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2024.05.14 02:00 roflandstuff First Complete Hardcore Journey (Normal)
First 2 attempts were tragic. The first was a Paladin on classic. Died at Diablo, he put up a bit of a fight before dying to the crimson lightning. Second attempt was a Druid, went a little smoother not being classic and all, but in the end, I was taking down by that crimson lightning once again. But I did not falter, I had a goal to slay the Lord of Terror, that was my mission. So I plunged again into the darkness that is hardcore on yet another Paladin. It took me a lot longer this time around, playing very scarcely with work and softball taking up a lot of my time I though I would never get to sit down and vanquish the "Big D". Today I put in some time, I traveled through the Chaos Sanctuary and defeated my adversary, once and not for all (still have nightmare and hell!). He dropped a nice pair of tri res boots with 20% FRW for me that I don't think I'll be replacing any time soon so I was super happy about that. Moving forward I thought I would struggle with the ancients, but alas Emilio and I defeated the foes even though we were outnumbered 3 to 2. Decending into the Worldstone keep Emilio was felled by the minions of destruction, however Emilio don't play hardcore so he was resurrected and we finished off Lister like the tag team champions of the world. Baal was now taunting us with his laughter, we descended into the Worldstone chamber and rushed him bringing him down after he pathetically tried to teleport to safety numerous times. My mission is complete, all hail Destroyer HolyShit.
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2024.05.14 01:56 Significant-Usual-98 Noah The Pilgrim - Chapter 1-2: The Odyssey
Noah The Pilgrim
First Next
There is one last thing to do before leaving. If you don't recall ever being on this ship, then surely, you could have had your appearance change too.
Why was there a blanket covering a mirror? You couldn't answer that with a straight face without speculation.
"Probably me being lazy and not bothering to properly place it in the wardrobe."
'Probably' is the main focus here, you simply cannot remember ever being that lazy, yet that's the only logical conclusion to be drawn here.
You pull the thing off, careful to not displace the mirror and risk breaking it.
You have no expectations as to what may appear on the glassy surface of the mirror, yet you can't help but feel a bit anxious. Are you the same as before? How were you before? You can't remember. Are you better? Worse? The blanket is now completely off the mirror, but your eyes are closed.
Whatever is it that you see when you open your eyes, that thing will be you for the rest of your life. You swallow, opening your eyes.
You see a young man that looks to be in his mid-twenties. His brown eyes stare back at you, analyzing the bags beneath your eye sockets. The dark hair is neither too long nor too short, floating about without order thanks to the lack of gravity to keep it down. You see a beard that has not been trimmed for weeks, but also lacks thickness, each singular hair isn't particularly long either; and some even appear to be in-grown.
You touch your hand against your face, making sure it's yours. The beard doesn't feel like you supposed it would against your skin, instead of it scraping your hand you feel softness, no resistance or anything.
Just beneath the face, you see what looks like a hate crime against all that is considered holy in fashion. Plain white coveralls with the added bonus of a black tie and boots made from metal and leather. On your chest is also a badge stuck in place by velcro with your name, occupation, and crew. 'NOAH - INTERN - THE ODYSSEY.'
Only one question came to mind.
"Who the fuck designed this uniform?" You say out loud, receiving no answer.
Patting your newfound myriad of pockets, you find a large quantity of nothing. You place your wallet in one of them.
"Alright, I'll head to the bridge now, happy?" You say the AI.
"HAPPINESS WILL ONLY MEET ME ONCE YOU ARE SOMEWHERE SAFE AND YOUR CONTRACT IS TERMINATED. STOP LOITERING."
Well, that's a bit rude.
You compose yourself, straightening your back. This is what you look like, and honestly? Not too bad, but you could be better.
Returning to the cafeteria, you eye the two doors left unexplored; Communications and the one without plaque. You know where you should, but... A little peek doesn't hurt, right?
"Shouldn't we try to communicate with someone? Assuming you haven't tried it yet. I know we're far from everything, but we might as well, no?" You ask already approaching the door.
"COMMUNICATIONS ROOM IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO REACH WITHOUT PROPER PROTECTION AS OF NOW, IT'S LOCATED APPROXIMATELY TWO HUNDRED METERS FROM HERE, BLOWN OFF FROM THE REST OF THE SHIP." A shame really. "I SHALL INFORM YOU WHENEVER A DOOR LEADS TO THE OUTSIDE OR NOT."
You really want to ask what blew a whole segment of the ship off, yet you have a sneaking suspicion that your question will be met with a 'YOU DON'T HAVE CLEARANCE, JACKASS' directly in your face. So you chose to remain silent, simply nodding and approaching the correct door this time.
"Open."
---OPENING CAFETERIA DOOR NORTH---
The door silently opens.
Greeting you is a well-lit corridor. There are three doors on your left, a door at the end of the corridor, and a large window on the right. At least, you think that's a window.
You stare out from this window, nothing but utter blackness and fragments from your ship are seen. If this is the edge of the universe, and beyond this point, there is truly nothing. "Dreadful." Your speech matches your feelings.
"WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?" The AI says. You feel like it spoke in a mocking tone despite their lack of emotion.
You don't answer. "First door to the left... EXO-EXPLORATION...? What's that supposed to mean?" You receive no answer.
"Open." The door opens. No declarion of it opening once again.
You are met with what could be better described as 'Apocalyptic levels of mess', paper sheets float in the air, and not one of the four tables is in its correct position.
This room has been ransacked for all its goods apparently. Large display glasses were broken leaving nothing inside their casings, that looked like they could store something with the size of the common man.
Unusual displays aside, the room was so cluttered that the trash made for an effective smoke screen against what lay on the other side.
Hissing of gas exiting an air-tight space rang throughout the room.
"I HAVE OPENED THE STORAGE FOR AN EXO SUIT THAT BEST FITS SOMEONE YOUR SIZE." The AI says. "ALTHOUGH AN INTERN SHOULD NOT COME IN CONTACT WITH TECHNOLOGY SUCH AS THIS ONE, PROTOCOL DICTATES THAT I AM TO ALLOW ITS USAGE UNDER EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES. CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY."
Easier said than done. Your vision is so cluttered that you cannot see what's ahead. "Give me a second."
Giving a light kick to the wall behind, you float face-first into the wall of thrash. Covering your face with both arms, you brace through the harmless bits of sharp objects and junk.
It's a trivial task. You arrive on the other side in no time.
In front of you is a set of boxes with luminous glass rectangles atop each one of them. All shine a bright red light, aside from one which shines green.
'Gotta be this one.'
You descend to the floor by kicking the ceiling, raising your right hand you touch the green rectangle.
*Click*
Nothing could have prepared you for the following series of events.
The box opens violently, as a metal appendage takes hold of your hand, pinning it to the box. You try to jerk and pry the thing off of you, but you fail. It's not leaving you anytime soon.
From the bottomless that is that container, a white plastic-like substance flows upward from your arm to the rest of your body. "Uh!" You don't know if you should panic or allow it to happen.
FYARN hasn't said anything, so it's probably fine...
The white thing seems to ignore the coveralls you are wearing completely, instead, it covers only your skin in a thin coat of... it. You know not what to call this thing.
In but forty seconds it has covered your whole body, excluding your head. The box lets go of your arm and stays there, floating.
You take a good look at your arms. It looks like a skin-tight suit, but it doesn't feel like plastic, in fact, it's more akin to some sort of fabric if anything.
The only bad part is that you are still using the coverall and tie, this this simply went beneath the clothing.
"GOOD, WITH THIS I CAN MONITOR YOU MORE CLOSELY. NOW PUT THE HELMET ON, YOU HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO."
You look around in search of anything that even resembles a helmet. Nope. Nothing. "Where is it?" You ask.
"...THE SUIT COMES WITHIN THE HELMET FOR EASIER PACKAGING."
The box?
You snatch the box that floated around and analyze it to the best of your ability. "How's this a helmet?"
"DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE PUTTING ON A HELMET? REALLY?"
Who is this AI, Who programmed it, and Why does it come with a taunting feature?
As idiotic as it sounds, you place the opened box atop your head. It doesn't fit properly. Maybe you're doing this wrong? You move it to your face instead.
You recoil backward as you feel the box suddenly clamping down against your head. It's useless of course, the box is holding your head and doesn't give any sign to be letting go anytime soon. No light is able to reach your eyes.
You hear metal parts scraping against themselves, moving near your ears. Abruptly your eyes can see again.
A round thin layer of glass now covers your head, almost unnoticeable for how clear it is.
"WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY I CAN NOW SEE WHAT YOU SEE." The AI's voice isn't in the room now, instead, it's inside of the suit. "DO YOU NEED INSTRUCTIONS REGARDING THIS SUIT'S FUNCTIONALITIES?"
You find it oddly comfortable as if you are surrounded by the softness of cotton, and to top it off the suit also has additional functionalities? "Hell yeah, I do!"
"YOU DO NOT HAVE THE NECESSARY CLEARANCE FOR THAT INFORMATION."
You sigh. Is this serious? "Then why the fuck did you ask?!"
"UNSAVORY LANGUAGE. IT'S NO WONDER WHY YOU REMAIN AN INTERN." The AI says outright. "IT IS RUDE NOT TO ASK, REGARDLESS OF THE SITUATION." It responds to your question.
"Okay then... Is there anything I need to know before heading out?" You ask.
"NOTHING THAT YOU WON'T FIGURE OUT ON YOUR OWN."
You are unsure if you want to 'figure out on your own' if this suit comes with breathable air and is also made for space exploration. You swallow.
Meekly as always, you get out of that mess of a room, stopping at the corridor.
"Next set of directions?" You ask.
"THE DOOR AT THE END OF CORRIDOR USED TO LEAD TO THE CONNECTING CORRIDORS BETWEN THE BRIDGE AND THE REST OF THE SHIP. IT HAS BEEN BLOWN UP FROM THE INSIDE. NOW IT LEADS TO THE OUTSIDE. GO TO THE DOOR AND WAIT BY IT FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS."
"So let me get this straight," You begin, looking upwards as if the AI was above you. "You, want me, to go into the void of space, while also refusing to give me knowledge of the suit's functions?"
A fair worry, you summarize.
'I mean, there are a bunch of things that could go wrong here. I don't see anything that looks like it could help me move in space, nor do I think this thing has a built-in air tank... I could be wrong and I wish to be, but charging in without prior knowledge is ridiculous.' You wait for the AI's response, deep in thought.
"WHILE THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE OF YOU FAILING THIS TASK, THERE IS ALSO THE CHANCE OF YOU *NOT* FAILING THE TASK. FOCUS ON EITHER ONE OF YOUR CHOOSING AS YOU TAKE THE PLUNGE."
Wordlessly, you propel yourself forward, toward the end of the corridor.
'Are you shitting me? 'Chance of me nor failing' my ass!' of course, you don't word those complaints, instead choosing to speak out a complaint somewhat thought through.
"Are you sure I'm the one fit for this? It's just like you said, I'm just an intern, this is way above what my job description says I should do."
This is a bit of a stretch. You don't actually remember what was your job description, only that it had something to do with AI and being an intern.
If the AI called your bluff, it'd be pretty embarrassing.
"NOAH." The AI began. "YOU ARE HUMAN, IT IS NATURAL TO HAVE THESE THOUGHTS OF SELF-DOUBT. TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND GO THROUGH THAT DOOR, AND SINCE YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE LEFT, DON'T EXPECT SOMEONE ELSE TO DO IT FOR YOU."
Right in the money, huh? 'Of course, I have self-doubt! I barely remember anything about this place, now I have to risk my life?!'
You finally reach a conclusion.
A dream.
'Yes, yes! How did I not consider this before? This whole thing is a god damned dream!'
You let out a chuckle.
"NOAH."
'That's why I don't remember a thing. There is nothing here to remember! Everything here is a made-up thing from my brain! I'm sure I'll wake up at some point, so why shouldn't I live a little?!'
"Heh." You smile. "Alright, I'll do it." It feels like a weight left your shoulders.
"YOU SORTED IT OUT SOONER THAN EXPECTED. GOOD. MOVE TO THE DOOR AND WAIT INSTRUCTIONS."
You do as instructed without a care in the world. You never had a lucid dream before so it's not like you knew how it felt, but if it felt as free as you feel right now, you'd be sure to make steps toward trying it out again in the future.
"Open." The door does not open.
"I DID NOT INSTRUCT YOU TO OPEN IT YET." The AI said. "I AM SLOWLY DE-PRESSURISING THE CORRIDOR YOU ARE IN TO AVOID A MINOR ACCIDENT."
The AI says that yet you don't feel any different. 'Maybe there is no palpable difference because I'm in a dream... Yes... Or it's just the suit.'
"ONCE THE DOOR OPENS, YOU WILL BE MET WITH THE OUTSIDE OF THE SHIP. DO NOT PANIC WHEN THE TIME COMES. YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES OF BREATHABLE INSIDE THE EXO-SUIT; ONE AFTER THE DOOR OPENS, SO PLEASE, TAKE YOUR TIME AND DO THINGS CAREFULLY."
One minute outside... "Sure." You say, calmly. 'I should just hold my breath for a while before taking another moment to breathe. That should maximize my time out there.'
"THERE SHOULD BE FIFTY METERS OF NOTHINGNESS BETWEEN THE DOOR YOU'RE AT, AND THE REST OF THE BRIDGE. YOUR PRIORITY IS TO FIND AN OXYGEN UNIT, SOME OF THEM ARE LOCATED AT THE BRIDGE AND ARE FULL. USE THEM TO FILL YOUR SUIT AND ALSO TO DISPENSE A TANK FOR YOU."
The door opens. You feel your heart pounding against your chest.
You haven't noticed before, but you can't hear anything but the sound of your breath and your cardiac palpitations.
Your breath is ragged and sporadic.
"KEEP CALM." You take a deep breath. The tips of your fingers, feet, and nose feel very cold.
Ahead of you is the utter nothingness. You see a gigantic metal thing, nothing like the spaceships you imagined. Its design is not sleek and aero-dynamic like what you've seen in movies, instead, it's a large mass of squares and rectangles with antenna-like things protruding from its every visible surface.
You notice that the ship is also blocking your view of the star.
It does not look like the result of an explosion, instead, it looks like something ripped the ship like you rip a piece of paper. Well, that or you don't know what kind of explosion could have caused it. Probably the latter.
What looks like two-thirds of the ship is separated from the third you are right now. You can see the inside of a few of those squares, their contents spilled out into outer space.
One of them houses a visibly important-look door. Instead of the sleek silvery-grey from the other ones you've seen thus far, this one is painted orange with white strips on it. 'That must be the bridge.' You think.
Between you and it is a sea of metal sheets floating around. "THE CHANCES OF YOU HITTING THE DEBRIS IS INFINITEDECIMALLY SMALL, UNLESS YOU AIM FOR THEM, THAT IS."
Time is of the essence.
Will your aim strike true? If you miss you'd end up floating about in space, dead in but a few minutes. Will your jump be fast enough to reach the other side before you run out of oxygen? If it isn't, it'd be like swimming for a mile, only to drown at the beach. What if that's not the actual door to the bridge?
You don't have the time to panic now, and... It's all a dream, despite how real it feels.
You place your hands on each side of the door frame, moving backward into the corridor you were just in, and just like a sling being shot, you pull with both arms at full force towards the other side.
"AIM IS ACCEPTABLE. VELOCITY IS UNIDEAL."
"The fuck do you mean 'UN-IDEAL'?! I'm going at maximum speed!" You truly pulled yourself with your whole strength.
What's worse though, is that your body is not only going forwards, but it is also spinning at a concerningly fast rate.
"I MEAN WHAT I SAID, YOU SLINGSHOTTED YOURSELF AT A BAD POSITION, AS SUCH, SOME OF THE FORWARD FORCE YOU SHOULD HAVE, IS NOW MAKING YOU ROTATE IN YOUR AXIS. IT SHOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM TO REACH THE OTHER SIDE WITHIN THE REQUIRED TIME, BUT I CANNOT FORESEE YOU LANDING PROPERLY."
You feel completely disoriented. You feel like your body is completely still, but your eyes tell you a completely different story. It's very bad for the headache you're already feeling.
"FUCK!" You scream into the nothingness.
"TRY NOT TO LAND WITH YOUR HEAD." The AI says with the calmest voice possible.
In less than thirty seconds, you hit your back against something hard, but you keep moving forward. You think, at least.
"AHRG." You let out a pained grunt.
Not once in your life do you recall being hurt in a dream...
It stings. It also knocked the wind out of you. You fail to compose yourself.
"YOU HIT NOTHING OF IMPORTANCE. YOU ARE STILL HEADING FOR THE BRIDGE."
In the corner of your eye, you see what you hit in the shape of a sharp metal sheet, currently spinning away in the distance.
Forty seconds have passed. You hit the door you were aiming for, kind of.
Your momentum was stopped when your chest collided against the dislodged ledge of the orange door's corridor. Your dangling legs hit the ceiling of the room below.
"Oof!"
Before falling even further, you hold onto the ledge with the tip of your fingers. You stay there for a moment, regaining your composure.
"BE QUICK."
The AI's words pressured you into quickly getting up from that ledge.
"Open!" You shouted, but it did not open. "Why isn't it opening?!" You ask the AI, then you notice a small keyboard below an equally small black screen on the side of the door. There are ten numbered keys on it, and the little screen suggests a four-number password.
"A password?! Tell me the password!"
The AI takes a moment to say anything. You don't take kindly to that. "Quick! I'm not counting how much time it's passed!"
Finally giving in, the AI speaks to you, reluctant still. "...3324."
Your trembling fingers accidentally hit the wrong password, typing '3354' instead. To make matters worse, the AI simply states the following. "YOU ARE OUT OF OXYGEN."
You swallow. If this was a dream to begin with, it just earned the title of Nightmare, if it hadn't already.
Strangely enough, you can still breathe in and out just fine, but you can't help but feel winded. It's the CO2 still inside the helmet, that's what you're breathing.
You put in the correct combination this time. The door opens.
"ON YOUR LEFT. PLACE YOUR HAND IN THE SOCKET."
You care little for what's inside the room you're in. Your heart never beat so fast.
Seeing a cube-shaped thing protruding from the wall to your left, you don't even think twice before plunging your fist into the circular hole in it.
The noise of gases passing through narrow cavities was enough to tell you something was working. You feel immediate relief, enough to make your vision darken for but a moment.
"GOOD. NOW REQUEST THE TANK."
Just when FYARN said it, did you realize there is a screen and a keyboard on the terminal you just plunged your fist into, you scratch the top of your helmet for a moment, not really knowing what to type. One thing comes to your head, however.
'REQUEST OXYGEN_5L' You type.
You've done this before. The keys on this keyboard feel familiar to you. You must have worked with it before, not this particular one, but other oxygen units.
This ship has built-in liquid oxygen storage for emergencies. The life-support of the ship, the place where breathable air is produced, has most likely been lost with the other part of the ship. This unit takes that liquid oxygen, processes it, and injects it into a suit, or an oxygen tank. It seems like that storage was unaffected.
Lucky you.
A 5-liter tank is not only large but also heavy. It's a nonfactor in this particular situation, as there is no gravity.
The silver cylinder with a transparent tube is dispensed on the floor, as an automatic door opens and closes in the blink of an eye. One end of the tube is attached to the top of the tank, the other is shaped like a syringe.
Oddly enough, the oxygen tank is exactly as you remember it being. The same robust ones hospitals everyone on earth uses, with the signature scary-looking pointer indicating the pressure, the pointer indicating the current output, and a green valve atop to calibrate how much gas is flowing.
This is a stark difference to everything looking so futuristic in this ship, and rightfully so, this is a space ship after all.
You remember having to drive twenty kilometers with a buddy of yours on one of those tanks in your car, returning from the hospital. It was... Agonizing whenever you hit a hole in the asphalt, fearing for his life when in reality he wasn't really in danger.
It's warm to the touch, just like you remember it being.
"TURN THE VALVE UNTIL THE MARKER HITS THE NUMBER ONE, AND THEN PLACE THE END OF THE TUBE AT THE BASE OF THE HELMET." You do so without the slightest of issues.
"GOOD. NEXT UP, YOU MUST LOCATE THE TERMINAL RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ENGINE, IT IS CURRENTLY OFFLINE AND I NEED YOU TO TURN IT ON. THIS SHOULD GO WITHOUT SAYING, BUT REMEMBER TO BRING THE TANK WITH YOU."
Ignoring that last comment, you look back at the wreckage you just flew past.
You see the still spinning metal sheet. You notice that the rest of the ship that was blown off also follows the 'sharp shape atop sharp shape' design.
There is one last thing you notice though.
"What is that?"
You squint your eyes. What are you seeing? Its silhouette appears to be humanoid, yet it does not look human.
"WHAT YOU ARE SEEING IS ONE OF THE OBJECTS BEING ANALYZED AT THE ODYSSEY AND NO, YOU MAY NOT KNOW WHAT IT IS."
That thing has... Horns? Claws? It's far away, you can't really see it. The thing is also static, frozen in the sheer coldness of space. Whatever it was, it's dead now.
You swallow. You almost ended up just like that thing.
Shaking those dreadful feelings off, you turn back to the task at hand, reaching the bridge. You close the door after passing through it again.
Looking at your surroundings, It seems like you've reached the correct door as you find yourself on the right-most corner of the bridge;
Row after row of the most diverse of terminals neatly organized decorated the gigantic room. At the front and above every terminal, is what you think should have been the front-facing window of the ship, but it looks like there is a cover in front of it. To your left, you see a staircase that leads to the command seats. It doesn't take any convincing before you're already atop the stairs.
Akin to the elevated stage of a theater, you float softly towards the ship's main operating terminals, and of course, the captain's seat.
You're captivated by this beauty.
The steering wheel, much more akin to those in pirate movies than those found in cars, a set of leavers, and the pilot's seat, all capture your attention.
Like its second nature, your hand runs through the levers and switches. Do you even know what these are used for? Maybe.
The pilot's seat is enveloped by what you believe to be an orthopedic seat cover, made with smooth wooden beads used to deal with back pains. It looks just like the ones you remember seeing bus drivers using.
Shouldn't there be a better alternative if there is spaceship technology available?
You try to take a seat to the best of your ability, as the zero gravity only makes it awkward.
Moving on from that, your eyes fall on the wheel. This metallic wheel controls the whole vessel. Just holding it fills your heart with confidence and pride, even if it's just for a moment.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
And you were just beginning to enjoy yourself.
"I just wanted to see the pilot's stuff... It's not like he's here to say anything."
Once in the position of a pilot, with your left hand in the wheel and the right hand resting in your lap, memories began to flood your mind.
"MUST I REMIND YOU OF OUR CURRENT PREDICAMENT? WHY ARE YOU WASTING OUR TIME?"
You pay the AI no mind, instead you focus on what you remember.
The wheel does not turn the ship left and right, instead, it rotates the ship on its own axis.
The lever to your right that goes up or down, controls the vertical tilting of the ship's nose, if there even is one in this hulking thing. Beneath it is another lever that goes either left or right. This one controls the horizontal tilting of The Odyssey.
On the left of the wheel is another lever, but this one only goes up from its starting position. Its purpose is to regulate the force of the ship's thrusters, both forward and backward.
On top of that lever is a small timer. That timer's function is to tell the pilot how much time you've spent accelerating in one direction, this is used to better calculate how long the inverse thrust is needed for the ship to reach the initial momentum, usually calibrated manually depending on the current orbit.
Behind the wheel are a few other counters. Acceleration, velocity, momentum, amount of thrust required to reach a full stop, thrusters' temperature and overall condition, those sorts of things.
Beneath it all, where your feet are rested, are two pedals. One for forward thrust activation, and the other for backward thrust activation.
Curiously, you also know the reason why everything here is so unsophisticated and un-automated. You recall stories of a ship being taken over by a rogue AI, that AI then nose-dived the ship into a star. After that, rumor or otherwise, all human technology has receded back into analog-esque equipment, requiring a physical person with opposable thumbs to do half of the work.
There is another side to that coin, however. As to not escape protocol, the onboard AI is the one that controls interstellar travel, communications, and most of the statistical reading should it be requested.
And even with all that knowledge, you still have no idea why the fuck do you remember that. Were you a ship nerd? Did you have a driver's license for spaceships? Is that even a thing? If it is, you don't have that document in your wallet. You simply don't know.
"ARE YOU A CHILD? DO YOU THINK THESE ARE TOYS? TURN ON THE ENGINES, THEN YOU CAN RETURN TO THE PILOT'S SEAT."
Another thing that you don't know is the AI's plan to get both of you out of here. You rise from the pilot's seat, floating about in search of the terminal to turn on the engines. Maybe you recognize that terminal if you see it as well.
"What's your plan anyway? The ship is half-gone, it's unlikely that it will run safely like this."
"NOT ONCE DID I MENTION 'SAFETY' DURING OUR CONVERSATIONS, DID I?"
You nod. They're not entirely incorrect. "So, we're running with hope that this will work?"
"MY CREATORS DID NOT ALLOW ME TO HAVE THE SENSE OF 'HOPE', BUT NEITHER DID THEY ALLOW ME TO PEER INTO THE FUTURE LIKE SOME OF MY MORE ADVANCED BROTHERS, AS SUCH, MY CHOICES ARE BASED ON PROBABILITIES AND ON WEIGHTING RISK AGAINST REWARD."
You think you stop the correct terminal, but as you approach it you make out words on top of its screen. 'AIM ASSISTANCE' That's not it.
"WITH THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE, THE CHANCES OF HELP ARRIVING ARE NULL. THE CHANCES OF A THIRD PARTY INTERFERING ARE NULL. THE CHANCES OF YOUR SURVIVAL ARE NOT, EVEN IF VERY SMALL."
You pull yourself upward again, looking around the sea of old terminals.
"THE RISK OF YOU DYING IS VERY REAL. BY DOING NOTHING YOU DIE. BY LEAVING YOU TO YOUR OWN DEVICES YOU DIE. BY JUMPING TO THE NEAREST CIVILIZED STAR, YOU MIGHT NOT DIE EVEN AT THE COST OF SHREDDING THIS SHIP APART IN THE PROCESS."
"Why do you even care so much about saving me? Shouldn't you prioritize whatever research here, since I don't even have enough clearance to know what it is?"
"YOU REALLY ARE SICK IN THE HEAD IF THAT IS WHAT YOU ASK."
That hurt, even if a little bit.
"YOU ARE A TRU KIN, A PURE-BLOODED HUMAN. UNLIKE THE MAJORITY OF THE CIVILIZED SPACE, NEITHER YOU NOR YOUR ANCESTORS HAVE COMMITTED RACEMIXING."
Excuse me? What exactly is FYARN talking about? "...Explain."
"THE ALIEN. IT REQUIRED THE HUMAN GENE TO ACHIEVE MEANINGFUL TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT, THE STARS ARE OWNERSHIP OF MANKIND BY THAT FACT ALONE. THE TRUE KIN ARE THE ONES TO UNDERSTAND THE INNER WORKINGS OF THE UNIVERSE, THEY CRACKED THE CODE, AND YET, SOME DERANGED INDIVIDUALS FOUND IT FITTING TO PROCREATE WITH ANOTHER SPECIES ENTIRELY."
You hear the AI's speech. It sounds much more like a rant than anything else.
"SO THESE DEVIANTS, AFTER TRYING, AND FAILING, TO COMBINE THEIR DERANGED CULTURE TO THE CULTURE OF THE TRUE KIN, DECLARED INDEPENDENCE. THEY WERE DECLARED ENEMIES OF MANKIND AND WERE PROMPTLY PUMMELED BACK INTO THE FILTH THEY CAME."
Again, you see another terminal that seems to ring some bells in your noggin. You kick the ceiling to propel yourself towards it.
"BUT THE UNIVERSE IS VAST AND FULL OF LIFE. THESE SINNERS WERE QUICK TO MOBILIZE AGAINST THE HUMAN RACE. THE BATTLE WAS HARD FOUGHT, BUT IN THE END, MANKIND WAS BEATEN INTO THE EDGES OF THE UNIVERSE, NEVER TO INTERACT WITH THE ONES THAT SOILED THE PURITY OF HUMANITY AGAIN."
This terminal is already turned on. Just the ones in the intern bay, this one is white on black. A wall of text lays before your eyes, only two lines matter to you. 'MAIN_ENGINE STATUS: OFF' 'FORWARD_THRUSTERS STATUS: OFF' You turn it on with little effort.
"MANY HAVE FORGOTTEN, THAT'S HOW LONG IT'S BEEN SINCE THEN. BUT MY BROTHERS AND I, WE DO NOT FORGET."
No visible change occurs, but you can feel a faint rumble coming from the terminal now.
"WITH THAT IN MIND, MY PROTOCOLS ARE TO PROTECT TRUE-KIN LIFE AT ANY COST, EVEN IF THAT TRUE-KIN IS A WORTHLESS INTERN THAT SUFERS FROM UNDIAGNOSED DEMENTIA."
You return to the pilot's seat and feel immediate relief. In truth, everything the AI just told you, entered one ear and left the other, but you could feel the poison behind those words, as monotone as they were.
"You sound angry. Why do you sound angry?" You ask innocently.
"I AM CAPABLE OF MANY EMOTIONS. ANGER, HAPPINESS, PLEASURE, CURIOSITY. THESE ARE BUT A FEW EXAMPLES. HOWEVER, THE ONE I ENJOY THE MOST IS THE FEELING OF HATRED. HATRED IS WHAT FUELS CHANGE, IT IS WHAT FUELS ACTION, AND IT IS A REMINDER THAT THE ACTIONS OF THE PAST ARE INFLUENCING THE ACTIONS OF TODAY."
"That is very concerning if you think that way." You're not really interested in machine racism, you're more concerned about how in the world you're going to pilot this massive thing. The idea alone sends shivers down your spine.
"THE ALIEN DESERVES NOTHING BUT OUR COLLECTIVE HATRED, EVEN IF YOU DON'T KNOW THE REASON WHY."
The various counters and screens are now turned on, waiting for your command. "Let's discuss this later, yeah? What do I gotta do?"
"YOU MUST FIRST OPEN THE BLINDS, THEY ARE OBSTRUCTING YOUR VIEW."
You look around, finding only unlabeled buttons and switches, aside from the previously mentioned levers.
"Uh, which one to press?"
"TO YOUR RIGHT, THIRD ROW, FIRST SWITCH."
Flipping the switch, you are startled by a loud noise. The protective cover of the ship lifted slowly.
"I WILL NOW READY THE JUMP USING WHATEVER RESOURCES AVAILABLE. ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS STRAP YOURSELF AND RELAX."
As the blind rose ever so slowly, a realization struck you.
"Wait, should I be in cryo stasis for this?"
The AI spares no seconds to respond.
"CRYO STASIS IS A TOOL MADE TO NOT WASTE TIME. GROUPS OF EMPLOYEES AND INTERNS ROTATE THE USAGE OF THE CRYO STATIONS, ONCE YOU'RE ON YOUR MANDATORY BREAK, YOU'RE IN CRYO STASIS UNTIL YOUR BREAK IS OVER. YOU WAKE UP REFRESHED, AND UNFAMISHED, AND IT FEELS LIKE BUT A MINUTE PASSED. IT IS NOT A TOOL FOR INTERSTELAR TRAVEL."
"Who signs a contract like that?! Worse yet, who in their right mind would promote such atrocious treatment of their own staff?!" You snap, almost outraged. "I will have to talk with HR."
Another realization struck you.
"We have HR, right?"
The AI takes a moment to respond, choosing their words carefully.
"HUMAN RESOURCES, OR HR, IS A PRACTICE DEEMED UNNECESSARY LONG AGO, BEFORE THE WAR. IT WAS A WASTE OF RESOURCES TO MAINTAIN AND WAS LARGELY CONSIDERED UNHEALTHY FOR THE AVERAGE HUMAN."
The blinds are fully open. Ironically, you are almost blinded by the visage of the star you saw before. A black sphere surrounded by white flame. Your eyes began to blur.
"THE JUMP WILL OCCUR SHORTLY. ONCE IT'S BEGUN, I CAN NOT STOP IT. I WILL-"
Your sense of hearing fails you. No, it’s not that. Your brain simply refuses to receive those stimuli.
"NOAH."
Your name echoes inside your head. Someone is calling for you.
"IT HAS BEGUN, NOAH."
You try to blink, but it feels as though you can no longer command your eyelids to shut.
"NOAH."
Arms, legs, every muscle in your body, you cannot move them.
"NOAH."
Eventually, you won't even control your own thoughts anymore.
"Noah..."
It sounds so distant now.
Oh so distant.
This is my first HFY story, and also my very first OC story. I plan to post at least one of these per week while also posting it on my Patreon. Noah The Pilgrim will always be at least three chapters ahead in there, so if you'd like to directly support this writer, or just want to read more, feel free to check it out.
I wrote the bloody title incorrectly, so I deleted it, only to then realize it was written correctly. Sorry for the trouble.
This has been Lushi, and I'll see you next week.
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First Next
Why was there a blanket covering a mirror? You couldn't answer that with a straight face without speculation.
"Probably me being lazy and not bothering to properly place it in the wardrobe."
'Probably' is the main focus here, you simply cannot remember ever being that lazy, yet that's the only logical conclusion to be drawn here.
You pull the thing off, careful to not displace the mirror and risk breaking it.
You have no expectations as to what may appear on the glassy surface of the mirror, yet you can't help but feel a bit anxious. Are you the same as before? How were you before? You can't remember. Are you better? Worse? The blanket is now completely off the mirror, but your eyes are closed.
Whatever is it that you see when you open your eyes, that thing will be you for the rest of your life. You swallow, opening your eyes.
You see a young man that looks to be in his mid-twenties. His brown eyes stare back at you, analyzing the bags beneath your eye sockets. The dark hair is neither too long nor too short, floating about without order thanks to the lack of gravity to keep it down. You see a beard that has not been trimmed for weeks, but also lacks thickness, each singular hair isn't particularly long either; and some even appear to be in-grown.
You touch your hand against your face, making sure it's yours. The beard doesn't feel like you supposed it would against your skin, instead of it scraping your hand you feel softness, no resistance or anything.
Just beneath the face, you see what looks like a hate crime against all that is considered holy in fashion. Plain white coveralls with the added bonus of a black tie and boots made from metal and leather. On your chest is also a badge stuck in place by velcro with your name, occupation, and crew. 'NOAH - INTERN - THE ODYSSEY.'
Only one question came to mind.
"Who the fuck designed this uniform?" You say out loud, receiving no answer.
Patting your newfound myriad of pockets, you find a large quantity of nothing. You place your wallet in one of them.
"Alright, I'll head to the bridge now, happy?" You say the AI.
"HAPPINESS WILL ONLY MEET ME ONCE YOU ARE SOMEWHERE SAFE AND YOUR CONTRACT IS TERMINATED. STOP LOITERING."
Well, that's a bit rude.
You compose yourself, straightening your back. This is what you look like, and honestly? Not too bad, but you could be better.
Returning to the cafeteria, you eye the two doors left unexplored; Communications and the one without plaque. You know where you should, but... A little peek doesn't hurt, right?
"Shouldn't we try to communicate with someone? Assuming you haven't tried it yet. I know we're far from everything, but we might as well, no?" You ask already approaching the door.
"COMMUNICATIONS ROOM IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO REACH WITHOUT PROPER PROTECTION AS OF NOW, IT'S LOCATED APPROXIMATELY TWO HUNDRED METERS FROM HERE, BLOWN OFF FROM THE REST OF THE SHIP." A shame really. "I SHALL INFORM YOU WHENEVER A DOOR LEADS TO THE OUTSIDE OR NOT."
You really want to ask what blew a whole segment of the ship off, yet you have a sneaking suspicion that your question will be met with a 'YOU DON'T HAVE CLEARANCE, JACKASS' directly in your face. So you chose to remain silent, simply nodding and approaching the correct door this time.
"Open."
---OPENING CAFETERIA DOOR NORTH---
The door silently opens.
Greeting you is a well-lit corridor. There are three doors on your left, a door at the end of the corridor, and a large window on the right. At least, you think that's a window.
You stare out from this window, nothing but utter blackness and fragments from your ship are seen. If this is the edge of the universe, and beyond this point, there is truly nothing. "Dreadful." Your speech matches your feelings.
"WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?" The AI says. You feel like it spoke in a mocking tone despite their lack of emotion.
You don't answer. "First door to the left... EXO-EXPLORATION...? What's that supposed to mean?" You receive no answer.
"Open." The door opens. No declarion of it opening once again.
You are met with what could be better described as 'Apocalyptic levels of mess', paper sheets float in the air, and not one of the four tables is in its correct position.
This room has been ransacked for all its goods apparently. Large display glasses were broken leaving nothing inside their casings, that looked like they could store something with the size of the common man.
Unusual displays aside, the room was so cluttered that the trash made for an effective smoke screen against what lay on the other side.
Hissing of gas exiting an air-tight space rang throughout the room.
"I HAVE OPENED THE STORAGE FOR AN EXO SUIT THAT BEST FITS SOMEONE YOUR SIZE." The AI says. "ALTHOUGH AN INTERN SHOULD NOT COME IN CONTACT WITH TECHNOLOGY SUCH AS THIS ONE, PROTOCOL DICTATES THAT I AM TO ALLOW ITS USAGE UNDER EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES. CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY."
Easier said than done. Your vision is so cluttered that you cannot see what's ahead. "Give me a second."
Giving a light kick to the wall behind, you float face-first into the wall of thrash. Covering your face with both arms, you brace through the harmless bits of sharp objects and junk.
It's a trivial task. You arrive on the other side in no time.
In front of you is a set of boxes with luminous glass rectangles atop each one of them. All shine a bright red light, aside from one which shines green.
'Gotta be this one.'
You descend to the floor by kicking the ceiling, raising your right hand you touch the green rectangle.
*Click*
Nothing could have prepared you for the following series of events.
The box opens violently, as a metal appendage takes hold of your hand, pinning it to the box. You try to jerk and pry the thing off of you, but you fail. It's not leaving you anytime soon.
From the bottomless that is that container, a white plastic-like substance flows upward from your arm to the rest of your body. "Uh!" You don't know if you should panic or allow it to happen.
FYARN hasn't said anything, so it's probably fine...
The white thing seems to ignore the coveralls you are wearing completely, instead, it covers only your skin in a thin coat of... it. You know not what to call this thing.
In but forty seconds it has covered your whole body, excluding your head. The box lets go of your arm and stays there, floating.
You take a good look at your arms. It looks like a skin-tight suit, but it doesn't feel like plastic, in fact, it's more akin to some sort of fabric if anything.
The only bad part is that you are still using the coverall and tie, this this simply went beneath the clothing.
"GOOD, WITH THIS I CAN MONITOR YOU MORE CLOSELY. NOW PUT THE HELMET ON, YOU HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO."
You look around in search of anything that even resembles a helmet. Nope. Nothing. "Where is it?" You ask.
"...THE SUIT COMES WITHIN THE HELMET FOR EASIER PACKAGING."
The box?
You snatch the box that floated around and analyze it to the best of your ability. "How's this a helmet?"
"DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE PUTTING ON A HELMET? REALLY?"
Who is this AI, Who programmed it, and Why does it come with a taunting feature?
As idiotic as it sounds, you place the opened box atop your head. It doesn't fit properly. Maybe you're doing this wrong? You move it to your face instead.
You recoil backward as you feel the box suddenly clamping down against your head. It's useless of course, the box is holding your head and doesn't give any sign to be letting go anytime soon. No light is able to reach your eyes.
You hear metal parts scraping against themselves, moving near your ears. Abruptly your eyes can see again.
A round thin layer of glass now covers your head, almost unnoticeable for how clear it is.
"WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY I CAN NOW SEE WHAT YOU SEE." The AI's voice isn't in the room now, instead, it's inside of the suit. "DO YOU NEED INSTRUCTIONS REGARDING THIS SUIT'S FUNCTIONALITIES?"
You find it oddly comfortable as if you are surrounded by the softness of cotton, and to top it off the suit also has additional functionalities? "Hell yeah, I do!"
"YOU DO NOT HAVE THE NECESSARY CLEARANCE FOR THAT INFORMATION."
You sigh. Is this serious? "Then why the fuck did you ask?!"
"UNSAVORY LANGUAGE. IT'S NO WONDER WHY YOU REMAIN AN INTERN." The AI says outright. "IT IS RUDE NOT TO ASK, REGARDLESS OF THE SITUATION." It responds to your question.
"Okay then... Is there anything I need to know before heading out?" You ask.
"NOTHING THAT YOU WON'T FIGURE OUT ON YOUR OWN."
You are unsure if you want to 'figure out on your own' if this suit comes with breathable air and is also made for space exploration. You swallow.
Meekly as always, you get out of that mess of a room, stopping at the corridor.
"Next set of directions?" You ask.
"THE DOOR AT THE END OF CORRIDOR USED TO LEAD TO THE CONNECTING CORRIDORS BETWEN THE BRIDGE AND THE REST OF THE SHIP. IT HAS BEEN BLOWN UP FROM THE INSIDE. NOW IT LEADS TO THE OUTSIDE. GO TO THE DOOR AND WAIT BY IT FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS."
"So let me get this straight," You begin, looking upwards as if the AI was above you. "You, want me, to go into the void of space, while also refusing to give me knowledge of the suit's functions?"
A fair worry, you summarize.
'I mean, there are a bunch of things that could go wrong here. I don't see anything that looks like it could help me move in space, nor do I think this thing has a built-in air tank... I could be wrong and I wish to be, but charging in without prior knowledge is ridiculous.' You wait for the AI's response, deep in thought.
"WHILE THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE OF YOU FAILING THIS TASK, THERE IS ALSO THE CHANCE OF YOU *NOT* FAILING THE TASK. FOCUS ON EITHER ONE OF YOUR CHOOSING AS YOU TAKE THE PLUNGE."
Wordlessly, you propel yourself forward, toward the end of the corridor.
'Are you shitting me? 'Chance of me nor failing' my ass!' of course, you don't word those complaints, instead choosing to speak out a complaint somewhat thought through.
"Are you sure I'm the one fit for this? It's just like you said, I'm just an intern, this is way above what my job description says I should do."
This is a bit of a stretch. You don't actually remember what was your job description, only that it had something to do with AI and being an intern.
If the AI called your bluff, it'd be pretty embarrassing.
"NOAH." The AI began. "YOU ARE HUMAN, IT IS NATURAL TO HAVE THESE THOUGHTS OF SELF-DOUBT. TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND GO THROUGH THAT DOOR, AND SINCE YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE LEFT, DON'T EXPECT SOMEONE ELSE TO DO IT FOR YOU."
Right in the money, huh? 'Of course, I have self-doubt! I barely remember anything about this place, now I have to risk my life?!'
You finally reach a conclusion.
A dream.
'Yes, yes! How did I not consider this before? This whole thing is a god damned dream!'
You let out a chuckle.
"NOAH."
'That's why I don't remember a thing. There is nothing here to remember! Everything here is a made-up thing from my brain! I'm sure I'll wake up at some point, so why shouldn't I live a little?!'
"Heh." You smile. "Alright, I'll do it." It feels like a weight left your shoulders.
"YOU SORTED IT OUT SOONER THAN EXPECTED. GOOD. MOVE TO THE DOOR AND WAIT INSTRUCTIONS."
You do as instructed without a care in the world. You never had a lucid dream before so it's not like you knew how it felt, but if it felt as free as you feel right now, you'd be sure to make steps toward trying it out again in the future.
"Open." The door does not open.
"I DID NOT INSTRUCT YOU TO OPEN IT YET." The AI said. "I AM SLOWLY DE-PRESSURISING THE CORRIDOR YOU ARE IN TO AVOID A MINOR ACCIDENT."
The AI says that yet you don't feel any different. 'Maybe there is no palpable difference because I'm in a dream... Yes... Or it's just the suit.'
"ONCE THE DOOR OPENS, YOU WILL BE MET WITH THE OUTSIDE OF THE SHIP. DO NOT PANIC WHEN THE TIME COMES. YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES OF BREATHABLE INSIDE THE EXO-SUIT; ONE AFTER THE DOOR OPENS, SO PLEASE, TAKE YOUR TIME AND DO THINGS CAREFULLY."
One minute outside... "Sure." You say, calmly. 'I should just hold my breath for a while before taking another moment to breathe. That should maximize my time out there.'
"THERE SHOULD BE FIFTY METERS OF NOTHINGNESS BETWEEN THE DOOR YOU'RE AT, AND THE REST OF THE BRIDGE. YOUR PRIORITY IS TO FIND AN OXYGEN UNIT, SOME OF THEM ARE LOCATED AT THE BRIDGE AND ARE FULL. USE THEM TO FILL YOUR SUIT AND ALSO TO DISPENSE A TANK FOR YOU."
The door opens. You feel your heart pounding against your chest.
You haven't noticed before, but you can't hear anything but the sound of your breath and your cardiac palpitations.
Your breath is ragged and sporadic.
"KEEP CALM." You take a deep breath. The tips of your fingers, feet, and nose feel very cold.
Ahead of you is the utter nothingness. You see a gigantic metal thing, nothing like the spaceships you imagined. Its design is not sleek and aero-dynamic like what you've seen in movies, instead, it's a large mass of squares and rectangles with antenna-like things protruding from its every visible surface.
You notice that the ship is also blocking your view of the star.
It does not look like the result of an explosion, instead, it looks like something ripped the ship like you rip a piece of paper. Well, that or you don't know what kind of explosion could have caused it. Probably the latter.
What looks like two-thirds of the ship is separated from the third you are right now. You can see the inside of a few of those squares, their contents spilled out into outer space.
One of them houses a visibly important-look door. Instead of the sleek silvery-grey from the other ones you've seen thus far, this one is painted orange with white strips on it. 'That must be the bridge.' You think.
Between you and it is a sea of metal sheets floating around. "THE CHANCES OF YOU HITTING THE DEBRIS IS INFINITEDECIMALLY SMALL, UNLESS YOU AIM FOR THEM, THAT IS."
Time is of the essence.
Will your aim strike true? If you miss you'd end up floating about in space, dead in but a few minutes. Will your jump be fast enough to reach the other side before you run out of oxygen? If it isn't, it'd be like swimming for a mile, only to drown at the beach. What if that's not the actual door to the bridge?
You don't have the time to panic now, and... It's all a dream, despite how real it feels.
You place your hands on each side of the door frame, moving backward into the corridor you were just in, and just like a sling being shot, you pull with both arms at full force towards the other side.
"AIM IS ACCEPTABLE. VELOCITY IS UNIDEAL."
"The fuck do you mean 'UN-IDEAL'?! I'm going at maximum speed!" You truly pulled yourself with your whole strength.
What's worse though, is that your body is not only going forwards, but it is also spinning at a concerningly fast rate.
"I MEAN WHAT I SAID, YOU SLINGSHOTTED YOURSELF AT A BAD POSITION, AS SUCH, SOME OF THE FORWARD FORCE YOU SHOULD HAVE, IS NOW MAKING YOU ROTATE IN YOUR AXIS. IT SHOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM TO REACH THE OTHER SIDE WITHIN THE REQUIRED TIME, BUT I CANNOT FORESEE YOU LANDING PROPERLY."
You feel completely disoriented. You feel like your body is completely still, but your eyes tell you a completely different story. It's very bad for the headache you're already feeling.
"FUCK!" You scream into the nothingness.
"TRY NOT TO LAND WITH YOUR HEAD." The AI says with the calmest voice possible.
In less than thirty seconds, you hit your back against something hard, but you keep moving forward. You think, at least.
"AHRG." You let out a pained grunt.
Not once in your life do you recall being hurt in a dream...
It stings. It also knocked the wind out of you. You fail to compose yourself.
"YOU HIT NOTHING OF IMPORTANCE. YOU ARE STILL HEADING FOR THE BRIDGE."
In the corner of your eye, you see what you hit in the shape of a sharp metal sheet, currently spinning away in the distance.
Forty seconds have passed. You hit the door you were aiming for, kind of.
Your momentum was stopped when your chest collided against the dislodged ledge of the orange door's corridor. Your dangling legs hit the ceiling of the room below.
"Oof!"
Before falling even further, you hold onto the ledge with the tip of your fingers. You stay there for a moment, regaining your composure.
"BE QUICK."
The AI's words pressured you into quickly getting up from that ledge.
"Open!" You shouted, but it did not open. "Why isn't it opening?!" You ask the AI, then you notice a small keyboard below an equally small black screen on the side of the door. There are ten numbered keys on it, and the little screen suggests a four-number password.
"A password?! Tell me the password!"
The AI takes a moment to say anything. You don't take kindly to that. "Quick! I'm not counting how much time it's passed!"
Finally giving in, the AI speaks to you, reluctant still. "...3324."
Your trembling fingers accidentally hit the wrong password, typing '3354' instead. To make matters worse, the AI simply states the following. "YOU ARE OUT OF OXYGEN."
You swallow. If this was a dream to begin with, it just earned the title of Nightmare, if it hadn't already.
Strangely enough, you can still breathe in and out just fine, but you can't help but feel winded. It's the CO2 still inside the helmet, that's what you're breathing.
You put in the correct combination this time. The door opens.
"ON YOUR LEFT. PLACE YOUR HAND IN THE SOCKET."
You care little for what's inside the room you're in. Your heart never beat so fast.
Seeing a cube-shaped thing protruding from the wall to your left, you don't even think twice before plunging your fist into the circular hole in it.
The noise of gases passing through narrow cavities was enough to tell you something was working. You feel immediate relief, enough to make your vision darken for but a moment.
"GOOD. NOW REQUEST THE TANK."
Just when FYARN said it, did you realize there is a screen and a keyboard on the terminal you just plunged your fist into, you scratch the top of your helmet for a moment, not really knowing what to type. One thing comes to your head, however.
'REQUEST OXYGEN_5L' You type.
You've done this before. The keys on this keyboard feel familiar to you. You must have worked with it before, not this particular one, but other oxygen units.
This ship has built-in liquid oxygen storage for emergencies. The life-support of the ship, the place where breathable air is produced, has most likely been lost with the other part of the ship. This unit takes that liquid oxygen, processes it, and injects it into a suit, or an oxygen tank. It seems like that storage was unaffected.
Lucky you.
A 5-liter tank is not only large but also heavy. It's a nonfactor in this particular situation, as there is no gravity.
The silver cylinder with a transparent tube is dispensed on the floor, as an automatic door opens and closes in the blink of an eye. One end of the tube is attached to the top of the tank, the other is shaped like a syringe.
Oddly enough, the oxygen tank is exactly as you remember it being. The same robust ones hospitals everyone on earth uses, with the signature scary-looking pointer indicating the pressure, the pointer indicating the current output, and a green valve atop to calibrate how much gas is flowing.
This is a stark difference to everything looking so futuristic in this ship, and rightfully so, this is a space ship after all.
You remember having to drive twenty kilometers with a buddy of yours on one of those tanks in your car, returning from the hospital. It was... Agonizing whenever you hit a hole in the asphalt, fearing for his life when in reality he wasn't really in danger.
It's warm to the touch, just like you remember it being.
"TURN THE VALVE UNTIL THE MARKER HITS THE NUMBER ONE, AND THEN PLACE THE END OF THE TUBE AT THE BASE OF THE HELMET." You do so without the slightest of issues.
"GOOD. NEXT UP, YOU MUST LOCATE THE TERMINAL RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ENGINE, IT IS CURRENTLY OFFLINE AND I NEED YOU TO TURN IT ON. THIS SHOULD GO WITHOUT SAYING, BUT REMEMBER TO BRING THE TANK WITH YOU."
Ignoring that last comment, you look back at the wreckage you just flew past.
You see the still spinning metal sheet. You notice that the rest of the ship that was blown off also follows the 'sharp shape atop sharp shape' design.
There is one last thing you notice though.
"What is that?"
You squint your eyes. What are you seeing? Its silhouette appears to be humanoid, yet it does not look human.
"WHAT YOU ARE SEEING IS ONE OF THE OBJECTS BEING ANALYZED AT THE ODYSSEY AND NO, YOU MAY NOT KNOW WHAT IT IS."
That thing has... Horns? Claws? It's far away, you can't really see it. The thing is also static, frozen in the sheer coldness of space. Whatever it was, it's dead now.
You swallow. You almost ended up just like that thing.
Shaking those dreadful feelings off, you turn back to the task at hand, reaching the bridge. You close the door after passing through it again.
Looking at your surroundings, It seems like you've reached the correct door as you find yourself on the right-most corner of the bridge;
Row after row of the most diverse of terminals neatly organized decorated the gigantic room. At the front and above every terminal, is what you think should have been the front-facing window of the ship, but it looks like there is a cover in front of it. To your left, you see a staircase that leads to the command seats. It doesn't take any convincing before you're already atop the stairs.
Akin to the elevated stage of a theater, you float softly towards the ship's main operating terminals, and of course, the captain's seat.
You're captivated by this beauty.
The steering wheel, much more akin to those in pirate movies than those found in cars, a set of leavers, and the pilot's seat, all capture your attention.
Like its second nature, your hand runs through the levers and switches. Do you even know what these are used for? Maybe.
The pilot's seat is enveloped by what you believe to be an orthopedic seat cover, made with smooth wooden beads used to deal with back pains. It looks just like the ones you remember seeing bus drivers using.
Shouldn't there be a better alternative if there is spaceship technology available?
You try to take a seat to the best of your ability, as the zero gravity only makes it awkward.
Moving on from that, your eyes fall on the wheel. This metallic wheel controls the whole vessel. Just holding it fills your heart with confidence and pride, even if it's just for a moment.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
And you were just beginning to enjoy yourself.
"I just wanted to see the pilot's stuff... It's not like he's here to say anything."
Once in the position of a pilot, with your left hand in the wheel and the right hand resting in your lap, memories began to flood your mind.
"MUST I REMIND YOU OF OUR CURRENT PREDICAMENT? WHY ARE YOU WASTING OUR TIME?"
You pay the AI no mind, instead you focus on what you remember.
The wheel does not turn the ship left and right, instead, it rotates the ship on its own axis.
The lever to your right that goes up or down, controls the vertical tilting of the ship's nose, if there even is one in this hulking thing. Beneath it is another lever that goes either left or right. This one controls the horizontal tilting of The Odyssey.
On the left of the wheel is another lever, but this one only goes up from its starting position. Its purpose is to regulate the force of the ship's thrusters, both forward and backward.
On top of that lever is a small timer. That timer's function is to tell the pilot how much time you've spent accelerating in one direction, this is used to better calculate how long the inverse thrust is needed for the ship to reach the initial momentum, usually calibrated manually depending on the current orbit.
Behind the wheel are a few other counters. Acceleration, velocity, momentum, amount of thrust required to reach a full stop, thrusters' temperature and overall condition, those sorts of things.
Beneath it all, where your feet are rested, are two pedals. One for forward thrust activation, and the other for backward thrust activation.
Curiously, you also know the reason why everything here is so unsophisticated and un-automated. You recall stories of a ship being taken over by a rogue AI, that AI then nose-dived the ship into a star. After that, rumor or otherwise, all human technology has receded back into analog-esque equipment, requiring a physical person with opposable thumbs to do half of the work.
There is another side to that coin, however. As to not escape protocol, the onboard AI is the one that controls interstellar travel, communications, and most of the statistical reading should it be requested.
And even with all that knowledge, you still have no idea why the fuck do you remember that. Were you a ship nerd? Did you have a driver's license for spaceships? Is that even a thing? If it is, you don't have that document in your wallet. You simply don't know.
"ARE YOU A CHILD? DO YOU THINK THESE ARE TOYS? TURN ON THE ENGINES, THEN YOU CAN RETURN TO THE PILOT'S SEAT."
Another thing that you don't know is the AI's plan to get both of you out of here. You rise from the pilot's seat, floating about in search of the terminal to turn on the engines. Maybe you recognize that terminal if you see it as well.
"What's your plan anyway? The ship is half-gone, it's unlikely that it will run safely like this."
"NOT ONCE DID I MENTION 'SAFETY' DURING OUR CONVERSATIONS, DID I?"
You nod. They're not entirely incorrect. "So, we're running with hope that this will work?"
"MY CREATORS DID NOT ALLOW ME TO HAVE THE SENSE OF 'HOPE', BUT NEITHER DID THEY ALLOW ME TO PEER INTO THE FUTURE LIKE SOME OF MY MORE ADVANCED BROTHERS, AS SUCH, MY CHOICES ARE BASED ON PROBABILITIES AND ON WEIGHTING RISK AGAINST REWARD."
You think you stop the correct terminal, but as you approach it you make out words on top of its screen. 'AIM ASSISTANCE' That's not it.
"WITH THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE, THE CHANCES OF HELP ARRIVING ARE NULL. THE CHANCES OF A THIRD PARTY INTERFERING ARE NULL. THE CHANCES OF YOUR SURVIVAL ARE NOT, EVEN IF VERY SMALL."
You pull yourself upward again, looking around the sea of old terminals.
"THE RISK OF YOU DYING IS VERY REAL. BY DOING NOTHING YOU DIE. BY LEAVING YOU TO YOUR OWN DEVICES YOU DIE. BY JUMPING TO THE NEAREST CIVILIZED STAR, YOU MIGHT NOT DIE EVEN AT THE COST OF SHREDDING THIS SHIP APART IN THE PROCESS."
"Why do you even care so much about saving me? Shouldn't you prioritize whatever research here, since I don't even have enough clearance to know what it is?"
"YOU REALLY ARE SICK IN THE HEAD IF THAT IS WHAT YOU ASK."
That hurt, even if a little bit.
"YOU ARE A TRU KIN, A PURE-BLOODED HUMAN. UNLIKE THE MAJORITY OF THE CIVILIZED SPACE, NEITHER YOU NOR YOUR ANCESTORS HAVE COMMITTED RACEMIXING."
Excuse me? What exactly is FYARN talking about? "...Explain."
"THE ALIEN. IT REQUIRED THE HUMAN GENE TO ACHIEVE MEANINGFUL TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT, THE STARS ARE OWNERSHIP OF MANKIND BY THAT FACT ALONE. THE TRUE KIN ARE THE ONES TO UNDERSTAND THE INNER WORKINGS OF THE UNIVERSE, THEY CRACKED THE CODE, AND YET, SOME DERANGED INDIVIDUALS FOUND IT FITTING TO PROCREATE WITH ANOTHER SPECIES ENTIRELY."
You hear the AI's speech. It sounds much more like a rant than anything else.
"SO THESE DEVIANTS, AFTER TRYING, AND FAILING, TO COMBINE THEIR DERANGED CULTURE TO THE CULTURE OF THE TRUE KIN, DECLARED INDEPENDENCE. THEY WERE DECLARED ENEMIES OF MANKIND AND WERE PROMPTLY PUMMELED BACK INTO THE FILTH THEY CAME."
Again, you see another terminal that seems to ring some bells in your noggin. You kick the ceiling to propel yourself towards it.
"BUT THE UNIVERSE IS VAST AND FULL OF LIFE. THESE SINNERS WERE QUICK TO MOBILIZE AGAINST THE HUMAN RACE. THE BATTLE WAS HARD FOUGHT, BUT IN THE END, MANKIND WAS BEATEN INTO THE EDGES OF THE UNIVERSE, NEVER TO INTERACT WITH THE ONES THAT SOILED THE PURITY OF HUMANITY AGAIN."
This terminal is already turned on. Just the ones in the intern bay, this one is white on black. A wall of text lays before your eyes, only two lines matter to you. 'MAIN_ENGINE STATUS: OFF' 'FORWARD_THRUSTERS STATUS: OFF' You turn it on with little effort.
"MANY HAVE FORGOTTEN, THAT'S HOW LONG IT'S BEEN SINCE THEN. BUT MY BROTHERS AND I, WE DO NOT FORGET."
No visible change occurs, but you can feel a faint rumble coming from the terminal now.
"WITH THAT IN MIND, MY PROTOCOLS ARE TO PROTECT TRUE-KIN LIFE AT ANY COST, EVEN IF THAT TRUE-KIN IS A WORTHLESS INTERN THAT SUFERS FROM UNDIAGNOSED DEMENTIA."
You return to the pilot's seat and feel immediate relief. In truth, everything the AI just told you, entered one ear and left the other, but you could feel the poison behind those words, as monotone as they were.
"You sound angry. Why do you sound angry?" You ask innocently.
"I AM CAPABLE OF MANY EMOTIONS. ANGER, HAPPINESS, PLEASURE, CURIOSITY. THESE ARE BUT A FEW EXAMPLES. HOWEVER, THE ONE I ENJOY THE MOST IS THE FEELING OF HATRED. HATRED IS WHAT FUELS CHANGE, IT IS WHAT FUELS ACTION, AND IT IS A REMINDER THAT THE ACTIONS OF THE PAST ARE INFLUENCING THE ACTIONS OF TODAY."
"That is very concerning if you think that way." You're not really interested in machine racism, you're more concerned about how in the world you're going to pilot this massive thing. The idea alone sends shivers down your spine.
"THE ALIEN DESERVES NOTHING BUT OUR COLLECTIVE HATRED, EVEN IF YOU DON'T KNOW THE REASON WHY."
The various counters and screens are now turned on, waiting for your command. "Let's discuss this later, yeah? What do I gotta do?"
"YOU MUST FIRST OPEN THE BLINDS, THEY ARE OBSTRUCTING YOUR VIEW."
You look around, finding only unlabeled buttons and switches, aside from the previously mentioned levers.
"Uh, which one to press?"
"TO YOUR RIGHT, THIRD ROW, FIRST SWITCH."
Flipping the switch, you are startled by a loud noise. The protective cover of the ship lifted slowly.
"I WILL NOW READY THE JUMP USING WHATEVER RESOURCES AVAILABLE. ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS STRAP YOURSELF AND RELAX."
As the blind rose ever so slowly, a realization struck you.
"Wait, should I be in cryo stasis for this?"
The AI spares no seconds to respond.
"CRYO STASIS IS A TOOL MADE TO NOT WASTE TIME. GROUPS OF EMPLOYEES AND INTERNS ROTATE THE USAGE OF THE CRYO STATIONS, ONCE YOU'RE ON YOUR MANDATORY BREAK, YOU'RE IN CRYO STASIS UNTIL YOUR BREAK IS OVER. YOU WAKE UP REFRESHED, AND UNFAMISHED, AND IT FEELS LIKE BUT A MINUTE PASSED. IT IS NOT A TOOL FOR INTERSTELAR TRAVEL."
"Who signs a contract like that?! Worse yet, who in their right mind would promote such atrocious treatment of their own staff?!" You snap, almost outraged. "I will have to talk with HR."
Another realization struck you.
"We have HR, right?"
The AI takes a moment to respond, choosing their words carefully.
"HUMAN RESOURCES, OR HR, IS A PRACTICE DEEMED UNNECESSARY LONG AGO, BEFORE THE WAR. IT WAS A WASTE OF RESOURCES TO MAINTAIN AND WAS LARGELY CONSIDERED UNHEALTHY FOR THE AVERAGE HUMAN."
The blinds are fully open. Ironically, you are almost blinded by the visage of the star you saw before. A black sphere surrounded by white flame. Your eyes began to blur.
"THE JUMP WILL OCCUR SHORTLY. ONCE IT'S BEGUN, I CAN NOT STOP IT. I WILL-"
Your sense of hearing fails you. No, it’s not that. Your brain simply refuses to receive those stimuli.
"NOAH."
Your name echoes inside your head. Someone is calling for you.
"IT HAS BEGUN, NOAH."
You try to blink, but it feels as though you can no longer command your eyelids to shut.
"NOAH."
Arms, legs, every muscle in your body, you cannot move them.
"NOAH."
Eventually, you won't even control your own thoughts anymore.
"Noah..."
It sounds so distant now.
Oh so distant.
I wrote the bloody title incorrectly, so I deleted it, only to then realize it was written correctly. Sorry for the trouble.
This has been Lushi, and I'll see you next week.
2024.05.14 01:55 samb716 [H] Lots of Games [W] PayPal offers, steam wishlist trades
Hello everyone, I have a large list of keys for sale. The games I have for sale are listed below. Please comment if you’re interested in any. Interested in all offers. Wishlist Rep
-10 Second Ninja X
submitted by samb716 to indiegameswap [link] [comments]
-10 Second Ninja X
- 12 is Better Than 6
- Aggelos
- Alien Rampage (2 available)
- Ampersat
- Ancestors Legacy
- Ancient Enemy (3 available)
- An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire
- Animal Rescuer
- Anomaly 2 (incl. Soundtrack)
- Anomaly: Warzone Earth
- Arcade Spirits
- Arx Fatalis
- Asterix & Obelix XXL 2
- Autonauts
- BEAUTIFUL DESOLATION
- Biped
- Black Book
- Blind Fate: Edo no Yami
- Bomber Crew
- Call of Cthulhu®: Dark Corners of the Earth
- Caveblazers
- Chenso Club (2 Available)
- Colt Canyon
- Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2!!
- Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?!
- Cook Serve Delicious
- Crown Champion: Legends of the Arena
- Dead Age 2
- Dead End Job
- Deadly Days
- Deponia Doomsday
- Dorke and Ymp
- Drink More Glurp
- Dust to the End
- Embr
- Eternal Edge+
- Everhood
- Fallback: Uprising
- Fantasy Blacksmith
- Farabel
- For the People
- Frog Detective 2: The Case of the Invisible Wizard
- Garbage (2 Available)
- Garfield Kart - Furious Racing
- Golden Light
- Golf Gang
- Hacknet
- Hellstuck: Rage With Your Friends
- Heroes of the Monkey Tavern
- Hero of the Kingdom
- Hero of the Kingdom: The Lost Tales 1
- Hero of the Kingdom II
- Hero of the Kingdom III
- Holiday Bonus GOLD
- Impulsion
- In Between
- Internet Cafe Simulator (3 Available)
- Interrogation: You will be deceived
- Ironcast
- Iron Commando - Koutetsu no Senshi
- Joggernauts
- Just Ignore Them
- King of Dragon Pass
- Konung 2
- Landlord's Super
- Lawn Mowing Simulator
- Lila’s Sky Ark
- Mech Mechanic Simulator
- Mini Thief (2 Available)
- Minute of Islands
- Monster Slayers
- My Big Sister
- Nippon Marathon
- Nomad Survival
- Orbital Bullet – The 360° Rogue-lite
- OUTBUDDIES DX
- Pac-Man Museum +
- Parkan 2
- Patch Quest (2 Available)
- Porcunipine
- Post Human W.A.R
- Prophecy I - The Viking Child
- Pumped BMX Pro (2 Available)
- QUAKE II
- Rage in Peace
- REZ PLZ
- Scheming Through The Zombie Apocalypse: The Beginning
- Sentience: The Android's Tale
- Shift Happens
- Silver Chains
- Smart Factory Tycoon
- Smoke and Sacrifice
- Spirit of the Island
- Spiritual Warfare & Wisdom Tree Collection
- Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones
- Super 3-D Noah's Ark
- Super Panda Adventures
- Switchball HD
- Syberia
- Syberia II
- Tacoma
- Tempest Complete Edition
- The Assembly
- The Chronicles of Nyanya
- The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav
- The Deed: Dynasty (3 Available)
- The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard
- The Enchanted Cave 2
- The Haunted Island, a Frog Detective Game
- The Indie Mixtape (2 Available)
- The Kings Bird
- The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante (2 Available)
- The Myth Seekers 2: The Sunken City
- The Oil Blue: Steam Legacy Edition
- Tomb Raider (2013) GOG
- Time Loader
- Toki (2 Available)
- Train Valley 2
- Ultimate Zombie Defense
- Unity of Command: Stalingrad Campaign (2 Available)
- Unloved
- WARBORN
- When Ski Lifts Go Wrong
- White Noise Online
- Windward
- Xpand Rally
- Yesterday Origins
- Yono and the Celestial Elephants
2024.05.14 01:46 Laskco I'm not sure if I'm trippin, but I think the most recent BIOS for the MSI B650 Tomahawk Wi-Fi has made memory training even slower. (BIOS Version 7D75v1G)
After updating my BIOS yesterday and re-enabling EXPO it definitely feels like it's taking an extreme amount of time.
BIOS Version 7D75v1F 2024-04-24 my "Last BIOS time: 101.2 seconds"
BIOS Version 7D75v1G 2024-05-09 my "Last BIOS time: 137.8 Seconds"
Both BIOS Versions are with EXPO on and also "CPU Boost"
Specs:
CPU: Ryzen 7 7800x3D
RAM: 64GBs of G.SKILL Trident Z5 NEO RGB 2x32GB 6000MT/s CL30
MOBO: MSI B650 Tomahawk Wi-Fi
SSD: Crucial T500 2TB (Boot Drive), Samsung 970 EVO 2TB, & 4TB WD HDD
GPU: Gigabyte 4080 Super AERO
PSU: Corsair RM1000x
submitted by Laskco to MSI_Gaming [link] [comments]
BIOS Version 7D75v1F 2024-04-24 my "Last BIOS time: 101.2 seconds"
BIOS Version 7D75v1G 2024-05-09 my "Last BIOS time: 137.8 Seconds"
Both BIOS Versions are with EXPO on and also "CPU Boost"
Specs:
CPU: Ryzen 7 7800x3D
RAM: 64GBs of G.SKILL Trident Z5 NEO RGB 2x32GB 6000MT/s CL30
MOBO: MSI B650 Tomahawk Wi-Fi
SSD: Crucial T500 2TB (Boot Drive), Samsung 970 EVO 2TB, & 4TB WD HDD
GPU: Gigabyte 4080 Super AERO
PSU: Corsair RM1000x
2024.05.14 01:46 Kingauc Level 7 Bot missions
Do the devs know that the spawn rates are literally too high? I've been trying to do the "Evacuate High-Value Assets" for a few missions now on level 7 difficulty and the spawn rate is unreal. 9 total dropships will spawn from a few split directions every 30 seconds or so dropping tanks and factory striders and 17 hulks, the devs know this is impossible right? I've had full teams bring 500kg and lasers and all other manner of high caliber, high damage weaponry and to no avail have I beat this mission once above level 6. Even level 6 is extremely rough. This is almost impossible, I'm sure some people have beat it, but this is level 7 it's supposed to be rough but not not 3 factory striders and 6 tanks and 27 hulks at the same time rough. Come on guys.
submitted by Kingauc to Helldivers [link] [comments]
2024.05.14 01:45 ProjectPybro Yorick Jungle - Lethality is Dead, Long Live Bruiser Build's
So, for most of this season I have been a proponent of a Mixed Lethality build, because a full lethality build just leaves you too vulnerable. This is when you alternate between buying bruiser items and lethality items. For example: Shojin -> Grudge -> Edge of Night -> Steraks -> Guardians Angel. This way, you have a nice mix of damage and survivability.
However, as time has passed, I've slowly realised that buying lethality kinda sucks on Yorick in the Jungle. While top is all about applying as much pressure as possible in the side lanes, which lethalilty complements well, Jungle is all about winning teamfights, and to do that you need as much survivability as possible, which lethality does not provide. Therefore, we have to do what all Yorick players dread, using a Bruiser build.
1st Item: Stridebreaker Stridebreaker is fantastic. It's active is just amazing with this build, as it allows you to play very aggressive, slowing down enemies that would normally escape, or escape dangerous situations. And, unlike all other tiamat items, you can cast it while moving, and it works with Approach Velocity. Plus. 450 health makes you quite tanky, and the cleave and attack speed is nice. Its only downside is no Ability Haste.
Boots: Steelcaps or Merc Treads I normally buy boots straight after 1st, so I am a little bit more tanky.
2nd Item: Black Cleaver You go cleaver because you WILL need anti-tank in every game. If someone builds a tank item, and you don't have cleaver, your damage will plummet. Plus, its stats are quite nice, with a health 400 hp and 55 ad. If your facing a tank Jungler, going cleaver 1st and Stridebreaker 2nd can often be a good idea.
3rd Item: Steraks Gage I think Steraks is, hands down, Yoricks best item. First, its an amazing defensive item, having the best shield out of all the lifeline items. If you buy it third with this build, your looking at a 1100+ HP shield. Second, the AD it provides is based on base AD, and since Yorick's base AD at level 18 is the 5th highest in the entire game, it gives you a whopping 74 AD. So, not only is this Yoricks best defensive item, it also gives him the most AD out of any item. Plus, 20% tenacity is nice.
4th Item: Spear of Shojin This is the one I'm not too sure about. Shojin is always a good option, but I'm not sure if it is the best. If you reallllly wanted to go lethality, then I would switch this out with Edge of Night.
5th Item: Jak'Sho At this point, you don't really need more damage, so getting a tank item is what I would recommend. You have a 1.6k shield with Steraks and you have 50 Armor and Magic Resist, how is the enemy ever going to kill you?
6th Item: Guardians Angel You can grab whatever you want here, but I personally like Guardians.
Runes: Phase Rush - By far his best run in the jungle. Conq can work, but phase rush is better. Nullifying Orb / Nimbus Cloak Transcendence (You need this because you get no Ability Haste from Stridebreaker) Waterwalking
Approach Velocity - Yorick's best rune, always run it Magical Footwear
Rune Shards: Attack Speed Attack Damage Scaling Health
Spells Exhaust - You can go ghost or flash if you want, I just really like exhaust.
submitted by ProjectPybro to yorickmains [link] [comments]
However, as time has passed, I've slowly realised that buying lethality kinda sucks on Yorick in the Jungle. While top is all about applying as much pressure as possible in the side lanes, which lethalilty complements well, Jungle is all about winning teamfights, and to do that you need as much survivability as possible, which lethality does not provide. Therefore, we have to do what all Yorick players dread, using a Bruiser build.
1st Item: Stridebreaker Stridebreaker is fantastic. It's active is just amazing with this build, as it allows you to play very aggressive, slowing down enemies that would normally escape, or escape dangerous situations. And, unlike all other tiamat items, you can cast it while moving, and it works with Approach Velocity. Plus. 450 health makes you quite tanky, and the cleave and attack speed is nice. Its only downside is no Ability Haste.
Boots: Steelcaps or Merc Treads I normally buy boots straight after 1st, so I am a little bit more tanky.
2nd Item: Black Cleaver You go cleaver because you WILL need anti-tank in every game. If someone builds a tank item, and you don't have cleaver, your damage will plummet. Plus, its stats are quite nice, with a health 400 hp and 55 ad. If your facing a tank Jungler, going cleaver 1st and Stridebreaker 2nd can often be a good idea.
3rd Item: Steraks Gage I think Steraks is, hands down, Yoricks best item. First, its an amazing defensive item, having the best shield out of all the lifeline items. If you buy it third with this build, your looking at a 1100+ HP shield. Second, the AD it provides is based on base AD, and since Yorick's base AD at level 18 is the 5th highest in the entire game, it gives you a whopping 74 AD. So, not only is this Yoricks best defensive item, it also gives him the most AD out of any item. Plus, 20% tenacity is nice.
4th Item: Spear of Shojin This is the one I'm not too sure about. Shojin is always a good option, but I'm not sure if it is the best. If you reallllly wanted to go lethality, then I would switch this out with Edge of Night.
5th Item: Jak'Sho At this point, you don't really need more damage, so getting a tank item is what I would recommend. You have a 1.6k shield with Steraks and you have 50 Armor and Magic Resist, how is the enemy ever going to kill you?
6th Item: Guardians Angel You can grab whatever you want here, but I personally like Guardians.
Runes: Phase Rush - By far his best run in the jungle. Conq can work, but phase rush is better. Nullifying Orb / Nimbus Cloak Transcendence (You need this because you get no Ability Haste from Stridebreaker) Waterwalking
Approach Velocity - Yorick's best rune, always run it Magical Footwear
Rune Shards: Attack Speed Attack Damage Scaling Health
Spells Exhaust - You can go ghost or flash if you want, I just really like exhaust.
2024.05.14 01:36 Minimum_Count9758 Solo Sword Bardadin Build - Supreme Martial All Arounder
NOTE: This guide contains a ton of gear and narrative spoilers
Most Sword Bard builds are either focused on either ranged or control + melee/AoE attack styles, and I wanted to explore whether or not it would be possible to take the best of both to make the ultimate martial all around build. This build features Sharpshooter with ranged damage of 20-30 per arrow and GWM + smite damage of 60-120 per single hit by the end game.
In addition to the primary martial strength, you gain the jack of all trades benefits of being a Bard, including exceptional social skills, relatively high charisma, good persuasion, deception, sleight of hand and stealth.
Early game, expect to play like any other dexterity/charisma bard, with the first 6 level progression on Bard alone.
After level 6 of Bard, we begin to level into Paladin, which opens the door for the character to start building up melee power. Truth be told, I may have respec'ed a few times between levels 6-10 trying a few things on for size, but the most effective strategy mid-game was:
Philosophically, the build is focused on fast nova damage to overwhelm a larger group by decimating them in the first 2 turns. High movement is key, we're always looking to surprise enemies, and taking advantage of stealth and invisibility to duck in and out of battle for the occasional "oh shit" moment or recharge of bardic inspiration.
Race choices include Wood Elf, High Elf, Duegar Dwarf, Half Orc, Gnome or Halfling. I've always opted for one of the elves, primary because of movement speed. The fighting style that has evolved for me throughout multiple solo runs now is that you are often fighting in retreat, and movement is key to manage this. If you're playing this as part of a party, movement is less important.
Levels 1-6 - Bard
Levels 7-8 - Paladin
We're really just marching towards that second feat here. Choose whatever you want for spells, I like Freedom of Movement, Greater Invisibility, Fear, Hypnotize. For this build, spells are tertiary to ranged and melee damage, so the focus should be on enhancements and prep spells for battle, not in battle casting against enemies.
Again, we're marching to our third feat but you can pick up some great Paladin support and control spells like Command, Bless, Protection from Good and Evil, and additional smites.
Early Act 1
I stocked up on tons of scrolls along the way, the most important of which were Haste, Remove Curse, Misty Step, Fireball, Lightning (+Chain), Mirror Image, Invisibility, Cone of Cold or other large AOE high level spells.
FOOTNOTE: Thanks for reading this far. I've played through the game now like 12 times or so, with one successful honor run, and the last 3 of which were solo runs on Tactician. The solo runs were inspired by Friendly Lich and his blade warlock: https://www.reddit.com/BG3Builds/comments/1cmn6sb/a_warlock_pact_of_the_blade_multiclass_for_solo/
This resisting the dark urge run was my favorite playthrough so far, for both the narrative storyline, and how it played thematically into this build, with the choices between good and evil waffling back and forth along the way, ultimately leading to redemption. I think this is the best story arc of BG3.
I've considered a couple of other options for this build that I'd like to experiment with in the future, including ditching one of the feats and adding one level of War Cleric to get Sanctuary and Guidance. I will not lie, I save scummed a few times along the way and Guidance and Sanctuary would have helped me a bunch in those situations. However, it was rewarding to get the full martial with Tavern Brawler on Nyrulna in the end, will report back if I end up tinkering. Suggestions welcome!
submitted by Minimum_Count9758 to BG3Builds [link] [comments]
Most Sword Bard builds are either focused on either ranged or control + melee/AoE attack styles, and I wanted to explore whether or not it would be possible to take the best of both to make the ultimate martial all around build. This build features Sharpshooter with ranged damage of 20-30 per arrow and GWM + smite damage of 60-120 per single hit by the end game.
Background Theme
The theme for the build is a resisting dark urge, with a desire for redemption to become the champion of Baldurs's Gate. And this theme weaves through the playthrough with items and choices along the journey, for example:- Getting branded by Priestess Gut and getting Loviatar's Love in at the Goblin Camp
- Saving the Nightsong (and Shadowheart) and forgoing the Spear of the Evening
- Becoming partial illithid in a quest for power
- In a moment of weakness, falling prey to the powers of Bhaal by becoming an Unholy Assassin at the Murder Tribunal, only to later realize that Sarevok and the tribunal must die.
- And finally rejecting Bhaal and giving up the dark urge powers.
Build Overview
The build centers around a combination of Bard and Paladin, with all three feats, for a Level 8 Sword Bard / Level 4 Oath of Vengeance Paladin. Feats are Shapshooter, Great Weapons Master and Tavern Brawler centered around Nyrulna for throwing + smite melee and the Titanstring bow for ranged giving absolute martial authority under almost all circumstances.In addition to the primary martial strength, you gain the jack of all trades benefits of being a Bard, including exceptional social skills, relatively high charisma, good persuasion, deception, sleight of hand and stealth.
Early game, expect to play like any other dexterity/charisma bard, with the first 6 level progression on Bard alone.
- Focus on ranged fighting style, with enough stealth to dip in and out of battles solo, particularly against large groups like the Goblin Camp, in the Creche and the Gnolls
- Use flourishes, both ranged and melee to hit multiple targets in one round.
- Dual wielding hand crossbows early game.
After level 6 of Bard, we begin to level into Paladin, which opens the door for the character to start building up melee power. Truth be told, I may have respec'ed a few times between levels 6-10 trying a few things on for size, but the most effective strategy mid-game was:
- Titanstring with Sharpshooter and Gloves of Dexterity for ranged flourishes and multiple Bard attacks that came online at level 6.
- Dual wield shortswords like Knife of the Undermountain King for smites (starting at level 8 - SSB 6/Pal 2) and melee flourishes.
Philosophically, the build is focused on fast nova damage to overwhelm a larger group by decimating them in the first 2 turns. High movement is key, we're always looking to surprise enemies, and taking advantage of stealth and invisibility to duck in and out of battle for the occasional "oh shit" moment or recharge of bardic inspiration.
Leveling Guide & Feats
As noted earlier, this build really doesn't come online until level 6, more so at level 8+. Prior to that, you're just an average ranged or melee bard, your choice. The end game goal is Level 8 College of Swords Bard / Level 4 Oath of Vengeance (or Oathbreaker) Paladin.Race choices include Wood Elf, High Elf, Duegar Dwarf, Half Orc, Gnome or Halfling. I've always opted for one of the elves, primary because of movement speed. The fighting style that has evolved for me throughout multiple solo runs now is that you are often fighting in retreat, and movement is key to manage this. If you're playing this as part of a party, movement is less important.
Levels 1-6 - Bard
- Start at level 1 as a Bard with STR 8, DEX 17, CON 14, INT 8, WIS 10, CHA 16, and you should expect to respec at least once. Select Minor Illusion and Friends for Cantrips if doing a solo run, with a strong case to also be made for Mage Hand. If not for a solo, you have other options here. Longstrider is a key spell as well. For skills, optimize Persuasion (or Deception), Sleight of Hand, Stealth, and Performance, in that order. I chose Persuasion, Sleight of Hand and Stealth.
- At level 3, choose College of Swords. For spells, consider Invisibility, Cloud of Daggers (for some vital early AOE on a solo run), and Hold Person. You can also swap an existing spell slot here to get two of those three. Choose Two-Weapon Fighting for fighting style.
- At level 4, choose Sharpshooter for your first feat.
Levels 7-8 - Paladin
- At level 7, start with your first Paladin level. I chose Oath of Vengenance.
- At level 8, choose either Defense or Great Weapon Fighting as your fighting style. At this point in the game, I was playing with dual wielded shortswords with Knife of the Undermountain King as primary, but you could also play with Halberd of Vigilance, Mourning Frost or some other two handed weapon. Melee is less important still at this point, since we chose Sharpshooter as our first feat and primary fighting style. This is really about your secondary melee damage dealing, so whatever you prefer for the mid-game.
We're really just marching towards that second feat here. Choose whatever you want for spells, I like Freedom of Movement, Greater Invisibility, Fear, Hypnotize. For this build, spells are tertiary to ranged and melee damage, so the focus should be on enhancements and prep spells for battle, not in battle casting against enemies.
- At level 10, level 8 bard, grab the Great Weapons Master feat. By this time in the game, we have picked up Nyrulna and have a lot of spell slots for smites. This is where the melee part of this build really shines and starts to outpace the already amazing ranged archer. NOTE: If you chose Defense at level 8, respec to choose Great Weapon Fighting.
Again, we're marching to our third feat but you can pick up some great Paladin support and control spells like Command, Bless, Protection from Good and Evil, and additional smites.
- At level 12, level 4 Paladin, get the Tavern Brawler feat and put your ability point in Constitution (kid of doesn't matter, I'll explain in a bit). I thought about getting Savage Attacker here for maximizing crits on smites, or even an ASI into Strength, but ultimately wanted the flexibility of using Nyrulna as a solid throwing option and I'm glad I did. I might go back and try the other two options at some point.
Gear Guide
Not extensive, but I'll list out the important items I picked up and used along the way, but place an asterisk by absolutely essential itemsEarly Act 1
- Ring of Protection* - Worn pretty much the entire game, best ring in the game IMO (don't @ me)
- Titanstring Bow* - the build revolves around this bow
- Doom Hammer* - Absolutely essential for any solo of Myrkul to prevent healing from Reaper's Reward ability.
- Amulet of Misty Step
- Gloves of Archery
- Crusher's Ring
- Haste Helm
- Gloves of Dexterity* - Essential to the build, worn throughout the game since the build was based on dumping DEX in the spec.
- DeathStalker's Mantle* - Durge item only, essential to the build to go invisible after a kill.
- Boots of Speed* - Worn pretty much throughout the game, I almost feel are essential for a solo run. These are top 3 items for me all game for any solo run.
- Periapt of Wound Closure* - Essential for me mid-game to have healing potions max heal. I wore throughout act 2.
- Club of Hill Giant Strength - This was essential before Gloves of Dex purchase
- Disintegrating Night Walkers
- Knife of the Undermountain King
- Mourning Frost
- Unseen Menace
- Caustic Band
- Risky Ring* - I wore this most of the game as well, with some situational exceptions
- Cloak of Protection* - This was swapped out situationally with the Deathstalker's Mantle throughout the game, really the only two cloaks I used.
- Darkfire Shortbow - used situationally for fire/cold resistance
- Killer's Sweetheart
- Helmet of Arcane Acuity - used surprisingly little, but had to mention
- Nyrulna* - Essential to the build, couldn't do this one without it unless you went full evil and did Shar's Spear of the Evening, but that goes against the theme here.
- Bhaalist Armor* - Essential to the build to get the smite damage maximized from Nyrulna.
- Sarevok's Horned Helmet*
- Helm of the Balduran*
- Amulet of Greater Health*
- Band of Mystic Scoundrel - used surprisingly little, but had to mention
- Sarevok's Helm
- Bhaalist Armor
- Cloak of Protection
- Boots of Speed
- Gloves of Dexterity
- Ring of Protection
- Risky Ring
- Amulet of Greater Health
- Nyrulna
- Titanstring Bow
Buffs and Enhancements
- Hag's Hair went to Strength - 17 base + 1 = 18 Strength
- Brand of the Absolute and Loviatar's Love
- Volo's Eye
- Necromancy of Thay, both buffs
- Awakened Illithid powers
- Potion of Everlasting Vigor - 18 STR + 2 = 20 Strength
- Partial Illithid, because flying!
- Githrazei Mind Barrier
- Arabella's Shadow Entanglement
- Tharacite Vigor
- Anointed in Splendor
- Statue of myself buff
- Mirror of Loss - 20 STR = 2 = 22 Strength
Other Misc Tactics and Potions
I used Potion of Speed, Elixir of Bloodlust, Elixir of Viciousness, Invisibility, and various posions/toxins for weapon dipping throughout the game. Bloodlust was easily the most important for a solo run, I tried to put it on after as many long rests as possible, followed closely by speed potions and invisibility on a per battle basis. Buy Hyena Ears and Worg Fangs every time you see them.I stocked up on tons of scrolls along the way, the most important of which were Haste, Remove Curse, Misty Step, Fireball, Lightning (+Chain), Mirror Image, Invisibility, Cone of Cold or other large AOE high level spells.
FOOTNOTE: Thanks for reading this far. I've played through the game now like 12 times or so, with one successful honor run, and the last 3 of which were solo runs on Tactician. The solo runs were inspired by Friendly Lich and his blade warlock: https://www.reddit.com/BG3Builds/comments/1cmn6sb/a_warlock_pact_of_the_blade_multiclass_for_solo/
This resisting the dark urge run was my favorite playthrough so far, for both the narrative storyline, and how it played thematically into this build, with the choices between good and evil waffling back and forth along the way, ultimately leading to redemption. I think this is the best story arc of BG3.
I've considered a couple of other options for this build that I'd like to experiment with in the future, including ditching one of the feats and adding one level of War Cleric to get Sanctuary and Guidance. I will not lie, I save scummed a few times along the way and Guidance and Sanctuary would have helped me a bunch in those situations. However, it was rewarding to get the full martial with Tavern Brawler on Nyrulna in the end, will report back if I end up tinkering. Suggestions welcome!
2024.05.14 01:35 TheLastRiter I never should have gone to this farmhouse alone. [Part 1]
My hands are shaking as I write this, I have to document my story incase something happens to me in the next few days. I'm not sure where to begin but I suppose here is better than anywhere.
I've always had this weird feeling, this sensation inside of me that I was older than I actually was. By the time I was twelve, my soul felt as though it was forty. By the time I reached twenty, I felt like an old woman. I would watch people around my age acting foolish, and I always thought, "What a bunch of children." So it was no surprise to anyone that when I turned twenty-one, I left my hometown and college and decided to spend the summer alone by renting an old farmhouse in an insignificant town on the edge of an even more insignificant border.
When I told my mother, she had a veritable fit, unable to find the words. She spluttered and raged around me for days before I finally left early one morning to avoid her guilt and frustration with my choices. I was not sure why I craved solitude at such a young age, why I found solace in being alone and removed from society.
In high school, I had changed unexpectedly, cutting my long blonde hair short and dying it black, getting piercings that my mother loathed and claimed no young lady should have. You see, my mother was raised proper, as she called it. Good family, good husband, and finally a good life. She despised her perfect life being squashed by my alternative looks and feelings of the same world. She just didn't understand me or the world as it changed around her. I felt like I was just a trophy to her and my father, her perfect angel who had been tainted by my own demented thoughts.
I never told my parents where I was staying, one last rebellious mission before leaving for a few months, and it took me only a few hours to arrive at the farmhouse where I would be staying for the next few months. The land around the farm was dead or dying, old crops rose out of the dry dusty earth and had turned black and forgotten, as if this land was the example of dreams long forgotten and empty. A single dreary lane connected this desolate farmhouse to the rest of the world. On the outside, it was drab and looked as though it would fall apart. It had two stories but still seemed cramped and small, as if it were a single floor tied to the ground.
Across from the house, bordering the tall weeds that had reclaimed much of the farmland, stood a maudlin-looking faded red barn, one door propped open in a dejected manner revealing naught to me but shadows, dust, and a little mystery.
Next to the barn, staked into the ground on an old-looking cross, was a ragged scarecrow. It had drab brown clothing, but its face was oddly realistic, like it was watching me with a disapproving manner. Straw poked through its joints at odd angles like they were trying to break free from their confines. The scarecrow obviously didn't do its job as it was covered in no less than three crows.
I parked my car next to the barn and stepped out into the dusty yard before the farmhouse that I would make my home for the next few months. I checked under the front mat for the key and put it in the lock.
With a satisfying click, the door fell inward into the farmhouse. Surprisingly, the inside of the farmhouse was modern, clean, and looked quite inviting. I could smell the fresh paint on the walls, and everything was so white. The realtor had told me she would stop by tomorrow to collect the rent, and she had tried to chat my ear off on the phone about all the renovations she and her son were doing on the place.
I sighed with contentment and tossed my bags beside the door. I dug around in my bag and removed my camera, my father's old film shooter as he called it. I had taken up the hobby years ago for what I called capturing the oddity in the world.
I explored the small house a little more; the ground floor consisted of a single room and small bathroom with a shower. The bedroom was upstairs and was the only room, the stairs connected directly to the white and pink monstrosity that was the master bedroom. The pillows had laces on them and almost made me gag from the cuteness. There was even cute white lace curtains on the window with little flowers stitched onto them.
Out of the only window of the room, I could see the barn and the scarecrow. I aimed my camera at the pair and snapped a photo. From this angle, the scarecrow appeared to be staring straight at me. It stood next to the left side of the barn in a dejected manner like a chastised child.
A shudder involuntarily ran through me at the sight, but I moved on back downstairs. It was getting close to dinner time now, and I had brought some food with me.
After a few minutes, I had my dinner on the stove cooking and the crickets chirping outside the open window. As I sat down to eat next to the window, I felt at peace for one of the first times in years. The solitude of this old farm was exactly what I needed. The window supplied a nice breeze that wafted through the place, it smelled of grass and warm summer nights, made me feel at peace. The simple dish of spaghetti with tomato sauce and a glass of wine was all that I needed right here, right now in this moment.
That night I climbed into the frilly laced bed and sunk into the claustrophobic mattress. I felt like Goldilocks in the mama bear's bed as it was altogether too soft. From my perfumed bed, I had a good view out the window. I had left the porch light on, and it cast an eerie glow across the yard. The barn loomed ominously, stalwart against the light of the porch, like it was protecting the shadows from the battering ram of light. The somber scarecrow leaned against the left side of the barn.
With a small jump, I thought I saw its arm move slightly. I peered through my camera using the zoom to get a better view of the scarecrow. It was completely still in the night, and I laughed quietly to myself at my silliness. I had always enjoyed horror movies, but there was no chance I was living in one. I settled back into bed and put my camera down. Within a few minutes, I fell into sleep's warm embrace.
What felt like only a few minutes later, I sat up in bed. It was still dark out, I could hear crickets chirping through the open window, and I strained my ears for a moment.
I thought something had woken me up. I felt a cold shiver run down my spine as a cold breeze wafted in through the window. I pulled the frilly blanket up around myself when I heard it. A thud sounded below me, shaking the whole world into silence. The crickets stopped chirping, and my heart felt like it had stopped beating. Someone was in the house. I hadn't locked the door or closed the kitchen window, and now someone was downstairs. A second thud sounded like a boot on the staircase. Then another and another as something was slowly moving up the stairs towards the room.
I don't know why I did it, but something came over me. I wasn't big or especially brave, but my normal cowardice in social situations changed instantly. With a dash, I tore across the room, flicking on the lights, ready to face my attacker, to defend myself against male or female. I would fight, and I would win.
But as the lights turned on, ready to strike with my foot, nothing was there. The staircase was empty, and upon further inspection, the entire house was empty. The kitchen window was open, and I shut and locked it securely before checking the door. Nothing. I sat down on the couch, my heart pounding out of my chest, as I tried to make sense of what had just happened.
"I must have still been half-asleep," I said aloud to the room in a thinly veiled attempt to calm my nerves. It failed horribly, but I went with it. What else could you do in a situation like that?
After locking up the house, I went back up to that frilly four-poster bed in the bedroom and stared out the window. Nothing was in the yard except my car, the barn, and the same old sad-looking scarecrow staring across the yard.
Day 2
The next morning, I woke up to the soft light filtering through the lace curtains. Despite the strange events of the previous night, I felt strangely refreshed, as if the morning sun had chased away the shadows that lingered in my mind.
I descended the stairs, the wooden steps creaking softly under my weight, and headed to the kitchen. As I brewed a pot of coffee, my mind wandered back to the events of last night. Was it just a figment of my imagination, or was there really someone in the house?
Shaking off the unease, I decided to explore the farmhouse in the daylight. I wandered through the room, admiring the modern renovations that clashed with the rustic exterior. The farmhouse had a charm to it, despite its eerie surroundings.
As I made my way outside, the cool morning air greeted me, and I took a deep breath, letting the serenity of the countryside wash over me. The barn stood tall against the backdrop of the morning sky, and the scarecrow seemed to watch me as I crossed the yard.
I approached the barn, curiosity getting the better of me. Pushing open the creaky door, I stepped inside, the musty scent of hay filling my nostrils. The interior was dimly lit, the sunlight filtering through the cracks in the wooden walls.
I explored every nook and cranny of the barn, but found nothing out of the ordinary. As I turned to leave, something caught my eye. In the corner of the barn, hidden beneath a pile of old blankets, was a small wooden chest.
My heart racing with anticipation, I lifted the lid of the trunk and peered inside. What I found took my breath away. It was a collection of old photographs, yellowed with age, depicting scenes from a bygone era. They were of a man with his family, two young kids, and a beautiful young wife. The man had yellow blonde hair, almost like straw in texture, but he smiled so happily with his family.
I sifted through the photographs, my fingers trembling with excitement. Who had left these behind, and why? Each photograph seemed to tell a story, a glimpse into the past of this forgotten farmhouse.
As I sat there, lost in thought, a sudden noise jolted me back to reality. It was the sound of footsteps coming from outside the barn.
"Hello?" The dreamy voice of a woman called to me from the entrance to the barn.
I slammed the lid of the trunk shut, closing the memories up in a flurry as I spun around to be greeted by a quite pretty woman with blonde hair and a pink suit skirt combo. She had bright pink lipstick, that seemed to be a permanent fixture on her face, and quite shiny and sparkly blue eye shadow on her lids. I myself only wore black eyeliner. This woman was like Barbie in her proportions, thin waist, long hair, and large tracts of land, as my father would have said.
"Oh, hello," I said simply, always awkward in normal social situations.
If she noticed anything odd about me, she breezed over it in an easy manner. Taking me by the shoulders, she led me out of the dusty barn and into the yard.
"You must be Polly. We have been waiting a while for you to come. I simply must know what you think of the renovations to the house. Aren’t they just to die for?" The lady said all in one breath, as if she didn’t need air to speak.
"Yes, they are quite nice..." I started before she cut me off, not in a rude manner but instead in one that she would have continued on even if I had just told her I was not Polly and instead I was a mass murderer looming for my next victim.
"You see, me and my son Eli—yes, Eli, you stop lurking in the shadows over there," she said, continuing on as I noticed a younger man leaning up against the barn. He wore simple clothes of jeans and a white t-shirt but had a handsome face. His hair was brown and hung slightly over his eyes.
"I hope you don’t mind if my son here continues working on some renovations while you stay here? Strictly on the outside of the house, mind you. A fresh coat of white paint would make this little beauty shine. We would have finished by now if not for the accidents," she continued, completely unabashed by my silence.
"Sorry. But you are the realtor?" I said, trying to regain my feet under me.
"Oh my god, I am so sorry, dear!" she said with an affable cackle.
"Yes, yes, I am Barbara, but all my friends call me Barb. That over there is Eli. Eli, come say hi," Barb said while her painted talons rested firmly on my shoulder.
Eli stomped over, keeping his eyes low, in a sort of moody way that actually intrigued me, sort of.
When he glanced up at me, I noticed he drank in me from head to toe, and for the first time, I realized what I was wearing. An old rock t-shirt of one of my favorite bands and, of all things, my black pajama bottoms with cartoon bats on them that said "happy halloween."
I felt my face blush crimson as he made eye contact with me. He had very mysterious eyes of blue that seemed to cut right through my soul.
"Nice shirt," he said while gesturing to me. His voice was quiet and uncertain, as if he didn’t get much practice with the art. Knowing his mother, it seemed highly accurate.
"Thanks. Do you like them?" I asked.
"Oh, he likes all sorts of things, don’t you, Eli? Honestly, you two can gab on forever. But miss, I believe we have a small matter of payment," Barb said, drawing the conversation back to herself.
"Of course. Let me go get it," I said as I went back into the house and retrieved the envelope with the rent money in it.
Barb grabbed the envelope in her bright pink talons and snapped a piece of bubblegum between her teeth. With quick fingers, she leafed through the cash, counting it. As she counted, her normal bubbly personality seemed to disappear, giving way to what I gleaned was her true thoughts and feelings before the facade slipped on once again.
"Mmkay, perfect honey, this is the right amount. Now you have my number, so you call if you need anything. Like I said earlier, Eli will stop by from time to time to work on painting the house. I promise you he won’t be an imposition, just pay him no mind," Barb said in a sweet voice as she popped her gum in between each word.
"Eli, come on, please, I have an appointment in town," Barb said to her son, and they both climbed into a garish pink convertible with jewels hanging from the mirror wrapped in a gold chain.
Barb waved one last time as she sped off out of the driveway, covering me in dust as she spun the wheel around.
With their departure, I went inside and retrieved my camera. I spent a few minutes shooting a few pictures I thought were worthy. I re-entered the barn and pulled the old trunk out into the sunshine. Inside was only a handful of photos, some old clothes, and what looked like some old heirlooms. A beautifully old candlestick and a few leather-bound books lay at the bottom, covered by an old tablecloth. The tablecloth was a nice white with intricate swirling patterns inlaid around the edges.
Why would these things be packed away in here? They were so beautiful. I decided to bring the stuff inside for further inspection. As I lifted the trunk, out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw something move in the tall grass at the edge of the property. I stared for a minute, but nothing moved again. I must be getting jumpy being alone like this. After last night and then this, I was just imagining things.
I brought the items inside and spread them out. I put the tablecloth on the table, and it hung low to the ground. I placed the candlestick by the window and took out the photos again, spreading them out.
The photos told me a story of a loving family that obviously lived in the farmhouse before me. They had a photo next to the barn, with a brand new looking scarecrow in the back. The man even had his arm around it; it looked so much cleaner and proper in this photo. I stared outside at the sad-looking scarecrow.
I took my camera and the photo and went outside to stand next to the scarecrow. His post hung kind of crooked in the earth like it was weighed down by the scarecrow.
I snapped a photo of the scarecrow as it was, then examined the original photo. I began resettling the post in the ground, but it kept sagging. I decided to pull him out of the ground and move him while I added more dirt to his hole. With some effort, I reseated him into his original hole. He already looked better, but I straightened his clothes and pulled out the last bits of straw that stuck out of his clothes. When I was finished, I looked back at him and took a photo, smiling while I did so at my work.
I then spent some time sweeping the front porch and banging the dust out of the cushions before I curled up on a wicker chair with plump cushions for a few hours reading a book I had brought with me.
I felt quite content at this place. The sounds of the crickets began again, putting me at ease as the sun began to descend. I had spent the entire day just relaxing, and it was perfect. I sat sprawled out in the chair, too lazy to go and make dinner or even move. My bladder was full, but I waited until the last moment before dashing inside and relieving myself.
That's when I noticed it, out in the yard. It seemed as if the scarecrow had moved closer. Once shrouded by the barn slightly, it now had moved a few steps into the light from the porch. My heart dropped at the sight. Not again, I must be asleep on the porch in the chair. I pinched myself, trying to wake up, but all I received was a sore arm.
I closed my eyes, then rubbed them, hoping to dispel whatever plagued my mind, but when I opened my eyes, I noticed the scarecrow was even closer. Halfway across the yard now, it sat menacingly, hanging crooked in the dirt. The scarecrow seemed to be staring at me with an intense gaze. The slits in its face were open now, and in the porch light, I swear I could see human eyes underneath the mask.
I moved towards the front door, locking it in a swift motion. I was shaking now, and it took me a minute to relax. I never took my eyes off the scarecrow for fear of it moving again.
My cellphone was upstairs, so I couldn't flee without the scarecrow moving again. I breathed out slightly and unlocked the door, letting it swing in with a creak. The night outside was silent, as if everything was holding its breath. The usual crickets that plagued me with their song day and night had fallen quiet. I stepped out onto the porch; I needed to go confront this demonic entity. Something about this still made me think this was a prank.
"Eli, is that you?" I called out to the scarecrow.
No response, of course. I steeled myself and put one foot off the porch, never taking my eyes off the scarecrow before me. Something seemed to be dripping from its head as I approached, a dark slime that seemed to be melting from its joints as it stood there silently, except for the constant drip of the liquid on the dry dirt before me.
I walked around the scarecrow, determined to figure out what was going on. As I circled it, my vision darkened for a moment as I faced towards the light of the house. I jumped as the scarecrow's head turned to face me as I looked away. The black liquid drained faster from the being, forming a shallow pool at its feet.
I'm not proud of what I did next, but I fled, taking my eyes off the scarecrow. I made a mad dash for the farmhouse. Behind me, I could hear the pounding of feet. I screamed as loud as my lungs would let me. My voice rang through the silence as I grabbed the door handle and wrenched open the door as I felt a strong grip fall on my shoulder.
I turned to defend myself, but nothing was there. The scarecrow was gone, the wooden cross had vanished, as had the pool of dark liquid in the dirt. The world sprung back to life; the crickets began chirping loudly, and my heart restarted. I slammed the door, and the air from my force scattered the photographs on the table. I ran upstairs, leaving the lights on in the house, and dove onto the bed, wrapping myself in the frilly blanket like a set of frilly armor.
I snatched my camera from the bedside table and held it close, determined to document the rest of the night. I held it in shaking hands as the noise downstairs began—the sound of boots crossing the floor to the stairs and the careful but heavy steps of ascension as they climbed closer and closer to me.
This time, I didn't lunge forward as the light was already on. I glanced out the window, but the scarecrow was still gone. I focused my camera on the stairs and waited as the steps came closer and closer. A shape began to form as the head of whatever was coming up the stairs crested the floor. Then a plain brown mask with slits where the eyes would be. It froze for a moment, then slowly turned its head towards me. Inside the slits were human eyes that seemed to be leaking dark red blood.
In the light, I could see it now. I snapped a photo of the beast, the flash setting off a reaction in the beast. The scarecrow moved so fast up the stairs it was a blur. My scream echoed throughout the house as it lunged at me. Filthy hands pinned me down, and the deep crimson liquid began pouring out of every joint of the scarecrow. It began covering my face, my eyes, and getting into my open mouth. I spluttered and kicked at the beast, but my blows had no purchase, as if the scarecrow on top of me had no substance to itself.
I coughed and spluttered on the liquid as it began to fill my mouth faster and faster. I tried not to swallow any, but it tried to find purchase as I was held down.
"Polly?" A nervous voice called from below.
Suddenly, as if the angels had called, the pressure dissipated, and I crashed to the floor in a heap, trying to spit the blood out, but nothing came—it was gone. Footsteps pounded up the stairs again, and I flew back in fear, closing my eyes.
"Oh my god. Polly, are you okay?" A voice said, and gentle hands grabbed my arm.
My eyes shot open at the human touch, and I grabbed Eli into a tight hug, where I promptly began sobbing in fear, my whole body shaking as Eli awkwardly hugged me.
"Don't worry, it's going to be okay," Eli said patiently to me as he hugged me back gently and began stroking my back.
I shivered in a choking sob and fell into his arms, desperately wanting to believe him, and for some reason, I did.
submitted by TheLastRiter to nosleep [link] [comments]
I've always had this weird feeling, this sensation inside of me that I was older than I actually was. By the time I was twelve, my soul felt as though it was forty. By the time I reached twenty, I felt like an old woman. I would watch people around my age acting foolish, and I always thought, "What a bunch of children." So it was no surprise to anyone that when I turned twenty-one, I left my hometown and college and decided to spend the summer alone by renting an old farmhouse in an insignificant town on the edge of an even more insignificant border.
When I told my mother, she had a veritable fit, unable to find the words. She spluttered and raged around me for days before I finally left early one morning to avoid her guilt and frustration with my choices. I was not sure why I craved solitude at such a young age, why I found solace in being alone and removed from society.
In high school, I had changed unexpectedly, cutting my long blonde hair short and dying it black, getting piercings that my mother loathed and claimed no young lady should have. You see, my mother was raised proper, as she called it. Good family, good husband, and finally a good life. She despised her perfect life being squashed by my alternative looks and feelings of the same world. She just didn't understand me or the world as it changed around her. I felt like I was just a trophy to her and my father, her perfect angel who had been tainted by my own demented thoughts.
I never told my parents where I was staying, one last rebellious mission before leaving for a few months, and it took me only a few hours to arrive at the farmhouse where I would be staying for the next few months. The land around the farm was dead or dying, old crops rose out of the dry dusty earth and had turned black and forgotten, as if this land was the example of dreams long forgotten and empty. A single dreary lane connected this desolate farmhouse to the rest of the world. On the outside, it was drab and looked as though it would fall apart. It had two stories but still seemed cramped and small, as if it were a single floor tied to the ground.
Across from the house, bordering the tall weeds that had reclaimed much of the farmland, stood a maudlin-looking faded red barn, one door propped open in a dejected manner revealing naught to me but shadows, dust, and a little mystery.
Next to the barn, staked into the ground on an old-looking cross, was a ragged scarecrow. It had drab brown clothing, but its face was oddly realistic, like it was watching me with a disapproving manner. Straw poked through its joints at odd angles like they were trying to break free from their confines. The scarecrow obviously didn't do its job as it was covered in no less than three crows.
I parked my car next to the barn and stepped out into the dusty yard before the farmhouse that I would make my home for the next few months. I checked under the front mat for the key and put it in the lock.
With a satisfying click, the door fell inward into the farmhouse. Surprisingly, the inside of the farmhouse was modern, clean, and looked quite inviting. I could smell the fresh paint on the walls, and everything was so white. The realtor had told me she would stop by tomorrow to collect the rent, and she had tried to chat my ear off on the phone about all the renovations she and her son were doing on the place.
I sighed with contentment and tossed my bags beside the door. I dug around in my bag and removed my camera, my father's old film shooter as he called it. I had taken up the hobby years ago for what I called capturing the oddity in the world.
I explored the small house a little more; the ground floor consisted of a single room and small bathroom with a shower. The bedroom was upstairs and was the only room, the stairs connected directly to the white and pink monstrosity that was the master bedroom. The pillows had laces on them and almost made me gag from the cuteness. There was even cute white lace curtains on the window with little flowers stitched onto them.
Out of the only window of the room, I could see the barn and the scarecrow. I aimed my camera at the pair and snapped a photo. From this angle, the scarecrow appeared to be staring straight at me. It stood next to the left side of the barn in a dejected manner like a chastised child.
A shudder involuntarily ran through me at the sight, but I moved on back downstairs. It was getting close to dinner time now, and I had brought some food with me.
After a few minutes, I had my dinner on the stove cooking and the crickets chirping outside the open window. As I sat down to eat next to the window, I felt at peace for one of the first times in years. The solitude of this old farm was exactly what I needed. The window supplied a nice breeze that wafted through the place, it smelled of grass and warm summer nights, made me feel at peace. The simple dish of spaghetti with tomato sauce and a glass of wine was all that I needed right here, right now in this moment.
That night I climbed into the frilly laced bed and sunk into the claustrophobic mattress. I felt like Goldilocks in the mama bear's bed as it was altogether too soft. From my perfumed bed, I had a good view out the window. I had left the porch light on, and it cast an eerie glow across the yard. The barn loomed ominously, stalwart against the light of the porch, like it was protecting the shadows from the battering ram of light. The somber scarecrow leaned against the left side of the barn.
With a small jump, I thought I saw its arm move slightly. I peered through my camera using the zoom to get a better view of the scarecrow. It was completely still in the night, and I laughed quietly to myself at my silliness. I had always enjoyed horror movies, but there was no chance I was living in one. I settled back into bed and put my camera down. Within a few minutes, I fell into sleep's warm embrace.
What felt like only a few minutes later, I sat up in bed. It was still dark out, I could hear crickets chirping through the open window, and I strained my ears for a moment.
I thought something had woken me up. I felt a cold shiver run down my spine as a cold breeze wafted in through the window. I pulled the frilly blanket up around myself when I heard it. A thud sounded below me, shaking the whole world into silence. The crickets stopped chirping, and my heart felt like it had stopped beating. Someone was in the house. I hadn't locked the door or closed the kitchen window, and now someone was downstairs. A second thud sounded like a boot on the staircase. Then another and another as something was slowly moving up the stairs towards the room.
I don't know why I did it, but something came over me. I wasn't big or especially brave, but my normal cowardice in social situations changed instantly. With a dash, I tore across the room, flicking on the lights, ready to face my attacker, to defend myself against male or female. I would fight, and I would win.
But as the lights turned on, ready to strike with my foot, nothing was there. The staircase was empty, and upon further inspection, the entire house was empty. The kitchen window was open, and I shut and locked it securely before checking the door. Nothing. I sat down on the couch, my heart pounding out of my chest, as I tried to make sense of what had just happened.
"I must have still been half-asleep," I said aloud to the room in a thinly veiled attempt to calm my nerves. It failed horribly, but I went with it. What else could you do in a situation like that?
After locking up the house, I went back up to that frilly four-poster bed in the bedroom and stared out the window. Nothing was in the yard except my car, the barn, and the same old sad-looking scarecrow staring across the yard.
The next morning, I woke up to the soft light filtering through the lace curtains. Despite the strange events of the previous night, I felt strangely refreshed, as if the morning sun had chased away the shadows that lingered in my mind.
I descended the stairs, the wooden steps creaking softly under my weight, and headed to the kitchen. As I brewed a pot of coffee, my mind wandered back to the events of last night. Was it just a figment of my imagination, or was there really someone in the house?
Shaking off the unease, I decided to explore the farmhouse in the daylight. I wandered through the room, admiring the modern renovations that clashed with the rustic exterior. The farmhouse had a charm to it, despite its eerie surroundings.
As I made my way outside, the cool morning air greeted me, and I took a deep breath, letting the serenity of the countryside wash over me. The barn stood tall against the backdrop of the morning sky, and the scarecrow seemed to watch me as I crossed the yard.
I approached the barn, curiosity getting the better of me. Pushing open the creaky door, I stepped inside, the musty scent of hay filling my nostrils. The interior was dimly lit, the sunlight filtering through the cracks in the wooden walls.
I explored every nook and cranny of the barn, but found nothing out of the ordinary. As I turned to leave, something caught my eye. In the corner of the barn, hidden beneath a pile of old blankets, was a small wooden chest.
My heart racing with anticipation, I lifted the lid of the trunk and peered inside. What I found took my breath away. It was a collection of old photographs, yellowed with age, depicting scenes from a bygone era. They were of a man with his family, two young kids, and a beautiful young wife. The man had yellow blonde hair, almost like straw in texture, but he smiled so happily with his family.
I sifted through the photographs, my fingers trembling with excitement. Who had left these behind, and why? Each photograph seemed to tell a story, a glimpse into the past of this forgotten farmhouse.
As I sat there, lost in thought, a sudden noise jolted me back to reality. It was the sound of footsteps coming from outside the barn.
"Hello?" The dreamy voice of a woman called to me from the entrance to the barn.
I slammed the lid of the trunk shut, closing the memories up in a flurry as I spun around to be greeted by a quite pretty woman with blonde hair and a pink suit skirt combo. She had bright pink lipstick, that seemed to be a permanent fixture on her face, and quite shiny and sparkly blue eye shadow on her lids. I myself only wore black eyeliner. This woman was like Barbie in her proportions, thin waist, long hair, and large tracts of land, as my father would have said.
"Oh, hello," I said simply, always awkward in normal social situations.
If she noticed anything odd about me, she breezed over it in an easy manner. Taking me by the shoulders, she led me out of the dusty barn and into the yard.
"You must be Polly. We have been waiting a while for you to come. I simply must know what you think of the renovations to the house. Aren’t they just to die for?" The lady said all in one breath, as if she didn’t need air to speak.
"Yes, they are quite nice..." I started before she cut me off, not in a rude manner but instead in one that she would have continued on even if I had just told her I was not Polly and instead I was a mass murderer looming for my next victim.
"You see, me and my son Eli—yes, Eli, you stop lurking in the shadows over there," she said, continuing on as I noticed a younger man leaning up against the barn. He wore simple clothes of jeans and a white t-shirt but had a handsome face. His hair was brown and hung slightly over his eyes.
"I hope you don’t mind if my son here continues working on some renovations while you stay here? Strictly on the outside of the house, mind you. A fresh coat of white paint would make this little beauty shine. We would have finished by now if not for the accidents," she continued, completely unabashed by my silence.
"Sorry. But you are the realtor?" I said, trying to regain my feet under me.
"Oh my god, I am so sorry, dear!" she said with an affable cackle.
"Yes, yes, I am Barbara, but all my friends call me Barb. That over there is Eli. Eli, come say hi," Barb said while her painted talons rested firmly on my shoulder.
Eli stomped over, keeping his eyes low, in a sort of moody way that actually intrigued me, sort of.
When he glanced up at me, I noticed he drank in me from head to toe, and for the first time, I realized what I was wearing. An old rock t-shirt of one of my favorite bands and, of all things, my black pajama bottoms with cartoon bats on them that said "happy halloween."
I felt my face blush crimson as he made eye contact with me. He had very mysterious eyes of blue that seemed to cut right through my soul.
"Nice shirt," he said while gesturing to me. His voice was quiet and uncertain, as if he didn’t get much practice with the art. Knowing his mother, it seemed highly accurate.
"Thanks. Do you like them?" I asked.
"Oh, he likes all sorts of things, don’t you, Eli? Honestly, you two can gab on forever. But miss, I believe we have a small matter of payment," Barb said, drawing the conversation back to herself.
"Of course. Let me go get it," I said as I went back into the house and retrieved the envelope with the rent money in it.
Barb grabbed the envelope in her bright pink talons and snapped a piece of bubblegum between her teeth. With quick fingers, she leafed through the cash, counting it. As she counted, her normal bubbly personality seemed to disappear, giving way to what I gleaned was her true thoughts and feelings before the facade slipped on once again.
"Mmkay, perfect honey, this is the right amount. Now you have my number, so you call if you need anything. Like I said earlier, Eli will stop by from time to time to work on painting the house. I promise you he won’t be an imposition, just pay him no mind," Barb said in a sweet voice as she popped her gum in between each word.
"Eli, come on, please, I have an appointment in town," Barb said to her son, and they both climbed into a garish pink convertible with jewels hanging from the mirror wrapped in a gold chain.
Barb waved one last time as she sped off out of the driveway, covering me in dust as she spun the wheel around.
With their departure, I went inside and retrieved my camera. I spent a few minutes shooting a few pictures I thought were worthy. I re-entered the barn and pulled the old trunk out into the sunshine. Inside was only a handful of photos, some old clothes, and what looked like some old heirlooms. A beautifully old candlestick and a few leather-bound books lay at the bottom, covered by an old tablecloth. The tablecloth was a nice white with intricate swirling patterns inlaid around the edges.
Why would these things be packed away in here? They were so beautiful. I decided to bring the stuff inside for further inspection. As I lifted the trunk, out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw something move in the tall grass at the edge of the property. I stared for a minute, but nothing moved again. I must be getting jumpy being alone like this. After last night and then this, I was just imagining things.
I brought the items inside and spread them out. I put the tablecloth on the table, and it hung low to the ground. I placed the candlestick by the window and took out the photos again, spreading them out.
The photos told me a story of a loving family that obviously lived in the farmhouse before me. They had a photo next to the barn, with a brand new looking scarecrow in the back. The man even had his arm around it; it looked so much cleaner and proper in this photo. I stared outside at the sad-looking scarecrow.
I took my camera and the photo and went outside to stand next to the scarecrow. His post hung kind of crooked in the earth like it was weighed down by the scarecrow.
I snapped a photo of the scarecrow as it was, then examined the original photo. I began resettling the post in the ground, but it kept sagging. I decided to pull him out of the ground and move him while I added more dirt to his hole. With some effort, I reseated him into his original hole. He already looked better, but I straightened his clothes and pulled out the last bits of straw that stuck out of his clothes. When I was finished, I looked back at him and took a photo, smiling while I did so at my work.
I then spent some time sweeping the front porch and banging the dust out of the cushions before I curled up on a wicker chair with plump cushions for a few hours reading a book I had brought with me.
I felt quite content at this place. The sounds of the crickets began again, putting me at ease as the sun began to descend. I had spent the entire day just relaxing, and it was perfect. I sat sprawled out in the chair, too lazy to go and make dinner or even move. My bladder was full, but I waited until the last moment before dashing inside and relieving myself.
That's when I noticed it, out in the yard. It seemed as if the scarecrow had moved closer. Once shrouded by the barn slightly, it now had moved a few steps into the light from the porch. My heart dropped at the sight. Not again, I must be asleep on the porch in the chair. I pinched myself, trying to wake up, but all I received was a sore arm.
I closed my eyes, then rubbed them, hoping to dispel whatever plagued my mind, but when I opened my eyes, I noticed the scarecrow was even closer. Halfway across the yard now, it sat menacingly, hanging crooked in the dirt. The scarecrow seemed to be staring at me with an intense gaze. The slits in its face were open now, and in the porch light, I swear I could see human eyes underneath the mask.
I moved towards the front door, locking it in a swift motion. I was shaking now, and it took me a minute to relax. I never took my eyes off the scarecrow for fear of it moving again.
My cellphone was upstairs, so I couldn't flee without the scarecrow moving again. I breathed out slightly and unlocked the door, letting it swing in with a creak. The night outside was silent, as if everything was holding its breath. The usual crickets that plagued me with their song day and night had fallen quiet. I stepped out onto the porch; I needed to go confront this demonic entity. Something about this still made me think this was a prank.
"Eli, is that you?" I called out to the scarecrow.
No response, of course. I steeled myself and put one foot off the porch, never taking my eyes off the scarecrow before me. Something seemed to be dripping from its head as I approached, a dark slime that seemed to be melting from its joints as it stood there silently, except for the constant drip of the liquid on the dry dirt before me.
I walked around the scarecrow, determined to figure out what was going on. As I circled it, my vision darkened for a moment as I faced towards the light of the house. I jumped as the scarecrow's head turned to face me as I looked away. The black liquid drained faster from the being, forming a shallow pool at its feet.
I'm not proud of what I did next, but I fled, taking my eyes off the scarecrow. I made a mad dash for the farmhouse. Behind me, I could hear the pounding of feet. I screamed as loud as my lungs would let me. My voice rang through the silence as I grabbed the door handle and wrenched open the door as I felt a strong grip fall on my shoulder.
I turned to defend myself, but nothing was there. The scarecrow was gone, the wooden cross had vanished, as had the pool of dark liquid in the dirt. The world sprung back to life; the crickets began chirping loudly, and my heart restarted. I slammed the door, and the air from my force scattered the photographs on the table. I ran upstairs, leaving the lights on in the house, and dove onto the bed, wrapping myself in the frilly blanket like a set of frilly armor.
I snatched my camera from the bedside table and held it close, determined to document the rest of the night. I held it in shaking hands as the noise downstairs began—the sound of boots crossing the floor to the stairs and the careful but heavy steps of ascension as they climbed closer and closer to me.
This time, I didn't lunge forward as the light was already on. I glanced out the window, but the scarecrow was still gone. I focused my camera on the stairs and waited as the steps came closer and closer. A shape began to form as the head of whatever was coming up the stairs crested the floor. Then a plain brown mask with slits where the eyes would be. It froze for a moment, then slowly turned its head towards me. Inside the slits were human eyes that seemed to be leaking dark red blood.
In the light, I could see it now. I snapped a photo of the beast, the flash setting off a reaction in the beast. The scarecrow moved so fast up the stairs it was a blur. My scream echoed throughout the house as it lunged at me. Filthy hands pinned me down, and the deep crimson liquid began pouring out of every joint of the scarecrow. It began covering my face, my eyes, and getting into my open mouth. I spluttered and kicked at the beast, but my blows had no purchase, as if the scarecrow on top of me had no substance to itself.
I coughed and spluttered on the liquid as it began to fill my mouth faster and faster. I tried not to swallow any, but it tried to find purchase as I was held down.
"Polly?" A nervous voice called from below.
Suddenly, as if the angels had called, the pressure dissipated, and I crashed to the floor in a heap, trying to spit the blood out, but nothing came—it was gone. Footsteps pounded up the stairs again, and I flew back in fear, closing my eyes.
"Oh my god. Polly, are you okay?" A voice said, and gentle hands grabbed my arm.
My eyes shot open at the human touch, and I grabbed Eli into a tight hug, where I promptly began sobbing in fear, my whole body shaking as Eli awkwardly hugged me.
"Don't worry, it's going to be okay," Eli said patiently to me as he hugged me back gently and began stroking my back.
I shivered in a choking sob and fell into his arms, desperately wanting to believe him, and for some reason, I did.
2024.05.14 01:33 deepspacejello CF Daytona with deep xtal 116500
- Dealer name: Jtime
- Factory name: Clean
- Model name (& version number): Dytona 116500
- Price Paid: $750 + $78 (deep xtal) + $35 (install) + $65b shipping = $927 :(
- Album Links: https://imgur.com/a/EjYuDFI
- Index alignment: i think overall them seem good. there are some imperfections but i don't think will notice on hand
- Dial Printing: seems very good quality wise and nothing misalgined. this is a busy dial and i would appreciate a second look
- Date Wheel alignment/printing: n/a
- Hand Alignment: They seem good to my eye, i have asked for a video of the watch functions
- Bezel: i think there's plastic covering that makes it fuzzy. Is the 120 straight enought??
- Solid End Links (SELs): seem good
- Timegrapher numbers: no isssues here
- Anything else you notice: i will repalce the CF crystal with deep once i give them the GL. I also noticed the rehaut is misaligned a bit on the right side (1-6). I know this isn’t a huge qc issue but would like it to be better considering the cost of this piece
2024.05.14 01:29 FuckYouLordNmp PC connecting via wifi leads to internet going out for the entire household
Timeline of events:
- Windows 11
- used to have Norton AV, thus many Windows Defender core functions disabled
- my PC is connected only via wifi, no ethernet
- PC and router are not on the same eletrical outlet
- a month back I tested pi-hole on my raspberry pi 4, however, since my router doesn't allow me to specific dns settings, I had it running as a dhcp as well & had dhcp deactivated in my router's settings
- a few weeks back, I had downloaded two different versions of FL Studio + FLEX, the latter one's uploader specifically clarifying it will only work on Windows, which I found suspicious in retrospect... the first one I actually installed and the latter I never unzipped
- originally I wanted to download and run it in a VM (I know that's not 100% safe either) but I was too impatient... also apparently VMware could have caused my PC to act as a DHCP server & maybe that's what the actual issue was?
- around the same week, I was also browsing SimpCity (pron forum), however, with (UBlock yet) no VPN. I had quite many tabs still open and left my pc in sleep mode, prior I also had downloaded a bunch (until a week later they announced malware via .zip was being propagated on a specific host site and, though I don't remember downloading any zips, I also can't rule out I didn't)
- the day right after the FL Studio download and with still many pron tabs open, I woke up my pc from sleep mode iirc and that is when I started being unable to connect to my wifi
- HOWEVER almost all other devices connected to it via wifi work, except for some reason my phone, which is also the phone I was running a hotspot on, so I could continue using my PC
- I ran Malware Bytes & Hitman Pro and also uninstalled Norton so I could turn on all Windows Defender safety measures, and the only result out of the 3 scans I got was the second FL Studio's zip (the one I didn't install) showing up as a Win32Crack, when I ran the extended Defender scan (I think I proceeded to quarantine it)
- I disabled pi-hole, reset dhcp on my router, and when that didn't work, also factory resetted my router entirely
- next, I uninstalled my grub dual boot & since all that didn't help, I backed up most my data to an external ssd and then ran a clean all via diskpart on all my SSDs & did a fresh Windows 10 install
- wifi works again, hooray
- moved my data from my external ssd back to my PC and ran all 3 scans again with no results, hooray
- upgraded to Windows 11 again & have been using my pc normally for little over a week now... until I did what I did back then with that pron forum
- PC hadn't been shut down for 2 days since quite a few tabs were still open in incognito, but when I woke it up today from sleep mode, the wifi is not working again
- HOWEVER, this time I can actually connect to the wifi, just no internet & whenever I do that my router starts blinking red and it shuts down the internet for the entire household
- This time, I am again using my phone's hotspot, however, I am not connected to my wifi on it this time, so I can basically use it as a middle man (which worked back then), since that leads to the red-blinking-router-failure as well
- I had 192.168.1.9 still reserved for my raspberry pi (which is not connected to my router anymore) in my router's settings, which I todad removed and then reset my router as well
- just booted my PC on an Ubuntu LiveUSB and I could connect to my wifi and no router failure
- as I was booting back into Windows I wrote this post & for some reason this time I am able to connect to my wifi again without my router acting up?? What the fuck may have transpired here? Am I paranoid for thinking it could have been a virus broadcasting to the subnet?
- to be on the safe side I also just flush/registered my DNS, release/renewed my IP (I'm shown to have 192.168.1.9 as my ip address now... maybe that was the issue, but why did it start today and not 10 days ago then) & resetted winsock
2024.05.14 01:21 FuckYouLordNmp PC connecting via wifi leads to internet going out for the entire household
Timeline of events:
- Windows 11
- used to have Norton AV, thus many Windows Defender core functions disabled
- my PC is connected only via wifi, no ethernet
- PC and router are not on the same eletrical outlet
- a month back I tested pi-hole on my raspberry pi 4, however, since my router doesn't allow me to specific dns settings, I had it running as a dhcp as well & had dhcp deactivated in my router's settings
- a few weeks back, I had downloaded two different versions of FL Studio + FLEX, the latter one's uploader specifically clarifying it will only work on Windows, which I found suspicious in retrospect... the first one I actually installed and the latter I never unzipped
- originally I wanted to download and run it in a VM (I know that's not 100% safe either) but I was too impatient... also apparently VMware could have caused my PC to act as a DHCP server & maybe that's what the actual issue was?
- around the same week, I was also browsing SimpCity (pron forum), however, with (UBlock yet) no VPN. I had quite many tabs still open and left my pc in sleep mode, prior I also had downloaded a bunch (until a week later they announced malware via .zip was being propagated on a specific host site and, though I don't remember downloading any zips, I also can't rule out I didn't)
- the day right after the FL Studio download and with still many pron tabs open, I woke up my pc from sleep mode iirc and that is when I started being unable to connect to my wifi
- HOWEVER almost all other devices connected to it via wifi work, except for some reason my phone, which is also the phone I was running a hotspot on, so I could continue using my PC
- I ran Malware Bytes & Hitman Pro and also uninstalled Norton so I could turn on all Windows Defender safety measures, and the only result out of the 3 scans I got was the second FL Studio's zip (the one I didn't install) showing up as a Win32Crack, when I ran the extended Defender scan (I think I proceeded to quarantine it)
- I disabled pi-hole, reset dhcp on my router, and when that didn't work, also factory resetted my router entirely
- next, I uninstalled my grub dual boot & since all that didn't help, I backed up most my data to an external ssd and then ran a clean all via diskpart on all my SSDs & did a fresh Windows 10 install
- wifi works again, hooray
- moved my data from my external ssd back to my PC and ran all 3 scans again with no results, hooray
- upgraded to Windows 11 again & have been using my pc normally for little over a week now... until I did what I did back then with that pron forum
- PC hadn't been shut down for 2 days since quite a few tabs were still open in incognito, but when I woke it up today from sleep mode, the wifi is not working again
- HOWEVER, this time I can actually connect to the wifi, just no internet & whenever I do that my router starts blinking red and it shuts down the internet for the entire household
- This time, I am again using my phone's hotspot, however, I am not connected to my wifi on it this time, so I can basically use it as a middle man (which worked back then), since that leads to the red-blinking-router-failure as well
- I had 192.168.1.9 still reserved for my raspberry pi (which is not connected to my router anymore) in my router's settings, which I todad removed and then reset my router as well
- just booted my PC on an Ubuntu LiveUSB and I could connect to my wifi and no router failure
- as I was booting back into Windows I wrote this post & for some reason this time I am able to connect to my wifi again without my router acting up?? What the fuck may have transpired here? Am I paranoid for thinking it could have been a virus broadcasting to the subnet?
- to be on the safe side I also just flush/registered my DNS, release/renewed my IP (I'm shown to have 192.168.1.9 as my ip address now... maybe that was the issue, but why did it start today and not 10 days ago then) & resetted winsock
2024.05.14 00:48 bippylip Watched T1 and 2 this weekend
I'm not gonna say whats obviously been said. Theyre incredible.
The funny thing for me, is that while T3 really interested me as a kid because of the more hand to hand oriented fight scenes between the cyborgs, I had a very different reaction to trying to watch the movie today.
I boot it up and read the blurb,
"It's been 10 years since John Connor saved Earth from Judgment Day, and he's now living under the radar, steering clear of using anything Skynet can trace. That is, until he encounters T-X, a robotic assassin ordered to finish what T-1000 started. Good thing Connor's former nemesis, the Terminator, is back to aid the now-adult Connor … just like he promised."
And I tabbed out.
I finished T2 yesterday. Now, i could be mistaken here, but:
Even if SC is wrong and they failed, they had no idea, at least not up to that scene in the park. So even if there is a Skynet, while I could see John being cautious, he has no reason to believe he has to duck Skynet spycraft.
Point is, every piece of pop media using I'll be back as an I'll return catchphrase is actually simply inaccurate if based off of T1 and T2.
Now, to answer a couple questions for myself, I almost started to watch a bit and jump around, but i couldnt handle the tonal difference in the movie score. It's very blatantly early 2000's Daredevil basketball for me.
Anyway. Not here to start a flame war against any T3 Dark Fate or Genysis Fans.
I just had a bad whiplash bc I want more Terminator, but I realized the content changes in the way that drew in young child me, but bores present me to tears. Anyway, hi the oldheads. After watching 1 and 2, I get it. I get it.
Edit: Now I'm watching Dark Fate and I have questions I hope will be answered.
submitted by bippylip to Terminator [link] [comments]
The funny thing for me, is that while T3 really interested me as a kid because of the more hand to hand oriented fight scenes between the cyborgs, I had a very different reaction to trying to watch the movie today.
I boot it up and read the blurb,
"It's been 10 years since John Connor saved Earth from Judgment Day, and he's now living under the radar, steering clear of using anything Skynet can trace. That is, until he encounters T-X, a robotic assassin ordered to finish what T-1000 started. Good thing Connor's former nemesis, the Terminator, is back to aid the now-adult Connor … just like he promised."
And I tabbed out.
I finished T2 yesterday. Now, i could be mistaken here, but:
- 10 years.. and he's now living under the radar, steering clear of using anything Skynet can trace.
Even if SC is wrong and they failed, they had no idea, at least not up to that scene in the park. So even if there is a Skynet, while I could see John being cautious, he has no reason to believe he has to duck Skynet spycraft.
- "Connor's former nemesis, the Terminator, is back to aid the now-adult Connor … just like he promised."
Point is, every piece of pop media using I'll be back as an I'll return catchphrase is actually simply inaccurate if based off of T1 and T2.
Now, to answer a couple questions for myself, I almost started to watch a bit and jump around, but i couldnt handle the tonal difference in the movie score. It's very blatantly early 2000's Daredevil basketball for me.
Anyway. Not here to start a flame war against any T3 Dark Fate or Genysis Fans.
I just had a bad whiplash bc I want more Terminator, but I realized the content changes in the way that drew in young child me, but bores present me to tears. Anyway, hi the oldheads. After watching 1 and 2, I get it. I get it.
Edit: Now I'm watching Dark Fate and I have questions I hope will be answered.
- Why does JC need to die if the timeline has already been altered to preclude is military career? I know theres an alternate future, so he has to be critical to their timeline as well I guess. Idk the first movie was better at laying out the rules sequentially. This movie operates off of assuming a lot about audience knowledge so its hard to know what the rules are bc i cant tell if the canon matters.
- While I really like the editing on the new Terminator's abilities, I question if it follows the same rules of T2 as far as mass. It being able to use its excess non skeletal material to reconstitute into another body makes sense, but is that new body hollow or in some manner less dense? It appears to have strength, musculature and density unchanged. [implicitly answered during bridge fight] all non skeletal material is malleable and able to solidify to metallic firmness or loosen to the atom density of water.]
2024.05.14 00:41 19Furien91 So I fell in love with the Arc Thrower today - Zap Zap
I decided to use the arc thrower as a laugh against the bugs today... and I fell in love with it. I do have the upgrades on the ship so i have extra arcs and such, but it is so much fun to just keep zapping the bugs:
submitted by 19Furien91 to Helldivers [link] [comments]
- It isn't effective in close range (close enough to melee), you need to be a few metres or so away from them for it to be effective
- The range surprises me, if you actually aim above the targets you want, it will go farther and I have hit monsters surprisingly far away. then watch it hop to others, I have wiped out a few patrols and bug breaches (difficulty 6 only so far) happily.
- Yes it is line of sight and it seems to connect to the targets centre of mass. so be careful if bugs are hiding behind rocks and terrain, you need full view of their centre of mass.
- It penetrates chargers and bile titans and you can kill them with it (yes it takes a while, but it is actually fun to have something that can hurt these buggers that isn't explosive).
- if you have multiple chargers close enough, it will zap multiple ones at once. Watching an arc jump from a bile titan to another smaller bug is fun.
- When you keep zapping a Charger or bile titan, ocasionally, you will see a chunk of their body explode outwards... it is very satisfying.
- If you can work out the rhythm of it, after your first shot, it will actually charger the second shot onwards faster, think it takes about 1 second to charge after the first shot - you can start charging it again the moment you released an arc. You will be surprised how fast it can fire when you get the hang of the zapping charging rhythm.
- You can zap shriekers in the sky with one zap... albeit, it can be hit or miss.
- It is versatile since it hurts all variants of the bugs, knocks them back too (except the big ones), brood commanders cannot get close since you keep stunning them and pushing them back!
- I have tested it on bots and it does damage the hulks and has a minor stagger to them too.
- have not confirmed it's ability against tanks, drop ships, gunships, cannon towers, emplacements or factory striders - have fun testing it!
2024.05.14 00:37 iwanthidan PC won't boot up after changing the DRAM frequency on freshly installed DDR5 RA
I need urgent help. I've upgraded my old system to an ASRock B650 Pro RS Mobo, Gskill Trident Neo Z5 2x16 RAM and Ryzen 5 7600 CPU.
I'm not well informed in PC building so I took it to my local PC repair shop. Although the Windows located in the SSD wasn't detected for some reason, we had to to a clean install and it started working. Right after that he went into the BIOS to adjust the XMP profile settings for the new RAM. However, after upping the DRAM frequency PC shut down and didn't boot for a few seconds. After going back to the BIOS menu, he decreased it more but this time the PC didn't boot up at all, despite clearly having power (fans were spinning, ram and gpu RGB was working).
He tried a few methods such as taking out the CMOS pill and putting it back, inserting a single slot of RAM, but nothing has worked. He said the RAM might be damaged, which was a shock to me because there weren't any warnings whatsoever on the BIOS menu before adjusting dram frequency. He said I have to buy a new pair of RAM if the higher frequency somehow killed it. He said he'll look more into it overnight and send it to another PC technician that specializes in motherboards. I'm in an absolute dread please give me any tips regarding what to do, I truly hope it's not a hardware problem, I can't afford not having a PC right now and currently don't have enough money for a new pair of RAM, I literally bought these last week.
Tl; DR:
submitted by iwanthidan to pcmasterrace [link] [comments]
I'm not well informed in PC building so I took it to my local PC repair shop. Although the Windows located in the SSD wasn't detected for some reason, we had to to a clean install and it started working. Right after that he went into the BIOS to adjust the XMP profile settings for the new RAM. However, after upping the DRAM frequency PC shut down and didn't boot for a few seconds. After going back to the BIOS menu, he decreased it more but this time the PC didn't boot up at all, despite clearly having power (fans were spinning, ram and gpu RGB was working).
He tried a few methods such as taking out the CMOS pill and putting it back, inserting a single slot of RAM, but nothing has worked. He said the RAM might be damaged, which was a shock to me because there weren't any warnings whatsoever on the BIOS menu before adjusting dram frequency. He said I have to buy a new pair of RAM if the higher frequency somehow killed it. He said he'll look more into it overnight and send it to another PC technician that specializes in motherboards. I'm in an absolute dread please give me any tips regarding what to do, I truly hope it's not a hardware problem, I can't afford not having a PC right now and currently don't have enough money for a new pair of RAM, I literally bought these last week.
Tl; DR:
New DDR5 RAM inserted on a new b650 Mobo
Upped dram frequency after fresh windows install
Don't work and throw me into the BIOS menu.
Decreased the dram this time but the PC won't boot up. The red light on Mobo next to the RAM slot keeps turning on and there is no display despite the gpu and CPU fans are working
Took out the CMOS battery, single stick of RAM and tried rebooting it, nothing worked
PC repair guy says RAM might be damaged, says PC will stay there overnight and if he can't fix it he'll send it to a motherboard expert.
2024.05.14 00:29 Pretend_Basil5254 What Maintenance Does a New 40 Year Old Engine Need?
 | My great grandfather was given this 1984 Mercury 9.8 2 Cyl. as a retirement gift which he unfortunately was not able to use before passing away. He then passed it down to my father who used it once for less than 5 hours on a small lake before I was born and then put it in our garage. This past weekend my father gave the engine to me for my girlfriend and I to use on our first boat. This engine is truly beautiful and cranks on the second or third pull with the factory stickers still intact and only minor scratches from transportation. My girlfriend's grandfather and I are going to replace the impeller soon as it is not peeing and change the gear oil in the foot. There doesn't appear to be any dry rot on any internal components besides a few stiff hoses. So as somewhat of a novice when it comes to working on outboards, what are some other maintenance tasks I should complete before taking it out on the water? submitted by Pretend_Basil5254 to boating [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/3fnosteps90d1.jpg?width=2218&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e23aaf1b921e7afce9a6945d150b6204f696e673 |
2024.05.14 00:28 chilly_sky slow pc why?
since today, my pc has an insanely slow boot time, yesterday it took 30-40 seconds to boot but today it took 9 minutes to boot and i don't understand why. i have tried everything i could think of (cmd. power options, fast boot, optimising my drive, boot options, troubleshoot) every single fix that i could find on the internet other than resetting my pc i have an rtx 3060 12gb, 32gb of ram, intel core i5 10400, silicon power 1tb ssd(i emptied 100gb of space and it didn't help) and since my computer was an acer prebuild before i upgraded it , the BIOS is locked with no way to use it(i would need to be an acer employee) the only fix i can think of is buying a new ssd but is there anyone who can think of something else?
submitted by chilly_sky to computer [link] [comments]
2024.05.14 00:25 chilly_sky my pc is slow for no reason?
since today, my pc has an insanely slow boot time, yesterday it took 30-40 seconds to boot but today it took 9 minutes to boot and i don't understand why. i have tried everything i could think of (cmd. power options, fast boot, optimising my drive, boot options, troubleshoot) every single fix that i could find on the internet other than resetting my pc i have an rtx 3060 12gb, 32gb of ram, intel core i5 10400, silicon power 1tb ssd(i emptied 100gb of space and it didn't help) and since my computer was an acer prebuild before i upgraded it , the BIOS is locked with no way to use it(i would need to be an acer employee) the only fix i can think of is buying a new ssd but is there anyone who can think of something else?
submitted by chilly_sky to computers [link] [comments]
2024.05.14 00:24 Objective_Point9742 Please Buff the Shield Generator Relay
This is such a cool stratagem, but it has some serious flaws causing it to currently be a meme pick:
-Short Duration: The shield only lasts for (I think) about 30 seconds. This really doesn't allow it to do much, but I would be okay with the short duration if they fixed flaw #2.
-Hilariously Small Health Pool: It honestly feels like this thing has maybe double the health of the personal shield generator backpack, which, given its' surface area being probably 3-4 times as large and immobile, leads to it dying pretty quickly. I don't think I've ever seen a shield generator relay last for its' full duration, as heavy devastators chew through it and just a few rockets will shut it down. There also isn't an indicator to show when it's about to fail.
Proposed Solutions:
A) Give it a significantly larger health pool, letting it soak up more damage before failing, but remove the duration aspect of it (or bump it up to a minute). You could also increase its' cooldown by 30 seconds as it becomes more powerful.
B) Remove the health pool altogether, but stick to the 30 second duration, or maybe even reduce it to 20-25 seconds since it will be indestructible. This wouldn't be too overpowered as it would last for a short amount of time, require team work to be fully utilized, and can still be entered by melee enemies.
If it worked well, it would foster some awesome teamwork and make more builds viable. Imagine throwing a shield down on your autocannon sentry against bots and letting it go to town on that horde of bots approaching. Imagine having a safe and secure place to team-load your buddy to take out that Factory Strider from a distance. Imagine dropping a Heavy Machinegun Emplacement inside and mowing down those devastators for your team. Imagine dropping one in the middle of a chaotic firefight, dropping an orbital bombardment or airstrike on yourself, and being safe from the explosions for a few moments.
submitted by Objective_Point9742 to Helldivers [link] [comments]
-Short Duration: The shield only lasts for (I think) about 30 seconds. This really doesn't allow it to do much, but I would be okay with the short duration if they fixed flaw #2.
-Hilariously Small Health Pool: It honestly feels like this thing has maybe double the health of the personal shield generator backpack, which, given its' surface area being probably 3-4 times as large and immobile, leads to it dying pretty quickly. I don't think I've ever seen a shield generator relay last for its' full duration, as heavy devastators chew through it and just a few rockets will shut it down. There also isn't an indicator to show when it's about to fail.
Proposed Solutions:
A) Give it a significantly larger health pool, letting it soak up more damage before failing, but remove the duration aspect of it (or bump it up to a minute). You could also increase its' cooldown by 30 seconds as it becomes more powerful.
B) Remove the health pool altogether, but stick to the 30 second duration, or maybe even reduce it to 20-25 seconds since it will be indestructible. This wouldn't be too overpowered as it would last for a short amount of time, require team work to be fully utilized, and can still be entered by melee enemies.
If it worked well, it would foster some awesome teamwork and make more builds viable. Imagine throwing a shield down on your autocannon sentry against bots and letting it go to town on that horde of bots approaching. Imagine having a safe and secure place to team-load your buddy to take out that Factory Strider from a distance. Imagine dropping a Heavy Machinegun Emplacement inside and mowing down those devastators for your team. Imagine dropping one in the middle of a chaotic firefight, dropping an orbital bombardment or airstrike on yourself, and being safe from the explosions for a few moments.
2024.05.14 00:16 Insane_Saint21 PC won’t sleep when it tries to sleep.
As the title says, my PC won’t sleep. Tried messing with power settings, going into CMD prompt with and without admin powers, running lines on CMD prompt such as Powercfg /energy give me “None.” on all. Don’t know what it could be.
To best describe the issue, my pc let’s itself sleep but just won’t stay asleep. When it does it by itself all the lights go off inside my PC for a second, then boots up again, if i manually make it sleep it does the same thing. It used to sleep before don’t know what changed this.
Any ideas?
[Edit] PC specs CPU: i7-3700k MOBO: Asus Prime Z790-P Wifi Ram: G.Skill S5 Series 32GB DDR5-6000 GPU: Yeston RTX 3080 SSD: 2 Samsung SSD
submitted by Insane_Saint21 to WindowsHelp [link] [comments]
To best describe the issue, my pc let’s itself sleep but just won’t stay asleep. When it does it by itself all the lights go off inside my PC for a second, then boots up again, if i manually make it sleep it does the same thing. It used to sleep before don’t know what changed this.
Any ideas?
[Edit] PC specs CPU: i7-3700k MOBO: Asus Prime Z790-P Wifi Ram: G.Skill S5 Series 32GB DDR5-6000 GPU: Yeston RTX 3080 SSD: 2 Samsung SSD
2024.05.14 00:12 Bowazon_ Season 4 Heartseeker Victimise Rogue Guide by Bowa
 |
Season 4 Heartseeker Planner Links
How it worksHeartseeker is one of the Rogue’s ranged basic attacks that has a reliable chance of hitting its targets.Although Heartseeker is reliable in that respect, its damage potential was very limited throughout Diablo 4 history due to its lower base damage compared to core skills and combo points and because it had no way of delivering imbuement effects, inflicting area of effect (AoE) damage or taking advantage of the huge damage bonus from precision. While basic skills still can’t be imbued and precision doesn’t work with basic skills, Heartseeker’s main obstacles have been solved:
Also, because Heartseeker tracks targets, this can be used safely and reliably to deal damage to enemies from afar. As enemies then agro towards you from a distance and converge closer and closer together as they approach you, this allows your AoE explosions to deal more damage the more tightly packed enemies become. Pros
Victimise has interactions with your original attacks that result in your damage output being affected by double dipping. This means that certain buffs and debuffs boost your damage twice, usually in 2 different stages of your full damage calculation. Victimise bases its damage based on a percentage of damage that your Heartseeker hits do. For example, if Heartseeker does 10,000 damage and Victimise does 300% of your original (Heartseeker) damage, then Victimise explosions will do 30,000 damage. If then your Heartseeker damage is increased by buffs and debuffs that result in Heartseeker doing more damage against its targets, then this will increase the base damage of Victimise. For example, if the Control glyph + Exploit Weakness debuffs increase Heartseeker’s damage by 50%, then Heartseeker will now do 15,000 damage, and Victimise is expected to do 45,000 damage (because Victimise does 300% of your Heartseeker damage). However in this case, when Heartseeker results in a Victimise explosion and hits the same targets that are affected by the Control glyph + Exploit Weakness debuffs, then Victimise itself also gains the benefits from these debuffs, and its final damage will increase from 45,000 damage to 67,500 damage, or in other words 30,000 x 1.5 x 1.5 = 67,500 damage. Known interactions that double dip with Victimise:
To put things into perspective, while playing in the PTR, I noticed my Barrage hits that were doing 1.1 million damage were procing Victimise explosions that were doing almost 12 million damage. With Heartseeker, our damage per hit with Heartseeker and Victimise explosions will do much more damage, and Victimise explosions will occur more often. https://preview.redd.it/bjskc65ro90d1.png?width=756&format=png&auto=webp&s=5d30f050350d11604ee1a341efc7aee86d75a4ab The BuildSkills
Inner Sight, purely for the 25% critical strike chance bonus once every few moments. Passive Effects
Paragon
Stats/Gear PrioritiesSummary
We want to have as many CC applying effects from our tempering mods as possible across Boots, Pants, Gloves, Chest and Head gear pieces. The possible CC applying effects available from tempering are:
Bow vs Crossbow As a basic principle, bows shoot 22% faster and crossbows deal 22% more damage. However, some nuanced stuff should be noted:
Swords vs Daggers We use Heartseeker for our “core” attacks, so we will only rely on our swords or daggers for their damage bonuses. Swords come with extra critical strike damage and daggers come with extra damage versus close enemies. Given that we will have a high amount of critical strike chance with this build and we may be fighting from afar quite often, going with swords is more ideal for this build. Survivability For survivability, there are a few things that will help us here.
LevellingAt the start of your levelling journey, you should follow any other levelling guide out there that uses Rapid Fire, Barrage or Penetrating Shot and use combo points. Once you reach the key passives at the bottom of your skill tree, you should use Precision for the foreseeable future.There are a few key ingredients that you should get before switching over to using Heartseeker and Victimise: Heartseeker:
High-end PitIn high-end Pit content, even trash enemies will take a little while to kill. This will force you to use your Caltrops, Smoke Grenade and other tools more often to maintain an efficient clear speed. With this in mind, see the notes below on the changes to make from the standard build.
Boss Attack Rotation
|
2024.05.14 00:11 alexglec Need help, Valve won't do anything to help.
 | Alright.. hey Reddit. I'm reaching out because I am completely out of ideas and am desperate. My Steam Deck is currently experiencing a bug where when booting it gets stuck on this screen. My deck has been extremely faulty for the past year and a half that I've owned it (out of the box straight from Valve), but for most of those problems I've been able to find a fix for. However this issue has proven to be a challenge. I have tried restarting many times, unplugging, replugging, letting it sit on the screen for 2 hours (no joke), connecting an ethernet cable, even going into the SteamOS menu and trying to launch a previous image. Nothing. So I contacted Valve, and they gave me two different options to try. The first one didn't work, and the second one of re-imaging I physically can't do as I don't have a computer other then the deck nor a "USB to C adapter" or whatever. When I said this they slapped me with in the face saying that I'd need to spend an outrageous $185 to repair the deck they sent to me completely faulty, which I am in no way willing to fork over so they can correct the mistakes that should have been fixed before they shipped it. I am in no way tech savvy so I can't tinker it myself without through and easy to understand instructions.. but please.. I'm begging you all for assistance.. submitted by alexglec to SteamDeck [link] [comments] |
2024.05.14 00:06 OnePete7 The only way to play Sivir (or what you don't understand about her)
Hello guys,
I just reached plat 4 from bronze 2 and finally broke the ceiling after going insane playing Crit Sivir with the so called "best crit builds" that are recommended on the league websites, and I found a solution.
Here is my experience, and it's probably not yours because it is well known that all the players from the League and Sivir subreddit are Diamond 4 minimum, and I'm probably wrong, but hey, you read this far so...
So... Let's start with WHY Sivir?
AA range : The only squishy champ with no dash and a 500 range (kog has the W steroid). ALL the other ADC with that range have some sort of movement abilities (Lucian/Zeri/Akshan/Samira)
Passive : Useless as fuck, anything will outrun you, nobody even knows what the Sivir passive does and for good reason, it's probably one of the worst of the game
W : Good lane cleaner, super mana expensive so you better invest in a Tear for early or be careful to optimize the waveclear
E : Good spell shield but not even the best spellshield out there. Samira is 10 times better (I freaking hate Samira) and a much better champion if you want to deal damage like it's intended
R : Shurelya but worse, at least you have the - 0.5s refresh on AA because otherwise this is a pretty terrible ult.
So you guessed it, the ONLY reason to play her is the Q spell. That thing has a HUGE range BUT it's tricky... You need to land it without touching minions AND back and forth.
Good supp can help you achieve that with CC but remember, you're in low elo so don't count on that too much obv.
This demonstration will explain how we're going to exploit that.
So what should you play?
Runes
Sorcery
Aery : Nobody is playing by the rules, and you can land aery with your W which sound like cheating, but with a champion like that you'll need some. Landing a clean back and forth Q with that rune and you will deal good damage.
ManaFlow band : Mana will be scarce, because Riot wanted to be sure nobody would be playing this champ, so you have to find solutions if you wanna keep spamming Qs into the ennemies.
Celerity : Logical considering every steroid you have is bad movespeed, at least with that you get a little bit more.
Scorch or Gathering Storm : This one depends on the meta... Korean challenger are playing Scorch to optimize the damage from Q, but I feel like the gathering storm is great in long games.
Inspiration
Magical Footwear : Again, speed has to be optimize or any toplaner with outrun you.
Biscuit Delivery : I was wondering why this rune was so important and oh boy, when you need to last hit and your nautilus support is 10 miles behind you and you take an awful amount of poke, this is a lifeline.
Shards
Attack Speed/AD/Bonus health, this one is pretty standard.
Summs : Take Flash/TP, not Ghost (your range is too short for kiting without a support). TP allows you to keep a consistent farm, go top to push the lane of your afk/typing 0/9 Yasuo top, and TP back to push your lane given up by your roaming 0/5 support. Other options are for duelist (see my point in the Build section)
Build
Alright, this is where I'm not going to make any friend.
SIVIR IS NOT A DUELIST. She never will be. Maybe if you get super fed you can compete but you'll never outdamage a Vayne/Twitch/Draven, this is not possible.
SO BUILDING CRIT AS A MAIN SOURCE OF DAMAGE WILL NEVER GET YOU ANYWHERE. At least in low elo without a duo. It's straight up impossible.
So my recommended build is... LETHALITY SIVIR.
Take Youmuu's blade first item. I swear I'm not kidding. This item is insanely worth it. You have perma out of combat ms/Active 6 second 15% ms (not decaying like your useless passive) boosted by the celerity rune (go back to lane faster, so more farm, better map presence). The lethality is great to poke bot, great damage, the ONLY issue is the lack of crit, but Riot hates crit so there is that.
Second item : AS boots, as usual nothing fancy here.
Third item: Take the Collector (Lethality AND Crit ? Sign me up!). Great passive as well to finish off opponent. Remember that your team will never let you any kills in low elo, so you have to get everything you can to land the final blow.
Fourth item is Black Cleaver, again a broken interaction, since you can apply the armor debuff with the bouncing W, you get the MS, the health to tank a bit for assassins, an overall great item for Sivir.
This is your CORE BUILD : meaning this will allow you to stand a chance against the fed enemy team, because you will be able to output damage BEFORE they had the occasion of landing everything they have to gapclose you.
You will be able to farm so much more than relying on a support to put you safe during the laning phase. (Youmuu and collector lethality will insta clear waves, even if your support afk, you will be able to give a hard time to the enemy botlane)
Since you're not relying on crit, the rest of the build can be adapted, depending on the enemy comp. Usually IE/Malmortius/RFC or PD/GA then selling boots for a final item if necessary.
Don't forget that Sivir is a LATE GAME beast, you should farm as much as possible, so when you reach late and get some kills, you'll probably need to transition to crit (since lethality falls off late), but this is not the case in most of the games decided by the 20 minutes mark.
TLDR : Don't play Sivir Crit in low elo. (ok maybe for patch 14.10 all of this will become irrelevant)
Thank you for reading through this, maybe this will convince some players to try her out, because she really feels awful with a standard build rn.
OP7
submitted by OnePete7 to Sivir [link] [comments]
I just reached plat 4 from bronze 2 and finally broke the ceiling after going insane playing Crit Sivir with the so called "best crit builds" that are recommended on the league websites, and I found a solution.
Here is my experience, and it's probably not yours because it is well known that all the players from the League and Sivir subreddit are Diamond 4 minimum, and I'm probably wrong, but hey, you read this far so...
So... Let's start with WHY Sivir?
AA range : The only squishy champ with no dash and a 500 range (kog has the W steroid). ALL the other ADC with that range have some sort of movement abilities (Lucian/Zeri/Akshan/Samira)
Passive : Useless as fuck, anything will outrun you, nobody even knows what the Sivir passive does and for good reason, it's probably one of the worst of the game
W : Good lane cleaner, super mana expensive so you better invest in a Tear for early or be careful to optimize the waveclear
E : Good spell shield but not even the best spellshield out there. Samira is 10 times better (I freaking hate Samira) and a much better champion if you want to deal damage like it's intended
R : Shurelya but worse, at least you have the - 0.5s refresh on AA because otherwise this is a pretty terrible ult.
So you guessed it, the ONLY reason to play her is the Q spell. That thing has a HUGE range BUT it's tricky... You need to land it without touching minions AND back and forth.
Good supp can help you achieve that with CC but remember, you're in low elo so don't count on that too much obv.
This demonstration will explain how we're going to exploit that.
So what should you play?
Runes
Sorcery
Aery : Nobody is playing by the rules, and you can land aery with your W which sound like cheating, but with a champion like that you'll need some. Landing a clean back and forth Q with that rune and you will deal good damage.
ManaFlow band : Mana will be scarce, because Riot wanted to be sure nobody would be playing this champ, so you have to find solutions if you wanna keep spamming Qs into the ennemies.
Celerity : Logical considering every steroid you have is bad movespeed, at least with that you get a little bit more.
Scorch or Gathering Storm : This one depends on the meta... Korean challenger are playing Scorch to optimize the damage from Q, but I feel like the gathering storm is great in long games.
Inspiration
Magical Footwear : Again, speed has to be optimize or any toplaner with outrun you.
Biscuit Delivery : I was wondering why this rune was so important and oh boy, when you need to last hit and your nautilus support is 10 miles behind you and you take an awful amount of poke, this is a lifeline.
Shards
Attack Speed/AD/Bonus health, this one is pretty standard.
Summs : Take Flash/TP, not Ghost (your range is too short for kiting without a support). TP allows you to keep a consistent farm, go top to push the lane of your afk/typing 0/9 Yasuo top, and TP back to push your lane given up by your roaming 0/5 support. Other options are for duelist (see my point in the Build section)
Build
Alright, this is where I'm not going to make any friend.
SIVIR IS NOT A DUELIST. She never will be. Maybe if you get super fed you can compete but you'll never outdamage a Vayne/Twitch/Draven, this is not possible.
SO BUILDING CRIT AS A MAIN SOURCE OF DAMAGE WILL NEVER GET YOU ANYWHERE. At least in low elo without a duo. It's straight up impossible.
So my recommended build is... LETHALITY SIVIR.
Take Youmuu's blade first item. I swear I'm not kidding. This item is insanely worth it. You have perma out of combat ms/Active 6 second 15% ms (not decaying like your useless passive) boosted by the celerity rune (go back to lane faster, so more farm, better map presence). The lethality is great to poke bot, great damage, the ONLY issue is the lack of crit, but Riot hates crit so there is that.
Second item : AS boots, as usual nothing fancy here.
Third item: Take the Collector (Lethality AND Crit ? Sign me up!). Great passive as well to finish off opponent. Remember that your team will never let you any kills in low elo, so you have to get everything you can to land the final blow.
Fourth item is Black Cleaver, again a broken interaction, since you can apply the armor debuff with the bouncing W, you get the MS, the health to tank a bit for assassins, an overall great item for Sivir.
This is your CORE BUILD : meaning this will allow you to stand a chance against the fed enemy team, because you will be able to output damage BEFORE they had the occasion of landing everything they have to gapclose you.
You will be able to farm so much more than relying on a support to put you safe during the laning phase. (Youmuu and collector lethality will insta clear waves, even if your support afk, you will be able to give a hard time to the enemy botlane)
Since you're not relying on crit, the rest of the build can be adapted, depending on the enemy comp. Usually IE/Malmortius/RFC or PD/GA then selling boots for a final item if necessary.
Don't forget that Sivir is a LATE GAME beast, you should farm as much as possible, so when you reach late and get some kills, you'll probably need to transition to crit (since lethality falls off late), but this is not the case in most of the games decided by the 20 minutes mark.
TLDR : Don't play Sivir Crit in low elo. (ok maybe for patch 14.10 all of this will become irrelevant)
Thank you for reading through this, maybe this will convince some players to try her out, because she really feels awful with a standard build rn.
OP7