Denver avs watch party
Tampa Bay Lightning Fans in Denver
2017.10.25 00:04 nosluoc Tampa Bay Lightning Fans in Denver
A subreddit created for Tampa Bay Lightning fans living in Colorado
2023.06.08 10:48 Nordic_Krune An occasion to celebrate (Twice)
 | submitted by Nordic_Krune to polandball [link] [comments] |
2023.06.08 10:48 Far-Ad9864 I don't think Ashlyn ever got over hunter. She probably hoped that they would end up together and knowing he wifed up someone else crushed her
Out of all the men she was with including her baby daddy i feel like she loved him the most. she was IN love with him. she just had a certain glow when she was around him. i watched the old videos where they did the videos together and she seemed happy and always laughing. she was more ambitious while she was with him and lively. and now they aren't together she seems stagant and like she doesn't wanna do anything with her life. don't get me wrong, i don't think they are soulmates are meant to be. I think it's one sided. I think he is completely over her but she's still hanging onto him. and you can tell she was defintely attracted to him physically as well and with nate not so much. she wanted more of nate's money lol let's not forget she was even too ashamed to show his face at first. I believe she loves the security that nate brings as far as money but she was never in love with him. you can see all over her face she was in love with hunter. but hunter and ashlyn should have never got together in the first place IMO. they are far too different and she mentioned that various times in her Q&A's and videos. HUNTER is so quiet and laid back and she's the typical gemini who is the life of the party super extroverted and in everybody's face kinda girl. she's an over sharer kind of person. he is a private kind of person. opposites do attract in some cases where they can balance each other out but i feel like in ashlyn's case it worked against her because I think hunter wants someone more laid back and chill like himself and not so hyper and out there. I don't think they could appreciate each other's differences and instead of their differences complimenting each other they clashed. defintely feel like ren is a much better match she's more lowkey private and chill like hunter.
submitted by Far-Ad9864 to AshlynVanhornSnark [link] [comments]
2023.06.08 10:46 phxics 3 days into ownership and I walk out and see this
 | Someone side swiped me while I was parked in my apartment garage. sentry mode didn’t catch it but seems to catch every tiny little thing instead. was wondering what the turnaround time for this damage is and what the total estimate might be, I’m thinking $30k. I’ve already scheduled it to be taken to the Tesla collision center in Denver on the 28th and I’m wondering if my best option is to go with them or a third party. submitted by phxics to TeslaModel3 [link] [comments] |
2023.06.08 10:44 Drakolf Dragon Rising- 22. Contact:
The morning after our victory, I led a small team of Paladins, Clerics, and Artificers, with Rogues outside of sight alongside us.
Well, it was more accurate to say that we took one of the military vehicles and carefully drove it over to the next city. The Artificers didn't strip entire cars bare on the street, they had to get it into a garage somehow.
This excursion was primarily exploratory, to see what we were dealing with at the end of our effective territory.
The blockade was a nice touch. We slowed to a stop, we got out, and we approached. When they raised their guns, I held my hand up, and we stopped.
"This is a formal request for a ceasefire." I stated, projecting my voice with the amplifier. "We will continue to approach, opening fire will signal to us that you do not value your lives."
We continued approaching, the guns still trained on us.
The person who came out to speak with us was more forced out, he clearly didn't want to be the one to talk to us.
"Am I to assume you speak with authority?" I asked. He looked at the other soldiers, he didn't have a clue. "Then I'll make this concise and brief. You will dismantle this blockade, you will retreat, and you will not prevent us from making contact with the neighboring city. Any attempts to prevent us from passing will result in your immediate capture, any attempts to harm us will result in your immediate death."
The standoff was tense, after a few moments, I began to count down. "Five."
I could see sweat beading down their faces.
"Four."
Eyes wide, terrified.
"Three."
They broke first, backing away, guns still trained on us.
"If your intention is to retreat, such that you can face us with a larger force, allow me to make one thing clear." I blasted their blockade apart, some of them screamed. "Your bullets are useless against us."
They ran, we cleared the blockade away, and we repeated this two more times.
Seeing the city after so long felt... overwhelming. I had completely forgotten how big it was. It was almost enough to not notice the checkpoint, and the fifty of so Humans who stood on the other side, guns pointed at us.
"I will allow one of you to shoot me." I said, walking toward them. "A freebie, use your highest caliber, try and hurt me."
The bullet that struck me ricocheted into a tree, The silence that fell was just as deafening as the report from the gun, they stared at me in utter shock, and then they all ran
Several Human civilians looked at the fleeing soldiers, then looked at us as we stepped out from our territory and into theirs.
"Oh, shit. That video was real." I heard someone say. "Look at that sick fuckin' armor." Another spoke. "Are they going to attack us?"
"Halt." I commanded, my troop stopped, the tension in the air was palpable.
"My name is Ruuk Stingtail." I spoke. "For the time being, I come in peace, and invite anyone who is curious to ask questions.After all, it has been a solid year and a half since we had any contact with anyone other than enemies and ourselves."
There was still tension, of course, but eventually someone did approach, cautiously, of course. "Yo, uh, can I touch you? You know, to make sure you're actually real and not some sort of weird animatronic?"
I reached my hand out and he touched it. "Whoa." He pulled his hand back.
Several Humans had pulled out their phones, they were already recording us. I quickly appraised the people around us, looking for anything we could exploit for our own uses. I noticed someone with their arm in a sling, it wasn't in a cast, but it was wrapped up.
"You there." I said, pointing at him. He pointed at himself. "Yes, come here."
He approached cautiously. "What happened to your arm?" I asked.
"I, uh, I tore a muscle." He said. "Doctor said I can't do much with it until it heals."
"Ruka." I said, looking at the Paladin of Bahamut. He walked closer. "Show us your injury, if you would."He did, there was the ugliest bruise I'd ever seen.
"Do you consent to having your injury healed?" I asked.
"What?" He asked, blinking.
"I'm offering to have your injury healed." I reiterated.
"Yeah, sure?"
Ruka gently laid his hands on the Human's arm. "O, holy Bahamut, heal this grievous wound and grant wholeness and wellness to his man, zyak qe coi."
The Paladin's hands radiated holy light, the bruise rapidly faded, and the Human stared at it, utterly awestruck. "Holy shit." He gasped. "I mean-"
"It is not taken as blasphemy." Ruka stated, holding his hand up.
"We are here-" I spoke, looking at everyone, "-to prove our existence beyond a single video. Circumstances demand that what we do isn't simply charity, but the means by which we can survive. For this, I am sorry, I recognize that in this way, I am using you." I paused, dredging up and wiping away tears. "Our people depend on this."
If we were to have any form of peace, any form of justification for war, we needed to be sympathetic. By taking prisoners, we made ourselves targets to any would-be vigilantes looking to serve their country.
By being up front about our intentions, we showed a quiet desperation, efforts made to foster peace, even though I had bared the fangs of war.
More Humans gathered, those who were sick or in pain, we provided healing. I told our story, of how we one day woke up like this, the struggles of finding ourselves in a situation where nothing was made for us, how when we were quarantined, we were forced to fend for ourselves. How when the mine collapsed, we worked together to save the trapped miners. How when we were blockaded so they could force us to die en masse, how we were blessed with miracles.
How, when we fully understood what our intended fate was, the people heard the wisdom of my Emperor and elevated me to the position of Imperator, and how I used my authority to direct our people to our first victory.
"I shall admit, taking those soldiers' lives brought us satisfaction." I said. "They had oppressed us, tried to eradicate us, we gave them every opportunity to choose peace, to choose life. I just can't understand how they couldn't see us as people who desperately wished for love and compassion."
I laid it on thick, and the Humans ate it up.
Before long, we had expended our spells, and I said, "We will try to return, presuming the military doesn't try to carpet bomb us into oblivion, our prisoners of war be damned. I pray your leaders see reason."
We returned to our commandeered vehicle, closing the checkpoint so nobody could get in, and we returned to the city.
We did this each day we could, speaking words of hope for peace, determination to protect ourselves as needed. As always, we provided healing to those who needed it, some people even came, desperate for relief from something incurable, to which we did the best we could. Throughout this, I spoke of things to come, a thriving city, as much a part of the world as anywhere else, a place where we could share the wonders of magic.
I was asked, "Why do you close the gate when you leave?"
I simply answered, "If you entered, they would force you to remain, even though we know anyone who remains Human under the Divine Gate remains Human." It was an embellishment, but it was more poetic and exotic.
Throughout all of this, the military watched us like a hawk, waiting for us to slip up and cause some damage.
Days turned to weeks turned into a month, and we had solidified our existence to the world. We turned the checkpoint into our border, our Rangers found that we were completely sealed in on all sides by fencing.
I declared it the territory of the Empire.
"All of the land that the U.S. government sealed off belongs to the Empire." I spoke. "By locking it behind fence and gate, they have declared it our border, and we shall agree to that sentiment."
It was such a tiny parcel of land, compared to the rest of the continent, but it could comfortably fit ten offshoot villages, each which could connect us to other cities.
Construction of the new border wall began shortly after, the fencing uprooted piece by piece, replaced by solid stone proudly displaying the anachronism our lives had become, and even though there had been no agreement to peace, the U.S. government was powerless to stop us.
The moment I had claimed the land, the moment it was known to be claimed, my Emperor had claimed it in turn. By the end of the week, we had a new border wall built, one that was staffed with Rangers, Druids, Fighters, and Artificers. One that was connected by tramways, simplifying travel.
And throughout this all, Darastrixthurhi was transformed from a lifeless rock, to a city teeming with plantlife.
My Emperor held me in his arms as we laid on our bed. Sharing a bed together had always been a highlight of his being with me, his willingness to hold me, to touch me, made it all better, made it all right.
"Our enemy stalls for time, while we win the hearts of their people." He mused. "I can hear them praying to me, wishing for strength, for power, and I pull on them, make their hearts yearn. Tomorrow, invite them to visit, to witness the splendors of our nation, to feast with us in the name of peace."
"As you wish, my Emperor." I spoke.
"Ruuk, I permit you to call me your love."
"As you wish, slaitov." I replied. "Shall there be a day when we show our subjects?"
"I shall announce it during our feast." He replied.
My heart thundered, it was so sudden, yet... "Thank you, slaitov."
"Soon to be husband, Imperator mine." He replied.
When I announced the feast, the Humans who wished to join us were ecstatic. I even extended the invitation to the military personnel. "Come as civilians, if you would." I said.
The preparations that went into the feast went underway, we had a good hunt and our efforts to preserve our food was going excellently. When the Humans arrived, they marveled at the tramways, the architecture of our housing, our magical wonders. Some even saluted me, though they said they simply wanted to give me the respect I deserved.
I ensured they had the grand tour of the town, but when we neared the wall into the Fortress City, I spoke solemnly, "Any further, and you risk your Humanity." I looked at them all. "I would interpret any such entry as a desire to join our Empire, and will expect a pledge of loyalty."
The look of longing in their eyes showed me that my warning was largely going to be ignored. Hell, a handful of Humans walked right in, transforming almost immediately.
"It reacts to a want to become a Kobold." I said. "Anyone who doesn't want to might have a better time of it."
While our new citizens were given some proper clothing, I led the rest of the Humans around.
"Why didn't you stop them?" One of the Humans, a female soldier, spoke.
"Why should I?" I asked. "I very clearly stated what would happen, they made the choice."
I showed them around the Artificery, magic items and what technology we were able to make was proudly on display. I noticed one of them palm a device and walked over to them, holding my hand out. "Do not think we are not paying attention." I said. There was a tense moment before she put it in my hand. "Besides, this is just a little hand fan." I flicked a switch, two paper and wood blades extended and began to spin. "You taking this would have left one of our prisoners without any form of air conditioning."
I put it back, they tried to hide the anger at my casual mention of prisoners.
"Are they being treated well?" The soldier asked.
"Yes." I said. "Due to the lack of wireless signal, we allow them their phones so they have something to occupy their time when we're not putting them out in the yard for exercise or giving them their ration."
"You're forcing them to eat rations?" She asked.
"We all eat rations." I replied. "Feasts like this are for when we have a surplus that we can't guarantee to keep." I smirked. "That being said, as we are smaller, we need less to eat than the average Human."
I didn't pretend any of that was meant to be reassuring. "The prisoners will be joining us for the feast." I said. The incredulous looks I got elicited a chuckle from me. "If you think I'm being bold or flippant, we have them fitted with enchanted collars that will choke them if they attempt to flee. They are cursed, you see, and can only be removed with magic."
"That's fucked up." Another soldier stated.
"Inhumane, actually." I corrected. "But it's the only thing we have available that won't accidentally kill them. The worst that will happen is they'll pass out, a passive regeneration effect will keep them alive."
"Have you... tested these collars?" A third soldier asked.
"We have a small group of Sorcerers in the Warren who tried to summon a Demon for power." I said. "They have tested the collars every now and again, usually by fucking around and finding out." We approached the area where the feast was being held, food was already being set up, the prisoners were already seated, their eyes widened when they saw their fellow soldiers.
"You won't get away with this." The female soldier growled.
"Funny, that's what we said when we were locked in here." I replied. "They are fed, given water, are clothed, and are provided shelter. That's far more than we were ever given."
I directed them to their table, and soon, everyone was sat, except for my Council, and my Emperor. They arrived shortly after every one was seated, each took their seats. I sat beside my Emperor's seat.
I noted that same female soldier was attempting to film us surreptitiously.
"Today, we are gathered to welcome our Human guests, those who have seen us as people, rather than monsters." My Emperor spoke. "The establishment of my Empire was always a dream, to bring back a glory lost to time, to honor the thousands who died during the first Dragon Rage, to honor those who were murdered by my long-standing enemy." He looked around. "It had always been me desire to hunt down every last one of his children, to eradicate them, it was my Imperator who entreated me to choose compromise."
He paused, taking up a cup. "These Humans are here because my Imperator has likewise chosen compromise, to cast aside the hatred that has grown in his heart, for the sake of our peace and prosperity. Enough lives have been lost, let the first year of our Empire not be drenched in blood, that in peace and prosperity, our greatness is acknowledged, whether grudgingly, or emphatically. To my Imperator, without whom this victory would have never been manifest."
Every Kobold raised their cups, including our new citizens.
"And to our guests, who have agreed to come here in peace. May their wisdom be echoed by their leaders."
The cups were raised again.
"Now enough talk, let us feast!"
The Human frowned, putting their phone away. It was clear she didn't get what she wanted from that. After everyone polished off their plates, the people began dancing as our musicians displayed their newly awakened Bard Class- it seemed not simply playing or doing well at the arts was enough, one needed confidence and a desire to entertain.
Our guests were allowed to mingle and enjoy themselves, though the prisoners were kept under guard, any Soldiers who wished to speak to them would have to live with the fact that they would be listened in on, and considering the guards could use the spell Comprehend Languages, well, they wouldn't be able to hide beneath a foreign language.
"So, you're the leader of this little group." I regarded the Human who approached me, that same soldier who seemed bound and determined to catch us with our pants down.
"Yes." I said. "Your attempt at catching us with your recording won't work, you know." She betrayed surprise. "One, any idiot would know not to say anything incriminating at a party their enemies are invited to. Two, anyone stupid enough to do so wouldn't even make it as far as we did."
"Indeed." She said. "What was this about compromise?"
"Exactly as it sounds." I replied. "My God, Kurtulmak, has nurtured a well-earned hatred of Gnomes, considering their God committed near genocide against us. Imprisoned against his will, for the crime of wanting justice... When the victors write the history books, they will do everything in their power to make those who are suffering injustice out to be the bad guys."
"And what will your history books say?" She asked.
"That depends on your leaders' answer, Miss..?"
"Martel." She said. "Corporal Martel."
I had completely put it out of my mind, after all, we got our vengeance on the soldiers who tried to have us massacred by a God.
"So." I said. "The one who set Garl Glittergold against us shows her face." I remarked. Her eyes widened. "Why were you, of all people, not present that day, when we marched on your encampment?"
"I was called away on duty-" She started.
"Bullshit." I said. "You fled, didn't you? You ran from your fellow soldiers like the coward you are, you left them to die."
Arcane energy crackled across my body, and I had to hold back from blasting her apart. "Leave." I hissed. "This day of peace is not for cowards and traitors."
She backed away, clearly terrified. I couldn't hold back the anger any more, but I wasn't going to let her be a casualty yet. I aimed my spell at the metal pole, the Witch Bolt striking it. "I said LEAVE!" I roared. "IF YOU EVER DARE TO RETURN HERE, I WILL END YOUR MISERABLE, PATHETIC, COWARDLY LIFE!"
She fled, I did not care that several eyes were on me, if there was one thing I hated more than Humans, it was self-serving cowards like her.
I felt my God's touch on my shoulder, his presence soothed the rage, granted me the clarity of mind I needed to function. I cast my gaze toward the rest of the soldiers, who looked like they were mice caught in a trap. I approached them.
"You may leave, if you wish." I stated. "My anger at her is not anger at you."
"What the fuck did Tiana do, that pissed you off so much?" One of the soldiers asked.
"That woman was the one who called down a God to kill us." I stated. "The fact that she is present at all means she abandoned her post and left her fellow soldiers to die." My lip curled into a snarl. "The only thing I hate worse than anything, is a coward and a traitor, and that woman, Tiana Martel, is both."
I sensed a jolt of shock from my Emperor, I looked at him.
"Ruuk." He said. "Say that name again."
"Tiana Martel." I replied.
My Emperor about faced and roared, "Paladins of Bahamut, after that woman! Move!"
The Paladins gave chase, our Emperor did not order them around, out of respect for his pact with Bahamut.
"My Emperor, do you really want to risk any peace we could gain, chasing after one woman?" I asked.
"Ruuk." He said. "What are the chances that a single woman who can call down a God, who has knowledge of us that can be exploited, is suddenly not present when we finally make a counter attack? By our pact, your eyes are my eyes, and she has tried to cause problems the entire time she has been here."
He paused. "Tiana Mahtel, that's how she pronounced it, yes?"
I blinked.
"Wait, that woman is Tiamat?" I asked.
As if in answer, there was a roar, and in the distance, a dragon reared up, one bearing five heads of different colors.
[Navigation for 'Dragon Rising'- [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22]]
submitted by Drakolf to DrakolfsWritings [link] [comments]
Well, it was more accurate to say that we took one of the military vehicles and carefully drove it over to the next city. The Artificers didn't strip entire cars bare on the street, they had to get it into a garage somehow.
This excursion was primarily exploratory, to see what we were dealing with at the end of our effective territory.
The blockade was a nice touch. We slowed to a stop, we got out, and we approached. When they raised their guns, I held my hand up, and we stopped.
"This is a formal request for a ceasefire." I stated, projecting my voice with the amplifier. "We will continue to approach, opening fire will signal to us that you do not value your lives."
We continued approaching, the guns still trained on us.
The person who came out to speak with us was more forced out, he clearly didn't want to be the one to talk to us.
"Am I to assume you speak with authority?" I asked. He looked at the other soldiers, he didn't have a clue. "Then I'll make this concise and brief. You will dismantle this blockade, you will retreat, and you will not prevent us from making contact with the neighboring city. Any attempts to prevent us from passing will result in your immediate capture, any attempts to harm us will result in your immediate death."
The standoff was tense, after a few moments, I began to count down. "Five."
I could see sweat beading down their faces.
"Four."
Eyes wide, terrified.
"Three."
They broke first, backing away, guns still trained on us.
"If your intention is to retreat, such that you can face us with a larger force, allow me to make one thing clear." I blasted their blockade apart, some of them screamed. "Your bullets are useless against us."
They ran, we cleared the blockade away, and we repeated this two more times.
Seeing the city after so long felt... overwhelming. I had completely forgotten how big it was. It was almost enough to not notice the checkpoint, and the fifty of so Humans who stood on the other side, guns pointed at us.
"I will allow one of you to shoot me." I said, walking toward them. "A freebie, use your highest caliber, try and hurt me."
The bullet that struck me ricocheted into a tree, The silence that fell was just as deafening as the report from the gun, they stared at me in utter shock, and then they all ran
Several Human civilians looked at the fleeing soldiers, then looked at us as we stepped out from our territory and into theirs.
"Oh, shit. That video was real." I heard someone say. "Look at that sick fuckin' armor." Another spoke. "Are they going to attack us?"
"Halt." I commanded, my troop stopped, the tension in the air was palpable.
"My name is Ruuk Stingtail." I spoke. "For the time being, I come in peace, and invite anyone who is curious to ask questions.After all, it has been a solid year and a half since we had any contact with anyone other than enemies and ourselves."
There was still tension, of course, but eventually someone did approach, cautiously, of course. "Yo, uh, can I touch you? You know, to make sure you're actually real and not some sort of weird animatronic?"
I reached my hand out and he touched it. "Whoa." He pulled his hand back.
Several Humans had pulled out their phones, they were already recording us. I quickly appraised the people around us, looking for anything we could exploit for our own uses. I noticed someone with their arm in a sling, it wasn't in a cast, but it was wrapped up.
"You there." I said, pointing at him. He pointed at himself. "Yes, come here."
He approached cautiously. "What happened to your arm?" I asked.
"I, uh, I tore a muscle." He said. "Doctor said I can't do much with it until it heals."
"Ruka." I said, looking at the Paladin of Bahamut. He walked closer. "Show us your injury, if you would."He did, there was the ugliest bruise I'd ever seen.
"Do you consent to having your injury healed?" I asked.
"What?" He asked, blinking.
"I'm offering to have your injury healed." I reiterated.
"Yeah, sure?"
Ruka gently laid his hands on the Human's arm. "O, holy Bahamut, heal this grievous wound and grant wholeness and wellness to his man, zyak qe coi."
The Paladin's hands radiated holy light, the bruise rapidly faded, and the Human stared at it, utterly awestruck. "Holy shit." He gasped. "I mean-"
"It is not taken as blasphemy." Ruka stated, holding his hand up.
"We are here-" I spoke, looking at everyone, "-to prove our existence beyond a single video. Circumstances demand that what we do isn't simply charity, but the means by which we can survive. For this, I am sorry, I recognize that in this way, I am using you." I paused, dredging up and wiping away tears. "Our people depend on this."
If we were to have any form of peace, any form of justification for war, we needed to be sympathetic. By taking prisoners, we made ourselves targets to any would-be vigilantes looking to serve their country.
By being up front about our intentions, we showed a quiet desperation, efforts made to foster peace, even though I had bared the fangs of war.
More Humans gathered, those who were sick or in pain, we provided healing. I told our story, of how we one day woke up like this, the struggles of finding ourselves in a situation where nothing was made for us, how when we were quarantined, we were forced to fend for ourselves. How when the mine collapsed, we worked together to save the trapped miners. How when we were blockaded so they could force us to die en masse, how we were blessed with miracles.
How, when we fully understood what our intended fate was, the people heard the wisdom of my Emperor and elevated me to the position of Imperator, and how I used my authority to direct our people to our first victory.
"I shall admit, taking those soldiers' lives brought us satisfaction." I said. "They had oppressed us, tried to eradicate us, we gave them every opportunity to choose peace, to choose life. I just can't understand how they couldn't see us as people who desperately wished for love and compassion."
I laid it on thick, and the Humans ate it up.
Before long, we had expended our spells, and I said, "We will try to return, presuming the military doesn't try to carpet bomb us into oblivion, our prisoners of war be damned. I pray your leaders see reason."
We returned to our commandeered vehicle, closing the checkpoint so nobody could get in, and we returned to the city.
We did this each day we could, speaking words of hope for peace, determination to protect ourselves as needed. As always, we provided healing to those who needed it, some people even came, desperate for relief from something incurable, to which we did the best we could. Throughout this, I spoke of things to come, a thriving city, as much a part of the world as anywhere else, a place where we could share the wonders of magic.
I was asked, "Why do you close the gate when you leave?"
I simply answered, "If you entered, they would force you to remain, even though we know anyone who remains Human under the Divine Gate remains Human." It was an embellishment, but it was more poetic and exotic.
Throughout all of this, the military watched us like a hawk, waiting for us to slip up and cause some damage.
Days turned to weeks turned into a month, and we had solidified our existence to the world. We turned the checkpoint into our border, our Rangers found that we were completely sealed in on all sides by fencing.
I declared it the territory of the Empire.
"All of the land that the U.S. government sealed off belongs to the Empire." I spoke. "By locking it behind fence and gate, they have declared it our border, and we shall agree to that sentiment."
It was such a tiny parcel of land, compared to the rest of the continent, but it could comfortably fit ten offshoot villages, each which could connect us to other cities.
Construction of the new border wall began shortly after, the fencing uprooted piece by piece, replaced by solid stone proudly displaying the anachronism our lives had become, and even though there had been no agreement to peace, the U.S. government was powerless to stop us.
The moment I had claimed the land, the moment it was known to be claimed, my Emperor had claimed it in turn. By the end of the week, we had a new border wall built, one that was staffed with Rangers, Druids, Fighters, and Artificers. One that was connected by tramways, simplifying travel.
And throughout this all, Darastrixthurhi was transformed from a lifeless rock, to a city teeming with plantlife.
My Emperor held me in his arms as we laid on our bed. Sharing a bed together had always been a highlight of his being with me, his willingness to hold me, to touch me, made it all better, made it all right.
"Our enemy stalls for time, while we win the hearts of their people." He mused. "I can hear them praying to me, wishing for strength, for power, and I pull on them, make their hearts yearn. Tomorrow, invite them to visit, to witness the splendors of our nation, to feast with us in the name of peace."
"As you wish, my Emperor." I spoke.
"Ruuk, I permit you to call me your love."
"As you wish, slaitov." I replied. "Shall there be a day when we show our subjects?"
"I shall announce it during our feast." He replied.
My heart thundered, it was so sudden, yet... "Thank you, slaitov."
"Soon to be husband, Imperator mine." He replied.
When I announced the feast, the Humans who wished to join us were ecstatic. I even extended the invitation to the military personnel. "Come as civilians, if you would." I said.
The preparations that went into the feast went underway, we had a good hunt and our efforts to preserve our food was going excellently. When the Humans arrived, they marveled at the tramways, the architecture of our housing, our magical wonders. Some even saluted me, though they said they simply wanted to give me the respect I deserved.
I ensured they had the grand tour of the town, but when we neared the wall into the Fortress City, I spoke solemnly, "Any further, and you risk your Humanity." I looked at them all. "I would interpret any such entry as a desire to join our Empire, and will expect a pledge of loyalty."
The look of longing in their eyes showed me that my warning was largely going to be ignored. Hell, a handful of Humans walked right in, transforming almost immediately.
"It reacts to a want to become a Kobold." I said. "Anyone who doesn't want to might have a better time of it."
While our new citizens were given some proper clothing, I led the rest of the Humans around.
"Why didn't you stop them?" One of the Humans, a female soldier, spoke.
"Why should I?" I asked. "I very clearly stated what would happen, they made the choice."
I showed them around the Artificery, magic items and what technology we were able to make was proudly on display. I noticed one of them palm a device and walked over to them, holding my hand out. "Do not think we are not paying attention." I said. There was a tense moment before she put it in my hand. "Besides, this is just a little hand fan." I flicked a switch, two paper and wood blades extended and began to spin. "You taking this would have left one of our prisoners without any form of air conditioning."
I put it back, they tried to hide the anger at my casual mention of prisoners.
"Are they being treated well?" The soldier asked.
"Yes." I said. "Due to the lack of wireless signal, we allow them their phones so they have something to occupy their time when we're not putting them out in the yard for exercise or giving them their ration."
"You're forcing them to eat rations?" She asked.
"We all eat rations." I replied. "Feasts like this are for when we have a surplus that we can't guarantee to keep." I smirked. "That being said, as we are smaller, we need less to eat than the average Human."
I didn't pretend any of that was meant to be reassuring. "The prisoners will be joining us for the feast." I said. The incredulous looks I got elicited a chuckle from me. "If you think I'm being bold or flippant, we have them fitted with enchanted collars that will choke them if they attempt to flee. They are cursed, you see, and can only be removed with magic."
"That's fucked up." Another soldier stated.
"Inhumane, actually." I corrected. "But it's the only thing we have available that won't accidentally kill them. The worst that will happen is they'll pass out, a passive regeneration effect will keep them alive."
"Have you... tested these collars?" A third soldier asked.
"We have a small group of Sorcerers in the Warren who tried to summon a Demon for power." I said. "They have tested the collars every now and again, usually by fucking around and finding out." We approached the area where the feast was being held, food was already being set up, the prisoners were already seated, their eyes widened when they saw their fellow soldiers.
"You won't get away with this." The female soldier growled.
"Funny, that's what we said when we were locked in here." I replied. "They are fed, given water, are clothed, and are provided shelter. That's far more than we were ever given."
I directed them to their table, and soon, everyone was sat, except for my Council, and my Emperor. They arrived shortly after every one was seated, each took their seats. I sat beside my Emperor's seat.
I noted that same female soldier was attempting to film us surreptitiously.
"Today, we are gathered to welcome our Human guests, those who have seen us as people, rather than monsters." My Emperor spoke. "The establishment of my Empire was always a dream, to bring back a glory lost to time, to honor the thousands who died during the first Dragon Rage, to honor those who were murdered by my long-standing enemy." He looked around. "It had always been me desire to hunt down every last one of his children, to eradicate them, it was my Imperator who entreated me to choose compromise."
He paused, taking up a cup. "These Humans are here because my Imperator has likewise chosen compromise, to cast aside the hatred that has grown in his heart, for the sake of our peace and prosperity. Enough lives have been lost, let the first year of our Empire not be drenched in blood, that in peace and prosperity, our greatness is acknowledged, whether grudgingly, or emphatically. To my Imperator, without whom this victory would have never been manifest."
Every Kobold raised their cups, including our new citizens.
"And to our guests, who have agreed to come here in peace. May their wisdom be echoed by their leaders."
The cups were raised again.
"Now enough talk, let us feast!"
The Human frowned, putting their phone away. It was clear she didn't get what she wanted from that. After everyone polished off their plates, the people began dancing as our musicians displayed their newly awakened Bard Class- it seemed not simply playing or doing well at the arts was enough, one needed confidence and a desire to entertain.
Our guests were allowed to mingle and enjoy themselves, though the prisoners were kept under guard, any Soldiers who wished to speak to them would have to live with the fact that they would be listened in on, and considering the guards could use the spell Comprehend Languages, well, they wouldn't be able to hide beneath a foreign language.
"So, you're the leader of this little group." I regarded the Human who approached me, that same soldier who seemed bound and determined to catch us with our pants down.
"Yes." I said. "Your attempt at catching us with your recording won't work, you know." She betrayed surprise. "One, any idiot would know not to say anything incriminating at a party their enemies are invited to. Two, anyone stupid enough to do so wouldn't even make it as far as we did."
"Indeed." She said. "What was this about compromise?"
"Exactly as it sounds." I replied. "My God, Kurtulmak, has nurtured a well-earned hatred of Gnomes, considering their God committed near genocide against us. Imprisoned against his will, for the crime of wanting justice... When the victors write the history books, they will do everything in their power to make those who are suffering injustice out to be the bad guys."
"And what will your history books say?" She asked.
"That depends on your leaders' answer, Miss..?"
"Martel." She said. "Corporal Martel."
I had completely put it out of my mind, after all, we got our vengeance on the soldiers who tried to have us massacred by a God.
"So." I said. "The one who set Garl Glittergold against us shows her face." I remarked. Her eyes widened. "Why were you, of all people, not present that day, when we marched on your encampment?"
"I was called away on duty-" She started.
"Bullshit." I said. "You fled, didn't you? You ran from your fellow soldiers like the coward you are, you left them to die."
Arcane energy crackled across my body, and I had to hold back from blasting her apart. "Leave." I hissed. "This day of peace is not for cowards and traitors."
She backed away, clearly terrified. I couldn't hold back the anger any more, but I wasn't going to let her be a casualty yet. I aimed my spell at the metal pole, the Witch Bolt striking it. "I said LEAVE!" I roared. "IF YOU EVER DARE TO RETURN HERE, I WILL END YOUR MISERABLE, PATHETIC, COWARDLY LIFE!"
She fled, I did not care that several eyes were on me, if there was one thing I hated more than Humans, it was self-serving cowards like her.
I felt my God's touch on my shoulder, his presence soothed the rage, granted me the clarity of mind I needed to function. I cast my gaze toward the rest of the soldiers, who looked like they were mice caught in a trap. I approached them.
"You may leave, if you wish." I stated. "My anger at her is not anger at you."
"What the fuck did Tiana do, that pissed you off so much?" One of the soldiers asked.
"That woman was the one who called down a God to kill us." I stated. "The fact that she is present at all means she abandoned her post and left her fellow soldiers to die." My lip curled into a snarl. "The only thing I hate worse than anything, is a coward and a traitor, and that woman, Tiana Martel, is both."
I sensed a jolt of shock from my Emperor, I looked at him.
"Ruuk." He said. "Say that name again."
"Tiana Martel." I replied.
My Emperor about faced and roared, "Paladins of Bahamut, after that woman! Move!"
The Paladins gave chase, our Emperor did not order them around, out of respect for his pact with Bahamut.
"My Emperor, do you really want to risk any peace we could gain, chasing after one woman?" I asked.
"Ruuk." He said. "What are the chances that a single woman who can call down a God, who has knowledge of us that can be exploited, is suddenly not present when we finally make a counter attack? By our pact, your eyes are my eyes, and she has tried to cause problems the entire time she has been here."
He paused. "Tiana Mahtel, that's how she pronounced it, yes?"
I blinked.
"Wait, that woman is Tiamat?" I asked.
As if in answer, there was a roar, and in the distance, a dragon reared up, one bearing five heads of different colors.
[Navigation for 'Dragon Rising'- [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22]]
2023.06.08 10:40 Admirable_Session_41 Label A&R watchlist
 | I was at a party this weekend in LA and this A&R from some big label shared this with me. Apparently these are upcoming artist they’re watching build up in the underground. submitted by Admirable_Session_41 to PlaylistExchange [link] [comments] |
2023.06.08 10:19 Creative_Form_6212 18/MST/PC looking for some people to play games and hang out with!
Hello! I'm looking for some people to play games and hang out with. Now I play an assortment of games but ill get to that in a minute.First I would prefer if you were around my age 16-19 and he timezone/region can be whatever because my sleep schedule is wack when I don't work. I'm also looking for people who are willing to message each other. I also would prefer if you had a mic because it makes communicating a lot easier.
Now on about myself, I enjoy lots of anime and have seen enough to where I can have long conversations (a little too much lol). I've seen A LOT of it so I would be down to watch or even rewatch some. I like a lot of genres of games such as Fps, survival, space,rogue-like, automation etc. I'm a night owl when I don't work so ill be on almost the whole day. I also can have a dark sense of humour at times and don't mind if you have one as well.
Here are just a few that I have been playing or would possibly want to play
Stardew Valley
Valorant
Terraria/Modded
Valheim
Risk of Rain 2
Apex legends
Starbound
Guilty Gear Strive
league
Lost Ark (basically at the beginning)
and possibly Maplestory (idk looked interesting)
and many other parties or games of the genre that I mentioned. (also your skill level in gaming doesn't really matter to me, as long as you can have a good time while playing)
I'm also down to just be on a call and talk while we play different games or if you want to vent about your day.
That's about it for this post! Just be around my age and timezone and it should be good.
message me your discord and an intro about yourself (age, name, likes, whatever you want).
also don't be shocked if it takes me a while to respond sometimes, I get swamped with work quite often!
submitted by Creative_Form_6212 to GamerPals [link] [comments]
Now on about myself, I enjoy lots of anime and have seen enough to where I can have long conversations (a little too much lol). I've seen A LOT of it so I would be down to watch or even rewatch some. I like a lot of genres of games such as Fps, survival, space,rogue-like, automation etc. I'm a night owl when I don't work so ill be on almost the whole day. I also can have a dark sense of humour at times and don't mind if you have one as well.
Here are just a few that I have been playing or would possibly want to play
Stardew Valley
Valorant
Terraria/Modded
Valheim
Risk of Rain 2
Apex legends
Starbound
Guilty Gear Strive
league
Lost Ark (basically at the beginning)
and possibly Maplestory (idk looked interesting)
and many other parties or games of the genre that I mentioned. (also your skill level in gaming doesn't really matter to me, as long as you can have a good time while playing)
I'm also down to just be on a call and talk while we play different games or if you want to vent about your day.
That's about it for this post! Just be around my age and timezone and it should be good.
message me your discord and an intro about yourself (age, name, likes, whatever you want).
also don't be shocked if it takes me a while to respond sometimes, I get swamped with work quite often!
2023.06.08 10:09 WaveOfWire One Hell Of A Vacation - Chapter 89
First Prev Next Royal Road Patreon
u/KieveKRS providing the Trash certification of quality! (with help from u/coldfireknight cuz this one needed it.)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Nalah affixed the massive shield to her back, the rectangular form large enough for him to fit behind while only needing to crouch slightly. It was mostly ironwood, but the sides and front were metal-plated, so it still weighed a considerable amount. Despite that, the thing’s bulk hardly seemed to be noticed by the blonde-furred female, likely due to the constant construction work she involved herself in. It paired oddly with the long pike she insisted on using, but he couldn’t deny that poking at things while hiding behind a mobile wall sounded like a good idea.
Jax was wearing his new armour, the bulky chest-piece a mirror of his blond-furred pack mate’s. Though he forwent the protection a buckler or likewise would offer, he doubled up on gear. Gauntlets, vambraces, pauldrons, and anything else he could wear to compliment the massive axe he had taken a liking to.
Where Nalah was fitted to look like an apocalypse survivor—her protections limited to her torso, forearms, and shield—the black-furred male resembled a giant, if underfunded, paladin. All he needed now was some religious imagery and a penchant for exalting the qualities of their god. Joseph almost nudged the guy to suggest it for kicks.
On second thought, he decided that Jax absolutely did not need a reason to start yelling about the Human-turned-religious-figure, because there was no way in hell he wouldn’t. There was no telling what he would choose to say, and the Grand Hunter was perfectly happy never knowing.
Having been with the male as long as he had, it would probably involve ‘taming’ females or something else that would leave him groaning for weeks, if not just contemplating another high-dive from the cliff.
Joseph fixed his own equipment, the ‘Wraith armour’ worn over his own thin iron breastplate. He wasn’t thrilled to wear the extra weight, but it beat being mauled by the thing they were heading out to kill. The trips so far had been tolerable, fog and overcast skies keeping the temperature in check, but he didn’t want to go out in this on a hotter day as Summer really kicked back in. He was sweaty enough without baking inside all this crap.
He adjusted the wolf-skull mask, the rest of the hunting party having gotten over the worst of the unease it gave them. Though they’d needed to rotate people out for the sake of fairness, this would be their eighth consecutive scouting. Using the information that Raine and Faye provided, they narrowed down a likely stomping grounds for the creature and were systematically clearing sectors. It might have been discouraging to keep looking after so long, but the occasional marking on trees and the odd moss-wolf corpse tipped them off that they were getting close. There was still another week’s worth of searching left if today wasn’t the day, but somehow he doubted they wouldn’t need that long.
All in all, they numbered six; larger parties were attempted, but their efforts at stealth quickly became pointless between so many trudging through the forest and stopping for breaks. There was a bit of a scare where one of Mi’low’s pack went missing, but the guy had just stopped to relieve himself. Since the discovery was made by someone else knocking him over in the process by mistake, they decided that keeping the number smaller made communication easier. And lowered the amount of grumbling about needing a bath.
Jax, Nalah, two security members, one of the hunters, and him. Sure, grabbing Tel or the Wraiths would have been a bit more useful for cohesion, but they were all busy with things, and he didn’t want to grind everything in the settlement to a halt for nothing if the search turned up empty again. They were more suited to taking out their fellow Lilhun than some monster in the woods, as much as he disliked the thought.
Scarlet was spending a lot of time with Violet and the new Atmo, Faye was spending much of her recovery with the moss-wolves and moss-pup, and Tel was in the process of helping Harrow shore up the few security members that were slated to become snipers. Kaslin was still learning chemistry with Toril, and Raine was helping whoever needed a hand, so that marked off all of his usual accompaniment. He could have taken more of his direct pack, but they all had important things to take care of as well.
Sahari was managing the pack and putting people where people needed to be put, Pan was working with Idee and Heralt to make a line of armour for the whole pack, and Mi’low was...well, Mi’low. He was pretty sure she was unofficially the master of the hunter’s lodge and spent most of her time keeping track of what came in and out of it, while also making sure that everyone got their fair share. It needed to be done with the settlement growing as much as it had, and it kept Mi’low busy enough to stymie the flow of complaints, so he wasn’t about to complain.
They double checked that they had everything that was needed; food, water, arrows, bolts, and some bags to store anything that the snares had caught on the way back. Four ranged and two melee weapons meant that they would be mostly using Jax and Nalah to soak hits if it came down to it, the others peppering it with projectiles. Given that Harrow was insistent on the bear-thing being resistant to anything they could use at a distance, they also carried spare weapons for the ranged users, just in case. Nodding, Joseph gestured to the group finishing up their preparations for the day’s trip.
“A moment, sir?” Scarlet called to him as she approached the gate, the Wraith flanked by Rose and Cobalt. The two Atmo were decked-out in their own armour, which appeared to be almost entirely metal, save for the palm lining the inside for comfort. Each of their six legs were adorned with broad shields, their bases capped off with a flat storage carriage. They looked like someone had a little too much fun testing how much the insects could effortlessly carry and had ended up with sapient hexapedal tanks.
“Only if you explain why those two would look more at home if they had cannons installed on their backs,” he quipped, an expression somewhere between surprised, amused, and plain dumbfounded plastered on his face. The blackish red-furred female smirked for a split-second before resuming her usual servile presentation.
“The young mistress had extended her request for these two to accompany you.”
Joseph tilted his head incredulously. “Violet told you to send them?”
Scarlet nodded, gesturing to the outfitted Atmo. “They have been under her tutelage for some time now, and wish to be of assistance.”
The Grand Hunter snapped his mouth closed when he was about to ask why his daughter would teach them anything that might be useful for fighting a deadly beast. Of course she did; It was one of the first things he did for her. It would have been weirder for her not to pass on what she knew after all the hours she spent either seeing him coach the others, or being coached herself. With the time she had under her belt, she was the local Atmo Close Quarters Combat specialist, and no one else understood how the modified boxing she learned worked with their bodies like she did.
He wore a hesitant expression, shifting his weight to his other leg. “Well, they’ve certainly geared up.”
“It is a product our smith is rather proud of,” the Wraith affirmed confidently.
He exhaled slowly. “Seems a bit much.”
She seemed to be expecting the remark, barely pausing to register what he said before responding. “Your kit wishes you safe, yet understands you would not allow her to accompany you. These two wish to be of assistance.”
To punctuate her point, the two nodded in agreement, walking forward and slinging some of the backpacks onto their carriages. It seemed ‘no’ wasn’t something they were going to accept after Violet had said her piece. He sighed, conceding that they wouldn’t slow the party down with everyone carrying so much weight in equipment, regardless of the bags. They took breaks frequently enough to accommodate the Atmo, so that wouldn’t hinder anything either.
“Fine,” he relented with a wave of his hand. “We’ll take them. Not like they’d hurt anyway. But–” He put a warning into his tone. “–they’re not playing the hero and getting themselves killed. This isn’t going to work if they think any of us dying is still a net positive, got it?”
The two Atmo mimed their understanding, Scarlet replying with a victorious smile. Joseph couldn’t help but bemusedly roll his eyes. The female had taken rather well to baby-sitting, and that seems to have extended to humouring the young Queen’s schemes now. It wasn’t an unwelcome addition to their little sojourn. At least they could haul back any larger game without it tacking hours onto the return trip.
He thanked Scarlet for her trouble before dismissing her, confirming with the group that everything was accounted for, and set off before it grew too late. He wasn’t looking to get caught out in the woods during the night. The Lilhuns might be fine, but he was pretty well blind unless the moon felt generous.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Jax watched the two Atmo quietly follow on the sides of the group, their heavily armoured forms posing no issues with their naturally soundless movements in the forest. In the den, they would make moderate clacks and clicks as their chitinous legs contacted the ground, but the soft dirt and foliage stifled all but the smallest report of their travel. With Scarlet supervising alongside Violet, he wouldn’t have been surprised to learn that the former Blade had influenced their movement with the goal in mind, though he had never paid much attention to how they walked before to compare.
He had to admit, having them carry the additional equipment was exceedingly useful. He had proposed having the group use the newly acquired platforms on their more arachnid-like abdomen to rest in shifts, but Joseph was quick to insist that the insects were of lesser stamina than even Lilhuns. The phrasing seemed like a comparative insult, but Jax had more than enough experience with the Human to know that he had simply spoken his mind. To him, everyone had sub-par stamina. Training had gone some way to remedy the discrepancy, but the Grand Hunter could still continue for longer than even the most well-conditioned of them.
The black-furred male rolled his shoulders, feeling the heft of his axe shift with the movement. It was an impressive size, the weight well-balanced and its edge sharp. He had once laid it to the ground out of curiosity and confirmed that it was about as tall as Pan from head to haft, though only if she stood to her full height. Regardless of its size, it was still lighter than the armour he chose to don.
Having only really worn leathers or a few sets of ironwood protections, the encumbering prominence of the iron equipment took getting used to. It wasn’t entirely restrictive, but did put a damper on any chances he had of sprinting from danger. That was fine, he supposed, since he was wearing it against a beast he had no experience with. It could very well outrun him regardless, and he would rather have the defences in either case.
Nalah seemed to be doing fine, the large barrier she kept on her back swaying slightly as she walked. She was unhindered by it, her movements barely affected by the bulk, which was reassuring. Joseph, however, seemed to be panting more than usual, the rolling cloud coverage easing as the sun progressively warmed the environment. The fog from earlier meant that it was rather humid, and that seemed to bore no well wishes for the male encased in dark leathers and thick plates. He had even flipped down his hood, the sweat beading on his skin adding a sheen to his visage.
“I liked this better when the sun didn’t exist,” the Human lamented quietly, just loud enough for Jax to hear. The black-furred male chuckled.
“It would be rather dark.”
Joseph glared at him for a moment before rolling his eyes. “I just don’t rank ‘heavily armoured hike through the woods’ high up on my list of things I want to do regularly.”
“I believe that list would be occupied by your mates, no?” he ribbed playfully, a smirk arising when the Grand Hunter shunted his eyes closed in a grimace.
“I hate you.”
“I can see your smile underneath your displeasure, Joseph,” Jax quipped, nudging the male with his elbow, then giving an apologetic smile when his friend almost fell. Joseph sighed, waving Cobalt over and fetching a water-skin from the luggage that the insect was ferrying without breaking stride—though he needed to be careful not to get stepped on.
The Atmo always amused Jax. Be it their passive demeanour hidden by their towering stature, or his interactions with the den-kit, they never failed to be curious people. Having the two that accompanied Volta with them was an unexpected development, but he couldn’t claim to disapprove. If they had been imparted the methods of combat that Violet had cultivated, then there was little worry of them being harmed by naught but perhaps their current target. At least not until there was a better reference of its strength than the single encounter the first-years had so long ago.
At the time, it had smashed pillars and pierced flesh effortlessly, claws proving to be little more than tempting ministrations of tender touch to the thick hide. Jax only had some of the pack’s recount to base the experience off of, but was content to take their word for it. He was, ashamedly, preoccupied taking care of baser needs when the event transpired, so he was woefully unprepared for the eventual encounter. Still, he was afforded the best the settlement had to offer so that he might serve his duty of protecting the Grand Hunter. Harrow would never forgive him if only he returned.
His thoughts were disturbed by Joseph calling for a rest, Jax’s legs thankful for the break from supporting the unusual weight for so long. The Human dispensed rations and water for the pack, the Atmo waiting until everyone else was supplied before accepting their portion. They rested on their base directly, instead of curling their legs beneath them like Jax had become accustomed. Perhaps the armour impeded such, or they wished to remain mobile in the event such was required. Regardless, they blocked what little breeze there was, forcing the Grand Hunter to walk beyond them to enjoy it in the shade. It was short-lived however, as Rose quickly repositioned to stay between the pack and whatever lay beyond their protections.
It was a futile effort, it seemed, because it repeated again twice before Joseph groaned loudly and threw himself atop the carriage to lay back, his legs dangling at the knee. He seemed perfectly content with the unorthodox arrangement, snorting his amusement along with a muttered comment about a ‘taxi.’
The entertaining sight was marred by a distant yelp, snapping the group to attention. Jax and Joseph traded looks, subtle nods and gestures given to move out while remaining quiet. Ignoring his earlier complaints, the Grand Hunter flicked his hood up and donned the mask, drawing his crossbow and readying a bolt. The hunter of the pack mimicked the preparation, the two security members loosely nocking their arrows while Rose, Cobalt, Jax, and Nalah took point.
They proceeded quietly for far longer than the proximity of the noise would have suggested, but marks and gashes upon the trees implied a moving conflict. Thoughts of it being a lost cause quickly became moot as a closer growl and bark shattered the careful silence they had been maintaining.
Motioning for the pack to stop, Joseph waved Jax forward, Nalah approaching the other side. Using the large shield as additional cover, they peered around a particularly thick tree. Locked in combat were two moss-wolves, both attacking a truly massive grey creature.
Twice the Human’s height, half that in width. Four pillars as legs—the muscular trunks sinewy and defined—supported the disturbing hunched figure, the wide base tapering slightly into a thick and extended torso. A singular eye-stalk replaced the head, the ocular organ atop it pitch black and free of any indication of its focus. Four arms with deadly claws parried and sliced the two yellow beasts as they attempted to drive off the predator, a sickeningly large maw gaping to catch any attempts at a lunge. The mouth of the creature almost occupied the entirety of the available surface area upon its front, the jagged bone tools of manduction undulating with the promise of sustenance.
Joseph pulled them back, cursing under his breath as he tried to fight off the tension. From Nalah’s worried expression, it seemed his caution was rather potent, the other members of the group smelling his reaction as well.
“So, what’s the plan, Jax?” the Human whispered, his grip on the crossbow alternating with his fingers stretching across the trigger lest his fidgeting cause a misfire.
“I thought that, with your record, you would wish to tame it for the settlement,” Jax replied while thinking through a plan of action. He was glad that his friend trusted him, but he wished he had known the true scale of the beast prior. Joseph grit his teeth, turning to glance past the tree again with sarcasm pouring out of his response.
“Can’t quite see Winnie-the-woodchipper there playing great with kids.”
“You say that after adopting an Atmo as kit, Grand Hunter,” he returned, nodding to himself when a plan formed. The Human smiled, the banter easing the tension somewhat. “Rose, Cobalt, you two are the most well defended of us. Circle around and drive the beast this way. You should be capable of such without noise, yes?”
The two insects nodded, emptying their luggage behind a tree so as not to lose any of it before disappearing into the trees. The slight glimmer of their iron armour was the only indication of their position through the dense forest. Jax hoped that the beast was not particularly curious about the dimly pulsing glare, nor finished with its current altercation in time to impede the pair.
Satisfied with their progress, he motioned for the two security members to scale a tree and gain a superior vantage point. Their weapons would be able to maintain a more rapid pace of sustained fire at longer ranges. Joseph and the hunter were instructed to hide behind trees nearby, though the Human would need to remain grounded as his lack of claws made scaling the large flora difficult with his equipment.
Finally, Nalah and he positioned themselves much closer, in order to flank the creature as it fled the Atmo and occupy it long enough for the others to bleed it out, if not outright dispose of it.
With the forms of the Atmo peeking through the brush opposite them, Jax raised his axe to signal the start.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Joseph felt the hammering in his chest, his heart preparing him to fight for his life against the walking abomination that easily outclassed the only other predator that he had experience with. Sure, the moss-wolves were easy to take down once you had equipment and a plan, but that thing screamed danger.
He watched Jax and Nalah set up behind thick trees, their goal being for Jax to hopefully disable a leg or two with the war-axe while Nalah occupied it with the shield. As the two strongest members of his little family, he trusted both to do their job.
As a clusterfuck of animal and torture device, he had no faith in the creature playing along.
Swallowing his hesitation, he adjusted his grip on the crossbow again, mentally tallying his shots and cursing himself for not researching explosives. Sure, Toril didn’t want to be involved in that kind of weapon, but at the moment, the tailless white-furred male could suck it up and make one anyway. Joseph would give his left nut to see how quickly the chemist would make weapons of mass destruction just to annihilate whatever that thing called home.
Jax raised his axe, glinting the sunlight of it towards the Atmo. Receiving the start signal, the two clicked and loosed a deafening screech, the Human’s ears ringing even from this distance.
The beast seemed unperturbed by the noise, though the lack of visible ears may have had something to do with the lacklustre effect. Regardless, it did notice the two armour-clad insects charging at it, and smartly decided to extradite itself from the area. The moss-wolves, however, didn’t quite get the memo, mistaking the advancing assistance as yet another foe to defend themselves from.
He had to say, Violet taught the two well. They flashed their blades out in the same flicker jab that he had shown his daughter, and with an unceremonious squelch, the two bisected canines landed in four pieces, a vibrant green ichor now staining the weapon-like appendages of the Atmo. Undeterred by their first act of violence—as far as he was aware, anyway—they continued herding the beast.
It wasn’t as fast as they might have feared, its quadrupedal gait hindered by its proportions, but it was still quick enough to be damn intimidating. Its arms acted as a counter balance, constantly adjusting this way and that just to keep it stable. That thing was clearly never meant for sprinting, all its mobility being given to the overactive maw that pulsated with the exertion.
He readied his crossbow, the shaking in his hands not ruining his aim against such a large target. He eyeballed the distance between the creature and the ambush point, forcibly moving his finger off the trigger so that he didn’t fire early.
Closer. Come on. Almost.
Now.
Jax wound up like a particularly enthusiastic lumberjack, putting his full body into the rotation. The massive axe swung like a horizontal pendulum striking home with all the finality of a clock tolling midnight. It bit into the front leg of the beast, only sinking a few inches before momentum nearly wretched the weapon from the black-furred male. Luckily, the force and timing was enough to trip it, the creature crashing to the forest floor with a deafening roar of pain.
They could hurt it. That made him feel better.
His relief evaporated as the beast swiftly recovered, hauling itself from the ground faster than he thought possible, but his archers took it for an unspoken signal. Arrows and bolts peppered its thick hide, to no effect—it shrugged off the projectiles like they were nothing more than pine needles, none sinking far enough to gain notable purchase.
Jax hefted his axe for another strike, careful not to over-commit this time. Nalah prodded the beast wherever she could with her pike, the melee weapon sliced and skewered just past the surface of the hide, though not enough to do more than marr. It was, however, enough to gain the attention of the target, the creature swinging two of its four arms to rake across the shield that the blond-furred female held. The iron plating across the front let out an unearthly shriek as claws ripped and crumpled the metal.
Well, fuck.
Nalah was quick to react, treating the shield less as an immovable barrier and more like a slight distance buffer, dodging in and out of range to steal jabs with the polearm. The security members nocked another volley, picking different targets than before. An arrow bounced harmlessly off the black orb of an eye, another finding purchase in what passed for gums in its mouth.
The hint was received; aim for the mouth. Thankfully, that was a large target. Less thankfully, it realized that flashing its teeth was detrimental to its health, slamming the maw closed.
Jax managed another swing, this time into one of the rear legs. It wasn’t as effective as the first strike, but it did warrant a sweeping double back-fist from the creature, scoring Jax’s armour with shallow claw marks as he jumped backwards. Joseph let out a breath as he fired his second shot, only just narrowly missing the sliver of a gap between razor teeth that the enraged attack afforded. It couldn’t keep its mouth shut forever, each frenzied swipe pulling its form enough for glimpses of softer flesh within to appear. The hunter dropped from their tree, darting across to reposition for a wider angle to capitalize on. The creature noticed, lunging forward to eviscerate the easier target.
Joseph blinked as two armoured figures jumped in front of the Lilhun, raising their blades in a tight guard to block the four arms grabbing for a quick meal. The beast recoiled with a thunderous screech, two of its appendages sporting deep gashes that fountained blood, while the others managed to impact above the edged outside of the blades. Rose and Cobalt pressed forward, buying time and space for the hunter to collect themselves and scale up another perch. Taking advantage of its pain, two new arrows ripped through the air, smacking into exposed inner flesh. Two new protrusions joined the first in the mouth, one landing next to the existing projectile, while the other cleared the gateway of serration, driving deeply inside of it.
More flicker jabs and extended straights pushed and cut the beast as it tried to gain distance from the two that wounded it, every retaliatory strike earning it another gash in its grey hide.. Unencumbered by the constant barrage, Nalah thrust into its legs more vigorously, her body leaning into each attack to gain every inch of penetration she could into the muscle and thick hide.
Jax used the chance to score another chopping blow, doubling down on a previous wound to a back leg—striking bone this time, based on the unholy wail the beast uttered. Joseph raised his crossbow to land another shot into its mouth, but the beast flailed wildly to fend off the ambush.
Rose managed to block, Jax lunged backwards, Nalah deflected most of it with what remained of her shield, but Cobalt was caught by a strike, taking the hit to its torso. The Atmo flew backwards, rolling when it landed, the carriage and assorted armoured plates trailing behind it. Rose shifted instantly, covering the direction that their companion had been sent while Jax and Nalah focused on pulling the beast away from the downed combatant.
Joseph’s eyes flicked to the Atmo, waging an internal battle on whether helping the insect would be better or worse for the situation as a whole. He didn’t want to lighten up their assault if it would just mean more injuries, but Cobalt could be in dire need for a patch job. It was hard to tell from where he was.
Cursing, he bolted from his spot, firing off one last round into the gaping maw before clipping the crossbow onto his armour and sliding on his knees in front of Cobalt, healroot hastily retrieved from his pocket.
He paused, sighing in relief when none of the armour bore more than deep gashes, the carapace underneath unblemished by the attack. Cobalt clicked lightly, dazed, but otherwise seeming unhurt. Unlearned in the physiology relevant, he ushered the Atmo to remain out of the fight for fear of concussion or something similar. They could look at the insect back at the base to be sure later.
“Joseph!”
His head spun around at both Jax and Nalah screaming his name, a massive clawed hand sweeping at him—the monster's approach unnoticed while he focused on Cobalt. Lacking a better option, he lunged forward towards the underside of the beast to dodge the swipe, crashing to his shoulder on the dirt below.
The creature raised a leg above Joseph, pounding the earth scant inches from his head as he rolled sideways. Ignoring the kicked up dirt, he brought his fist to the underside of the beast, flicking the release on his bracer.
Blood spouted from the newly formed wound, the blade breaking at the mechanism as the massive animal lurched in pain, Joseph rolling out of the way of another attempted trampling. He scrambled to his feet, feeling the wind of another strike narrowly missing him.
Yeah, that would probably kill him.
Luckily, the injuries renewed the desire to flee in the monstrosity, the group of attackers proving too dangerous to continue challenging. It stumbled away from them, sparing Cobalt from its panicked trudging. Jax and Nalah started to run towards him, worry evident in their eyes, but he barked for them to finish it, redirecting the two to keep the pressure going. He didn’t want to mention the pain in the arm from where the bracer hitched. It didn’t feel broken, and thus was irrelevant.
Pressure applied, the grey beast picked a random direction free of opponents to escape, ignorant of the waiting security. When it was too close for them to shoot into its mouth at a decent angle, they slung the bows over their shoulders and drew the swords they had been afforded, patiently waiting with the blades turned down.
It passed below them, the two Lilhuns dropping from the branches to put their full weight into the plunging blades. Both landed on the large target, one sword sinking deep into a shoulder, while the other managed to pierce one of its hip joints. The beast spun haphazardly to dislodge the ‘new’ threats, both security members kicking off and finding new trees to set up in.
Whatever damage was actually done, it had lost the use of an arm, and its gait shifted awkwardly as the blade lodged in its hip worked more harm with each shambling step.. Emboldened, Jax picked up the pace, struggling to position himself with the amount of metal he wore. Ducking another swipe of its claws, he saw his chance and swung, pivoting with his axe as a counter weight. For the third time, his axe blade found the wound in its leg, adding a sickening crunch as the bone snapped from the impact.
The creature swung wildly, forced to favour its two remaining good legs, and the only other leg that could still support at least some of its weight. It was unstable now, the hunched figure swaying while unmoving. Unable to run, it decided to go down with as many of them as it could.
Rose caught up with the attack, drawing attention from the comparatively squishy Nalah as the blond-furred female deflected a wayward swing with her shield. The once iron-plated ironwood now sporting little more than jagged scraps of metal atop its silver wooden structure, a series of deep gouges marring the surface. Two lunging thrusts with the pike bit flesh, drawing new blood from the beast.
Joseph loaded his crossbow, getting off two bolts, but not managing to keep it steady enough to hit anything of use, his arm faltering under the weight of the weapon. Cursing, he decided to flank the beast and try his luck with the other bracer. If nothing else, the force in which the blade deployed was enough to pierce the thick hide, and the others were doing a good job of distracting it.
The red armoured Atmo let loose a series of directed swings, the fifth severing an arm in motion, the flying appendage forcing Nalah to raise her shield to block the unorthodox projectile. The female was sent sprawling from the weight of the impact, but the beast was too busy voicing its agony to take advantage of it. Jax worked another two chops into the broad legs, but neither managed to incapacitate it any more, and the prolonged exertion was slowing his reflexes.
As if cued into his waning energy, the beast flung Jax with another strike, the hunter of the group sinking a bolt deep into the cavernous flesh of its mouth to prevent an attempt at following up.
Joseph roared, desperate to finish it off before the creature could do the same to his downed pack. He sprinted at the monster's back and slid underneath it with as much speed as he could muster. Throwing his fist into the passing undercarriage, he let the deployed blade leave a long gash in its wake.
The grey monster lost its ability to stand, torn tendons, blood loss, and inflicted injuries taking their toll. The Grand Hunter kicked off his knees to fling himself out of the way of the collapsing figure, grimacing as the remaining bracer proved unable to support the abuse he had put it through. He looked back at the beast, the flailing body failing to right itself as teeth did little more than gouge dirt, its back exposed. Rose approached, raising their blades together and plunging it through the body over and over until it stopped moving.
Exhausted, the Atmo dropped where it was, breathing heavily. Joseph’s instinct to yell their victory was delayed as he hurried over to Jax and Nalah to confirm he didn't need to bring back bad news. Nalah seemed fine, if a bit sore from hitting the dirt and rolling, while Jax just asked to lay down when he heard that everything was over. Cobalt came over to the group, the armour that had come off collected atop the carriage it had managed to loosely affix to its base.
It was light, a chuckle originating from the Human as he slumped to the ground against a tree, but soon the entire group was roaring with laughter as victory settled in their minds. The two security members helped the hunter begin disassembling the beast, their contribution to the fight leaving them with more energy than the rest. They hadn’t been slacking off, that much was certain. The number of arrows jammed into the maw of the thing would have guaranteed a few extra seconds of survival and chances to escape if one of them had been forcibly tossed into there, and it had caused enough pause for the rest of them to get in a few hits up close.
Joseph rested across from Jax and Nalah, letting his heart rate slow from the rapid pace it had been pinned to since the start of the conflict. His arm continued its protests, but from the amount of movement he still had, he guessed that he had just strained the elbow. A few days taking it easy should straighten that right up.
Once the active members were about half way through processing the creature for hide and meat, Cobalt approached him, a mimed request for assistance putting their armour back on being redirected to Nalah since he doubted he could lift the damn pieces without hurting himself at the moment. She obliged, getting the blue Atmo back in full attire, though it took a while.
Rose stood first, stopping over to allow the hunter to place collected bits and pieces onto the carriage before securing it with whatever they could make due. A security member gathered the moss-wolf corpses for a similar treatment. Waste not, want not, he supposed.
Rose ended up carrying most of their spoils. When he was about to ask why, he, Jax, and Nalah were dragged to Cobalt and hefted onto the carriage. A series of confused questions revealed that the rest wanted to head back before it started getting dark, and it was pretty obvious who was the most exhausted of them. Lacking the will or energy to argue it, he flopped back on the Atmo as the trees passed them by, Nalah resting her legs across him as her head sat on Jax’s lap. The black-furred male didn’t so much as smirk, so it was clear he had pushed himself too far to quip about the arrangement as he laid down.
“The next time you wish to exhaust me this much, Joseph,” the Head of Security started after a long while of silence, tiredness in his voice, “I would prefer it to involve my mate and a bed.”
The Human snorted, closing his eyes and enjoying the lack of walking as the surprisingly stable Atmo carried the three of them. “Fuck off, Jax.”
“Of course, Grand Hunter.”
Next
A/N: Patreon is fixed!... aka new one cuz problems with the last. Check it out to support the story, get AI character art every now and then, or even preview sections of chapters as i write them! (aka, before kieve gets to fix them :D)
submitted by WaveOfWire to HFY [link] [comments]
u/KieveKRS providing the Trash certification of quality! (with help from u/coldfireknight cuz this one needed it.)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Nalah affixed the massive shield to her back, the rectangular form large enough for him to fit behind while only needing to crouch slightly. It was mostly ironwood, but the sides and front were metal-plated, so it still weighed a considerable amount. Despite that, the thing’s bulk hardly seemed to be noticed by the blonde-furred female, likely due to the constant construction work she involved herself in. It paired oddly with the long pike she insisted on using, but he couldn’t deny that poking at things while hiding behind a mobile wall sounded like a good idea.
Jax was wearing his new armour, the bulky chest-piece a mirror of his blond-furred pack mate’s. Though he forwent the protection a buckler or likewise would offer, he doubled up on gear. Gauntlets, vambraces, pauldrons, and anything else he could wear to compliment the massive axe he had taken a liking to.
Where Nalah was fitted to look like an apocalypse survivor—her protections limited to her torso, forearms, and shield—the black-furred male resembled a giant, if underfunded, paladin. All he needed now was some religious imagery and a penchant for exalting the qualities of their god. Joseph almost nudged the guy to suggest it for kicks.
On second thought, he decided that Jax absolutely did not need a reason to start yelling about the Human-turned-religious-figure, because there was no way in hell he wouldn’t. There was no telling what he would choose to say, and the Grand Hunter was perfectly happy never knowing.
Having been with the male as long as he had, it would probably involve ‘taming’ females or something else that would leave him groaning for weeks, if not just contemplating another high-dive from the cliff.
Joseph fixed his own equipment, the ‘Wraith armour’ worn over his own thin iron breastplate. He wasn’t thrilled to wear the extra weight, but it beat being mauled by the thing they were heading out to kill. The trips so far had been tolerable, fog and overcast skies keeping the temperature in check, but he didn’t want to go out in this on a hotter day as Summer really kicked back in. He was sweaty enough without baking inside all this crap.
He adjusted the wolf-skull mask, the rest of the hunting party having gotten over the worst of the unease it gave them. Though they’d needed to rotate people out for the sake of fairness, this would be their eighth consecutive scouting. Using the information that Raine and Faye provided, they narrowed down a likely stomping grounds for the creature and were systematically clearing sectors. It might have been discouraging to keep looking after so long, but the occasional marking on trees and the odd moss-wolf corpse tipped them off that they were getting close. There was still another week’s worth of searching left if today wasn’t the day, but somehow he doubted they wouldn’t need that long.
All in all, they numbered six; larger parties were attempted, but their efforts at stealth quickly became pointless between so many trudging through the forest and stopping for breaks. There was a bit of a scare where one of Mi’low’s pack went missing, but the guy had just stopped to relieve himself. Since the discovery was made by someone else knocking him over in the process by mistake, they decided that keeping the number smaller made communication easier. And lowered the amount of grumbling about needing a bath.
Jax, Nalah, two security members, one of the hunters, and him. Sure, grabbing Tel or the Wraiths would have been a bit more useful for cohesion, but they were all busy with things, and he didn’t want to grind everything in the settlement to a halt for nothing if the search turned up empty again. They were more suited to taking out their fellow Lilhun than some monster in the woods, as much as he disliked the thought.
Scarlet was spending a lot of time with Violet and the new Atmo, Faye was spending much of her recovery with the moss-wolves and moss-pup, and Tel was in the process of helping Harrow shore up the few security members that were slated to become snipers. Kaslin was still learning chemistry with Toril, and Raine was helping whoever needed a hand, so that marked off all of his usual accompaniment. He could have taken more of his direct pack, but they all had important things to take care of as well.
Sahari was managing the pack and putting people where people needed to be put, Pan was working with Idee and Heralt to make a line of armour for the whole pack, and Mi’low was...well, Mi’low. He was pretty sure she was unofficially the master of the hunter’s lodge and spent most of her time keeping track of what came in and out of it, while also making sure that everyone got their fair share. It needed to be done with the settlement growing as much as it had, and it kept Mi’low busy enough to stymie the flow of complaints, so he wasn’t about to complain.
They double checked that they had everything that was needed; food, water, arrows, bolts, and some bags to store anything that the snares had caught on the way back. Four ranged and two melee weapons meant that they would be mostly using Jax and Nalah to soak hits if it came down to it, the others peppering it with projectiles. Given that Harrow was insistent on the bear-thing being resistant to anything they could use at a distance, they also carried spare weapons for the ranged users, just in case. Nodding, Joseph gestured to the group finishing up their preparations for the day’s trip.
“A moment, sir?” Scarlet called to him as she approached the gate, the Wraith flanked by Rose and Cobalt. The two Atmo were decked-out in their own armour, which appeared to be almost entirely metal, save for the palm lining the inside for comfort. Each of their six legs were adorned with broad shields, their bases capped off with a flat storage carriage. They looked like someone had a little too much fun testing how much the insects could effortlessly carry and had ended up with sapient hexapedal tanks.
“Only if you explain why those two would look more at home if they had cannons installed on their backs,” he quipped, an expression somewhere between surprised, amused, and plain dumbfounded plastered on his face. The blackish red-furred female smirked for a split-second before resuming her usual servile presentation.
“The young mistress had extended her request for these two to accompany you.”
Joseph tilted his head incredulously. “Violet told you to send them?”
Scarlet nodded, gesturing to the outfitted Atmo. “They have been under her tutelage for some time now, and wish to be of assistance.”
The Grand Hunter snapped his mouth closed when he was about to ask why his daughter would teach them anything that might be useful for fighting a deadly beast. Of course she did; It was one of the first things he did for her. It would have been weirder for her not to pass on what she knew after all the hours she spent either seeing him coach the others, or being coached herself. With the time she had under her belt, she was the local Atmo Close Quarters Combat specialist, and no one else understood how the modified boxing she learned worked with their bodies like she did.
He wore a hesitant expression, shifting his weight to his other leg. “Well, they’ve certainly geared up.”
“It is a product our smith is rather proud of,” the Wraith affirmed confidently.
He exhaled slowly. “Seems a bit much.”
She seemed to be expecting the remark, barely pausing to register what he said before responding. “Your kit wishes you safe, yet understands you would not allow her to accompany you. These two wish to be of assistance.”
To punctuate her point, the two nodded in agreement, walking forward and slinging some of the backpacks onto their carriages. It seemed ‘no’ wasn’t something they were going to accept after Violet had said her piece. He sighed, conceding that they wouldn’t slow the party down with everyone carrying so much weight in equipment, regardless of the bags. They took breaks frequently enough to accommodate the Atmo, so that wouldn’t hinder anything either.
“Fine,” he relented with a wave of his hand. “We’ll take them. Not like they’d hurt anyway. But–” He put a warning into his tone. “–they’re not playing the hero and getting themselves killed. This isn’t going to work if they think any of us dying is still a net positive, got it?”
The two Atmo mimed their understanding, Scarlet replying with a victorious smile. Joseph couldn’t help but bemusedly roll his eyes. The female had taken rather well to baby-sitting, and that seems to have extended to humouring the young Queen’s schemes now. It wasn’t an unwelcome addition to their little sojourn. At least they could haul back any larger game without it tacking hours onto the return trip.
He thanked Scarlet for her trouble before dismissing her, confirming with the group that everything was accounted for, and set off before it grew too late. He wasn’t looking to get caught out in the woods during the night. The Lilhuns might be fine, but he was pretty well blind unless the moon felt generous.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Jax watched the two Atmo quietly follow on the sides of the group, their heavily armoured forms posing no issues with their naturally soundless movements in the forest. In the den, they would make moderate clacks and clicks as their chitinous legs contacted the ground, but the soft dirt and foliage stifled all but the smallest report of their travel. With Scarlet supervising alongside Violet, he wouldn’t have been surprised to learn that the former Blade had influenced their movement with the goal in mind, though he had never paid much attention to how they walked before to compare.
He had to admit, having them carry the additional equipment was exceedingly useful. He had proposed having the group use the newly acquired platforms on their more arachnid-like abdomen to rest in shifts, but Joseph was quick to insist that the insects were of lesser stamina than even Lilhuns. The phrasing seemed like a comparative insult, but Jax had more than enough experience with the Human to know that he had simply spoken his mind. To him, everyone had sub-par stamina. Training had gone some way to remedy the discrepancy, but the Grand Hunter could still continue for longer than even the most well-conditioned of them.
The black-furred male rolled his shoulders, feeling the heft of his axe shift with the movement. It was an impressive size, the weight well-balanced and its edge sharp. He had once laid it to the ground out of curiosity and confirmed that it was about as tall as Pan from head to haft, though only if she stood to her full height. Regardless of its size, it was still lighter than the armour he chose to don.
Having only really worn leathers or a few sets of ironwood protections, the encumbering prominence of the iron equipment took getting used to. It wasn’t entirely restrictive, but did put a damper on any chances he had of sprinting from danger. That was fine, he supposed, since he was wearing it against a beast he had no experience with. It could very well outrun him regardless, and he would rather have the defences in either case.
Nalah seemed to be doing fine, the large barrier she kept on her back swaying slightly as she walked. She was unhindered by it, her movements barely affected by the bulk, which was reassuring. Joseph, however, seemed to be panting more than usual, the rolling cloud coverage easing as the sun progressively warmed the environment. The fog from earlier meant that it was rather humid, and that seemed to bore no well wishes for the male encased in dark leathers and thick plates. He had even flipped down his hood, the sweat beading on his skin adding a sheen to his visage.
“I liked this better when the sun didn’t exist,” the Human lamented quietly, just loud enough for Jax to hear. The black-furred male chuckled.
“It would be rather dark.”
Joseph glared at him for a moment before rolling his eyes. “I just don’t rank ‘heavily armoured hike through the woods’ high up on my list of things I want to do regularly.”
“I believe that list would be occupied by your mates, no?” he ribbed playfully, a smirk arising when the Grand Hunter shunted his eyes closed in a grimace.
“I hate you.”
“I can see your smile underneath your displeasure, Joseph,” Jax quipped, nudging the male with his elbow, then giving an apologetic smile when his friend almost fell. Joseph sighed, waving Cobalt over and fetching a water-skin from the luggage that the insect was ferrying without breaking stride—though he needed to be careful not to get stepped on.
The Atmo always amused Jax. Be it their passive demeanour hidden by their towering stature, or his interactions with the den-kit, they never failed to be curious people. Having the two that accompanied Volta with them was an unexpected development, but he couldn’t claim to disapprove. If they had been imparted the methods of combat that Violet had cultivated, then there was little worry of them being harmed by naught but perhaps their current target. At least not until there was a better reference of its strength than the single encounter the first-years had so long ago.
At the time, it had smashed pillars and pierced flesh effortlessly, claws proving to be little more than tempting ministrations of tender touch to the thick hide. Jax only had some of the pack’s recount to base the experience off of, but was content to take their word for it. He was, ashamedly, preoccupied taking care of baser needs when the event transpired, so he was woefully unprepared for the eventual encounter. Still, he was afforded the best the settlement had to offer so that he might serve his duty of protecting the Grand Hunter. Harrow would never forgive him if only he returned.
His thoughts were disturbed by Joseph calling for a rest, Jax’s legs thankful for the break from supporting the unusual weight for so long. The Human dispensed rations and water for the pack, the Atmo waiting until everyone else was supplied before accepting their portion. They rested on their base directly, instead of curling their legs beneath them like Jax had become accustomed. Perhaps the armour impeded such, or they wished to remain mobile in the event such was required. Regardless, they blocked what little breeze there was, forcing the Grand Hunter to walk beyond them to enjoy it in the shade. It was short-lived however, as Rose quickly repositioned to stay between the pack and whatever lay beyond their protections.
It was a futile effort, it seemed, because it repeated again twice before Joseph groaned loudly and threw himself atop the carriage to lay back, his legs dangling at the knee. He seemed perfectly content with the unorthodox arrangement, snorting his amusement along with a muttered comment about a ‘taxi.’
The entertaining sight was marred by a distant yelp, snapping the group to attention. Jax and Joseph traded looks, subtle nods and gestures given to move out while remaining quiet. Ignoring his earlier complaints, the Grand Hunter flicked his hood up and donned the mask, drawing his crossbow and readying a bolt. The hunter of the pack mimicked the preparation, the two security members loosely nocking their arrows while Rose, Cobalt, Jax, and Nalah took point.
They proceeded quietly for far longer than the proximity of the noise would have suggested, but marks and gashes upon the trees implied a moving conflict. Thoughts of it being a lost cause quickly became moot as a closer growl and bark shattered the careful silence they had been maintaining.
Motioning for the pack to stop, Joseph waved Jax forward, Nalah approaching the other side. Using the large shield as additional cover, they peered around a particularly thick tree. Locked in combat were two moss-wolves, both attacking a truly massive grey creature.
Twice the Human’s height, half that in width. Four pillars as legs—the muscular trunks sinewy and defined—supported the disturbing hunched figure, the wide base tapering slightly into a thick and extended torso. A singular eye-stalk replaced the head, the ocular organ atop it pitch black and free of any indication of its focus. Four arms with deadly claws parried and sliced the two yellow beasts as they attempted to drive off the predator, a sickeningly large maw gaping to catch any attempts at a lunge. The mouth of the creature almost occupied the entirety of the available surface area upon its front, the jagged bone tools of manduction undulating with the promise of sustenance.
Joseph pulled them back, cursing under his breath as he tried to fight off the tension. From Nalah’s worried expression, it seemed his caution was rather potent, the other members of the group smelling his reaction as well.
“So, what’s the plan, Jax?” the Human whispered, his grip on the crossbow alternating with his fingers stretching across the trigger lest his fidgeting cause a misfire.
“I thought that, with your record, you would wish to tame it for the settlement,” Jax replied while thinking through a plan of action. He was glad that his friend trusted him, but he wished he had known the true scale of the beast prior. Joseph grit his teeth, turning to glance past the tree again with sarcasm pouring out of his response.
“Can’t quite see Winnie-the-woodchipper there playing great with kids.”
“You say that after adopting an Atmo as kit, Grand Hunter,” he returned, nodding to himself when a plan formed. The Human smiled, the banter easing the tension somewhat. “Rose, Cobalt, you two are the most well defended of us. Circle around and drive the beast this way. You should be capable of such without noise, yes?”
The two insects nodded, emptying their luggage behind a tree so as not to lose any of it before disappearing into the trees. The slight glimmer of their iron armour was the only indication of their position through the dense forest. Jax hoped that the beast was not particularly curious about the dimly pulsing glare, nor finished with its current altercation in time to impede the pair.
Satisfied with their progress, he motioned for the two security members to scale a tree and gain a superior vantage point. Their weapons would be able to maintain a more rapid pace of sustained fire at longer ranges. Joseph and the hunter were instructed to hide behind trees nearby, though the Human would need to remain grounded as his lack of claws made scaling the large flora difficult with his equipment.
Finally, Nalah and he positioned themselves much closer, in order to flank the creature as it fled the Atmo and occupy it long enough for the others to bleed it out, if not outright dispose of it.
With the forms of the Atmo peeking through the brush opposite them, Jax raised his axe to signal the start.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Joseph felt the hammering in his chest, his heart preparing him to fight for his life against the walking abomination that easily outclassed the only other predator that he had experience with. Sure, the moss-wolves were easy to take down once you had equipment and a plan, but that thing screamed danger.
He watched Jax and Nalah set up behind thick trees, their goal being for Jax to hopefully disable a leg or two with the war-axe while Nalah occupied it with the shield. As the two strongest members of his little family, he trusted both to do their job.
As a clusterfuck of animal and torture device, he had no faith in the creature playing along.
Swallowing his hesitation, he adjusted his grip on the crossbow again, mentally tallying his shots and cursing himself for not researching explosives. Sure, Toril didn’t want to be involved in that kind of weapon, but at the moment, the tailless white-furred male could suck it up and make one anyway. Joseph would give his left nut to see how quickly the chemist would make weapons of mass destruction just to annihilate whatever that thing called home.
Jax raised his axe, glinting the sunlight of it towards the Atmo. Receiving the start signal, the two clicked and loosed a deafening screech, the Human’s ears ringing even from this distance.
The beast seemed unperturbed by the noise, though the lack of visible ears may have had something to do with the lacklustre effect. Regardless, it did notice the two armour-clad insects charging at it, and smartly decided to extradite itself from the area. The moss-wolves, however, didn’t quite get the memo, mistaking the advancing assistance as yet another foe to defend themselves from.
He had to say, Violet taught the two well. They flashed their blades out in the same flicker jab that he had shown his daughter, and with an unceremonious squelch, the two bisected canines landed in four pieces, a vibrant green ichor now staining the weapon-like appendages of the Atmo. Undeterred by their first act of violence—as far as he was aware, anyway—they continued herding the beast.
It wasn’t as fast as they might have feared, its quadrupedal gait hindered by its proportions, but it was still quick enough to be damn intimidating. Its arms acted as a counter balance, constantly adjusting this way and that just to keep it stable. That thing was clearly never meant for sprinting, all its mobility being given to the overactive maw that pulsated with the exertion.
He readied his crossbow, the shaking in his hands not ruining his aim against such a large target. He eyeballed the distance between the creature and the ambush point, forcibly moving his finger off the trigger so that he didn’t fire early.
Closer. Come on. Almost.
Now.
Jax wound up like a particularly enthusiastic lumberjack, putting his full body into the rotation. The massive axe swung like a horizontal pendulum striking home with all the finality of a clock tolling midnight. It bit into the front leg of the beast, only sinking a few inches before momentum nearly wretched the weapon from the black-furred male. Luckily, the force and timing was enough to trip it, the creature crashing to the forest floor with a deafening roar of pain.
They could hurt it. That made him feel better.
His relief evaporated as the beast swiftly recovered, hauling itself from the ground faster than he thought possible, but his archers took it for an unspoken signal. Arrows and bolts peppered its thick hide, to no effect—it shrugged off the projectiles like they were nothing more than pine needles, none sinking far enough to gain notable purchase.
Jax hefted his axe for another strike, careful not to over-commit this time. Nalah prodded the beast wherever she could with her pike, the melee weapon sliced and skewered just past the surface of the hide, though not enough to do more than marr. It was, however, enough to gain the attention of the target, the creature swinging two of its four arms to rake across the shield that the blond-furred female held. The iron plating across the front let out an unearthly shriek as claws ripped and crumpled the metal.
Well, fuck.
Nalah was quick to react, treating the shield less as an immovable barrier and more like a slight distance buffer, dodging in and out of range to steal jabs with the polearm. The security members nocked another volley, picking different targets than before. An arrow bounced harmlessly off the black orb of an eye, another finding purchase in what passed for gums in its mouth.
The hint was received; aim for the mouth. Thankfully, that was a large target. Less thankfully, it realized that flashing its teeth was detrimental to its health, slamming the maw closed.
Jax managed another swing, this time into one of the rear legs. It wasn’t as effective as the first strike, but it did warrant a sweeping double back-fist from the creature, scoring Jax’s armour with shallow claw marks as he jumped backwards. Joseph let out a breath as he fired his second shot, only just narrowly missing the sliver of a gap between razor teeth that the enraged attack afforded. It couldn’t keep its mouth shut forever, each frenzied swipe pulling its form enough for glimpses of softer flesh within to appear. The hunter dropped from their tree, darting across to reposition for a wider angle to capitalize on. The creature noticed, lunging forward to eviscerate the easier target.
Joseph blinked as two armoured figures jumped in front of the Lilhun, raising their blades in a tight guard to block the four arms grabbing for a quick meal. The beast recoiled with a thunderous screech, two of its appendages sporting deep gashes that fountained blood, while the others managed to impact above the edged outside of the blades. Rose and Cobalt pressed forward, buying time and space for the hunter to collect themselves and scale up another perch. Taking advantage of its pain, two new arrows ripped through the air, smacking into exposed inner flesh. Two new protrusions joined the first in the mouth, one landing next to the existing projectile, while the other cleared the gateway of serration, driving deeply inside of it.
More flicker jabs and extended straights pushed and cut the beast as it tried to gain distance from the two that wounded it, every retaliatory strike earning it another gash in its grey hide.. Unencumbered by the constant barrage, Nalah thrust into its legs more vigorously, her body leaning into each attack to gain every inch of penetration she could into the muscle and thick hide.
Jax used the chance to score another chopping blow, doubling down on a previous wound to a back leg—striking bone this time, based on the unholy wail the beast uttered. Joseph raised his crossbow to land another shot into its mouth, but the beast flailed wildly to fend off the ambush.
Rose managed to block, Jax lunged backwards, Nalah deflected most of it with what remained of her shield, but Cobalt was caught by a strike, taking the hit to its torso. The Atmo flew backwards, rolling when it landed, the carriage and assorted armoured plates trailing behind it. Rose shifted instantly, covering the direction that their companion had been sent while Jax and Nalah focused on pulling the beast away from the downed combatant.
Joseph’s eyes flicked to the Atmo, waging an internal battle on whether helping the insect would be better or worse for the situation as a whole. He didn’t want to lighten up their assault if it would just mean more injuries, but Cobalt could be in dire need for a patch job. It was hard to tell from where he was.
Cursing, he bolted from his spot, firing off one last round into the gaping maw before clipping the crossbow onto his armour and sliding on his knees in front of Cobalt, healroot hastily retrieved from his pocket.
He paused, sighing in relief when none of the armour bore more than deep gashes, the carapace underneath unblemished by the attack. Cobalt clicked lightly, dazed, but otherwise seeming unhurt. Unlearned in the physiology relevant, he ushered the Atmo to remain out of the fight for fear of concussion or something similar. They could look at the insect back at the base to be sure later.
“Joseph!”
His head spun around at both Jax and Nalah screaming his name, a massive clawed hand sweeping at him—the monster's approach unnoticed while he focused on Cobalt. Lacking a better option, he lunged forward towards the underside of the beast to dodge the swipe, crashing to his shoulder on the dirt below.
The creature raised a leg above Joseph, pounding the earth scant inches from his head as he rolled sideways. Ignoring the kicked up dirt, he brought his fist to the underside of the beast, flicking the release on his bracer.
Blood spouted from the newly formed wound, the blade breaking at the mechanism as the massive animal lurched in pain, Joseph rolling out of the way of another attempted trampling. He scrambled to his feet, feeling the wind of another strike narrowly missing him.
Yeah, that would probably kill him.
Luckily, the injuries renewed the desire to flee in the monstrosity, the group of attackers proving too dangerous to continue challenging. It stumbled away from them, sparing Cobalt from its panicked trudging. Jax and Nalah started to run towards him, worry evident in their eyes, but he barked for them to finish it, redirecting the two to keep the pressure going. He didn’t want to mention the pain in the arm from where the bracer hitched. It didn’t feel broken, and thus was irrelevant.
Pressure applied, the grey beast picked a random direction free of opponents to escape, ignorant of the waiting security. When it was too close for them to shoot into its mouth at a decent angle, they slung the bows over their shoulders and drew the swords they had been afforded, patiently waiting with the blades turned down.
It passed below them, the two Lilhuns dropping from the branches to put their full weight into the plunging blades. Both landed on the large target, one sword sinking deep into a shoulder, while the other managed to pierce one of its hip joints. The beast spun haphazardly to dislodge the ‘new’ threats, both security members kicking off and finding new trees to set up in.
Whatever damage was actually done, it had lost the use of an arm, and its gait shifted awkwardly as the blade lodged in its hip worked more harm with each shambling step.. Emboldened, Jax picked up the pace, struggling to position himself with the amount of metal he wore. Ducking another swipe of its claws, he saw his chance and swung, pivoting with his axe as a counter weight. For the third time, his axe blade found the wound in its leg, adding a sickening crunch as the bone snapped from the impact.
The creature swung wildly, forced to favour its two remaining good legs, and the only other leg that could still support at least some of its weight. It was unstable now, the hunched figure swaying while unmoving. Unable to run, it decided to go down with as many of them as it could.
Rose caught up with the attack, drawing attention from the comparatively squishy Nalah as the blond-furred female deflected a wayward swing with her shield. The once iron-plated ironwood now sporting little more than jagged scraps of metal atop its silver wooden structure, a series of deep gouges marring the surface. Two lunging thrusts with the pike bit flesh, drawing new blood from the beast.
Joseph loaded his crossbow, getting off two bolts, but not managing to keep it steady enough to hit anything of use, his arm faltering under the weight of the weapon. Cursing, he decided to flank the beast and try his luck with the other bracer. If nothing else, the force in which the blade deployed was enough to pierce the thick hide, and the others were doing a good job of distracting it.
The red armoured Atmo let loose a series of directed swings, the fifth severing an arm in motion, the flying appendage forcing Nalah to raise her shield to block the unorthodox projectile. The female was sent sprawling from the weight of the impact, but the beast was too busy voicing its agony to take advantage of it. Jax worked another two chops into the broad legs, but neither managed to incapacitate it any more, and the prolonged exertion was slowing his reflexes.
As if cued into his waning energy, the beast flung Jax with another strike, the hunter of the group sinking a bolt deep into the cavernous flesh of its mouth to prevent an attempt at following up.
Joseph roared, desperate to finish it off before the creature could do the same to his downed pack. He sprinted at the monster's back and slid underneath it with as much speed as he could muster. Throwing his fist into the passing undercarriage, he let the deployed blade leave a long gash in its wake.
The grey monster lost its ability to stand, torn tendons, blood loss, and inflicted injuries taking their toll. The Grand Hunter kicked off his knees to fling himself out of the way of the collapsing figure, grimacing as the remaining bracer proved unable to support the abuse he had put it through. He looked back at the beast, the flailing body failing to right itself as teeth did little more than gouge dirt, its back exposed. Rose approached, raising their blades together and plunging it through the body over and over until it stopped moving.
Exhausted, the Atmo dropped where it was, breathing heavily. Joseph’s instinct to yell their victory was delayed as he hurried over to Jax and Nalah to confirm he didn't need to bring back bad news. Nalah seemed fine, if a bit sore from hitting the dirt and rolling, while Jax just asked to lay down when he heard that everything was over. Cobalt came over to the group, the armour that had come off collected atop the carriage it had managed to loosely affix to its base.
It was light, a chuckle originating from the Human as he slumped to the ground against a tree, but soon the entire group was roaring with laughter as victory settled in their minds. The two security members helped the hunter begin disassembling the beast, their contribution to the fight leaving them with more energy than the rest. They hadn’t been slacking off, that much was certain. The number of arrows jammed into the maw of the thing would have guaranteed a few extra seconds of survival and chances to escape if one of them had been forcibly tossed into there, and it had caused enough pause for the rest of them to get in a few hits up close.
Joseph rested across from Jax and Nalah, letting his heart rate slow from the rapid pace it had been pinned to since the start of the conflict. His arm continued its protests, but from the amount of movement he still had, he guessed that he had just strained the elbow. A few days taking it easy should straighten that right up.
Once the active members were about half way through processing the creature for hide and meat, Cobalt approached him, a mimed request for assistance putting their armour back on being redirected to Nalah since he doubted he could lift the damn pieces without hurting himself at the moment. She obliged, getting the blue Atmo back in full attire, though it took a while.
Rose stood first, stopping over to allow the hunter to place collected bits and pieces onto the carriage before securing it with whatever they could make due. A security member gathered the moss-wolf corpses for a similar treatment. Waste not, want not, he supposed.
Rose ended up carrying most of their spoils. When he was about to ask why, he, Jax, and Nalah were dragged to Cobalt and hefted onto the carriage. A series of confused questions revealed that the rest wanted to head back before it started getting dark, and it was pretty obvious who was the most exhausted of them. Lacking the will or energy to argue it, he flopped back on the Atmo as the trees passed them by, Nalah resting her legs across him as her head sat on Jax’s lap. The black-furred male didn’t so much as smirk, so it was clear he had pushed himself too far to quip about the arrangement as he laid down.
“The next time you wish to exhaust me this much, Joseph,” the Head of Security started after a long while of silence, tiredness in his voice, “I would prefer it to involve my mate and a bed.”
The Human snorted, closing his eyes and enjoying the lack of walking as the surprisingly stable Atmo carried the three of them. “Fuck off, Jax.”
“Of course, Grand Hunter.”
Next
A/N: Patreon is fixed!... aka new one cuz problems with the last. Check it out to support the story, get AI character art every now and then, or even preview sections of chapters as i write them! (aka, before kieve gets to fix them :D)
2023.06.08 10:08 J1mPicken5 Downvote me all you want...
...but who cares about a trans flag pedestrian crossing or pride flag being raised at the capitol when the city has been slowly dying for years. Businesses are struggling to stay open, and those that make good money are riddled with crime problems. I've noticed a big drawdown in people walking around capital Blvd or other main streets, and as always the homeless issue is devastating to watch play out. At some point there needs to be some change for the better. It's been the same Party running the city hall and capital steps for at least my entire life, and it doesn't seem like they're fixing anything. I'm not saying I don't vote for them, but it's like come on, if your ideas are the best, then why are they failing. But yay at least I know I can be gay without being stabbed by a homophobe, now ill just be stabbed by a needle from a homeless guy instead.
submitted by J1mPicken5 to olympia [link] [comments]
2023.06.08 10:01 Spare_Championship_3 what's the 2nd verse for the song Kent - Romeo Återvänder Ensam (Eric Prydz Remix)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LJiaQgv7YA&ab_channel=CharlesP
1st verse is
inne I staden råder ständig lågsäsong
but i can't figure out the 2nd verse
pls help.
here are the full lyrics
En isig vind över vattnet bär Ett eko från de dödas värld En hälsning från ett svartsjukt hånfullt hav Och vintern sliter pirens skjul Tiver lyktor från en firad juli Från pariserhjulets skelett av trä och steninne I staden råder ständig lågsäsong (du är min do är min do är bara min) Och resturangerna står tomma året om Och på barer känger vraken fast Vi sörjer en förlorad last Och snön hjälper spillrorna I landsvarta grenar skämmer huses vitt Har inte varit här sen allt var ditt En till salu skylt som täcks av snö och sand På verandan sjunger vindspelet din sångTomma fönster står och slår nu natten lång (jag vill ha dig jag är din jag är bara din) Och gamla minnen är som flagorna som yr (jag vill ha dig do är min do är bara min) Mot en himmel av järn och gift och blysom en Romeo I jeans på din balkong (jag vill ha dig do är min do är bara min) Jag är skuggan vid din skärmdörr än omgång (jag vill ha dig jag är din jag är bara din) Din klänning är som trasor I min hand (jag vill ha dig do är min do är bara min) Och jag lämnar inga fotspår äns I sand한국어로 번역
submitted by Spare_Championship_3 to ericprydz [link] [comments]
1st verse is
inne I staden råder ständig lågsäsong
but i can't figure out the 2nd verse
pls help.
here are the full lyrics
En isig vind över vattnet bär Ett eko från de dödas värld En hälsning från ett svartsjukt hånfullt hav Och vintern sliter pirens skjul Tiver lyktor från en firad juli Från pariserhjulets skelett av trä och steninne I staden råder ständig lågsäsong (du är min do är min do är bara min) Och resturangerna står tomma året om Och på barer känger vraken fast Vi sörjer en förlorad last Och snön hjälper spillrorna I landsvarta grenar skämmer huses vitt Har inte varit här sen allt var ditt En till salu skylt som täcks av snö och sand På verandan sjunger vindspelet din sångTomma fönster står och slår nu natten lång (jag vill ha dig jag är din jag är bara din) Och gamla minnen är som flagorna som yr (jag vill ha dig do är min do är bara min) Mot en himmel av järn och gift och blysom en Romeo I jeans på din balkong (jag vill ha dig do är min do är bara min) Jag är skuggan vid din skärmdörr än omgång (jag vill ha dig jag är din jag är bara din) Din klänning är som trasor I min hand (jag vill ha dig do är min do är bara min) Och jag lämnar inga fotspår äns I sand한국어로 번역
2023.06.08 10:00 ogreatgames Just Dance Summer Party: Beat The Heat - Wii Game
#wii #rhythm #music --
Just Dance Summer Party For Nintendo Wii. Pick up your Wii remote. Dance to the music of Summer songs hits. Different music genres are coming your way. Exciting game modes including "Classic", "Duets", and "Just Sweat Mode" are available in this full-packaged summer party experience. Have a blast with Just Dance Summer Party. --
Hey check out similar videos here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05uKspxQ89s&list=PLVduyMnVQjzNYPljUBqwgAXdMPQ9CEKWY
submitted by ogreatgames to Ogreatgames [link] [comments]
#wii #rhythm #music --
Just Dance Summer Party For Nintendo Wii. Pick up your Wii remote. Dance to the music of Summer songs hits. Different music genres are coming your way. Exciting game modes including "Classic", "Duets", and "Just Sweat Mode" are available in this full-packaged summer party experience. Have a blast with Just Dance Summer Party. --
Hey check out similar videos here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05uKspxQ89s&list=PLVduyMnVQjzNYPljUBqwgAXdMPQ9CEKWY
2023.06.08 09:58 Durian_Ecstatic NBA Finals: The Jokic & Murray Present dominates Recreation 3 as Denver takes a giant step nearer to a championship - Live Streams Online Free - Watch & Download Latest Sports Videos from [thealmanaf.com]
![NBA Finals: The Jokic & Murray Present dominates Recreation 3 as Denver takes a giant step nearer to a championship - Live Streams Online Free - Watch & Download Latest Sports Videos from [thealmanaf.com]](https://external-preview.redd.it/GKnStENIYW5BU-6KQx6FL4i-vOo6vyWNny_4-PULkrY.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=cd662942eb82d86ac7de602dd11543dd0d28aa55 "NBA Finals: The Jokic & Murray Present dominates Recreation 3 as Denver takes a giant step nearer to a championship - Live Streams Online Free - Watch & Download Latest Sports Videos from [thealmanaf.com]") | submitted by Durian_Ecstatic to GeographicaXYZ [link] [comments] |
2023.06.08 09:55 EvolvingMind 🔥 Oida, Wien Was Geht? What's happening in Vienna? 1-04 June
🇦🇹 Wochenende 08 - 11.06
Do: ⛅ 23° Fr: 🌧️ 24° Sa: 🌧️ 24° So: ⛅ 24° 🇬🇧 Scroll down for English 👇Kaum bekommt man einen freien Tag, schon wird das Wetter schlecht! Dafür gibt es diese Woche ein bisschen extra Inspiration damit, ihr nicht nur zu Hause sitzen müsst! 🙂
Also, let´s get to it! 🚀
🤌 Laurin’s Auswahl 08 - 11.06
Eine kurze Übersicht der 5 coolsten Events dieses WE in Wien. Der Link zum Event ist immer im Titel.1/ Thursday Special: Sommernachtskonzert (Do 20:30 Gratis)
Okay, das ist wohl ein no-brainer diesen Donnerstag. Nicht nur ist der Donnerstag der einzig halbwegs trockene Tag dieses WE, sondern es gibt auch gratis die Wiener Philharmoniker zu hören!Das ganze findet übrigens im Bereich des Schlosses Schönbrunns statt.
2/ Kleidertausch Party (Fr 16:30-19h - Gratis)
Du hast Lust, deine alte Kleidung gegen neue Styles zu tauschen und dich gleichzeitig mit anderen zum Thema Klima-Aktivismus auszutauschen? Dann schau bei der Kleidertausch Party im Dschungel Wien im MQ vorbei!3/ Intimes Jazz Konzert (Sa 19-22h - Free)
In der intimen Atmosphäre einer alten Tankstelle gibt es ein Jazzkonzert zu hören. Über den Abend verteilt, wird es eine Kombination von traditionellen Instrumenten mit elektronischen Klängen zu hören geben.4/ Championsleague Finale Public Viewing (Sa20-23h - Gratis)
Nagut, vielleicht nicht für jeden das richtige aber diesen Samstag findet das Championsleague Finale (ManCity - Inter Milan) statt. Gemeinsam schauen macht bei sowas ja dann doch immer mehr Spaß! Einen coolen Ort dafür bietet die Schankwirtschaft direkt im Augarten.Alternativ kann man am Samstag auch ein recht cooles gratis Konzert anhören.
5/ Acoustic Sundays (So 19-23h - 15€)
Diesen Sonntag im werden vier Songwriter die Bühne von Wiens etabliertester Underground-Location, dem Chelsea, teilen. Gastgeber und Konzeptgeber ist der in Amerika geborene und in Wien ansässige Künstler Ian Fisher. Also warum nicht mal was Neues hören? 🙂🔥 Party Party
Hier eine kurze Übersicht zum Wiener Nachtleben dieses Wochenende:Thursday
- Vienna Pride Beach Day - Vienna City Beach Club // DJs, Yoga
- FM4 Swound Sound - Usus am Wasser // Electronic
- Space Odyssey - Kramladen // House
- Rooftop Sommer Party - Der Dachboden // Electronic
- Back on the dance floor - Weberknecht // 90s, 2000s
- Jetlag Disco - PRST // Disco, House, Techno
- Garten von Eben - Kramladen // Techno, House
- Zuckerwatt w/Dubfire - Grelle Forelle // Techno
- Bas Cave & Shake It - Himmel Und Wasser // DnB
- Morgengymnastik - SAAS // Techno, Workout :)
- Kollektiv Ost: West & Friends - Badeschiff // House, Techno
- Dancehall BBQ - Usus am Wasser // Electronic
- Freizeit Exklusiv -PRST // Techno
- Werk in Love - Das Werk // Trance, House, Disco,
- Schlaflos im Juni - Pratersauna // Electronic
- Stromklang Festival - Das Werk // Live Concerts, Electronic
- The Hive, Burr Oak, TR Tactics & ChrisSU - Flex // DnB
🎨 A litte bit of culture & other gems
- Lebanon - in a state of unrest // Vernissage Thur 18h
- Meine Welt // Vernissage Fr 19h
- Essbare Kunst - Exhibition // Sa 12-19h
- Vienna Pride Special - Mumok // Sa 12-16h
Other 💎
- Grätzlfest Spengergasse 2023 // Local Event, Sa 17-21h
- Friday Night Skate // 21-23h
🤗 'Wien Was Geht' unterstützen
Wer mich unterstützen möchte, hat zwei Möglichkeiten:👊 Ich wünsche euch ein schönes Wochenende!
-Laurin
⭐️️ Wie haben wir uns geschlagen?
- ❤️ Leiwand
- 😐 Meh
- 🥱 Mir ist immer noch ur langweilig, ich will mehr Content über ...
- 😡 Ich hasse dich, ich hasse den Newsletter - Du hast mir mein WE versaut
-----------------
🇬🇧 English Version
-----------------(Oida), What's up Vienna?
Do: ⛅ 23° Fr: 🌧️ 24° Sa: 🌧️ 24° So: ⛅ 24°I am torn between joy and sorrow this weekend. On the one hand, it’s pretty bad weather, on the other hand, we have an extra day off. Well, let’s focus on the good things, there are definitely some fun events this weekend in Vienna! 🙂
Let’s get to it 🚀 !
🤌 Laurin’s Picks 08 - 11.06
A quick overview of the 5 coolest things happening this weekend in Vienna.1/ Thursday Special: Sommernachtskonzert (Thur 20:30 Free)
Alright, I don’t care if you are new to Vienna or already more or less a local. The summer night concert by the Viennese orchestra is a musical highlight every year. Even if you are not a big fan of classical music, the concert is for free and right in the grounds of the Schönbrunn castle. So next to the impressive music, you have an amazing location. Enjoy! 🎶2/ Clothing Swap Party (Fr 16:30-19h - Free)
Want to upgrade your wardrobe? Why not check out the clothing swap party with a twist? Bring some of your old cloths and swap them for different ones! If you are interested, you can also learn more about climate change while you are there.3/ Intimate Jazz Concert (Sat 19-22h - Free)
This Saturday there is a small jazz concert in the building of an old and abandoned gas station. The concert promises intimate vibes, and a mixture of traditional jazz together with some more electronic beats.4/ Champions-league Final Public Viewing (Sat 20-23h - Free)
Maybe not the right thing for all readers but this is probably the biggest football game of the year. It’s the champions league finals between Manchester City and Inter Milan. There is a great location to watch it outside at the ‘Schankwirtschaft’ located in the Augarten.Alternatively there is a pretty cool free concert happening here.
5/ Acoustic Sundays (So 19-23h - 15€)
Want to explore some new and exciting live music? Go check out the concert of 4 live bands in Vienna’s most established underground venue ‘The Chelsea’ this Sunday.🔥 Party Party
A quick overview of Vienna’s nightlife.Thursday
- Vienna Pride Beach Day - Vienna City Beach Club // DJs, Yoga
- FM4 Swound Sound - Usus am Wasser // Electronic
- Space Odyssey - Kramladen // House
- Rooftop Sommer Party - Der Dachboden // Electronic
- Back on the dance floor - Weberknecht // 90s, 2000s
- Jetlag Disco - PRST // Disco, House, Techno
- Garten von Eben - Kramladen // Techno, House
- Zuckerwatt w/Dubfire - Grelle Forelle // Techno
- Bas Cave & Shake It - Himmel Und Wasser // DnB
- Morgengymnastik - SAAS // Techno, Workout :)
- Kollektiv Ost: West & Friends - Badeschiff // House, Techno
- Dancehall BBQ - Usus am Wasser // Electronic
- Freizeit Exklusiv -PRST // Techno
- Werk in Love - Das Werk // Trance, House, Disco,
- Schlaflos im Juni - Pratersauna // Electronic
- Stromklang Festival - Das Werk // Live Concerts, Electronic
- The Hive, Burr Oak, TR Tactics & ChrisSU - Flex // DnB
🎨 A litte bit of culture & other gems
- Lebanon - in a state of unrest // Vernissage Thur 18h
- Meine Welt // Vernissage Fr 19h
- Essbare Kunst - Exhibition // Sat 12-19h
- Vienna Pride Special - Mumok // Sat 12-16h
Other 💎
- Grätzlfest Spengergasse 2023 // Local Event, Sat 17-21h
- Friday Night Skate // Fr 21-23h
🤗 Want to support 'Wien Was Geht'
If you enjoy these e-mails and want to support me you have two options:👊 Have a great weekend!
-Laurin
⭐️️ How was this weeks e-mail?
- ❤️ Awesome
- 😐 Meh
- 🥱 I am still bored, I want more content about...
- 😡 I hate you, I hate your newsletter, you ruined my weekend
-----------------
If you prefer it as an e-mail, check the newsletter.
2023.06.08 09:53 Craft_Assassin This is why I left Crossroads Church
For context, I am a Catholic that got invited to Crossroads Church, a born-again ministry, back then in July 2022 here in Cebu when I was having a difficult phase in life. I was invited from a reformed schoolmate who used to do drugs, alcohol, not attend classes, and bully others. He is a pleasant person now and his transformation made him closer to God.
I was paired with a Cell Leader who is a good man at heart. His wife is a pastora in that ministry as well. I know that my Cell Leader is a good man with the best intentions.
By October, I started thinking twice about it because the church started asking many things from me such as my time, tithing, joining Life Class, and joining Life Coaching. They really plan to convert young people to become born-again Christians. In fact, many of the youth that join Crossroads are Catholics that are either curious or having a difficult phase in life. It got toxic to the point wherein the diehard pastors would demand we devote our Fridays to our respective cell groups, Saturdays for the youth praise worship, and Sunday for the Sunday service. I couldn't do this because I already have pre-planned some of my what limited weekends there were in my calendar.
Around November 2022, one of the newest members of our cell group is a known diehard. His story is that he used to be a former sacristan of a Catholic Church. He later left the Catholic church because of its corruption, worship of Saints and Mary, and the fact "Why does one get absolved of sin when he/she sacrifices?". He even stated that he got heartbroken because he allegedly broke up with his girlfriend. He was left to wonder until one person came to him and presented him a phamplet for Gravity, the youth ministry of Crossroads Church. That's when he joined Crossroads.
He's a nasty individual and he's proud to say that he is a diehard Christian who doesn't care being called out as a "weirdo" or an "extremist". At one point, he called out two of my cell groupmates (both being former Catholics) for doing un-Christian things.
First guy he called out, a waiter for a restaurant:
He also tried to convince me NOT to celebrate the ultimate Sinulog comeback last January because it is "parading an image". Even though my purpose for celebrating Sinulog was to meet friends who may not be around by 2024 as many of them will leave the country. Keep note Cebu has been waiting for the return of Sinulog since 2020 due to the pandemic and on the personal note, six years for me because (Sinulog 2017-2020 wasn't as fun because there was a no-street party rule. I didn't go to Sinulog 2018 because I was in medical school, and there was no Sinulog in 2021 and 2022 because of the pandemic). There are diehard Christians from other born-again ministries every Sinulog that do militant street preaching in the middle of the fun festival. Often times, their preaching comes out as harassment to the festival goers. For him and the diehards, anything fun = earthly/worldly = sin because it is not "honoring Christ". In other words, even if you are in Sinulog to experience Cebu's culture or just to enjoy a street party, you are committing a sin.
I was roped into Life Class last February since they timed it onto the Friday cell group meeting. I didn't even consent to it. The Life Class is a 10-week session with one-class held every Friday. Looking at the calendar, the Life Class would have ended in the middle week of May. I already had planned out my vacations for the Summer of 2023.
I was then roped into joining the Encounter, wherein we are supposed to meet Jesus and experience the Holy Spirit. The Encounter took one whole weekend that spanned from 8 am to 5 pm (but we got late, because on the first day it ended at 8 pm). The fee was also 500 pesos. During the Encounter, they asked as thithing four times and I only have enough for myself since my salary is very menial. One of the diehard pastors there were asking us to fully devote our lives to this Church and invite two people every Sunday so that there will be more disciples of Christ. The diehard pastor went so far to say to decline all fun things and outings such as if you have a relative from abroad coming and wants to go to the beach on Sunday, we will have to decline because our priority is with the Church itself. We then had the typical Encounter activities. We also had things that are forbidden to do in their eyes such as celebrating festivals (Sinulog being their primary target), going to concerts, listening to rock and pop music, partying, pornography, gambling, drugs, alcoholism, practicising witchcraft, and the like. While I agree gambling, drugs, pornography, and witchcraft are bad, it's way too much to restrict people from watching concerts or going to street parties.
After the Encounter last March, I just ran away and never returned. I essentially ghosted them but later explained to them I was leaving the church. The cell leader was saddened because he's a good man and he really wanted me to be a disciple. We even finished Change 12 between October to December 2022. In other words, the cell leader was beginning to invest in me. I just couldn't stand the toxicity and the diehard fundamentalists in that ministry; my cell leader not one of them (he is a cool guy).
Anyways that's my take. Feel free to comment.
Apologies for the long post. Had to let this out.
submitted by Craft_Assassin to OffMyChestPH [link] [comments]
I was paired with a Cell Leader who is a good man at heart. His wife is a pastora in that ministry as well. I know that my Cell Leader is a good man with the best intentions.
By October, I started thinking twice about it because the church started asking many things from me such as my time, tithing, joining Life Class, and joining Life Coaching. They really plan to convert young people to become born-again Christians. In fact, many of the youth that join Crossroads are Catholics that are either curious or having a difficult phase in life. It got toxic to the point wherein the diehard pastors would demand we devote our Fridays to our respective cell groups, Saturdays for the youth praise worship, and Sunday for the Sunday service. I couldn't do this because I already have pre-planned some of my what limited weekends there were in my calendar.
Around November 2022, one of the newest members of our cell group is a known diehard. His story is that he used to be a former sacristan of a Catholic Church. He later left the Catholic church because of its corruption, worship of Saints and Mary, and the fact "Why does one get absolved of sin when he/she sacrifices?". He even stated that he got heartbroken because he allegedly broke up with his girlfriend. He was left to wonder until one person came to him and presented him a phamplet for Gravity, the youth ministry of Crossroads Church. That's when he joined Crossroads.
He's a nasty individual and he's proud to say that he is a diehard Christian who doesn't care being called out as a "weirdo" or an "extremist". At one point, he called out two of my cell groupmates (both being former Catholics) for doing un-Christian things.
First guy he called out, a waiter for a restaurant:
- The waiter for a restaurant is a native of Bantayan Island and during his Christmas leave, he joined with his childhood neighbors/barkada/friends in the annual Simbang Gabi. He did not join the Simbag Gabi per se. Rather, he just sat outside the iconic church in Santa Fe out of respect for his friends. When the diehard got a wind of this, he called him out, saying what he did was a sin because you cannot serve two churches at the time.
- The banker attended a fiesta in his workmate's house because he was invited into it. He's a former Catholic that joined Crossroads/Gravity. He didn't attend the procession of the fiesta, knowing that it's against the Born-Again church to worship/honopraise Saints. When diehard cell groupmate got a hold of this, he promptly called him out. The banker said he was only there for the food and the gathering (not the procession), but the diehard guy said by merely celebrating the fiesta through food, the banker still sinned because the celebrating it even without the procession is honoring a saint, which is a sin because "thou shall not have false Gods before Me."
He also tried to convince me NOT to celebrate the ultimate Sinulog comeback last January because it is "parading an image". Even though my purpose for celebrating Sinulog was to meet friends who may not be around by 2024 as many of them will leave the country. Keep note Cebu has been waiting for the return of Sinulog since 2020 due to the pandemic and on the personal note, six years for me because (Sinulog 2017-2020 wasn't as fun because there was a no-street party rule. I didn't go to Sinulog 2018 because I was in medical school, and there was no Sinulog in 2021 and 2022 because of the pandemic). There are diehard Christians from other born-again ministries every Sinulog that do militant street preaching in the middle of the fun festival. Often times, their preaching comes out as harassment to the festival goers. For him and the diehards, anything fun = earthly/worldly = sin because it is not "honoring Christ". In other words, even if you are in Sinulog to experience Cebu's culture or just to enjoy a street party, you are committing a sin.
I was roped into Life Class last February since they timed it onto the Friday cell group meeting. I didn't even consent to it. The Life Class is a 10-week session with one-class held every Friday. Looking at the calendar, the Life Class would have ended in the middle week of May. I already had planned out my vacations for the Summer of 2023.
I was then roped into joining the Encounter, wherein we are supposed to meet Jesus and experience the Holy Spirit. The Encounter took one whole weekend that spanned from 8 am to 5 pm (but we got late, because on the first day it ended at 8 pm). The fee was also 500 pesos. During the Encounter, they asked as thithing four times and I only have enough for myself since my salary is very menial. One of the diehard pastors there were asking us to fully devote our lives to this Church and invite two people every Sunday so that there will be more disciples of Christ. The diehard pastor went so far to say to decline all fun things and outings such as if you have a relative from abroad coming and wants to go to the beach on Sunday, we will have to decline because our priority is with the Church itself. We then had the typical Encounter activities. We also had things that are forbidden to do in their eyes such as celebrating festivals (Sinulog being their primary target), going to concerts, listening to rock and pop music, partying, pornography, gambling, drugs, alcoholism, practicising witchcraft, and the like. While I agree gambling, drugs, pornography, and witchcraft are bad, it's way too much to restrict people from watching concerts or going to street parties.
After the Encounter last March, I just ran away and never returned. I essentially ghosted them but later explained to them I was leaving the church. The cell leader was saddened because he's a good man and he really wanted me to be a disciple. We even finished Change 12 between October to December 2022. In other words, the cell leader was beginning to invest in me. I just couldn't stand the toxicity and the diehard fundamentalists in that ministry; my cell leader not one of them (he is a cool guy).
Anyways that's my take. Feel free to comment.
Apologies for the long post. Had to let this out.
2023.06.08 09:35 yscity2006 [Announcement] Subreddit is shutting down on June 12-14
Recently, Reddit has announced changes to their policy that will effectively kill 3rd party apps, moderation bots as well as many other quality of life features (details below). To protest this, several subreddits, including this one, have decided to come together to organize a protest by shutting down, either during June 12th-14th (which is what we will do) or indefinitely. During this period, all post submissions will be disabled, and we recommend minimizing your Reddit use in general as well.
*The discord server will still open, don't worry! (if you are joining make sure to read this post before joining!)
Tl;dr: Subreddit will be closed from June 12th-14th to protest Reddit policy changes
Main post for more details:
https://www.reddit.com/Save3rdPartyApps/comments/13yh0jf/dont_let_reddit_kill_3rd_party_apps/
If you prefer a video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqL-G3GFqRU&
Image summarizing the situation: [Link to the image]
If you have any feedback, please let us know in the comments. We appreciate your understanding and hope you have a nice time with the Overrapid update! (edited)
submitted by yscity2006 to phigrosGame [link] [comments]
*The discord server will still open, don't worry! (if you are joining make sure to read this post before joining!)
Tl;dr: Subreddit will be closed from June 12th-14th to protest Reddit policy changes
Main post for more details:
https://www.reddit.com/Save3rdPartyApps/comments/13yh0jf/dont_let_reddit_kill_3rd_party_apps/
If you prefer a video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqL-G3GFqRU&
Image summarizing the situation: [Link to the image]
If you have any feedback, please let us know in the comments. We appreciate your understanding and hope you have a nice time with the Overrapid update! (edited)
2023.06.08 09:23 lottery248 it has been for years that more companies are trying to be protected from all necessary competitions. Microsoft, Adobe, Twitch, and more; and then a large amount of ridiculous monetisation models coming out, and worse, censoring things in the name of protecting children which is known to never work.
in short: more and more companies are attempting to force their clients' loyalty to maximise profits. even if they could rationalise it with intellectual property law, it has at least been contradicting with the competition one. Reddit's API change is one of them, and all the theoretical QoL losses and side effects as mentioned are exactly what they want to do, therefore everything is as-is. these corporations that chose to sacrifice the good values and anything that made them great are practically soulless, it's better to force them bring it back or get it destroyed and build a new one with those back.
after reading what you guys have been talking, considering more companies are turning into exclusivity, monetising the basic service component that everyone uses, playing with their power, i have also decided to make a post about this. below, i will share part of my findings from elsewhere to explain the current situation of Reddit. forgive me that i might not be able to have everything at once.
so the context from what i have heard from the flyer, is that Reddit is now changing the API pricing, removing API from mature content, lowering limits for third-party apps we commonly use.
speaking of the new API standard, so much as Twitter now requiring people paying for certain API and then requiring monthly fees.
regarding premium access that is to be introduced, i want to throw out a simple question: why would they want another paycheck when other advertisers and premium users could literally cover those instead of optimising the servers' technology stack to decrease the unneeded cost?
the reason is simple, exclusivity and profits. it has been a while that this narrative that "if you don't pay for the service, you're the product." however, the same reason, they are moving to a trend that not only having it worsened no matter you have paid or not, you are not given any choices and are required to subscribe to a complete service that is supposed to be free, while removing essential communication features like forum or email things. which means the need of money is debunked to certain extent.
now look at some examples from elsewhere. on YouTube, the monetisation threshold is that they want to bring a better content creation platform. but if you search certain terms like free game credits live (which is obviously a scam), you can see several channels with monetisation enabled and you can even send a super chat for it. not only smaller creators having to race for that, it's no way you can survive without those tools. if you know how to use bots, you could spam people with traffics and chats with absolute ease. which has actually increased the use of bots (when they were supposed to decrease it), because it's actually hard to have organic traffic nowadays even for certain talented creators.
now it comes to the apps. if you use Reddit on your phone web, the website pursues you to use their app per 2~3 hours (see the video below). if you are a website developer, nowadays you do have tools being optimised for mobile web, allowing the entire app being run on a website with second-to-zero tradeoffs in terms of performances and features.
when they want you to use apps instead, they want to introduce another monetisation model, they want a more complete tracking through apps, considering you could block trackers with ease using a browser.
take a look at the Windows 11's interface? even for the latest Windows 10, it is full of data tracking, advertisements, and even hardware DRMs on plain sight. not only going worse, they are moving forward to the exclusivity like Reddit does. how bad it is? even Valve has been developing Linux compatibility for a while.
the second one is that they are removing the mature content from their API. it has been for a while that they are locking guests out from accessing. what i find is that is traumatising legal users' safety with their real-life identity verification, more than it is even meant to protect children from those abuse. here is a video explaining:
https://youtube.com/live/U6F2NlZEmgs
in short, it's all about censorship and letting bots ramping up to do it, mature content is just a pretext. it is a matter of time all other services you use will do the same.
remember the day that the "place" sub was a thing? remember how a large chunk of people drew 2B's ass and then got immediately deleted in the form of black pixels? so at the end of the day, if Reddit isn't going to back down, we should find a way to double down, whether everyone leaving from it or getting banned all at once is going to work.
people willingly trade freedom for temporary security deserve neither, and will lose both. - Benjamin Franklin
the last one is about your daily lives that has been relevant to this. notice how they are slowly changing the system against the users, often because they have all the cards that they are betting you are going to stay at the end of day. they are trying to change it into a subscription service so that they are always profitable, and less likely they will need to innovate to compete.
Twitter's Blue verification process, it was meant to have those bots or false identity less likely to spam by demanding payment of so, but i have seen certain bots paying for that and also being able to take advantage of. if you knew how those works, you could significantly decrease the cost of doing so, as well as being prioritised.
look at YouTube after they introduced their Premium. if you don't pay for it, more likely you suffer a long series of advertisements that may not even be relevant to anything you are watching, and sometimes, it's a literal scam. meaning they are doing things specifically to pressure you pay for it, even though paying for channel payments like super chats would charge a 30% fee.
Adobe, a company that pioneered what we call it subscription-based software. it is the leader of the entire content-creation industry, and their Creative Cloud is $55 per month. if you don't have enough money to start with, you're practically ineligible to it. what happens if you end up a loss that you cannot afford that payment at the time? things do happen.
Twitch made one of the most controversial policy ever on the recent few days, and the huge backlash has basically forced them to at least apologise about it. however, it has been notorious that they would charge people 50% of what audiences have paid, and then often sudden ban or double standard.
i don't think boycotting will work, considering it is a coordinated threat towards the people, don't assume that any words will make then listen. every time the backlash ended, they will silently impose all those things. so as soon as any alternatives become suitable, copy all the posts to that place as an archive and go on there.
submitted by lottery248 to Save3rdPartyApps [link] [comments]
after reading what you guys have been talking, considering more companies are turning into exclusivity, monetising the basic service component that everyone uses, playing with their power, i have also decided to make a post about this. below, i will share part of my findings from elsewhere to explain the current situation of Reddit. forgive me that i might not be able to have everything at once.
so the context from what i have heard from the flyer, is that Reddit is now changing the API pricing, removing API from mature content, lowering limits for third-party apps we commonly use.
speaking of the new API standard, so much as Twitter now requiring people paying for certain API and then requiring monthly fees.
regarding premium access that is to be introduced, i want to throw out a simple question: why would they want another paycheck when other advertisers and premium users could literally cover those instead of optimising the servers' technology stack to decrease the unneeded cost?
the reason is simple, exclusivity and profits. it has been a while that this narrative that "if you don't pay for the service, you're the product." however, the same reason, they are moving to a trend that not only having it worsened no matter you have paid or not, you are not given any choices and are required to subscribe to a complete service that is supposed to be free, while removing essential communication features like forum or email things. which means the need of money is debunked to certain extent.
now look at some examples from elsewhere. on YouTube, the monetisation threshold is that they want to bring a better content creation platform. but if you search certain terms like free game credits live (which is obviously a scam), you can see several channels with monetisation enabled and you can even send a super chat for it. not only smaller creators having to race for that, it's no way you can survive without those tools. if you know how to use bots, you could spam people with traffics and chats with absolute ease. which has actually increased the use of bots (when they were supposed to decrease it), because it's actually hard to have organic traffic nowadays even for certain talented creators.
now it comes to the apps. if you use Reddit on your phone web, the website pursues you to use their app per 2~3 hours (see the video below). if you are a website developer, nowadays you do have tools being optimised for mobile web, allowing the entire app being run on a website with second-to-zero tradeoffs in terms of performances and features.
when they want you to use apps instead, they want to introduce another monetisation model, they want a more complete tracking through apps, considering you could block trackers with ease using a browser.
take a look at the Windows 11's interface? even for the latest Windows 10, it is full of data tracking, advertisements, and even hardware DRMs on plain sight. not only going worse, they are moving forward to the exclusivity like Reddit does. how bad it is? even Valve has been developing Linux compatibility for a while.
the second one is that they are removing the mature content from their API. it has been for a while that they are locking guests out from accessing. what i find is that is traumatising legal users' safety with their real-life identity verification, more than it is even meant to protect children from those abuse. here is a video explaining:
https://youtube.com/live/U6F2NlZEmgs
in short, it's all about censorship and letting bots ramping up to do it, mature content is just a pretext. it is a matter of time all other services you use will do the same.
remember the day that the "place" sub was a thing? remember how a large chunk of people drew 2B's ass and then got immediately deleted in the form of black pixels? so at the end of the day, if Reddit isn't going to back down, we should find a way to double down, whether everyone leaving from it or getting banned all at once is going to work.
people willingly trade freedom for temporary security deserve neither, and will lose both. - Benjamin Franklin
the last one is about your daily lives that has been relevant to this. notice how they are slowly changing the system against the users, often because they have all the cards that they are betting you are going to stay at the end of day. they are trying to change it into a subscription service so that they are always profitable, and less likely they will need to innovate to compete.
Twitter's Blue verification process, it was meant to have those bots or false identity less likely to spam by demanding payment of so, but i have seen certain bots paying for that and also being able to take advantage of. if you knew how those works, you could significantly decrease the cost of doing so, as well as being prioritised.
look at YouTube after they introduced their Premium. if you don't pay for it, more likely you suffer a long series of advertisements that may not even be relevant to anything you are watching, and sometimes, it's a literal scam. meaning they are doing things specifically to pressure you pay for it, even though paying for channel payments like super chats would charge a 30% fee.
Adobe, a company that pioneered what we call it subscription-based software. it is the leader of the entire content-creation industry, and their Creative Cloud is $55 per month. if you don't have enough money to start with, you're practically ineligible to it. what happens if you end up a loss that you cannot afford that payment at the time? things do happen.
Twitch made one of the most controversial policy ever on the recent few days, and the huge backlash has basically forced them to at least apologise about it. however, it has been notorious that they would charge people 50% of what audiences have paid, and then often sudden ban or double standard.
i don't think boycotting will work, considering it is a coordinated threat towards the people, don't assume that any words will make then listen. every time the backlash ended, they will silently impose all those things. so as soon as any alternatives become suitable, copy all the posts to that place as an archive and go on there.
2023.06.08 09:21 ithakaa Are we still not allowed to create 3rd party watch faces?
I’m at a loss to understand the logic
Does Apple just think any developer not working for mother is useless and will in some way cause thermonuclear war?
Or have a missed an announcement?
submitted by ithakaa to AppleWatch [link] [comments]
Does Apple just think any developer not working for mother is useless and will in some way cause thermonuclear war?
Or have a missed an announcement?
2023.06.08 09:14 Substantial_Pace_211 My husband overworks himself and it pisses me off
Im not asking for advice im just venting, theres nothing i can do about this until i see my husband when he gets back friday night.
My (23f) husband (25m) works for this guy who ill call "bill". Bill is a sleazy millionaire who got his money from working in Hollywood and is now trying to get famous in the live music sector. He also treats the live music sector like Hollywood. Aka work 20+ hours for pennies a day until you make it big and everyone should have that same mentality, which, if you have ever worked in live music, is not how it works.
Bill also cant keep crew. Any kind of crew and especilally not skilled crew. Currently bill only has 2 people working on this event stage regularly. My husband and another guy ill call "Paul". They have a difficult time finding crew to help set up, run and, strike the set and are constantly running a skelelton crew which leaves my husband to do everything because "the show must go on". He regularly pulls 18+ hour days working for this sleaze and gets paid a flat day rate despite working basically by himself when the set needs ~8 people in total to run. He worked his ass off for a gig bill got at a local highschool grad party and only got paid half of what he invoiced bill.
Bill also micromanages to the point of constantly making my husband and paul behind schedule. Halting any work until they try it his way and it inevitably doesnt work because bill doesnt know what hes doing. I would describe him as someone who aspires to run a business like elon musk: work the skeleton crew to the bone and then move on to the next cheapest labor. Taking any shortcuts he can and violating labor rights. Bill even sent two PI's to harass a former employee who filed for unemployment and Bill didnt want to pay unemployment. The former employee left the state to avoid harassment from the private investigators. He does not have workers comp so if my husband gets injured because of bills abusive demands, we would have to pay for our life on my income alone, not to mention medical bills.
Anyways, Bill is pushing for his idea to take off. And because of that hes scheduling gigs all the time. My husband has worked on and off for him for three years. My husband is a freelance audio engineer and a really good one at that. His talent is well beyond his years and he consistently undercharges and undervalues himself due to his age. His coworkers and other freelancers he works with tell him that hes going to be able to go on tour easily and he actually has the talent to make it big. His coworkers tell me this too whenever they see me. He actually just secured a really awesome gig in LA that hes working on for the next two weeks.
And that brings us to our problem: hes in LA mon-fri and then saturday he is working 24 straight hours for bill. This wouldnt be a problem if he didnt already have a gig scheduled every sunday at a local church from 8am - 12pm. This church pays him really well despite the little amount of work he does for them so we keep it around. The biggest issue with this 24 hour gig is that they have virtually no crew to run this. Which means, again, that my husband will be the only one doing all of the work. My husband tells bill and paul all the time that he needs other people and they continue to make empty promises and continue to fuck him over. Bill and paul dont do any of the heavy lifting either they just bark orders at my husband. This leaves my husband so beyond exhausted that he becomes a shell of himself. Its genuinely heartbreaking to watch. This happened the last time he worked for bill for an extended period of time too. He has 3 crew to set up and 2 to strike a set that requires 8 people to be able to pull this off in 24 hours.
My husband says he continues to work for bill because he has really high tech equipment which my husband likes to learn and use. Bill does not have a good reputation in our area and i keep telling him that by continuing to work for bill, it will hurt his own reputation. Something my husband cares a lot about. Ive brought all of this up to him as well and im met with resistance. I dont know why either, bill is horrible and will only harm my husband in the long run. He KNOWS all of this too. I dont keep my opinions about bill to myself. Especially since my husband has never said one nice thing about Bill. Money is not an issue because my husband is constantly turning down gigs because his schedule is full 7 days a week.
Anyways thanks for reading my rant. No I wont leave my husband so dont even start on that. He is a wonderful, kind, generous man and he allows people to take advantage and abuse that which frustrates me to no end watching him get abused at work constantly. I feel like im over reacting and he says he needs to "slog it through the trenches" in order to get anywhere but bill has no connections or anything that will help him in the long run because bill keeps burning bridges with his "my way or the highway" attitude. I hate bill with all my heart and i hope he fails miserably with his "dream" and it leaves him feeling depressed and sad.
submitted by Substantial_Pace_211 to TrueOffMyChest [link] [comments]
My (23f) husband (25m) works for this guy who ill call "bill". Bill is a sleazy millionaire who got his money from working in Hollywood and is now trying to get famous in the live music sector. He also treats the live music sector like Hollywood. Aka work 20+ hours for pennies a day until you make it big and everyone should have that same mentality, which, if you have ever worked in live music, is not how it works.
Bill also cant keep crew. Any kind of crew and especilally not skilled crew. Currently bill only has 2 people working on this event stage regularly. My husband and another guy ill call "Paul". They have a difficult time finding crew to help set up, run and, strike the set and are constantly running a skelelton crew which leaves my husband to do everything because "the show must go on". He regularly pulls 18+ hour days working for this sleaze and gets paid a flat day rate despite working basically by himself when the set needs ~8 people in total to run. He worked his ass off for a gig bill got at a local highschool grad party and only got paid half of what he invoiced bill.
Bill also micromanages to the point of constantly making my husband and paul behind schedule. Halting any work until they try it his way and it inevitably doesnt work because bill doesnt know what hes doing. I would describe him as someone who aspires to run a business like elon musk: work the skeleton crew to the bone and then move on to the next cheapest labor. Taking any shortcuts he can and violating labor rights. Bill even sent two PI's to harass a former employee who filed for unemployment and Bill didnt want to pay unemployment. The former employee left the state to avoid harassment from the private investigators. He does not have workers comp so if my husband gets injured because of bills abusive demands, we would have to pay for our life on my income alone, not to mention medical bills.
Anyways, Bill is pushing for his idea to take off. And because of that hes scheduling gigs all the time. My husband has worked on and off for him for three years. My husband is a freelance audio engineer and a really good one at that. His talent is well beyond his years and he consistently undercharges and undervalues himself due to his age. His coworkers and other freelancers he works with tell him that hes going to be able to go on tour easily and he actually has the talent to make it big. His coworkers tell me this too whenever they see me. He actually just secured a really awesome gig in LA that hes working on for the next two weeks.
And that brings us to our problem: hes in LA mon-fri and then saturday he is working 24 straight hours for bill. This wouldnt be a problem if he didnt already have a gig scheduled every sunday at a local church from 8am - 12pm. This church pays him really well despite the little amount of work he does for them so we keep it around. The biggest issue with this 24 hour gig is that they have virtually no crew to run this. Which means, again, that my husband will be the only one doing all of the work. My husband tells bill and paul all the time that he needs other people and they continue to make empty promises and continue to fuck him over. Bill and paul dont do any of the heavy lifting either they just bark orders at my husband. This leaves my husband so beyond exhausted that he becomes a shell of himself. Its genuinely heartbreaking to watch. This happened the last time he worked for bill for an extended period of time too. He has 3 crew to set up and 2 to strike a set that requires 8 people to be able to pull this off in 24 hours.
My husband says he continues to work for bill because he has really high tech equipment which my husband likes to learn and use. Bill does not have a good reputation in our area and i keep telling him that by continuing to work for bill, it will hurt his own reputation. Something my husband cares a lot about. Ive brought all of this up to him as well and im met with resistance. I dont know why either, bill is horrible and will only harm my husband in the long run. He KNOWS all of this too. I dont keep my opinions about bill to myself. Especially since my husband has never said one nice thing about Bill. Money is not an issue because my husband is constantly turning down gigs because his schedule is full 7 days a week.
Anyways thanks for reading my rant. No I wont leave my husband so dont even start on that. He is a wonderful, kind, generous man and he allows people to take advantage and abuse that which frustrates me to no end watching him get abused at work constantly. I feel like im over reacting and he says he needs to "slog it through the trenches" in order to get anywhere but bill has no connections or anything that will help him in the long run because bill keeps burning bridges with his "my way or the highway" attitude. I hate bill with all my heart and i hope he fails miserably with his "dream" and it leaves him feeling depressed and sad.
2023.06.08 09:06 hesgoals1 LIONEL MESSI AND ARGENTINA GIVEN HEROES' WELCOME IN BUENOS AIRES: 2022 WORLD CUP TROPHY
 | Football fans around the world are still reeling from Argentina's triumph in the 2022 World Cup. Lionel Messi and his team put on a spectacular display of skill, finesse, and teamwork to lift the coveted trophy. The celebrations were not limited to Russia as Buenos Aires gave them a heroes' welcome upon their return home. In this blog post, we'll take a closer look at Argentina's bid for the World Cup, Messi and Argentina's chances, FIFA's decision, and how Buenos Aires celebrated their victorious team. Plus, if you're looking for where to watch all your favorite football games online, stick around until the end as we introduce you to Hesgoals - your ultimate source for live sports streaming! submitted by hesgoals1 to u/hesgoals1 [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/czxv6routq4b1.jpg?width=1400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=be55a904770fe7d1c95f4681712eb39913f2b33b Argentina's bid for the 2022 World CupArgentina's bid for the 2022 World Cup was one that had been in the works for several years. The country has a rich footballing history, having produced some of the most talented players to grace the sport. Winning their third World Cup title would be an achievement of monumental proportions.The team had undergone significant changes since their last appearance at the tournament in Russia four years ago. New faces were introduced into the squad, and there was increased emphasis on youth development and player fitness. Despite these changes, Argentina remained among the favorites to lift the trophy due to their quality attacking options led by Lionel Messi. The team also boasted a solid defence that could keep out even the toughest opponents. Argentina's success in previous tournaments only added fuel to their ambition as they went all-out with preparations for this year's edition. In many ways, it felt like destiny awaited them - especially considering how close they came in Brazil back in 2014 when Germany lifted it instead. As such, expectations were high going into Qatar 2022 and fans eagerly anticipated seeing if Argentina would finally succeed after so much waiting and anticipation. Messi and Argentina's chancesLionel Messi is undoubtedly one of the best footballers in history. However, he has not yet won a World Cup with Argentina. Messi and his teammates have come close to winning the trophy on several occasions, but they have always fallen short in the final stages.Argentina's chances in the 2022 World Cup are as good as any other top team in the tournament. With players like Messi, Aguero, Dybala and Lo Celso on their side, they have a formidable squad capable of beating anyone on their day. Messi will be determined to win the trophy this time around after coming so close in previous years. He will be motivated by his desire to bring glory to his country and cement his legacy as one of the greatest players ever. However, it's worth noting that football is a team sport and individual brilliance alone cannot guarantee success. The entire Argentinean squad needs to perform at their best if they want to lift the coveted trophy. While Messi is undoubtedly an asset for Argentina's chances at winning 2022 World Cup, it will take more than just him for them to achieve victory over stiff competition from other countries' teams competing for hesgoals viewership worldwide! FIFA's decisionAfter months of anticipation and speculation, FIFA has finally announced its decision regarding the host country for the 2022 World Cup. As expected, Argentina's bid was one of the top contenders for hosting this event, thanks in no small part to Lionel Messi's incredible talent on the field.Despite facing stiff competition from other countries such as Qatar and Australia, Argentina managed to secure a spot as one of the finalists. While many hoped that Messi would be able to lead his team to victory on home soil, ultimately it was not meant to be. In a surprising twist, FIFA ultimately decided to award hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup to Qatar instead. Many fans have expressed disappointment at this decision, feeling that it is unfair given some of the controversies surrounding Qatar's bid. Regardless of how fans feel about FIFA's decision or whether they agree with it or not, there is no denying that excitement continues to build around this highly anticipated soccer event. With only a few years left until kickoff time comes around once again; all eyes will surely be fixed firmly upon what promises itself as an exciting tournament ahead! The celebrations in Buenos AiresThe streets of Buenos Aires were filled with cheers and passionate fans as Lionel Messi and the Argentina national team returned home after winning the 2022 World Cup trophy. The celebrations quickly turned into a massive party, with locals singing, dancing, and waving flags in honor of their beloved team.Fans gathered at key locations throughout the city to catch a glimpse of their heroes, who paraded on an open-top bus through the streets. Messi was undoubtedly the star attraction, receiving rapturous applause wherever he went. From his famous dribbling skills to his leadership qualities on and off the pitch, Messi has always been an inspiration for young footballers in Argentina. The festivities continued long into the night as people danced until dawn. Many local bars stayed open late so that fans could watch highlights from all seven games leading up to Argentina's historic victory. It was truly a night to remember for everyone involved. Not only did this win bring joy to millions of Argentinians around the world but it also brought hope for future generations of talented footballers looking up at Messi as an example and role model. This moment will be remembered by all forever - one that defines not just Argentinean soccer but also how sports can unite people regardless of their backgrounds or beliefs. ConclusionLionel Messi and the Argentine national football team have been given a hero's welcome in Buenos Aires as they celebrate their bid for the 2022 World Cup. Despite being one of the favorites to win the tournament, Argentina will face stiff competition from other top teams around the world.Regardless of whether or not they ultimately emerge victorious, there is no denying that Messi and his teammates are true heroes in their home country. Their hard work, dedication, and unwavering spirit have inspired millions of people all across Argentina to believe in themselves and their dreams. As fans eagerly await the start of this year's World Cup season, it is clear that Messi and Argentina will continue to be major players on the global stage. With their incredible talent and unshakable determination, there is no doubt that they will continue to inspire future generations of footballers both at home and abroad. |
2023.06.08 08:57 12nb34 I was watching their Facebook exchanges ... And he asked them: What happened to the lights in our city? And somebody replied: People are very angry about how the ruling party is neglecting the capital...
 | submitted by 12nb34 to punishment_panic [link] [comments] |
2023.06.08 08:54 Neoncomeon In a relationship with few guy friends and looking for female friends
24 (F) By few I mean by 3 and really it’s just 1 and family members. I really need to branch out and meet girls like me but it’s hard to. Only friend that stuck with me from high school I met their friends and I made friends with one of them who ended up liking me but I didn’t like them back so thats one less close friend from the 3 I mentioned earlier. Then there’s the other friend I met online before my partner and I rarely see them. And my partner (26 M) gets jealous of other men. Apparently the friends I already had were just tolerable and a limit. That one friend I mentioned has a girlfriend and I look forward to talking to her more and getting to know her. Then there’s my cousins wife who’s also been talking to me. But I haven’t made female friends in so long since I was 18 in a job I had that seemed balanced. Unfortunately there were older creeps including my ex. I’m ranting at this point but really I need advice on how to befriend other women so I don’t ruin anything with the ones I mentioned. I should also mention that my boyfriend really wanted me to meet his female coworkers and how his coworkers mostly consist of women and how they always try to invite us out but I usually work and let him go without me. I’ve been so nervous meeting them because he always rants about how judge they are but insists I meet them anyways. I already met a few at one of their parties I was able to attend. Then I recently learned they think I’m a red flag because I only have my guy friends. I actively tried making friends in the past regardless of gender and the girls didn’t really click with me and neither did the guys but I made 1 friend out of my search that I mentioned earlier the one I rarely see. He lives 30 miles away and we both have had our car issues and such. And recently i got into a fight with my boyfriend and he doesn’t want to hang out with my friend because he thinks he judges our relationship. And we were gonna watch a movie together but he couldn’t afford it but my highschool friend invited me (he also doesnt like my distant friend) so I went with him instead and I think it hurt my other friend so he’s been distant since then. Anyways, I don’t want to force friendships with women just because they are women. But I also don’t want to blow it with the women close to those who are close to me in my life.
submitted by Neoncomeon to friendship [link] [comments]
2023.06.08 08:54 bigtittysusan AITA for telling my mom who I want to invite to my graduation?
Hi all, I posted this in another subreddit but no dice, so here we go. Names are changed for privacy purposes :*
So I (F20) am graduating from college this week and it’s a huge deal because I’ll be the first to do so. My family has been supportive and my mom has been involved in planning, but she doesn’t seem happy with anything I want to do.
When I got my tickets, I got six. So I knew immediately who I wanted to invite: mom, brother, my three sisters and boyfriend. If any of these people couldn’t make it, I wanted to extend the invite to my aunt, SIL, boyfriends mom, a family friend I’m very close with, and my best friend. These were all people who meant the world to me and I wanted to celebrate this big moment with.
When I told her I got my tickets, she told me she already told her boyfriend to get the day off and that I would consider saving a ticket for him. I told her that I never agreed to this; in fact, I said if I had an EXTRA ticket I would give it to him, because I think he’s cool. But she didn’t budge.
Next, I wanted to invite my boyfriend’s mom. when I told my mom this she said she wanted her friend (let’s call her Mia) to come. I told her no, because I personally don’t know her well enough to invite her. She got upset with this and just left.
My brother texted me saying he couldn’t come because he would be rehearsing for his own graduation that day, so I extended the invitation to my family friend, Jessica. We were able to make a plan for her to come down, and my mom didn’t like this.
Yesterday, I got three extra tickets and knew exactly who I wanted to give these to; my SIL and my aunt. I told my mom about my extra tickets and she said I should invite my godfather who is extremely homophobic (my siblings and I are all lgbtq in some way and my mom knows this), so again, I said I wasn’t comfortable with that. She just got quiet when I told her I already made plans with my SIL and aunt to come down. As with my third ticket, I ended up inviting my best friend and they were more than happy to come.
When I went over the final plans with my mom, I could tell she was somewhat upset by this. My boyfriend thinks I’m justified in this, as he’s been watching it unfold. But in all honesty I just want to spend this day with the people that mean the most to me. I don’t want to be spending it with people I barely know or talk to. I’ve reassured my mom that we could invite all these people to my brother and I’s joint graduation party, but she seems set on these people. AITA for just wanting to celebrate this day with these people?
submitted by bigtittysusan to AmItheAsshole [link] [comments]
So I (F20) am graduating from college this week and it’s a huge deal because I’ll be the first to do so. My family has been supportive and my mom has been involved in planning, but she doesn’t seem happy with anything I want to do.
When I got my tickets, I got six. So I knew immediately who I wanted to invite: mom, brother, my three sisters and boyfriend. If any of these people couldn’t make it, I wanted to extend the invite to my aunt, SIL, boyfriends mom, a family friend I’m very close with, and my best friend. These were all people who meant the world to me and I wanted to celebrate this big moment with.
When I told her I got my tickets, she told me she already told her boyfriend to get the day off and that I would consider saving a ticket for him. I told her that I never agreed to this; in fact, I said if I had an EXTRA ticket I would give it to him, because I think he’s cool. But she didn’t budge.
Next, I wanted to invite my boyfriend’s mom. when I told my mom this she said she wanted her friend (let’s call her Mia) to come. I told her no, because I personally don’t know her well enough to invite her. She got upset with this and just left.
My brother texted me saying he couldn’t come because he would be rehearsing for his own graduation that day, so I extended the invitation to my family friend, Jessica. We were able to make a plan for her to come down, and my mom didn’t like this.
Yesterday, I got three extra tickets and knew exactly who I wanted to give these to; my SIL and my aunt. I told my mom about my extra tickets and she said I should invite my godfather who is extremely homophobic (my siblings and I are all lgbtq in some way and my mom knows this), so again, I said I wasn’t comfortable with that. She just got quiet when I told her I already made plans with my SIL and aunt to come down. As with my third ticket, I ended up inviting my best friend and they were more than happy to come.
When I went over the final plans with my mom, I could tell she was somewhat upset by this. My boyfriend thinks I’m justified in this, as he’s been watching it unfold. But in all honesty I just want to spend this day with the people that mean the most to me. I don’t want to be spending it with people I barely know or talk to. I’ve reassured my mom that we could invite all these people to my brother and I’s joint graduation party, but she seems set on these people. AITA for just wanting to celebrate this day with these people?
2023.06.08 08:54 starrymonoceros Have I Missed The Re-Watch Party?... 🚬
... Or Am I just super-late to join and can't find the newer Re-Watch threads/posts here? I only found from 1 mo ago S4. I Smoked too many joints n ate too many cans of ravioli to be on time for it earlier
submitted by starrymonoceros to trailerparkboysGOOD [link] [comments]