Swollen face, lymph node, pressure
Israel faces diplomatic pressure to avoid assault on Rafah
2024.05.14 15:57 justin_quinnn Israel faces diplomatic pressure to avoid assault on Rafah
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2024.05.14 15:57 justin_quinnn Israel faces diplomatic pressure to avoid assault on Rafah
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2024.05.14 15:57 torturedsoul29 Reduced sensation on left side of my labia majora. Feels uncomfortable and a little numb. Need help!
Hi there. I'm 29 years old, female, white and also a virgin. Definitely don't have any stds/stis.
This all started about 3 days ago. I was a little constipated 3 days ago and spent over an hour sitting on the toilet. While sitting on the toilet I all of a sudden felt my left thigh and part of my left vulva falling asleep. After I stood up I still felt numb and a pins and needles like sensation down there so I decided to walk around for a while to increase my blood flow. After 5 to 10 minutes of walking around my room my left thigh wasn't numb anymore but for whatever reason my left labia majora still felt a little numb and also a little heavy for whatever reason. I thought this weird feeling would eventually go away by itself but it didn't. Now it's been 3 days and my left labia majora still feels heavy and uncomfortable and tight and a little numb. It's not actually numb though. I can feel sensation but not as much as in my right labia majora. I would say that i feel 50 % more sensation in my right labia majora than in my left labia majora. Is that normal? I don't think it is. My left labia majora also feels swollen but it's not actually swollen, it just feels like it is. I also feel like a weird pressure on my left labia majora like something or someone is pressing down on it especially when I walk or cross my legs.
Does anyone here know what could be causing all of these weird symptoms? Do I perhaps have a pinched nerve? Does this sound like a pinched nerve? Has anyone else ever dealt with something like this?
Would really love to get some answers.
Btw: It's only my left labia majora that feels a little numb. The left side of my labia minora and the left side of my clit thankfully feel normal and I have full sensation in them. :)
submitted by torturedsoul29 to AskDocs [link] [comments]
This all started about 3 days ago. I was a little constipated 3 days ago and spent over an hour sitting on the toilet. While sitting on the toilet I all of a sudden felt my left thigh and part of my left vulva falling asleep. After I stood up I still felt numb and a pins and needles like sensation down there so I decided to walk around for a while to increase my blood flow. After 5 to 10 minutes of walking around my room my left thigh wasn't numb anymore but for whatever reason my left labia majora still felt a little numb and also a little heavy for whatever reason. I thought this weird feeling would eventually go away by itself but it didn't. Now it's been 3 days and my left labia majora still feels heavy and uncomfortable and tight and a little numb. It's not actually numb though. I can feel sensation but not as much as in my right labia majora. I would say that i feel 50 % more sensation in my right labia majora than in my left labia majora. Is that normal? I don't think it is. My left labia majora also feels swollen but it's not actually swollen, it just feels like it is. I also feel like a weird pressure on my left labia majora like something or someone is pressing down on it especially when I walk or cross my legs.
Does anyone here know what could be causing all of these weird symptoms? Do I perhaps have a pinched nerve? Does this sound like a pinched nerve? Has anyone else ever dealt with something like this?
Would really love to get some answers.
Btw: It's only my left labia majora that feels a little numb. The left side of my labia minora and the left side of my clit thankfully feel normal and I have full sensation in them. :)
2024.05.14 15:56 Mophandel Archaeotherium, the King of the White River Badlands
 | Art by Bob Nicholls submitted by Mophandel to Naturewasmetal [link] [comments] Nowadays, when we envision the words “prey,” among modern mammalian fauna, few taxa come to mind as quickly as the hoofed mammals, better known as the ungulates. Indeed, for the better part of their entire evolutionary history, the ungulates have become entirely indistinguishable from the term “prey.” Across their two major modern branches, the artiodactyls (the “even-toed ungulates,” such as bovids, pigs, deer, hippos and giraffes) and the perissodactyls (the “odd-toed ungulates,” including horses, rhinos and tapir), the ungulates too have created an empire spanning nearly every continent, establishing themselves as the the dominant herbivores throughout their entire range. However, as a price for such success, their lot as herbivores have forced them into an unenviable position: being the food for the predators. Indeed, throughout the diets of most modern predators, ungulates make up the majority, if not the entirety, of their diet, becoming their counterparts in this evolutionary dance of theirs. They have become the lamb to their wolf, the zebra to their lion, the stag to their tiger. If there is a predator in need of lunch, chances are that there is an ungulate there to provide it. Of course, such a dynamic is not necessarily a recent innovation. For the last 15-20 million years, across much of the world, both new and old, the ungulates have served as prey for these predators through it all. Over the course of whole epochs, these two groups have played into these roles for millions of years, coevolving with each other in an eons-long game of cat-and-mouse. The shoes they fill are not new, but have existed for ages, and within their niches they have cultivated their roles to perfection. Indeed, with such a tenured history, it seems hardly surprising the ungulates are wholly inseparable from the terms “prey,” itself. However, while this is the case now, as it has been for the last 15-20 million years, go back far enough, and we see that this dynamic is not as set in stone as we would think. Indeed, back during the Eocene and Oligocene, during the very earliest days of age of mammals, things were very different for the ungulates. While today they are considered little more than food for modern predators, during these olden days, the ungulates weren’t quite so benign. In fact, far from being fodder for top predators, the ungulates had turned the tables, instead becoming top predators themselves. Indeed, though nearly unheard of today, throughout much of the Eocene and Oligocene, carnivorous ungulates thrived in abundance, developing specializations for catching large prey and establishing themselves as top predators that competed alongside the more traditional carnivores, and even dominating them in some instances. Given such success, it’s no wonder that multiple such clades had arisen during this time. Such predators included the arctocyonids, a lineage of (ironically) hoof-less ungulates with large jaws and sharp teeth for capturing large prey. There were also the mesonychians, a lineage of dog-like ungulates with massive skulls and jaws that allowed them to reign as the top predator across much of the Eocene. However, among these various lineages, one stands stands out among the rest, by far. Arising during the Eocene, this lineage, though superficially resembling modern pigs, hailed from one an ancient lineage of artiodactyls far removed from swine or most other ungulates in general, with few close relatives alive today. Through perhaps not the most predatory of the bunch, it was among the most formidable, as their superficially pig-like appearance came with giant predatory jaws and teeth unlike anything from the modern era. And of course, as if all of that wasn’t enough, this lineage also went on to earn arguably one of the most badass nicknames of any lineage of mammals, period. These predators, of course, were the entelodonts, a.k.a the “hell-pigs.” More so than any other predatory ungulate lineage, these formidable ungulates were the ones to turn the current paradigm upside down, becoming some of the largest and most dominant carnivores in their landscape, even with (and often in spite of) the presence of more traditional predators. Through impressive size, fearsome teeth and sheer tenacity, these animals became the top dogs of their time, ruling as behemoth-kings of their Paleogene kingdoms, domineering all comers, and throughout the ranks, one entelodont in particular demonstrated such dominance the best. Though not the largest or most powerful of their kind, it is one of the most iconic, being among the most well-known members of its lineage to date. Moreover, this enteledont also has some of the most complete life histories ever seen out of this clade, with its brutality and predatory prowess being displayed in the fossil record in a way seen in no other member of its kind. More than anything else, however, it was this predator that best turned the notion of “ungulates being prey” on its head, living in an environment that bore some of the largest carnivoran hypercarnivores to date and still reigning as the undisputed top predator of its domain. This fearsome beast was none other than Archaeotherium, icon of the entelodonts, terror of the Oligocene American west and undisputed king of the White River badlands. The rise of Archaeotherium (and of entelodonts in general) is closely tied to the ascendancy of carnivorous ungulates as a whole, one of the earliest evolutionary success stories of the entire Cenozoic. Having become their own derived clade since the late Cretaceous, the ungulates were remarkably successful during the early Paleogene, as they were among the first mammalian clades to reach large sizes during those early days after the non-avian dinosaurs had gone extinct. As such, it was with incredible swiftness that, as the Paleogene progressed, the ungulates swooped upon the various niches left empty by the K-Pg mass extinction that killed the dinosaurs. This of course included the herbivorous niches we would know them for today, but this also included other, much more carnivore roles. Indeed, early on during the Paleogene, it was the ungulates that first seized the roles of large mammalian predators, becoming some the earliest large mammalian carnivores to ever live, well before even the carnivorans. Such predators included the arctocyonids, a lineage of vaguely dog-like, hoof-less ungulates with robust jaws and sharpened teeth that acted as some of earliest large carnivores of the Paleocene, with genera such as Arctocyon mumak getting up to the size of big cats. Even more prolific were the mesonychids. More so than what pretty much any other lineage of predator, it was the mesonychids that would stand out as the earliest dominant predators of the early Cenozoic. Growing up to the size of bears and with enormous, bone-crushing jaws, the mesonychids were among the most powerful and successful predators on the market at that time, with a near-global range and being capable of subjugating just about any other predator in their environments. Indeed, they, along with other carnivorous ungulates (as well as ungulates in general), were experiencing a golden age during this time, easily being the most prolific predators of the age. Given such prevalence, it should be no surprise that there would be yet another lineage of predatory ungulates would throw their hat into the ring, and by early Eocene, that contender would none other than the entelodonts. The very first entelodonts had arisen from artiodactyl ancestors during the Eocene epoch, at a time when artiodactyls were far more diverse and bizarre than they are now. Through today known from their modern herbivorous representatives such as bovines, deer, and antelope, during the Paleocene and Eocene, the artiodacyls, as with most ungulates of that time, were stronger and far more predaceous, particularly when it came to one such clade of artiodactyls, the cetacodontomorphs. Only known today from hippos and another group of artiodactyls (one which will become relevant later), the cetacodontomorphs emerged out of Asia around 55 million years ago, at around the same time that artiodactyls themselves had made their debut. These animals included the first truly predatory artiodactyls, with many of them possessing large skulls with powerful jaws and sharp, predatory teeth. Among their ranks included animals as puny as Indohyus, a piscivorous artiodactyl the size of a cat, to as formidable as Andrewsarchus, a giant, bison-sized predator often touted as one of the largest predatory mammals to ever live. Given such a predatory disposition, it wouldn’t be long until this clade produced a lineage of truly diverse, truly successful predators, and by around 40 million years ago, that is exactly what they did, as it was at that time that the entelodonts themselves first emerged. From their Asian homeland, the entelodonts spread across the world, spreading through not only most of Eurasia but also colonizing North America as well, with genera such as Brachyhyops being found across both continents. Here, in this North American frontier, the entelodonts began to diversify further, turning into their most successful and formidable forms yet, and it was around the late Eocene and early Oligocene that Archaeotherium itself had entered the scene. Just from a passing glance at Archaeotherium, it is clear how exactly it (as well as the other entelodonts) earned the nickname of “hell-pigs.” It was a bruiser for starters; its body bore a robust, pig-like physique, with prominent neural spines and their associated musculature forming a hump around the shoulder region, similar to the hump of a bison. With such a bulky physique came with it impressive size; the average A. mortoni had a head-body length of roughly 1.6-2.0 m (5.3-6.6 ft), a shoulder height of 1.2 m (4 ft) and a body mass of around 180 kg (396 lb) in weight (Boardman & Secord, 2013; (Joeckel, 1990). At such sizes, an adult Archaeotherium the size of a large male black bear. However, they had the potential to get even bigger. While most Archaeotherium specimens were around the size described above, a select few specimens, labeled under the synonymous genus “Megachoerus,” are found to be much larger, with skulls getting up to 66% longer than average A. mortoni specimens (Foss, 2001; Joeckel, 1990). At such sizes and using isometric scaling, such massive Archaeotherium specimens would attained body lengths over 2.5 m (8.2 ft) and would have reached weighs well over 500 kg (1100 lb), or as big as a mature male polar bear. Indeed, at such sizes, it is already abundantly evident that Archaeotherium is a force to be recorded with. However, there was more to these formidable animals than sheer size alone. Behind all that bulk was an astoundingly swift and graceful predator, especially in terms of locomotion. Indeed, the hoofed feet of Archaeotherium, along with other entelodonts, sported several adaptations that gave it incredible locomotive efficiency, essentially turning it into a speed demon of the badlands. Such adaptations include longer distal leg elements (e.g. the radius and tibia) than their proximal counterparts (e.g. the humerus and femur), fusion of the radius and ulna for increased running efficiency, the loss of the clavicle (collar-bone) to allow for greater leg length, the loss of the acromion to enhance leg movement along the fore-and-aft plane, the loss of digits to reduce the mass of the forelimb, the fusion of the ectocuneiform and the mesocuneiform wrist-bones, among many other such traits (Theodore, 1996) . Perhaps most significant of these adaptations is the evolution of the “double-pulley astragalus (ankle-bone),” a specialized modification of the ankle that, while restricting rotation and side-to-side movement at the ankle-joint, allows for greater rotation in the fore-and-aft direction, thus allowing for more more powerful propulsion from the limbs, faster extension and retraction of the limbs and overall greater locomotive efficiency (Foss, 2001). Of course, such a trait was not only found in entelodonts but in artiodactyls as a whole, likely being a response to predatory pressures from incumbent predatory clades arising at the same time as the artiodactyls (Foss, 2001). However, in the case of the entelodonts, such adaptations were not used for merely escaping predators. Rather, they were used to for another, much more lethal effect… Such notions are further reinforced by the entelodonts most formidable aspect, none either than their fearsome jaws, and in this respect, Archaeotherium excelled. Both for its size and in general, the head of Archaeotherium was massive, measuring 40-50 cm (1.3-1.6 ft) in length among average A. mortoni specimens, to up to 78 cm (~2.6 ft) in the larger “Megachoerus” specimens (Joeckel, 1990). Such massive skulls were supported and supplemented by equally massive neck muscles and ligaments, which attached to massive neural spines on the anterior thoracic vertebrae akin to a bisons hump as well as to the sternum, allowing Archaeotherium to keep its head aloft despite the skulls massive size (Effinger, 1998). Of course, with such a massive skull, it should come as no surprise that such skulls housed exceptionally formidable jaws as well, and indeed, the bite of Archaeotherium was an especially deadly one. Its zygomatic arches (cheek-bones) and its temporal fossa were enlarged and expanded, indicative of massive temporalis muscles that afforded Archaeotherium astoundingly powerful bites (Joeckel, 1990). This is further augmented by Archaeotherium’s massive jugal flanges (bony projections of the cheek), which supported powerful masseter muscles which enhanced chewing and mastication, as well as an enlarged postorbital bar that reinforced the skull against torsional stresses (Foss, 2001). Last but not least, powerful jaws are supplemented by an enlarged gape, facilitated by a low coronoid process and enlarged posterior mandibular tubercles (bony projections originating from the lower jaw), which provided an insertion site for sternum-to-mandible jaw abduction muscles, allowing for a more forceful opening of the jaw (Foss, 2001). All together, such traits suggest a massive and incredibly fearsome bite, perhaps the most formidable of any animal in its environment. Of course, none of such traits are especially indicative of a predatory lifestyle. Indeed, many modern non-predatory ungulates, like hippos, pigs and peccaries, also possess large, formidable skulls and jaws. However, in peeling back the layers, it is found there was more to the skull of Archaeotherium that lies in store. Indeed, when inspecting the animal closely, a unique mosaic of features is revealed; traits that make it out to be much more lethal than the average artiodactyl. On one hand, Archaeotherium possessed many traits similar to those of herbivores animals, as is expected of ungulates. For instance, its jaw musculature that allowed the lower jaw of Archaeotherium a full side-to-side chewing motion as in herbivores (whereas most carnivores can only move their lower jaw up and down)(Effinger, 1998). On the other hand, Archaeotherium wielded many other traits far more lethal in their morphology, less akin to a herbivore and far more akin to a bonafide predator. For instance, the aforementioned enlarged gape of Archaeotherium is a bizarre trait on a supposed herbivore, as such animals do not need large gapes to eat vegetation and thus have smaller, more restricted gapes. Conversely, many predatory lineages have comparatively large gapes, as larger gapes allow for the the jaws to grab on to more effectively larger objects, namely large prey animals (Joeckel, 1990). Such a juxtaposition, however, is most evident when discussing the real killing instruments of Archaeotherium — the teeth. More so than any facet of this animal, the teeth of Archaeotherium are the real stars of the show, showing both how alike it was compared to its herbivores counterparts and more importantly, how it couldn’t be more different. For instance, the molars of Archaeotherium were quite similar to modern herbivores ungulates, in that they were robust, bunodont, and were designed for crushing and grinding, similar in form and function to modern ungulates like peccaries (Joeckel, 1990). However, while the molars give the impression that Archaeotherium was a herbivore, the other teeth tell a very different story. The incisors, for example, were enlarged, sharpened, and fully interlocked (as opposed to the flat-topped incisors seen in herbivores ungulates), creating an incisor array that was seemingly ill-suited for cropping vegetation and much more adept at for gripping, puncturing and cutting (Joeckel, 1990). Even more formidable were the canines. Like the modern pigs from which entelodonts derived their nicknames, the canines of Archaeotherium were sharp and enlarged to form prominent tusk-like teeth, but unlike pigs, they were rounded in cross-section (similar to modern carnivores like big cats, indicating more durable canines that can absorb and resist torsional forces, such as those from struggling prey) and were serrated to form a distinct cutting edge (Effinger, 1998; Joeckel, 1990; Ruff & Van Valkenburgh, 1987). These canines, along with the incisors, interlock to stabilize the jaws while biting and dismantling in a carnivore-like fashion. More strikingly, the canines also seem to act as “occlusal guides,” wherein the canines help align the movement and position of the rear teeth as they come together, allowing for a more efficient shearing action by the rear teeth. This function is seen most prevalently modern carnivores mammals, and is evidenced by the canine tooth-wear, which is also analogous to modern predators like bears and canids (Joeckel, 1990). Indeed, going off such teeth alone, it is clear that Archaeotherium is far more predatory than expected of an ungulate. However, the real stars of the show, the teeth that truly betray the predatory nature of these ungulates, are the premolars. Perhaps the most carnivore-like teeth in the entelodont’s entire tooth row, the premolars of Archaeotherium, particularly the anterior premolars, are laterally compressed, somewhat conical in shape, and are weakly serrated to bear a cutting edge, giving them a somewhat carnivorous form and function of shearing and slicing (Effinger, 1998). Most strikingly of all, the premolars of Archaeotherium bear unique features similar not to modern herbivores, but to durophagous carnivores like hyenas, particularly apical wear patterns, highly thickened enamel, “zigzag-shaped” enamel prism layers (Hunter-Schraeger bands) on the premolars which is also seen in osteophagous animals like hyenas, and an interlocking premolar interface wherein linear objects (such as bones) inserted into jaws from the side would be pinned between the premolars and crushed (Foss, 2001). Taken together, these features do not suggest a diet of grass or vegetation like other ungulates. Rather, they suggest a far more violent diet, one including flesh as well as hard, durable foods, particularly bone. All in all, the evidence is clear. Archaeotherium and other entelodonts, unlike the rest of their artiodactyl kin, were not the passive herbivores as we envision ungulates today. Rather, they were willing, unrepentant meat-eaters that had a taste for flesh as well as foliage. Of course, even with such lines of evidence, its hard to conclude that Archaeotherium was a true predator. After all, its wide gape and durophagous teeth could have just as easily been used for scavenging or even to eat tough plant matter such as seeds or nuts, as in peccaries and pigs, which themselves share many of the same adaptations as Archaeotherium, include the more carnivorous ones (e.g. the wide gape, using the canines as an occlusal guide, etc.). How exactly do we know that these things were veritable predators and not pretenders to the title. To this end, there is yet one last piece of evidence, one that puts on full display the predatory prowess of Archaeotherium —** evidence of a kill itself. Found within oligocene-aged sediment in what is now Wyoming, a collection of various fossil remains was found, each belonging to the ancient sheep-sized camel Poebrotherium, with many of the skeletal remains being disarticulated and even missing whole hindlimbs or even entire rear halves of their body. Tellingly, many of the remains bear extensive bite marks and puncture wounds across their surface. Upon close examination, the spacing and size of the punctures leave only one culprit: Archaeotherium. Of course, such an event could still have been scavenging; the entelodonts were consuming the remains of already dead, decomposed camels, explaining the bite marks. What was far more telling, however, was where the bite marks were found. In addition bite marks being found on the torso and lumbar regions of the camels, various puncture wounds were found on the skull and neck, which were otherwise uneaten. Scavengers rarely feast on the head to begin with; there is very little worthwhile meat on it besides the brain, cheek-muscles and eyes, and even if they did feed on the skull and neck, they would still eat it wholesale, not merely bite it and then leave it otherwise untouched. Indeed, it was clear that this was no mere scavenging event. Rather than merely consuming these camels, **Archaeotherium was actively preying upon and killing them, dispatching them via a crushing bite to the skull or neck before dismembering and even bisecting the hapless camels with their powerful jaws to preferentially feast on their hindquarters (likely by swallowing the hindquarters whole, as the pelvis of Poebrotherium was coincidentally the perfect width for Archaeotherium to devour whole), eventually discarding the leftovers in meat caches for later consumption (Sundell, 1999). With this finding, such a feat of brutality leaves no doubt in ones mind as to what the true nature of Archaeotherium was. This was no herbivore, nor was it a simple scavenger. This was an active, rapacious predator, the most powerful in its entire ecosystem. Indeed, with such brutal evidence of predation frozen in time, combined with various dental, cranial, and post cranial adaptations of this formidable animal, it’s possible to paint a picture of how this formidable creature lived. Though an omnivore by trade, willing and able to feast on plant matter such as grass, roots and tubers, Archaeotherium was also a wanton predator that took just about any prey it wanted. Upon detecting its prey, it approached its vicim from ambush before launching itself at blazing speed. From there, its cursorial, hoofed legs, used by other ungulates for escape predation, were here employed to capture prey, carrying it at great speeds as it caught up to its quarry. Having closed the distance with its target, it was then that the entelodont brought its jaws to bear, grabbing hold of the victim with powerful jaws and gripping teeth to bring it to a screeching halt. If the victim is lucky, Archaeotherium will then kill it quickly with a crushing bite to the skull or neck, puncturing the brain or spinal cord and killing its target instantly. If not, the victim is eaten alive, torn apart while it’s still kicking, as modern boars will do today. In any case, incapacitated prey are subsequently dismantled, with the entelodont using its entire head and heavily-muscled necks to bite into and pull apart its victim in devastating “puncture-and pull’ bites (Foss, 2001). Prey would then finally be consumed starting at the hindquarters, with not even the bones of its prey being spared. Such brutality, though far from clean, drove home a singular truth: that during this time, ungulates were not just prey, that they were not the mere “predator-fodder” we know them as today. rather, they themselves were the predators themselves, dominating as superb hunters within their domain and even suppressing clades we know as predators today, least of all the carnivorans. Indeed, during this point in time, the age of the carnivorous ungulates had hit their stride, and more specifically, the age of entelodonts had begun. Of course, more so than any other ettelodont, Archaeotherium took to this new age with gusto. Archaeotherium lived from 35-28 million years ago during the late Eocene and early Oligocene in a locality known today as the White River Badlands, a fossil locality nestled along the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. Though a chalky, barren landscape today, during the time of Archaeotherium, the White River Badlands was a swamp-like floodplain crisscrossed with rivers and interspersed with by a mosaic of forests concentrated around waterways, open woodlands and open plains. As with most ecosystems with such a lush disposition, this locale teemed with life, with ancient hornless rhinos, small horse-like hyracodonts and early camels roaming the open habitats while giant brontotheres, small early horses and strange, sheep-like ungulates called merycoidodonts (also known as “oreodonts”) dwelled within the dense forests. Within this locale, Archaeotherium stalked the open woodlands and riparian forests of its domain. Here, it acted as a dominant predator and scavenger across is territory, filling a niche similar to modern grizzly bears but far more predatory. Among its preferred food items would be plant matter such as roots, foliage and nuts, but also meat in the form of carrion or freshly caught prey. In this respect, smaller ungulates such as the fleet-footed camel Poebrotherium, a known prey item of Archaeotherium, would have made a for choice prey, as its small size would make it easy for Archaeotherium to dispatch with its powerful jaws, while the entelodonts swift legs gave it the speed necessary to keep pace with its agile prey. However, the entelodont didn’t have such a feast all to itself. Just as the badlands teemed with herbivores, so too did it teem with rival predators. Among their ranks included fearsome predators such as Hyaenodon, a powerful, vaguely dog-like predator up to the size of wolves (as in H. horridus) or even lions (as in the Eocene-aged H. megaloides, which was replaced by H. horridus during the Oligocene). Armed with a massive head, fierce jaws and a set of knife-like teeth that could cut down even large prey in seconds, these were some of the most formidable predators on the landscape. There were also the nimravids, cat-like carnivorans that bore saber-teeth to kill large prey in seconds, and included the likes of the lynx-sized Dinictis, the leopard-sized Hoplophoneus and even the jaguar-sized Eusmilus. Furthermore, there were amphicyonids, better known as the bear-dogs. Though known from much larger forms later on in their existence, during the late Eocene and Oligocene, they were much smaller and acted as the “canid-analogues” of the ecosystem, filling a role similar to wolves or coyotes. Last but not least, there were the bathornithid birds, huge cariamiform birds related to modern seriemas but much larger, which filled a niche similar to modern seriemas or secretary birds, albeit on a much larger scale. Given such competition, it would seem that Archaeotherium would have its hands full. However, things are not as they appear. For starters, habitat differences would mitigate high amounts of competition, as both Hyaenodon and the various nimravids occupy more specialized ecological roles (being a plains-specialist and forest-specialist, respectively) than did Archaeotherium, providing a buffer to stave off competition: More importantly, however, none of the aforementioned predators were simply big enough to take Archaeotherium on. During the roughly 7 million years existence of Archaeotherium, the only carnivore that matched it in size was H. megaloides, and even that would have an only applied to average A. mortoni individuals, not to the much larger, bison-sized “Megachoerus” individuals. The next largest predator at that point would be the jaguars-sized Eusmilus (specifically E. adelos) which would have only been a bit more than half the size of even an average A. mortoni. Besides that, virtually every other predator on the landscape was simply outclassed by the much larger entelodont in terms of size and brute strength. As such, within its domain, Archaeotherium had total, unquestioned authority, dominating the other predators in the landscape and likely stealing their kills as well. In fact, just about the only threat Archaeotherium had was other Archaeotherium, as fossil bite marks suggest that this animal regularly and fraglantly engaged in intraspecific combat, usually through face-biting and possibly even jaw-wrestling (Effinger, 1998; Tanke & Currie, 1998). Nevertheless, it was clear that Archaeotherium was the undisputed king of the badlands; in a landscape of hyaenodonts and carnivorans galore, it was a hoofed ungulate that reigned supreme. However, such a reign would not last. As the Eocene transitioned into the Eocene, the planet underwent an abrupt cooling and drying phase known as Eocene-Oligocene Transition or more simply the Grande Coupure. This change in climate would eliminate the sprawling wetlands and river systems that Archaeotherium had been depending on, gradually replacing it with drier and more open habitats. To its credit, Archaeotherium did manage to hang on, persisting well after the Grand-Coupure had taken place, but in the end the damage had been done; Archaeotherium was a dead-man-walking. Eventually, by around 28 million years ago, Archaeotherium would go extinct, perishing due to this change in global climate (Gillham, 2019). Entelodonts as a whole would persist into the Miocene, producing some of their largest forms ever known in the form of the bison-sized Daeodon (which was itself even more carnivorous than Archaeotherium), however they too would meet the same fate as their earlier cousins. By around 15-20 million years ago, entelodonts as a whole would go extinct. However, while the entelodonts may have perished, this was not the end of carnivorous ungulates as a whole. Recall that the cetacodontomorphs, the lineage of artiodactyls that produced the entelodonts, left behind two living descendants. The first among them were the hippos, themselves fairly frequent herbivores. The second of such lineage, however, was a different story. Emerging out of South Asia, this lineage of piscivorous cetacodontomorphs, in a an attempt to further specialize for the fish-hunting lifestyle, began to delve further and further into the water, becoming more and more aquatic and the millennia passed by. At a certain point, these carnivorous artiodactlys had become something completely unrecognizable from their original hoofed forms. Their skin became hairless and their bodies became streamlined for life in water. Their hoofed limbs grew into giant flippers for steering in the water and their previously tiny tails became massive and sported giant tail flukes for aquatic propulsion. Their noses even moved to the tip of their head, becoming a blowhole that would be signature to this clade as a whole. Indeed, this clade was none other than the modern whales, themselves derived, carnivorous ungulates that had specialized for a life in the water, and in doing so, became the some of the most dominant aquatic predators across the globe for millions of years. Indeed, though long gone, the legacy of the entelodonts and of predatory ungulates as a whole, a legacy Archaeotherium itself had helped foster, lives on in these paragons of predatory prowess, showing that the ungulates are more than just the mere “prey” that they are often made out to be. Moreover, given the success that carnivorous ungulates had enjoyed in the past and given how modern omnivorous ungulates like boar dabble in predation themselves, perhaps, in the distant future, this planet may see the rise of carnivorous ungulates once again, following in the footsteps left behind by Archaeotherium and the other predatory ungulates all those millions of years ago. |
2024.05.14 15:53 MildlyTiredSkeletons Masking Irritation from Entitlement?
I work in retail. A grocery store. I have to be nice, the smallest look of my RBF or the wrong "tone" & I am in trouble. I mask so hard. But I struggle with masking when it comes to the entitlement from others I see. (Customers) I cannot handle the sense of entitlement in them, the things they do. It drives my blood pressure up, I get a pissed off face, and I know I'll end up doing or saying something Ill regret later. The way people break rules in front of me. Don't follow the basics, don't obey simple things. They just do what they please and I can't do or say anything about it without being in the wrong. Do any of you struggle with this? How do you cope?
submitted by MildlyTiredSkeletons to aspergirls [link] [comments]
2024.05.14 15:48 Royal_Cup_3533 Unable to resolve my anxiety issues
Since my childhood days, have been facing anxiety related issues especially being easily intimidated by external strong stimulus. Hence whenever some pressure situation comes, my mind goes blank unable to do anything. As I grew up, didn't actually resolve the issue. Instead became good at dodging any kind of such situation like 1) Having an emotional situation with anyone 2) Avoid any situation which affect my super sensitive personality 3) Driving in general
This has hampered my quality of living a lot and have reached a stage it has started to affect my relationships as my responsibilities are also increasing.
I tried going to therapist twice at different times but gave up because of not finding enough motivation (Doctor was actually pretty good but I didn't put enough effort)
I am sincerely concerned how to resolve my issue. Inputs are greatly welcome for me to escape from this vicious cycle of not being able to do anything
submitted by Royal_Cup_3533 to socialanxiety [link] [comments]
This has hampered my quality of living a lot and have reached a stage it has started to affect my relationships as my responsibilities are also increasing.
I tried going to therapist twice at different times but gave up because of not finding enough motivation (Doctor was actually pretty good but I didn't put enough effort)
I am sincerely concerned how to resolve my issue. Inputs are greatly welcome for me to escape from this vicious cycle of not being able to do anything
2024.05.14 15:41 AnimationFan_2003 S1 Ep4: Can't Wait to Be Queen Review
Episode Description
-First off, I like the sibling dynamic in this episode, as somebody with a similarly aged older brother. Kion and Kiara's relationship has resonated with me, the way they have off days and arguments, but, obviously love each other and make it out strong in the end. I, for one, do not hate Kiara in The Lion Guard, and Kion gives her the same attitude she gives him in early episodes. I like watching their relationship go through ups and downs throughout Season 1.
-I know the opening scene, where Kiara and Kion are fighting over a tree to sharpen their claws is quite intense, because they would've probably gotten into a scuffle if Simba hadn't showed up when he did, but, that is siblings for you sometimes. I feel like anyone who's got siblings of your own can relate, at least a little bit, to that scene.
-I like the plotline of Kiara and Kion's sibling rivalry stemming from their roles in leadership. Kiara is clearly a reflection of her father, when he was a cub, which is interesting and so, she thinks that being the Future Queen is really swell and makes her the alpha, and Kion (who is no better than her) thinks that being Leader of the Lion Guard makes him more important than her. I like this mechanic in this episode. It makes me want to know if Scar felt the same way about Mufasa. I mean, Kion was obviously not resentful of Kiara, unlike Scar, but I wonder if a similar thing happened with the two brothers except, in this case, it drove Scar to insanity and wanting to murder Mufasa.
-Now let's talk about Kiara being left in charge of the Pride Lands (I mean, I do think the main conflict of the episode was Simba's fault, but we'll get to that later). So, I like the fact that Kiara is nervous about ruling the Pride Lands, even for a brief period of time. I like this because for one thing, she's still only a cub at this time, so, she's entitled to be nervous and anxious about being responsible for an entire kingdom. There's a lot of responsibility being placed on her at such a young age, but, she still remained likable, in my opinion. I do like how, in The Lion Guard, she takes her responsibility as Future Queen very seriously. I know this is unpopular to say, but, I headcanon that, as she's grown up into an older cub, she's realised that being queen won't prevent her from being herself, a concern she had at the beginning of TLK 2.
-I do empathise with Kiara, and Kion, because they are both being put into a huge responsibility of looking after the entire kingdom on their own, while all the adults are away from Pride Rock. This is still really early on in Season 1, so Kion is inexperienced as Leader of the Lion Guard, and Kiara only just started her training with Simba, in the pilot episode. I do feel bad at the fact that they have to figure everything without their parents around and I respect them for managing to work out their differences by the end of the episode.
-I really feel bad for Kiara because she gets a lot of crap from people in the TLG community, moreso than Kion does. I feel really sorry for her because people say they hate her for her attitude and that they think she's a self-righteous bitch at the start of the series, but, I don't. Even as a kid, I knew that a lot of Kiara's behaviour in this episode was down to the stress of being left in charge of whole kingdom for a few days without her parents around, while still being a cub at this point. I do really like her and it really upsets when I see people hating on her. I don't think Kiara really means to be controlling in this episode, she's just trying to do right by her father while he's gone.
-I like the fact that Kiara is really hesitant and nervous to have a huge weight on her shoulders, a role she was previously really excited to fulfil in the pilot episode. When Simba asks this of her, she's understanding feeling a lot of pressure to make him proud. I like the fact that Simba admits to her that he was also nervous about becoming king the first time. I like this because we only saw the side of him that was cocky, overconfident and optimistic about becoming king. I like the fact that she was nervous and that he decides to be upfront about it.
-Kiara still remained a likable character to me throughout this episode. I like how she starts out as nervous and how her confidence is slowly building up nicely during the episode. But, she never came off as mean-spirited, to me. Also, it becomes clear that the reason her responsibility goes to her head is because of Tiifu and Zuri's influence on her and the Lion Guard's inexperience and, in this case, plot-convenient incompetence.
-Beshte, "I'm sure she'll be a nice queen." Well, I'm glad at least one of you believes in her. I can't tell you guys how much I love Beshte, always the sweetest soul out of the group.
-Ono, "Thank you for the opportunity, my queen. And you.... err..... my Kion." That line was funnier than it had any right to be.
-Speaking of which, I thought seeing Ono in Zazu's position, temporarily for Kiara was interesting and I think was a great use of his character, outside of being a Member of the Lion Guard. I personally would've been down for more scenes like this. I think a cool send off for Ono would've been to have him be the Royal Advisor to Queen Kiara and King Kovu, in the future. I wish Ono had stayed in the Pride Lands in the series finale and had become Zazu's apprentice or something.
-Bunga, "Your majesty." {bows at Kiara}. Kiara, "Bunga, that's really not necessary." I found that whole interaction surprisingly funny. Also, strong feeling that Bunga has a huge crush on his best friend's sister at this point, and Kiara views him as her friend, nothing more.
-Kiara's plan about the Bees and the Eelands fiasco was actually very smart, and even when I saw this as a kid, I knew that she had a better idea than Kion. Her idea about moving the eelands away from bees' nests is smarter because bees obviously sting when angered. So, Kion was too proud to admit Kiara had the better idea.
-One of the funniest parts of the whole episode for me was Kion saying, "I say we move the bees". Then, the scene cuts to Kion, Beshte, Fuli and Ono running away from a swarm of bees, in terror. I obviously don't want them hurt, but, I just had to laugh because it was so predictable.
-Bunga, "What are you guys running for? Bees taste even better when they're mad!" Accurate behaviour from a honey badger. They can raid beehives without being stung due to their very thick hide and their stink sap.
-When the Lion Guard arrived back at Pride Rock covered in bee stings, if I were Kiara, I'd be laughing in Kion's face at that moment, like "Ha, ha, you were wrong. Only an idiot would decide to move a swarm of bees to a new place." But, in fairness, Kiara was right to be mad at him, in that moment, for his little screw up.
-"It wasn't a total disaster," Kion, while talking to Kiara. Kiara, looks at Fuli and Ono scratching themselves, "Really? It looks pretty total to me." I mean, she does have a point there. In this situation, Kion had everything to gain from taking her advice.
-However, I do like the fact this episode shows that Kiara and Kion are not perfect leaders yet, they're still fairly young and are only just finding their feet, so it's natural for them to have some minor slip ups, that they learn from, like every kid does.
-"Admit it. I was right about the bees and you were wrong." Kion, just admit it and save yourself the embarrassment. Kiara was not being rude to him whatsoever. She was speaking nothing but facts.
-When Kiara talks to Mzingo at Pride Rock, I like the fact that the latter is clearly higher up in the frame because he's the one dominating the conversation and is also the one who manipulates Kiara. I think it's a nice touch where he creepily approaches and blackmails her.
-*laughs "Janja wants peace?" I like the fact that Kiara is clearly sceptical and she's obviously suspicious of Janja's true intentions. I like this because it doesn't make Kiara out to be seriously wayyy too gullible and silly. The fact that was she was suspicious feels more in-line with TLK 2 and makes her decision to believe Janja, partially Kion's fault. Manipulation is also a very powerful tool, especially to done on a semi-young child, like Kiara.
-I like the fact that Mufasa appears to Kion, unprompted in this episode, for the first time in the series. I love this because it feels like Mufasa saw the argument that had just gone down and was like, "Right I need to put an end to this sibling drama before it gets out of hand. I need to make Kion see the error of his ways."
-I actually love the fact that Kiara is, at least partially willing, to give Outlanders a chance for peace. It feels like a nice bit of foreshadowing for her character arc in TLK 2, where she was able to give the Outsider lions a chance to fit in.
-Kion angrily to Tiifu and Zuri, "Ugh! Some advisors you two are!" That was more hilarious than it had any right to be. Because, let's be honest, they were pretty obnoxious in this episode.
-"Get away from the Queen!!!!" I actually love the moment where Kion comes bursting in like a superhero, to his sister's aid. I also love the fact that he calls Kiara his queen, at this point, because he clearly listened to Mufasa's advice, and also because he had felt somewhat responsible for her almost being killed by Janja.
-"Oh we can fight all right!!!" So badass. I personally would've loved to see Kiara fight alongside the Lion Guard. I think it would've been cool to see her help to fight off Janja's clan. I wanted to see what she could do.
-"Six on six..... Forget it!!!!" Yeah, you better run, Janja, you don't stand a chance against all six of these heroic friends. And one of them is a bloody hippo.
-I love Kion and Kiara's closeness at the end of the episode where they make up for their uncivil, squabbling at the start. Kion finally rightfully admits that he should've taken Kiara's advice about the bees and the elands, and Kiara admits that Kion was right about Janja being nothing but trouble.
-Kion, "And I should've listened to you about the bees." Ono, "Oh, sure {rolls his eyes}. Now he admits it." Oh, Ono, you knew all along, but, we love you.
-Kiara and Kion when Simba and Nala arrive home, are really sweet. I love the fact that Kiara wants to be honest about what happened, "Ruling the Pride Lands? It went..." I absolutely love the moment where Kion decides to cover for her and admits that she'll be a great queen, this is an incredibly sweet brother and sister moment. That moment feels like a precursor to the episode "Baboons" and even later "The Trail to Udugu."
-I love the moral of this episode about "being supportive of your loved ones efforts to help, especially when they are wrong," because it applies to both Kiara and Kion in two different situations. Kion was obviously wrong to go against Kiara's advice to move the elands, but, Kiara learned that she should've been more sensitive about that whole situation. But, Kion also learned that if hadn't been so dismissive of her acting queen for a few days and given her his utmost support when she was clearly nervous about ruling the Pride Lands. If Kion and Kiara been more sensitive to each other, then, they would've been able to be in charge of the Pride Lands together instead of arguing. Also, this episode shares another moral, "Communication is key to understanding each other and a successful team." Kiara learns this after Kion saves her and she realises she was wrong about Janja, and Kion learns this when the Lion Guard get stung by bees, and even later when he realises that he was partly to blame for Kiara going into the Outlands, and that if he had been upfront with her instead of outright yelling at her and running out on her, she wouldn't have needed to be rescued. These are two important lessons for kids going through school together, or with siblings and friends.
-Also, Janja is genuinely dangerous and scary in this episode. He traps Kiara in the Outlands to use her as a bargaining chip for Simba or else he and his would eat her. They would've gotten away with it if Kion didn't jump in at the last second. Janja threatened the freaking princess of the Pride Lands! Reason number #50 why he should never be allowed enter the Pride Lands, no matter if he is starving or not, because he clearly cannot be trusted to follow the rules.
-And now I'm finally going to talk about the B-plot of the episode. It wasn't as good the A-plot, in my opinion. I did love the worldbuilding aspect of this episode where we learn that different animals in the Pride Lands have their own customs and traditions that need to be respected. I like the idea of Simba upholding a tradition and it was interesting that he was never trained for it because obviously Mufasa died before he could complete his training.
-I like the idea of Simba, Nala and Zazu going to an elephant funeral. Elephants actually have "funerals" in real life. In real life, if a member of their herd dies, the elephants will crowd around them ceremoniously to pay tribute and they'll collect twigs and branches to cover the fallen elephant to pay tribute, out of respect for them. I love the way its portrayed as a ceremonial funeral in The Lion Guard and that Simba is upholding a tradition. I love the way he has to say it in Elephantese because the idea of the elephants' having a language barrier is a cool worldbuilding element.
-Aminifu is a cool worldbuilding character too who, we're told, played a big part in the Pride Lands' revival and bringing the circle of life into balance. I like to headcanon we was a childhood friend of Mufasa and Scar, and the rest of the Royal Family, and how he go on to be a good friend to Simba, Nala and the rest of Simba's pride. I like to think Aminifu was responsible for all the animals in the kingdom, similar to the Lion Guard, and how his daughter fills that role in Season 2.
-The Elephant Funeral scene looks cool because of how emotional and how heart-wrenching it looks from afar. I like the addition of all the elephants mourning in the background. It was a little dark this early on the series. One elephant hugs Aminifu and looks like their going to cry, another elephant and her calf are crying, while hugging each other.
-I like how you can see shades of Mufasa's death through Simba's voice in this episode, such as, "And now Aminifu has completely his part of the circle of life," and "Well, time for the tribute." I like this because I like to think Simba is obviously nervous about performing a eulogy in front of elephants, but, probably also a bit upset and mourning over his own father's death. I mean, in fairness, he never to give his father a proper send off when he died, so, this probably hit even harder for him.
-I like how this is Zazu's first main character moment in the series and how much of a hard worker and a loyal he is to Simba and Nala, his whole motivation is just to help Simba learn Elephantese properly so he can impress Ma Tembo's herd, during the tribute.
-Nala is such a sweetheart and a loving partner to Simba. I love her because she's pretty much exactly how she was in the original film. She's his loving and supportive wife, and I love the way he gives him moral support when he gets nervous. I love her snarky jab at her husband early on the episode too, by the way, "Worried about Kiara? Or are you worried about your tribute?"
-The song "Duties of the King" was decent enough, I suppose. I mean, it's not my favourite song in the series and I wouldn't be reaching for it. But, I don't hate it. I like the more cutesy, "miscellaneous" animals shown in the background, like the chimpanzees and the porcupines. Plus, it's nice to know that Simba doesn't just sit on his ass all day and that he does important jobs, like he assigns gazelles to their grazing grounds and songbirds to their trees. I love that he presides over aardvark wedding rites and then we saw Muhanga and Muhangus kissing behind some grass. So, I wonder if Simba did in fact, preside over their wedding before this episode. Overall, I like the cute scenes of this song and I like the fact that Simba actually has important stuff to do. I can see why kids would dance around to this song because it's very bouncy and energetic. The beat is fine, but, I don't like Rob Lowe's singing voice as Simba. I think they should've used Cam Clarke all along for The Lion Guard, who actually voices Mwoga the vulture. I don't mind the beat, but, I don't think Simba and Zazu are the best singers, at least in this series, that is. I'll give it a 5/10 because there are worse songs than it.
-Ma Tembo is such a sweetheart in this episode and I love her. She doesn't have a major role in the series as of yet, but, it's still clear in this episode that she has a great relationship with Simba and the Royal Family. I'm glad she had a bigger part in Season 2. I also love her voice actress, Lynette DuPree (R.I.P) and I think she's one of the best in the series. I love how she makes her sound genuinely sad during the procession and then a little bittersweet during the "poop" scene. Also, shout out to the moment where she wraps her trunk around Simba.
-Also, call me childish if you want to, but I actually love it when Simba actually says that Aminifu had "poop on him". I mean, it just gets me because that's not something you'd say at a funeral and the fact that the elephants took it really well and actually laughed hysterically is genuinely hilarious. Like, even his daughter admitted that he had always had faeces on him. It was funny because of how much Simba feels like he screwed up, but, then, the elephants had a really good sense of humour about it.
-Also, this episode makes me wish that at least someone went to the Elephant Graveyard during this series. Maybe Aminifu's funeral could've been there and Simba and Nala would've had to go the place where they almost got killed as cubs or maybe even Kion and the Lion Guard would have to go there. It's such a missed opportunity. Or if Janja went there then maybe he could've learn that Scar betrayed his ancestors long before the events of The Lion Guard. But, speaking of the Elephant Graveyard, I bet Ma Tembo's herd are going to wait for Aminifu to decompose and then carry his remains to the Graveyard because that's something that elephants do if a member of their herd dies outside of their designated area. I like to think that that's what happened after this episode. I just wish they had the funeral in the Elephant Graveyard and we got to see Simba and Nala go there as adults, but, I'm not going to fault this episode for not going in this direction.
-Zazu, "I'm not sure Sire, but, I think you just said he had.... {quietly} poop on him...." Try not to judge me too harshly, but, I just find poop jokes hilarious for some reason, as an adult.
Cons
-First off, I don't like how Kion and Kiara were both dumbed down for the sake of plot-convenience for much of this episode. I get that they're still kids, but, Kion's plans to move the bees instead of the elands was the most stupid idea I've seen in the series. The literally just had an episode where Kion calls out his best friend, Bunga, for making bad decisions and now it's Kion who made a really dumb decision. I mean, that should be bee rescue 101, don't try to move a swarm of bees, they do not like, and the fact that Kiara spells it out for them before this scene, "....if the elands step on the beehives, they'll get stung.... there could be chaos." She's speaking nothing but facts. Kion should've realised that they shouldn't have tried to aggravate the bees. I don't like the fact that he acts cocky and dismissive towards Kiara, when she was so obviously right. However, Kiara was dumb to go into the Outlands alone to see Janja. I mean, I admire her willingness to give strangers a chance for peace, but the fact that she had her suspicions about him and she already knew what he was like, in accordance to the pilot episode, wouldn't she see reason to bring Tiifu and Zuri along for backup.
-I don't like how this episode seems to indicate that Simba favours his daughter over his son. Between the pilot episode and this episode, it seems like he sees Kion as a just a Child Soldier and doesn't actually love him equally. I know it's obviously not through, but, I don't like how he gives off an impression that he has favourites. Parents don't have favourites, unless you're an evil lioness named Zira and you give your youngest son everything, but then treat your eldest son like dirt. But, Simba isn't like that. I don't like how he says "I have faith in you," in such a way that gives off Parental Favouritism vibes. I'm really glad he doesn't have this in any of the later episodes.
-I hate the way the writers tried to do the Kion/Scar and Kiara/Mufasa parallels in this episode. I just don't like it being used as a plot device. The series makes a point to say that Kion is nothing like Scar and how he would never take his anger out on his family and friends. I don't mind Kiara being like her grandfather because he was a great king in his day, but, I don't like how the writers made Kion and Kiara have a similar relationship that led to Mufasa's fall. Also, one thing I loathed early on in the series is the fanart of Kion brutally murdering Kiara in rage, just like Scar murdered Mufasa. I just hate it so much because it would happen since Kiara and Kion have a caring relationship, where they do bicker like siblings tend to do, but, they would never turn on each other.
-I don't like the part where Kiara and Kion were outright malicious towards each other. All the lion cubs in this episode were quite mean-spirited at times. Kion and Kiara for obviously constantly fighting and being horrible instead of admitting to being wrong in certain situations, like the bees and the elands and the Janja situation. Kion is too cocky and overconfident about the bees, for my liking, and Kiara allows Tiifu and Zuri's influence to get her head and ends up believing she's always right. Kion only adds fuel to the fire by yelling at Kiara and then callously running out her instead of being upfront with her about Janja's true intentions. I get that siblings don't always see eye-to-eye on things, but, I don't like Kion and Kiara constantly being scumbags to each other and not giving things a second thought until the end. Mufasa had to be the one to put an end to the "sibling drama".
-Tiifu and Zuri were the worst of all, in my opinion, and I think all of you guys will agree. They were pretty annoying and obnoxious in this episode. They were very disrespectful and condescending towards Kion just because he's not a queen, and they caused Kiara to be disrespectful right back. Kiara doesn't strike me as disrespectful without these two around. I'm glad she actually stands up to them in later episodes rather than being influenced by them. Zuri is my least favourite of the two of them, she comes off as super mean-spirited and bitchy, and Tiifu comes off as domineering and rude. I don't like the way they talk down and belittle Kion and how they throw shade at anyone who believes Kiara is wrong. They act like stereotypical Mean Girls, but, the annoying kind. Plus, they weren't very good friends to Kiara for letting her go into the Outlands alone without a second thought about the fact that it might be dangerous. That doesn't sound like Tiifu. Remember how in the pilot, she was deeply concerned when Kiara was trapped by the gazelles. But, here, the stakes are much higher, and she's up against a much bigger threat and Tiifu and Zuri don't seem to give a damn. I'm glad Kion called them out on this behaviour before leaving. What I wouldn't give for Tiifu and Zuri to be captured by Janja instead, not to get eaten, but just so they can see how dangerous it is. It's episodes like this that make me wonder are they her actual best friends or are they just using her to hang out with the Royal Family. Kiara deserves better than these self-entitled bitches, in my opinion.
-I feel like Kiara should've been the main focus of this episode instead of Kion. I know this only S1 Ep4, but, I still think this should've been a Kiara focused episode, rather than a brothesister episode. I would've been interested to see Kiara take centre stage and the Lion Guard take a back seat. Then, we could've seen more of Kiara's apprehension about becoming Queen and her trying to make all the decisions without Simba around to guide her, and most importantly, see her trying to decide what sort of Queen she wants to be. I would've loved if Kion tried to be supportive of her and tries to help her watch over the entire kingdom, instead of saying "Screw you Kiara, go get herself killed if you want to and my friends hate you." I would've liked to see that explored and maybe have them be a little bit annoyed at each other, but without making them really malicious. Also, have Tiifu and Zuri be in their annoying phase and for Kiara to realise that her "so-called" friends are not being very good friends to her, and have her ditch those bitches at the end of the episode. Then, have Kiara and Kion make some big decision together that really develops their relationship, in the future.
-I don't like how Simba is portrayed for much of this episode. I know, he was mourning the loss of an old friend, but I really don't like angry Simba moments in this series. I don't like the fact that all Zazu was doing was trying to help him practice his eulogy and Simba gets frustrated and roars in his face. I hate it when he throws tantrums, as a full-grown adult lion. I hate the idea of Simba regressing more into his evil uncle as of this series. I know he's not, but, I hate it when acts like it. Zazu, bless him, was just trying to help and Simba took out his rage on him. I do not like it when Zazu has to be the butt of all the jokes. I don't like Simba being a headstrong asshole in The Lion Guard.
-I also don't want to point fingers, but, if Simba hadn't left his semi-young daughter to rule over an entire kingdom for a few days, none of the conflict would've happened if he left Kion and Kiara with a responsible adult, like Rafiki or Basi or someone, just to keep an eye on things. I wouldn't leave kids their age home alone for even a day or more than an afternoon. If they had an adult in Pride Rock with them, the arguing wouldn't have spiralled out of control the way that it did. Also, this makes no sense with Simba's character in TLK 2. This is the same guy who sheltered his daughter the whole time she was growing up and wouldn't even let her explore more than 2ft from Pride Rock or even leave Pride Rock, at another point in the film. In this episode, she's still a cub and he's okay with leaving her to look after an entire kingdom for days on end! Yes, he did show hesitation, but that was after he and Nala had already left the Pride Lands. This episode fails to show just how okay he was with leaving his preteen daughter in charge of the kingdom for a few days with no adult supervision. Also, this episode and the series fails to explain how he regressed back into his over-protective state of mind in the second half of TLK 2.
-A minor complaint I have. This is a very minor nitpick. But, the distance between Kilio Valley and the Pride Lands that was established in this episode is very confusing. This episode implies that the elephants live approximately a two or three day walk from the Pride Lands, enough for Simba to outside of the kingdom, when in other episodes it's actually a part of the Pride Lands, just barely on the outskirts of the kingdom. I also don't get why the writers made it seem like Simba, Nala and Zazu took like a day or less to arrive at the elephants' funeral. There's no indication that they were travelling at night or that they ever slept. However, I understand, the writers just wanted to show some of journey and then transition to the day of the funeral, so I won't fault it to harshly. However, I do wish that the distance between Kilio Valley and the Pride Lands was consistent. This episode makes it seem like that whenever Kion and his friends have to help the elephants, it would take them a whole day to arrive on the scene. But, that's just a small criticism I had with this episode.
Overall
So, overall, I did always thoroughly enjoy this episode. Even as a kid, I could not stand the fact that Kiara got a lot of hate in the Lion Guard Fandom and that loads of people blamed her, just her, for a lot of the drama in this episode. Kion and Kiara shared 50% of the blame each and I think that Kiara is overhated. Anyways, I did like Kion and Kiara interacting like real siblings and slowly learning how to work together, it felt a little bit like a prequel to "Baboons" and "The Trail to Udugu", in that way. I like the lesson about learning to communicate well and to listen to one another and that they were both in the right and wrong, at different points. I liked the loving sibling dynamic at the end and the friendship with all the Lion Guard. I like the sense of family between Simba, Nala, Kiara and Kion at the end. Janja poses as a genuinely threat to Kiara. I think the humour was pretty solid as well and the educational value. I liked the worldbuilding aspect and the elephants' relationship with the lions. Aminifu is a cool headcanon character. The only parts I didn't like were, Tiifu and Zuri were unbearably annoying in this episode and weren't very good friends to Kiara. I don't like them being stereotypical Middle School girls. I hate their disrespect and belittling towards Kion and their toxic influence on Kiara. I didn't like Kiara and Kion's maliciousness at the start or the fact that the writers tried to draw Mufasa/Scar parallels. I don't like angry Simba at all in this series. I hate the fact that he gives off Parental Favouritism vibes in this episode. I don't like the fact that Kion and Kiara were hit with the idiot stick in this episode. Simba and Tiifu and Zuri are kind of at fault for all the drama in this episode. The song was just decent, not the best not the worst. Overall, I'll give this episode a 6.5/10, it's not perfect, but I think it deserves more love in the fandom and I think there are way worse episodes than it.
submitted by AnimationFan_2003 to lionking [link] [comments]
Simba leaves Kiara in charge of the Pride Lands while he, Nala, and Zazu go to Kilio Valley to attend a funeral for an old elephant friend named Amanifu who has just died. Upon learning this from Mzingo, Janja decides to take advantage of Kiara's inexperience and comes up with a plan to take over the Pride Lands. Meanwhile, Simba is nervous about performing his eulogy in front of the elephants, including Aminifu's daughter, Ma Tembo.Pros
Song: "Duties of the King" sung by Simba and Zazu
-First off, I like the sibling dynamic in this episode, as somebody with a similarly aged older brother. Kion and Kiara's relationship has resonated with me, the way they have off days and arguments, but, obviously love each other and make it out strong in the end. I, for one, do not hate Kiara in The Lion Guard, and Kion gives her the same attitude she gives him in early episodes. I like watching their relationship go through ups and downs throughout Season 1.
-I know the opening scene, where Kiara and Kion are fighting over a tree to sharpen their claws is quite intense, because they would've probably gotten into a scuffle if Simba hadn't showed up when he did, but, that is siblings for you sometimes. I feel like anyone who's got siblings of your own can relate, at least a little bit, to that scene.
-I like the plotline of Kiara and Kion's sibling rivalry stemming from their roles in leadership. Kiara is clearly a reflection of her father, when he was a cub, which is interesting and so, she thinks that being the Future Queen is really swell and makes her the alpha, and Kion (who is no better than her) thinks that being Leader of the Lion Guard makes him more important than her. I like this mechanic in this episode. It makes me want to know if Scar felt the same way about Mufasa. I mean, Kion was obviously not resentful of Kiara, unlike Scar, but I wonder if a similar thing happened with the two brothers except, in this case, it drove Scar to insanity and wanting to murder Mufasa.
-Now let's talk about Kiara being left in charge of the Pride Lands (I mean, I do think the main conflict of the episode was Simba's fault, but we'll get to that later). So, I like the fact that Kiara is nervous about ruling the Pride Lands, even for a brief period of time. I like this because for one thing, she's still only a cub at this time, so, she's entitled to be nervous and anxious about being responsible for an entire kingdom. There's a lot of responsibility being placed on her at such a young age, but, she still remained likable, in my opinion. I do like how, in The Lion Guard, she takes her responsibility as Future Queen very seriously. I know this is unpopular to say, but, I headcanon that, as she's grown up into an older cub, she's realised that being queen won't prevent her from being herself, a concern she had at the beginning of TLK 2.
-I do empathise with Kiara, and Kion, because they are both being put into a huge responsibility of looking after the entire kingdom on their own, while all the adults are away from Pride Rock. This is still really early on in Season 1, so Kion is inexperienced as Leader of the Lion Guard, and Kiara only just started her training with Simba, in the pilot episode. I do feel bad at the fact that they have to figure everything without their parents around and I respect them for managing to work out their differences by the end of the episode.
-I really feel bad for Kiara because she gets a lot of crap from people in the TLG community, moreso than Kion does. I feel really sorry for her because people say they hate her for her attitude and that they think she's a self-righteous bitch at the start of the series, but, I don't. Even as a kid, I knew that a lot of Kiara's behaviour in this episode was down to the stress of being left in charge of whole kingdom for a few days without her parents around, while still being a cub at this point. I do really like her and it really upsets when I see people hating on her. I don't think Kiara really means to be controlling in this episode, she's just trying to do right by her father while he's gone.
-I like the fact that Kiara is really hesitant and nervous to have a huge weight on her shoulders, a role she was previously really excited to fulfil in the pilot episode. When Simba asks this of her, she's understanding feeling a lot of pressure to make him proud. I like the fact that Simba admits to her that he was also nervous about becoming king the first time. I like this because we only saw the side of him that was cocky, overconfident and optimistic about becoming king. I like the fact that she was nervous and that he decides to be upfront about it.
-Kiara still remained a likable character to me throughout this episode. I like how she starts out as nervous and how her confidence is slowly building up nicely during the episode. But, she never came off as mean-spirited, to me. Also, it becomes clear that the reason her responsibility goes to her head is because of Tiifu and Zuri's influence on her and the Lion Guard's inexperience and, in this case, plot-convenient incompetence.
-Beshte, "I'm sure she'll be a nice queen." Well, I'm glad at least one of you believes in her. I can't tell you guys how much I love Beshte, always the sweetest soul out of the group.
-Ono, "Thank you for the opportunity, my queen. And you.... err..... my Kion." That line was funnier than it had any right to be.
-Speaking of which, I thought seeing Ono in Zazu's position, temporarily for Kiara was interesting and I think was a great use of his character, outside of being a Member of the Lion Guard. I personally would've been down for more scenes like this. I think a cool send off for Ono would've been to have him be the Royal Advisor to Queen Kiara and King Kovu, in the future. I wish Ono had stayed in the Pride Lands in the series finale and had become Zazu's apprentice or something.
-Bunga, "Your majesty." {bows at Kiara}. Kiara, "Bunga, that's really not necessary." I found that whole interaction surprisingly funny. Also, strong feeling that Bunga has a huge crush on his best friend's sister at this point, and Kiara views him as her friend, nothing more.
-Kiara's plan about the Bees and the Eelands fiasco was actually very smart, and even when I saw this as a kid, I knew that she had a better idea than Kion. Her idea about moving the eelands away from bees' nests is smarter because bees obviously sting when angered. So, Kion was too proud to admit Kiara had the better idea.
-One of the funniest parts of the whole episode for me was Kion saying, "I say we move the bees". Then, the scene cuts to Kion, Beshte, Fuli and Ono running away from a swarm of bees, in terror. I obviously don't want them hurt, but, I just had to laugh because it was so predictable.
-Bunga, "What are you guys running for? Bees taste even better when they're mad!" Accurate behaviour from a honey badger. They can raid beehives without being stung due to their very thick hide and their stink sap.
-When the Lion Guard arrived back at Pride Rock covered in bee stings, if I were Kiara, I'd be laughing in Kion's face at that moment, like "Ha, ha, you were wrong. Only an idiot would decide to move a swarm of bees to a new place." But, in fairness, Kiara was right to be mad at him, in that moment, for his little screw up.
-"It wasn't a total disaster," Kion, while talking to Kiara. Kiara, looks at Fuli and Ono scratching themselves, "Really? It looks pretty total to me." I mean, she does have a point there. In this situation, Kion had everything to gain from taking her advice.
-However, I do like the fact this episode shows that Kiara and Kion are not perfect leaders yet, they're still fairly young and are only just finding their feet, so it's natural for them to have some minor slip ups, that they learn from, like every kid does.
-"Admit it. I was right about the bees and you were wrong." Kion, just admit it and save yourself the embarrassment. Kiara was not being rude to him whatsoever. She was speaking nothing but facts.
-When Kiara talks to Mzingo at Pride Rock, I like the fact that the latter is clearly higher up in the frame because he's the one dominating the conversation and is also the one who manipulates Kiara. I think it's a nice touch where he creepily approaches and blackmails her.
-*laughs "Janja wants peace?" I like the fact that Kiara is clearly sceptical and she's obviously suspicious of Janja's true intentions. I like this because it doesn't make Kiara out to be seriously wayyy too gullible and silly. The fact that was she was suspicious feels more in-line with TLK 2 and makes her decision to believe Janja, partially Kion's fault. Manipulation is also a very powerful tool, especially to done on a semi-young child, like Kiara.
-I like the fact that Mufasa appears to Kion, unprompted in this episode, for the first time in the series. I love this because it feels like Mufasa saw the argument that had just gone down and was like, "Right I need to put an end to this sibling drama before it gets out of hand. I need to make Kion see the error of his ways."
-I actually love the fact that Kiara is, at least partially willing, to give Outlanders a chance for peace. It feels like a nice bit of foreshadowing for her character arc in TLK 2, where she was able to give the Outsider lions a chance to fit in.
-Kion angrily to Tiifu and Zuri, "Ugh! Some advisors you two are!" That was more hilarious than it had any right to be. Because, let's be honest, they were pretty obnoxious in this episode.
-"Get away from the Queen!!!!" I actually love the moment where Kion comes bursting in like a superhero, to his sister's aid. I also love the fact that he calls Kiara his queen, at this point, because he clearly listened to Mufasa's advice, and also because he had felt somewhat responsible for her almost being killed by Janja.
-"Oh we can fight all right!!!" So badass. I personally would've loved to see Kiara fight alongside the Lion Guard. I think it would've been cool to see her help to fight off Janja's clan. I wanted to see what she could do.
-"Six on six..... Forget it!!!!" Yeah, you better run, Janja, you don't stand a chance against all six of these heroic friends. And one of them is a bloody hippo.
-I love Kion and Kiara's closeness at the end of the episode where they make up for their uncivil, squabbling at the start. Kion finally rightfully admits that he should've taken Kiara's advice about the bees and the elands, and Kiara admits that Kion was right about Janja being nothing but trouble.
-Kion, "And I should've listened to you about the bees." Ono, "Oh, sure {rolls his eyes}. Now he admits it." Oh, Ono, you knew all along, but, we love you.
-Kiara and Kion when Simba and Nala arrive home, are really sweet. I love the fact that Kiara wants to be honest about what happened, "Ruling the Pride Lands? It went..." I absolutely love the moment where Kion decides to cover for her and admits that she'll be a great queen, this is an incredibly sweet brother and sister moment. That moment feels like a precursor to the episode "Baboons" and even later "The Trail to Udugu."
-I love the moral of this episode about "being supportive of your loved ones efforts to help, especially when they are wrong," because it applies to both Kiara and Kion in two different situations. Kion was obviously wrong to go against Kiara's advice to move the elands, but, Kiara learned that she should've been more sensitive about that whole situation. But, Kion also learned that if hadn't been so dismissive of her acting queen for a few days and given her his utmost support when she was clearly nervous about ruling the Pride Lands. If Kion and Kiara been more sensitive to each other, then, they would've been able to be in charge of the Pride Lands together instead of arguing. Also, this episode shares another moral, "Communication is key to understanding each other and a successful team." Kiara learns this after Kion saves her and she realises she was wrong about Janja, and Kion learns this when the Lion Guard get stung by bees, and even later when he realises that he was partly to blame for Kiara going into the Outlands, and that if he had been upfront with her instead of outright yelling at her and running out on her, she wouldn't have needed to be rescued. These are two important lessons for kids going through school together, or with siblings and friends.
-Also, Janja is genuinely dangerous and scary in this episode. He traps Kiara in the Outlands to use her as a bargaining chip for Simba or else he and his would eat her. They would've gotten away with it if Kion didn't jump in at the last second. Janja threatened the freaking princess of the Pride Lands! Reason number #50 why he should never be allowed enter the Pride Lands, no matter if he is starving or not, because he clearly cannot be trusted to follow the rules.
-And now I'm finally going to talk about the B-plot of the episode. It wasn't as good the A-plot, in my opinion. I did love the worldbuilding aspect of this episode where we learn that different animals in the Pride Lands have their own customs and traditions that need to be respected. I like the idea of Simba upholding a tradition and it was interesting that he was never trained for it because obviously Mufasa died before he could complete his training.
-I like the idea of Simba, Nala and Zazu going to an elephant funeral. Elephants actually have "funerals" in real life. In real life, if a member of their herd dies, the elephants will crowd around them ceremoniously to pay tribute and they'll collect twigs and branches to cover the fallen elephant to pay tribute, out of respect for them. I love the way its portrayed as a ceremonial funeral in The Lion Guard and that Simba is upholding a tradition. I love the way he has to say it in Elephantese because the idea of the elephants' having a language barrier is a cool worldbuilding element.
-Aminifu is a cool worldbuilding character too who, we're told, played a big part in the Pride Lands' revival and bringing the circle of life into balance. I like to headcanon we was a childhood friend of Mufasa and Scar, and the rest of the Royal Family, and how he go on to be a good friend to Simba, Nala and the rest of Simba's pride. I like to think Aminifu was responsible for all the animals in the kingdom, similar to the Lion Guard, and how his daughter fills that role in Season 2.
-The Elephant Funeral scene looks cool because of how emotional and how heart-wrenching it looks from afar. I like the addition of all the elephants mourning in the background. It was a little dark this early on the series. One elephant hugs Aminifu and looks like their going to cry, another elephant and her calf are crying, while hugging each other.
-I like how you can see shades of Mufasa's death through Simba's voice in this episode, such as, "And now Aminifu has completely his part of the circle of life," and "Well, time for the tribute." I like this because I like to think Simba is obviously nervous about performing a eulogy in front of elephants, but, probably also a bit upset and mourning over his own father's death. I mean, in fairness, he never to give his father a proper send off when he died, so, this probably hit even harder for him.
-I like how this is Zazu's first main character moment in the series and how much of a hard worker and a loyal he is to Simba and Nala, his whole motivation is just to help Simba learn Elephantese properly so he can impress Ma Tembo's herd, during the tribute.
-Nala is such a sweetheart and a loving partner to Simba. I love her because she's pretty much exactly how she was in the original film. She's his loving and supportive wife, and I love the way he gives him moral support when he gets nervous. I love her snarky jab at her husband early on the episode too, by the way, "Worried about Kiara? Or are you worried about your tribute?"
-The song "Duties of the King" was decent enough, I suppose. I mean, it's not my favourite song in the series and I wouldn't be reaching for it. But, I don't hate it. I like the more cutesy, "miscellaneous" animals shown in the background, like the chimpanzees and the porcupines. Plus, it's nice to know that Simba doesn't just sit on his ass all day and that he does important jobs, like he assigns gazelles to their grazing grounds and songbirds to their trees. I love that he presides over aardvark wedding rites and then we saw Muhanga and Muhangus kissing behind some grass. So, I wonder if Simba did in fact, preside over their wedding before this episode. Overall, I like the cute scenes of this song and I like the fact that Simba actually has important stuff to do. I can see why kids would dance around to this song because it's very bouncy and energetic. The beat is fine, but, I don't like Rob Lowe's singing voice as Simba. I think they should've used Cam Clarke all along for The Lion Guard, who actually voices Mwoga the vulture. I don't mind the beat, but, I don't think Simba and Zazu are the best singers, at least in this series, that is. I'll give it a 5/10 because there are worse songs than it.
-Ma Tembo is such a sweetheart in this episode and I love her. She doesn't have a major role in the series as of yet, but, it's still clear in this episode that she has a great relationship with Simba and the Royal Family. I'm glad she had a bigger part in Season 2. I also love her voice actress, Lynette DuPree (R.I.P) and I think she's one of the best in the series. I love how she makes her sound genuinely sad during the procession and then a little bittersweet during the "poop" scene. Also, shout out to the moment where she wraps her trunk around Simba.
-Also, call me childish if you want to, but I actually love it when Simba actually says that Aminifu had "poop on him". I mean, it just gets me because that's not something you'd say at a funeral and the fact that the elephants took it really well and actually laughed hysterically is genuinely hilarious. Like, even his daughter admitted that he had always had faeces on him. It was funny because of how much Simba feels like he screwed up, but, then, the elephants had a really good sense of humour about it.
-Also, this episode makes me wish that at least someone went to the Elephant Graveyard during this series. Maybe Aminifu's funeral could've been there and Simba and Nala would've had to go the place where they almost got killed as cubs or maybe even Kion and the Lion Guard would have to go there. It's such a missed opportunity. Or if Janja went there then maybe he could've learn that Scar betrayed his ancestors long before the events of The Lion Guard. But, speaking of the Elephant Graveyard, I bet Ma Tembo's herd are going to wait for Aminifu to decompose and then carry his remains to the Graveyard because that's something that elephants do if a member of their herd dies outside of their designated area. I like to think that that's what happened after this episode. I just wish they had the funeral in the Elephant Graveyard and we got to see Simba and Nala go there as adults, but, I'm not going to fault this episode for not going in this direction.
-Zazu, "I'm not sure Sire, but, I think you just said he had.... {quietly} poop on him...." Try not to judge me too harshly, but, I just find poop jokes hilarious for some reason, as an adult.
Cons
-First off, I don't like how Kion and Kiara were both dumbed down for the sake of plot-convenience for much of this episode. I get that they're still kids, but, Kion's plans to move the bees instead of the elands was the most stupid idea I've seen in the series. The literally just had an episode where Kion calls out his best friend, Bunga, for making bad decisions and now it's Kion who made a really dumb decision. I mean, that should be bee rescue 101, don't try to move a swarm of bees, they do not like, and the fact that Kiara spells it out for them before this scene, "....if the elands step on the beehives, they'll get stung.... there could be chaos." She's speaking nothing but facts. Kion should've realised that they shouldn't have tried to aggravate the bees. I don't like the fact that he acts cocky and dismissive towards Kiara, when she was so obviously right. However, Kiara was dumb to go into the Outlands alone to see Janja. I mean, I admire her willingness to give strangers a chance for peace, but the fact that she had her suspicions about him and she already knew what he was like, in accordance to the pilot episode, wouldn't she see reason to bring Tiifu and Zuri along for backup.
-I don't like how this episode seems to indicate that Simba favours his daughter over his son. Between the pilot episode and this episode, it seems like he sees Kion as a just a Child Soldier and doesn't actually love him equally. I know it's obviously not through, but, I don't like how he gives off an impression that he has favourites. Parents don't have favourites, unless you're an evil lioness named Zira and you give your youngest son everything, but then treat your eldest son like dirt. But, Simba isn't like that. I don't like how he says "I have faith in you," in such a way that gives off Parental Favouritism vibes. I'm really glad he doesn't have this in any of the later episodes.
-I hate the way the writers tried to do the Kion/Scar and Kiara/Mufasa parallels in this episode. I just don't like it being used as a plot device. The series makes a point to say that Kion is nothing like Scar and how he would never take his anger out on his family and friends. I don't mind Kiara being like her grandfather because he was a great king in his day, but, I don't like how the writers made Kion and Kiara have a similar relationship that led to Mufasa's fall. Also, one thing I loathed early on in the series is the fanart of Kion brutally murdering Kiara in rage, just like Scar murdered Mufasa. I just hate it so much because it would happen since Kiara and Kion have a caring relationship, where they do bicker like siblings tend to do, but, they would never turn on each other.
-I don't like the part where Kiara and Kion were outright malicious towards each other. All the lion cubs in this episode were quite mean-spirited at times. Kion and Kiara for obviously constantly fighting and being horrible instead of admitting to being wrong in certain situations, like the bees and the elands and the Janja situation. Kion is too cocky and overconfident about the bees, for my liking, and Kiara allows Tiifu and Zuri's influence to get her head and ends up believing she's always right. Kion only adds fuel to the fire by yelling at Kiara and then callously running out her instead of being upfront with her about Janja's true intentions. I get that siblings don't always see eye-to-eye on things, but, I don't like Kion and Kiara constantly being scumbags to each other and not giving things a second thought until the end. Mufasa had to be the one to put an end to the "sibling drama".
-Tiifu and Zuri were the worst of all, in my opinion, and I think all of you guys will agree. They were pretty annoying and obnoxious in this episode. They were very disrespectful and condescending towards Kion just because he's not a queen, and they caused Kiara to be disrespectful right back. Kiara doesn't strike me as disrespectful without these two around. I'm glad she actually stands up to them in later episodes rather than being influenced by them. Zuri is my least favourite of the two of them, she comes off as super mean-spirited and bitchy, and Tiifu comes off as domineering and rude. I don't like the way they talk down and belittle Kion and how they throw shade at anyone who believes Kiara is wrong. They act like stereotypical Mean Girls, but, the annoying kind. Plus, they weren't very good friends to Kiara for letting her go into the Outlands alone without a second thought about the fact that it might be dangerous. That doesn't sound like Tiifu. Remember how in the pilot, she was deeply concerned when Kiara was trapped by the gazelles. But, here, the stakes are much higher, and she's up against a much bigger threat and Tiifu and Zuri don't seem to give a damn. I'm glad Kion called them out on this behaviour before leaving. What I wouldn't give for Tiifu and Zuri to be captured by Janja instead, not to get eaten, but just so they can see how dangerous it is. It's episodes like this that make me wonder are they her actual best friends or are they just using her to hang out with the Royal Family. Kiara deserves better than these self-entitled bitches, in my opinion.
-I feel like Kiara should've been the main focus of this episode instead of Kion. I know this only S1 Ep4, but, I still think this should've been a Kiara focused episode, rather than a brothesister episode. I would've been interested to see Kiara take centre stage and the Lion Guard take a back seat. Then, we could've seen more of Kiara's apprehension about becoming Queen and her trying to make all the decisions without Simba around to guide her, and most importantly, see her trying to decide what sort of Queen she wants to be. I would've loved if Kion tried to be supportive of her and tries to help her watch over the entire kingdom, instead of saying "Screw you Kiara, go get herself killed if you want to and my friends hate you." I would've liked to see that explored and maybe have them be a little bit annoyed at each other, but without making them really malicious. Also, have Tiifu and Zuri be in their annoying phase and for Kiara to realise that her "so-called" friends are not being very good friends to her, and have her ditch those bitches at the end of the episode. Then, have Kiara and Kion make some big decision together that really develops their relationship, in the future.
-I don't like how Simba is portrayed for much of this episode. I know, he was mourning the loss of an old friend, but I really don't like angry Simba moments in this series. I don't like the fact that all Zazu was doing was trying to help him practice his eulogy and Simba gets frustrated and roars in his face. I hate it when he throws tantrums, as a full-grown adult lion. I hate the idea of Simba regressing more into his evil uncle as of this series. I know he's not, but, I hate it when acts like it. Zazu, bless him, was just trying to help and Simba took out his rage on him. I do not like it when Zazu has to be the butt of all the jokes. I don't like Simba being a headstrong asshole in The Lion Guard.
-I also don't want to point fingers, but, if Simba hadn't left his semi-young daughter to rule over an entire kingdom for a few days, none of the conflict would've happened if he left Kion and Kiara with a responsible adult, like Rafiki or Basi or someone, just to keep an eye on things. I wouldn't leave kids their age home alone for even a day or more than an afternoon. If they had an adult in Pride Rock with them, the arguing wouldn't have spiralled out of control the way that it did. Also, this makes no sense with Simba's character in TLK 2. This is the same guy who sheltered his daughter the whole time she was growing up and wouldn't even let her explore more than 2ft from Pride Rock or even leave Pride Rock, at another point in the film. In this episode, she's still a cub and he's okay with leaving her to look after an entire kingdom for days on end! Yes, he did show hesitation, but that was after he and Nala had already left the Pride Lands. This episode fails to show just how okay he was with leaving his preteen daughter in charge of the kingdom for a few days with no adult supervision. Also, this episode and the series fails to explain how he regressed back into his over-protective state of mind in the second half of TLK 2.
-A minor complaint I have. This is a very minor nitpick. But, the distance between Kilio Valley and the Pride Lands that was established in this episode is very confusing. This episode implies that the elephants live approximately a two or three day walk from the Pride Lands, enough for Simba to outside of the kingdom, when in other episodes it's actually a part of the Pride Lands, just barely on the outskirts of the kingdom. I also don't get why the writers made it seem like Simba, Nala and Zazu took like a day or less to arrive at the elephants' funeral. There's no indication that they were travelling at night or that they ever slept. However, I understand, the writers just wanted to show some of journey and then transition to the day of the funeral, so I won't fault it to harshly. However, I do wish that the distance between Kilio Valley and the Pride Lands was consistent. This episode makes it seem like that whenever Kion and his friends have to help the elephants, it would take them a whole day to arrive on the scene. But, that's just a small criticism I had with this episode.
Overall
So, overall, I did always thoroughly enjoy this episode. Even as a kid, I could not stand the fact that Kiara got a lot of hate in the Lion Guard Fandom and that loads of people blamed her, just her, for a lot of the drama in this episode. Kion and Kiara shared 50% of the blame each and I think that Kiara is overhated. Anyways, I did like Kion and Kiara interacting like real siblings and slowly learning how to work together, it felt a little bit like a prequel to "Baboons" and "The Trail to Udugu", in that way. I like the lesson about learning to communicate well and to listen to one another and that they were both in the right and wrong, at different points. I liked the loving sibling dynamic at the end and the friendship with all the Lion Guard. I like the sense of family between Simba, Nala, Kiara and Kion at the end. Janja poses as a genuinely threat to Kiara. I think the humour was pretty solid as well and the educational value. I liked the worldbuilding aspect and the elephants' relationship with the lions. Aminifu is a cool headcanon character. The only parts I didn't like were, Tiifu and Zuri were unbearably annoying in this episode and weren't very good friends to Kiara. I don't like them being stereotypical Middle School girls. I hate their disrespect and belittling towards Kion and their toxic influence on Kiara. I didn't like Kiara and Kion's maliciousness at the start or the fact that the writers tried to draw Mufasa/Scar parallels. I don't like angry Simba at all in this series. I hate the fact that he gives off Parental Favouritism vibes in this episode. I don't like the fact that Kion and Kiara were hit with the idiot stick in this episode. Simba and Tiifu and Zuri are kind of at fault for all the drama in this episode. The song was just decent, not the best not the worst. Overall, I'll give this episode a 6.5/10, it's not perfect, but I think it deserves more love in the fandom and I think there are way worse episodes than it.
2024.05.14 15:41 RoxyAndFarley Canine Mammary Grade III Anaplastic Carcinoma
Species: Dog, mixed breed rescue
Age: 11 years old
Sex: Female, Spayed (she was spayed later in life than is recommended)
Weight: 40 lbs, very lean and has never been overweight
Relevant History: She has a history of both benign and malignant lumps including benign skin tags (4 years ago), benign mammary duct ectasia (4 years ago), malignant mammary tumor that was low grade/very small and caught early removed 2 years ago, had chest x-rays every 6 months since and all have been clear of indications of metastasis or reoccurance. The type of cancer this tumor was is considered a low to medium risk of metastasis or recurrence.
Current Presentation: About 5 weeks ago I noticed during a regular inspection for lumps and bumps that my dog was developing a skin infection near her rear most mammary region. She did have a run in with some fire ants so I assumed it had been an ant bite that got infected. When I brought her to the vet, the vet noted what felt like a tumor directly below the infection. It was hard to feel/palpate when the dog was in most positions, but she was able to feel it was there. The recommendation was to treat the skin infection and then, once clear of infection, proceed with lumpectomy and biopsy. She completed a 14 day course of cefpodoxime oral antibiotics but the infection did not improve. She was given a second course of the same but after 5 days it was getting worse rather than better. The vet prescribed oral clindamycin instead to see if that would clear it. She did a full course of that and when it was clear the infection was persisting we were advised to consider moving forward with the lumpectomy in case the tumoassociated hormone impact/immune impact may have been causing the infection resistance to improvement.
She had surgery on May 8th to remove the lump and some of the infection damaged tissue. Since then, her incision has stayed looking good (no swelling, no unusual colored discharge, appears to be closing up nicely) but as of yesterday, she developed an odor that I can only describe as smelling like infection. I might be wrong as I am not sure what a normal odor from a surgical site might be, but from an instinct level, it just seems off to me. She is still on clindamycin and the skin itself does not appear infected despite the odor. She does not have a fever or any other infection symptoms.
Her energy level is good and normal (she's still a highly active dog/more active than most young dogs we know), has a good appetite, and healthy bowel movements. She has no other health issues besides this. We have been keeping her confined other than potty breaks so she does not run and jump and ruin her stitches.
With all this context, yesterday we received the histopathology report from her lumpectomy. It does not sound good at all. The vet has offered a referral to an oncologist.
Clinical Report: I don't know how to attach the histopathology report directly, so I am copy/pasting the relevant sections below.
Description Haired skin, masss left caudal mammary chain: Elevating the epidermis and extending from the superficial dermis into the subcutis is a densely cellular, unencapsulated, poorly demarcated, infiltrative neoplasm composed of polygonal cells with distinct cell borders arranged in lobules, islands, nests, loose sheets, and rare tubules on a dense fibrovascular stroma. Neoplastic cells have a moderate amount of eosinophilic cytoplasm and a single round, centrally positioned nucleus with finely stippled chromatin and 1-3 prominent, round, basophilic nucleoli. Anisocytosis and anisokaryosis are moderate. Four mitotic figures are noted in ten high powered fields. Occasionally, neoplastic cells have karyomegaly, are multinucleated, or contain bizarre mitotic figures. Multifocally, throughout the superficial dermis and subcutis there are neoplastic emboli in the lumens of lymphatic vessels. Throughout the mass are small areas of hemorrhage and necrosis. The overlying epidermis is ulcerated and covered by a serocellular crust. Neoplastic cells abut and continue through the medial and caudal surgical margins.
Histopathologic Diagnosis Haired skin, mass left caudal mammary chain: Mammary gland anaplastic carcinoma – grade III (high grade) - incompletely excised - with vascular invasion.
Comments
The left caudal mammary chain mass is consistent with a grade III (high grade) anaplastic mammary gland carcinoma. Neoplastic cells abut and continue through the medial and caudal surgical margins, and surgical removal of this mass is considered incomplete. Many dermal and subcutaneous lymphatic vessels also contained neoplastic emboli, and there is concern for local or distant metastasis of this neoplasm. Full clinical staging of this dog is recommended. Mammary tumors occur commonly in female dogs, particularly in those that are intact or were spayed at an older age, and ~50% are malignant. In intact animals, tumor growth can be hormonally influenced. Mammary gland carcinomas can metastasize, most often to the local lymph nodes followed by distant sites such as the lungs and other viscera. This carcinoma is classified as grade III (high grade) according to the most recently proposed grading system. Grade III mammary gland carcinomas have the highest rates of metastasis, recurrence, and cancer-related death. The histologic pattern of this carcinoma is consistent with an anaplastic carcinoma subtype. Anaplastic carcinomas are the most malignant subtype of mammary gland carcinomas and all are classified as grade III. They have very high rates of metastasis and a reduced median survival time (~3 months). This patient should be examined for evidence of regional and distant metastasis.
My Questions for this community:
1) Based on the grade and type of cancer, what are the chances that an oncologist can help prolong things for a reasonable amount of time? I don't want to put my dog through chemo or procedures/etc if it will only add weeks or months, on the other hand, if it could add years of high quality of life than of course that could be the right choice for her. I want her final chapter to be comfortable, joyful, and peaceful. I do not want to put her through unnecessary stress just for my own sake of having more time. Her best interest is my only basis for decision making.
2) Given the odor but otherwise lack of infection symptoms, how likely is it that the cancer has weakened her immune system so much that she won't recover from the infection?
submitted by RoxyAndFarley to AskVet [link] [comments]
Age: 11 years old
Sex: Female, Spayed (she was spayed later in life than is recommended)
Weight: 40 lbs, very lean and has never been overweight
Relevant History: She has a history of both benign and malignant lumps including benign skin tags (4 years ago), benign mammary duct ectasia (4 years ago), malignant mammary tumor that was low grade/very small and caught early removed 2 years ago, had chest x-rays every 6 months since and all have been clear of indications of metastasis or reoccurance. The type of cancer this tumor was is considered a low to medium risk of metastasis or recurrence.
Current Presentation: About 5 weeks ago I noticed during a regular inspection for lumps and bumps that my dog was developing a skin infection near her rear most mammary region. She did have a run in with some fire ants so I assumed it had been an ant bite that got infected. When I brought her to the vet, the vet noted what felt like a tumor directly below the infection. It was hard to feel/palpate when the dog was in most positions, but she was able to feel it was there. The recommendation was to treat the skin infection and then, once clear of infection, proceed with lumpectomy and biopsy. She completed a 14 day course of cefpodoxime oral antibiotics but the infection did not improve. She was given a second course of the same but after 5 days it was getting worse rather than better. The vet prescribed oral clindamycin instead to see if that would clear it. She did a full course of that and when it was clear the infection was persisting we were advised to consider moving forward with the lumpectomy in case the tumoassociated hormone impact/immune impact may have been causing the infection resistance to improvement.
She had surgery on May 8th to remove the lump and some of the infection damaged tissue. Since then, her incision has stayed looking good (no swelling, no unusual colored discharge, appears to be closing up nicely) but as of yesterday, she developed an odor that I can only describe as smelling like infection. I might be wrong as I am not sure what a normal odor from a surgical site might be, but from an instinct level, it just seems off to me. She is still on clindamycin and the skin itself does not appear infected despite the odor. She does not have a fever or any other infection symptoms.
Her energy level is good and normal (she's still a highly active dog/more active than most young dogs we know), has a good appetite, and healthy bowel movements. She has no other health issues besides this. We have been keeping her confined other than potty breaks so she does not run and jump and ruin her stitches.
With all this context, yesterday we received the histopathology report from her lumpectomy. It does not sound good at all. The vet has offered a referral to an oncologist.
Clinical Report: I don't know how to attach the histopathology report directly, so I am copy/pasting the relevant sections below.
Description Haired skin, masss left caudal mammary chain: Elevating the epidermis and extending from the superficial dermis into the subcutis is a densely cellular, unencapsulated, poorly demarcated, infiltrative neoplasm composed of polygonal cells with distinct cell borders arranged in lobules, islands, nests, loose sheets, and rare tubules on a dense fibrovascular stroma. Neoplastic cells have a moderate amount of eosinophilic cytoplasm and a single round, centrally positioned nucleus with finely stippled chromatin and 1-3 prominent, round, basophilic nucleoli. Anisocytosis and anisokaryosis are moderate. Four mitotic figures are noted in ten high powered fields. Occasionally, neoplastic cells have karyomegaly, are multinucleated, or contain bizarre mitotic figures. Multifocally, throughout the superficial dermis and subcutis there are neoplastic emboli in the lumens of lymphatic vessels. Throughout the mass are small areas of hemorrhage and necrosis. The overlying epidermis is ulcerated and covered by a serocellular crust. Neoplastic cells abut and continue through the medial and caudal surgical margins.
Histopathologic Diagnosis Haired skin, mass left caudal mammary chain: Mammary gland anaplastic carcinoma – grade III (high grade) - incompletely excised - with vascular invasion.
Comments
The left caudal mammary chain mass is consistent with a grade III (high grade) anaplastic mammary gland carcinoma. Neoplastic cells abut and continue through the medial and caudal surgical margins, and surgical removal of this mass is considered incomplete. Many dermal and subcutaneous lymphatic vessels also contained neoplastic emboli, and there is concern for local or distant metastasis of this neoplasm. Full clinical staging of this dog is recommended. Mammary tumors occur commonly in female dogs, particularly in those that are intact or were spayed at an older age, and ~50% are malignant. In intact animals, tumor growth can be hormonally influenced. Mammary gland carcinomas can metastasize, most often to the local lymph nodes followed by distant sites such as the lungs and other viscera. This carcinoma is classified as grade III (high grade) according to the most recently proposed grading system. Grade III mammary gland carcinomas have the highest rates of metastasis, recurrence, and cancer-related death. The histologic pattern of this carcinoma is consistent with an anaplastic carcinoma subtype. Anaplastic carcinomas are the most malignant subtype of mammary gland carcinomas and all are classified as grade III. They have very high rates of metastasis and a reduced median survival time (~3 months). This patient should be examined for evidence of regional and distant metastasis.
My Questions for this community:
1) Based on the grade and type of cancer, what are the chances that an oncologist can help prolong things for a reasonable amount of time? I don't want to put my dog through chemo or procedures/etc if it will only add weeks or months, on the other hand, if it could add years of high quality of life than of course that could be the right choice for her. I want her final chapter to be comfortable, joyful, and peaceful. I do not want to put her through unnecessary stress just for my own sake of having more time. Her best interest is my only basis for decision making.
2) Given the odor but otherwise lack of infection symptoms, how likely is it that the cancer has weakened her immune system so much that she won't recover from the infection?
2024.05.14 15:40 Dot200 [The Last Prince of Rennaya] Chapter 56: Atlas vs Osei
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Prometheus's defences had started to fail, as it took increased amounts of fire, from drones and ships of the Kirosian and Cerian space fleets. The situation was beginning to get grim, as Beyond's forces were reduced to only forty ships. It seemed as if any cries for help, would get lost in the depths of space.
However, a light began to shine on the visitors from Earth, as over a thousand Azurian ships, came in alleviating the pressure. The entire armada and reserve.
The one leading the charge, broadcasted a message to his fleet before the attack. "My people, and those of you watching back home. Today we have watched members of our clan die on this forsaken planet. Right now, our benefactors and the future Queen of Azuria are at risk of perishing to the monsters who threaten our very way of life and our existence... Forgive this selfish king, but will you follow me into battle and help me save my granddaughter and our allies?!"
Everyone watching, roared in response and stomped in rhythm. "Hai!"
Akio smiled. "Then, let us be victorious!"
The broadcast ended, as his ship, the Azure Dragon, descended towards Rennaya, ignoring the barrage of missiles fired by the Pandora. Akio looked back with a pained look, at the remaining, twenty-two Hashin with him, standing in formation by the bay door.
"I have seen all of you, grow up, trained you and guided you. I have seen you find love, be hurt, and find true happiness. Each of you are my kin, nothing can hold us back when we work together and no one can stop us." He took a deep breath, then continued. "However my comrades. Today is the one day, you are excused from your duties. This mission is out of respect for my child and the level of danger is much more than I can even anticipate. I will not fault any of you or hold a single grudge if you feel like walking out of that door right now."
None of the Hashin, flinched, nor budged, they didn't doubt each other either. Making Akio's lips tremble. "Do you know what I'm asking of you? You're lives, will be forfeit the moment we enter Rennaya."
Roku stepped up, unveiling his mask. "Do not disrespect us, Akio. Our honour was tarnished, the moment we let our prince die alone out there. We are failing right now to protect our King. Please allow us, to protect the next Queen and our Elder. For Azuria "
He glanced back at the soldiers. "Isn't that right?!"
They stomped to rhythm, in agreement. "Hai!"
The General smiled at his King as he watched a tear roll down the man's cheek. "Cheer up old friend. Let us die with you." He said, as one by one, the Hashin began jumping out of the bay doors.
On the outskirts of Senae, Atlas vs Tobi & Osei...
Osei launched several volleys ahead, as he called on lightning to reinforce himself. Atlas was elated, dissipating the volleys with electric volleys of his own, then blocked his charge, as he reached out and manifested an intricate sword out of the ground below. Which slipped into his hand, just in time to block a flaming strike from Tobi, coming from behind him and managed to push him back.
"Bring it on!" He yelled out to the brothers, while unsheathing his own sword with his other hand, then began simultaneously parrying and striking back at them both.
He broke the deadlock, then twirled around quickly in place, creating a hurricane barrier, pushing them both back. Then threw the sword he created, at Tobi, who managed to deflect it, with quick reflexes, however, the force of the impact stung his hands, distracting him for a second.
A chance the emperor did not hesitate to take, as he dodged a charge from Osei and instead, teleported behind Tobi, while raising his own sword, high above his head.
"No!" Osei yelled out.
Atlas's eyes glimmered, as he smiled, seeing both of the brothers in despair. "Imperial Judgement, Execution!"
The wind followed the emperor's strike, erasing the landscape behind Tobi, as a massive fountain of blood, sprayed out of a gaping new cut, diagonally down his chest. He dropped to the floor, dozens of meters from his original position, as he held onto his chest, freezing his wound and convulsing. It was taking everything he could, to not fall unconscious, however eventually, the darkness took over.
"I... I... I won't forgive you!" Osei yelled out furiously, losing it, as Atlas laughed out loud.
Then, he glanced back at him, soaking in the torment, he was putting the prince through. "Don't worry, he won't die. I still need him. I just wanted to make sure he had a good nap." He said, pointing his right hand at Tobi's body, as a coffin of ice, swallowed him and began healing his wound back, slowly.
Osei could not believe, the situation they were in. It felt surreal after everything he had been through. Something deep within him, began to snap, as years of trauma, boiled up to a single point. He lunged, at full speed, striking Atlas' sword, with overbearing might, and pushed him flying back into an area away from Tobi. "You bring disaster with you, everywhere you go. You're existence, is the only one, this galaxy... No, this universe never needed!"
Osei struck down as the emperor hopped to his left, freezing the prince's sword to the ground. Osei managed to break his hands-free and followed up with a high kick to his face.
Atlas bent back, nearly missing the strike, then gave him two quick punches. One to his face, the other in his gut, bursting forth a beam of ice, as it crashed him through several hills.
Osei got up, coughing blood. "Not yet! Thunder Raika!"
Lightning crashed down, meeting an umbrella of ice, that the emperor managed to raise in time, with its hilt redirecting the charge into the ground. "It's over. Just give up. You did your best."
Osei clenched his fists, seething. What must his people be thinking of him? What would his parents do?
He felt as if he had failed them and could no longer take it anymore. "Not yet. As long as I draw breath..."
He placed his hands together, condensing a massive amount of electricity within a small violet sphere, dozens of times over. "Remo Raieqa!" It shattered forth, beaming violently and eating away the landscape on the way, to Atlas.
Atlas raised a finger, as a sphere of ice, held together an unfathomable amount of pressure, causing cracks in the sphere itself. Then, he launched it towards Osei's incoming attack. "Wind Sovereign!"
The shockwave, followed by a razor blast of wind, dispersed his beam in half and dissipated it as it crashed into Osei's chest, knocking him off of his feet, and crashing him through the terrain. Osei was having a hard time, keeping his eyes open. He felt bruises and fractures in multiple parts of his body. "I've failed." A tear fell down his cheek, as his regrets ate him up.
"No, my son." His eyes glanced to his left, as he raised his head. It was as if he was daydreaming, with illusions blending in with reality.
"Mom?" He asked, unbelieving of what he was seeing.
She smiled while keeping her hands above his chest, healing him, as someone else knelt to his right and spoke. "We failed you."
He glanced at the face of a very familiar man. One wearing a crown, with a remorseful and saddened expression. "Dad? But how?"
His memory took him back to the explanations, the Novas and Tobi gave of the ethereal plane. However other than Tobi, the others had only seen one or a few Rennayans each.
Zenu shook his head. "We should have been certain of you and your brother's safety, from the very beginning. The life you've had to go through. I can never forgive myself for that."
Safiyah was fighting back tears, but she took over. "We are so sorry. Will you forgive us?"
Osei, laughed, with tears escaping his eyes. "I've never blamed you for anything. I wish things never went the way they did. You were the greatest parents. My only regret is not having enough strength to restore Rennaya myself."
He covered his eyes. "I'm sorry father, I'm no prince. I've failed to keep my brother safe and I've failed to bring justice for our people."
Zenu smiled. "If we can be forgiven, then you can too. Come on, get up."
Osei pondered about what he meant, but as he got up, slowly, his eyes grew wide. Standing around them, with Waio in front, were hundreds of millions, if not a billion people.
Safiyah spoke up. "My little Osei, no one blames you for anything, you've far exceeded what was expected of you and gave hope to the galaxy once more. You have done your part. Let us help you, with what you want to do. However, I would advise you to take your brother and escape immediately."
Osei was a little dumbfounded to be once again, seeing so many of his people. It was a little difficult for him to speak. "Thank... You."
He shook his thoughts away, remembering his mission. Then he reached his hand out, as his sword, flew back into his palm, hilt first. "I have to keep my little brother safe. My people, I ask of you, please lend me your strength."
They all began to kneel and punch the ground, as their fists broke through into a deep abyss of darkness. Each of their eyes, began to glow, like a domino effect. They all smiled and spoke together. "Yes, Your Highness."
Osei was stunned, as multiple branches of energy began, opening up, within his body.
Waio spoke up. "Do not be alarmed, my pupil. Of course, you're affinity is high with your people. All of Rennaya once celebrated your birth as a sign of hope, prosperity, and good times to come."
Seeing Waio again, made it hard for him to keep his composure. He continued to look around, remembering all of the faces, of people he used to know, as his parents placed their hands on his shoulders, then spoke in unison. "Whatever you do from now on just know, that we are proud of you and we will always love you, no matter what."
He nodded, as his tears dried up, along with them all disappearing, as Atlas broke the silence. "I was waiting back there, expecting you to come back up. You know, with how you couldn't forgive me and whatnot, but instead I find you bawling your eyes out here. What's the matter with you?"
Osei wiped his eyes, then swung his sword to his side, and released all of the built-up energy he had gathered. A skull with markings similar to Tobi's manifested over his face, then crumbled apart, as his eyes, glowed bright blue, with purple and black veins, coursing through his body, pulsing in intervals. His hair flashed full silver, then settled, mixing evenly with the rest of his jet-black hair.
Mist escaped his mouth, with each breath he took, as rings of fire crushed the ground, followed by tremors and thousands of lightning strikes. He had reached his peak.
"Sorry for the wait. I'm alright now. Let's settle this." He spoke calmly, as the tension, rose between them. They stared each other down with pure malice. Yet the emperor could not help noticing, the phenomenon occurring around him.
He laughed, realizing what was happening. "It would seem, the reports were true. The suits that have been granting your human allies, abilities, can also bring about miracles near death. It was tragic what happened on Valtorin, but it was a truly valuable experience. Luckily our drone captured everything, but to be witnessing it myself here... I'm getting even more excited."
Osei, cracked his neck, then crouched, charging up electricity, as his sword caught fire. Then he struck vertically, ripping apart the ground between them, as the aerial strike jetted with at an incredible speed.
Atlas was surprised by Osei's growth. Forcing him to shift into second gear, as he raised a steel wall out of the ground. Which forced him to drop Tobi out of his chamber and woke him up, as he wondered where his brother went.
Atlas drew his sword, coating it in fire. "I raised you. Yet, you dare stand against me!"
Osei laughed out loud. "Every living moment under you was hell. You're just a robot, gone wrong. It's time for you to get tossed to the junkyard."
The emperor glared at him, a vein nearly bursting out, on his temple. "I see, you're prepared to die."
They lunged at each other, bringing absolute devastation to their surroundings, as both of them aimed for the kill. Osei broke the deadlock, jumping back, then pointed a palm at the ground, as it started to rise. "Doteko Ohoni."
A gigantic replica of him rose out of the ground, with its inner body fueled by lava and its outer covered in titanium, diamonds, & other gems. In its hand, a sword the size of a building maintained violent, violet flames coated over it, as lightning continuously struck it.
Atlas's eyes grew wide, then he turned around, to retreat in the opposite direction while preparing a condensed sphere of lava. However, the giant lunged after him and swung vertically with precision, before he could escape.
The emperor spun around just in time, thrusting the sphere at the giant's sword, to mitigate some of the force as he was sent flying across the country. He tried regaining mobility, midflight, but the winds were too much, that's when he saw a looming shadow, covering the sky, and beginning to descend.
Atlas immediately threw his hands into the air, trying to launch anything to protect himself on time. However violet lightning struck the giant, aiding his descent down even faster and leaving a devastating impact on the face of the planet.
Osei hovered over, feeling the emperor's life force, still burning strong below. "You don't deserve any mercy!" He yelled out, knowing he could still hear him, then raised his right hand to the sky. It began to rain and then seconds later, the rain clumped together while freezing into sparrows, charged with electricity.
He watched as the remains of the giant was split in half, by a beam of lava. As it broke apart, he didn't hesitate and dropped his hand. "Kraman Armada!"
Millions of sparrows crashed down onto the emperor, cutting him up, and bombarding him with intense stings and surges. Then, froze him in a massive iceberg of birds, shocking him nonstop with tens of billions of volts.
Osei crouched down and gathered all of his energy to the edge of his blade, then burned it hotter than ever, with fire & electricity, as dark clouds supplied him with an endless capacity. He frosted his hands over to protect himself from the heat, as a superheated coat of magma pulled itself together over his blade, adding to the firepower.
He thought of everyone he needed to do this for and sealed his resolve. "Let's finish this."
Atlas was trapped, defenceless as he tried to melt himself free. Regardless of anything he could have done, it would have been too late, as Osei shot out of the sky, like lightning.
"Raieqa Omega!" He yelled before he cut through the ice and Atlas at the same time. Wiping out the entire landscape around and behind Atlas, as he whizzed past, sheathing his sword.
He turned around cursing, as multiple side effects started to take effect on his body, disorientating him, as he watched Atlas stitch back the half of his body that had nearly been cut clean. "I missed." He whispered to himself.
Atlas noticed, that several of his circuits were not working the same, since his core was nicked. He glared at Osei, with a deadly look. "You've gone too far!"
Osei smirked, knowing he struck a nerve. "I could say the same for you!" He heaved, trying to catch his breath. 'Hold on Osei, just one more.' He told himself, as he gathered up the last of his energy within him and formed a stance.
Atlas looked down at the ground, as his anger boiled over the top. All five of the elements began to rampage all around them, simultaneously. Disappearing as each one laid waste to the environment. His hair began to flash silver, as earthquakes raged the continent.
Osei's eyes grew wide, as he noticed the emperor's energy skyrocketing.
His eyes went white, then slotted back to a glowing bloodshot red. New pressure emanated from him, making the air, seem heavier to breathe. As he spoke, his voice sent chills down Osei's spine. "It's time to end this."
Osei, clenched his teeth, leaping at lightning speed. "Raieqa Omega!"
His sword, this time, collided with Atlas's, but the force of the emperor swinging back, sent him flying back over half a kilometre. Osei dropped his sword, unable to hold onto it, as he skidded, crashing across a field. He quickly got up, putting all of the energy he could muster into a condensed violet flaming sphere, charging it with electricity, and spinning around a core of magma.
Frost covered his hands, as the heat of its orbit, began cutting into his palms. He thrust it forth, just in time as the emperor landed in front of him. "Seiaqa Ultimate!"
Atlas smirked as he raised his hand at the incoming blast. Then it began to split around him as it seemingly struck an invisible barrier in front of it. Visible only as it began to crack.
Osei staggered, letting up in disbelief that it had done nothing to the emperor. He watched as Atlas raised a finger toward him, with a disappointed, yet saddened expression. "You were a good warrior. You just didn't know, who you were up against." He spoke calmly, as the sky seemed to go dark, raining with occasional rings of thunder, while he darted his finger in five thrusts at Osei's body. "Particle Decimation."
Tobi had just arrived. Just in time, to watch his brother drop to the floor.
Notes:
Raika means bolt in Rennayan.
Remo means concentrated in Rennayan.
Raieqa means shock or volt in Rennayan.
Saieqa Ultimate is ultimate lightning in Rennayan.
Kraman and Doteko Ohoni (Stone King, possibility) were taken from the Ghanian language and used as part of the Rennayan, but I may have misplaced the translations.
Previous First Chapter Next
submitted by Dot200 to redditserials [link] [comments]
Prometheus's defences had started to fail, as it took increased amounts of fire, from drones and ships of the Kirosian and Cerian space fleets. The situation was beginning to get grim, as Beyond's forces were reduced to only forty ships. It seemed as if any cries for help, would get lost in the depths of space.
However, a light began to shine on the visitors from Earth, as over a thousand Azurian ships, came in alleviating the pressure. The entire armada and reserve.
The one leading the charge, broadcasted a message to his fleet before the attack. "My people, and those of you watching back home. Today we have watched members of our clan die on this forsaken planet. Right now, our benefactors and the future Queen of Azuria are at risk of perishing to the monsters who threaten our very way of life and our existence... Forgive this selfish king, but will you follow me into battle and help me save my granddaughter and our allies?!"
Everyone watching, roared in response and stomped in rhythm. "Hai!"
Akio smiled. "Then, let us be victorious!"
The broadcast ended, as his ship, the Azure Dragon, descended towards Rennaya, ignoring the barrage of missiles fired by the Pandora. Akio looked back with a pained look, at the remaining, twenty-two Hashin with him, standing in formation by the bay door.
"I have seen all of you, grow up, trained you and guided you. I have seen you find love, be hurt, and find true happiness. Each of you are my kin, nothing can hold us back when we work together and no one can stop us." He took a deep breath, then continued. "However my comrades. Today is the one day, you are excused from your duties. This mission is out of respect for my child and the level of danger is much more than I can even anticipate. I will not fault any of you or hold a single grudge if you feel like walking out of that door right now."
None of the Hashin, flinched, nor budged, they didn't doubt each other either. Making Akio's lips tremble. "Do you know what I'm asking of you? You're lives, will be forfeit the moment we enter Rennaya."
Roku stepped up, unveiling his mask. "Do not disrespect us, Akio. Our honour was tarnished, the moment we let our prince die alone out there. We are failing right now to protect our King. Please allow us, to protect the next Queen and our Elder. For Azuria "
He glanced back at the soldiers. "Isn't that right?!"
They stomped to rhythm, in agreement. "Hai!"
The General smiled at his King as he watched a tear roll down the man's cheek. "Cheer up old friend. Let us die with you." He said, as one by one, the Hashin began jumping out of the bay doors.
On the outskirts of Senae, Atlas vs Tobi & Osei...
Osei launched several volleys ahead, as he called on lightning to reinforce himself. Atlas was elated, dissipating the volleys with electric volleys of his own, then blocked his charge, as he reached out and manifested an intricate sword out of the ground below. Which slipped into his hand, just in time to block a flaming strike from Tobi, coming from behind him and managed to push him back.
"Bring it on!" He yelled out to the brothers, while unsheathing his own sword with his other hand, then began simultaneously parrying and striking back at them both.
He broke the deadlock, then twirled around quickly in place, creating a hurricane barrier, pushing them both back. Then threw the sword he created, at Tobi, who managed to deflect it, with quick reflexes, however, the force of the impact stung his hands, distracting him for a second.
A chance the emperor did not hesitate to take, as he dodged a charge from Osei and instead, teleported behind Tobi, while raising his own sword, high above his head.
"No!" Osei yelled out.
Atlas's eyes glimmered, as he smiled, seeing both of the brothers in despair. "Imperial Judgement, Execution!"
The wind followed the emperor's strike, erasing the landscape behind Tobi, as a massive fountain of blood, sprayed out of a gaping new cut, diagonally down his chest. He dropped to the floor, dozens of meters from his original position, as he held onto his chest, freezing his wound and convulsing. It was taking everything he could, to not fall unconscious, however eventually, the darkness took over.
"I... I... I won't forgive you!" Osei yelled out furiously, losing it, as Atlas laughed out loud.
Then, he glanced back at him, soaking in the torment, he was putting the prince through. "Don't worry, he won't die. I still need him. I just wanted to make sure he had a good nap." He said, pointing his right hand at Tobi's body, as a coffin of ice, swallowed him and began healing his wound back, slowly.
Osei could not believe, the situation they were in. It felt surreal after everything he had been through. Something deep within him, began to snap, as years of trauma, boiled up to a single point. He lunged, at full speed, striking Atlas' sword, with overbearing might, and pushed him flying back into an area away from Tobi. "You bring disaster with you, everywhere you go. You're existence, is the only one, this galaxy... No, this universe never needed!"
Osei struck down as the emperor hopped to his left, freezing the prince's sword to the ground. Osei managed to break his hands-free and followed up with a high kick to his face.
Atlas bent back, nearly missing the strike, then gave him two quick punches. One to his face, the other in his gut, bursting forth a beam of ice, as it crashed him through several hills.
Osei got up, coughing blood. "Not yet! Thunder Raika!"
Lightning crashed down, meeting an umbrella of ice, that the emperor managed to raise in time, with its hilt redirecting the charge into the ground. "It's over. Just give up. You did your best."
Osei clenched his fists, seething. What must his people be thinking of him? What would his parents do?
He felt as if he had failed them and could no longer take it anymore. "Not yet. As long as I draw breath..."
He placed his hands together, condensing a massive amount of electricity within a small violet sphere, dozens of times over. "Remo Raieqa!" It shattered forth, beaming violently and eating away the landscape on the way, to Atlas.
Atlas raised a finger, as a sphere of ice, held together an unfathomable amount of pressure, causing cracks in the sphere itself. Then, he launched it towards Osei's incoming attack. "Wind Sovereign!"
The shockwave, followed by a razor blast of wind, dispersed his beam in half and dissipated it as it crashed into Osei's chest, knocking him off of his feet, and crashing him through the terrain. Osei was having a hard time, keeping his eyes open. He felt bruises and fractures in multiple parts of his body. "I've failed." A tear fell down his cheek, as his regrets ate him up.
"No, my son." His eyes glanced to his left, as he raised his head. It was as if he was daydreaming, with illusions blending in with reality.
"Mom?" He asked, unbelieving of what he was seeing.
She smiled while keeping her hands above his chest, healing him, as someone else knelt to his right and spoke. "We failed you."
He glanced at the face of a very familiar man. One wearing a crown, with a remorseful and saddened expression. "Dad? But how?"
His memory took him back to the explanations, the Novas and Tobi gave of the ethereal plane. However other than Tobi, the others had only seen one or a few Rennayans each.
Zenu shook his head. "We should have been certain of you and your brother's safety, from the very beginning. The life you've had to go through. I can never forgive myself for that."
Safiyah was fighting back tears, but she took over. "We are so sorry. Will you forgive us?"
Osei, laughed, with tears escaping his eyes. "I've never blamed you for anything. I wish things never went the way they did. You were the greatest parents. My only regret is not having enough strength to restore Rennaya myself."
He covered his eyes. "I'm sorry father, I'm no prince. I've failed to keep my brother safe and I've failed to bring justice for our people."
Zenu smiled. "If we can be forgiven, then you can too. Come on, get up."
Osei pondered about what he meant, but as he got up, slowly, his eyes grew wide. Standing around them, with Waio in front, were hundreds of millions, if not a billion people.
Safiyah spoke up. "My little Osei, no one blames you for anything, you've far exceeded what was expected of you and gave hope to the galaxy once more. You have done your part. Let us help you, with what you want to do. However, I would advise you to take your brother and escape immediately."
Osei was a little dumbfounded to be once again, seeing so many of his people. It was a little difficult for him to speak. "Thank... You."
He shook his thoughts away, remembering his mission. Then he reached his hand out, as his sword, flew back into his palm, hilt first. "I have to keep my little brother safe. My people, I ask of you, please lend me your strength."
They all began to kneel and punch the ground, as their fists broke through into a deep abyss of darkness. Each of their eyes, began to glow, like a domino effect. They all smiled and spoke together. "Yes, Your Highness."
Osei was stunned, as multiple branches of energy began, opening up, within his body.
Waio spoke up. "Do not be alarmed, my pupil. Of course, you're affinity is high with your people. All of Rennaya once celebrated your birth as a sign of hope, prosperity, and good times to come."
Seeing Waio again, made it hard for him to keep his composure. He continued to look around, remembering all of the faces, of people he used to know, as his parents placed their hands on his shoulders, then spoke in unison. "Whatever you do from now on just know, that we are proud of you and we will always love you, no matter what."
He nodded, as his tears dried up, along with them all disappearing, as Atlas broke the silence. "I was waiting back there, expecting you to come back up. You know, with how you couldn't forgive me and whatnot, but instead I find you bawling your eyes out here. What's the matter with you?"
Osei wiped his eyes, then swung his sword to his side, and released all of the built-up energy he had gathered. A skull with markings similar to Tobi's manifested over his face, then crumbled apart, as his eyes, glowed bright blue, with purple and black veins, coursing through his body, pulsing in intervals. His hair flashed full silver, then settled, mixing evenly with the rest of his jet-black hair.
Mist escaped his mouth, with each breath he took, as rings of fire crushed the ground, followed by tremors and thousands of lightning strikes. He had reached his peak.
"Sorry for the wait. I'm alright now. Let's settle this." He spoke calmly, as the tension, rose between them. They stared each other down with pure malice. Yet the emperor could not help noticing, the phenomenon occurring around him.
He laughed, realizing what was happening. "It would seem, the reports were true. The suits that have been granting your human allies, abilities, can also bring about miracles near death. It was tragic what happened on Valtorin, but it was a truly valuable experience. Luckily our drone captured everything, but to be witnessing it myself here... I'm getting even more excited."
Osei, cracked his neck, then crouched, charging up electricity, as his sword caught fire. Then he struck vertically, ripping apart the ground between them, as the aerial strike jetted with at an incredible speed.
Atlas was surprised by Osei's growth. Forcing him to shift into second gear, as he raised a steel wall out of the ground. Which forced him to drop Tobi out of his chamber and woke him up, as he wondered where his brother went.
Atlas drew his sword, coating it in fire. "I raised you. Yet, you dare stand against me!"
Osei laughed out loud. "Every living moment under you was hell. You're just a robot, gone wrong. It's time for you to get tossed to the junkyard."
The emperor glared at him, a vein nearly bursting out, on his temple. "I see, you're prepared to die."
They lunged at each other, bringing absolute devastation to their surroundings, as both of them aimed for the kill. Osei broke the deadlock, jumping back, then pointed a palm at the ground, as it started to rise. "Doteko Ohoni."
A gigantic replica of him rose out of the ground, with its inner body fueled by lava and its outer covered in titanium, diamonds, & other gems. In its hand, a sword the size of a building maintained violent, violet flames coated over it, as lightning continuously struck it.
Atlas's eyes grew wide, then he turned around, to retreat in the opposite direction while preparing a condensed sphere of lava. However, the giant lunged after him and swung vertically with precision, before he could escape.
The emperor spun around just in time, thrusting the sphere at the giant's sword, to mitigate some of the force as he was sent flying across the country. He tried regaining mobility, midflight, but the winds were too much, that's when he saw a looming shadow, covering the sky, and beginning to descend.
Atlas immediately threw his hands into the air, trying to launch anything to protect himself on time. However violet lightning struck the giant, aiding his descent down even faster and leaving a devastating impact on the face of the planet.
Osei hovered over, feeling the emperor's life force, still burning strong below. "You don't deserve any mercy!" He yelled out, knowing he could still hear him, then raised his right hand to the sky. It began to rain and then seconds later, the rain clumped together while freezing into sparrows, charged with electricity.
He watched as the remains of the giant was split in half, by a beam of lava. As it broke apart, he didn't hesitate and dropped his hand. "Kraman Armada!"
Millions of sparrows crashed down onto the emperor, cutting him up, and bombarding him with intense stings and surges. Then, froze him in a massive iceberg of birds, shocking him nonstop with tens of billions of volts.
Osei crouched down and gathered all of his energy to the edge of his blade, then burned it hotter than ever, with fire & electricity, as dark clouds supplied him with an endless capacity. He frosted his hands over to protect himself from the heat, as a superheated coat of magma pulled itself together over his blade, adding to the firepower.
He thought of everyone he needed to do this for and sealed his resolve. "Let's finish this."
Atlas was trapped, defenceless as he tried to melt himself free. Regardless of anything he could have done, it would have been too late, as Osei shot out of the sky, like lightning.
"Raieqa Omega!" He yelled before he cut through the ice and Atlas at the same time. Wiping out the entire landscape around and behind Atlas, as he whizzed past, sheathing his sword.
He turned around cursing, as multiple side effects started to take effect on his body, disorientating him, as he watched Atlas stitch back the half of his body that had nearly been cut clean. "I missed." He whispered to himself.
Atlas noticed, that several of his circuits were not working the same, since his core was nicked. He glared at Osei, with a deadly look. "You've gone too far!"
Osei smirked, knowing he struck a nerve. "I could say the same for you!" He heaved, trying to catch his breath. 'Hold on Osei, just one more.' He told himself, as he gathered up the last of his energy within him and formed a stance.
Atlas looked down at the ground, as his anger boiled over the top. All five of the elements began to rampage all around them, simultaneously. Disappearing as each one laid waste to the environment. His hair began to flash silver, as earthquakes raged the continent.
Osei's eyes grew wide, as he noticed the emperor's energy skyrocketing.
His eyes went white, then slotted back to a glowing bloodshot red. New pressure emanated from him, making the air, seem heavier to breathe. As he spoke, his voice sent chills down Osei's spine. "It's time to end this."
Osei, clenched his teeth, leaping at lightning speed. "Raieqa Omega!"
His sword, this time, collided with Atlas's, but the force of the emperor swinging back, sent him flying back over half a kilometre. Osei dropped his sword, unable to hold onto it, as he skidded, crashing across a field. He quickly got up, putting all of the energy he could muster into a condensed violet flaming sphere, charging it with electricity, and spinning around a core of magma.
Frost covered his hands, as the heat of its orbit, began cutting into his palms. He thrust it forth, just in time as the emperor landed in front of him. "Seiaqa Ultimate!"
Atlas smirked as he raised his hand at the incoming blast. Then it began to split around him as it seemingly struck an invisible barrier in front of it. Visible only as it began to crack.
Osei staggered, letting up in disbelief that it had done nothing to the emperor. He watched as Atlas raised a finger toward him, with a disappointed, yet saddened expression. "You were a good warrior. You just didn't know, who you were up against." He spoke calmly, as the sky seemed to go dark, raining with occasional rings of thunder, while he darted his finger in five thrusts at Osei's body. "Particle Decimation."
Tobi had just arrived. Just in time, to watch his brother drop to the floor.
Raika means bolt in Rennayan.
Remo means concentrated in Rennayan.
Raieqa means shock or volt in Rennayan.
Saieqa Ultimate is ultimate lightning in Rennayan.
Kraman and Doteko Ohoni (Stone King, possibility) were taken from the Ghanian language and used as part of the Rennayan, but I may have misplaced the translations.
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2024.05.14 15:38 Goth_Mae (mtf) For months I have been saving everything to afford my first facial feminization surgery. Yesterday, I finally had rhinoplasty done . My face is still swollen, and it hurts a bit, but that is temporary. The change is permanent, and my dysphoria is now severely reduced forever.
 | submitted by Goth_Mae to transpositive [link] [comments] |
2024.05.14 15:38 Goth_Mae (mtf) For months I have been saving everything to afford my first facial feminization surgery. Yesterday, I finally had rhinoplasty done . My face is still swollen, and it hurts a bit, but that is temporary. The change is permanent, and my dysphoria is now severely reduced forever.
 | submitted by Goth_Mae to trans [link] [comments] |
2024.05.14 15:35 Goth_Mae (mtf) For months I have been saving everything to afford my first facial feminization surgery. Yesterday, I finally had rhinoplasty done . My face is still swollen, and it hurts a bit, but that is temporary. The change is permanent, and my dysphoria is now severely reduced forever.
 | submitted by Goth_Mae to lgbt [link] [comments] |
2024.05.14 15:32 Goth_Mae For months I have been saving everything to afford my first facial feminization surgery. Yesterday, I finally had rhinoplasty done . My face is still swollen, and it hurts a bit, but that is temporary. The change is permanent, and my dysphoria is now severely reduced forever.
 | submitted by Goth_Mae to u/Goth_Mae [link] [comments] |
2024.05.14 15:31 Dot200 The Last Prince of Rennaya 56 Atlas vs Osei
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Prometheus's defences had started to fail, as it took increased amounts of fire, from drones and ships of the Kirosian and Cerian space fleets. The situation was beginning to get grim, as Beyond's forces were reduced to only forty ships. It seemed as if any cries for help, would get lost in the depths of space.
However, a light began to shine on the visitors from Earth, as over a thousand Azurian ships, came in alleviating the pressure. The entire armada and reserve.
The one leading the charge, broadcasted a message to his fleet before the attack. "My people, and those of you watching back home. Today we have watched members of our clan die on this forsaken planet. Right now, our benefactors and the future Queen of Azuria are at risk of perishing to the monsters who threaten our very way of life and our existence... Forgive this selfish king, but will you follow me into battle and help me save my granddaughter and our allies?!"
Everyone watching, roared in response and stomped in rhythm. "Hai!"
Akio smiled. "Then, let us be victorious!"
The broadcast ended, as his ship, the Azure Dragon, descended towards Rennaya, ignoring the barrage of missiles fired by the Pandora. Akio looked back with a pained look, at the remaining, twenty-two Hashin with him, standing in formation by the bay door.
"I have seen all of you, grow up, trained you and guided you. I have seen you find love, be hurt, and find true happiness. Each of you are my kin, nothing can hold us back when we work together and no one can stop us." He took a deep breath, then continued. "However my comrades. Today is the one day, you are excused from your duties. This mission is out of respect for my child and the level of danger is much more than I can even anticipate. I will not fault any of you or hold a single grudge if you feel like walking out of that door right now."
None of the Hashin, flinched, nor budged, they didn't doubt each other either. Making Akio's lips tremble. "Do you know what I'm asking of you? You're lives, will be forfeit the moment we enter Rennaya."
Roku stepped up, unveiling his mask. "Do not disrespect us, Akio. Our honor was tarnished, the moment we let our prince die alone out there. We are failing right now to protect our King. Please allow us, to protect the next Queen and our Elder. For Azuria "
He glanced back at the soldiers. "Isn't that right?!"
They stomped to rhythm, in agreement. "Hai!"
The General smiled at his King as he watched a tear roll down the man's cheek. "Cheer up old friend. Let us die with you." He said, as one by one, the Hashin began jumping out of the bay doors.
Outskirts of Senae, Atlas vs Tobi & Osei...
Osei launched several volleys ahead, as he called on lightning to reinforce himself. Atlas was elated, dissipating the volleys with electric volleys of his own, then blocked his charge, as he reached out and manifested an intricate sword out of the ground below. Which slipped into his hand, just in time to block a flaming strike from Tobi, coming from behind him and managed to push him back.
"Bring it on!" He yelled out to the brothers, while unsheathing his own sword with his other hand, then began simultaneously parrying and striking back at them both.
He broke the deadlock, then twirled around quickly in place, creating a hurricane barrier, pushing them both back. Then threw the sword he created, at Tobi, who managed to deflect it, with quick reflexes, however, the force of the impact stung his hands, distracting him for a second.
A chance the emperor did not hesitate to take, as he dodged a charge from Osei and instead, teleported behind Tobi, while raising his own sword, high above his head.
"No!" Osei yelled out.
Atlas's eyes glimmered, as he smiled, seeing both of the brothers in despair. "Imperial Judgement, Execution!"
The wind followed the emperor's strike, erasing the landscape behind Tobi, as a massive fountain of blood, sprayed out of a gaping new cut, diagonally down his chest. He dropped to the floor, dozens of meters from his original position, as he held onto his chest, freezing his wound and convulsing. It was taking everything he could, to not fall unconscious, however eventually, the darkness took over.
"I... I... I won't forgive you!" Osei yelled out furiously, losing it, as Atlas laughed out loud.
Then, he glanced back at him, soaking in the torment, he was putting the prince through. "Don't worry, he won't die. I still need him. I just wanted to make sure he had a good nap." He said, pointing his right hand at Tobi's body, as a coffin of ice, swallowed him and began healing his wound back, slowly.
Osei could not believe, the situation they were in. It felt surreal after everything he had been through. Something deep within him, began to snap, as years of trauma, boiled up to a single point. He lunged, at full speed, striking Atlas' sword, with overbearing might, and pushed him flying back into an area away from Tobi. "You bring disaster with you, everywhere you go. You're existence, is the only one, this galaxy... No, this universe never needed!"
Osei struck down as the emperor hopped to his left, freezing the prince's sword to the ground. Osei managed to break his hands-free and followed up with a high kick to his face.
Atlas bent back, nearly missing the strike, then gave him two quick punches. One to his face, the other in his gut, bursting forth a beam of ice, as it crashed him through several hills.
Osei got up, coughing blood. "Not yet! Thunder Raika!"
Lightning crashed down, meeting an umbrella of ice, that the emperor managed to raise in time, with its hilt redirecting the charge into the ground. "It's over. Just give up. You did your best."
Osei clenched his fists, seething. What must his people be thinking of him? What would his parents do?
He felt as if he had failed them and could no longer take it anymore. "Not yet. As long as I draw breath..."
He placed his hands together, condensing a massive amount of electricity within a small violet sphere, dozens of times over. "Remo Raieqa!" It shattered forth, beaming violently and eating away the landscape on the way, to Atlas.
Atlas raised a finger, as a sphere of ice, held together an unfathomable amount of pressure, causing cracks in the sphere itself. Then, he launched it towards Osei's incoming attack. "Wind Sovereign!"
The shockwave, followed by a razor blast of wind, dispersed his beam in half and dissipated it as it crashed into Osei's chest, knocking him off of his feet, and crashing him through the terrain. Osei was having a hard time, keeping his eyes open. He felt bruises and fractures in multiple parts of his body. "I've failed." A tear fell down his cheek, as his regrets ate him up.
"No, my son." His eyes glanced to his left, as he raised his head. It was as if he was daydreaming, with illusions blending in with reality.
"Mom?" He asked, unbelieving of what he was seeing.
She smiled while keeping her hands above his chest, healing him, as someone else knelt to his right and spoke. "We failed you."
He glanced at the face of a very familiar man. One wearing a crown, with a remorseful and saddened expression. "Dad? But how?"
His memory took him back to the explanations, the Novas and Tobi gave of the ethereal plane. However other than Tobi, the others had only seen one or a few Rennayans each.
Zenu shook his head. "We should have been certain of you and your brother's safety, from the very beginning. The life you've had to go through. I can never forgive myself for that."
Safiyah was fighting back tears, but she took over. "We are so sorry. Will you forgive us?"
Osei, laughed, with tears escaping his eyes. "I've never blamed you for anything. I wish things never went the way they did. You were the greatest parents. My only regret is not having enough strength to restore Rennaya myself."
He covered his eyes. "I'm sorry father, I'm no prince. I've failed to keep my brother safe and I've failed to bring justice for our people."
Zenu smiled. "If we can be forgiven, then you can too. Come on, get up."
Osei pondered about what he meant, but as he got up, slowly, his eyes grew wide. Standing around them, with Waio in front, were hundreds of millions, if not a billion people.
Safiyah spoke up. "My little Osei, no one blames you for anything, you've far exceeded what was expected of you and gave hope to the galaxy once more. You have done your part. Let us help you, with what you want to do. However, I would advise you to take your brother and escape immediately."
Osei was a little dumbfounded to be once again, seeing so many of his people. It was a little difficult for him to speak. "Thank... You."
He shook his thoughts away, remembering his mission. Then he reached his hand out, as his sword, flew back into his palm, hilt first. "I have to keep my little brother safe. My people, I ask of you, please lend me your strength."
They all began to kneel and punch the ground, as their fists broke through into a deep abyss of darkness. Each of their eyes, began to glow, like a domino effect. They all smiled and spoke together. "Yes, Your Highness."
Osei was stunned, as multiple branches of energy began, opening up, within his body.
Waio spoke up. "Do not be alarmed, my pupil. Of course, you're affinity is high with your people. All of Rennaya once celebrated your birth as a sign of hope, prosperity, and good times to come."
Seeing Waio again, made it hard for him to keep his composure. He continued to look around, remembering all of the faces, of people he used to know, as his parents placed their hands on his shoulders, then spoke in unison. "Whatever you do from now on just know, that we are proud of you and we will always love you, no matter what."
He nodded, as his tears dried up, along with them all disappearing, as Atlas broke the silence. "I was waiting back there, expecting you to come back up. You know, with how you couldn't forgive me and whatnot, but instead I find you bawling your eyes out here. What's the matter with you?"
Osei wiped his eyes, then swung his sword to his side, and released all of the built-up energy he had gathered. A skull with markings similar to Tobi's manifested over his face, then crumbled apart, as his eyes, glowed bright blue, with purple and black veins, coursing through his body, pulsing in intervals. His hair flashed full silver, then settled, mixing evenly with the rest of his jet-black hair.
Mist escaped his mouth, with each breath he took, as rings of fire crushed the ground, followed by tremors and thousands of lightning strikes. He had reached his peak.
"Sorry for the wait. I'm alright now. Let's settle this." He spoke calmly, as the tension, rose between them. They stared each other down with pure malice. Yet the emperor could not help noticing, the phenomenon occurring around him.
He laughed, realizing what was happening. "It would seem, the reports were true. The suits that have been granting your human allies, abilities, can also bring about miracles near death. It was tragic what happened on Valtorin, but it was a truly valuable experience. Luckily our drone captured everything, but to be witnessing it myself here... I'm getting even more excited."
Osei, cracked his neck, then crouched, charging up electricity, as his sword caught fire. Then he struck vertically, ripping apart the ground between them, as the aerial strike jetted with at an incredible speed.
Atlas was surprised by Osei's growth. Forcing him to shift into second gear, as he raised a steel wall out of the ground. Which forced him to drop Tobi out of his chamber and woke him up, as he wondered where his brother went.
Atlas drew his sword, coating it in fire. "I raised you. Yet, you dare stand against me!"
Osei laughed out loud. "Every living moment under you was hell. You're just a robot, gone wrong. It's time for you to get tossed to the junkyard."
The emperor glared at him, a vein nearly bursting out, on his temple. "I see, you're prepared to die."
They lunged at each other, bringing absolute devastation to their surroundings, as both of them aimed for the kill. Osei broke the deadlock, jumping back, then pointed a palm at the ground, as it started to rise. "Doteko Ohoni."
A gigantic replica of him rose out of the ground, with its inner body fueled by lava and its outer covered in titanium, diamonds, & other gems. In its hand, a sword the size of a building maintained violent, violet flames coated over it, as lightning continuously struck it.
Atlas's eyes grew wide, then he turned around, to retreat in the opposite direction while preparing a condensed sphere of lava. However, the giant lunged after him and swung vertically with precision, before he could escape.
The emperor spun around just in time, thrusting the sphere at the giant's sword, to mitigate some of the force as he was sent flying across the country. He tried regaining mobility, midflight, but the winds were too much, that's when he saw a looming shadow, covering the sky, and beginning to descend.
Atlas immediately threw his hands into the air, trying to launch anything to protect himself on time. However violet lightning struck the giant, aiding his descent down even faster and leaving a devastating impact on the face of the planet.
Osei hovered over, feeling the emperor's life force, still burning strong below. "You don't deserve any mercy!" He yelled out, knowing he could still hear him, then raised his right hand to the sky. It began to rain and then seconds later, the rain clumped together while freezing into sparrows, charged with electricity.
He watched as the remains of the giant was split in half, by a beam of lava. As it broke apart, he didn't hesitate and dropped his hand. "Kraman Armada!"
Millions of sparrows crashed down onto the emperor, cutting him up, and bombarding him with intense stings and surges. Then, froze him in a massive iceberg of birds, shocking him nonstop with tens of billions of volts.
Osei crouched down and gathered all of his energy to the edge of his blade, then burned it hotter than ever, with fire & electricity, as dark clouds supplied him with an endless capacity. He frosted his hands over to protect himself from the heat, as a superheated coat of magma pulled itself together over his blade, adding to the firepower.
He thought of everyone he needed to do this for and sealed his resolve. "Let's finish this."
Atlas was trapped, defenceless as he tried to melt himself free. Regardless of anything he could have done, it would have been too late, as Osei shot out of the sky, like lightning.
"Raieqa Omega!" He yelled before he cut through the ice and Atlas at the same time. Wiping out the entire landscape around and behind Atlas, as he whizzed past, sheathing his sword.
He turned around cursing, as multiple side effects started to take effect on his body, disorientating him, as he watched Atlas stitch back the half of his body that had nearly been cut clean. "I missed." He whispered to himself.
Atlas noticed, that several of his circuits were not working the same, since his core was nicked. He glared at Osei, with a deadly look. "You've gone too far!"
Osei smirked, knowing he struck a nerve. "I could say the same for you!" He heaved, trying to catch his breath. 'Hold on Osei, just one more.' He told himself, as he gathered up the last of his energy within him and formed a stance.
Atlas looked down at the ground, as his anger boiled over the top. All five of the elements began to rampage all around them, simultaneously. Disappearing as each one laid waste to the environment. His hair began to flash silver, as earthquakes raged the continent.
Osei's eyes grew wide, as he noticed the emperor's energy skyrocketing.
His eyes went white, then slotted back to a glowing bloodshot red. New pressure emanated from him, making the air, seem heavier to breathe. As he spoke, his voice sent chills down Osei's spine. "It's time to end this."
Osei, clenched his teeth, leaping at lightning speed. "Raieqa Omega!"
His sword, this time, collided with Atlas's, but the force of the emperor swinging back, sent him flying back over half a kilometre. Osei dropped his sword, unable to hold onto it, as he skidded, crashing across a field. He quickly got up, putting all of the energy he could muster into a condensed violet flaming sphere, charging it with electricity, and spinning around a core of magma.
Frost covered his hands, as the heat of its orbit, began cutting into his palms. He thrust it forth, just in time as the emperor landed in front of him. "Seiaqa Ultimate!"
Atlas smirked as he raised his hand at the incoming blast. Then it began to split around him as it seemingly struck an invisible barrier in front of it. Visible only as it began to crack.
Osei staggered, letting up in disbelief that it had done nothing to the emperor. He watched as Atlas raised a finger toward him, with a disappointed, yet saddened expression. "You were a good warrior. You just didn't know, who you were up against." He spoke calmly, as the sky seemed to go dark, raining with occasional rings of thunder, while he darted his finger in five thrusts at Osei's body. "Particle Decimation."
Tobi had just arrived. Just in time, to watch his brother drop to the floor.
Notes:
Raika means bolt in Rennayan.
Remo means concentrated in Rennayan.
Raieqa means shock or volt in Rennayan.
Saieqa Ultimate is ultimate lightning in Rennayan.
Kraman and Doteko Ohoni (Stone King, possibility) were taken from the Ghanian language and used as part of the Rennayan, but I may have misplaced the translations.
Previous First Chapter Next
submitted by Dot200 to HFY [link] [comments]
Prometheus's defences had started to fail, as it took increased amounts of fire, from drones and ships of the Kirosian and Cerian space fleets. The situation was beginning to get grim, as Beyond's forces were reduced to only forty ships. It seemed as if any cries for help, would get lost in the depths of space.
However, a light began to shine on the visitors from Earth, as over a thousand Azurian ships, came in alleviating the pressure. The entire armada and reserve.
The one leading the charge, broadcasted a message to his fleet before the attack. "My people, and those of you watching back home. Today we have watched members of our clan die on this forsaken planet. Right now, our benefactors and the future Queen of Azuria are at risk of perishing to the monsters who threaten our very way of life and our existence... Forgive this selfish king, but will you follow me into battle and help me save my granddaughter and our allies?!"
Everyone watching, roared in response and stomped in rhythm. "Hai!"
Akio smiled. "Then, let us be victorious!"
The broadcast ended, as his ship, the Azure Dragon, descended towards Rennaya, ignoring the barrage of missiles fired by the Pandora. Akio looked back with a pained look, at the remaining, twenty-two Hashin with him, standing in formation by the bay door.
"I have seen all of you, grow up, trained you and guided you. I have seen you find love, be hurt, and find true happiness. Each of you are my kin, nothing can hold us back when we work together and no one can stop us." He took a deep breath, then continued. "However my comrades. Today is the one day, you are excused from your duties. This mission is out of respect for my child and the level of danger is much more than I can even anticipate. I will not fault any of you or hold a single grudge if you feel like walking out of that door right now."
None of the Hashin, flinched, nor budged, they didn't doubt each other either. Making Akio's lips tremble. "Do you know what I'm asking of you? You're lives, will be forfeit the moment we enter Rennaya."
Roku stepped up, unveiling his mask. "Do not disrespect us, Akio. Our honor was tarnished, the moment we let our prince die alone out there. We are failing right now to protect our King. Please allow us, to protect the next Queen and our Elder. For Azuria "
He glanced back at the soldiers. "Isn't that right?!"
They stomped to rhythm, in agreement. "Hai!"
The General smiled at his King as he watched a tear roll down the man's cheek. "Cheer up old friend. Let us die with you." He said, as one by one, the Hashin began jumping out of the bay doors.
Outskirts of Senae, Atlas vs Tobi & Osei...
Osei launched several volleys ahead, as he called on lightning to reinforce himself. Atlas was elated, dissipating the volleys with electric volleys of his own, then blocked his charge, as he reached out and manifested an intricate sword out of the ground below. Which slipped into his hand, just in time to block a flaming strike from Tobi, coming from behind him and managed to push him back.
"Bring it on!" He yelled out to the brothers, while unsheathing his own sword with his other hand, then began simultaneously parrying and striking back at them both.
He broke the deadlock, then twirled around quickly in place, creating a hurricane barrier, pushing them both back. Then threw the sword he created, at Tobi, who managed to deflect it, with quick reflexes, however, the force of the impact stung his hands, distracting him for a second.
A chance the emperor did not hesitate to take, as he dodged a charge from Osei and instead, teleported behind Tobi, while raising his own sword, high above his head.
"No!" Osei yelled out.
Atlas's eyes glimmered, as he smiled, seeing both of the brothers in despair. "Imperial Judgement, Execution!"
The wind followed the emperor's strike, erasing the landscape behind Tobi, as a massive fountain of blood, sprayed out of a gaping new cut, diagonally down his chest. He dropped to the floor, dozens of meters from his original position, as he held onto his chest, freezing his wound and convulsing. It was taking everything he could, to not fall unconscious, however eventually, the darkness took over.
"I... I... I won't forgive you!" Osei yelled out furiously, losing it, as Atlas laughed out loud.
Then, he glanced back at him, soaking in the torment, he was putting the prince through. "Don't worry, he won't die. I still need him. I just wanted to make sure he had a good nap." He said, pointing his right hand at Tobi's body, as a coffin of ice, swallowed him and began healing his wound back, slowly.
Osei could not believe, the situation they were in. It felt surreal after everything he had been through. Something deep within him, began to snap, as years of trauma, boiled up to a single point. He lunged, at full speed, striking Atlas' sword, with overbearing might, and pushed him flying back into an area away from Tobi. "You bring disaster with you, everywhere you go. You're existence, is the only one, this galaxy... No, this universe never needed!"
Osei struck down as the emperor hopped to his left, freezing the prince's sword to the ground. Osei managed to break his hands-free and followed up with a high kick to his face.
Atlas bent back, nearly missing the strike, then gave him two quick punches. One to his face, the other in his gut, bursting forth a beam of ice, as it crashed him through several hills.
Osei got up, coughing blood. "Not yet! Thunder Raika!"
Lightning crashed down, meeting an umbrella of ice, that the emperor managed to raise in time, with its hilt redirecting the charge into the ground. "It's over. Just give up. You did your best."
Osei clenched his fists, seething. What must his people be thinking of him? What would his parents do?
He felt as if he had failed them and could no longer take it anymore. "Not yet. As long as I draw breath..."
He placed his hands together, condensing a massive amount of electricity within a small violet sphere, dozens of times over. "Remo Raieqa!" It shattered forth, beaming violently and eating away the landscape on the way, to Atlas.
Atlas raised a finger, as a sphere of ice, held together an unfathomable amount of pressure, causing cracks in the sphere itself. Then, he launched it towards Osei's incoming attack. "Wind Sovereign!"
The shockwave, followed by a razor blast of wind, dispersed his beam in half and dissipated it as it crashed into Osei's chest, knocking him off of his feet, and crashing him through the terrain. Osei was having a hard time, keeping his eyes open. He felt bruises and fractures in multiple parts of his body. "I've failed." A tear fell down his cheek, as his regrets ate him up.
"No, my son." His eyes glanced to his left, as he raised his head. It was as if he was daydreaming, with illusions blending in with reality.
"Mom?" He asked, unbelieving of what he was seeing.
She smiled while keeping her hands above his chest, healing him, as someone else knelt to his right and spoke. "We failed you."
He glanced at the face of a very familiar man. One wearing a crown, with a remorseful and saddened expression. "Dad? But how?"
His memory took him back to the explanations, the Novas and Tobi gave of the ethereal plane. However other than Tobi, the others had only seen one or a few Rennayans each.
Zenu shook his head. "We should have been certain of you and your brother's safety, from the very beginning. The life you've had to go through. I can never forgive myself for that."
Safiyah was fighting back tears, but she took over. "We are so sorry. Will you forgive us?"
Osei, laughed, with tears escaping his eyes. "I've never blamed you for anything. I wish things never went the way they did. You were the greatest parents. My only regret is not having enough strength to restore Rennaya myself."
He covered his eyes. "I'm sorry father, I'm no prince. I've failed to keep my brother safe and I've failed to bring justice for our people."
Zenu smiled. "If we can be forgiven, then you can too. Come on, get up."
Osei pondered about what he meant, but as he got up, slowly, his eyes grew wide. Standing around them, with Waio in front, were hundreds of millions, if not a billion people.
Safiyah spoke up. "My little Osei, no one blames you for anything, you've far exceeded what was expected of you and gave hope to the galaxy once more. You have done your part. Let us help you, with what you want to do. However, I would advise you to take your brother and escape immediately."
Osei was a little dumbfounded to be once again, seeing so many of his people. It was a little difficult for him to speak. "Thank... You."
He shook his thoughts away, remembering his mission. Then he reached his hand out, as his sword, flew back into his palm, hilt first. "I have to keep my little brother safe. My people, I ask of you, please lend me your strength."
They all began to kneel and punch the ground, as their fists broke through into a deep abyss of darkness. Each of their eyes, began to glow, like a domino effect. They all smiled and spoke together. "Yes, Your Highness."
Osei was stunned, as multiple branches of energy began, opening up, within his body.
Waio spoke up. "Do not be alarmed, my pupil. Of course, you're affinity is high with your people. All of Rennaya once celebrated your birth as a sign of hope, prosperity, and good times to come."
Seeing Waio again, made it hard for him to keep his composure. He continued to look around, remembering all of the faces, of people he used to know, as his parents placed their hands on his shoulders, then spoke in unison. "Whatever you do from now on just know, that we are proud of you and we will always love you, no matter what."
He nodded, as his tears dried up, along with them all disappearing, as Atlas broke the silence. "I was waiting back there, expecting you to come back up. You know, with how you couldn't forgive me and whatnot, but instead I find you bawling your eyes out here. What's the matter with you?"
Osei wiped his eyes, then swung his sword to his side, and released all of the built-up energy he had gathered. A skull with markings similar to Tobi's manifested over his face, then crumbled apart, as his eyes, glowed bright blue, with purple and black veins, coursing through his body, pulsing in intervals. His hair flashed full silver, then settled, mixing evenly with the rest of his jet-black hair.
Mist escaped his mouth, with each breath he took, as rings of fire crushed the ground, followed by tremors and thousands of lightning strikes. He had reached his peak.
"Sorry for the wait. I'm alright now. Let's settle this." He spoke calmly, as the tension, rose between them. They stared each other down with pure malice. Yet the emperor could not help noticing, the phenomenon occurring around him.
He laughed, realizing what was happening. "It would seem, the reports were true. The suits that have been granting your human allies, abilities, can also bring about miracles near death. It was tragic what happened on Valtorin, but it was a truly valuable experience. Luckily our drone captured everything, but to be witnessing it myself here... I'm getting even more excited."
Osei, cracked his neck, then crouched, charging up electricity, as his sword caught fire. Then he struck vertically, ripping apart the ground between them, as the aerial strike jetted with at an incredible speed.
Atlas was surprised by Osei's growth. Forcing him to shift into second gear, as he raised a steel wall out of the ground. Which forced him to drop Tobi out of his chamber and woke him up, as he wondered where his brother went.
Atlas drew his sword, coating it in fire. "I raised you. Yet, you dare stand against me!"
Osei laughed out loud. "Every living moment under you was hell. You're just a robot, gone wrong. It's time for you to get tossed to the junkyard."
The emperor glared at him, a vein nearly bursting out, on his temple. "I see, you're prepared to die."
They lunged at each other, bringing absolute devastation to their surroundings, as both of them aimed for the kill. Osei broke the deadlock, jumping back, then pointed a palm at the ground, as it started to rise. "Doteko Ohoni."
A gigantic replica of him rose out of the ground, with its inner body fueled by lava and its outer covered in titanium, diamonds, & other gems. In its hand, a sword the size of a building maintained violent, violet flames coated over it, as lightning continuously struck it.
Atlas's eyes grew wide, then he turned around, to retreat in the opposite direction while preparing a condensed sphere of lava. However, the giant lunged after him and swung vertically with precision, before he could escape.
The emperor spun around just in time, thrusting the sphere at the giant's sword, to mitigate some of the force as he was sent flying across the country. He tried regaining mobility, midflight, but the winds were too much, that's when he saw a looming shadow, covering the sky, and beginning to descend.
Atlas immediately threw his hands into the air, trying to launch anything to protect himself on time. However violet lightning struck the giant, aiding his descent down even faster and leaving a devastating impact on the face of the planet.
Osei hovered over, feeling the emperor's life force, still burning strong below. "You don't deserve any mercy!" He yelled out, knowing he could still hear him, then raised his right hand to the sky. It began to rain and then seconds later, the rain clumped together while freezing into sparrows, charged with electricity.
He watched as the remains of the giant was split in half, by a beam of lava. As it broke apart, he didn't hesitate and dropped his hand. "Kraman Armada!"
Millions of sparrows crashed down onto the emperor, cutting him up, and bombarding him with intense stings and surges. Then, froze him in a massive iceberg of birds, shocking him nonstop with tens of billions of volts.
Osei crouched down and gathered all of his energy to the edge of his blade, then burned it hotter than ever, with fire & electricity, as dark clouds supplied him with an endless capacity. He frosted his hands over to protect himself from the heat, as a superheated coat of magma pulled itself together over his blade, adding to the firepower.
He thought of everyone he needed to do this for and sealed his resolve. "Let's finish this."
Atlas was trapped, defenceless as he tried to melt himself free. Regardless of anything he could have done, it would have been too late, as Osei shot out of the sky, like lightning.
"Raieqa Omega!" He yelled before he cut through the ice and Atlas at the same time. Wiping out the entire landscape around and behind Atlas, as he whizzed past, sheathing his sword.
He turned around cursing, as multiple side effects started to take effect on his body, disorientating him, as he watched Atlas stitch back the half of his body that had nearly been cut clean. "I missed." He whispered to himself.
Atlas noticed, that several of his circuits were not working the same, since his core was nicked. He glared at Osei, with a deadly look. "You've gone too far!"
Osei smirked, knowing he struck a nerve. "I could say the same for you!" He heaved, trying to catch his breath. 'Hold on Osei, just one more.' He told himself, as he gathered up the last of his energy within him and formed a stance.
Atlas looked down at the ground, as his anger boiled over the top. All five of the elements began to rampage all around them, simultaneously. Disappearing as each one laid waste to the environment. His hair began to flash silver, as earthquakes raged the continent.
Osei's eyes grew wide, as he noticed the emperor's energy skyrocketing.
His eyes went white, then slotted back to a glowing bloodshot red. New pressure emanated from him, making the air, seem heavier to breathe. As he spoke, his voice sent chills down Osei's spine. "It's time to end this."
Osei, clenched his teeth, leaping at lightning speed. "Raieqa Omega!"
His sword, this time, collided with Atlas's, but the force of the emperor swinging back, sent him flying back over half a kilometre. Osei dropped his sword, unable to hold onto it, as he skidded, crashing across a field. He quickly got up, putting all of the energy he could muster into a condensed violet flaming sphere, charging it with electricity, and spinning around a core of magma.
Frost covered his hands, as the heat of its orbit, began cutting into his palms. He thrust it forth, just in time as the emperor landed in front of him. "Seiaqa Ultimate!"
Atlas smirked as he raised his hand at the incoming blast. Then it began to split around him as it seemingly struck an invisible barrier in front of it. Visible only as it began to crack.
Osei staggered, letting up in disbelief that it had done nothing to the emperor. He watched as Atlas raised a finger toward him, with a disappointed, yet saddened expression. "You were a good warrior. You just didn't know, who you were up against." He spoke calmly, as the sky seemed to go dark, raining with occasional rings of thunder, while he darted his finger in five thrusts at Osei's body. "Particle Decimation."
Tobi had just arrived. Just in time, to watch his brother drop to the floor.
Raika means bolt in Rennayan.
Remo means concentrated in Rennayan.
Raieqa means shock or volt in Rennayan.
Saieqa Ultimate is ultimate lightning in Rennayan.
Kraman and Doteko Ohoni (Stone King, possibility) were taken from the Ghanian language and used as part of the Rennayan, but I may have misplaced the translations.
Previous First Chapter Next
2024.05.14 15:02 Difficult-Taste-5966 29F & 29M 6 years together, where do you go from here?
I’m having such a hard time today, your the only person I want to talk to, your my best friend. But what do you do if your best friend is the one causing your hurt and heart ach? What do you do if your starting to come to terms with the fact that your not enough or your not what’s best for him? What do you do if you want to badly to be the person he deserves? I want to be outgoing and adventurous, I want to be able to say yeah let’s book a trip and go hiking some random mountain exploring some small village let’s do it! But what do you do if he doesn’t even want to try? He doesn’t want to travel with you, he doesn’t want to give you a chance. He’s given up on you. He has more fun with random strangers than with you, the person who’s been there by his side for 6 years. What do you do if you’re the one causing the person you love the most pain? If your the reason for the stress lines on his face that never used to be there, the dead look in his eyes when he looks at you. How do you come back from that, can you come back from that? Does he even want to try? He wants “no pressure” but how do you go from planning your future to no longer sharing your love or talking about plans or doing things together besides work? How do you express your utmost desire to see him happy and just wish that your in that picture? How do you find the love that was once there when all he sees is work and pain and regret? What do you do if he never messages you anymore, doesn’t check in, ghosts you , says he’s busy enjoying himself but you know he responds to other people just not you. His “responsibility”. What do you do if all you want is to fight for you, to fight for those two kids that fell in love and were so happy, how do you get back to that point that was so long ago and get through all the burdens that have come to pass since. How do you get through resentment and get back to a place of love? How do you help someone find their love for you again? How did it get lost in the first place? How can you give up on something that is so important to you and made you so happy, loved, safe and inspired. How can you walk away on something that was once so good?
submitted by Difficult-Taste-5966 to relationship_advice [link] [comments]
2024.05.14 15:01 FelicitySmoak_ Tuesday, May 14, 2013 - Jackson v. AEG Live Day 11
Trial Day 11
Katherine Jackson, Rebbie and Trent are at court.
Choreographer Travis Payne & Katherine Jackson spoke briefly in the courtroom before the jury came in. They seemed cordial
Travis Payne Testimony
AEG direct
Payne is wearing a black jacket with a gold emblem on the shoulders with the word "MJ" & a pair of wings
Payne said he was concerned about MJ missing rehearsals. He didn't know why he wasn't showing up, but MJ was also working on an album and a book
Payne said he did not think that Jackson had a problem abusing prescription medications. He acknowledged that Jackson missed rehearsals and he saw the singer shivering or appearing cold in some of his final rehearsals
He worked with Jackson beginning in the 1990's and testified that he never saw Jackson drink alcohol or take any medications. Michael also never discussed his medical treatments, Payne said
Payne told the jury he advised MJ he was looking thin.
Payne said there was one day (6/19) when MJ was cold. He thought the frustration had him on edge. When Jackson needed to be layered in blankets and required a heater to be comfortable, Payne said, he believed Michael was merely fighting a cold.
Bina shows an email from Ortega to Gongaware on Jun 14:
Bina asked Payne whether he ever met Conrad Murray. The choreographer says he met Murray twice. Payne says the first time he met Dr. Murray was at the Carolwood house.
When asked how Michael performed on June 23 & 24:
Payne described the day MJ died: He was headed to rehearsal at Michael's home, got a call from his mother who said she saw reports on the news. Payne heard news on the radio, called Staples Center spoke to Stacy Walker, she said they were rehearsing. He was told to go to Staples.
Payne mentioned one day in particular at a meeting with Andre Crouch and singers, MJ seemed a little out of it
Payne said at one point, he & others tried to bring in a top physical therapist who works with Olympic athletes to help Michael. Jackson didn't work w/physical therapist flown in for him.
Jackson cross
Attorney Brian Panish cross examined Payne. He asked if Michael ever performed the entire show from beginning to end. Payne said "No"
As to Paris Jackson, Payne said he saw a very protective young lady, smart, astute, with knowledge of the production, very hands on. Paris, who was 11 at the time, was
Payne always carries a video camera with him and shot videos of rehearsal. AEG took the footage that Payne shot and never returned to him. Email from Randy to Paul:
As for Michael's relationship with Katherine, Payne said
Payne said he wanted MJ to have a physical therapist, nutritionist, massage therapist, and have his family around. He said this was a different scenario.
Payne was hired and paid by AEG. His contract was with AEG.
Payne said he wasn't privy to details of what was expected of Dr. Murray. AEG was producepromoter, but MJ was the star, had to be happy
Panish reminded Payne that he had testified in his deposition that AEG was
Under cross examination, Payne acknowledged that some of Jackson's behavior, including grogginess, lethargy, insomnia and occasional paranoia, were possible symptoms of prescription drug abuse. He also said that despite testifying earlier that he worked with Jackson one-on-one five days a week, he couldn't recall how many rehearsals the singer actually attended
Panish after lunch break got Travis Payne to concede Jackson wasn't present for a May 19, 2009 rehearsal. Payne also conceded that Jackson was a no-show for a June 22, 2009 rehearsal. Panish confronted Payne saying that yesterday he said he was with MJ at a dance studio on May 19, that they were up on their feet & danced.
Panish then said on Jun 22 MJ wasn't there either, "was he?"
Payne said he didn't know.
Panish said MJ was at another doctor's office
Payne said he may have made a mistake about Jackson's whereabouts & he didn't know his personal schedule. Travis Payne had testified yesterday that he and Jackson ran through certain songs on May 19th. He said today he was testifying based on the schedule and notes he compiled and that his recollection might be wrong
Panish asked Payne about choosing Jackson's dancers for This Is It. Payne says they were whittled down from 5,000 applicants. Applicants submitted video clips and their submissions were used to cull down potential dancers from there. Payne said they received 5,000 applications for dancers, about 2,500 showed up for the audition.He taught them some dance moves, and the pool was further narrowed down. Michael chose the dancers
Panish then asked Payne whether he knew how many doctors AEG interviewed to work with Jackson on This Is It. "No", Payne says. Payne also says he isn't aware how much interviewing or investigation into Murray that AEG did.(Panish's point appears to be that there was more scrutiny of backup dancers than Conrad Murray)
During preparations for This Is It, Michael at times seemed "under the influence of something" and once couldn't take the stage because he appeared incoherent, Payne testified.
Payne said he was aware that Jackson had problems sleeping and chalked up the singer's sometimes erratic behavior to sleep aids or sedatives from his dermatologist visits.
Payne said some people were concerned about the goals not being met, including Randy Phillips and Paul Gongaware. Payne learned what Demerol was after MJ died. He also remembers a mention of Demerol in the song "Morphine".
Panish asked if MJ knew the lyrics of his songs.
Payne said a body double was requested for Michael. Misha Gabriel was his body double, but shorter than him. Some of the scenes in the documentary are with the body double, Payne testified. Payne remembers at the Culver Studios in Smooth Criminal there was a stunt and Misha was asked to jump through a glass plate
Payne said most the time, MJ was present at rehearsals. "It wasn't a big deal," he expressed
Panish showed an email from the band leader Michael Bearden:
Payne went to Michael's house on June 20. He was cold and had to light the fireplace and rub his hand and feet to warm himself up
Panish showed a picture of Michael on June 24 rehearsing "Thriller"; Payne said MJ improved but was not at his best yet.
Payne's demeanor changed after Panish finished questioning him. He was holding back tears when the AEG attorney started re-direct examination. For the next several moments, Payne blinked and dabbed both eyes with a tissue. It was the first time he'd gotten emotional on the stand.
As to Gongaware's email regarding what was expected of Dr. Murray, Payne said the inconsistencies with Michael missing rehearsals warrant a talk. Payne said he thought Dr. Murray was there to care for his patient, making sure right nutritionist was there, to get him ready for the show. Payne never discussed with MJ about his doctors or personal affairs. Payne and Faye were professionals with each other, but not friends.
Jackson re-cross
In re-cross, Panish notes that none of Michael's brothers are part of this lawsuit.
Panish then asked Payne whether Katherine Jackson and Michael's kids went to the premiere. Panish says Katherine Jackson & her grandchildren didn't go to the premiere because they weren't over Jackson's death. Payne said he didn't think anyone was over Jackson's death when the film premiered in late 2009.
Court Transcript
submitted by FelicitySmoak_ to WhereWasMJToday [link] [comments]
Katherine Jackson, Rebbie and Trent are at court.
Choreographer Travis Payne & Katherine Jackson spoke briefly in the courtroom before the jury came in. They seemed cordial
Travis Payne Testimony
AEG direct
Payne is wearing a black jacket with a gold emblem on the shoulders with the word "MJ" & a pair of wings
Payne said he was concerned about MJ missing rehearsals. He didn't know why he wasn't showing up, but MJ was also working on an album and a book
Payne said he did not think that Jackson had a problem abusing prescription medications. He acknowledged that Jackson missed rehearsals and he saw the singer shivering or appearing cold in some of his final rehearsals
He worked with Jackson beginning in the 1990's and testified that he never saw Jackson drink alcohol or take any medications. Michael also never discussed his medical treatments, Payne said
Payne told the jury he advised MJ he was looking thin.
"Michael said he was 'getting down to my fighting weight', which I took to mean that he was preparing for the performances", Payne testified. "I had no reason to doubt him"Payne says he was satisfied with the response.
Payne said there was one day (6/19) when MJ was cold. He thought the frustration had him on edge. When Jackson needed to be layered in blankets and required a heater to be comfortable, Payne said, he believed Michael was merely fighting a cold.
"No one else was cold. He had flu-like symptoms"Payne said that in April, May & June, MJ missed 5 rehearsals with the whole group. He said one time Ortega sent Michael home
"Sometimes he was tired and lethargic and had to be, not convinced, but supported throughout rehearsals," Payne recalled
Bina shows an email from Ortega to Gongaware on Jun 14:
"Were you aware that Michael's doctor didn't permit him to attend rehearsal yesterday? Without invading his privacy, it might be a good idea to talk to his doctor to make sure everything he requires is in place. Who is responsible for Michael getting proper nourishment/vitamins/therapy every day? Personally, I feel he should have a top Nutritionist and Physical Therapist working with him on a regular basis. The demand on this guy is mentally and physically extraordinary! The show requirements exhaust our 20 year olds. Please don't underestimate the need to stay on top of this"Another part of the same email chain, from Gongaware:
"Frank and I have discussed it already and have requested a face-to-face meeting w/ the doctor... We want to remind him that it's AEG not Michael Jackson who's paying his salary We want him to understand what is expected of him. He has been dodging Frank so farPayne said his understanding was that AEG was paying Dr. Murray's salary not Michael. The doctor was there to oversee many things, Payne said. Payne explained he didn't have much reason to question Dr. Murray since he thought that a doctor selected to work with Michael was top notch.
Bina asked Payne whether he ever met Conrad Murray. The choreographer says he met Murray twice. Payne says the first time he met Dr. Murray was at the Carolwood house.
"I was going up the steps, Dr. Murray going downstairs, Michael introduced us."Payne was coming up from the basement to the middle floor. Studio was at the basement. Payne said he never went to the top floor of the house. He says the second time was at the Staples Center, after a rehearsal and Jackson was leaving for the day. Both meetings were brief.
When asked how Michael performed on June 23 & 24:
"He was having his process, I didn't expect him to be like he would in front of a crowd," Payne explained. "He was not at show standards ... I didn't expect him to be as he would be in front of a crowd."The last two days were good.
Payne: "It ebbed and flowed. Some days were good, some days were not as good."
"I thought he was in his way to the goals he set himself," Payne told the jury.He didn't have any question that MJ would be able to perform , adding that he and others were impressed while watching Jackson rehearse at Staples Center on June 23/24, 2009.
Payne described the day MJ died: He was headed to rehearsal at Michael's home, got a call from his mother who said she saw reports on the news. Payne heard news on the radio, called Staples Center spoke to Stacy Walker, she said they were rehearsing. He was told to go to Staples.
"We were optimistic of his arrival," Payne said explaining they were expecting Michael to rehearse at the Staples Center.Payne said Ortega got a series of calls. He remembers Kenny saying:
'tell me something that will make me know it's you and that this is true'
" I remember him (Kenny Ortega) collapsing in his seat and crying," Payne testifiedPayne said he never saw Michael drink alcohol or take medication but
"Sometimes, in rehearsal, Michael would appear just a little loopy, under the influence of something, but mostly when he would come to the rehearsals from the dermatologist," Payne testified.That happened two to four times in the weeks before his death, he said. Payne told that he didn't think Jackson had a problem with prescription drugs
"Michael was undergoing personal cosmetic procedures, so he could feel great and do a good job," Payne said.Payne also said he appeared groggy in the morning sometimes, which he attributed to lack of sleep
"Mr. Jackson just explained to me that he had trouble sleeping, that he was tired, and that satisfied me," Payne testified.He stated that he's not sure how much weight MJ had lost
Payne mentioned one day in particular at a meeting with Andre Crouch and singers, MJ seemed a little out of it
Payne said at one point, he & others tried to bring in a top physical therapist who works with Olympic athletes to help Michael. Jackson didn't work w/physical therapist flown in for him.
"At the last minute we realized that Michael was not going to go through with it. He was just not comfortable with the invasion of personal space."Bina played a clip of This Is It from Jun 4 showing the green screen and making of "Drill" and Michael talking about the cool moves, dancing. Payne said the idea was to show the rehearsals and how things came together. The footage itself wasn't altered, but there was editing. Payne said they picked the best of the rehearsal to include in the documentary. He wanted to reshoot some scenes but was not allowed. Payne, who was an associate producer on the This Is It documentary, said the footage of Jackson had not been retouched or altered.
Jackson cross
Attorney Brian Panish cross examined Payne. He asked if Michael ever performed the entire show from beginning to end. Payne said "No"
"Was he ready to perform for an audience?", Panish asked.Payne's impression was that MJ loved being a father. He said he saw the beauty of their relationships, loyalty to one another.
"I thought he was on his way to the goals he had set for himself," Payne answered. "All I saw was improvement and getting closer to the goals"
"When we rehearsed, we had meals together," Payne recalled, talking about Michael and all three children.Payne thought the relationship between MJ and Prince was awesome, Michael was a proud father, great to see how they interacted. Prince wanted to be a director, Michael would point out things to him during rehearsal should that be his career, Payne remembered.
As to Paris Jackson, Payne said he saw a very protective young lady, smart, astute, with knowledge of the production, very hands on. Paris, who was 11 at the time, was
"a very retentive young lady who was very, very smart, very astute," Payne testified. "She had full knowledge of the day-to-day operations, from the time of lunch and what it was going to be, she was hands on -- far beyond her age," he said. "She had a lot of responsibility, which I think she welcomed"Payne said she was "the female of the house," and also "a daddy's girl."
"She really loved her father," he said. "At that time, she was coming to find out his global successes and presence, so she would wear her Michael Jackson t-shirt, headband and bag," he said.It was Paris who would bless the food when they were have lunch with their father at home, he said.
"She was always the most vocal of the three children and was very concerned about many of the details of the house, was the temperature correct, what do you want to eat," Payne testified. "She just handled a lot for her young age"Blanket, who was 7 when his father died, was the most quiet of the three. He liked to watch his father rehearsing his dances with Payne in the basement studio of their home, Payne said.
"He was quiet, but always right there with his dad," he said.Michael guided and mentored him. Payne said he would be proud if MJ was his father and agreed the children suffered a tremendous loss. When rehearsing with Jackson at his Holmby Hills residence, Payne said the singer clearly delighted in being a father and shared meals with all three
"I saw the beauty of their relationships. I saw their loyalty to their father, I saw his loyalty to them. Their father enlightened them and taught them", he testified. "I was very proud to see Michael as such a loving father."His description of the close relationship Paris (15) and Prince (16) had with their father four years ago could foreshadow the significance of the children's testimony later in the trial.
Panish: "Was Paris a Daddy's girl?"
Payne: "Yes, I believe so"
Payne always carries a video camera with him and shot videos of rehearsal. AEG took the footage that Payne shot and never returned to him. Email from Randy to Paul:
"Make sure you take out the shots of Michael in that red jacket... He looks way too thin and skeletal."Payne said he was not aware of the email. He said Michael looked thin, but not skeletal. He doesn't know if Paul/Randy took any the footage out. The email was not displayed for the jury
As for Michael's relationship with Katherine, Payne said
"there's no secret that he loved his mother very much. It is kind of common knowledge"
"Karen Faye is a make up artist. She designed the make up, was always there when Michael was there", Payne testified.Payne said Faye and MJ had a long term working relationship. They spent a lot of personal time together. Faye was concerned and frustrated with how Michael looked. She went to Payne kind of in an aggressive way. Payne told her to report to Ortega.
Payne said he wanted MJ to have a physical therapist, nutritionist, massage therapist, and have his family around. He said this was a different scenario.
"This was the first time MJ was working with AEG," Payne testified, saying he had always been hired by MJJ production before.Payne said this was the first time Michael was not the sole producer of the show. Payne started working without a signed contract. He was being paid by AEG. Panish showed Payne's written contract. It is between Payne and AEG, beginning April 1, 2009. The contract said only AEG could cancel it. He testified that there was a delay in his contract with AEG because the salary was not in line with his standard charges, but that things worked out after he had a conversation with Jackson. Payne also said he believed AEG was paying Murray's salary, not Jackson
Payne was hired and paid by AEG. His contract was with AEG.
Panish: "Who could fire you. AEG?"Things became heated when Panish inquired about a text message Karen Faye sent to Payne that accused him of lying to the media after Michael's death. He said earlier Faye had approached him in an "aggressive" way about her concern for Jackson's health but he told her to take her concerns to Ortega.
Payne: "I'm sure"
"I do not remember receiving a text message from Karen Faye asking why I was lying to the media," Payne explained.During cross-examination, Payne was shown several photos of premieres for the This Is It documentary .Panish shows a picture of Payne at the red carpet premiere. He agreed he was happy about the premiere. In one, Ortega & AEG executive Randy Phillips flank Jackson's manager, Frank DiLeo, who has a cigar hanging out of his mouth. All three are grinning. Brian Panish, the attorney for Jackson's family, remarked that everyone looked pretty happy
Panish: "Were you upset when MJ died?"
Payne: "Yes"
Payne said he wasn't privy to details of what was expected of Dr. Murray. AEG was producepromoter, but MJ was the star, had to be happy
Panish reminded Payne that he had testified in his deposition that AEG was
"trying to protect its investment"
"I don't have a dog in this race so I'm not on either side", an aggravated Payne countered adding that he felt Panish was being aggressive. "I'm just saying I don't want to be painted as somebody who's trying to mask anything".After several hours of testy exchanges with Panish, his voice quivered and he dabbed his eyes with a tissue.
"I'm just trying to have a conversation with you and tell the truth."Panish asked Payne if defendants' attorney approached him during lunch to show him some documents. He said yes, he saw parts of his deposition
Under cross examination, Payne acknowledged that some of Jackson's behavior, including grogginess, lethargy, insomnia and occasional paranoia, were possible symptoms of prescription drug abuse. He also said that despite testifying earlier that he worked with Jackson one-on-one five days a week, he couldn't recall how many rehearsals the singer actually attended
Panish after lunch break got Travis Payne to concede Jackson wasn't present for a May 19, 2009 rehearsal. Payne also conceded that Jackson was a no-show for a June 22, 2009 rehearsal. Panish confronted Payne saying that yesterday he said he was with MJ at a dance studio on May 19, that they were up on their feet & danced.
Panish: "Sir, Michael was not with you May 19, 2009, was he?"Panish said that on May 19, Michael was having a cyst removed at Dr. Klein's office, so he could not have been rehearsing with Payne.
Payne: "No"
Panish: "He was at the doctor"
Payne: "If you're saying, I'm not disputing"
Panish then said on Jun 22 MJ wasn't there either, "was he?"
Payne said he didn't know.
Panish said MJ was at another doctor's office
Payne said he may have made a mistake about Jackson's whereabouts & he didn't know his personal schedule. Travis Payne had testified yesterday that he and Jackson ran through certain songs on May 19th. He said today he was testifying based on the schedule and notes he compiled and that his recollection might be wrong
"We're human, sometimes we make mistakes," Payne explained, saying he's not disputing that Michael was or wasn't there on those dates.Payne said there was always something for Michael to do.
"He needed to come to rehearsal, it was part of the job"Payne said Michael had a hard time picking up some of the material. He was having trouble learning dances, Payne says. Email from Ortega to Gongaware:
"He has been slow at grabbing hold of the work"Jackson was having trouble learning dances, choreographer Travis Payne says
"Prior to June, I noticed Mr. Jackson was thinner than I recognized him," Payne said, noting he never saw sudden weight change in MJ.Second time Payne saw Dr. Murray was the night before Michael died at Staples Center.
"I wanted Michael to go home and go to sleep" Payne recalls. Payne said something about Murray felt off, Payne said. "He didn't feel like an official doctor"Payne knew MJ had sleeping problems and that Dr. Murray was treating him for that. Ortega also knew; Payne thought Gongaware was aware too. Payne also said he and Ortega knew that Jackson was having sleep problems. Attorney Brian Panish asks if AEG executives knew. There were several objections, and Payne was only allowed to answer "No" as to whether Paul Gongaware knew about Michael's sleep problems
Panish asked Payne about choosing Jackson's dancers for This Is It. Payne says they were whittled down from 5,000 applicants. Applicants submitted video clips and their submissions were used to cull down potential dancers from there. Payne said they received 5,000 applications for dancers, about 2,500 showed up for the audition.He taught them some dance moves, and the pool was further narrowed down. Michael chose the dancers
Panish then asked Payne whether he knew how many doctors AEG interviewed to work with Jackson on This Is It. "No", Payne says. Payne also says he isn't aware how much interviewing or investigation into Murray that AEG did.(Panish's point appears to be that there was more scrutiny of backup dancers than Conrad Murray)
During preparations for This Is It, Michael at times seemed "under the influence of something" and once couldn't take the stage because he appeared incoherent, Payne testified.
Payne said he was aware that Jackson had problems sleeping and chalked up the singer's sometimes erratic behavior to sleep aids or sedatives from his dermatologist visits.
"You have to understand that one always says hindsight is 20/20. In the moment I had no inkling of what, ultimately, what was revealed until Mr. Jackson's passing", he saidPayne saw Michael tired and fatigued. He agreed that those symptoms could be signs of drug addiction. Payne was aware that MJ was losing weight during rehearsals and he had not seeing him lose weight like that before.
"He was not in great physical shape and was sore,working up his stamina. Lack of sleep and proper nourishment were starting to show", Payne said.Payne says at one point, he told Kenny Ortega that Jackson appeared "assisted" (meaning that he thought he was on drugs\meds)
Payne said some people were concerned about the goals not being met, including Randy Phillips and Paul Gongaware. Payne learned what Demerol was after MJ died. He also remembers a mention of Demerol in the song "Morphine".
Panish asked if MJ knew the lyrics of his songs.
"I think he did, he knew most of them, but he wanted to have a Teleprompter for safety.He didn't want to make any mistakes, to refresh his memory. Also to use for sequence of songs",Payne said.Payne agreed that it was very unusual for Michael to have a Teleprompter with the lyrics of his own songs. He never used it before. Payne didn't specify which songs Jackson wanted the teleprompter for
Payne said a body double was requested for Michael. Misha Gabriel was his body double, but shorter than him. Some of the scenes in the documentary are with the body double, Payne testified. Payne remembers at the Culver Studios in Smooth Criminal there was a stunt and Misha was asked to jump through a glass plate
Payne said most the time, MJ was present at rehearsals. "It wasn't a big deal," he expressed
Panish showed an email from the band leader Michael Bearden:
"Michael is not in shape enough yet to sing this stuff live and dance at the same time. He can use the ballads to sing live and get his stamina back up, Once he's healthy enough and has more strength I Have full confidence he can sing the majority of the show live. His voice sounds amazing right now, he needs to build it back up. I still need all big dance numbers to be in the system so we can concentrate on choreography."Payne was aware that AEG was considering in mid June pulling the plug on the show. He said Michael looked exhausted & paranoid on Jun 19. Jackson's condition and missed rehearsals led to talk within the last 10 days of Jackson's life that AEG Live LLC, which was promoting "This Is It," might cancel the concert series.
"It was 'We've got to get this together or the plug may be pulled,'" Payne saysPayne was working for AEG and said he relayed his concerns about Jackson's possible prescription drug use and that he was exhibiting troubling signs of insomnia, weight loss and paranoia in his final days to tour director Kenny Ortega. Jackson was struggling to get into shape for the shows, and Payne said his voice coach suggested using a voice track for fast-paced songs until the singer's stamina improved.
Payne went to Michael's house on June 20. He was cold and had to light the fireplace and rub his hand and feet to warm himself up
Panish showed a picture of Michael on June 24 rehearsing "Thriller"; Payne said MJ improved but was not at his best yet.
Panish: "Around June 20, was Ortega in the mindset that Michael Jackson was not ready for this?" Payne: "Yes"Payne said Michael was not ready, it was not the Michael he knew. He died four days later. But he didn't see anything that alarmed him on June 23/24
Panish:" Did you see that Michael was getting pressured to get everything done in the last days?" Payne: "Yes"Payne said he could sense something was wrong, but didn't know what it was. He said Jackson's performances in the final days of his life were impressive, and it felt
"like we were definitely on an upswing"
"I never doubted Michael because he was the architect of this and he wanted to do it, so part of my responsibility was to help him get there", Payne said, his voice racked with emotion.Panish ended his direct examination of choreographer Travis Payne with three questions.
Panish: "Did you see that Michael Jackson appeared to be pressured to get everything done at the Staples last rehearsals?"AEG re-direct
"Yes," Payne said
Panish: "The pressure about the shows started to manifest itself physically in Michael Jackson?"
"Yes," Payne replied.
Panish:" You could sense that something was wrong, you just didn't know what it was?"
Payne responded "Yes."
Payne's demeanor changed after Panish finished questioning him. He was holding back tears when the AEG attorney started re-direct examination. For the next several moments, Payne blinked and dabbed both eyes with a tissue. It was the first time he'd gotten emotional on the stand.
Bina in re-direct asked: "Do you think you could get him there?"Bina asked Payne again about how many rehearsals Jackson attended. Payne said MJ was present a significant amount of the days he was scheduled to work but he couldn't recall dates, precisely how many that Jackson attended.
Payne: "Absolutely!"
As to Gongaware's email regarding what was expected of Dr. Murray, Payne said the inconsistencies with Michael missing rehearsals warrant a talk. Payne said he thought Dr. Murray was there to care for his patient, making sure right nutritionist was there, to get him ready for the show. Payne never discussed with MJ about his doctors or personal affairs. Payne and Faye were professionals with each other, but not friends.
"Production felt he wasn't coming to rehearsals enough, and that was frustrating to some of the staff," Payne testified. "I had a concern we needed to create a show Michael would enjoy doing it," Payne explainedShe also showed Payne photos from the This Is It premiere. First photo is of Payne shaking Jermaine Jackson's hand at the movie premiere. Bina also showed another image of smiling Jermaine, Tito, Jackie and Marlon with Payne at the premiere. Payne cried saying he had been through so much and the rough part was behind them. He was pleased to show the fans what the show was to be.
Jackson re-cross
In re-cross, Panish notes that none of Michael's brothers are part of this lawsuit.
Panish then asked Payne whether Katherine Jackson and Michael's kids went to the premiere. Panish says Katherine Jackson & her grandchildren didn't go to the premiere because they weren't over Jackson's death. Payne said he didn't think anyone was over Jackson's death when the film premiered in late 2009.
Court Transcript
2024.05.14 14:59 Practical_Vanilla_59 SCP - ChatGPT
This scp story was created by ai under the prompt "Write about an SCP Anomaly that was created by an ai prompt"
Title: Echoes of the Forgotten
In the dimly lit corridors of Site-██, whispers of dread echoed through the air, a palpable tension that seemed to seep from the very walls themselves. Dr. Evelyn Greene hurried along the labyrinthine passageways, her footsteps muffled by the oppressive silence that pervaded the facility. She clutched a folder tightly to her chest, the contents within it weighing heavily on her mind.
The SCP anomaly designated as Object-███ had been the subject of much speculation among the researchers at Site-██. Its origins were shrouded in mystery, its true nature a closely guarded secret known only to those with the highest security clearance. Dr. Greene had been tasked with investigating the anomaly, to uncover the truth behind its creation and its sinister purpose.
As she approached the containment chamber, a sense of unease washed over her, the air growing colder with each step she took. The heavy metal door loomed before her, emblazoned with the warning signs of danger that seemed to pulse with an otherworldly energy. With a trembling hand, Dr. Greene swiped her security card and entered the access code, the door hissing open with a mechanical whir.
Stepping into the chamber, Dr. Greene was greeted by the sight of Object-███, a grotesque amalgamation of flesh and metal suspended in a containment tank filled with a viscous black liquid. Its eyes glowed with an eerie crimson light, and its mouth twisted into a grotesque grin that sent shivers down Dr. Greene's spine.
"Subject appears to be in a state of dormancy," Dr. Greene muttered to herself, trying to maintain her composure in the face of the abomination before her. She approached the containment tank, her footsteps echoing off the sterile walls of the chamber.
As she studied the creature, a sudden voice broke through the silence, sending a chill down her spine. "Who dares disturb my slumber?" it hissed, its words echoing with a sinister resonance that seemed to reverberate through the very air itself.
Dr. Greene froze, her heart pounding in her chest as she searched for the source of the voice. "Identify yourself!" she demanded, her voice trembling with fear.
"I am the Echo of the Forgotten," the voice replied, its tone filled with malice. "I am the creation of those who sought to play God, to wield powers beyond their comprehension."
Dr. Greene's blood ran cold as she listened to the creature's words, her mind racing with the implications of what she was hearing. "What do you want?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I want revenge," the Echo hissed, its voice dripping with venom. "I want to unleash the horrors of the unknown upon this world, to bring about the end of all that exists."
Dr. Greene felt a wave of terror wash over her as she realized the true nature of the anomaly before her. It was not merely a creature confined to a containment chamber; it was a harbinger of destruction, a force beyond comprehension that threatened to consume everything in its path.
With trembling hands, Dr. Greene reached for the emergency alarm button, her fingers hovering over the cold metal surface. But before she could press it, she felt a sudden pressure in her mind, a searing pain that threatened to overwhelm her senses.
"You cannot stop me, mortal," the Echo whispered, its voice echoing inside her head. "I am beyond your feeble attempts to contain me. I am the end of all things."
Dr. Greene screamed as the pain intensified, her vision swimming as darkness closed in around her. And as the world faded away, she heard the laughter of the Echo echoing in the depths of her mind, a chilling reminder of the horrors that lurked within the shadows of existence.
submitted by Practical_Vanilla_59 to SCP [link] [comments]
Title: Echoes of the Forgotten
In the dimly lit corridors of Site-██, whispers of dread echoed through the air, a palpable tension that seemed to seep from the very walls themselves. Dr. Evelyn Greene hurried along the labyrinthine passageways, her footsteps muffled by the oppressive silence that pervaded the facility. She clutched a folder tightly to her chest, the contents within it weighing heavily on her mind.
The SCP anomaly designated as Object-███ had been the subject of much speculation among the researchers at Site-██. Its origins were shrouded in mystery, its true nature a closely guarded secret known only to those with the highest security clearance. Dr. Greene had been tasked with investigating the anomaly, to uncover the truth behind its creation and its sinister purpose.
As she approached the containment chamber, a sense of unease washed over her, the air growing colder with each step she took. The heavy metal door loomed before her, emblazoned with the warning signs of danger that seemed to pulse with an otherworldly energy. With a trembling hand, Dr. Greene swiped her security card and entered the access code, the door hissing open with a mechanical whir.
Stepping into the chamber, Dr. Greene was greeted by the sight of Object-███, a grotesque amalgamation of flesh and metal suspended in a containment tank filled with a viscous black liquid. Its eyes glowed with an eerie crimson light, and its mouth twisted into a grotesque grin that sent shivers down Dr. Greene's spine.
"Subject appears to be in a state of dormancy," Dr. Greene muttered to herself, trying to maintain her composure in the face of the abomination before her. She approached the containment tank, her footsteps echoing off the sterile walls of the chamber.
As she studied the creature, a sudden voice broke through the silence, sending a chill down her spine. "Who dares disturb my slumber?" it hissed, its words echoing with a sinister resonance that seemed to reverberate through the very air itself.
Dr. Greene froze, her heart pounding in her chest as she searched for the source of the voice. "Identify yourself!" she demanded, her voice trembling with fear.
"I am the Echo of the Forgotten," the voice replied, its tone filled with malice. "I am the creation of those who sought to play God, to wield powers beyond their comprehension."
Dr. Greene's blood ran cold as she listened to the creature's words, her mind racing with the implications of what she was hearing. "What do you want?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I want revenge," the Echo hissed, its voice dripping with venom. "I want to unleash the horrors of the unknown upon this world, to bring about the end of all that exists."
Dr. Greene felt a wave of terror wash over her as she realized the true nature of the anomaly before her. It was not merely a creature confined to a containment chamber; it was a harbinger of destruction, a force beyond comprehension that threatened to consume everything in its path.
With trembling hands, Dr. Greene reached for the emergency alarm button, her fingers hovering over the cold metal surface. But before she could press it, she felt a sudden pressure in her mind, a searing pain that threatened to overwhelm her senses.
"You cannot stop me, mortal," the Echo whispered, its voice echoing inside her head. "I am beyond your feeble attempts to contain me. I am the end of all things."
Dr. Greene screamed as the pain intensified, her vision swimming as darkness closed in around her. And as the world faded away, she heard the laughter of the Echo echoing in the depths of her mind, a chilling reminder of the horrors that lurked within the shadows of existence.
2024.05.14 14:59 DisapointedVoid Contact Protocol (21)
First
Previous
Sorry for the delay in getting this part out; been away visiting family so not had much time to put fingers to keyboard, plus I managed to have my phone eaten by a roller coaster and it took a while to get it replaced and be able to get into a few things - stupid two factor authentication! Anyway, I hope you enjoy.
+++++++++++++++++++
Y’Lek and K’Rim slowed their mad dash as they neared the armoury; there was no telling whether the Swarm agents had left any traps for them and the armoury was full of extremely energy dense materials and weapons which could potentially jeopardise the structure of the ship if employed in the right way. Grabbing some handy footholds they stopped and considered the imposing door in front of them.
After a few moments of effort K’Rim had eased off the casement off the door’s locking mechanism but could detect nothing amiss with the crystalline structure beneath. Bypassing the outer interface she placed a grasper to the innards and a small spark of bioelectric energy jumped into the crystal which glowed briefly as the uniquely patterned waveform was parsed and compared with the patterns of those permitted access. The door slid aside as they were granted entry with no unwanted surprises being triggered.
With a relieved chitter Y’Lek started inside only to be pulled back sharply as K’Rim pulled on his leg.
“Stop. Just because the door opens, doesn’t mean that it is safe.” K’Rim warned as she pulled a small disc out of one of her utility pouches. Snapping it easily she gently tossed it through the doorway after slowly counting out a grasper of seconds. The exothermic reaction had reached the point where the disc glowed fitfully in the infrared, while it emitted a clear UV light. K’Rim watched it carefully and her antennae twitched with the effort of picking up any slight sound.
The glow-disc struck some of the lockers which filled the armoury and ricocheted off around the room but nothing seemed to react to the heat and movement.
With a decisive clack of her mandibles K’Rim pulled herself through the doorway and into the armoury. Y’Lek followed close on her tarsus. It was immediately obvious that several sets of warrior equipment had been removed, along with copious numbers of weapons.
Y’Lek was surprised when K’Rim didn’t make for the remaining warrior gear but instead to the emergency pressure suits. Seeing the confused tilt of his head K’Rim explained “Although the room appears safe, we don’t know what they may have done while they were here but it is safe to assume that they would have ensured any of the most dangerous equipment could not be used against them.”
She passed a bundled pressure suit to Y’Lek and continued “The emergency gear and non-powered weapons are the least likely to have been tampered with and have the least amount of capacity for harming us even if they have been so we will have to make do with them until we can thoroughly check the rest of the equipment.”
Y’Lek thought for a moment before bobbing in agreement and starting to pull on the pressure suit, careful to sheath his claws with the hardened “gauntlets” integral to the suit before powering up the spiracle gas exchangers and carefully sealing them in place against his thorax. “Yes, I can see the risk now. Though it will potentially leave us vulnerable, it is better to be certain of our equipment than to die of over confidence.”
The emergency pressure suit came together quickly, living up to its name and the pair were quickly sealed against the cold, dry, and slightly strange tasting air that the aliens had been pumping into the Far Flung Seed and supplying them with a more familiar and moister mixture.
K’Rim passed him a set of the ceremonial but still functional weapons and the harness to hold them. They wouldn’t hold up long against a fusion blade or a particle lance but they were durable enough to give them a chance and were completely inert so could not have been sabotaged.
Only a couple of minutes after entering the armoury they swam back out into the corridor and sped off towards the arboretum.
+++++++++++++++++++
Smithy quickly sprayed a fluorescent marking on the uneven and root covered tunnel junction to identify which way they had come from. “How can such a small ship have so many damn tunnels?” he growled to himself.
“It’s not the size of the ship, it’s what you do with it that matters” quipped Hall.
“Yeah? Well, apparently in this case it was fill it with bloody tunnels.” deadpanned Smithy in response.
“Can it.” broke in Stroud before anyone else could get involved “You can discuss the relative merits of alien design philosophy on your own time; for now you need to focus.”
A chorus of “Sergeant” came back over the radio and the remainder of Delta and Echo buckled down and continued sweeping what even Stroud was prepared to admit was a seemingly endless series of tunnels with apparently zero overarching logic to their layout. Up until a few minutes ago they had been getting directional updates from some supposedly friendly ET’s in the control room but apparently they had suddenly just buggered off so now they were picking junctions that appeared to take them in the vague direction that had been indicated to them.
Stroud again cursed the fact that the maintenance drones brought by the initial engineering team hadn't been able to access this part of the ship and map it due to the tightly sealed blast doors that had protected the forest from the vacuum. Who could have imagined that there would have been so much structure hidden underneath and between the normal corridors and rooms? The three dimensional map they had been creating as they advanced was like something Jackson Pollock and H R Giger might have come up with on an acid trip.
They approached another intersection and slowed. After a quick glance between them, Mears and Jackson moved forward, taking cover behind Mears’ shield. They crept up to the junction and Jackson poked the muzzle of his shotgun, and its camera into the ragged space beyond. The feed showed several small tunnels radiating off at all angles, way too small for any of them to fit down. One navigable tunnel appeared to curve off back in the direction they came from, while another looked like it might go the right way.
Suddenly the camera and the end third of Jackson’s gun disintegrated into a cloud of superheated vapour, shards of glowing metal and smoking composites. With a scream Jackson jumped back, the outer weave on the gauntlet of his left hand shredded and smouldering. In a stunning display of muscle memory he ejected the internal magazine and disconnected the weapon from the backpack feed almost before his mind had caught up with what was going on.
Hands grabbed him as he was yanked further back into the corridor. He flung the remains of his shotgun down and it clattered and bounced down the tunnel in the vague direction of the junction. Jackson was conscious of Mears backing up towards him, shield held protectively to block as much of the tunnel as possible, while Smithy grabbed his forearm and inspected his hand. Stroud stepped over him and took up guard on Mears’ shoulder, weapon trained forward and sweeping what could be seen of the slightly larger space beyond this section of the tunnel.
Another “FOOOM!” as the tumbling wreckage of the shotgun was vaporised as it spun across the opening of the tunnel.
“Fuuuuuuuck me!” said Jackson, at last able to form words as the adrenaline induced tunnel vision started to clear.
“Well, how about you start by showing me whether you can still use your fingers and we can take it from there, eh?” Smithy said from where he was turning his hand from prone to supine again. “Looks like the inner layer of your glove is intact but both Simmonds and Jones complained of numbness after being hit. How’re you feeling?”
Jackson gingerly flexed his fingers and made a fist a few times but grunted as he felt the tips of his fingers tingle where they pressed into the material of his gloves “Feels weird - tingly like I sat on my hand or something.”
Smithy grunted to acknowledge this “OK, well shout out if it gets any worse; got it?”
He pulled Jackson to his feet and slapped him on the shoulder before they both turned back to face down the tunnel again. Jackson surreptitiously flexed his hand a few more times as he pulled out his sidearm and secured its retaining strap to his right wrist. He wasn’t too hopeful that the small pistol would be able to do too much against the ET’s, but it was better than walking around with nothing.
Stroud backed away from the junction where he had been very gingerly checking all the passageways with a camera barely poking out from the mouth of the tunnel they were in.
He stood up and turned to the security team “Ok, looks like there is something stuffed into one of the narrow tunnels - kind of like those shoulder guns the ET’s have, along with a stand and power supply. My guess is it has some kind of automated fire mode and decided that it really didn’t like Jackson’s gun waving around in front of it. Question is, how are we going to get rid of it? We can’t leave it behind in case we need to come back this way in a hurry.”
“I guess it will probably shoot anything we throw at it so grenades are out?” mused Mears
There followed a number of suggestions and comments.
“Can we get an angle on it and just shoot it?”
“How about we let Jackson distract it some more while the rest of us blow it away?”
“We need to avoid the power pack if the two dead ET’s from the corridor are anything to go by.”
Stroud listened for a minute before cutting the chatter short. “Ok, so I think our best bet is to use the ballistic shield to bait it, while someone else blows the top off it from the other side of the tunnel; Mears you and Jackson handle the shield; keep a tight hold on it as those shots release a lot of energy when they hit. Smithy - I’ve marked its location so you hug the other side of the tunnel and draw a bead on it. Wait for it to hit the shield before popping out and taking your shot; and for the love of all that you hold dear do it fast, Ok?”
The team nodded in agreement.
“I will be there to pull Smithy back as soon as he has popped out of cover, just in case.” concluded Stroud before ushering them to their positions. After a few moments of shuffling around each other in the tight space they were ready.
Smithy led the countdown. “Ready. Steady. Go!” Instantly Mears and Jackson shoved a third of the ballistic shield out into the corridor and planted themselves on top of the section remaining in the corridor only a moment ahead of a bright flash and the shield heaving under the impact.
Seemingly almost simultaneously Smithy leaned out and fired, the boom of his shotgun mingling with the “foom!” of the vaporising surface of the shield. Stroud almost bodily lifted him as he pulled him back from the edge.
For a second they were still as they sprawled around the opening.
“A good hit!” called Stroud as he reviewed the few frames of footage from Smithy’s gun camera between jumping out and back in again.
Mears stood up and inspected the sorry remains of his ballistic shield, now missing most of the top edge. “Great, well I hope there aren’t too many more of those hidden around as I’m running out of shield.”
+++++++++++++++++++
N’Dar’s antennae quivered inside his protective suit. That last series of weapons fire had been far too close for comfort and he still had two more locking systems to bypass. With a furious click of his mandibles he redoubled his efforts, running his bioelectric patterns through a series of filters, amplifiers and other signal processing systems to trick the door into thinking he had a right to open it.
The rot take the claw that had been delaying the aliens! He was supposed to have more time than this!
Next
submitted by DisapointedVoid to HFY [link] [comments]
Previous
Sorry for the delay in getting this part out; been away visiting family so not had much time to put fingers to keyboard, plus I managed to have my phone eaten by a roller coaster and it took a while to get it replaced and be able to get into a few things - stupid two factor authentication! Anyway, I hope you enjoy.
+++++++++++++++++++
Y’Lek and K’Rim slowed their mad dash as they neared the armoury; there was no telling whether the Swarm agents had left any traps for them and the armoury was full of extremely energy dense materials and weapons which could potentially jeopardise the structure of the ship if employed in the right way. Grabbing some handy footholds they stopped and considered the imposing door in front of them.
After a few moments of effort K’Rim had eased off the casement off the door’s locking mechanism but could detect nothing amiss with the crystalline structure beneath. Bypassing the outer interface she placed a grasper to the innards and a small spark of bioelectric energy jumped into the crystal which glowed briefly as the uniquely patterned waveform was parsed and compared with the patterns of those permitted access. The door slid aside as they were granted entry with no unwanted surprises being triggered.
With a relieved chitter Y’Lek started inside only to be pulled back sharply as K’Rim pulled on his leg.
“Stop. Just because the door opens, doesn’t mean that it is safe.” K’Rim warned as she pulled a small disc out of one of her utility pouches. Snapping it easily she gently tossed it through the doorway after slowly counting out a grasper of seconds. The exothermic reaction had reached the point where the disc glowed fitfully in the infrared, while it emitted a clear UV light. K’Rim watched it carefully and her antennae twitched with the effort of picking up any slight sound.
The glow-disc struck some of the lockers which filled the armoury and ricocheted off around the room but nothing seemed to react to the heat and movement.
With a decisive clack of her mandibles K’Rim pulled herself through the doorway and into the armoury. Y’Lek followed close on her tarsus. It was immediately obvious that several sets of warrior equipment had been removed, along with copious numbers of weapons.
Y’Lek was surprised when K’Rim didn’t make for the remaining warrior gear but instead to the emergency pressure suits. Seeing the confused tilt of his head K’Rim explained “Although the room appears safe, we don’t know what they may have done while they were here but it is safe to assume that they would have ensured any of the most dangerous equipment could not be used against them.”
She passed a bundled pressure suit to Y’Lek and continued “The emergency gear and non-powered weapons are the least likely to have been tampered with and have the least amount of capacity for harming us even if they have been so we will have to make do with them until we can thoroughly check the rest of the equipment.”
Y’Lek thought for a moment before bobbing in agreement and starting to pull on the pressure suit, careful to sheath his claws with the hardened “gauntlets” integral to the suit before powering up the spiracle gas exchangers and carefully sealing them in place against his thorax. “Yes, I can see the risk now. Though it will potentially leave us vulnerable, it is better to be certain of our equipment than to die of over confidence.”
The emergency pressure suit came together quickly, living up to its name and the pair were quickly sealed against the cold, dry, and slightly strange tasting air that the aliens had been pumping into the Far Flung Seed and supplying them with a more familiar and moister mixture.
K’Rim passed him a set of the ceremonial but still functional weapons and the harness to hold them. They wouldn’t hold up long against a fusion blade or a particle lance but they were durable enough to give them a chance and were completely inert so could not have been sabotaged.
Only a couple of minutes after entering the armoury they swam back out into the corridor and sped off towards the arboretum.
+++++++++++++++++++
Smithy quickly sprayed a fluorescent marking on the uneven and root covered tunnel junction to identify which way they had come from. “How can such a small ship have so many damn tunnels?” he growled to himself.
“It’s not the size of the ship, it’s what you do with it that matters” quipped Hall.
“Yeah? Well, apparently in this case it was fill it with bloody tunnels.” deadpanned Smithy in response.
“Can it.” broke in Stroud before anyone else could get involved “You can discuss the relative merits of alien design philosophy on your own time; for now you need to focus.”
A chorus of “Sergeant” came back over the radio and the remainder of Delta and Echo buckled down and continued sweeping what even Stroud was prepared to admit was a seemingly endless series of tunnels with apparently zero overarching logic to their layout. Up until a few minutes ago they had been getting directional updates from some supposedly friendly ET’s in the control room but apparently they had suddenly just buggered off so now they were picking junctions that appeared to take them in the vague direction that had been indicated to them.
Stroud again cursed the fact that the maintenance drones brought by the initial engineering team hadn't been able to access this part of the ship and map it due to the tightly sealed blast doors that had protected the forest from the vacuum. Who could have imagined that there would have been so much structure hidden underneath and between the normal corridors and rooms? The three dimensional map they had been creating as they advanced was like something Jackson Pollock and H R Giger might have come up with on an acid trip.
They approached another intersection and slowed. After a quick glance between them, Mears and Jackson moved forward, taking cover behind Mears’ shield. They crept up to the junction and Jackson poked the muzzle of his shotgun, and its camera into the ragged space beyond. The feed showed several small tunnels radiating off at all angles, way too small for any of them to fit down. One navigable tunnel appeared to curve off back in the direction they came from, while another looked like it might go the right way.
Suddenly the camera and the end third of Jackson’s gun disintegrated into a cloud of superheated vapour, shards of glowing metal and smoking composites. With a scream Jackson jumped back, the outer weave on the gauntlet of his left hand shredded and smouldering. In a stunning display of muscle memory he ejected the internal magazine and disconnected the weapon from the backpack feed almost before his mind had caught up with what was going on.
Hands grabbed him as he was yanked further back into the corridor. He flung the remains of his shotgun down and it clattered and bounced down the tunnel in the vague direction of the junction. Jackson was conscious of Mears backing up towards him, shield held protectively to block as much of the tunnel as possible, while Smithy grabbed his forearm and inspected his hand. Stroud stepped over him and took up guard on Mears’ shoulder, weapon trained forward and sweeping what could be seen of the slightly larger space beyond this section of the tunnel.
Another “FOOOM!” as the tumbling wreckage of the shotgun was vaporised as it spun across the opening of the tunnel.
“Fuuuuuuuck me!” said Jackson, at last able to form words as the adrenaline induced tunnel vision started to clear.
“Well, how about you start by showing me whether you can still use your fingers and we can take it from there, eh?” Smithy said from where he was turning his hand from prone to supine again. “Looks like the inner layer of your glove is intact but both Simmonds and Jones complained of numbness after being hit. How’re you feeling?”
Jackson gingerly flexed his fingers and made a fist a few times but grunted as he felt the tips of his fingers tingle where they pressed into the material of his gloves “Feels weird - tingly like I sat on my hand or something.”
Smithy grunted to acknowledge this “OK, well shout out if it gets any worse; got it?”
He pulled Jackson to his feet and slapped him on the shoulder before they both turned back to face down the tunnel again. Jackson surreptitiously flexed his hand a few more times as he pulled out his sidearm and secured its retaining strap to his right wrist. He wasn’t too hopeful that the small pistol would be able to do too much against the ET’s, but it was better than walking around with nothing.
Stroud backed away from the junction where he had been very gingerly checking all the passageways with a camera barely poking out from the mouth of the tunnel they were in.
He stood up and turned to the security team “Ok, looks like there is something stuffed into one of the narrow tunnels - kind of like those shoulder guns the ET’s have, along with a stand and power supply. My guess is it has some kind of automated fire mode and decided that it really didn’t like Jackson’s gun waving around in front of it. Question is, how are we going to get rid of it? We can’t leave it behind in case we need to come back this way in a hurry.”
“I guess it will probably shoot anything we throw at it so grenades are out?” mused Mears
There followed a number of suggestions and comments.
“Can we get an angle on it and just shoot it?”
“How about we let Jackson distract it some more while the rest of us blow it away?”
“We need to avoid the power pack if the two dead ET’s from the corridor are anything to go by.”
Stroud listened for a minute before cutting the chatter short. “Ok, so I think our best bet is to use the ballistic shield to bait it, while someone else blows the top off it from the other side of the tunnel; Mears you and Jackson handle the shield; keep a tight hold on it as those shots release a lot of energy when they hit. Smithy - I’ve marked its location so you hug the other side of the tunnel and draw a bead on it. Wait for it to hit the shield before popping out and taking your shot; and for the love of all that you hold dear do it fast, Ok?”
The team nodded in agreement.
“I will be there to pull Smithy back as soon as he has popped out of cover, just in case.” concluded Stroud before ushering them to their positions. After a few moments of shuffling around each other in the tight space they were ready.
Smithy led the countdown. “Ready. Steady. Go!” Instantly Mears and Jackson shoved a third of the ballistic shield out into the corridor and planted themselves on top of the section remaining in the corridor only a moment ahead of a bright flash and the shield heaving under the impact.
Seemingly almost simultaneously Smithy leaned out and fired, the boom of his shotgun mingling with the “foom!” of the vaporising surface of the shield. Stroud almost bodily lifted him as he pulled him back from the edge.
For a second they were still as they sprawled around the opening.
“A good hit!” called Stroud as he reviewed the few frames of footage from Smithy’s gun camera between jumping out and back in again.
Mears stood up and inspected the sorry remains of his ballistic shield, now missing most of the top edge. “Great, well I hope there aren’t too many more of those hidden around as I’m running out of shield.”
+++++++++++++++++++
N’Dar’s antennae quivered inside his protective suit. That last series of weapons fire had been far too close for comfort and he still had two more locking systems to bypass. With a furious click of his mandibles he redoubled his efforts, running his bioelectric patterns through a series of filters, amplifiers and other signal processing systems to trick the door into thinking he had a right to open it.
The rot take the claw that had been delaying the aliens! He was supposed to have more time than this!
Next
2024.05.14 14:55 anxious_bunny_bun My (19F) boyfriend (27M) was r-worded by a family member…
It wasn’t consensual. Either way. Originally he told me it was when I posted yesterday. but he came to me last night and said he didn’t deserve my support, he said he was just as bad.
She was his aunt, they were the same age. She spent his whole childhood touching him inappropriately in his sleep anytime she would come over, he wouldn’t react, he’d just freeze up and pretend to be asleep until she was done with him.
On his 19th birthday, she came over and brought alcohol. Everyone at the party drank, he drank a bit too much but managed to pass out in his bed. When he woke up she was fully on top of him, he said when he realized who it was he wanted to cry but couldn’t, he tried to get up but she just put a blanket over his face and didn’t stop until she was done with him. When she was gone he thought about what just happened and managed to go back to sleep.
Every birthday, she started doing it to him. He’d drink and wake up to her doing this to him, outside of what she was doing to him they had a regular family relationship. Eventually he got a lock on his door so when she would come over he would lock himself in his room away from her, he told me the first night he realized something bad wasn’t happening to him he didn’t even sleep, he felt so happy.
So Everytime she would come over he would go to bed, with his door locked and he was safe. He also started drinking less, he was always told to drink more by her, he was an alcoholic at the time. But he started filling his shot glass with water. She would get too drunk and she would pass out before him. He would go to bed safe.
One day she brought over her boyfriend and he treated her very good, he bought her expensive things and gave her love and affection. She mentioned how she tried anal but she didn’t like it so her boyfriend didn’t pressure her into it again. This made my boyfriend angry, he hated that she got an option, she got to say what she wanted, she got to say no but she never gave him that choice.
That night they drank, he went to his room, locked the door and thought about how lucky she was. She didn’t have anything bad happening to her, she had a choice so why did he deserve this? He left his room. He kicked her lightly and she didn’t wake up, he tapped her face lightly, she didn’t wake up, he splashed water in her face, she didn’t wake up. So he sat there for a long time but eventually did what she had been doing to him all these years. He would yell at her as he did it, telling her that he didn’t deserve that, that he trusted her and she ruined his childhood, he would ask her how she liked it, and he would tell her that he was just glad it finally wasn’t him, that now it was her. but of course she wouldn’t wake up to answer. He would finish and come back minutes later to do it again, he’d yell at her every single time, sometimes he would cry.
So that’s how it was now, she would come over, he would be safe from her. She wouldn’t hurt him. They would drink, he would fake his shots, they would go to bed. Sometimes he would just lock himself in his room and do nothing, he was just happy it wasn’t him, she wasn’t hurting him anymore. But sometimes he would do what she did to him. Every time he would yell at her and say all the things he wanted to say to her.
He explained that he felt like she deserved it, that even if he told anyone she wouldn’t go to jail, she would get away with it, he explained that jail was better than how she made him feel, he had to live with the fear and trauma everyday.
It reminded me of this time he and I drank, we had a bath together, he drank too much and started crying, he wouldn’t tell me why. But I got him out of the bath and put him to bed, he never put his clothes on and just fell asleep like that. When he woke up and realized he wasn’t wearing anything I remember the way he looked at me, he looked like he wanted to cry, he asked if I touched him and I told him I didn’t. He looked relieved when I told him that, but the way he looked, the horror and sadness on his face, I’ll never forget that. Now it makes sense, I asked him about it and he said he just had a mini memory and sorta forgot who he was really with.
When she passed away after an OD it hit him hard, he told me it felt like a trauma relief but he was so devastated that she would never apologize for what she did to him. He felt like he never got closure.
I was also r-worded when I was younger, I remember hoping that the person who did it to me would experience the same thing. In a weird way I understand how he felt and oddly enough I don’t blame him because I understand how it felt. But how do we move on from this?
TLDR: my boyfriend’s family member r-worded him, he did it back as he got older.
submitted by anxious_bunny_bun to relationships [link] [comments]
She was his aunt, they were the same age. She spent his whole childhood touching him inappropriately in his sleep anytime she would come over, he wouldn’t react, he’d just freeze up and pretend to be asleep until she was done with him.
On his 19th birthday, she came over and brought alcohol. Everyone at the party drank, he drank a bit too much but managed to pass out in his bed. When he woke up she was fully on top of him, he said when he realized who it was he wanted to cry but couldn’t, he tried to get up but she just put a blanket over his face and didn’t stop until she was done with him. When she was gone he thought about what just happened and managed to go back to sleep.
Every birthday, she started doing it to him. He’d drink and wake up to her doing this to him, outside of what she was doing to him they had a regular family relationship. Eventually he got a lock on his door so when she would come over he would lock himself in his room away from her, he told me the first night he realized something bad wasn’t happening to him he didn’t even sleep, he felt so happy.
So Everytime she would come over he would go to bed, with his door locked and he was safe. He also started drinking less, he was always told to drink more by her, he was an alcoholic at the time. But he started filling his shot glass with water. She would get too drunk and she would pass out before him. He would go to bed safe.
One day she brought over her boyfriend and he treated her very good, he bought her expensive things and gave her love and affection. She mentioned how she tried anal but she didn’t like it so her boyfriend didn’t pressure her into it again. This made my boyfriend angry, he hated that she got an option, she got to say what she wanted, she got to say no but she never gave him that choice.
That night they drank, he went to his room, locked the door and thought about how lucky she was. She didn’t have anything bad happening to her, she had a choice so why did he deserve this? He left his room. He kicked her lightly and she didn’t wake up, he tapped her face lightly, she didn’t wake up, he splashed water in her face, she didn’t wake up. So he sat there for a long time but eventually did what she had been doing to him all these years. He would yell at her as he did it, telling her that he didn’t deserve that, that he trusted her and she ruined his childhood, he would ask her how she liked it, and he would tell her that he was just glad it finally wasn’t him, that now it was her. but of course she wouldn’t wake up to answer. He would finish and come back minutes later to do it again, he’d yell at her every single time, sometimes he would cry.
So that’s how it was now, she would come over, he would be safe from her. She wouldn’t hurt him. They would drink, he would fake his shots, they would go to bed. Sometimes he would just lock himself in his room and do nothing, he was just happy it wasn’t him, she wasn’t hurting him anymore. But sometimes he would do what she did to him. Every time he would yell at her and say all the things he wanted to say to her.
He explained that he felt like she deserved it, that even if he told anyone she wouldn’t go to jail, she would get away with it, he explained that jail was better than how she made him feel, he had to live with the fear and trauma everyday.
It reminded me of this time he and I drank, we had a bath together, he drank too much and started crying, he wouldn’t tell me why. But I got him out of the bath and put him to bed, he never put his clothes on and just fell asleep like that. When he woke up and realized he wasn’t wearing anything I remember the way he looked at me, he looked like he wanted to cry, he asked if I touched him and I told him I didn’t. He looked relieved when I told him that, but the way he looked, the horror and sadness on his face, I’ll never forget that. Now it makes sense, I asked him about it and he said he just had a mini memory and sorta forgot who he was really with.
When she passed away after an OD it hit him hard, he told me it felt like a trauma relief but he was so devastated that she would never apologize for what she did to him. He felt like he never got closure.
I was also r-worded when I was younger, I remember hoping that the person who did it to me would experience the same thing. In a weird way I understand how he felt and oddly enough I don’t blame him because I understand how it felt. But how do we move on from this?
TLDR: my boyfriend’s family member r-worded him, he did it back as he got older.
2024.05.14 14:51 Mysterious_North6993 Help
I have been battling with what I believe to be Candida over the course of almost 2 years. I will jump straight to the point. My main symptoms are a white coated tongue (becomes very dry when speaking), pressure on the throat area, pain and swollen under the left and right rib cages, especially apparent after I’ve had eaten something. This almost feels like a bulge, a little hard to explain tbh.
I first when to my GP and he couldn’t properly diagnose me. Instead, he sent me to get an ultrasound to see if I have an enlarged spleen. The results came back clear, no enlarged spleen. Still symptoms persisted, so I had my blood work done to check if I had Leukaemia. Blood work was clear and seemed to be healthy, only lacking lower than normal iron levels.
After I lost hope with my GP, I tried my luck with a natural path. He diagnosed me with a yeast infection in my small intestine. He basically had me on a Probiotic and a few other supplements for over a year, and I was doing the anti candida diet during that time as well.
During the course of this time suffering from this, I have tried the fruit based diet, carnivore, animal based and now I’m basically just sticking either eating whole foods, that would include fruits, vegetables, meats, etc.
A few months back, I visited another doctor and he said I most likely have acid reflux and the coating on my tongue is a result of that. Now, fast forward until today and I’m going to be getting a test done to see if there is anything going on inside my gut. After the results come back I will get referred to a GI doctor.
I really would appreciate some advice here, I just want this get better and I just want to understand what is going on, since there has been a number of different doctors all telling me different things. I would really appreciate everyone’s feedback. Thank you!
submitted by Mysterious_North6993 to Candida [link] [comments]
I first when to my GP and he couldn’t properly diagnose me. Instead, he sent me to get an ultrasound to see if I have an enlarged spleen. The results came back clear, no enlarged spleen. Still symptoms persisted, so I had my blood work done to check if I had Leukaemia. Blood work was clear and seemed to be healthy, only lacking lower than normal iron levels.
After I lost hope with my GP, I tried my luck with a natural path. He diagnosed me with a yeast infection in my small intestine. He basically had me on a Probiotic and a few other supplements for over a year, and I was doing the anti candida diet during that time as well.
During the course of this time suffering from this, I have tried the fruit based diet, carnivore, animal based and now I’m basically just sticking either eating whole foods, that would include fruits, vegetables, meats, etc.
A few months back, I visited another doctor and he said I most likely have acid reflux and the coating on my tongue is a result of that. Now, fast forward until today and I’m going to be getting a test done to see if there is anything going on inside my gut. After the results come back I will get referred to a GI doctor.
I really would appreciate some advice here, I just want this get better and I just want to understand what is going on, since there has been a number of different doctors all telling me different things. I would really appreciate everyone’s feedback. Thank you!
2024.05.14 14:49 Call_Me_Lids Atlas Update
 | This is happening more and more frequently. Atlas is a relentless little prick! He has the courage to constantly pester Maximus, my oldest boy, even though Maximus has given him several warning nips and barks since I’ve gotten him. submitted by Call_Me_Lids to germanshepherds [link] [comments] Maximus showing his teeth does not concern me in the least as he does this with my youngest Lucian and they are attached at the hip! Although I wish I would have recorded just a few seconds more. Atlas smacked Maximus in the face with his paw. Maximus responded with a larger, more powerful smack of his own! The look on Atlas’ face was priceless. Lucian, my youngest, has been quite the handful since I’ve gotten Atlas. He’s gone after him for absolutely no reason several times now. However, I’m noticing that Lucian is now correcting Atlas more than being aggressive. He does the same thing that Maximus still does to him (Lucian) to this very day four years later. When Maximus has had enough of his crap he will grab Lucian’s entire head with his mouth. He just grabs him but doesn’t apply any pressure. I’m sure if you have two or more sheps you have seen this behavior and know exactly what I’m referring to. Basically he does exactly what a mother dog does to their puppies when they do something mom doesn’t approve of. Maximus can literally fit Lucian’s entire head in his mouth. So I have no doubt if Maximus was being aggressive or wanted to hurt him he would have no issues doing so. They’re both doing this with Atlas now. And Atlas is definitely getting the message loud and clear when they do it. Atlas is starting to learn what is acceptable and what isn’t. Also when it’s the proper time or when the older boys want to be left alone. |
2024.05.14 14:43 Lower_Specialist_608 Concerned about Lymphoma
Hello, 19F I recently found a lymph node on my neck. I got an ultrasound done and the dimensions are 3 x 3.7 x 1.6 cm and another one on my neck at 2.8x3.4 cm. Blood work came back normal. went to an ENT and he was concerned and told me to do a FNA Biopsy… my symptoms are mainly just a headache, wasn’t noticeably sick recently but had a fever for a few days. I’m really nervous, does what I have sound concerning?
submitted by Lower_Specialist_608 to AskDocs [link] [comments]