Free first grade calendars for march
God created Reddit to train the faithful.
2010.01.05 12:01 Mentatjuice God created Reddit to train the faithful.
Dune is a landmark science fiction novel first published in 1965 and the first in a 6-book saga penned by author Frank Herbert. Widely considered one of the greatest works within the sci-fi genre, Dune has been the subject of various film and TV adaptations, including the Academy Award winning 2021 film Dune directed by Denis Villeneuve. Dune: Part Two opened on March 1, 2024.
2014.10.31 22:22 Year-round bicycle fun
The cool season isn't the off-season.
2010.04.28 02:48 transcendhate Cross Stitch
Cross Stitch - a home for stitchers, finished objects (FOs), works-in-progress (WIPs), patterns, and more!
2024.06.07 22:08 Ok-Tradition-611 I kin Patrick Bateman and that’s why I could never be like tophia
I’m 30f and unlike tophia I’m not obsessed with kpop ( I like like 2 groups)
I mostly like metal, ice nine kills to be specific. My favorite song being hip to be scared. It made me look more into American psycho and besides his mental issues I strive to achieve the level of self care and success Patrick Bateman has, something tophia can’t achieve.
face/ skincare: I’ve taken vitamins for my skin and nails for 3 and a half years. Only water I can stand drinking NEEDS to be ice cold because it helps with the elasticity of skin, I double, sometimes triple cleanse my face, once again with cold water. I shave with shaving oil, not cream- my underarms must be void of hair and if I don’t have a manual razor on hand I will use electric. I don’t double expholiate because that causes inflammation. i shower every day, solid, alluminum free deoderant over spray and a light, subtle perfume like black opal
teeth: I will admit my teeth suck because of stomach issues and past depression but I’m planning on getting vaneers. but i brush 2 minutes 3x a day, im setting up a guru nanda oil pulling routine and im scheduling my upcoming cleaning this monday.
hair: i dont remember the last time ive used heat on my hair (probably before the last concert i went to) i condition the ends of my hair, shampoo twice a week.
stress: FUCKING meditation. It works.
motivation: treat myself to something SMALL every two months (broadway show last March, replenishing my beauty routine slowly this month)
calorie intake: 1,200 daily.
I also enjoy art, HELPING my family and my hobbies.
submitted by Ok-Tradition-611 to tophiachutiktok [link] [comments]
I mostly like metal, ice nine kills to be specific. My favorite song being hip to be scared. It made me look more into American psycho and besides his mental issues I strive to achieve the level of self care and success Patrick Bateman has, something tophia can’t achieve.
face/ skincare: I’ve taken vitamins for my skin and nails for 3 and a half years. Only water I can stand drinking NEEDS to be ice cold because it helps with the elasticity of skin, I double, sometimes triple cleanse my face, once again with cold water. I shave with shaving oil, not cream- my underarms must be void of hair and if I don’t have a manual razor on hand I will use electric. I don’t double expholiate because that causes inflammation. i shower every day, solid, alluminum free deoderant over spray and a light, subtle perfume like black opal
teeth: I will admit my teeth suck because of stomach issues and past depression but I’m planning on getting vaneers. but i brush 2 minutes 3x a day, im setting up a guru nanda oil pulling routine and im scheduling my upcoming cleaning this monday.
hair: i dont remember the last time ive used heat on my hair (probably before the last concert i went to) i condition the ends of my hair, shampoo twice a week.
stress: FUCKING meditation. It works.
motivation: treat myself to something SMALL every two months (broadway show last March, replenishing my beauty routine slowly this month)
calorie intake: 1,200 daily.
I also enjoy art, HELPING my family and my hobbies.
2024.06.07 22:08 Mrsemexter Just failed a final year module
I'm a student who is in my final year at Nottingham, who has consistently been achieving first class grades. I had an exam that I have just failed, and means I will fail the module. I will now be graduating without honours, I have looked through the handbook and it seems if you fail a module in the last year you are finished? Is this really the case? I have just wasted 3 years for nothing?
submitted by Mrsemexter to UniUK [link] [comments]
2024.06.07 22:05 Zanythings When an obsession causes you to turn into a meteor and destroy the dinosaurs.
This happened a while ago and this’ll be a bit long, so here’s the TL;DR. TL;DR: Weapon had a curse that made me want it by all means necessary; Flying leviathan sized worm eats it. I blow it up and it’s flaming body hurtles with me into a “dinosaur” park
Context: I play a bugbear rouge in a setting where me and my fellow adventurers were picked by an enigmatic rich and powerful adventurer to be his heirs, despite the fact we had never met him. (Turns out he picked a ton of these heirs.) All we had to do was show we were heroic enough to earn his incomprehensibly big fortune.
Our adventures included things like us hunting down a bat man who was turning children into rats. Infiltrating a cult and getting a demon tattooed to us (to which we subsequently let a holy army deal with that nonsense). Getting charmed by a massive slime queen and then further mind controlled to spread the slime’s influence, almost getting a higher up of the city. And we even had to deal with an undead mindflayer, who’s phylactery turned out to be a mech, so we just called a god to smite it. Not knowing the DM intended to have that mech focus on fighting an elder brain dragon, so we had to deal with that separately.
Our story really picks up here, after beating both the undead mindflayer and elder brain dragon, we finally get some time to search the place. I find a rather magical looking spear and shield on a long since dead body. Like the idiot I am, I pick both up without thinking, just wanting to take more. Turns out, while both items were extremely powerful, they were also extremely cursed. Just one of their various curses included a curse of obsession. Suddenly, I never wanted either item to ever leave my side and I would do anything to get them, and I was also inclined to use them above other weapons. (To be fair, I was inclined to use them anyway since they were both extremely powerful)
Cut to like a week or so later and we’re on the hunt for a certain artifact an oracle told us about. Turns out that it’s inside a “dinosaur” park. I say “dinosaur” with quotes because the place, while having dinosaurs, also had just a bunch of magical creatures. We’re greeted by Jackson, advertised to by Jackson and shown around by Jackson. (The owner had cloned himself and he’s the only one running the park). Eventually getting to a more wild and open area that we’re advised is dangerous.
Cut again to a bit later, we hear a cry for help. We go to check but find a creature that can mimic voices, and an already dead body by it. I climb back down, disinterested, using magical sticky gloves to easily climb down. My party watches though, and soon enough, more creatures arrive with a still living girl.
Fast forward to me climbing back up, using my gun since they were so far away, missing horribly and creating a VERY loud noise, attracting more of these things… along with a T-Rex. I use Fear from my Ring of Animal Influence to scare the T-Rex away and throw my spear to decimate many of the creatures, impaling one of them.
This is where things go bad…
A gigantic leviathan sized flying worm comes out of nowhere, and with its maw, big enough to eat a T-Rex whole, it swallows three of those creatures, including the one I impaled… my spear, to which I am cursed to absolutely be obsessed with, is in the cavernous mouth of this thing. By the time I realize, my companions try to stop me, but I break away. It still seems too late though, the thing is already 30ft in the air in the blink of its turn. But… I have a dagger that lets me teleport behind (and only behind) an enemy 30ft away. I run after this thing, jumping off a cliff and teleporting right onto this things back. Using my sticky gloves to hold on as it flys hundreds of feet into the air.
Skipping a lot of trial and error of me trying to hurt this thing, or stop it.
I realize the only way I’m getting my spear back is by going in… it senses me on its teeth immediately, and while I do find a gap to hide from its bite, its acidic spit lathers me a bit. Still determined, I crawl inside… I can’t see it, my much needed spear, and a “throat” is alternating between “open enough to fit a double decker bus”, and “your hand could maybe fit”. Seeing no choice, I instead stab the throat, as my tertiary unexpected choice. And that choice flings me right out, with me hardly holding onto his teeth as it’s even more acidic puke dissolves me.
I heal up a bit right there. You know… just hundreds of feet in the air, right on a gigantic worm’s teeth.(Turns out, easy to do when you can one-hand it with magic gloves)
At this point, I say “screw this thing, my spear might be dissolving in that!” And with that, I use my super weapon. You see, I have a crown that can cast ANY fire spell as long as enough charges are spent… but the thing has 20 charges… and the DM ruled that I can expend more charges then what would be required for the highest level spells, at the risk of a 50/50 break. I don’t care about some stupid crown, I want this monster that ate my spear, dead! “All 20 charges!”
What proceeded to happen was… well, the mere charging of this thing caused the monsters teeth to burn away. I only survived that kind of power from my shield (the other item I’m obsessed with by that curse), which gave me fire immunity.
I couldn’t see anything, but outside the blast, druids and mages and all kinds of people watched in horror as this gigantic flaming meteor of a corpse plunged from the air, heading to the biggest tree in the park. With me as the tip of it, as bright as a star. These magic wielders attempted to staunch the ball of fire, but no one was prepared for this, and no one knew just how much power was behind this thing. With smoke and fire covering me whole, along with spells and shields being launched at me, I go unconscious during my free fall.
Surprisingly, thanks to my earlier heal, as well as a big health pool anyway, terminal velocity and all those spells didn’t even bring me to zero. Though I did have to spend all 9 of my hero dice (which is stuff we earned for doing heroic things, allowing us to add as many d6’s as we want to any roll), just to not break my arm. I only just managed the check with all of that.
I awake in a crater, fire quickly spreading around me into the nearby forests full of life. I raise my fire shield and expend almost all its power to call all the fire to me. All the flames trailing like tendrils of fire to my shield. The flames now extinguished, I crawl out and look for my spear.
I find it.
(By the way, I mentioned all that stuff about our other adventures to make it somewhat clear that we all have a ton of magic items at this point. I would have mentioned them all first, but with so many, it was just easier to just use them and not explain too much. Hell, I didn’t even mention we met with a nature goddess(?) who gave me the power to heal myself and alter enemies through nature. Heck, I hardly mentioned my team mates either and their own wacky items and abilities!)
Hope you enjoyed reading this. We were laughing the whole way at how assured this was… just because this thing decided to eat my spear. Oh, and that fire crown didn’t break.
submitted by Zanythings to DnD [link] [comments]
Context: I play a bugbear rouge in a setting where me and my fellow adventurers were picked by an enigmatic rich and powerful adventurer to be his heirs, despite the fact we had never met him. (Turns out he picked a ton of these heirs.) All we had to do was show we were heroic enough to earn his incomprehensibly big fortune.
Our adventures included things like us hunting down a bat man who was turning children into rats. Infiltrating a cult and getting a demon tattooed to us (to which we subsequently let a holy army deal with that nonsense). Getting charmed by a massive slime queen and then further mind controlled to spread the slime’s influence, almost getting a higher up of the city. And we even had to deal with an undead mindflayer, who’s phylactery turned out to be a mech, so we just called a god to smite it. Not knowing the DM intended to have that mech focus on fighting an elder brain dragon, so we had to deal with that separately.
Our story really picks up here, after beating both the undead mindflayer and elder brain dragon, we finally get some time to search the place. I find a rather magical looking spear and shield on a long since dead body. Like the idiot I am, I pick both up without thinking, just wanting to take more. Turns out, while both items were extremely powerful, they were also extremely cursed. Just one of their various curses included a curse of obsession. Suddenly, I never wanted either item to ever leave my side and I would do anything to get them, and I was also inclined to use them above other weapons. (To be fair, I was inclined to use them anyway since they were both extremely powerful)
Cut to like a week or so later and we’re on the hunt for a certain artifact an oracle told us about. Turns out that it’s inside a “dinosaur” park. I say “dinosaur” with quotes because the place, while having dinosaurs, also had just a bunch of magical creatures. We’re greeted by Jackson, advertised to by Jackson and shown around by Jackson. (The owner had cloned himself and he’s the only one running the park). Eventually getting to a more wild and open area that we’re advised is dangerous.
Cut again to a bit later, we hear a cry for help. We go to check but find a creature that can mimic voices, and an already dead body by it. I climb back down, disinterested, using magical sticky gloves to easily climb down. My party watches though, and soon enough, more creatures arrive with a still living girl.
Fast forward to me climbing back up, using my gun since they were so far away, missing horribly and creating a VERY loud noise, attracting more of these things… along with a T-Rex. I use Fear from my Ring of Animal Influence to scare the T-Rex away and throw my spear to decimate many of the creatures, impaling one of them.
This is where things go bad…
A gigantic leviathan sized flying worm comes out of nowhere, and with its maw, big enough to eat a T-Rex whole, it swallows three of those creatures, including the one I impaled… my spear, to which I am cursed to absolutely be obsessed with, is in the cavernous mouth of this thing. By the time I realize, my companions try to stop me, but I break away. It still seems too late though, the thing is already 30ft in the air in the blink of its turn. But… I have a dagger that lets me teleport behind (and only behind) an enemy 30ft away. I run after this thing, jumping off a cliff and teleporting right onto this things back. Using my sticky gloves to hold on as it flys hundreds of feet into the air.
Skipping a lot of trial and error of me trying to hurt this thing, or stop it.
I realize the only way I’m getting my spear back is by going in… it senses me on its teeth immediately, and while I do find a gap to hide from its bite, its acidic spit lathers me a bit. Still determined, I crawl inside… I can’t see it, my much needed spear, and a “throat” is alternating between “open enough to fit a double decker bus”, and “your hand could maybe fit”. Seeing no choice, I instead stab the throat, as my tertiary unexpected choice. And that choice flings me right out, with me hardly holding onto his teeth as it’s even more acidic puke dissolves me.
I heal up a bit right there. You know… just hundreds of feet in the air, right on a gigantic worm’s teeth.(Turns out, easy to do when you can one-hand it with magic gloves)
At this point, I say “screw this thing, my spear might be dissolving in that!” And with that, I use my super weapon. You see, I have a crown that can cast ANY fire spell as long as enough charges are spent… but the thing has 20 charges… and the DM ruled that I can expend more charges then what would be required for the highest level spells, at the risk of a 50/50 break. I don’t care about some stupid crown, I want this monster that ate my spear, dead! “All 20 charges!”
What proceeded to happen was… well, the mere charging of this thing caused the monsters teeth to burn away. I only survived that kind of power from my shield (the other item I’m obsessed with by that curse), which gave me fire immunity.
I couldn’t see anything, but outside the blast, druids and mages and all kinds of people watched in horror as this gigantic flaming meteor of a corpse plunged from the air, heading to the biggest tree in the park. With me as the tip of it, as bright as a star. These magic wielders attempted to staunch the ball of fire, but no one was prepared for this, and no one knew just how much power was behind this thing. With smoke and fire covering me whole, along with spells and shields being launched at me, I go unconscious during my free fall.
Surprisingly, thanks to my earlier heal, as well as a big health pool anyway, terminal velocity and all those spells didn’t even bring me to zero. Though I did have to spend all 9 of my hero dice (which is stuff we earned for doing heroic things, allowing us to add as many d6’s as we want to any roll), just to not break my arm. I only just managed the check with all of that.
I awake in a crater, fire quickly spreading around me into the nearby forests full of life. I raise my fire shield and expend almost all its power to call all the fire to me. All the flames trailing like tendrils of fire to my shield. The flames now extinguished, I crawl out and look for my spear.
I find it.
(By the way, I mentioned all that stuff about our other adventures to make it somewhat clear that we all have a ton of magic items at this point. I would have mentioned them all first, but with so many, it was just easier to just use them and not explain too much. Hell, I didn’t even mention we met with a nature goddess(?) who gave me the power to heal myself and alter enemies through nature. Heck, I hardly mentioned my team mates either and their own wacky items and abilities!)
Hope you enjoyed reading this. We were laughing the whole way at how assured this was… just because this thing decided to eat my spear. Oh, and that fire crown didn’t break.
2024.06.07 22:03 MoneyCloudOps The Canary in the Coal Mine: Money Market Funds and Why Equities are Poised to Drop
 | Hola fellow regards, submitted by MoneyCloudOps to wallstreetbets [link] [comments] Today I am going to dive into Money Market Funds, a topic that recently grasped my attention after a back and forth with one of our own, u/InterPeritura , compelled me to produce a write up of the current assumptions and overall misunderstandings involving this type of investment instrument as well as interest rates in general. Ultimately, this post is meant to elucidate why Money Market Fund Assets increasing during ATHs for equities is a harbinger of coming economic (both monetary and financial) distress. If you already know what these are, please feel free to skip to "Times when money market fund assets increased while equities increased" section of this post. What is A Money Market Fund? To begin, I want to talk about what a Money Market Fund is not. It is NOT a Money Market Account. The difference between the two is that a Money Market Account is insured by the FDIC up to $250K, offers rates that are typically higher than typical savings accounts, and is more accessible than funds kept in the MMF. Money Market Funds in contrast buy short term debt-based securities, cash or cash equivalents such as CDs and BAs (bank acceptances), and commercial paper. They can also participate in the repo market which adds another level of complexity to their composition structure and overall risk profile. They are NOT FDIC insured so there is no guarantee of principal. A MMF is also NOT a Mutual Fund. A Mutual Fund is NOT restricted to regulatory determinations to hold a large amount of low-risk fixed instruments like government or municipal bonds. Mutual Funds can buy equities and corporate bonds, making them higher risk with higher reward. Citation: https://www.investopedia.com/money-market-account-vs-money-market-fund-whats-the-difference-7557816#:\~:text=Money%20market%20accounts%20and%20money%20market%20funds%20are,in%20an%20MMF%20is%20insured%20by%20the%20SIPC. Who invests in Money Market Funds? Anyone can invest in the Money Market by directly buying the fund or indirectly through the securities that these funds buy which are primarily short term “liquid” assets with low risk of default. The typical MMF investor is likely buying into the fund in order to decrease risk in their portfolio during times of market uncertainty. However, many people overlook the glaring regulatory issues surrounding commercial paper being used as acceptable means of money market fund composition but that's a topic for another day. MMFs can buy commercial paper and other securities and use those as collateral for other borrowings in overseas and onshore monetary facilities. Individual investors cannot participate in buying Non asset backed commercial paper. (You shouldn't want to anyway). Meaning banks and high credit financial companies can use unsecured commercial paper in repo operations with MMF managers who themselves are typically part of a financial institution. (Not with the FED but in the private repo market between intermediary financial entities like offshore banks and financial corporations). Citation: Sec3(a)(3) of the Securities Act; FED1 Times when money market fund assets increased with equities (Hint: it's the opposite of “outgoing procession”) Now that the background information on what MMFs are and how they operate have been clarified somewhat, I will now present data showing why increases in money market participation alongside increasing equities is actually a sign of trouble to come. Current contemporary retail misconceptions:
Now ask yourself: “why would decreases in interest rates be linked to less participation in MMF and more money in equities?” The answer is....it doesn't. Interest rates in the short term (not long term), as we all already know, are influenced by FED policy. And by now we should know that the FED is primarily concerned with price stability and keeping unemployment low (how well they perform these duties is debatable). So, if central bankers are considering cutting rates, this means that current macroeconomic conditions are unfavorable for either one or both of the above-mentioned FED mandates. Poor economic future outlook is NOT a boon to equities, which should be obvious. Basically, MMFs exist as a facility for investors to use to park cash while they wait for better opportunities in the market. Their main pros are high liquidity and low risk. Liquidity and risk management are the reasons money market funds of this type are used. We only need to look at 3 graphs to show us that money market funds increase in their attractiveness as economic conditions become more volatile and uncertain and only begin to decrease after the equities market bottoms out which will be used as our proxy for sentiment changes. Exhibit A: Dot Com Bust Leading up to the dot com bust, the fed funds rate started at 6.5 % in Q3 of 2000 and ended at 1.7% by Q3 of 2002 after the end of the recession. Picture 1 (blue line is 6.5% while red is 1.7%) Picture 1 (blue circle is 6.5% while red is 1.7%) Despite interest rates lowering, Money Market Fund Assets continued to increase and did not begin to decrease.... until the recession was over. At the same time the S&P 500 went from $2592 in Sept of 2000 all the way to $1412 by Sept 2002 Arrows are color coded to correspond with fed funds rate during the period discussed. Arrows are color coded to correspond with fed funds rate during the period discussed. Exhibit B: Global The date is September 6th, 2004. The federal funds rate is sitting at 1.48% (green circle). Three years later, on September 10th, 2007, the fed funds rate was 5.25% (orange circle) pic#4 During this time, money market funds did, in fact, increase in net assets (See pic #5). However, in 2008 when the GFC was well underway, Bernanke slashed rates all the way to 0.15% by Sep 7th, 2009 (purple circle). Yet, despite the lower yield on money market funds during this time, net assets increased until they peaked in Q4 of 2008 and remained relatively level until Q2 of 2009 (See purple line in pic #5). #5: MMF assets INCREASED while rates were lowering in the recession (shaded region) This decrease in Money market fund net assets coincided with the bottom in equities that same year. Money remained “sidelined” until macroeconomic confidence was restored. (See pic #6). #6 Purple line in pic 5 and this pic show that sentiment change in the equities market corresponded with decreasing MMF utilization Are we seeing the pattern here? Money Market Fund utilization is not tied to interest rates. They are tied to macroeconomic conditions and sentiment. MMFs are increasingly used when macroeconomic sentiment and outlook begins to increase in uncertainty and typically reach highest net asset values when sentiment around equities change. They are NOT tied to interest rates. Exhibit C: Covid Lockdown Recession Many people forget that, prior to COVID, macroeconomic sentiment was leaning toward a weakening economy and a looming, but slightly obfuscated, recession. Again, same pattern with economic uncertainty increasing and Money Market Fund net asset values increasing while equities rise. In response to anticipated macro weaknesses, Powell began to cut rates halfway through the Q3 of 2019 starting from 2.41% in July of 2019 all the way to 1.55% by November of 2019(See picture #7). Pic #7. Red dot is 0% interest rates in March However, during the last half of 2019, MMF increased in net assets despite the decreasing interest rates(See picture # 8). Pic #8 :Increasing MMF utilization alongside decreasing interest rates All of this occurring while equities reached ATHs in December and would tread water until Covid in late february/early march caused mass selloffs (See picture #9). pic #9: Between black and green lines, S&p increased while MMF asset increased (See pic#8) The unprecedented monetary and fiscal stimulus policies and packages make this data series harder to interpret. However, we can infer that the V-shaped recovery in equities following the intervention from the FED that wiped out many veterans in this sub was indicative of a sentiment shift. Again, MMF net assets corroborate this relationship with sentiment being the deciding factor as net assets began to decrease and level off until late 2022 and early 2023 when they began rising again...the same year everyone was expecting a recession to occur. Conclusion In summary, if there was a causal and directly proportional relationship between interest rate levels and MMF net assets, there would not be so many instances of money market funds being over utilized during periods of interest rate cuts. MMFs are primarily utilized by private investors, institutions, and companies to manage risk while keeping capital in highly liquid assets in uncertain market climates. NOT for the enticing interest rate. TLDR?: There is no observable correlation with money market fund asset increases corresponding with rises in equities later. This means cash in those instruments are not used later on in equity markets but primarily to keep current cash liquid and earning interest to a relatively safe degree. Powell cutting interest rates is a sign that a recession is already underway and will be a time when market sentiment will be at their lowest and most uncertain, MMFs will actually be increasing in net assets while equities fall. Positions? I am currently building a QQQ short position in LEAPs with strike prices in the mid 300s. Will update once it is above $10k Thoughts? |
2024.06.07 22:03 Right-Bookkeeper-933 My dad hosted my brother a Cheetos-themed party
 | My oldest brother lives out of the country and just became a dad for the first time this year. So when he was coming back to the US for his birthday, my dad decided to use his favorite childhood snack (my brother's still in love with Cheetos, and can't get them abroad) as his birthday party just the two of them in NJ. submitted by Right-Bookkeeper-933 to heartwarming [link] [comments] We were all surprised seeing the photos over here in California. Our other brother is in the hospital, and our sister is getting treatment for cancer, so not that any of us thought of this, but it was just especially nice. They even had this thing called a "Cheetos duster" for Cheetos-seasoning to sprinkle on the Cheetos-pasta. I could tell they had a lot of fun. Best gift my dad could have given him. I'm glad that my dad is doing creative stuff like this in his retirement, and just letting his more bold, funny side be free <3 https://preview.redd.it/i5stqg53h75d1.jpg?width=986&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=37fc146e6708e911542644bf19a27dd151a0aa2c https://preview.redd.it/eu5ptf53h75d1.jpg?width=909&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=da0448d05dc1386f1577e481a45857f2567398c6 https://preview.redd.it/i24jkg53h75d1.jpg?width=907&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=af91f6843af104b5c1d13a8f7183b56843cd7ed6 https://preview.redd.it/j2jhng53h75d1.jpg?width=906&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8bfaa3935a53884d4e16481c64f664f6d09958cb https://preview.redd.it/gdok4i53h75d1.jpg?width=907&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ac2872b3b47fe52fd528cc4a0425ab58f5d1e00c https://preview.redd.it/hbwi0i53h75d1.jpg?width=860&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1d856cec076b3c7d8d90312f52934bc391b4a705 |
2024.06.07 22:02 Draconimur The Arxur Farmer IV
Hey everyone! Sorry for the long wait, the story is not abandoned, I just got a bit lost in other stuff and have fallen out with the world of NoP a bit. I will continue the story, through I can't promise a new chapter every month.
On another note, I am quite proud of this chapter, this is definetly my favourite one, and I enjoyed expanding on Velnils past and mental health. (And tormenting him, of course. Nah, just joking. xD)
Thank you for creating this beautiful universe!
Also thanks to for proofreading!
Criticism is very much welcome, let me know what you think!
Enjoy!
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First Previous Next
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Memory transcription subject: Velnil, Arxur deserter Date [standardized human time]: 25th of October, 2136, Middle of the night
CW: panic attack, hallucination, self harm
[Note: Dream state detected. Reliving memory. Proceed? (Y/N)]
[Y]
The cold seeped deep into Velnil’s scales as he trudged up the hidden path of the forest, up onto a small hill where a single, just barely alive tree stood still. There was no wind, no new smells and no sound. It was calm, eerily calm, forcing Velnil to periodically stop and look around, seeing if anyone had followed him.
Every time, there was nothing. It was just the empty forest, filled with dying trees and withered bushes. There were a few animal bones here and there sticking out of the ground, but he did not care enough to spare a glance at them.
As he ascended higher and higher on the small hill, he felt as his breathing slowly returned to normal from the usually used powerful intakes and blowouts. He took a slow, deep breath, as he arrived at the tree, letting the cold air run into his lungs, and calming down his beating heart. He was here again. The only question was if he was really alone or not.
“Frostbubble, are you there?” He asked, almost in a whisper as he looked around, moving towards the tree. It still felt strange to use this nickname, but if it kept her safe and happy, he was more than glad to use it.
“Aww, you did come, Velny.” The voice was almost sickeningly sweet for Velnil’s ears, but he knew it was because of everything he had been learning. The warmth in his chest was just another proof to it, as he noticed her lanky shadow climb down from the tree, keeping a small bag up with her tail as she did so. He felt a slight blush creep onto his face as she hopped down, and quickly approached him.
“How have you been? I hope they didn’t manage to rough you up too badly this time.” The care in her voice made Velnil shutter and relax at the same time, as her hand landed on his arm, caressing the scar he had first received for insubordination.
He was four back then.
“No. I’m okay, Zar… Frostbubble.” More warmth filled his chest at her wide toothed smile. “They didn’t get me this time. I managed to trick them.”
“So clever and cunning, Velny.” Her grating chuckle, while repulsive to his ears, was music to his heart. He felt a soft pressure on his hand as she took it, and began leading him to the other side of the tree, facing away from the facility, and out towards the dying wilderness. The view has always filled him with dread, seeing as nature had slowly withered away with his feelings, only to eventually be replaced by even more factories and facilities. It was truly as if the planet felt his pain, his suffering as he was slowly broken down, only to be replaced by the ideals and will of Betterment.
They sat down on the ground, neither of them caring about the cold, as they leaned back a bit, looking up at the night sky. Everything was so calm, yet Velnil couldn’t keep himself from looking around, listening for any noise that could tell him they were not alone.His anxiety only grew, until he felt a soft touch on his chin. He let his head be turned back towards her.
Her smile was horrible(line through) beautiful. The shine of her eyes as she looked at him so calmly, like they weren’t in constant danger of being found out and killed. It angered him, but at the same time, it filled him with a strange feeling. It was still so alien to him, he never felt it before, only when he was with her.
“We are safe here, Veln. Don’t worry so much about it. I am always watching and also making sure that no one is following you. You don’t need to turn around that often. Let yourself relax a bit.” It didn’t make any sense. How could he relax? They were out and about without the knowledge of the masters, they were going against the rules.
She is not even supposed to be here. She was never in the facility.
He opened his mouth, but couldn’t say anything as she closed it, playfully flicking one of her claws on his snout. He shook his head, incredulous about what just happened.
“I know that look, Velny. Relax, just for this once.” As she leaned forward, his heart rate spiked, the alien feeling shooting up like fire as warmth filled his face at the feeling of her nuzzling his snout. He leaned towards her, eyes half-lidded as he felt his muscles relax ever so slightly. Perhaps Zartha is right. He could relax with her, and not be on the lookout for any danger that may be around them.
“Maybe… maybe you are right, Frostbubble.” He mumbled, his eyes closing momentarily as his snout moved to rub at her throat, with a sharp intake of air coming from her.
“Veln, I…” Zartha stopped for a few seconds, prompting Velnil to lean back a bit to look at her. She looked… troubled? Unsure? No, it was something else. Her eyes fluttered while looking all around, as if searching for danger, but they always returned to him, at which point she flicked with her tailtip, until it snagged at her satchel.
“I made something for you.” Velnil cocked his head as he watched her pull out a thermos, quickly unscrewing its top. He watched as steam rose from the thermos, filling the air with a sweet scent, creating an even more serene atmosphere.
“It’s Trilltilla tea. It took a long time, but I wanted to make it for you.” Velnil watched as she presented the top part of the thermos for him. Slowly reaching out, he took hold of it, their hands touching as their eyes met. The shining in her eyes, the way her irises grew, her tail that wagged more and more. He was sure she felt the same strange feeling he felt, as his tail wagged as well, albeit slowly.
He then took hold of it properly, lifting it up to drink. There was no need to say thanks. She knew he was thankful for it.
“So, this is where you have been sneaking off.” Velnil jumped up and whipped around, the top of the thermos falling to the ground as its contents spilled. Next to the tree stood his master, with two burly arxur standing on either of his side. The scowl on his master's face told him everything. They saw everything, the two of them have been found out.
It was over for them.
Zartha slowly stood up, to which one of the arxur moves so quickly to her, it was almost a blur. A painful yelp came from her as she was punched in the gut, tumbling forward, but she wasn’t allowed to fall to the ground. The arxur kept her up, while his master and the other moved in.
“So, you must be Zartha. I have heard quite a lot of you. A disgrace to our kind, really.” His master’s voice was full of contempt. Velnil didn’t dare to speak, nor did he dare to move, lest he might lose his head.
Or worse…
“I’m no disgrace. The only disgrace here is how you trea-” She wasn’t allowed to finish. Master didn’t allow her. The arxur holding her punched her again, forcing the air out of her lungs.
“Tssk. Such a waste of resources. This one is unfixable.” As his master’s eyes landed on him, Velnil felt himself freeze under the glare. “But you will still be redeemed, boy. Oh, you will be. I will make sure of that. You are allowed to return to your dwelling, at this instant.” His heart didn’t want to, but his mind knew he must move. Velnil’s legs, almost like he was on auto-pilot, moved, one after the other, as he began making his way down. He heard as his master turned to address the other arxur.
“Find its father and wipe its disgrace off this world. Then find its mother, and make sure that woman brings a proper arxur into this world.” An acknowledging grunt was the only answer.
The cold seeped deep into Velnil’s scales as he made his way down the hill, the warmth escaping, leaving him with a cold, painful pressure on his rumbling stomach that yearned for her tea.
But it will never feel its warmth.
~~~
Growling, and pressure on his stomach was what woke Velnil up. On instinct, he striked with his right arm, his sharp claws swiping at nothing. His head swiveled around, with no need for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the night, trying to find whatever was threatening him.
There was nothing.
Velnil began to work on calming his breathing as he tried to listen, focusing on the nightly sounds of the forest, seeing if he can hear the soft running of paws, or the strong thumps of human legs.
Again, there was nothing.
With a grumble, he rolled onto all fours, sniffing around and looking for any clues on what might have growled and pawed at him.
The sound repeated itself, this time however, Velnil felt the painful clamps of his stomach as it rumbled loudly, seemingly discontent with the lack of food inside of it. With the realization that he is just hungry - very much so -, Velnil got into a bipedal stance, and began making his way towards the farm.
Looking around as much as he could see of the sky, it must have still been well into the night. He could have just checked it on his holopad, but then his eyes would have to adjust to the dark again, and he would possibly give away his location - after all, he could never know if something or someone was watching him.
The night was annoyingly cold, but it was nothing like what he had to survive during his training. It molded him, made him stronger, able to ignore the cold seeping into his bones and keep on going.
He always had to keep going.
He promised it.
Velnil didn’t know how long he was walking when another rumble left his stomach, this time however, his mouth began to water at the enticing smell his nostrils had caught. It was a familiar smell, divine even, and the bigger breath he took, the more it filled his being, as the picture practically smashed itself into his mind.
Krakotl.
Yumm.
Dropping onto all fours, he made his way towards the source of the smell, taking great care to avoid stepping on a branch, or making any noise that might give away his position. He froze, and silently cursed himself at another rumble of his stomach. Do you want to be filled or not?! If so, be silent!
His stomach did not respond. Good.
Continuing to stalk forward, the smell started to become stronger as the wind carried it to him. Reaching another, much smaller clearing, he hid inside one particularly big bush, easily seeing out of it.
There, in the gentle moonlight kneeled a young, healthy looking krakotl. Its feathers reflected the moonlight beautifully, and he could make out some kind of red pattern on the otherwise greenish plumage that covered it. From scent alone he could tell that it was a female, possibly the same age, or maybe older than he was.
It was just the right age. He could feel himself salivating as he watched it do something, it had its back to him, he could jump out and just get it!
His muscles tensed as he prepared himself, but a sudden thought of realization of where he was exactly forced him to stop, tensing up even more as to not jump. Just then, the krakotl leaned back up, revealing what it had been doing.
Velnil felt himself recoil a bit at the sight of the familiar flower. How did the krakotl get it here?! Who even allowed it to plant that? Why…?
The slits of his eyes slowly rounded out as he watched the light of the moon shine onto the flower, prompting it to slowly unfurl, revealing five sickly green colored petals, with a bright blue colored inside. Velnil felt himself lowering onto the ground, his eyes becoming blurry - but why?
Reaching up, he felt something wet in his eye - tears. He was… crying? Why was he…
It is what she used to make tea for you that day. The memory hit him like a plasma bolt. The flower - Triltilla, or Lover’s poison as some used to call it, was a rare flower from the krakotl turned arxur colony world. Interestingly, the prey was the one that came up with the nickname for the flower - it was said that when the lover made tea from the petals, it’s effect depended on the care that was put into it - the petals had to be cleaned from any pollen, then cured and dried for the right amount of time, which was then followed by making the tea. If the maker of the tea put the proper care to it, it worked as sort of a love potion - it helped with maternity and helped the mates bond.
But if even the slightest mistake was made, if the maker wasn’t careful enough, the pollen, or not drying it for the proper amount of time greatly changed its effect - causing severe pain for whoever drank the tea, and in some cases, even death.
It was dumb. Of course it was, it came from a prey infested world that was cleansed by his ancestors!
And yet, that single flower was one of her favorites. He never truly understood why, but of course, how could he.
He was well into his training back then. He saw it as her weakness. One of her oh so many flaws that plagued her ability to live as a proper arxur.
Oh, because you always lived as a proper arxur? Came the sudden response to his thoughts, feeling another pang of pain from his stomach as he once again wiped a tear from his face. He forced back down a slight growl as he looked back up at the prey, his tongue running over his lips as he kneaded the ground beneath his paws. He wanted to to jump out, to strike, to once again taste his favorite food.
Could he really kill through?
A third, this time much louder rumble had escaped his stomach, it seemed this time the prey had heard it.
“Hello?” The prey’s head whipped around, staring at his general direction, as her soft trilling voice rang out. “Is anyone there?” Another question rang out, it sounded so young, and yet, he watched as his prey’s eyes slowly went over her surroundings, forcing Velnil to slightly pull back, and close his eyes until there was only a slight line visible.
As he imagined how it would taste, his tongue running over his lips, the krakotl took a tentative step forward, eyes still scanning the treeline.
“Lia, is that you?” As Velnil finally got over the fight inside his head, his hunger slowly winning, he prepared to pounce, his eyes opening more ever so slightly as his claws dug into the dirt a bit.
“Aw, damn it. How did you know?” Once again, Velnil almost stumbled out of his hiding spot as a sudden voice came from somewhere to his right. He watched as the prey turned their head towards the voice, as Velnil barely held back an angry hiss at the appearance of a female human.
The woman, referred to as ‘Lia’ seemed to be around [180cm] in height, as she made her way over to the krakotl with surprising silence. Light brown hair flowed down her back, tied into a ponytail. Similarly to other humans, she was also wearing fake pelts, with surprisingly light colored blue jeans and light green shirt.
For a second, Velnil wondered how the human does not shiver from the cold, but his mind quickly wound up with another question: how in the twisted wriss does she hunt in such light clothes? What other thing could she do here at a time like this?
“I didn’t. You scared the… Why are you even here?” The krakotl puffed its feathers up as it turned its head to its side to glare at the predator in front of it. Albeit the body language of the prey showed slight alarm and trepidation, its voice was surprisingly calm, maybe even reproachful. The human seemed to also take note of its voice, putting up her hands as she looked at the prey.
“Oh, I’m sorry miss ‘I go for a walk into the forest in the middle of the night’”. At this, the krakotl seemed to deflate, lowering their head a bit, but not for long, as the human stepped up to them, and brought their head back up with what he assumed was a gentle touch. “I just woke up to being cold, and after waiting a bit, and looking and not finding you, I became worried. Besides, what do you expect if my living, breathing blanket suddenly disappears?” The human chuckled, which was soon joined by the prey's own chuckling, extending a wing to strike at the human.
“Oh, hush, you! It’s not my fault your only protection is your strange pelts! Plus, why are you not wearing anything else, aren’t you cold?” A slight worry in its tone was sickening to listen to, as Velnil continued to watch the two interact, until the human female suddenly stopped, snapping their head towards his direction, accommodated by a cracking sound, which was then followed by the woman groaning, and massaging their neck.
“Shit.. That hurt…” She mumbled. Both the prey and Velnil seemed to jump slightly at the sudden movement, albeit for different reasons. As the prey started worrying over the human, Velnil pulled back even more, laying completely flat on the cold ground as his heart beat even faster. Impossible, this is impossible! The wind is coming from their direction, I was as silent as a night stalker, how could she know I’m here?!
His question wasn’t left unanswered, which confused him greatly.
“Are you okay? What was that?” Asked the krakotl for the third time, thankfully silenced by the human.
“Nothing, nothing, I just… I thought someone was looking at me. I could feel whatever it was.” At the answer, the krakotl tilted its head in confusion, clicking its beak a few times in contemplation.
“You… felt something staring at you? But… how? Aren’t you humans… you know?” The meek thing shrunk a bit again, but was quickly calmed by the human, who ran their hand over their back.
“Eh, it’s hard to explain, and it’s quite late. Let’s just say that sometimes we just get this… feeling of being watched. I have to say, it wasn’t the best idea to come out here without a flashlight, now that I think about it. This place gives me the creeps.” The human seemingly shuddered as she looked around, while the prey looked even more confused.
Before it could say anything however, the human sighed, and turned back to the krakotl.
“Anyways, we should probably head back, Suyla. I heard that tomorrow we will have a… not so good surprise. So we should probably, at the very least, get well rested.” At this, the krakotl seemed to realize something, as they huddled closer to the human, looking around with fear.
“Do you think that it’s… here?” It asked, its voice quivering a bit as the human put their hands on its back, trying to calm the prey.
“Well, I saw Rich arrive, so he must be already here somewhere.” At this point Velnil realized they were talking about him, and he held back a growl once again. He watched as the human led his catch away, leaving him with an empty stomach and an even sourer mood.
“NoT sO gOod SuUrPRisE..” Velnil mimicked mockingly, growling to himself after the human and his food left, grabbing and squeezing a handful of earth as he sulked. This is so dumb, as if the humans would be any better! They are weak and pathetic predators! Even he could take on a few of them! Probably.
Yeah, and you would get yourself killed. And prove them right.
Whatever! He thought to himself with a rumble. It’s not like I care about what they think.
Of course you don’t. Otherwise you would have to accept you are a-
Silence! Growled Velnil as he shook his head. For a few moments, he waited for a reply, but when it didn’t arrive, he raised his chin smugly.
He was about to get up to be on his way when he heard some rustling in front of him. Looking up, he noticed something that looked a lot like a sivkit, except it was wrong in almost every aspect, except for its eyes. He watched the animal approach the newly planted flower, and Velnil scoffed as the animal began to sniff at it.
Dumb prey. You don’t even know what that is, and you just approach it. As Velnil watched the animal, his eyes widened, and time seemed to slow down as he saw it open its mouth.
Oh no, you won’t. With a growl, he sprung from his hiding spot, his maw opening wide with razor sharp teeth as he caught the prey just before it could turn and run.
The metallic taste was a welcome sensation.
~~~
Velnil hummed a low tune for himself as he was walking back to his clearing, his hunger somewhat satiated as he let the cold air fill his lungs to their capacity. With his hunger sated for the foreseeable few hours, he could think a bit more clearly about his situation.
This place looked nothing like a farm. At least, not how a cattle farm would look like, but even those places had parts where they grew prey food to feed the cattle.
So if the humans are not going to keep cattle on this farm, apart from the alien one, why grow so much on such a big area? He knew humans can eat prey food, as revolting of a thought it was, they all could just eat more meat. Do they really care that much about the walking and talking prey that they don’t eat meat because of them?
Bah. Of course they care about their cattle. That way they won’t run away.
Though, the more he thought about it, the less sense it made. Do they really not eat the alien cattle that are here? Albeit he only just arrived, the animals didn’t seem to be scared at all. That woman - Lia, was his name, if he remembered correctly - even went out into the cold night to find her feathered ‘friend’.
Growling softly, he shook his head, banishing the line of thought to the back of his mind. He didn’t need to think about this - it was useless when it came to his survival. He knew the humans would do anything to save cattle - even if said cattle bombed them. If it needs to be, he can always take one as a hostage, and on the other hand - he probably could still get at least one of the prey riled up enough to attack him.
That will be spectacular.
But what else could he do? There was one saying he saw on a human website that described his current position quite nicely - He was a wolf among sheep. A wolf in sheep’s clothing. He had to get them to lower their guards, to not view him as a threat, but rather, one of those weak useless arxur who cannot do anything right.
Oh, you have experience in that, don’t worry.
“Shut. Your. Mouth.” He hissed to himself, stopping in his tracks as he looked forward. His arms shook slightly, but he forced his hands into fists to stop it.
What’s the matter, Velnil? Forgot about me so quickly? You hurt my - sorry -, our feelings.
“I said shut up!” Growling filled the air as Velnil leaned forward, the shaking moving to his shoulders.
Why should I? We are no longer in the Dominion. Betterment can’t get a hold of us. We are free.
“We are not free… We will never be.” growled Velnil suddenly turning to swiftly strike at a tree. He winced from the pain shooting through his right hand, but he didn’t care. He didn’t want to feel. He shouldn’t feel anything.
But we are. We ran away, fooled the humans, fooled their prey. We could go where we want. Or stay here. Live a new-
“This is NOT my home!” Velnil yelled. “This will never be. I am not free, just a damned prisoner of another species! I can never be as free as I want to be!”
And what would you call being free? Not like you would know it, of course. I can see it, after all. You know nothing about being free. You are just-
“Shut up! Shutupshutupshutup!” Velnil yelled as he began hitting his head against the tree, each time his body shaking in pain while the tree stood steadfast.
Unmoving.
Uncaring.
Emotionless.
With tears in his eyes, he slunk down against the tree, his breathing fast and uneven. The shadows danced around him, waiting in silence, waiting to pounce on his weak form. The sounds of the night sky became howls of predators, the ground further ahead opened up, the rotten, clawed hand of an arxur suddenly appearing at the edge of it, pulling it’s body up, revealing a set of familiar yellow eyes.
“V-veeeeelniiiilll” Groaned her corpse as she pulled herself up, taking a step closer. His breathing fastened as his eyes were trained not on her head, but her torn open neck.
“No… No… I- I didn’t…” His whines were left unanswered as her corpse took another step towards him, an arm reaching out as one of her eyes fell out, leaving the empty socket as a void to peer into and devour his weak soul.
“I didn’t want to!” He yelled, trying to crawl away, but the tree behind him didn’t let him. “I never wanted to! I-I-I wanted to keep you safe, but I-”
“Veeeeeel-” The corpse sighed out, before taking in a shallow breath - her torn open throat moving along with the action, opening to let air in, before she continued. ”-nyy.” Another step, then as he blinked, she was standing over him. A startled whine left him as he scooted back even more, pressing against the tree as she reached out.
“I’m sorry! I’m so fucking sorry, I wanted to save you, I did!” He screamed hiding away behind his arms as he shouted one last thing: “I loved you!”.
As he shrunk back even more, his breath slowed, his head became woozy as soon his consciousness began to slip away, hearing her speak one last time.
“Veeeeeelnnnyy.”
~~~
Velnil came back to consciousness with a start, head rapidly turning around as his breath hitched, until pain shot through his head. With a wince, he pulled himself up, gingerly touching his head - his scales were damaged, and blood was dried on his head. He winced slightly as pain shot through both his head and right hand.
Shit. They will definitely notice this… He thought to himself as he took a ragged breath. He looked where the hole had appeared - there was nothing, the ground was undisturbed. His gaze lingered on it, before he eventually turned, and continued to make his way towards his clearing, still in the darkness of the night, like nothing had happened.
It has been so long since the last one. Why now? Why is she tormenting me? His questions were left unanswered. He forced himself to stop, and after taking a deep breath, he looked around, listening for any nearby river or something. Sniffing around, he could feel the smell of water off in the distance, and so, he began making his way there.
I need to wash off the blood.
Within a few minutes, he had found a large river, the water flowing down with relative force. Kneeling down at its edge, he leaned forward, and began cleaning his head and hand with practiced, almost robotic movements. The proof of his weakness stinged and flared up at the cold touch of water, but he did not care. He watched as the water slowly took on a red hue, before disappearing down the river.
Within another few minutes, Velnil could easily make out the outline of the injury - it wasn’t too big, but it was most definitely noticeable, and will take days - if not a few weeks - to properly heal. He could hide it, since he was still somewhat bigger than everyone else - but then that would go against his plan on appearing meek and unsure about things.
Maybe I could use it. Play it off as having a bad night. Maybe I could get them to give me more food than they planned. The humans are very empathetic, I’m sure that after seeing this, they would feel bad enough for me to somewhat drop their guard. Maybe I can even fool some of the prey. Yes, that, being attacked by one should be enough for them to not view me as a threat.
Satisfied with the plan, Velnil got back up, and with a sigh and a few minutes of walking, he finally made his way back to the clearing. Lying down on the cold ground, he carefully rested his head atop his bag once again, looking at nothing in particular.
His next few minutes were filled with rolling around, unable to go back to sleep, as his thoughts were slowly but surely going back to the krakotl he saw. The green feathers, adorned by a red pattern, its yellow beak, and similarly yellow eyes.
Yellow eyes that stared deep into his soul.
The yellow eye that has fallen out of its socket, to leave an empty void to devour his soul.
Velnil forced his eyes shut, turning around again. Not again. He thought, forcing himself to think of other things - the taste of the prey animal he caught, his way towards Earth, the russif.
Eventually, within a gruesome few minutes, Velnil was finally granted the sweet release of sleep.
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submitted by Draconimur to NatureofPredators [link] [comments]
On another note, I am quite proud of this chapter, this is definetly my favourite one, and I enjoyed expanding on Velnils past and mental health. (And tormenting him, of course. Nah, just joking. xD)
Thank you for creating this beautiful universe!
Also thanks to for proofreading!
Criticism is very much welcome, let me know what you think!
Enjoy!
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Memory transcription subject: Velnil, Arxur deserter Date [standardized human time]: 25th of October, 2136, Middle of the night
CW: panic attack, hallucination, self harm
[Note: Dream state detected. Reliving memory. Proceed? (Y/N)]
[Y]
The cold seeped deep into Velnil’s scales as he trudged up the hidden path of the forest, up onto a small hill where a single, just barely alive tree stood still. There was no wind, no new smells and no sound. It was calm, eerily calm, forcing Velnil to periodically stop and look around, seeing if anyone had followed him.
Every time, there was nothing. It was just the empty forest, filled with dying trees and withered bushes. There were a few animal bones here and there sticking out of the ground, but he did not care enough to spare a glance at them.
As he ascended higher and higher on the small hill, he felt as his breathing slowly returned to normal from the usually used powerful intakes and blowouts. He took a slow, deep breath, as he arrived at the tree, letting the cold air run into his lungs, and calming down his beating heart. He was here again. The only question was if he was really alone or not.
“Frostbubble, are you there?” He asked, almost in a whisper as he looked around, moving towards the tree. It still felt strange to use this nickname, but if it kept her safe and happy, he was more than glad to use it.
“Aww, you did come, Velny.” The voice was almost sickeningly sweet for Velnil’s ears, but he knew it was because of everything he had been learning. The warmth in his chest was just another proof to it, as he noticed her lanky shadow climb down from the tree, keeping a small bag up with her tail as she did so. He felt a slight blush creep onto his face as she hopped down, and quickly approached him.
“How have you been? I hope they didn’t manage to rough you up too badly this time.” The care in her voice made Velnil shutter and relax at the same time, as her hand landed on his arm, caressing the scar he had first received for insubordination.
He was four back then.
“No. I’m okay, Zar… Frostbubble.” More warmth filled his chest at her wide toothed smile. “They didn’t get me this time. I managed to trick them.”
“So clever and cunning, Velny.” Her grating chuckle, while repulsive to his ears, was music to his heart. He felt a soft pressure on his hand as she took it, and began leading him to the other side of the tree, facing away from the facility, and out towards the dying wilderness. The view has always filled him with dread, seeing as nature had slowly withered away with his feelings, only to eventually be replaced by even more factories and facilities. It was truly as if the planet felt his pain, his suffering as he was slowly broken down, only to be replaced by the ideals and will of Betterment.
They sat down on the ground, neither of them caring about the cold, as they leaned back a bit, looking up at the night sky. Everything was so calm, yet Velnil couldn’t keep himself from looking around, listening for any noise that could tell him they were not alone.His anxiety only grew, until he felt a soft touch on his chin. He let his head be turned back towards her.
Her smile was horrible(line through) beautiful. The shine of her eyes as she looked at him so calmly, like they weren’t in constant danger of being found out and killed. It angered him, but at the same time, it filled him with a strange feeling. It was still so alien to him, he never felt it before, only when he was with her.
“We are safe here, Veln. Don’t worry so much about it. I am always watching and also making sure that no one is following you. You don’t need to turn around that often. Let yourself relax a bit.” It didn’t make any sense. How could he relax? They were out and about without the knowledge of the masters, they were going against the rules.
She is not even supposed to be here. She was never in the facility.
He opened his mouth, but couldn’t say anything as she closed it, playfully flicking one of her claws on his snout. He shook his head, incredulous about what just happened.
“I know that look, Velny. Relax, just for this once.” As she leaned forward, his heart rate spiked, the alien feeling shooting up like fire as warmth filled his face at the feeling of her nuzzling his snout. He leaned towards her, eyes half-lidded as he felt his muscles relax ever so slightly. Perhaps Zartha is right. He could relax with her, and not be on the lookout for any danger that may be around them.
“Maybe… maybe you are right, Frostbubble.” He mumbled, his eyes closing momentarily as his snout moved to rub at her throat, with a sharp intake of air coming from her.
“Veln, I…” Zartha stopped for a few seconds, prompting Velnil to lean back a bit to look at her. She looked… troubled? Unsure? No, it was something else. Her eyes fluttered while looking all around, as if searching for danger, but they always returned to him, at which point she flicked with her tailtip, until it snagged at her satchel.
“I made something for you.” Velnil cocked his head as he watched her pull out a thermos, quickly unscrewing its top. He watched as steam rose from the thermos, filling the air with a sweet scent, creating an even more serene atmosphere.
“It’s Trilltilla tea. It took a long time, but I wanted to make it for you.” Velnil watched as she presented the top part of the thermos for him. Slowly reaching out, he took hold of it, their hands touching as their eyes met. The shining in her eyes, the way her irises grew, her tail that wagged more and more. He was sure she felt the same strange feeling he felt, as his tail wagged as well, albeit slowly.
He then took hold of it properly, lifting it up to drink. There was no need to say thanks. She knew he was thankful for it.
“So, this is where you have been sneaking off.” Velnil jumped up and whipped around, the top of the thermos falling to the ground as its contents spilled. Next to the tree stood his master, with two burly arxur standing on either of his side. The scowl on his master's face told him everything. They saw everything, the two of them have been found out.
It was over for them.
Zartha slowly stood up, to which one of the arxur moves so quickly to her, it was almost a blur. A painful yelp came from her as she was punched in the gut, tumbling forward, but she wasn’t allowed to fall to the ground. The arxur kept her up, while his master and the other moved in.
“So, you must be Zartha. I have heard quite a lot of you. A disgrace to our kind, really.” His master’s voice was full of contempt. Velnil didn’t dare to speak, nor did he dare to move, lest he might lose his head.
Or worse…
“I’m no disgrace. The only disgrace here is how you trea-” She wasn’t allowed to finish. Master didn’t allow her. The arxur holding her punched her again, forcing the air out of her lungs.
“Tssk. Such a waste of resources. This one is unfixable.” As his master’s eyes landed on him, Velnil felt himself freeze under the glare. “But you will still be redeemed, boy. Oh, you will be. I will make sure of that. You are allowed to return to your dwelling, at this instant.” His heart didn’t want to, but his mind knew he must move. Velnil’s legs, almost like he was on auto-pilot, moved, one after the other, as he began making his way down. He heard as his master turned to address the other arxur.
“Find its father and wipe its disgrace off this world. Then find its mother, and make sure that woman brings a proper arxur into this world.” An acknowledging grunt was the only answer.
The cold seeped deep into Velnil’s scales as he made his way down the hill, the warmth escaping, leaving him with a cold, painful pressure on his rumbling stomach that yearned for her tea.
But it will never feel its warmth.
~~~
Growling, and pressure on his stomach was what woke Velnil up. On instinct, he striked with his right arm, his sharp claws swiping at nothing. His head swiveled around, with no need for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the night, trying to find whatever was threatening him.
There was nothing.
Velnil began to work on calming his breathing as he tried to listen, focusing on the nightly sounds of the forest, seeing if he can hear the soft running of paws, or the strong thumps of human legs.
Again, there was nothing.
With a grumble, he rolled onto all fours, sniffing around and looking for any clues on what might have growled and pawed at him.
The sound repeated itself, this time however, Velnil felt the painful clamps of his stomach as it rumbled loudly, seemingly discontent with the lack of food inside of it. With the realization that he is just hungry - very much so -, Velnil got into a bipedal stance, and began making his way towards the farm.
Looking around as much as he could see of the sky, it must have still been well into the night. He could have just checked it on his holopad, but then his eyes would have to adjust to the dark again, and he would possibly give away his location - after all, he could never know if something or someone was watching him.
The night was annoyingly cold, but it was nothing like what he had to survive during his training. It molded him, made him stronger, able to ignore the cold seeping into his bones and keep on going.
He always had to keep going.
He promised it.
Velnil didn’t know how long he was walking when another rumble left his stomach, this time however, his mouth began to water at the enticing smell his nostrils had caught. It was a familiar smell, divine even, and the bigger breath he took, the more it filled his being, as the picture practically smashed itself into his mind.
Krakotl.
Yumm.
Dropping onto all fours, he made his way towards the source of the smell, taking great care to avoid stepping on a branch, or making any noise that might give away his position. He froze, and silently cursed himself at another rumble of his stomach. Do you want to be filled or not?! If so, be silent!
His stomach did not respond. Good.
Continuing to stalk forward, the smell started to become stronger as the wind carried it to him. Reaching another, much smaller clearing, he hid inside one particularly big bush, easily seeing out of it.
There, in the gentle moonlight kneeled a young, healthy looking krakotl. Its feathers reflected the moonlight beautifully, and he could make out some kind of red pattern on the otherwise greenish plumage that covered it. From scent alone he could tell that it was a female, possibly the same age, or maybe older than he was.
It was just the right age. He could feel himself salivating as he watched it do something, it had its back to him, he could jump out and just get it!
His muscles tensed as he prepared himself, but a sudden thought of realization of where he was exactly forced him to stop, tensing up even more as to not jump. Just then, the krakotl leaned back up, revealing what it had been doing.
Velnil felt himself recoil a bit at the sight of the familiar flower. How did the krakotl get it here?! Who even allowed it to plant that? Why…?
The slits of his eyes slowly rounded out as he watched the light of the moon shine onto the flower, prompting it to slowly unfurl, revealing five sickly green colored petals, with a bright blue colored inside. Velnil felt himself lowering onto the ground, his eyes becoming blurry - but why?
Reaching up, he felt something wet in his eye - tears. He was… crying? Why was he…
It is what she used to make tea for you that day. The memory hit him like a plasma bolt. The flower - Triltilla, or Lover’s poison as some used to call it, was a rare flower from the krakotl turned arxur colony world. Interestingly, the prey was the one that came up with the nickname for the flower - it was said that when the lover made tea from the petals, it’s effect depended on the care that was put into it - the petals had to be cleaned from any pollen, then cured and dried for the right amount of time, which was then followed by making the tea. If the maker of the tea put the proper care to it, it worked as sort of a love potion - it helped with maternity and helped the mates bond.
But if even the slightest mistake was made, if the maker wasn’t careful enough, the pollen, or not drying it for the proper amount of time greatly changed its effect - causing severe pain for whoever drank the tea, and in some cases, even death.
It was dumb. Of course it was, it came from a prey infested world that was cleansed by his ancestors!
And yet, that single flower was one of her favorites. He never truly understood why, but of course, how could he.
He was well into his training back then. He saw it as her weakness. One of her oh so many flaws that plagued her ability to live as a proper arxur.
Oh, because you always lived as a proper arxur? Came the sudden response to his thoughts, feeling another pang of pain from his stomach as he once again wiped a tear from his face. He forced back down a slight growl as he looked back up at the prey, his tongue running over his lips as he kneaded the ground beneath his paws. He wanted to to jump out, to strike, to once again taste his favorite food.
Could he really kill through?
A third, this time much louder rumble had escaped his stomach, it seemed this time the prey had heard it.
“Hello?” The prey’s head whipped around, staring at his general direction, as her soft trilling voice rang out. “Is anyone there?” Another question rang out, it sounded so young, and yet, he watched as his prey’s eyes slowly went over her surroundings, forcing Velnil to slightly pull back, and close his eyes until there was only a slight line visible.
As he imagined how it would taste, his tongue running over his lips, the krakotl took a tentative step forward, eyes still scanning the treeline.
“Lia, is that you?” As Velnil finally got over the fight inside his head, his hunger slowly winning, he prepared to pounce, his eyes opening more ever so slightly as his claws dug into the dirt a bit.
“Aw, damn it. How did you know?” Once again, Velnil almost stumbled out of his hiding spot as a sudden voice came from somewhere to his right. He watched as the prey turned their head towards the voice, as Velnil barely held back an angry hiss at the appearance of a female human.
The woman, referred to as ‘Lia’ seemed to be around [180cm] in height, as she made her way over to the krakotl with surprising silence. Light brown hair flowed down her back, tied into a ponytail. Similarly to other humans, she was also wearing fake pelts, with surprisingly light colored blue jeans and light green shirt.
For a second, Velnil wondered how the human does not shiver from the cold, but his mind quickly wound up with another question: how in the twisted wriss does she hunt in such light clothes? What other thing could she do here at a time like this?
“I didn’t. You scared the… Why are you even here?” The krakotl puffed its feathers up as it turned its head to its side to glare at the predator in front of it. Albeit the body language of the prey showed slight alarm and trepidation, its voice was surprisingly calm, maybe even reproachful. The human seemed to also take note of its voice, putting up her hands as she looked at the prey.
“Oh, I’m sorry miss ‘I go for a walk into the forest in the middle of the night’”. At this, the krakotl seemed to deflate, lowering their head a bit, but not for long, as the human stepped up to them, and brought their head back up with what he assumed was a gentle touch. “I just woke up to being cold, and after waiting a bit, and looking and not finding you, I became worried. Besides, what do you expect if my living, breathing blanket suddenly disappears?” The human chuckled, which was soon joined by the prey's own chuckling, extending a wing to strike at the human.
“Oh, hush, you! It’s not my fault your only protection is your strange pelts! Plus, why are you not wearing anything else, aren’t you cold?” A slight worry in its tone was sickening to listen to, as Velnil continued to watch the two interact, until the human female suddenly stopped, snapping their head towards his direction, accommodated by a cracking sound, which was then followed by the woman groaning, and massaging their neck.
“Shit.. That hurt…” She mumbled. Both the prey and Velnil seemed to jump slightly at the sudden movement, albeit for different reasons. As the prey started worrying over the human, Velnil pulled back even more, laying completely flat on the cold ground as his heart beat even faster. Impossible, this is impossible! The wind is coming from their direction, I was as silent as a night stalker, how could she know I’m here?!
His question wasn’t left unanswered, which confused him greatly.
“Are you okay? What was that?” Asked the krakotl for the third time, thankfully silenced by the human.
“Nothing, nothing, I just… I thought someone was looking at me. I could feel whatever it was.” At the answer, the krakotl tilted its head in confusion, clicking its beak a few times in contemplation.
“You… felt something staring at you? But… how? Aren’t you humans… you know?” The meek thing shrunk a bit again, but was quickly calmed by the human, who ran their hand over their back.
“Eh, it’s hard to explain, and it’s quite late. Let’s just say that sometimes we just get this… feeling of being watched. I have to say, it wasn’t the best idea to come out here without a flashlight, now that I think about it. This place gives me the creeps.” The human seemingly shuddered as she looked around, while the prey looked even more confused.
Before it could say anything however, the human sighed, and turned back to the krakotl.
“Anyways, we should probably head back, Suyla. I heard that tomorrow we will have a… not so good surprise. So we should probably, at the very least, get well rested.” At this, the krakotl seemed to realize something, as they huddled closer to the human, looking around with fear.
“Do you think that it’s… here?” It asked, its voice quivering a bit as the human put their hands on its back, trying to calm the prey.
“Well, I saw Rich arrive, so he must be already here somewhere.” At this point Velnil realized they were talking about him, and he held back a growl once again. He watched as the human led his catch away, leaving him with an empty stomach and an even sourer mood.
“NoT sO gOod SuUrPRisE..” Velnil mimicked mockingly, growling to himself after the human and his food left, grabbing and squeezing a handful of earth as he sulked. This is so dumb, as if the humans would be any better! They are weak and pathetic predators! Even he could take on a few of them! Probably.
Yeah, and you would get yourself killed. And prove them right.
Whatever! He thought to himself with a rumble. It’s not like I care about what they think.
Of course you don’t. Otherwise you would have to accept you are a-
Silence! Growled Velnil as he shook his head. For a few moments, he waited for a reply, but when it didn’t arrive, he raised his chin smugly.
He was about to get up to be on his way when he heard some rustling in front of him. Looking up, he noticed something that looked a lot like a sivkit, except it was wrong in almost every aspect, except for its eyes. He watched the animal approach the newly planted flower, and Velnil scoffed as the animal began to sniff at it.
Dumb prey. You don’t even know what that is, and you just approach it. As Velnil watched the animal, his eyes widened, and time seemed to slow down as he saw it open its mouth.
Oh no, you won’t. With a growl, he sprung from his hiding spot, his maw opening wide with razor sharp teeth as he caught the prey just before it could turn and run.
The metallic taste was a welcome sensation.
~~~
Velnil hummed a low tune for himself as he was walking back to his clearing, his hunger somewhat satiated as he let the cold air fill his lungs to their capacity. With his hunger sated for the foreseeable few hours, he could think a bit more clearly about his situation.
This place looked nothing like a farm. At least, not how a cattle farm would look like, but even those places had parts where they grew prey food to feed the cattle.
So if the humans are not going to keep cattle on this farm, apart from the alien one, why grow so much on such a big area? He knew humans can eat prey food, as revolting of a thought it was, they all could just eat more meat. Do they really care that much about the walking and talking prey that they don’t eat meat because of them?
Bah. Of course they care about their cattle. That way they won’t run away.
Though, the more he thought about it, the less sense it made. Do they really not eat the alien cattle that are here? Albeit he only just arrived, the animals didn’t seem to be scared at all. That woman - Lia, was his name, if he remembered correctly - even went out into the cold night to find her feathered ‘friend’.
Growling softly, he shook his head, banishing the line of thought to the back of his mind. He didn’t need to think about this - it was useless when it came to his survival. He knew the humans would do anything to save cattle - even if said cattle bombed them. If it needs to be, he can always take one as a hostage, and on the other hand - he probably could still get at least one of the prey riled up enough to attack him.
That will be spectacular.
But what else could he do? There was one saying he saw on a human website that described his current position quite nicely - He was a wolf among sheep. A wolf in sheep’s clothing. He had to get them to lower their guards, to not view him as a threat, but rather, one of those weak useless arxur who cannot do anything right.
Oh, you have experience in that, don’t worry.
“Shut. Your. Mouth.” He hissed to himself, stopping in his tracks as he looked forward. His arms shook slightly, but he forced his hands into fists to stop it.
What’s the matter, Velnil? Forgot about me so quickly? You hurt my - sorry -, our feelings.
“I said shut up!” Growling filled the air as Velnil leaned forward, the shaking moving to his shoulders.
Why should I? We are no longer in the Dominion. Betterment can’t get a hold of us. We are free.
“We are not free… We will never be.” growled Velnil suddenly turning to swiftly strike at a tree. He winced from the pain shooting through his right hand, but he didn’t care. He didn’t want to feel. He shouldn’t feel anything.
But we are. We ran away, fooled the humans, fooled their prey. We could go where we want. Or stay here. Live a new-
“This is NOT my home!” Velnil yelled. “This will never be. I am not free, just a damned prisoner of another species! I can never be as free as I want to be!”
And what would you call being free? Not like you would know it, of course. I can see it, after all. You know nothing about being free. You are just-
“Shut up! Shutupshutupshutup!” Velnil yelled as he began hitting his head against the tree, each time his body shaking in pain while the tree stood steadfast.
Unmoving.
Uncaring.
Emotionless.
With tears in his eyes, he slunk down against the tree, his breathing fast and uneven. The shadows danced around him, waiting in silence, waiting to pounce on his weak form. The sounds of the night sky became howls of predators, the ground further ahead opened up, the rotten, clawed hand of an arxur suddenly appearing at the edge of it, pulling it’s body up, revealing a set of familiar yellow eyes.
“V-veeeeelniiiilll” Groaned her corpse as she pulled herself up, taking a step closer. His breathing fastened as his eyes were trained not on her head, but her torn open neck.
“No… No… I- I didn’t…” His whines were left unanswered as her corpse took another step towards him, an arm reaching out as one of her eyes fell out, leaving the empty socket as a void to peer into and devour his weak soul.
“I didn’t want to!” He yelled, trying to crawl away, but the tree behind him didn’t let him. “I never wanted to! I-I-I wanted to keep you safe, but I-”
“Veeeeeel-” The corpse sighed out, before taking in a shallow breath - her torn open throat moving along with the action, opening to let air in, before she continued. ”-nyy.” Another step, then as he blinked, she was standing over him. A startled whine left him as he scooted back even more, pressing against the tree as she reached out.
“I’m sorry! I’m so fucking sorry, I wanted to save you, I did!” He screamed hiding away behind his arms as he shouted one last thing: “I loved you!”.
As he shrunk back even more, his breath slowed, his head became woozy as soon his consciousness began to slip away, hearing her speak one last time.
“Veeeeeelnnnyy.”
~~~
Velnil came back to consciousness with a start, head rapidly turning around as his breath hitched, until pain shot through his head. With a wince, he pulled himself up, gingerly touching his head - his scales were damaged, and blood was dried on his head. He winced slightly as pain shot through both his head and right hand.
Shit. They will definitely notice this… He thought to himself as he took a ragged breath. He looked where the hole had appeared - there was nothing, the ground was undisturbed. His gaze lingered on it, before he eventually turned, and continued to make his way towards his clearing, still in the darkness of the night, like nothing had happened.
It has been so long since the last one. Why now? Why is she tormenting me? His questions were left unanswered. He forced himself to stop, and after taking a deep breath, he looked around, listening for any nearby river or something. Sniffing around, he could feel the smell of water off in the distance, and so, he began making his way there.
I need to wash off the blood.
Within a few minutes, he had found a large river, the water flowing down with relative force. Kneeling down at its edge, he leaned forward, and began cleaning his head and hand with practiced, almost robotic movements. The proof of his weakness stinged and flared up at the cold touch of water, but he did not care. He watched as the water slowly took on a red hue, before disappearing down the river.
Within another few minutes, Velnil could easily make out the outline of the injury - it wasn’t too big, but it was most definitely noticeable, and will take days - if not a few weeks - to properly heal. He could hide it, since he was still somewhat bigger than everyone else - but then that would go against his plan on appearing meek and unsure about things.
Maybe I could use it. Play it off as having a bad night. Maybe I could get them to give me more food than they planned. The humans are very empathetic, I’m sure that after seeing this, they would feel bad enough for me to somewhat drop their guard. Maybe I can even fool some of the prey. Yes, that, being attacked by one should be enough for them to not view me as a threat.
Satisfied with the plan, Velnil got back up, and with a sigh and a few minutes of walking, he finally made his way back to the clearing. Lying down on the cold ground, he carefully rested his head atop his bag once again, looking at nothing in particular.
His next few minutes were filled with rolling around, unable to go back to sleep, as his thoughts were slowly but surely going back to the krakotl he saw. The green feathers, adorned by a red pattern, its yellow beak, and similarly yellow eyes.
Yellow eyes that stared deep into his soul.
The yellow eye that has fallen out of its socket, to leave an empty void to devour his soul.
Velnil forced his eyes shut, turning around again. Not again. He thought, forcing himself to think of other things - the taste of the prey animal he caught, his way towards Earth, the russif.
Eventually, within a gruesome few minutes, Velnil was finally granted the sweet release of sleep.
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2024.06.07 22:01 Every-Policy-8188 False negatives with nipt?!
My first trimester screening came with a 1:112 t21 risk and 1:104 for t13/18 risk. NT 1.8mm, 32yo, no previous genetics problems known in our families, free bhcg 0.9 MoM but papp-a very low, 0.2 MoM. No other makers identified at scan (13w).
We’ve done nipt and it came low risk, 7% fetal fractions.
I’m seeing a lot of examples where low papp-a threw off the screening results, but what’s my chance of having a false negative nipt?
I know it’s rare, I know it’s not a diagnostic - what was the story of those of you that might have had such a rare situation to have a false negative nipt?
submitted by Every-Policy-8188 to NIPT [link] [comments]
We’ve done nipt and it came low risk, 7% fetal fractions.
I’m seeing a lot of examples where low papp-a threw off the screening results, but what’s my chance of having a false negative nipt?
I know it’s rare, I know it’s not a diagnostic - what was the story of those of you that might have had such a rare situation to have a false negative nipt?
2024.06.07 22:01 LIFTMakeUp Two months down! Results so far...
Will post pics in comments as pic/link posts tend to get hidden.
Started on 6th March so have just hit my two month marker: started at 183lb/83kg - and am now at 154lb/70kg.
29lb/13kg/2 stone 1lb down in two months is absolutely WILD to me (though it must be said that the loss was disproportionately more in the first month - 24lb vs 5lb). It would have taken me about 8 months to lose that without MJ, and that's if I could have sustained it that long.
I've lost about 23 inches from my measurements, which is a dress size and a half - from being a 14-16 (more a 16, truth be told) to a 12 (a size I haven't seen in years), including 4" off my waist, and 3.5" off of both my abdomen and hips. Even my stubborn thighs have lost 2" each! Here's hoping that's also a good amount of fat loss coming from visceral fat!
Starting out, I was the heaviest I'd been outside of being actually pregnant, and the weight has just been creeping up and up despite being very active and having a decent (not perfect, but not horrible) overall diet. Thanks, perimenopause, I guess?! Perimenopause may also be the reason that despite the fact I eat mostly home cooked, minimally processed, nutrient dense foods, my cholesterol has just been getting higher and higher over the last few years.
I was just so sick and tired of doing all the "right things" but still didn't look (in my mind at least) like the healthy and fit person I was trying my best to be. The constant thoughts of food were just my baseline normal - it's only now that it's been silenced that I realise how destructive it can be.
Anyway, I'm absolutely thrilled with the results so far - the big benefits I've felt are; being able to feel full and just stop eating/not force it, not thinking about food and eating/being hyper aware of what food is where all the time, having actually genuine hunger rather than cravings, eating more slowly and intuitively taking smaller portions without even realising, ordering foods that I actually think sound nice rather than the ones that are the most hyperpalatable/triggering just because I have a sort of junk food FOMO as if it might not exist again....
Very minimal side effects, for which I'm very grateful - a bit of an icky tummy here and there, a few instances of sulphur burps but that's about it.
Have just taken my first 7.5mg dose after two pens of 5mg following the initial 2.5.
This last month has felt a bit slow going to be honest, but I'm finding ways to be grateful for this slower period - my body can get used to the new weight, and I can solidify my habits. I've carried on losing a bit on measurements each week too, so that helps - definitely recommend keeping track of whatever you can to see all the different ways you're progressing.
I also recommend trying to find the HIGHEST number of calories you can eat whilst still losing weight, rather than rushing to the smallest number. It does get hard to get food in sometimes but you don't want to back yourself into a corner where you have nowhere to go when you stall!
Lastly, do lean on this community for support as/when you need it - there's a really good bunch of encouraging people here!
submitted by LIFTMakeUp to mounjarouk [link] [comments]
Started on 6th March so have just hit my two month marker: started at 183lb/83kg - and am now at 154lb/70kg.
29lb/13kg/2 stone 1lb down in two months is absolutely WILD to me (though it must be said that the loss was disproportionately more in the first month - 24lb vs 5lb). It would have taken me about 8 months to lose that without MJ, and that's if I could have sustained it that long.
I've lost about 23 inches from my measurements, which is a dress size and a half - from being a 14-16 (more a 16, truth be told) to a 12 (a size I haven't seen in years), including 4" off my waist, and 3.5" off of both my abdomen and hips. Even my stubborn thighs have lost 2" each! Here's hoping that's also a good amount of fat loss coming from visceral fat!
Starting out, I was the heaviest I'd been outside of being actually pregnant, and the weight has just been creeping up and up despite being very active and having a decent (not perfect, but not horrible) overall diet. Thanks, perimenopause, I guess?! Perimenopause may also be the reason that despite the fact I eat mostly home cooked, minimally processed, nutrient dense foods, my cholesterol has just been getting higher and higher over the last few years.
I was just so sick and tired of doing all the "right things" but still didn't look (in my mind at least) like the healthy and fit person I was trying my best to be. The constant thoughts of food were just my baseline normal - it's only now that it's been silenced that I realise how destructive it can be.
Anyway, I'm absolutely thrilled with the results so far - the big benefits I've felt are; being able to feel full and just stop eating/not force it, not thinking about food and eating/being hyper aware of what food is where all the time, having actually genuine hunger rather than cravings, eating more slowly and intuitively taking smaller portions without even realising, ordering foods that I actually think sound nice rather than the ones that are the most hyperpalatable/triggering just because I have a sort of junk food FOMO as if it might not exist again....
Very minimal side effects, for which I'm very grateful - a bit of an icky tummy here and there, a few instances of sulphur burps but that's about it.
Have just taken my first 7.5mg dose after two pens of 5mg following the initial 2.5.
This last month has felt a bit slow going to be honest, but I'm finding ways to be grateful for this slower period - my body can get used to the new weight, and I can solidify my habits. I've carried on losing a bit on measurements each week too, so that helps - definitely recommend keeping track of whatever you can to see all the different ways you're progressing.
I also recommend trying to find the HIGHEST number of calories you can eat whilst still losing weight, rather than rushing to the smallest number. It does get hard to get food in sometimes but you don't want to back yourself into a corner where you have nowhere to go when you stall!
Lastly, do lean on this community for support as/when you need it - there's a really good bunch of encouraging people here!
2024.06.07 22:00 FweeCom Homebrew equipment: Pile Bunker
We have basic melee weapons and Vibroblades which deal additional damage in exchange for building heat, but what about melee weapons which require ammo? Something like a pile bunker, where an explosive charge is used to jut out a spike at immense speed and force.
I know that Heavy-Duty Pile Drivers exist, but while that somewhat fits the flavor, it doesn't quite fit the gameplay niche I'm going for.
Something like a 5 ton, 5 crit melee weapon that deals 15 damage and forces a PSR with +1 difficulty on hit. Maybe a +1 modifier making it harder to hit with it, and three 'shots' per ton of ammo which explode for five damage per 'shot' when critted. Given that ACs build heat, this would probably build 2 heat as well from the explosion used to drive it.
The damage is very high for the weight, which could be exploited by lighter mechs, but I don't think it's unreasonable when compared to a weapon like the Clan ER PPC, which admittedly makes you pay in heat, but deals the same damage at range for only one ton more, or for the same tonnage if you consider the need for ammo.
This is the first piece of homebrew equipment I've considered, and I know that Battletech already has a lot of equipment (too much, as far as some people are concerned), but it's the kind of thing I'd like to see in the game eventually, in some form or another.
If you have a similar idea, or have thoughts on what I've put forward here, feel free to share.
submitted by FweeCom to battletech [link] [comments]
I know that Heavy-Duty Pile Drivers exist, but while that somewhat fits the flavor, it doesn't quite fit the gameplay niche I'm going for.
Something like a 5 ton, 5 crit melee weapon that deals 15 damage and forces a PSR with +1 difficulty on hit. Maybe a +1 modifier making it harder to hit with it, and three 'shots' per ton of ammo which explode for five damage per 'shot' when critted. Given that ACs build heat, this would probably build 2 heat as well from the explosion used to drive it.
The damage is very high for the weight, which could be exploited by lighter mechs, but I don't think it's unreasonable when compared to a weapon like the Clan ER PPC, which admittedly makes you pay in heat, but deals the same damage at range for only one ton more, or for the same tonnage if you consider the need for ammo.
This is the first piece of homebrew equipment I've considered, and I know that Battletech already has a lot of equipment (too much, as far as some people are concerned), but it's the kind of thing I'd like to see in the game eventually, in some form or another.
If you have a similar idea, or have thoughts on what I've put forward here, feel free to share.
2024.06.07 22:00 Eco-Uday 33 Tips on How to Save Energy at Home
One of the most important questions in our daily life is: how can we save energy at home? So, I decided to do some research and write this post offering tips on how to conserve energy at home.
First of all, how can we define energy saving or conservation?
Energy saving is the effort to reduce energy consumption by consuming less of an energy service, which can be achieved in one of two ways: using energy more efficiently or reducing the amount of energy consumed.
There are several ways to reduce the household’s energy use, ranging from basic lifestyle changes to comprehensive home renovations.
There are so many reasons to save energy. but the two most important reasons for conserving energy are to save money on utility costs and to protect our lovely environment.
Best tips on how to save energy at home include changing habits, insulating, using cold water to wash clothes, recycling, avoiding single-use plastics, keeping the stove clean, keep your home free of leakage, purchasing energy-efficient materials, using intelligent power strips, and much more.
We can divide these recommendations into parts: partly paid (require some budget) and totally free.
submitted by Eco-Uday to HappyEcoFriendly [link] [comments]
First of all, how can we define energy saving or conservation?
Energy saving is the effort to reduce energy consumption by consuming less of an energy service, which can be achieved in one of two ways: using energy more efficiently or reducing the amount of energy consumed.
There are several ways to reduce the household’s energy use, ranging from basic lifestyle changes to comprehensive home renovations.
There are so many reasons to save energy. but the two most important reasons for conserving energy are to save money on utility costs and to protect our lovely environment.
Best tips on how to save energy at home include changing habits, insulating, using cold water to wash clothes, recycling, avoiding single-use plastics, keeping the stove clean, keep your home free of leakage, purchasing energy-efficient materials, using intelligent power strips, and much more.
We can divide these recommendations into parts: partly paid (require some budget) and totally free.
2024.06.07 22:00 Fine-Pangolin-5976 Wimbledon Visit
If anyone wants to go to Wimbledon in the first week but doesn't wanna go solo, feel free to PM me. (F 30s UK) Am always looking for new friends to go with.
submitted by Fine-Pangolin-5976 to wimbledon [link] [comments]
2024.06.07 22:00 EurekaStockade 1064/---Sixth June Twenty Twenty Four WHO Announces New Strain Of Bird Flu Jumped To Humans= 911
 | SIXTH JUNE TWENTY TWENTY FOUR WHO ANNOUNCES NEW STRAIN OF BIRD FLU JUMPED TO HUMANS= 911 submitted by EurekaStockade to conspiracy [link] [comments] In this post I explain the timing of this headline-- 6 June 2024= 6/6/'24= 6/6/6 so we knew Globalists would stage some signalling events on this date . 6 June-- WHO warns of new strain of Bird Flu has jumped to Humans Same day---Boeing Starship docked with Space Station Same day-- Elon Musk 121 ft Rocket splashes down after predictable 66 mins journey . SPACE ROCKET is code for GLOBAL RESET https://preview.redd.it/wuf8iznyf75d1.png?width=944&format=png&auto=webp&s=f7e3a010d34a641d88d257d2b20d2d29ba7b6bd0 121 ft Rocket Space X EISENHOWER= 121 DISASTER= 121 . 25 June 2024= 1190 days after the Suez Canal stunt on 23 March 2021 TWENTY FIFTH JUNE TWENTY TWENTY FOUR USS EISENHOWER IS DESTROYED IN THE RED SEA= 911 AIRCRAFT CARRIER WILL BE BOMBED IN THE RED SEA= 666 . I've been predicting they would stage a Bird Flu Outbreak this year Globalists favour staging Outbreaks during US Presidential Election years AVIAN INFLUENZA= 223 . 21 June 2022-- Biden warned of a Second Pandemic why he chose this date-- 21 June= 21/6= 216= 6x6x6= 666 23 Months 22 days later-- 12 June June 12= 6/12 backwards= 216= 6x6x6= 666 TWELVE JUNE TWENTY TWENTY FOUR GLOBAL BIOTERRORIST ATTACK= 666 . 30 July= Day 888 of Putin Invasion 322 days after September 11 THIRTIETH JULY TWENTY TWENTY FOUR BIRD FLU OUTBREAK DURING PARIS OLYMPIC GAMES= 911 . 21 June 2022-- Biden warned of a Second Pandemic 119 weeks later-- 30 Sep 2024 THIRTIETH SEPTEMBER TWENTY TWENTY FOUR USA CHINA RUSSIA TRIGGER WORLD WAR THREE= 911 30 Sep= 30/9= 30 + 9= 39 WAR= 39 . 4 April 2024-- NATO's birthday-- Bird Flu Outbreak in Texas Cattle 4TH APRIL TEXAS BIRD FLU OUTBREAK= 322 TEXAS CATTLE OUTBREAK= 223 . other possible dates-- 30 July= Day 888 of Putin Invasion 322 days after September 11 THIRTIETH JULY TWENTY TWENTY FOUR BIRD FLU OUTBREAK DURING PARIS OLYMPIC GAMES= 911 . Bird Flu is also code for other events--- BIRD FLU= 117 CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY= 117 WORLD WAR 3= 117 . 11 July= 11/7 11 July 2024= 117 days before the US Presidential Election 11 years 119 days Xi JinPing has been in power since 14 Mar 2013 ELEVENTH JULY TWENTY TWENTY FOUR FOURTH TAIWAN CRISIS= 666 . AVIAN INFLUENZA is also code for OSSETIA ANNEXED --also AURORA BOREALIS 10 May 2024-- Solar Storm hits earth creating Aurora Borealis Headlines 2 months 23 days later-- 1 August FIRST AUGUST TWENTY TWENTY FOUR SOUTH OSSETIA SECEDES= 666 https://preview.redd.it/q60apyu1b75d1.png?width=588&format=png&auto=webp&s=c78037161f5c1d1b7f39e120ffeed3d0e6f19ad9 other Outbreak related dates-- 8 Jun 2024= 223 weeks after WHO warned of the Corona Health Emergency on 30 Jan 2020 . 14 July--- Bastille Day= 9 months 11 days after the FEMA Emergency Test on 4 Oct 2023 23 Years 22 days after Operation Dark Winter-- global smallpox bioterrorist simulation exercise held on 22-23 June 2000 . 19 June 2024= 223 Weeks after WHO announced the Corona Pandemic on 11 March 2020 15 July 2024= 4 years 4 months 4 days after WHO announced the Corona Pandemic 3 months 22 days before the US Presidential Election . 18 Dec 2024= 911 days after Biden mentioned a Second Pandemic on 21 June 2022 666 days after Putin withdrew from the Nuclear Arms Treaty on 21 Feb 2023 21ST FEBRUARY VLAD PUTIN WITHDRAWS FROM NUCLEAR ARMS TREATY= 666 . 18 Dec= 18/12= 18 x 12= 216= 6x6x6= 666 18TH DECEMBER 2024 MOTHER OF ALL FALSE FLAGS= 322 . BIRD FLU is also code for BITCOIN 22 Aug= 223 days after BITCOIN CRASH= 121 on 12 Jan= 12/1 https://preview.redd.it/t4509dvt975d1.png?width=447&format=png&auto=webp&s=538a8e0c0074fd643e3ccd04b56dfdfb3df25566 Outbreaks during US Presidental Election years---- 2020--- Trump vs Biden Election--Corona Pandemic 11 MARCH 2020 WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION CONFIRMED THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC= 322 2016---Trump vs Hillary--- Zika Outbreak RIO ZIKA OUTBREAK = 223 2014-- -Ebola Outbreak--US Mid terms EBOLA OUTBREAK= 223 2012-- Obama vs Romney election-- MERS outbreak 6TH JUNE 2012 MIDDLE EAST CORONA VIRUS OUTBREAK= 223 2008---Obama Election---Salmonella Outbreak 2008 SALMONELLA OUTBREAK= 119 2009-- Global Financial Crisis--- Swine Flu Outbreak 9/3/'09 SWINE FLU OUTBREAK = 223 2002-2004-- SARS Outbreak---Bush vs Kerry election 2003 SARS VIRUS OUTBREAK HONG KONG= 119 . |
2024.06.07 22:00 sixaxisv2 Passed both cores, A+ certified!
I got a barely getting by 706 and then a 721, which were both good enough! First part Wednesday, and the second part today. I'd built computers and done hobby stuff, but my work is all client services B2B sales for SaaS and onboarding/training, hopefully this opens up some opportunities for me.
I read through the whole McGraw All-in-One and it came with a discount code for the test and the online TotalTester with free practice exams, augmented with some online flashcards and sources I found here, so thanks for the help!
submitted by sixaxisv2 to CompTIA [link] [comments]
I read through the whole McGraw All-in-One and it came with a discount code for the test and the online TotalTester with free practice exams, augmented with some online flashcards and sources I found here, so thanks for the help!
2024.06.07 21:59 Athena-196871 Two Movie Tickets for the Barbie Movie @Target Field for this evening
Hi all! I have two free tickets to watch the Barbie Movie from the Thrivent Club tonight. Free Fancy Parking and free popcorn and water, concessions will be open to buy other food/drink.
Movie starts 6.30 pm...tickets will be passed through the ballpark app.
Sorry for the late notice...my people dropped out on me last min.
Send me a message
first person interested 'wins'. It's a fun time, I went last year and saw Maverick!
Thanks all
submitted by Athena-196871 to minnesotatwins [link] [comments]
Movie starts 6.30 pm...tickets will be passed through the ballpark app.
Sorry for the late notice...my people dropped out on me last min.
Send me a message
first person interested 'wins'. It's a fun time, I went last year and saw Maverick!
Thanks all
2024.06.07 21:58 Milkymooman [NA][A/H] [Stormrage]
ABOUT OUR GUILD
Dark Star, is an established CE team located on Stormrage that recently restructured from a larger guild. Our goal is to achieve CE in a given tier while maintaining a 6 hour per week raid schedule.
We are “family/life first” oriented and are looking to augment our team with other dedicated and exceptional players.
We are led by Cutting Edge raiders that want to build a progression-oriented guild that encompasses all aspects of the game and doing it with other people. We are openly recruiting people interested in mythic plus, PVP, multi-platform gaming, or just casual gamers looking for a good vibe.
RECRUITMENT
We're always looking for exceptional and committed players so reach out even if your class/spec is not listed here.
Dark Star (CE) 9/9M Season 3 Tuesday and Thursday’s 8:00-11:00pm EST Needs: Tank (Anything), Ranged DPS (Warlock, Mage)
For additional questions please feel free to contact one of the following below:
Recruitment Officer: Fire [Battle.net: Firetanks#1779 / Discord: firetanks]
Recruitment Officer: Swizznasty [Battle.net: SwizzNasty#1921 / Discord: swizznasty]
Co-Lead: Kroatos [Battle.net: Kroatos#1649 / Discord: kroatos ]
Guild Master: Grumfrumli [Battle.net: Grumfrumli#1113 / Discord: grumfrumli ]
submitted by Milkymooman to wowguilds [link] [comments]
Dark Star, is an established CE team located on Stormrage that recently restructured from a larger guild. Our goal is to achieve CE in a given tier while maintaining a 6 hour per week raid schedule.
We are “family/life first” oriented and are looking to augment our team with other dedicated and exceptional players.
We are led by Cutting Edge raiders that want to build a progression-oriented guild that encompasses all aspects of the game and doing it with other people. We are openly recruiting people interested in mythic plus, PVP, multi-platform gaming, or just casual gamers looking for a good vibe.
RECRUITMENT
We're always looking for exceptional and committed players so reach out even if your class/spec is not listed here.
Dark Star (CE) 9/9M Season 3 Tuesday and Thursday’s 8:00-11:00pm EST Needs: Tank (Anything), Ranged DPS (Warlock, Mage)
For additional questions please feel free to contact one of the following below:
Recruitment Officer: Fire [Battle.net: Firetanks#1779 / Discord: firetanks]
Recruitment Officer: Swizznasty [Battle.net: SwizzNasty#1921 / Discord: swizznasty]
Co-Lead: Kroatos [Battle.net: Kroatos#1649 / Discord: kroatos ]
Guild Master: Grumfrumli [Battle.net: Grumfrumli#1113 / Discord: grumfrumli ]
2024.06.07 21:58 Sweet_Moon_Jedi Let’s Be Friends
 | I picked a mystery egg just for you! submitted by Sweet_Moon_Jedi to finch [link] [comments] Use my invite code 3RK396TQ9X once you get the app. Pushing myself outside of my comfort zone and making a post for the first time here (double goals ✅)😊 Feel free to add me if you wanna be friends💞 |
2024.06.07 21:57 Rando-Cal-Rissian Meets / test
Thanks for this great post. There is a lot to unpack here.
I do tend to play devil's advocate a lot - not for the sake of "argument", but just to practice (and encourage the practice of) adopting different points of view. Additionally, I would say my experience has led me to a differing point of view with you, and that's okay. Ultimately, in this regards, I completely agree with WillingnessGeneral69 when they said...
OP said...
One of the purposes of the repetition is to try to fully integrate (or display that the integration has succeeded) a concept that is a very bitter pill for most people to swallow. It is natural for people to resist deep acknowledgment and acceptance of any condition that requires a twelve step program. And especially with the substance abuse 12-steps, if there is no deep acceptance (step 1), there can be no meaningful or lasting sobriety. It's acknowledgement that one's point of progress is greater than their disdain for the stigma of whatever the shared negative condition is. It's also a sign that one is more likely to be more accepting of those in the meeting, not putting up the barrier of "well, I'm not as far gone as you, so I don't know if I can get anything out of this meeting, or program".
Because plenty of people go to these meetings because they "might" be need help with... whatever the meeting is for. And alot of fencestraddlers are deep down, looking to find something that tells them... "see, I'm not like them, I don't fit in here, I can go back to doing things my way, and find a different solution to my problem". Looking for a justification, not a solution. Not everyone, but it's very common in my experience.
Or to put it another way, Step 1 can be thought of as "I can't", step 2: "He can", step 3: "I'll let Him". And when an alcoholic identifies him or herself at a meeting this way, he or she is telling the meeting "I'm not fighting it in that way we all do to an extent when we first come into the rooms". I do agree, it is a little less appropriate in CoDA than it is in substance based meetings - that is my opinion, as the codependent condition is notoriously nebulous. Let us not forget, this program was adapted from AA. I believe the founders endeavor only to modify as little as possible, only where needed. Just to be sure they don't change too much and lose effectiveness.
It's not meant to be identity defining, but it is an avenue of identifying with one another, and that's very important.
When one feels it is accurate and acceptable, it is good to put modifiers around it. I'm Rando, and I'm a grateful and happy Codependent. Or if we wanted to dabble in political advocacy... I'm Rando, and I'm a person in long term recovery from substance abuse and codependency. It shows a degree of triumph. A humble brag. It says "If I can do it, you can too."
By the way, I got that second one from the documentary "The Anonymous People", which focuses on addiction as much as it focuses on stigma, and stigma is sort of related to this convo, I believe. Free on kanopy.com, if your library district participates.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqoEtUn0Agw
https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/anonymous-people
For many, pride (or hatred of the stigma, and it's low status and perceived weakness) can be a barrier to acceptance. I've seen it happen to people.... and those people aren't with us anymore. Humility, much like gratitude, is developed with practice, and repetition.
submitted by Rando-Cal-Rissian to Test_Posts [link] [comments]
I do tend to play devil's advocate a lot - not for the sake of "argument", but just to practice (and encourage the practice of) adopting different points of view. Additionally, I would say my experience has led me to a differing point of view with you, and that's okay. Ultimately, in this regards, I completely agree with WillingnessGeneral69 when they said...
However, here's my take. Not official AA or CoDA, but I like to think it's an experienced opinion.
OP said...
That is a natural and understandable interpretation of what is happening, to be sure. But I would respectfully disagree. It only reduces the person down to the disease or condition IF they let it. I could run down a list of dozens of adjectives, conditions or statuses that apply to me, but I am not just those things. I am not my name either, that name is a label or symbol that stands for me. All those things may be a part of my identity, or they may be passing coincidences. But none of them are me; I am a combination of those things, along with my past, my will, my mind, my body and my soul.
One of the purposes of the repetition is to try to fully integrate (or display that the integration has succeeded) a concept that is a very bitter pill for most people to swallow. It is natural for people to resist deep acknowledgment and acceptance of any condition that requires a twelve step program. And especially with the substance abuse 12-steps, if there is no deep acceptance (step 1), there can be no meaningful or lasting sobriety. It's acknowledgement that one's point of progress is greater than their disdain for the stigma of whatever the shared negative condition is. It's also a sign that one is more likely to be more accepting of those in the meeting, not putting up the barrier of "well, I'm not as far gone as you, so I don't know if I can get anything out of this meeting, or program".
Because plenty of people go to these meetings because they "might" be need help with... whatever the meeting is for. And alot of fencestraddlers are deep down, looking to find something that tells them... "see, I'm not like them, I don't fit in here, I can go back to doing things my way, and find a different solution to my problem". Looking for a justification, not a solution. Not everyone, but it's very common in my experience.
Or to put it another way, Step 1 can be thought of as "I can't", step 2: "He can", step 3: "I'll let Him". And when an alcoholic identifies him or herself at a meeting this way, he or she is telling the meeting "I'm not fighting it in that way we all do to an extent when we first come into the rooms". I do agree, it is a little less appropriate in CoDA than it is in substance based meetings - that is my opinion, as the codependent condition is notoriously nebulous. Let us not forget, this program was adapted from AA. I believe the founders endeavor only to modify as little as possible, only where needed. Just to be sure they don't change too much and lose effectiveness.
It's not meant to be identity defining, but it is an avenue of identifying with one another, and that's very important.
When one feels it is accurate and acceptable, it is good to put modifiers around it. I'm Rando, and I'm a grateful and happy Codependent. Or if we wanted to dabble in political advocacy... I'm Rando, and I'm a person in long term recovery from substance abuse and codependency. It shows a degree of triumph. A humble brag. It says "If I can do it, you can too."
By the way, I got that second one from the documentary "The Anonymous People", which focuses on addiction as much as it focuses on stigma, and stigma is sort of related to this convo, I believe. Free on kanopy.com, if your library district participates.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqoEtUn0Agw
https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/anonymous-people
For many, pride (or hatred of the stigma, and it's low status and perceived weakness) can be a barrier to acceptance. I've seen it happen to people.... and those people aren't with us anymore. Humility, much like gratitude, is developed with practice, and repetition.
That is interesting. Just to rule out typos... are you saying you removed the contraction (I'm/I am) and it helped your perspective in this matter? Not being sarcastic or judgmental, I'm just making sure I understand. If so, very cool.
2024.06.07 21:57 ChicagoCyclist US PC Chernarus 19th Battalion PvP Solo/Duo/Trio BBP+ Traders KeyCards
Hello all, the 19th Engineer Battalion has officially released its server for all to enjoy!
We originated from Hell Let Loose and are active on a multitude of other games though looking to expand into DayZ as we have a lot of people in the community who play.
Our server has is a PVP server with base-building, limited group-sizes along with modern weapons, traders, weapons and much more.
The server will be actively moderated with experienced admins. Constant updates will be released with information posted on the Discord
If you are interested and would like to be one of the first to play on the server, feel free to join us at https://discord.gg/19theb
Hope to see you there
submitted by ChicagoCyclist to DayZServers [link] [comments]
We originated from Hell Let Loose and are active on a multitude of other games though looking to expand into DayZ as we have a lot of people in the community who play.
Our server has is a PVP server with base-building, limited group-sizes along with modern weapons, traders, weapons and much more.
The server will be actively moderated with experienced admins. Constant updates will be released with information posted on the Discord
If you are interested and would like to be one of the first to play on the server, feel free to join us at https://discord.gg/19theb
Hope to see you there
2024.06.07 21:57 AdOverall8573 My (36M) situationship “partner” (32M) is giving me emotional whiplash. What to do?
This will be a long post, but here goes: My former partner and I were together for almost 10 years and have been through a lot together, but I feel like I’ve always gotten the short end of the stick, per se. For the first few years of our relationship, he lived with me in MS, because he said he didn’t like his family, which is fair. At about year 4, he insisted that we move to TN, where he’s from and I didn’t want to do so because my dad was dying and I begged him to give it one more year (this was January of 2018). Well, we ended up moving in March of 2018 on the agreement that he’d take care of the bills so I could have free time to go see my family (which is a huge deal for me) because up to that point, I had been doing exactly that for him. We get to TN and I get to see my family twice between March and November 30 of that year, which is the day my dad died. The reason? There was either no money or more often, he didn’t want me to go without him. We stayed together through all of that. Fast forward a few years and his dad is diagnosed with cancer. Upon hearing this news, I bought T a bed and a tv so he could move back in with his parents to spend what time he had left with his dad. His dad passed less than a month later. T continued to live with his mom, because he didn’t want to leave her alone in her grief, which is also understandable. The issue there however, became that he shut me out for over a year, all the while blaming me for the disconnect between us. They got evicted and he wanted to move back in with me, so he did, even with me telling him that I didn’t feel the same connection and he swore that wouldn’t be an issue. Fast forward a few months to November of 2023, I lost my job in week one due to absences related to my health and mental health. In week 2, T tells me that he’s been having an affair for 2 months and is moving on with his life and his new guy and that guys husband (for context, I am polyamorous, T was not, hence why we never tried it). He also pushed me to have a conversation with a friend of almost 20 years, let’s call him J, about potential feelings there (I declined for about a week, but after hearing him talk to a coworker about sleeping with this other guy and how that was the best sex he’s ever had and all of that, I figured it was a lost cause and talked to my friend) and it turns out there are feelings there. Well, in week 2 of December, I find out that T made the whole thing up and never actually met up with this guy (it has recently come to light that it was a revenge plot because when he came back after shutting me out for over a year, I wasn’t all about him like he wanted me to be). In January of this year, the rental property we had been waiting on came available and he moved in. My old place was overtaken with rats after my landlord cut away all the trees and such around the property. I ended up asking T if I could stay with him long enough to get rid of the rats and he said that was fine as he wanted to repair us, to which I said no (and lots of other unfriendly things). He has since been pushing that agenda and even said that he doesn’t want to see me happy with someone else and he doesn’t like the idea of me being with anyone else and such, however, just a day or so ago, he tells me that he’s cool with an open relationship and when I asked him why the sudden change of heart, he said that he had to lower his expectations and standards because he wants to be with me, yet fails to see how harmful that mindset is to both of us. How should I proceed? Feel free to ask clarifying questions. I know this post is a bit all over the place. Any advice is appreciated.
submitted by AdOverall8573 to relationship_advice [link] [comments]
2024.06.07 21:56 tusyokdiyorum Why Did Video Games Got Boring? A Complex Analysis.
When we were kids, at one point all we dreamed at school was returning home to play video games. Half Life, Minecraft, Call of Duty or whatever. There actually was a time like that in our lives, that's the truth. But now, generally anyone who is still a gamer above age 16 will agree that it doesn't feel like same, not even close.
This leads us to the most enigmatic question: Why video games don't feel the same?
The answer is still uncertain (we will try to approach the closest possibility in the end however) but there are few popularly accepted answers/options to this question.
1 - We Grew Up:
As we age, our tastes, interests, and perspectives inevitably evolve. The experiences and stimuli that once captivated us as children or teenagers might no longer have the same impact.
When we were younger, we had fewer responsibilities and more free time to immerse ourselves in games. As we grow older, our priorities shift. We might have jobs, studies, family obligations, and other activities that demand our time and attention. This shift in priorities means we can no longer devote the same amount of time or energy to gaming as we once did in our dreamland childhood.
But there are still adult gamers, so they are an anti-thesis for this option. This one is still a good take, though.
2 - Dopamine Habituation:
When we engage in enjoyable activities, like playing video games, dopamine is released, creating a feeling of pleasure and reinforcing the behavior. However, repeated exposure to the same stimuli can lead to dopamine habituation, where the brain becomes less responsive to the same level of stimulation. Especially in the new modern age where everything is simply dopamine overdose. You look at phone? You get dopamine! You surf in the net? You get dopamine! You watch TV? You get dopamine!
When we first start playing video games, the new experiences, challenges, and rewards lead to significant dopamine release, making the activity highly pleasurable. Over time, as we continue to play, our brain adjusts to this level of stimulation. The once-exciting experiences become routine, and the same games no longer produce the same level of dopamine release, making them feel less rewarding. This is how addictions for drugs work too.
This is one of the best takes in our hands, perhaps even the one.
3 - Video Games Are Doomed:
This option suggests that all the accountable, fun, creative ideas possible about video games have already been invented, and got devoured a long time ago. In the former genres of video games, companies were trying to make games and this was their first priority. But now? Nah. Who cares about quality product when you simply can add some skins and dlcs to milk addicted losers!
Video games were simply fun, but nowadays they became too stressful. People are literally self harming after losing in a game, break their thousands of dollars worth gaming computers after losing a match, like chill man! This theory suggests that marketing forced companies to transform gamers into addicted losers with ruined minds. That's true!
So in the end, the most probable answer is something fused by three of those options given popularly. We grew up, our hobbies changed, we got superior compared to our prior idiot child selves, etc. But we still play them because of the addiction and get bored of dopamine habituation. And the capitalist industry keeps us chianed to this curse.
This is my opinion completely. Write yours and we shall debate!
submitted by tusyokdiyorum to StopGaming [link] [comments]
This leads us to the most enigmatic question: Why video games don't feel the same?
The answer is still uncertain (we will try to approach the closest possibility in the end however) but there are few popularly accepted answers/options to this question.
1 - We Grew Up:
As we age, our tastes, interests, and perspectives inevitably evolve. The experiences and stimuli that once captivated us as children or teenagers might no longer have the same impact.
When we were younger, we had fewer responsibilities and more free time to immerse ourselves in games. As we grow older, our priorities shift. We might have jobs, studies, family obligations, and other activities that demand our time and attention. This shift in priorities means we can no longer devote the same amount of time or energy to gaming as we once did in our dreamland childhood.
But there are still adult gamers, so they are an anti-thesis for this option. This one is still a good take, though.
2 - Dopamine Habituation:
When we engage in enjoyable activities, like playing video games, dopamine is released, creating a feeling of pleasure and reinforcing the behavior. However, repeated exposure to the same stimuli can lead to dopamine habituation, where the brain becomes less responsive to the same level of stimulation. Especially in the new modern age where everything is simply dopamine overdose. You look at phone? You get dopamine! You surf in the net? You get dopamine! You watch TV? You get dopamine!
When we first start playing video games, the new experiences, challenges, and rewards lead to significant dopamine release, making the activity highly pleasurable. Over time, as we continue to play, our brain adjusts to this level of stimulation. The once-exciting experiences become routine, and the same games no longer produce the same level of dopamine release, making them feel less rewarding. This is how addictions for drugs work too.
This is one of the best takes in our hands, perhaps even the one.
3 - Video Games Are Doomed:
This option suggests that all the accountable, fun, creative ideas possible about video games have already been invented, and got devoured a long time ago. In the former genres of video games, companies were trying to make games and this was their first priority. But now? Nah. Who cares about quality product when you simply can add some skins and dlcs to milk addicted losers!
Video games were simply fun, but nowadays they became too stressful. People are literally self harming after losing in a game, break their thousands of dollars worth gaming computers after losing a match, like chill man! This theory suggests that marketing forced companies to transform gamers into addicted losers with ruined minds. That's true!
So in the end, the most probable answer is something fused by three of those options given popularly. We grew up, our hobbies changed, we got superior compared to our prior idiot child selves, etc. But we still play them because of the addiction and get bored of dopamine habituation. And the capitalist industry keeps us chianed to this curse.
This is my opinion completely. Write yours and we shall debate!
2024.06.07 21:55 Who-Is-William Is the agent smith event impossible to complete?
We all know you need to defeat 20 bosses to get agent smith in the game. Right now we can get 9, in total there will be 20 bosses (assuming insanity is not gonna appear in the next chapters) enough to theoretically get him but the next 2 chapters are chaos and digital meaning free to play people could probably get level 9 gems required for the final difficulty for chaos rifts and digital rifts. But for the 20th boss fight you would need to beat the chapter 3 boss fight on the level 9 gem difficulty. But besides paying there's bo other way to level up the horror gems after the first 3 difficulties. Note I haven't gotten the max rewards as I don't have someone to play with and don't own a gremlins character. So tell me is getting agent smith as a free to play impossible?
submitted by Who-Is-William to MultiVersus [link] [comments]
2024.06.07 21:55 Gumbinator23 This is my ring to my forever love
 | Hi everyone, submitted by Gumbinator23 to EngagementRings [link] [comments] Long time lurker, first time poster here. I’ve admired everyone’s beautiful posts of all the rings! I am very excited to share my ring for my beautiful girlfriend! It is a 2.04 CT Lab Grown diamond in 14KT gold. I purchased the ring back in March, and while it was ready back in April, life got in the way and I just picked it up today (which happens to be her Dad’s birthday) I’m 32M and my girlfriend is 28F. As far as the actual engagement goes, I plan to do it in the Fall/Winter or beginning of 2025. I am from Toronto, Canada; and I am in LOVE with castles…my place to propose will be at Casa Loma! I cannot wait! Have a great day everyone! Take Care! Have a great weekend! |