evident that the systems had been left to deteriorate without proper care. I started looking for a manual to study each symbol. I had a degree in FTL engines which required extensive training and expertise in the nuclear field as they also operated on nuclear fission, but I would not dare to misinterpret the pictograms in a power plant, especially now when it was left in unrecognizable filth. Power plants were, after all, much more powerful than spacecraft engines.
My dosimeter started turning up, and I could hear a noise coming from a speaker mounted in the corner of a wall. It was used as an intercom. I heard a chatter.
“Sir, there’s a quake a few miles from there. Strong enough to move small buildings.”
“Any structural damage?”
“Negative, but the grid is straining hard.”
“Has the mayor contacted us?”
“She’s not responding, sir.”
“Damn it, I can’t stand that woman. Reduce the output and disconnect the plant.”
I felt numbness taking over my head. The noise of the dosimeter filled my head, I started seeing things. Against my will, I walked to the control panel and pulled my claw towards the controls of multiple generators. I snapped out of the trance hearing an eerie silence in a room. Even my dosimeter stopped buzzing. It took me a while to calm my quills and shiver. I glanced at the controls realizing they were familiar to me. With trepidation, I began the delicate process of shutting down the reactors. I reached and started manipulating the controls of my interest, mainly shutting down individual generators one by one. Each step had to be executed with precision, ensuring that the dubious state reactors would be rendered inert and the potential for catastrophe eliminated. As I manipulated the controls, a sudden surge of power coursed through the room, causing the lights to flicker and the machinery to groan. Fear gripped my heart as I imagined the worst-case scenario unfolding before me. But, with a deep breath and a steadying of my nerves, I continued the process, determined to see it through. When the power output reached an acceptable level I went to the auxiliary building to locate the switchgear room. I passed the lockers and lobby without encountering any of my coworkers. As I reached the switchgear room, I opened the circuit breaker, disconnecting the plant from the grid. I had completed the first step in securing the nuclear plant, but our task was far from over.
When I reached the lobby room I was caught by Solem, a visible frustration painted on his face. “The fuck you’ve been? Why weren’t you responding, and why did you toss your dosimeter?” Taken aback, I reached for my device and realized that I did have that cursed radio with me. I returned to the locker room and found a noisy dosimeter tossed onto the corner. What’s unnerving was that it showed high radiation behind the wall of the reactor building. I realized how my hallucinations had a dangerous impact on my workflow and that I should withdraw. I said that I felt dizzy and I needed a break, before returning to the hovercar.
As I distanced myself I took my time to review what happened inside. My brain must have tricked me to absorb a possibly dangerous dose of radiation. I looked at the towering power plant thinking of the workers that used to provide the energy to most bigger cities in this district. What happened to them during the attack? The horrors of invasion still haunted me and the disturbing hallucinations only served to amplify my unease. The car radio spoke up. This time I could hear panicking crowds, followed by a roar. That sound definitely originated from an Arxur. The next thing I could hear was a low, pitiful sobbing, that slowly, gradually raised in volume. The frequency of these cries were truly bloodcurdling. I felt a sudden flight response, a precognition that I should not be here. I launched towards the entrance and closed the doors before the crescendoing sound reached its breaking point. Once inside the voice abruptly stopped. I left my radio in the car and I only had my dosimeter on me. I tried searching for a living soul to share my worries regarding this place or my mental state. Perhaps Solem could save me from myself. I went to check on the reactor building. I didn’t notice it at first, but the dosimeter was relatively silent inside. It still displayed radiation but at a moderate level, in contrast to the hellish amounts I’ve seen merely five minutes ago. When I found Solem, he was operating a crane and moving the spent fuel rods into a fuel pool. He did not look happy at my sight and descended to scold me. However, I was ready for anything as long as I could get some advice. I told him about the voices that haunt me through the radio and an unknown danger outside the facility. As I was recounting, I felt shame, realizing how ridiculous it sounded. Solem’s body language also displayed signs of awkwardness but he left to check the danger himself. I shouted to make him stop, that it was too dangerous, but he didn’t listen. He slammed the door as he entered the lobby.
I investigated the fuel pool. It was filled with more than a dozen spent or damaged fuel rods. Keeping in mind that there were much more inside the reactor, the pool could not handle that many rods safely. We should return some other time with more support and consider long-term storage. I covered the pool with a heavy plate and left the reactor building. As I was inside the locker room, there was a sudden spike of radiation on my dosimeter, followed by a loud slam of the front doors. Once again a silence filled the room. It took some courage, but I entered the empty lobby. Only my footprints were breaking the silence. My quills were bristling out of my control. I was slowly and silently heading toward the turbine building. If Solem left through the front doors, I could only wonder what happened to him. My only hope is Nadra. I must find her and leave this place immediately.
I opened the heavy doors as silently as possible, moving ever so slightly. But once I entered the turbine room and released the doors, they moved with a shivering scrape and closed with a loud thud. Nothing reacted to the amount of noise. Finally, I forced my quills to ease and began searching for Nadra. Parallelly I investigated one of three turbines, which also fell victim to neglect. The blades were rusted out in a humid environment and filled the room with a musty smell. Humidity also gave the chance for mold to culture. Every tiny gap was accumulating dust. Overall the machine could not be turned on again until it was revived. I found Nadra crawling out of the turbine. She was probably disassembling it for further cleanup. She looked at me with confusion, I didn’t want to repeat my mistake by shoving her away with my delusions. I told her it was not safe there and that we should leave. She paid no attention to the urgency of my words and downplayed me saying I should take a break at the car.
The prospect of returning outside gave me a panic attack. Strong stress reaction pressed on my chest, my ears laid flat on my scalp and my quills bristled. She must have noticed me, but before she could say anything, her two-way radio reactivated, giving away a static noise. We heard as someone banged at the doors, but it came from the radio. We slowly approached the exit doors and the banging continued, louder with each step. Without warning the room filled with a deafening bang accompanied by flickering lights. Nadra flinched and dropped the radio, which stopped working, leaving us again in the noise of my dosimeter. It was the only tool that could warn me of an unknown danger. Whatever it was, it was standing outside. The unspeakable, invisible horror that manifested in airwaves. It took the voice of an Arxur, but it was more terrifying than any greys that invaded this place. Suddenly the intercom started playing and resumed the banging sounds. In an impulse I darted, searching for another exit out of the turbine room. I desperately examined the walls until I found a door, leading to an auxiliary building. The revelation was not good enough. The auxiliary room also led to the lobby and the monstrum that haunted it. Inside there were cooling systems, switchgear, power generator and many other things that I had no time to identify. While Nadra was examining the generator, I stared at the doors leading to the lobby and realized they were made of much more yielding material. The banging also changed the pitch. The previous sounds resembled punching metal doors, and now it was behind these. Suddenly the door cracked open and my head was filled with the deafening noise of my dosimeter. The lights went black and out of instinct I took my dosimeter and slammed it at the wall until it went silent.
The next thing I remembered was Nadra driving our car. The car radio had parts ripped off. I saw that Solem wasn’t with us. We have never seen him again. We drove to a remote cottage in a forest. Every electrical tool was thrown out and smashed just in case. We lived there in radio silence together, in fear, comforting each other. The dread could not leave us alone. We slept poorly, haunted by nightmares. She was seeing the same images at night as me and if we could check, she might have had the same hallucinations. But we could not risk that much. We had a horrible feeling that the nightmare was still lingering somewhere close and would pounce on us the moment we heard the noise. We lived like that for four days, until on day five I woke up in delirium and visibly sick. I was puking and shivering so hard that I couldn’t protest when Nadra took me to a hospital. It must have been radiation sickness. I was rushed to an emergency room where very few doctors were operating on me. Few voices were asking me and Nadra about what happened. None of us could say anything, especially me. They attached me to a neural scanner to analyze my memories and figure out what led to my awful state. When I regained consciousness, I was in a bed isolated from the rest of the room by a translucent plastic veil to keep the outside germs from my nonexistent immune system. The machine was still analyzing my memories. The only thing that kept me company was the music coming from the radio. When I came to my senses I realized the danger of being in the presence of a device. It started humming and I could recognize the voice coming from it. “I m s o r r y”
It belonged to Solem.
​
​
██/██/██/█/█//█////██/█/█///██//█/███///█/█/█///█///██/█//█//█////██/██/██/██/█/ █//█//█/█///███/████//███/█//█/█/█/██///█/█/██//█//█//██///█/█/███/██/██//█/█
[!Error: Memory transcription Subject Disconnected]
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Hey, folks! Chapter 6 is here! Sorry for such a long wait—I decided to go ahead and give myself some extra time to write and edit (and deal with irl shenanigans). This is my longest chapter yet—nearly 4.4k words! o_O
Anyway, thanks to u/CruisingNW for the title, and of course, thank you u/SpacePaladin15 for this wonderful universe! Well, without further adieu, let's get into it!
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Memory Transcription Subject: Meyra Yeirel, Spacecraft Engineer Apprentice
Location: Veyr, Veyrian Homeworld. Outer Orion Spur.
Date: September 11, 2182.
I pushed myself away from the table, staring at the unconscious Veyrian. In my hysteria, I hadn’t been able to process much aside from what she had said. But her golden eyes… there had been something wrong with them, but I hadn’t caught precisely what it was. I glanced around at the trio. I wasn’t an expert at reading predators’ expressions, but they were undeniably shocked. Galya as well. She sat frozen in her seat, her blue eyes staring into space. I couldn’t fathom why they were so shocked. Was it what I had told them? They should’ve known everything already. Did the Veyrian say something particularly important? If so, why was it so important?
The predators snapping into action derailed my train of thought, causing me to flinch. My heart seized up as I saw they were going for the Veyrian.
Oh, Myern, they’ve snapped, haven’t they? I thought frantically as they crouched next to the Veyrian. I closed my eyes and grimaced, preparing to hear the horrid sound of flesh ripping and the pain-filled screams of the Veyrian.
. . .
. . .
I opened my eyes. To my surprise, the predators had flipped over the Veyrian and were apparently checking if she was alive. I put my paw on my chest, trying to calm my breathing. At every turn, these predators subverted my expectations. Not killing me on sight—both last night and today, not killing me in my sleep, preventing the house from burning down, and remaining calm despite me apparently rocking their entire worldview. Next thing I knew the gray would tell me that it was a herbivore.
“Connor,” the gray growled, “help me out here.”
The ape moved to the other side of the Veyrian and helped the gray. They hauled the Veyrian to her feet and dragged her to the couch. I tried to catch a glimpse of her face, but I couldn’t see anything since her head hung low. They laid her on the couch. The gray tucked a pillow under her neck.
“Go get some water,” the gray commanded, swatting the primate’s arm. It obeyed, hurrying away to the kitchen. “Hey, Galya.” It snapped its claws. Galya flinched and looked at the gray. “Get some pillows.”
Galya put a paw to her head. “Y-yeah. Alright, then.” She stood and got the gray the pillows it wanted. She sat down as the gray tucked the pillows underneath the Veyrian’s legs.
“Thanks, by the way,” the gray added, glancing at Galya.
“You’re w-welcome.” The Venlil stared into space, obviously perturbed by something.
I couldn't believe the brainwashing on Venlil Prime was so overbearing that the Venlil were completely unaware of the galaxy around them. Same for the Terrans and the Arxur. I shuddered to imagine what sort of techniques their governments used to subjugate their populace.
The ape returned with a glass of water and handed it to the gray. The gray took it and stared down at the Veyrian, apparently watching for something. From my place at the table, I couldn’t the Veyrian’s face. The gray didn’t seem to be particularly disturbed by anything, so maybe I had just been imagining things. But… my mind still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.
I shook my head and gathered my nerves. “H-how did you learn to do all that?” I shuddered as the gray laid its eyes on me.
“My mom was a nurse,” it growled. “She taught me how to handle this sort of situation. In case of emergencies, you know?”
The ape made a strange, sharp chuffing as if something was caught in its throat. I stared at the ape, trying to guess what that sound meant. It was baring its teeth—was it angry? Did the gray say something wrong?
“Looks like it paid off, eh?” The primate swatted the gray’s shoulder. “You always complained about your mom lecturing you on how to perform CPR or how to do the Heimlich m—”
The Veyrian bolted upright, gasping for air. Everyone in the room flinched in unison. The gray acted immediately and handed the Veyrian the glass of water. She took it and began drinking with reckless abandon, spilling the majority of the water on herself. She breathed deeply and put her arm over her eyes. The ape sped away to the kitchen once more.
The thought of a gray possessing medical knowledge shocked me. They only knew how to maim, maul, and murder. They weeded out the weak, making no allowances for undesirables. No amount of UN and Dominion propaganda could change the fact that the gray were bloodthirsty monsters. And yet… here one was in my home. No one was dead. The walls weren’t painted red and orange with the blood of Veyrian and Venlil alike.
The primate returned once again and sat in front of the Veyrian. It gave the glass to her and leaned forward, steepling its long, gangly fingers in front of its face. It looked like it was struggling for words as the Veyrian drank—much slower this time. As the Veyrian finished, the ape lowered its paws.
“So, uh, how are you doing?”
Despite not understanding primate body language, I could tell it had just died inside.
“I mean uh… damnit.” The ape’s head hung low.
The Veyrian removed her arm from her face. “I have not… have not been d-doing well.” Her voice was raspy as if she hadn’t used it in a very long time.
“You uh, you don’t look the best either,” the ape commented. It gestured toward the Veyrian as a whole.
It was right. The Veyrian’s fur in the morning light looked even worse than it had the night before. The Veyrian coughed and turned her head to look around the room. That’s when I realized. I stared at her head, expecting to see her eye appear on the side of her head, yet it never came.
Not until she had turned to look
right
at
me.
I felt a bolt of terror through my chest. I staggered backward, knocking my chair down. A scream built in my throat as I stumbled and fell against the wall. They all stared at me, a mixture of shock and confusion scrawled across their faces.
But they were all a blur. Those two golden eyes stared right into my soul, delving into my psyche and shattering it.
I sunk to the floor, tucking my head between my legs. I hyperventilated, my heart racing. All outside sounds were faint. I barely registered them. Calm down, Meyra, it’s ok. You’re ok. I thought frantically. No, you’re not ok. You have several predators in your home, and she has something extremely wrong with her. They must’ve been torturing her. Changing her DNA. I should’ve snuck out in the middle of the night and run down to the exterminator’s office. Oh, Myern, I’m next aren’t I? I started rocking, unable to control myself. You’re fine, it’s fine, I’m fine. It’s all just a dream. It’s all just a dream. It’s all just a dream it’s all just a dream it’s all just a dreamit’salljustadre—
I flinched as a paw touched my shoulder. I looked up, shaking.
“H-hey, ma’am, are you alright?” Galya asked gently. “What’s wrong?”
I pointed at the twisted Veyrian and curled back into a ball. “Her—her eyes. Wh-what did you d-do to her?”
Galya’s ears drooped in confusion. “Her eyes? What’s wrong with—” she glanced at the Veyrian and back at me. She took a step backward, her eyes widening. “W-wait, what’s wrong with your eyes?”
“Galya, can’t you see that she’s pani—wait, what?” The primate growled inquisitively.
I took a glance around the room. Fear had dawned on their faces. They stood in a semi-circle, stuck in a state of tension. I couldn’t understand why.
But those eyes.
Those two golden eyes.
They stared at me, echoing the horrors of the cruelty of the UN and the Dominion. Myern knows how they had done it. And I was sure I was about to find out. To my horror, she stood slowly, baring her teeth as she went.
Oh, Myern, I thought helplessly. They’ve brainwashed her, too.
“I apologize for thy situation,” she rasped. The trio snapped to look at her, causing me to flinch. “I know… I know this must be quite a shock. To all of thee.”
I breathed shallowly, listening as she spoke. She had a strange accent, alongside her deeper, raspier voice. I had never heard her accent before. Despite my sheer terror, I was intrigued.
“I am Xertalis, goddess of time and space,” she proclaimed. “The former goddess, I should say.” Her head hung low as she stared at the ground.
The trio glanced at each other. The ape closed its eyes and waved its paws around. “Woah, woah woah—hold on. Let’s take this one step at a time. First off, what the ffffffuck? You’re saying all that back in the library really… really happened?”
Xertalis’ silence was enough of an answer for the primate.
“And so… and so all the stuff on TV is real?” It glanced at me. “And that I’m not imagining things?”
“You sure as hell aren’t imagining things,” the gray growled. “I’m seeing this shit.”
Their lack of disturbance surrounding Xertalis and her eye placement was almost more terrifying than the situation I was in. I mustered the courage to speak, despite the voices in my head screaming for me to shut up. “Wh-what the farrik is wrong with you?!” My voice faltered as three pairs of binocular eyes stared at me. “Why are you s-so concerned about my eyes? What about hers?” I waved an indignant paw at Xertalis.
“There’s nothing wrong with her eyes!” The gray roared, causing me to flinch. It put its claws on its head and paced back and forth. “This is fucking insane! What the fuck happened last night? Did our drinks get spiked? No, we didn’t bring drinks. Was it the snacks?” It sat down heavily on the couch, holding its head in its claws. Its knee bounced erratically as it sat.
Nothing the gray had said made sense to me. What drinks? What snacks? Did Galya feed them in the middle of the night?
Galya put her paws in front of her in a placating gesture. “Guys, let’s—let’s just eat some food, and then talk about this. I get that this is pretty insane, b-but yelling isn’t gonna get anything done.” Galya glanced at me. “Besides, I’m sure we’re all starving. Right?”
“Y-yeah,” the ape said. “Let’s do that. Maybe a hot bowl of oimal will help clear our minds.”
Galya put her paw on the gray’s shoulder. It looked up at her, its eyes glossy. “I’m sorry to interrupt you, Kiile. You’re the only one who knows how to cook, and well, you saw how well it went when Connor tried.” She bared her teeth. “How about it?”
The gray took a shuddering breath and bobbed its head. “A-alright. Okay.” It stood and closed its eyes for a moment, breathing deeply. “Let’s g-get this.” And with that, it headed towards the kitchen. As it left, it wiped its eyes.
I stared at Galya, completely floored. A gray. Crying. No, grays can’t cry. They don’t have emotions. They have two modes. Murder, and Stalking. They don’t feel panic or sadness or fear, I thought. But a small, creeping voice asked, Then what was that? I shook my head, trying to shake it off. That was fake. Manufactured. The apes must’ve been teaching the gray how to fake emotions. And yet, the voice persisted.
Galya didn’t notice me staring and instead walked up to Xertalis. Her snout scrunched up as she approached the filthy Veyrian, yet still attempted to speak to her.
“We uh, you should probably get showered,” Galya said. She stood as if she were uncomfortable.
Xertalis didn’t pick up on her discomfort. She flicked her ear inquisitively. “I know not what a… shower is. But I shall dine, for I am quite starved. My long slumber has taken all my energy.” As if to accentuate her plight, Xertalis swayed on her feet.
“Okay, then,” Galya muttered. “Um, well, let’s get you some clothes? Or a blanket at least?”
Xertalis tilted her head at Galya. “What are clothes?” She echoed my thoughts exactly.
“You know what? It’s fine. I’ll just go get a blanket.” Galya grabbed the primate’s paw. “Connor, c’mon.”
Xertalis sat down and watched as the two sped down the hallway. She looked around the room, her ear flicking as she laid her eyes on something new. She seemed particularly interested in the analog clock hanging on the wall. It wasn’t anything special. The numbers and the claws glowed faintly. The [seconds] claw ticked constantly. I swore I could almost hear it over the sound of the gray cooking in the kitchen.
The gray cooking in the kitchen, I thought, amused. I chuckled. The gray cooking in the kitchen. I let out a short laugh. The gray cooking in the kitchen! I started laughing uncontrollably. The absurdity of the whole situation finally got to me. I rocked back and forth, gesturing helplessly with my paws. At some point, my laughter turned to sobs. I put my head in my paws and cried, my tears running down my snout. The gray cooking in the kitchen. Oh, Myern, what am I going to do?
I looked up, and Xertalis was staring at me, perplexed. “What is thy sorrow? Why dost thou act in such a way?”
I gestured vaguely at everything in the room. “Wh-what can I say? I… I’m fucked! I have two p-predators—three predators—in m-my home, and I sure as Xyek c-can’t call the exterminators, otherwise I’ll b-be accused of harboring pr-predators!” I splayed my paws in front of me helplessly. “H-how in the ever living fuck did they g-get here?! The closest UN planet is-is-is—” I gesticulated wildly “—I d-don’t even know how far. Did they u-use FTL? But how did they g-get planetside?” I put my paws on my face and screamed. The sound came out muffled.
I looked up at Xertalis. I could barely hold her gaze, yet her eyes held undeniable sorrow and guilt… and an odd hint of fear. “I will explain,” she said quietly. “Everything. Just… wait.”
I put my paws on my chest and breathed deeply. I tried to calm my mind, yet it was near impossible. All these thoughts bouncing around in my brain like stray bullets. The voices telling me to run away screaming, and the voices telling me to stay and learn. Should I stay or should I go? Should I stay or should I go? Back and forth, back and forth! I wish I could make it stop. I wish I could just wake up, and wake up to a nice, hot bowl of oimal. I wish I wasn’t alone. I wish they were still here.
My thoughts were interrupted by Galya and the ape returning. The primate was carrying a blanket—one of the blankets from the guest room. It approached Xertalis and held it out.
“Sorry we took so long,” Galya apologized. “We sorta had to dig around for it, and we didn’t figure she’d like us going into her room.”
I cringed internally as Xertalis took the blanket and wrapped it around herself. That’s not going to wash out very well, is it?
“Thou are fine,” Xertalis said, taking the blanket. “I thank thou, for it is quite cold in here.”
The gray came around the countertop with a steaming pot in its claws. “You guys came back right in time,” it growled. It placed a pad on the table and set the pot on top of it. “I found some brown sugar, thankfully, so it’s not gonna be too bland.” It hurried into the kitchen and returned with a bowl. “There were also some apples, but there wasn’t any milk, so we’ll just have to do with water.”
The ape stopped Galya in her tracks. “You go and sit down, alright? I’ll help get the bowls and stuff.”
Galya stared at the primate for a moment. “Are you sure? This whole thing has been pretty stressful for you, I imagine.”
The ape made the same, strange chuffing noise. Except it somehow sounded… sadder? I tilted my head. “I’m fine. Just almost became a human flambe last night. At least the mattress downstairs was comfortable.” The primate glanced at me before moving into the kitchen.
Galya took a seat at the table. Xertalis sat across from her. “So you weren’t uncomfortable?” Galya asked.
I pushed myself up and leaned so I could see into the kitchen.
The primate shrugged and glanced at the gray. “Well, as comfortable as I could be while sharing a mattress with Godzilla over here.”
“Ha!” The gray barked, causing me to flinch. “That’s rich, coming from King Kong, Lord of Mattresses.”
My gaze bounced between the two nervously. Their words didn’t seem friendly. But… their tones. I didn’t know ape or gray social cues, but they almost sounded friendly. Yet another piece of a constantly shifting puzzle. Their moods seemed to have gotten better while I was having my breakdown, which struck me as oddly ironic. Slowly, I moved to the table and took a seat at the far end. The primate and the gray returned with bowls, spoons, and cups full of water, which were being transported on a tray.
I watched in surprise at how deftly the gray moved the cups to the table. I had only ever known gray to be clumsy and brutish. But there was almost an artistry to its movements.
“How did you do that?” I blurted. I cringed as everyone turned to look at me.
“Put the cups on the table?” It shrugged its shoulders. “I don’t know. Practice? I’m a waiter at the Toreros on main street.”
Toreros? That’s not a real restaurant, I thought, perplexed.
I watched as they passed the oimal around themselves. Galya, who was closest, pushed the pot and apples toward me. I sniffed it suspiciously. It didn’t smell any different, but I knew some drugs didn’t have a smell. But… I was hungry. Reluctantly, I served myself and pushed the pot away. Everyone began eating—aside from the gray. The fact that an ape was eating oats and fruit surprised me. I almost couldn’t believe it. And yet, there it was, right in front of me.
Xertalis scooped up some oimal daintily and blew steam off it. “I suppose I shall tell thou my story, and explain thy plight.”
The change of mood was palatable. The entire table stared at Xertalis, prepared for what she had to say.
“As I have said, I am Xertalis, the former goddess of time and space.” She raised her paw as the gray opened its mouth. “Many centuries ago, mortals believed in gods. They believed that they could bestow miracles, rend mountains and valleys to pieces, and offer enlightenment. Alas, those beliefs have faltered. That is why I am so weak.”
She took a slow sip of water.
“My powers have waned as mortals’ beliefs have waned.” She held an apple slice between her paws and turned it over. “I could not even age this fruit if I desired. If I tried to open a portal to your universe, it would kill me.”
The primate steepled its paws in front of it. “So how did we get here? Why did that book teleport us to… wherever the hell this is?”
Xertalis pondered the apple slice for a moment before popping it in her mouth. Once she had chewed, she spoke. “I would not rule out the fact there might be other forces at work. I might have been the goddess of time and space, but I am not the only deity with the ability to twist reality.”
The trio glanced at each other. “That’s not concerning at all,” The ape stated. “So… what do we do?”
“There is not much,” Xertalis said quietly.
“So we’re stuck here?” The primate cried. “Stuck in a universe where humans and gray are being genocided? Where the police shoot at innocent people? Where crazy bastards with flamethrowers run around?!”
“Wait,” Galya butted in, “what if we like, spread word of your existence?”
Xertalis stared at Galya. “And who would believe? Who would believe that a god walks amongst mortals?”
Galya tapped the table with her claw. “Uhhh… shit.”
“Well, there’s gotta be some sort of religious group somewhere, right?” The gray asked. “There’s the Church of Myern just down the street if I remember correctly.”
I flicked my ear affirmatively. “Yes, there’s a church. But… they might not be t-too fond of her eyes.” My voice faltered as they all looked at me. “Her eye placement? It’s abnormal.”
“So you’re telling me that normal Veyrians in this universe look like you?” The gray growled.
“Y-yes…?”
The gray rubbed its eyes. “Holy shit.” It held its claws up. “Look at this. I’m shaking.”
As the trio was processing what Xertalis had told them, she ate her oimal. Despite the fact she must’ve been starving, she ate slow and daintily, as if she had practiced eating in such a way for years and years. The fact she was eating calmed my nerves a little. But she’s a goddess—apparently—she might be immune to drugs. Or was she a goddess? Xertalis’ monologue confused me.
Nevertheless, I was hungry, and I didn’t function properly when I was hungry. I lifted a spoonful of oimal and ate it. The flavor caught me off guard. It was sweet and perfectly cooked; masterfully put together. I hadn’t ever expected oimal to taste as good as this. I found myself taking bite after bite.
The table was silent as everyone mulled over the information that Xertalis had disclosed. I glanced around the table. I felt a pang of bittersweet nostalgia as I watched the four of them eat. I physically recoiled in surprise. Galya glanced at me, perplexed, but I ignored her.
I turned over the feeling of nostalgia in my mind. It was strange. I shouldn’t be feeling this way about my literal enemies. And yet…
I looked at the wall opposite me. Among the paintings was a frame. And inside that frame, a family portrait. I stared at it for a long moment, emotions boiling in my chest.
You shouldn’t be feeling like this, Meyra, I thought half-heartedly. These are your enemies. They’d gladly rip you to shreds or stab you in the back if given a chance.
I glanced between the portrait and the small group at my table. It’s been so long… surely I could…? No. I took another bite of oimal, burning my mouth. I sipped my water quickly. No. That would be a death sentence. But the way Galya elbowed the gray and the primate playfully, and how they talked as if they were good friends…
Lost in my train of thought, I hadn’t noticed Xertalis had finished her food until she had stood up. “That was a most delicious meal,” she said. “I thank thee for thy culinary skills.” Xertalis bowed her head to the gray, who bowed its head in return.
“You’re welcome,” it growled. “It’s the least I could do.”
“I must now bathe myself. Where might your bathing room be?”
I pointed down the hallway. “Last door on the right. You can’t miss it.”
“Most appreciated.” And with that, Xertalis left the table.
I noticed the trio watching her as she left. I felt another pang of nostalgia in my chest. I immediately quelled it. Now wasn’t the time to be feeling sentimental.
The primate turned around. “She’s got an interesting way of talking, huh?”
The gray bobbed its head. “Yeah. But she’s a goddess apparently.” I tilted my head as I recognized the sound of skepticism in its grating voice.
Galya furrowed her brow and flicked her tail. Before she had a chance to speak, she was interrupted by Xertalis.
“I require assistance,” she said. “This bathing room lacks water.” She tilted her head slightly. “I know not how to draw it. Perhaps the girl could help me?”
Galya choked as she was taking a sip of water. Water dribbled down her chin. She recovered and turned to Xertalis, her cheeks tinted orange. “Uh—I’m sorry, b-but that’s like, not um… that—I don’t…”
Xertalis looked at the predators. “Perhaps one of the boys, then?”
I gawked as the primate’s face turned a bright shade of red. The gray’s face had grown noticeably darker as well. They glanced at each other and exchanged a silent conversation.
“Um, couldn’t—couldn’t she d-do it instead?” The primate pointed a long, gangly claw at me.
I stiffened. Me? I thought. “I-I can’t,” I blurted. “There’s, uh—I hurt my leg when I fell.”
“Your leg’s fine,” Galya said. She squinted at me. “It’s not really appropriate for kids to help an adult, anyway.”
“She just wants someone to help her figure out how the bath works!” I said indignantly. “That’s hardly inappropriate.”
“You’ll know how your bath works better than we do,” the ape interjected. “Besides, it is a little, uh, odd to make us do it.”
“But—” I began.
“I do not care who assists me,” Xertalis said in a low, steely voice. “Stop thy bickering and make thy choice.”
The trio stared at me. I stared back in disbelief. Did they want my heart to fail? Galya flicked her tail, indicating for me to hurry up. It was obvious that they weren’t going to move.
So it was all up to me.
I took a deep breath and clenched my paws. With great effort, I pushed myself away from the table. I tried to keep my breathing stable as I walked over to Xertalis. I avoided her eyes and motioned down the hallway.
“J-just this way,” I muttered. I glanced at the trio. Galya swished her tail supportively. The primate displayed its thumbs and bared its teeth. The gray whipped its tail across the floor erratically and flashed its razor-sharp fangs.
Suddenly dealing with Xertalis’ eyes didn’t seem like such a bad deal. Without another word, I speed-walked down the hallway.
Meyra, how in Xyek did you get yourself into this situation? I thought helplessly.
[Next]

The problem is not all ROMS are showing up. They are on the SD card, but some will not show up on the device.
To help isolate the problem, I took the following steps, basically starting from scratch:
1) reformat SD card (note this is a new 64GB SanDisk brand card)
2) install Onion 4.2
3) on Package Manager, only chose GBC
4) After install, only loaded up the following subset of ROMS - titles starting with 'B' thru 'H' for GBC, confirming that there are now 37 ROM packages on the SD card.
5) boot up device w/ SD card, but only 27 games are showing up on device.
The 10 missing games are: Blaster Master, Conkers, Dragon Warrior Monsters (x3), Game & Watch Gallery (x2), Hammerin Harry, Harry Potter (x2)
There are other games on GBC not showing up and at least 1 I noticed on GB, but this exercise was just to narrow the scope to try and figure it out.
Any ideas as to what is going on? I figure with the sheer volume of games provided by this set, it's possible others haven't noticed this happening to them, if it has.

With the recent news of the Iron Sheik, I was thinking about the career of the Hulkster and how much Iron Sheik meant to his popularity. Hogan probably still becomes the biggest wrestling star ever but Sheik really did so much in getting Hulkamania started due to the heat magnet he was.
So, as far as Hogan's rivals go I'd say:
1: Andre(WrestleMania 3, the rematch on NBC which is the biggest rating in American history, created SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and was a huge draw for the Rumble which is the highest broadcast for an event on USA ever).
2: Piper(Created Mania/War to settle the score/mainstream coverage/had a crossover with celebs/also a big draw in WCW)
3: Savage(one of the best told stories in wrestling history/Main Event II and III are the next two highest broadcast shows in wrestling history as both did around 20 million people and the featured act was those two/Mania 5 with them in the main event did the highest buyrate that wouldn't be broken for nearly a decade/never if it was a work or shoot at times)
4:Iron Sheik(reasons stated above)
5:Sting(biggest rivalry in WCW history/broke the Mania 5 buyrate/propelled WCW to the #1 promotion in wrestling/lasted for decades even going into early 2010's into TNA).

I got a first DUI and hit-and-run/minor property damage about a week before Christmas in Tennessee. I drank several beers that afternoon at home, went out about 7 for dinner, drank more at two different bars, and clipped about ten bricks off of a retaining wall at the adjacent condo complex, and not knowing who to contact, came home and went to bed.
The police show up about an hour later, but I was already asleep, so didn't hear them knocking. I suspect it was someone's Ring camera, but I have no idea who/what detected me. Somehow, they found out my mother's cell phone number (I live about twenty minutes away), called her repeatedly, and wanted to see if she knew my whereabouts. They were threatening to "kick the door down" under the auspices of a "welfare check" saying "I tore down a wall and that they were concerned about my safety."
The wall was not "torn down," some bricks were dislodged off the top of it where I clipped it with one side of the car. The damage to the car was superficial. The police said the damage occurred to the rear of the car - the damage was actually on the front. There was no reason to think that I was in any danger, or that a crime was being actively committed in the home to warrant "kicking the door down." Everything they were saying was either heavily embellished or an outright lie.
Eventually, my mom calls me enough times to wake me up. I go down to the door, talk to the police, perform poorly on FSTs, get arrested for DUI, despite (as far as I still know) the police having no proof that I was actually driving the vehicle at the time of the hit, or on my way home.
I talked to about five attorneys, and finally settled on one, though DUI specialists in this rural area are limited. He seemed to think the unique circumstances of the case offered avenues to defense. He was fairly reasonable - about $2,000. He had over 150 Google five star reviews, and a similar number on a legal review site. That was all I knew to do.
The first court date was in the middle of February. BAC wasn't back yet - to be expected. He said he'd contact me when it comes in - continuance was until near the end of April. About a week before the second appearance, I hadn't heard anything back, and asked him to follow up with the DA office. It came back at .23, over the .20 threshold in TN for seven consecutive day jail sentence, but the lab report was dated three days after the original court date in February. I asked him why he didn't put a reminder on his Outlook a month after the original court date to follow up - he said "he forgot."
Had I not pressed him on the BAC, it's unlikely I would have known anything prior to court and gotten a "surprise."
I offered numerous defense strategies. Maybe someone else drove my car, hit the wall, took me home, left my car, and took their own car home. That's plausible. Maybe I drank more at home, raising my BAC (at this point - I don't remember if I did or not). Maybe there could be Fourth Amendment issues in how the police obtained my mother's number within an hour, and issues with them threatening to break the down door when all they knew for certain at the time they came to my home was that there was minor damage to community property. I'm guessing now police are allowed to kick doors down for minor damage like this?
We go in on the second court date and get another continuance until about mid-May.
He wanted an additional $10,000 retainer to take it to trial. I talked to a couple more attorneys in the couple weeks I had, but decided there wasn't enough time, didn't want to bring another attorney in from square one, and I didn't want to drag this out for another year or more.
With the weird circumstances and potential weaknesses in the prosecution's case, I figured I might get at least the seven days knocked down to two. Wrong. Here's what I ended up getting. I report to jail tomorrow.
1) Seven consecutive days jail - no option for multiple weekends. Because I work from home, work release is also not an option. I started a new job shortly after the arrest (the prior job was the biggest contributor to all the stress-induced drinking at the time), and basically every bit of time off for my first six months has gone to either the jail sentence or court dates.
2) A year of supervised probation, though the PO is saying once a month call ins would be fine once everything else is satisfied. Hopefully all this will be done late summeearly fall.
3) A year IID and a restricted license.
4) 24 hours community service. This is usually three, eight hour trash pickups, probably done on Saturdays.
5) 12 hour DUI school (Monday/Tuesday evenings, two weeks in a row). Drug and alcohol assessment. Victim impact panel.
Costs.
1) Attorney $2,000
2) Fines and court costs $1,166.50
3) Probation and classes ~$840
4) Fee to get restricted license - $67, plus whatever the reinstatement fee is next year.
5) IID - ~$1,500 that I've calculated so far.
6) Insurance increased from $325/six months to $750/six months. Agent since I turned 18 when I lived in the area dropped me. Still, that's better than it was when I moved back to TN about six years ago with no DMV issues. This is probably fairly reasonable.
None of the classes, trash pickup, etc., can be done while in jail, AFAIK. It would have been nice to get those out of the way this week.
IMO, this is a hard hit for a first with minor damage. Yes, I had been risking one with reckless behavior for the last few months of last year as stress went out of control, but this would be life-ruining for people that don't have the work flexibility I have.
People say to get an attorney, but the attorney was absolutely worthless. He didn't contact the DA on the BAC. I asked him about work release, and told him to explain that I WFH to the work release officer. He didn't mention that - I called the work release officer myself, and he mentioned the WFH issue, the attorney never did. After the plea, I got a ten day court order to get the restricted license, but the interlock place couldn't get to it until day #9. Day #10 was a Saturday. He said he'd normally get the second court order when he was in court, but since he was out of town on vacation (and he obviously knew this prior to the plea), that I'd need to get on the docket and wait. I ended up calling the judge's secretary, the judge signed it, and I picked it up at the clerk's office. I'm amazed one of his staffers couldn't just pick it up on his behalf.
The attorney offered nothing but platitudes, caused delays and other issues for administrative things that likely wouldn't have happened if I handled things myself. He didn't get me a better deal - technically, while I got state minimums, I probably would have gotten the same deal anyway.
The responding officer that night could have easily cited me for the hit-and-run and left. Clearly I wasn't going anywhere. The fact that the police will "kick the door down" for minor property damage on a retaining wall at night in a community property condo complex is terrifying to me. I've been wanting out of this area for quite awhile for various reasons, but this was the last straw. Once the post-sentence stuff is taken care of, the PO doesn't mind if I move as long as I remain in touch until it rolls off next year.
Does anyone else think they got completely railroaded?

TLDR: Terminated at will after two months when I mentionted abusive behavior, illegal water dumping, city permit bs, not using my own credit card and wouldn't stay until 11pm and theft occurred on my car ‐-----------------------------------------------------------------
Long story: I worked for a GC and was at will terminated. The VP stated it was due poor performance and some miscommunication about my work hours. Please note I cut out a lot to not make this a novel
I had expressed concerns both face to face and via email about illegal activities and several other concerns listed below
1) They(super and PM) illegally dumpedbwater into the sewer during rain events to hide it.
I applied for a discharge permit with the city and the city helped me fill it out. 3 weeks later they say it was wrong and I need to resubmit with water district approval and a discharge plan. I was not told this when i originally submitted
I go to the water district and fill out the permit with them. Only thing from the application missing was the sewer number. It's not on the plans and the civil eng asks the city in a meeting about it. They say schedule appointment with public works.
During the appointment pw says no storm water can go into the sewer and refuse to give me a number. I submit the imcompete water district permit to the water district. The water district gets back to me and days I submitted the wrong form. I fill out the correct form and resubmit it. We need water testing and after calling aroind find a lab drown the street that isn't listed in their site. Due to an adjacent lot having a leaking underwater well we had to test for additional contaminants. I submitted the testing results to the water district and they went me an approval via mail. I had an appointment scheduled for this upcoming week but I was fired Friday.
2)RFIs. My super bombard me with RFIs. Like 5 a day that were for work we wernt preforming. I asked him to email me the rfis and he said he preferred telling me in person. He wouldn't give a proposed solution as he didn't want to be liable. Would Hand draw things that I would need to mark up in bluebeam. I would go over what we talked about and show my super and he would say it was okay. when I sent him the final version he would be like that's not right change this and that. We would repeat this cycle at least twice. I would sent the final version to my super and PM and once approved by them I would submit it.
I asked if we should be involving the responsible sub and he said he was the super and they would build it the way he told them to. I told him they were the subject matter experts. When I brought it up to my PM he said he didn't want to tell the super how to run his job. But he had Ran into this on different jobs with the super
I went back to my job description and highlighted where it says all rfis should have a proposed solution and I should be reviewing RFIs submitted by subs and my PM emailed back that basically oh well we're gonna do it this way.
There were a several times me PM would say to put in an RFI and i would say wait this was addressed in a previous RFI or the upcoming bulletin and he would say no its not put it in. The design team would get annoyed and say this was already addressed and when I would show my PM he would be like okay well just void it
There were other times when the design team would come back with an answer my super didn't like so I would have to create a follow up. I would tell my super this is why we need to give a proposed solution ans he would yell he didn't want to be liable.
3) forms of payments . The company used checks for payments it would take up to a day to get them. If they're hot maybe a few hours. The company card was only to be used for emergencies and could not have the available credit left to use. My super expected me to use my credit card for expenses that came up last minute and he Was annoyed I wouldn't use my cc. I asked both my super,PM and project executive if they would use their cc and only the project executive told me he would as an last resort . My super would tell me at 2pm telling me he needed a payment for an inspection when the office for inspections closed at 230 and my options were pay In person or online. My PM ans super did not want me to use an echeck they wanted me to go to the main office get a check them go to the city and pay. That couldn't be done in 30 mins or even an hour.
4) My super was rude. He would yell and tell me he couldn't believe I didn't know something. I Walked into a convo where he was talking shit about me and my PM just said i know. When I addressed this with my super,PM and project executive they said well he's old school and you need to grow a thick skin and not take things personally. I talked to the super directly every time it happened. I emailed and talked to HR about this. He would tell our capenters he didn't care how they got shit done just do it and talk down to them. He was rude to subs
5) Internet was non existent the first month I was there. The company only had bluebeam on a vm program. I need that every day using the program was painfully slow due to the internet. To the point it would take 5 mins to load a page. After discussing with my PM I reached out to IT. I followed up after no reply and my PM let me know it would be expensive to upgrade the Internet and they were annoyed I was making a big deal of it. I asked if I could come into the office until it was fixed and was told I needed to be on-site. During this time I was hot spotting my work phone for a better connection but it was still slow. Finally it was I was told I could come in two days a week and they would get me a desk. However I never got a desk and was only allowed to come in one day. If u wanted to come in two days my PM would say no or say he wasn't above the super and needed to ask him.
6) submittals I replaced another PE that got moved off the project to replace another PE that quit. For 3 months the PM did nothing with submittals and waited until my second day during orientation to send me 10 submittals he wanted submitted by EOD. My PM didn't know the system we used to submit Submittals and had the previous PE give me a quick training. I used Google and figured it out on my own. I found some issues with some submittals and marked them up. My PM disregarded my comments and instructed me to submit them as they were minor and the design team rejected them and was annoyed with me. I was having trouble getting in contact with the subs. They wouldn't answer my calls but they would for my super and PM. My project executive said well My expectation is that you work until the work is done. He stayed he stayed until 8 or 11pm some nights. I informed him I was doing 10 hour days but under no circumstance would I be working until 8
7)Note taking my super would not follow the agenda and would skip around. When asked if we could follow the agenda he would start yelling and storm off. I asked if he would like the agenda moved around he would say no.
He gave me an agenda for our sub meetings and then he didn't follow it. It just made it so hard to take accurate notes. Both myself and my PM brought it up to him but he did not care.
8) during all of this my catalytic converter and O2 sensor were stolen at work. I drove the car back on the highway but man was it loud and the fumes were terrible. I called my boss on the way to a shop and he was sympathetic but the next day he was like well why don't you buy a new car? And my super was like can you rent one. I informed them I was too young to rent a car and I would was handling it via insurance. I also reminded them new cars have catalytic converters and this wasnt a like oh my transmission blew, my car was vandlized. I informed them Until I got my car back I would be taking public transportation so I couldn't stay too late as I didn't wanna walk by myself as I didn't feel safe. I could however work on public transportation so I would continue 10 hour days. I was able to use a family members car on some days but they would make me late so I stuck to Public transportation. my PM said I could park the car in the project gates when i got it back. The super lost his shit bcg car would be infront of his blocking him as he left before me. My super kept asking when I would get my car back. I was telling him I needed a police report to make a claim and then I needed the shop to send their estimate and parts were delayed due to supply chain issues.
I feel defeated and am unsure what to do next. I have applied for unemployment and am applying for jobs, working with recruiters and am reaching out to my network. I am trying to not let this sour me about construction but idk if I wamma work in this industry anymore

My mom and I only started binging the show because we are going to Fargo in the summer. We did it as a joke but it’s a great show!
We’re on Season 3 and, I gotta say, it’s my least favorite season thus far. It’s getting better now that Wes is here (I gotta admit Wes is my favorite character) but it felt like I was dragging through.
Season One is my favorite so far. It was full of excitement and had a lot of characters I enjoyed. Season Two was honestly awesome too. I love Lou and h getting to see his character. Part of why Season 3 is my least favorite thus far is definitely Varga. The ick is unreal. Season 4 looks promising and I’m wondering when Season 5 comes out.
What about y’all? Got a favorite season? A least favorite?

OK, time to sit up straight because I am going to spill some tough love on the men in the community.
This is regarding online dating. This is supposed to serve as a compass for you to navigate yourself correctly through the journey.
This piece is based on three things:
- My own experience with online dating.
- Insights uncovered while helping three cis-gendered, male friends with their dating-app profiles to understand the 'why'(s) and 'how'(s) of Communication and Perception in dating.
- Over a decade of being a Communication and Strategy professional in the corporate sector.
​
(However, if you use dating apps for one-night stands and casual relationships, you can stop here. This post may end up wasting your time.)
​
1) First of all — treat yourself like a 'product' and position yourself accordingly in the market.
Take time to:
- Understand your SWOT.
- Understand your competitor (it is not who you think it is).
- Understand your consumer.
I will elaborate on each one of these later.
​
2) Understand your SWOT:
SWOT stands for Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat.
Map it out for yourself, and then...
Work on actually having a personality.
What does not count as 'Personality'?
Going to the gym is not your whole personality.
Your bike/car, or your love for them cannot be your whole personality.
Your height, colour of your eyes etc are not your personality.
BladerunneRPG is not your whole personality.
F.R.I.E.N.D.S. cannot be your whole personality.
And your job, definitely, is not your whole personality.
Therefore, when you put 3 out of 5 pictures from your gym, it puts you in a very crowded room that is jam-packed with other gym-goers, lumping your whole personality as a 'Gym Bro'.
When you lack personality, then it is not that you aren't 6'3" tall and hence women aren't choosing you. Learn to see things for what they are.
Ok, but what is Personality then?
Personality is a combination of goals, fears, aspirations, dreams, hopes, likes, dislikes, beliefs etc — attributes that make you 'you'.
Capitalize on each one of these.
Learn to leverage even your weakness by leaning into it.
For example, if you are a guy who is not a fan of English language, and can't for the life of you understand why people don't speak in Hindi, then why are you writing your profile in English, and slogging your posterior off to attract a Starbucks-sipping chica who may not value what you bring to the table?
Instead, channel your inner Harishankar Parsai and write your profile in Hindi.
When you do that, you will have automatically sifted out anyone who is judgmental about your preferred language, and in fact, you may end up attracting someone who will help you paint the town red over this shared interest!
So, keeping everything aside, understand who you are. The better you understand yourself, the easier the dynamics are going to be.
​
3) Learn. To. Write. Sentences.
Complete sentences. With commas, em dashes, and colons.
Do not put five pictures on your profile with one or two words answers to prompts. Learn to put together coherent thoughts.
It shows your ability to express yourself.
Also, expressing yourself is cool.
Stoicism is fine but Zeno of Citium and Marcus Aurelius did not have to spend their life getting left-swiped in the era that is striving to ensure gender equality. Nor were they fighting battles in a hyper-individualistic world.
They had armies to keep them together. Remember this.
​

Language was invented for one reason, boys--- to woo women---and in that endeavor, laziness will not do.
Dead Poet Society

​
4) Re-evaluate your brand-messaging. (Understand your consumer)
Do all/most of your pictures have you posing next to a Merc/BMW etc, and then you cry about attracting gold-diggers?
If you are not looking to attract gold-diggers, tell us what do you bring to the table? Do you have skills required for 'adulting' like keeping a house, planning a meal and ordering for grocery? Do you know basic cooking? If your mom (or someone else) does it all for you, pause dating for a while and contribute to unpaid efforts that go in keeping you alive.
What does it do, you ask?
It softens rough edges of your personality, develops emotional maturity and an ability to estimate and take on the impact of silent mental load. It gives you something real to talk about. It gives the other person something relatable to benchmark you against.
Relationships are much more than booking OYO for a few hours.
(There is a reason your cool collection of Legos cannot be a part of this 'what you bring to the table' exercise. I will explain it later.) Assess if you actually have a personality or are you a humanoid who can code (or whatever else it is that you do), and otherwise bring very little to the table.
​
5) Speaking of Gold Diggers...
Some of you men disintegrate and combust into flames the minute a girl tells you that she is looking for someone who is better off financially (or has a benchmark that requires money).
Why?
Do you not switch your job for better prospects?
Do you not look for someone way hotteprettie smarter than you are?
How are women not allowed to have a richer partner? Please explain.
(I am not asking whether she is a student, banking on dad's money, or hustling at work herself in this case. It does not matter. If you have a wishlist, she too has one. Can you match up? No? Move on then. What is the logic behind becoming bitter about it?)
​
6) To attract the right mate, you need to become the right mate.
For some weird reason, one of the friends I was helping said something that meant something like he will straighten up for the right girl.
Bro, what.
This is not how it works. It, in fact, works the other way round.
You focus on becoming the right person and that takes you one step closer to finding 'the one'. If you are a mess when the right one comes along, they are likely to walk right past you.
You dress up and then go to the bus-stop, wait for the right bus, and board it when it reaches the bus-stop you are at. You don't show up at the bus stop nude and start dressing up the minute your bus pulls up.
​
7) "bUt dOn't wOMEn waNt eQuality?"
They do.
Plus, nobody is trying to rip you off of the four pennies you have saved after 5 years of grind and hustle. Last of all women who have worked their *ss off and fought centuries of patriarchy to get a seat at the table.
Women like to pay for their meals happily, at least the ones I know. However, there will be some who will expect you to foot the bill. It is possible that she is looking for a mate who can afford to take her out for dates totally on his own. She is well within her rights to have this expectation. And you are well within yours to refuse to meet it.
If such is the case, do not let this make you salty and call her a 'gold-digger'.
It is indicative of a poverty-mindset towards money. Instead, use it as marker to understand your relationship with money.
But that aside, if you cannot afford to take both of you out for a coffee/desserts date, take a break from dating and work on your financial health first, because it will keep you stressed and while you cry about having to pay for coffee, another dude would sweep her off her feet because...
...most women may not be looking for you to have 10 billion dollars in your bank account, but in case you both intend on getting married and having a family together, they have a right to assess if you can afford the fact that she can take some time off her work and look after herself (after the delivery) and the baby without your family getting driven to poverty. I understand Maternity leaves and all, but women's brains are prepared to deal with the worst, and they factor in everything and more, even if subconsciously. It contributes to them feeling 'safe' regarding the future. (Not all women, but many. And this is no sin.)
(I am talking about an average scenario. If you are a person whose dynamics worked out in a circumstance different from this, good for you. I have approximated this basis what my guy friends came across in the dating pool. This depends on the privileges, level of education, upbringing, mindset etc, and sometimes varies from person to person within the same family.)
​
8) Speaking of Equality...
... I hope your house-keeping, care-taking, and cooking skills are in alignment with the kind of contribution you are expecting from your partner in terms of finances.
Equality is not a one-way street. And no, I 'let her' drink is not Equality.
​
9) If you are looking for a one-night-stand, state it upfront, the first thing. For some weird reason, the max amount of respect is garnered by guys who mention this right in the beginning. Or, better still, mention it on your profile itself, saves everyone the hassle.
​
10) Emotional Intelligence
There will be m-a-n-y things, in life and on the internet, that you may not like. If at all, this is where you need to practice Stoicism.
Don't believe that there should be more genders than two? Cool, keep scrolling.
Don't understand what is this 'they/them' business in pronouns of individuals? No problem. Put forth your point in a civilized manner and move on. You don't have to dunk on people.
See a 43-year-old unmarried woman asking for advice regarding her love-life? Do you have something constructive to contribute? No? Keep scrolling.
Some lady wore sleeveless to the office? Unless you have something positive to say, keep your opinion to yourself.
See a 63 YO 'aunty' on a dating app? Are you interested? No? Keep Swiping.
Understand that the world does not need your permission exist. (Yes! I know! I am equally baffled!)
​
Your inherent need to straighten the World does two horrible things to you:

• You end up focusing on things that should be none of your business, thereby adding no value to your own life. At worst, you become an outdated version of your parents (who, by the way, might have still been relevant in their times) in a world that needs you to be hyper-agile in your mindset (and regarding your ability to change your opinion and understand the other person's perspective). But I understand that this may be quite a tall order for the majority of the people.

​

• Every time you hyper-fixate on fixing things outside of you, you lose the opportunity that could have either given you a better understanding of something you don't have the first-hand understanding of, or helped you focus on yourself.

​
There is no magic wand to becoming an emotionally intelligent person. In the era of tech and ChatGPTs, your EQ is what will make you stand out. Period.
​
11) Self-worth.
Pause, and understand your worth, (or the lack of it). Don't just randomly hope to be swiped right by anyone. If you are marred by low self-worth, it reflects in every aspect of your life, including how you talk. Take a break from dating and work on your self-worth.
Building self-worth is an inside job.
There is a friend I have who is a Coder by the day and a Baker by the night. Once or twice every month, he invites us over for an evening of chilling around where we also get to sample the latest recipes of cake, quiches, pizzas, and breads he has tried.
The dude is 35YO, the most zen person I know, has never had to be on dating apps because his hobby has everyone chasing him for recipes, 'let's bake together?' (s), ingredients etc. Not a one-night-stand sort of guy, so the street-cred works in his favor. When he dates, he sticks to a lady until things don't work out for whatever genuine reason there is. Once he and the lady part ways, both of them never bad-mouth each other.
Take from that what you will.
Working on your self-worth is stacking up of favorable actions, one after the other. There is no abra-ca-dabra to this.
Also,

• Refrain from becoming someone because of whom women have to close their DMs. Over time, you will lose respect for yourself, and that happens very silently.

​

• There is a difference between speaking the truth and being harsh. Your ability to learn the difference and the art will single-handedly be responsible for success in your profession as well as your personal life.

​

• For some weird reason, a 25 YO man from a Western country is far more emotionally evolved as compared to an Indian man. That is one part of it. The other part of it is that most Indian men are so surrounded by their own type, that they r-e-a-l-l-y will have to break a lot of cycles to even fathom what is expected of them. To break this cycle, educate yourself ruthlessly. Accounts like this may help you break the mould to some extent, but you will still need to break the cycle with respect to your surroundings. Hangout with men who see women in positive light.

​

• The women you are trying to woo, have their standards constantly reset by content from all over the world. You have to understand what you are up against.

​
12) Understand how Reticular Activating System works regarding attracting the right mate.
Reticular Activating System is explained the best here.
And how to hack it is explained here.
From Marketing and Communication stand-point, no brand spends h-o-u-r-s ridiculing and hating on the prospective consumer. Instead, they spare no efforts in getting to know their consumer and then tailoring their offerings to ensure that the consumer sticks around.
This is what I mean when I say know your Comsumer.
(Anyway, what is the point of hating on women throughout the day, and then crying here in the group at night asking for feedback on your dating profile to woo, drumrolls, those same women?)
When it comes to women, your competition is not another man. It is her peace of mind. This is what I mean when I say 'know your Competitor'.
​
13) What makes dating difficult?
Not the process.
It is you hoping that it was easier.
But this is one aspect that demands ruthless growth. Just embrace the pain and hardships of getting left-swiped on and use it to upgrade your mindset and mentality. But all the while, be kind to yourself and know that you are doing your best.
​
14) One last thing...
Analyze if any part of your childhood/teenage was chaotic or traumatic. What we experience in our childhood, if left untreated, goes on to become our 'normal' in adulthood.
So, if you grew up in chaos, peace would seem boring to you. You will constantly look for 'spark' instead of comfort and end up attracting damaged goods.
If your childhood was not peaceful, it may be worthwhile to consider therapy. Therapy is good, it brings out the gunk of the soul that you did not know you were carrying around, all the while stinking because of it.
If you are interested in understanding this better, read Letting Go and Attached.
The thing is, you attract your tribe.
If you are attracted to someone, something in them must have resonated with you. Surprisingly, many times, it is the toxity that binds two people together.
And toxity in oneself is the most difficult to accept.
To stop attracting damaged goods, you will have to heal yourself.
You will be surprised what a therapist can do. You may have to look around for a while before you chance upon a good one though. Twitter has two crowd-sourced list, in case you need: List 1, List 2.
​
Notice how I haven't touched upon topics like what you should write in your bio/profile or what you should message her because these things are a direct manifestation of who you are. They can be 'manufactured' but only to some extent. The mind games last only for so long. After that, you will have to work on yourself.
I hope this makes sense to some extent and someone. Take time to read this. I don't expect anyone of you to get all of it in one go.
If you disagree, happy to hear your point of view.
Thank you for reading!
Have a lovely dating journey.

Hello all - not sure if this would be acceptable or not - but I'm doing a Goodreads challenge of 100 books this year and I'm on book 29 now. As part of this - I've been on a tear reading books about the Trump presidency and what was going on behind the scenes from major political reporters, Whitehouse staff, etc. Below are some of the recommendations if anyone wants to see just how really fucked up things were beyond what you find in the news and online:
American Resistance: The Inside Story of How the Deep State Saved the Nation - Great read on some of the actions taken by regular federal employees during the administration to run counter to some of the insane stuff Trump was up to, especially his flagrant disregard of established laws, policies, and procedures within the federal government. This book honestly should have been like 200-300 pages longer in my opinion – fairly quick read but very insightful to see just how the “normal” government employees were doing what they could to deal with Trump’s idiocy.
Fear: Trump in the White House, Rage, and Peril – Authored by veteran reporter Bob Woodward, this trilogy of books covers the Trump presidency from beginning into the first little bit of Biden’s presidency. He pulls information from a ton of sources – many who remain anonymous to protect their identities/jobs from across all parts of the Trump presidency to open a lens into Trump’s decision-making and behavior when he’s not putting on a show for the cameras. Worth the time it takes to read these – I had never personally heard of Woodward or his work until I got off down the “Trump” rabbithole and I also have his three books on Bush on the way to the house right now.
Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost – From the senior white house reporter for the Wall Street Journal, this book goes into detail about Trump’s loss of the 2020 election and the elements that helped foment what eventually led to January 6th. Great read in conjunction with pulling out the January 6th report listed below.
The Big Lie: Election Chaos, Political Opportunism, and the State of American Politics After 2020 – This book – from the White House Bureau Chief of Politico – covers the “big lie” – or rather – Trump’s claims that the elections were “rigged.” In fact, he goes into detail to show that this effort to cast doubt on the election actually started before he ever won the 2016 election. Another good read to go in conjunction with the Jan 6 report.
The January 6th Report: Select Committe to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol – The New Yorker’s edition of the Jan 6th report. It looks like it’s a massive fucking tome, but the narrative portions are actually probably close to approximately “halfish” of the pages – the rest are long lists of references and notes between each major narrative section. I appreciated the way the Jan 6 report was authored by the committee because it read more like a true narrative rather than the Mueller Report, which was basically just a straight-up investigative report and probably not as easy a read for the general public as this is. This should be required reading for everyone interested in keeping this dude out of office, as well as getting insight into all of the facts behind what occurred from multiple angles – which conclusively proved that Trump was directly responsible not only for the insurrection, but had run several attempts to directly influence and overturn the 2020 election through fake electors, fake electoral slates, and a pressure campaign across the board.
This all culminated from reading a battery of books on QAnon, The Proud Boys, The Oath Keepers, and Chief Sund’s book on the attack on the Capitol, which is an honorable mention – in fact, I have the other officer’s book here as well, but it’s a few rungs down on the reading list until I get through the remaining books on Trump I have.
Those remaining major books are:
A Very Stable Genius: Donald J. Trump's Testing of America - About 3/4 of the way through this one - great read so far.
The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021
I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year
Front Row at the Trump Show
Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show
Donald Trump v. The United States: Inside the Struggle to Stop a President
Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy
Breaking History: A White House Memoir
Of the many, many negative impacts of social media and being in an “always-connected” world is that we have started to collectively move away from taking the time to disconnect and actually read and research topics. One of the axioms I’ve always stuck to is that knowledge is power – and – you should always find out as much information as you can about “the enemy.” It’s one thing to hate Trump because of what you see in the news or his policies or the stupid shit he says online – it’s another to hate him because of the research and realize just how dangerous this person is and exactly why it’s imperative that he never be allowed to be in any kind of position of power ever again.
I have a library here of some several hundred books and am currently finishing up my second undergrad – this one in history (just joined Phi Alpha Theta) and am also working on my Masters through Virginia Tech. As I’ve gotten older, I have stopped engaging in “serious” arguments with people – especially online – because 9 times out of 10, it’s readily apparent within a few moments that they are either uneducated on a topic or ignorant of the facts. I hope that some of you find use in this book list. Trust me – it’s well worth the time to read through at least some of these to get a clearer picture of what was happening in the White House from 2017-2021.
Cheers.

Will there be a top 25 ranking system in the game? It would add so much immersion if the in game scoreboard showed the teams ranking if they are top 25. #3 Oklahoma @ #11 Florida State sounds much better with the rankings attached than if no rankings were attached.

If you are aspiring to be a GOOD tattoo artist you LISTEN to your clients. It’s going on THEIR skin. Especially if it is THEIR WHOLE ASS IDEA. Help them create the masterpiece they want and are paying you to create.
Yes, some people don’t know anything when they come into a shop and ask for an ink piece having no idea what they’re doing. I am not this person.
I had an artist come up with a sketch to an idea I had. Fully planned on having her DO the tattoo. Sadly, I moved away or whatever but still wanted to work with her, However, the piece wasn’t to my exact liking and I asked for her to change it. I was even willing to pay more for the end result. She didn’t WANT to. It was on her tablet, I know it wouldn’t have been skin off her back to work with me on the art. (I worked at this shop & they would show me how easy it made her work) IN the end she didn’t think it was worth her time to change it or listen to my concerns. Be it she is only a 4 year tattoo artist, and i didn’t want to fight about a piece so important to me bc she was too lazy to draw a few gem stones or make sure important details wouldn’t get lost over time.
I went to an OG I deeply trust and respect, with decades under his belt. He listened to me and re drew MY idea.
The previous artist blocked me after I posted my new piece, and honestly I’m irritated by her inability to listen or see that I really did want to work with her but her disregard for what I WANTED was crossing the line for me.
With as much as she’d point out ppls mental illness’ or how some can’t speak up for themselves to get the final outcome that makes THEM happy, how important it is to let them speak. With how much she fought me over my idea, that was going on MY body and meant something SPECIAL to me... if you can’t take constructive criticism, just say that? Don’t make people feel like they’re “too much” bc you can’t handle what they’re asking for. I won’t feel bad bc you WOULDN’T deliver the piece I ASKED for.
Photo on the left is her work. - the crown, watch and gems were lost, and it overall still had an unfinished feeling.
Photo on the right is my OG. - he added the gems, glare, sparkle in the terrarium and fixed her crown 🙌🏼 really made it POP
Maybe I’m just the asshole but with my meds changing and my mental state, I couldn’t keep this to myself. 🤷🏻‍♀️