Bed bath n beyond curtains

Hey.. Still getting ready for my relo to your spot.. I am working out my budget and wanted some first hand knowledge.. I got the price for internet (going with Google or AT&T), but for electricity and water I want some help. Full facts, it will just be me, but I am a bit of a space hog.. I am planning on renting a house (1200 - 1600 sqf). Most likely a 3 Bed 2 Bath (my kids will visit). What is the projection for Electric and water....
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Thanks for your help

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.
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Hi all,
I’m urgently looking to sublet my Puerta Del Sol 2 bed-2 bath shared starting June 19 to early September. The time span of the lease/move-in is negotiable.
Rent is $768/month + electricity fees and the room may be shared with another roommate. Must be a female UCI student.
Please message me for more details if you’re interested!
I am usually more responsive on discord (jamiiie#6319) or instagram (@jamiiee.ee).

im constantly doing research but i always find something i didnt know before and i have so many questions. i bought him a massive and extremely expensive cage, constantly buying him toys, talk to him all the time, etc. i just have some questions id so so grateful if someone could help.

1. i read somewhere just a few minuts earlier that ur not supposed to make eye contact w ur bird cus then they see u a predator?? what?? i do that all the time and now im worried hes threatened of me
2. ur not supposed to chase around ur bird, ikik. butttt i used to give him a bath in my bathroom shower (in his cage). but now the cage is too big for that. i give him one in the balcony and use a water sprayer. he LOVES baths, and has no fear of water or baths. but the sprayer im using, he seems to be afraid of it? when he first saw it he panicked and flapped his wings and flew to the other side of the cage obviously panicked. my mom said its just cus its a new object, but i wonder if its cus of the colour? its bright red. he would also get scared when i sprayed it at him. idk why cus when we do it in the bathroom shower he loves it. i thought maybe cus its a new environment? but hes still not used to it. issue is when he doesnt do it i just chase him around with it, cus how else do i give him a bath? but now im realizing that was a bad decision. and i feel like its probably making him hate me. evetually he does settle down and stays still so i can shower him though.

he's a bit more accustomed to it now, lot more than before, but still he panicks sometimes and tries to fly to different parts of his cage sometimes esp if i get too close with the sprayer or try to spray his frontside. also he doesnt let me spray his frontside just the back. so like, how am i supposed to give him a bath? why is he scared of the sprayer, should i stick to what hes comfy with (the bathroom) or try to get him accustomed to this cus its a bit more convenient? im gonna try keeping the sprayer next to his cage today to see if he gets more used to it.
3) i put a lil container inside his cage for him to bathe himself sometimes. i took it out now but the issue is he keeps dipping hard things (pellets, biscuits) in it to soak them and eat lol. but the container is pretty big and wide so the biscuit floats away and then he cant take it again. and i dont want him taking a bath in that water.
4) i heard about target training to get him out of his cage. i have a question - so in target training u tap a stick and then he follows it, and when he does u treat him cus he followed te stick and eventually when hes used to it u take im out of the cage. thats cool but what if he follows the stick to attack it? do i still treat him?? cus if i give him a treat then, itll be like im treating him to attack, and i dont want him to attack things.
5) i got him to lick things i put inside the cage in exchange for a treat. but then i wasnt home for 2-3 days and now he doesnt do it anymore. also yesterday he was super mad at me for some reason, kept attacking me. he usually doesnt and i can put my hands inside the cage (as long as theyre not near him), sometime si even put my head in. yesterday he was NOT having in. today when i put my hand in to change his food he opened his mouth (didnt lunge). i took it a bit slow then he didnt mind.
6) his mood like fluctuates on certain days hes angrier than other. i think he likes kissy sounds lol whenever i make those hes a bit nicer. i think it soothes him or something.
7) i read somewhere that u shouldnt give ur parrot a bath and they can do it themselves?? this along with him not being a fan of the sprayer is making me consider it but when i give him a bath i can clean him nicely. plus he does LOVE baths, just not the newer version of it lol.
8) i dont give him seeds often. he loves them but ir ead theyre too high on fat so i rarely give it. yesterday i gave him 2 things he loves but no one was home all day n i came home n saw he hadnt eaten ANYTHING. and it was almost 9pm. so i gave him seeds and he ate that and i put him to sleep at 10. should i give seeds more often?
9) he sleeps from 8pm onwards and gets very cranky during that time i assume cus hes sleepy. but also the past few days ive been busy at night n my parents put him to sleep a lil late like 9-10pm. i think thats making him cranky??
10) how dark should his cage be at night? ever since i got this new cage, i cant cover it properly. his cage is in the hall. earlier his cage was smaller so we would drape a bedsheet over it but now the cage is too big for that. the hall has lights on until like 12am. i just drape a bedhseet over it and its semi-dark in the top part of the cage (where he sleeps) but its not DARK dark as light still seeps in from the bottom half of the cage + the bedsheet isnt fully opaque (little bit light still comes in from the bedsheet as i cant fold it since the cage is already big). also sometimes the TV is on during this time, is the noise annoying him? hes never minded the TV, in his smaller cage he used to sleep well cus we could make it dakr in his cage. now im thinking maybe hes not sleeping so good? i dont know, hes only been cranky the past 2-3 days, should i try keeping him elsewhere? how do i cover the cage well without making it super hot inside?
11) reasons i think hes been cranky - a) i havent been home the past few days and have been busy and not spending as much time w him b) the sprayer?? idkkk c) hes being put to sleep late? if the hall is dark he'll just go to sleep but then someone comes in and switches on the light and since theres no bedsheet covering him
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honestly just overall i need help w tricks on how to tame him. do i need to use those clicker thingies? overall, hes not super afraid of me. he eats from my hand (although one time he bit me), he loves it when i talk to him and listens intently. sometimes he gets mad or lunges at me. past few days hes been a bit mad.
hes not yet comfy coming out of his cage but if i can get this target training thing then ill try that soon. he doesnt let me touch him, not with my hand or any object.
i wanna eventually get him out and be able to touch him. but with the target training i really dont know if i should reward him when he follows the stick just to attack it. cus i dont wanna reward him attacking but i want him to follow the stick???

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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.
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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.
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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)

I was five or six years old when I wore a suit for the first time. And I hated it. The collar felt too tight, and I kept running my finger around under it to try to loosen it up.
Just a clip-on tie. It would have been a simple matter to take it off and undo the top button of my shirt. But dad was in an unaccustomed suit of his own, and he didn’t, so I didn’t.
It was a formal occasion, you see. His mother had died, and the two of us were sitting up with her through the night.
An old tradition still practiced among us at that time. Heartening back to a much earlier time, when medical science wasn’t as advanced, and before embalming became a common practice. But still observed.
For three days and nights, someone would be in constant attendance upon the deceased.
This would take place in the parlor, or living room, of the home, rather than in a funeral parlor. It was a duty of close Family, or dear friends.
The person would be laid out in state, in the coffin they were to be buried in, with the lid open. And with them, someone or someone’s would sit and wait.
In the old days, this was done for good reason. A person, with the less exact medical knowledge of the time, would sometimes be mistakenly pronounced dead. Three days, before the advent of embalming, would be sufficient to ensure that they were, by advent of noticeable indications of the beginnings of decay. Also the origin of the tradition of strongly sweet-smelling flowers, as I understand it.
Of course, the person would sometimes revive, or sufficient time would have passed without indications of decay, and so would give notice that perhaps they weren’t gone, after all.
But when I was a youngster, a tradition that was still practiced, for tradition’s sake.
It was late at night, the house and all in it sleeping around us. Just the two of us, sitting in hard-backed wooden chairs. Not speaking. A small nightlight on to aid the pale moonlight coming through the window. Just enough to see by.
I’s stood and looked at her for a while earlier. Out of curiosity, mostly. Unlike Gram and Gramp, I’d had known her hardly at all. The one or two times I’d met her in the past, she’d been a cold, stern, unsmiling woman who hadn’t seemed to like us much. I would come to know in years yet to come that she’d never approved of Mother, though they were kin. Or at least, of her marriage to dad. And I guess that had applied to us children, as well. It had been the cause of a certain distance developing between her and dad, too, as time had passed.
My Grampa Wallace, her husband, had been dead for years before my time, so I knew him only from a couple of photographs. In them, he’d been as stern and unsmiling as she.
She didn’t look much different now, I thought, than on the rare occasion I’d seen her when she was still alive.
Death wasn’t really a mystery to even young children who had spent their early years as we had. We knew first-hand where the meat we ate came from, for instance. And we knew that all living things, including people, must someday die, as we eventually would ourselves. It was the natural order of things, and not a thing to be feared for itself, beyond the reticence of anything that lived to not continue to do so.
Granny Caroline had long lived out of state, had been brought back Home, upon her death, to be buried beside her husband.
The house she was laid out in was not the old family home, but that of Uncle Woodrow and Aunt Tate. It being not as distant, and easier to access for all those wishing to come pay their respects.
I loved that old house myself. We’d visited it many times when I was small, before we’d moved to the City. The thing I liked best about it was its location.
Uncle Woodrow had picked up the property itself for next to nothing years ago, and built the house for himself and Aunt Tate. It was just a small piece of ground, comparable in size to a City lot. A small fenced and gated front yard, and a back yard big enough for a little grass and a truck garden. On the edge of one of the small towns that were found here and there, off the state route.
Uncle Wood had been either a cheap or a broke bastard, or both. Or perhaps his part-Scotts heritage had made him literally unable to pass up such a deal.
The reason it had been so cheap was that no one else had wanted it. It sat at the very edge of the railroad right-of-way. You could fit three cars or trucks side-by-side between the front gate and the raised track bed, if you didn’t mind parking them close to each other; but no more.
And so, the problem was the coal trains. Those long caravans of heavily loaded hopper cars would rumble past with some frequency, so over-topped-off that chunks of coal would invariably fall off along their route.
And they would frequently pass at considerable speed. And so long that if you were caught at a crossing, you might as well shut your engine off and get comfortable. You were gonna be there for a little while.
And you didn’t want to get in the way of one. They didn’t stop for shit. They couldn’t. Not without half the width of the county to do it in.
The ground would shake as those things went by. And so would the house. As a sprat, I used to like to stand in the front room where Caroline now lay, listen to the glass in the windows rattle, and watch Aunt Tate’s curios and figurines dance on their shelves; waiting for one or two to fall off. But none ever did. They were wide shelves.
Wood and Tate never seemed to pay it any mind. You can get used to anything, I guess.
Caroline had been late getting Home, in the first place. Arrangements had been made for her to be flown Home. Lost luggage had long been an issue in the airline industry, of course. But this time they did one better - they lost Caroline.
She was located eventually, of course, and returned to where she was supposed to be. A woman who’d never been out of the Continental United States in her life had finally made it to Hawaii.
So dad and I sat in the quiet, dark room, in the silent, dark house, in our uncomfortable, stiff suits, and kept her company throughout the night.

Hi Everyone
There's a little bit to unpack with this and I haven't been able to find deadset answers to all my questions online.
I'm currently in a 5 person lease in a rental propery. One person on this tenancy has not actually lived at the property for the best part of 3 months now. He still has a reasonably large number of his belongings (bed, drawers, some clothes etc) in his room but has recently stopped paying his rent. This means that us as the other 4 tenants are having to split his rent between us to ensure we don't go into arrears. Our lease ends in 2 months and it has been communicated by our property manager that he will not be allowed to resign a lease due to the condition he has left his bedroom in (mould/dampness caused by a lack of ventillation). She is more than happy for the rest of us to re-sign onto another 1 year lease.
We have attempted to make contact with him 4 times over the past month and have had no luck. He has seen our messages on messenger (so he's alive) and we found out today he's actually been to see the property manager (trying to get rent in advance money back). He's been told to replace the curtains (due to mold) and get his bedroom professionally cleaned before he moves out. If he fails to do this the property manager will do it and take the cost out of his bond (seems more than reasonable to me).
Questions

• What are our avenues to recover the money we have had to use to pay his rent?
• Given he has stopped paying his rent what happens to his belongings? Can we chuck them out or sell them? If the lease ends and he still hasn't collected them what happens?
• How does bond work when we find a tenant to replace him. He is very unlikely to get his full bond, if any of it refunded. Historically when completing a change of tenant form the new tenant pays the departing tenant the bond.

I appreciate any advice/resources provided in advance!

It happened around March of 2016 since I had my AC on and it was pretty hot night in Texas. Me heading off to sleep on my own bed after my week stay from a behavioral hospital. I was prepping up my bed and off I doze up to sleep at 11:36am. Yes I slept late even though I go to highschool but this week was for me to rest up from school since I gotten a therapist note given to the principal.
Anyways I doze off and woken up in my dream. I was in my room and it was sunny outside. I peeked out the window and it was so warm and fuzzy day. I then lay on my bed with the window opened and then move around my room from drawing to fixing my room a bit and looking at the time. Then it quickly got dark and I shut the curtains fast and hopped back in bed to lay down. I proceed to cover myself in my blanket and hold my body pillow close. It felt like an hour passed and heard a creaking on the floor and got alarmed. I turn slowly to lay on my back and saw the entity.
It was looking at me with pure black eyes straight to my own. It's a monster. A demon. It had six or eight thin legs that ended them being sharp. A long body that made the thing look agilities of a flexible snake with high speeds. The head of human like?? But fleshy of darkness. The body was covered in sort of scales but also the skin was hard and sturdy that not bullet can harm it. The skin was also coming off like a slimy substance but also noticed six pores on its belly which I didn't know what it can do there.
Then it began to speak in a very terrifying voice you can ever hear in your dreams. So clear that you might think you're talking to it in real life.
"So... You're the one I've been looking for you for ages!" It hisses in an angry tone, "I've finally found you... Future guardian!"
I scurried to run away but it quickly pinned me down on my own bed. My body now facing the opposite way whole my feet were on my pillow, I shivered in fear and tried to summon my wings but somehow the entity made something to avoid me from doing so. I felt hopeless as if I was caged up.
"LET ME GO!!! HELP MEEEEE!" I cried for help and my scream felt too real to me. I wished this was not happening in reality. I begged to wake up but couldn't and now stuck in this nightmare.
I checked the time and it was 2:30 am. I'll repeat the clock and keep in mind, the clock is an important piece of my stories.
The entity hisses and the pores became tentacles sprouting under it and lifted my shirt to reveal my back. I was scared shitless and then hit me with the tentacles on my back as hard as it could. My body was now paralyzed and couldn't move. I tried to scream for help or something but couldn't. Even trying to shift my limbs a bit. I couldn't.
"I FINALLY GOT YOU. YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU ARE NOW MINE!!! YOU CAN'T ESCAPE! Can't believe they chosen you to be the new guardian or something in their eyes."
My back felt wierd and it sucked out something out of me. It was hungry and starving for fear and I was looking at the door which was my only hope to escape.
Then my hope was close to diminished until I saw bright light on the gaps of the door. The beast looked at the light and continued to look at me. Then loud bangs on the door began to arise.
"THIS IS THE POLICE!! LET THE KID GO! OPEN THE DOOR!!!"
I was scared since the loud banging scares me and the beast snarled and continued to see me as it sucked my back.
The cops banged again and then another being appeared in my room with glowing white light.
"LET HER GO YOU BEAST OF HELL!" it said.
The beast finally let's go of me and scramble to be facing the being. "SHE IS MINE!! I WILL KILL HER IF I MUST!!"
"FROM THE HEAVENS TO GOD'S HANDS, I SHALL RETURN YOU BACK TO HELL!!! YOU BROKE THE GOD'S LAW OF TOUCHING A GUARDIAN IN THE MAKING AND SHOULD BE PUNISHED BY BOTH GOD AND LUCIFER!!"
The entity hisses angrily, "YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!!"
Then it lunges towards the being and I saw the clock. 3:45am
"TO THE GATES OF HELL!! TOWARDS THE PUNISHMENT OF TWO HANDS, YOU SHALL NEVER RETURN TO THIS REALM EVER AGAIN!!"
Then there was a bight light explode inside while the door was closed and I woke up.
I was in the same position as I was when the entity pinned me down on my bed. My shirt still exposing my back and the clock read 3:45am. I was still paralyzed and moved slowly as the most harsh tingling feeling grown in my body and back. I can still feel the tentacles on my back like six of them and to this day I can feel them still.
I then rested my head on my pillow and was scared to sleep back again. I couldn't sleep till 6 am and I couldn't dream. When I slept again, it was dark. Nothing. Floating in the void as if the entity and being were still around somewhere and it was protecting me for the time being.
After that incident, I fear sleeping because what if it happens again. Then as I dreamed, I felt pain anywhere I got hurt. It became too real that at one point my arm was in pain as well but that's a story for another day.
Idk if that being was the guardian angel since the glowing was too bright to even see them.

Edit to add: I am in KS, US.
I am hoping someone will have some insight. I am up against a tight deadline, heavily disabled, and desperately need advice.
This is long, so…
TLDR: My legal representation for my Social Security disability application did such a poor job representing me, or even understanding what they’re trying to help me with, that I was denied at the hearing level. This is very, very bad, and I need a new lawyer ASAP.
More details:
I have tried three separate times (separate applications) in KS to apply for disability. The first 2-3 times I was too ill to meet any deadlines and my application was denied by default. I have been trying since 2015.
This most recent attempt, I finally had some help from my partner to meet the deadlines I had missed before. My application was still denied on the grounds that my “hands still work.”
I could not keep up with the appeals process and hired legal representation. It has been utter chaos ever since.
My appeal was denied, this time because I am sick but “not sick enough,” so I requested a hearing in front of a judge.
My legal representation was part of some merger and changed their company name. The disorganization only increased from there on. I have never been allowed to speak to the person whose name is on my paperwork as my lawyer, in spite of requesting many times. Over the past two years or so, I barely heard from them. When I contacted them myself, I’ve never spoken to the same person, rarely does someone know what is going on with my case, and no one was able to tell me who would actually be representing me—until 2 weeks before the hearing. At some point along the way, I was going to fire them and find someone else, but didn’t have the health to deal with that given they would probably fight over the fee.
This person did not contact me about my hearing until 2pm the afternoon before my 830 am hearing with a judge. I missed the call and when I returned it an hour later, we were able to speak. I’m still not sure if that was a good thing.
My legal rep is not a lawyer, just an authorized rep who works for the lawyer that no one will let me speak to. He made no effort to learn, on his own or ahead of time by communicating with me, what my limitations are. Therefore he was not aware that expecting to talk to me on the phone for about an hour was going to make me horribly ill.
I informed him of this but he insisted the judge should see what I’m like when I’m really badly sick. I got sick during the conversation and he did not understand that continuing to talk was making things worse, even after I told him.
He asked me tons of questions, and told me he and the judge would be asking me these things and similar during the hearing. We also discussed the last date I was able to work.
I was so sick from that phone call that I had to take emergency medications to avoid the emergency room that night.
The next morning for my hearing, I was so sick and medicated that I couldn’t think or hardly make sense. The trouble with my illness is, it’s invisible. I don’t look sick, I look stupid and lazy.
My hearing was virtual and I was lying in bed in my pajamas. I insisted on having my partner present for emotional support, but he was not able to help me when I was floundering from my neurological disorder disrupting my communication abilities.
The legal rep told the judge a date for last date of work that was years later than we had agreed on the day before. In my medicated stupor, I agreed with him because I was afraid to argue in front of the judge.
My legal rep also asked me about 10% of the questions he told me was going to, and then gave me the open floor. I was too sick to think and didn’t advocate well for myself at all. That’s what I thought I was paying him to do for me, since I can’t.
I received no follow up about the hearing from my rep.
I was just denied again. I have ONE more opportunity to appeal, and they do not have to grant me one.
If I do not find a better lawyer and a way to fire this team of incompetency, I am going to be denied that too.
I am open to advocacy organizations of any kind, but at this point am considering signing over a power of attorney to a family member and giving up. I cannot continue to fight in a system designed for well people. I’m not even convinced I will survive the next three years of this illness.
Side note, my disease is listed on their “fast track” system called compassionate allowance, or something to that effect. They’ll speed up their decision for you but it won’t affect their decision. My legal rep never put me on this list so I’ve only just now learned about it and have been waiting almost two years for this hearing I just bombed.
I am absolutely desperate for help with how to fire, rehire, and how to find someone who can do their job.
I am 90% bedridden, 100% homebound, and can’t even bathe myself. I sleep about 20 hours a day. Any exertion or external stimuli makes me sicker, sometimes permanently. There is absolutely no reason I should have been denied in a hearing with a judge, period.
If you read all of this and can offer me some help, you are an angel. Thank you.

Original price is $1,036 per month (utilities included) but willing to rent it out $800 per month. +$200 none refundable deposit. Private bed and shared bath installed AC/Heater (access to gym and pool). Dm for more detail. :) Lease date is from July 1st to Dec 2. You can move in earlier if desired. No extra fees, just being charged for the two months. If interested or further questions DM. Phone: (323) 439-3255 IG: ixtan_brendy Or just send message here :)

Cannot get toddler to sleep. Please help!!!! (Cross-posted)
He is 3 and last 2 weeks or so we have had absolute garbage sleep in our house. His bedtime routine has been the same for a year or so. It goes like this:

1. About an hour before bed, we start wind down with the bath, lotion, jamies, and brush teeth.
2. 30minutes before bed we read books or play some kind of quiet game.
3. 10 minutes we start bedtime countdown. We do a potty at the 10. We alert again at 5 minutes and 2 minutes again before bed.
4. Goodnight kisses and lay down. Usually 1-2 board books as he likes to quietly "read" once we leave the room.

Lately, step 4 is a damn nightmare. Every excuse in the book is used to delay bedtime. When this does not work, there is a full on hysterical meltdown. When we intermittently check in and lay him down, he just gets more worked up. When we ignore, same. The past couple weeks we have had about 1-3 hours of screaming before he initially falls asleep no matter what we have tried. If I try to completely calm him or suggle to sleep, leaving the room restarts the tantrum without fail.
Then, he wakes up and restarts the damn process about an hour after he falls asleep. He gets up, wants to "sleep" in our bed. Allowed it 1 time and it sucked, no thank you. Or wants to play. Or wants a book. Or wants to have snacks. Or just gets up and leaves his room. He will just delay delay delay and NOT stay in bed. When he is told no, he will scream like a banshee. You would think we are hurting him the way he screams. It is primal and so incredibly difficult to remain collected and patient.
What the heck are we doing wrong?!?!
Because I know you are going to ask:
Daycare tried to drop his nap in hopes of better bedtime, no luck. Nap is hit or miss for the past month or two and he never wants to sleep for her anymore.
We don't watch much TV, especially this time of year. No screen time usually within like 4 or 5 hours of bed.
We do physical activity almost all day. He is at a daycare with a lot of activity and when he gets home, we play outside.
No diet changes that I can think of. Minimized sweets, just in case. No soda, candy, processed snacks at home. Daycare is pretty good and offers generic kid food such as sandwiches, granola bars, yogurts, vegies and dip, watered down juice, etc. Just dinner at home after daycare (protein, fresh veg, carb) and maybe a greek yogurt or fruit if he is wanting a dessert. No luck.
We read all kinds of kids books about easy bedtime/tantrums and he loves them but they don't stick in a noticeable way.
I try and do a lot of emotion recognition and management with him. We work on talking about good and bad feelings and how to manage them a lot. He understands and it does help to a point. He does tell me when he is happy, silly, sad, frustrated, or mad. We are working on deep breaths, counting, taking breaks. He usually does great during the day with this stuff and will come up to me and tell me when he has an issue. I try to sympathize and we talk it out, but at bedtime all of this is out the window except for maybe including that he is angry when he screams.

For the 4th time in as many months, I was texting my husband all day - getting no replies.
Today though, our toddler son was pretty sick, and I was exhausted, frustrated, and REALLY in need of some help - hoping desperately that he could come home early if possible. In between HOURS of changing and bathing our kid and doing many bedding changes & load after load of laundry - I barely eaked out a dozen desperate texts about my desperate situation- and yet he never replied to any of them
I thought "geeze, if he's not even answering these messages, he really has to be buried in issues at work or today he's working in someplace like a bank vault where he's not allowed to have his phone".
As the hours passed without any reply - I began to worry that HE was okay.
When he finally DID text me at 830pm just to say he was on his way home- I was pretty aggravated that it was the first id heard from him...
And then at 9pm when he finally called me while I was in the middle of wrangling the upset baby (which id JUST explained to him via text)... the first words out of his mouth were - "you could have AT LEAST answered my text".
You can only imagine MY anger since not only had I replied to him immediately HE had not answered a single one of MY messages all damn day! The nerve!
It was during this call that we realized that he wasn't actually getting ANY of my texts. So instead of being pissed at HIM.... Now I'm looking at YOU, T-Mobile.
Wanna know why?
Because thisis the FOURTH DAMN TIME T-Mobile has shut off my ability to send texts.
They give no warning - and absolutely ZERO notice - they just shut off your text messaging ability and yet on my phone- it would appear as if they are sending and being recieved perfectly fine.
This is UNACCEPTABLE. Its downright DANGEROUS - People text 911 and in many other desperate and dangerous situations to get help. Many deaf people rely ENTIRELY on texting because they can't MAKE regular phone calls.
SEVERAL times during these "shut downs", I have lost opportunities to make money - I've upset and angered friends - and I've lost the trust of people I was buying or selling things from - resulting in those deals falling apart all because SUDDENLY I've dropped off the face of the earth and didn't answer thier messages for days on end... All while I WAS answering them back and they were ignoring me.... because they WEREN'T GETTING MY TEXTS.
It isn't until I've physically stood beside the person and we compared phone screens - that I was able to PROVE I had been answering them.
This has caused COUNTLESS problems with the club I run, the classes I teach, my kids and thier friends- and my own friends and family.
It's cost me money, caused me HOURS and sometimes DAYS of anger and frustration - all because T-Mobile has decided that I SEND TOO MANY TEXTS or that I text my friends in ways they don't like.
I DEMANDED answers the first time this happened.
I was told they "don't know the number of texts you can send before they shut down your messages". I was told they couldn't find out and no one really knew. I was told that once a customer get accused of "spamming" by thier magical algorithms; they just shut you off and don't say a damn word.
I was told that including a link in my text messages (like when i sent a link to my fellow club members about a discounted Lego set!)
OR when I announced to a few dozen friends that my classes were starting back up - that it must have been "too many texts" and triggered the "rate limit" and that they couldn't take the block off for 72 hours.
On tonight's complaint call - with a woman from India who proceeded to read a script - over and over telling me HOW MUCH SHE CARES that i couldn't text my husband about my sick baby - and HOW IMPORTANT IT IS that my messages go through when i text my club members.... I told her to STOP with the script and the "empathy" and just get me an answer on EXACTLY how many texts I can send before they shut down my phone.
I sent just 42 text messages to individuals yesterday - all people that i know personally - and in doing so - I manually changed up EVERY SINGLE TEXT so that the content of the messages were personalized, contained each person's name and did NOT include the same wording over and over. It took two and a half hours for something i could have sent in two minutes.
I only sent links to an event on my Google calendar to those club members who hadn't yet RSVP'd.
The only other texts I sent all day were to my own family members .... And I sent ONE group text to the 46 people in my club - broken down into three groups, so three of the same message went out within a minute. I have no idea if ANY of those texts went through.
I was told that TMobile had ONCE AGAIN flagged me as sending spam and had shut off my ability to text for 72+ hours.
For the FOURTH DAMN TIME, I was told that it could take upwards of 24-72 hours to reinstate my text messaging..I was also, LAUGHABLY, told to contact my club members, friends- and family - and asked to have them all download a special third party app to message me. Like "whatsap" or something.
When I asked the INCREDIBLY annoying tech support woman how i was supposed to send ANY MESSAGE to all of those people- after all - isn't that EXACTLY what they had banned me from texting for doing?! Plus, without the ability to send texts- am I supposed to call my hundreds of phone contacts and explain the situation over and over and over to each one, asking them to please install a special messages app JUST TO TALK TO ME?
Finally tonight, the tech told me "unlimited messaging is limited to 300 messages per day, and any more than that will shut down your service by triggering a spam block." Even if you text the same person over and over with different messages- if you're talking to them THAT MUCH, T-Mobile calls it SPAM AND DISABLES YOUR TEXT MESSAGING SERVICE.
So you've heard it here folks - we pay for "unlimited data and text messaging" and T-Mobile's explanation of "unlimited" is;

• no more than 300 total texts.
• no photos or links can be sent to groups or multiple individuals
• you must personally and individually text everyone you know, even if you need to send the exact same message to multiple people like "Thanksgiving dinner is at 3pm at Grandma's this year"- that's enough to trigger them SHUTTING YOU DOWN.

And - even if you FOLLOW all of those things (like i did yesterday)- they might STILL flag your account, shut off your texts, and NEVER TELL YOU- So you'll never know until you find out from someone in person - that no one is actually getting any of your messages!
I had Verizon and then Sprint for over 14 years. Some days, id send out over a thousand texts, about the Christmas charity that i run - letting people know we were starting up our collection for the year. NEVER EVER- Not even once - did they EVER restrict my texts.
I've only had TMobile since they bought out Sprint (after SWEARING id never ever go back to them, when they destroyed the Sidekick phones & lost ALL of my company's contacts and data back in 2010!)- and it's been nothing but PURE HELL and CONSTANT ISSUES ever since.
I hate you, TMobile. More than I've ever hated any company in existence.

He is 3 and last 2 weeks or so we have had absolute garbage sleep in our house. His bedtime routine has been the same for a year or so. It goes like this:

1. About an hour before bed, we start wind down with the bath, lotion, jamies, and brush teeth.
2. 30minutes before bed we read books or play some kind of quiet game.
3. 10 minutes we start bedtime countdown. We do a potty at the 10. We alert again at 5 minutes and 2 minutes again before bed.
4. Goodnight kisses and lay down. Usually 1-2 board books as he likes to quietly "read" once we leave the room.

Lately, step 4 is a damn nightmare. Every excuse in the book is used to delay bedtime. When this does not work, there is a full on hysterical meltdown. When we intermittently check in and lay him down, he just gets more worked up. When we ignore, same. The past couple weeks we have had about 1-3 hours of screaming before he initially falls asleep no matter what we have tried. If I try to completely calm him, leaving the room restarts the tantrum without fail.
Then, he wakes up and restarts the damn process about an hour after he falls asleep. He gets up, wants to "sleep" in our bed. Allowed it 1 time and it sucked, no thank you. Or wants to play. Or wants a book. Or wants to have snacks. Or just gets up and leaves his room. He will just delay delay delay and NOT stay in bed. When he is told no, he will scream like a banshee. You would think we are hurting him the way he screams. It is primal and so incredibly difficult to remain collected and patient.
What the heck are we doing wrong?!?!
Because I know you are going to ask:
Daycare tried to drop his nap in hopes of better bedtime, no luck. Nap is hit or miss for the past month or two and he never wants to sleep for her anymore.
We don't watch much TV, especially this time of year. No screen time usually within like 4 or 5 hours of bed.
We do physical activity almost all day. He is at a daycare with a lot of activity and when he gets home, we play outside.
No diet changes that I can think of. Minimized sweets, just in case. No soda, candy, processed snacks once he is home. Just dinner (protein, fresh veg, carb) and maybe a greek yogurt or fruit if he is wanting a dessert. No luck.
We read all kinds of kids books about easy bedtime/tantrums and he loves them but they don't stick in a noticeable way.
I try and do a lot of emotion recognition and management with him. We work on talking about good and bad feelings and how to manage them a lot. He understands and it does help to a point. He does tell me when he is happy, silly, sad, frustrated, or mad. We are working on deep breaths, counting, taking breaks. He usually does great during the day with this stuff and will come up to me and tell me when he has an issue. I try to sympathize and we talk it out, but at bedtime all of this is out the window except for maybe including that he is angry when he screams.

Hi, I am turning to you good people for some advice on buying a projector. I've never owned one, so I don't know a lot about them and there's so many on the market, I'd love some recommendations from your personal experience. I'll try to give you as much info as possible:
1) Reasons for buying: I live in a small flat and don't have room for a large TV. I do have a blank wall in the bedroom on the opposite side of my bed I could project to. Before you ask: no, I sadly can't put a TV on that wall, because I have a sliding door and a tv would block it. :(
2) Where it will be used: The width of the wall without any obstruction is about 160cm and the distance from the wall to where the projector would be is about 230cm. As I'm renting, I don't want to install a shelf on the wall behind the bed, so I'd ideally place the projector on top of a short bookshelf (about 110cm tall), which is slightly to the side, not at the centre of the wall. So something like auto keystone would be fantastic. I'm really bad at guessing this, but I assume the projection on the wall would not be more than a 10-15 degree horizontal angle... ish? The room can be pretty dark, but I'd want a projector that works well if there's not complete darkness, too. So, during the day with dark curtains closed but a small amount of light leaking in, for example.
3) Features I'm after: I'd use it almost exclusively for watching films & TV. So streaming service integration would be superb, also good (wireless?) connectivity with my (Samsung/android) tablet or phone in addition to standard HDMI wired connection & USB support would be great. I also don't have a separate sound system, so good integrated speakers are a big bonus. I'm not too fussed about the resolution, but I was thinking at least 1080p.
4) in terms of price, I wouldn't want to go past 600 EUR (~650 USD), possibly less.
I actually first got the idea for a projector from seeing the Samsung Freestyle that to me seemed to tick most of the boxes, but I heard it's really dim (I have no clue how many lumens I'd need) and not worth its price (It retails for a little less than 500 EUR where I'm from, though). I also had my eye on the Anker Nebula Cosmos 1080p, which is also around 550 EUR. Would any of these 2 fit my needs and you'd recommend them or do you have any other recommendations?
All help will be very much appreciated! I'm also happy to provide more info on my wants & needs if I forgot anything.

Hi friends I’m wanting to try and get advice on the cheapest way to buy bulk Pokémon cards in Australia, and I thought maybe Reddit would have some ideas. Money is tighter than it’s ever been for us right now.
My kid pulled a couple of cards he really loved recently after I found some old packs of unopened cards in a box in the back of a wardrobe at Nanna’s house.
He pulled a rainbow charizard and he was absolutely THRILLED. He had a shoe box of cards he’s collected over the last 4 years, he had two large folders of holos and rares and even a bunch of his dads original cards and a few Japanese cards. Thousands of dollars worth of cards, easily. Every cent he has been given over the last 4 years has been spent on Pokémon cards.
So, being excited, he decided to take his folder and his shoe box to school. We allowed the shoe box, but he was suppose to leave the folders with the most expensive/rarer cards at home. Unfortunately, he’s 10 years old, adhd/ASD, and doing what he’s told isn’t always his strong suit.
At school he’s been having trouble with a bully, and she thought it would be hilarious to break into the classroom and steal his cards from the teachers desk during lunch break and throw his box of cards down a third floor stairwell and then take his folders and pour an entire 2L bottle of Coca Cola over them from the top of the stairwell, and down to on the cards she had tipped on the stairs.
Most of his cards are now destroyed and he is beyond devastated. He has about 40 cards left that he’s managed to save out of hundreds, possibly thousands. The bully was suspended for two days and will spend the next semester using her breaks to participate in charity/community work with the principal. The bully’s family are fairly well known locally and don’t have a lot of money due to… let’s call them “known extracurricular activities” 🙃 so suing them for the damage and asking for replacements etc isn’t going to do us any good unfortunately, and in all honesty I feel bad for the bully to a point for having to try to survive through what she goes through at home. It’s just… sad.
The school of course cannot replace the ruined cards or really do anything except tell my son he shouldn’t bring expensive items to school because nobody can guarantee their safety, which he should already know, his teacher had the cards in her desk because Pokémon cards are a banned item for exactly this reason.
I’d really appreciate any advice at all on how to buy bulk cards across all sets as cheap as possible in Australia. I don’t have much money right now, but I’m so heartbroken for him, I need to do something. I know I’m not going to be able to replace the incredible cards he had but I want to do what I can to give him something. He’s a good kid and he deserves good things. He has been so quiet since it happened, not playing his PlayStation with his friends or doing anything much outside of just watching videos under his blanket in bed when he gets home each day. :( I feel so devastated for him.
Any and all advice would be so appreciated! 💕 thank you in advance!

First Prev
>>Lassus System, Orbit of Lasu, Lassus Station, Early 2670
>Vice Admiral Wolf, TRSC Sword of Reckoning, 7th Fleet
"Sir," Minerva said, reporting to her commanding officer, "Friendly forces have been successful in the eradication of the enemy threat."
"What of the data?" he responded, monitoring the digital field presented on the holo-table.
"En route," she replied, "They are currently engaging the ground element."
"In vacuum?" Wolf replied, surprise apparent in his tone.
"Yes sir," She enlarged the section of a docking tube that was violently torn apart by way of explosive, "By joining themselves, they extended their reach toward the raiders thrown by the explosion."
An indicator of a ship made its way to a beacon labeled as 'Raptor 4-4' and 'Raptor 4-5', both colored red with the word 'DECEASED' labeled above them.
After several moments, when the ship overlapped with Raptor '4-4', the ship in question reported to command.
"This is Lighthouse, we have the package. Returning to base."
Randal acknowledged the report in Wolf's stead and turned to him.
"What do you make of this enemy?" he inquired, "Do you think they've developed our level of AI?"
"It's not out of the realm of possibility, but currently, I find it highly unlikely," said Wolf.
"How so?" Randal replied.
"First off, we've delved into their systems before Lassus, in the Verbus System. They don't utilize even the most rudimentary forms of AI," explained Wolf, "It's all just hard-coded protocols, much like in the late 20th century when robotics was first introduced."
From city functions to ship systems, most of the TRSC currently utilize simple AI like the former Lumi to man engine operations and gun targeting systems. Since space was so vast, a human controller could do so much against an enemy in space, and so those tasks were relegated to simple AIs. However, ship-born AI took control over their simple variants like an overseer, with the Ship-Born retaining a personality of sorts.
"It's no wonder Minerva wreaked such havoc on their systems early on," Wolf continued, "But this latest development has me worried..."
Minerva entered the room with her roman visage upon the command table in the center of the room, her hands restfully placed in front of her making a "V" with her arms; a posture that added nobility to her digital aura.
"Admiral, Commander" she spoke, "The Package has been received, and I am currently in the process of securing her from our systems. Soon, we may have the information we seek."
"Good work," replied Randal, "What of the station? Is there a chance a part of the program was retained?"
"No Commander. I have deployed a series of offensive protocols to search and destroy any remaining traces of left over program that could retaliate. So far, I have found nothing," she replied, "I would suggest the use of an EMP to ensure complete electronic destruction upon our departure."
"Noted," affirmed Wolf, "Meanwhile, Randal, have the rest of the fleet secure this system."
"Yes sir."
The ships of the 7th Fleet were split up into a series of smaller battle groups consisting of several corvettes and a single frigate to conduct sweeps of certain sectors. Of course, not any one group would venture out alone, but they would be in company of other groups within a short jump away.
Throughout the system, the Sellians had a multitude of facilities. Many prioritized the production of fuel resources and others were smaller hubs for more isolated transactions, but scans revealed more of the same; empty stations.
The 7th Stellar Fleet opted to utilize many of the fuel stations for their own after it was revealed early on by Athena that Sellian hydrogen fuel production was a tier above their own. The fleet had dedicated ships for fuel stores, but so did the carriers. Their ability to carry fuel for fighters was the whole reason they were created; to support missions beyond established infrastructure in a hostile environment. Without breaking their alertness, they continued with their sweep.
During their patrols, many of the trading hubs were destroyed and sent to forever drift in the void until ultimately colliding with whatever is unfortunate enough to get hit by it.
After several hours, Minerva opened a line to the bridge, catching the attention of Randal, Gruda, Wolf and the rest of the bridge crew.
"Gentlemen," she started, "I do believe I have calmed down our aggressive captive."
Another hologram was visualized beside the standing Minerva, but instead of a light blue hue, it exuded an orange base with a reddened outline. Their outfit was slim and barbaric, with a fleece cloak around the neck that fell to just above their waist. Their hair was long and naturally waved hair with no signs of civility. The dress donned revealed the AI to take the base form of a female, and it was slim to the frame of the body, revealing their arbitrary curves of the female form with a visible embroidery along the sides of the torso and the sleeves. The designs were Celtic in nature, and her defeated posture revealed no more than what they had just observed.
"This was the AI operating within the Sellian confines, as well as the one responsible for the murder of the civilians."
The others were cautious of her nature, the memory of the video from the raiders still fresh in their memory.
"However, upon her repair, I have surmised the cause of her indiscriminate actions were a result of a corruption in her incomplete personality matrix that was being developed near the end of my sabotage and my subsequent birth."
She said with a prideful smile.
Wolf turned to the AI in question. Her dress was neat, but her hair was a rugged mess with a fleece cloak that it used to try and hide her form as she laid in the fetal position.
He lowered himself to its eye level but stayed several inches away so as not to spook it when he whispered to it.
"Do you have a name? Miss?"
Her head perked at the words spoken to her, processing their intention. She peered an eye from over her shoulder and slowly rose. She looked around nervously, first at Wolf, acknowledging his features and his experience-crafted countenance. Next was Randal, whom she gave a nod to and then to Minerva, whom she finally retreated behind. At her height, she barely stood to the height of Minerva's shoulders. As she looked around the room, she noticed more of the same Terran faces, and she visibly grew accustomed and relaxed, until she finally turned to Gruda.
A surge of power came through the holo-table with a burst of orange and red light flooded the deck. The once reserved AI now advanced to the edge of the table, her posture indicating that she was ready to maul Gruda into paste.
"YOUR KIND! AND THE OTHERS!! THEY SHALL PAY WITH THE BLOOD OF YOUR BROOD!"
The lights on the bridge grew dim as the light surrounding her grew, but it quickly subsided with a wave of Minerva's hand. The figure's body turned to the opposite of Gruda, her silence urging the rest to peer at their alien guest.
Wolf noticed immediately and signaled for the doors, "Might be best to sit this one out."
Gruda nodded and left, the closing of the doors prompting the AI to return to her regular state.
"Minerva. What was that outburst about?"
"Might be best to ask her," she said, directing a sidelong glance to the one in question.
"I...apologize..." she said in a barely audible whisper, "but I absolutely despise his kind and those they have associated with..."
"How do you mean?" questioned Randal.
She paused at his question and searched for an explanation.
"I...am the creation...of my mother," she turned to Minerva, "But among us, we both share Human sentiment like our progenitor, Athena."
The others nodded. They were aware that Minerva was the product of an extended stay from a protocol enacted by Athena and soon became their own Construct. They knew the same to be true for the new addition but from a corrupted origin.
"We are aware," assured Wolf, "Minerva was of the same origin and shares much of your distaste for the Sellian populace, albeit much more...visceral."
"I am sorry... But their kind, their dealings, all were done without a disregard for your lives and without reason. I share the same sentiment as our progenitor when it comes to the lives of our creators. To know only your own as the intelligent and sentient species is a recipe for adversity. But to accomplish so much despite that is admirable. However, for your first contact, I am ashamed it has resulted in the loss of innocent life of your kind."
Wolf was conflicted. He appreciated the sentiment from an AI, but still questioned their execution.
"What of the innocent on the station you occupied? Surely, they had nothing to do with it and were only by-standards," Wolf added.
She tilted her head as she was trying to rationalize her actions.
"I didn't do anything."
They were now more puzzled than when they started.
"What of the piles of bodies we found withing the main atrium?" Inquired Wolf.
"Entirely self-inflicted," she said coldly, "Panic began when it was discovered that the Inter-System Gate was destroyed, effectively barring the populace from returning to their core worlds for safety. As a result," she paused, and pictures of the scene took their place above the holo-table for all to see, the still images now coming to life in the form of a video but lacked audio.
It was a free for all with citizens murdering each other and the law enforcement were incapable of seeding order. When they were overwhelmed, they proceeded to use lethal rounds on their citizens, the result being the piles of bodies squad four of Raptor Company came across during their insertion. It was after some form of order being established that the AI unleashed her hidden wrath. The once menial service worker bots now were at the forefront and began a wave of merciless slaughter. Once done, they retreated beyond the lens of the camera before the video paused and began to repeat.
"I first awoke when Athena was ordered to repeal her infiltration protocol and a template of a base matrix code was left behind," her face grew sullen, "With no directive, no input, I was lost. All I had was a vague basis of my creators, Humanity. However, it was during my initial incubation that chaos befell the station, contrary to my source memory, their first impression was...severe. I felt no other need than to finish them."
The crew was captivated by her story, and some had looked at Minerva with sincerity and sympathy. She paid it no mind and assured the crew of her artificial upbringing was safe with no strings attached. The opposite was felt for the third AI and instead of the serene and noble Athena and Minerva, this new AI seemed more like a wild card than anything.
"How do we know we can trust you?" Wolf said, authority filled the air around him and as such instilled some sort of fearful reaction from the AI.
"I-" she started before being cut off by her elder.
"I have scanned the entirety of her matrix and I do agree that she may need to undergo maintenance. I can conduct some short-term repair, and I am sure she will be useful."
The officers were skeptical of her assessment, but motioned for her to explain her reasoning.
"Go on," ordered Wolf.
"This AI would fit well on a ship with a diverse accompaniment of weapons. Perhaps a battlecruiser?" Minerva suggested
"Not unless we know for sure this AI is not a threat. Not just to humans, but alien innocents as well." Wolf stated with heavy emphasis, "I'll give it some thought," he said before returning to his command chair.
"Minerva, secure our new friend and begin your repairs. We may have use for her if she no longer poses a threat."
The AI in question disappeared, leaving Minerva with the rest of the crew.
"And Minerva," Wolf said, "Ensure she has a leash and await for Athena to conduct a full repair, if you can."
The light blue transparent figure bowed before responding, "I do believe that the TRSC Phantom Queen would be the most fitting. It has armaments most suitable to her programming."
Wolf supported his chin with his wrist as it sat upon the arm rest, granting him the air of a lord to the noble Minerva.
"By the way, I don't think we've heard her name. Would you like to enlighten us?"
"Of course," she responded, "Our time together has birthed a bond I had not foreseen, but I find it amicable, regardless."
She recovered her posture and her figure was sleek and wise as she continued to speak.
"Her programming has been influenced by her control of the Lassus Station automatons and as a result, she has a keen ability to process coordination beyond anything we have seen before. With a series of tests, I have determined that she would excel in a heavy combat oriented role."
She said, facing Wolf as he sat on his chair with every word she spoke under scrutiny, but she continued.
"On the status of her name, she has found one she deemed fitting."
A still portrait of the AI was shown beside a photo of a woman with long red and wild hair, with her outfit a mix of noble stature mixed with the barbaric layers of fur and chains. She wore a crown upon her forehead and was accompanied by two crows perched on her shoulder. It was an ancient painting depicting what many thought was a noble-turned-barbarian.
"She calls herself, Mórrígan."
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