I have traveled a bit lately and have gotten behind on my thank you post, my deepest apologies, I know how it feels to send something out and not know if it ever got to its destination!
I deeply love this sub and am still amazed at how talented, kind and awesome you all are.
u/_pickupthepieces thanks for the Owl card and exchanging happy mail with me. Yes this week we have had plenty of sunshine!! Although temps are still yo-yoing.
u/amyt13 thank you so much for the Madeira postcard. Sounds like you had an amazing time there. I took my family there for New Year's Eve one year. I book a excursion on a boat with drinks and snacks, I few minutes before midnight they sail out in to the harbor. The fireworks display was truly AMAZING, they were going off in sync 360 degrees all around the boat.
u/articfox_12 thank you for the handmade postcard. Very clever idea to laminate and send. We did and will have a wonderful vacation. I like to travel about every month from March to Nov...
u/babyraspberry x 2 thank you for the Spring mail postcard and all the spring themed ephemera, good for you for taking Mable out for so many walks. I bet she loves it. Thank you too for the Munro's Books postcard, I love the Carl Sagan book quote. I really want to visit Vancouver Island, I hear their gardens are stunning!
u/cake-at-midnight thank you for the thank you postcard, I am glad you liked the birthday card I made for you :) I love my Cricut, I don't use it nearly as much as I should. You can create some amazing things with it!
u/cassius1213 thank you very much for the Awesome Eclipse postmarked postcard. Love that they actually created a specific postmark for the total eclipse.
u/DanerysWon lol love the ballerina hippo postcard, thanks so much, sounds like you had an amazing time at Disney. What a fun place to honeymoon too!
u/DaniGeek what a beautiful hummingbird card you found for me on your treasure hunt! And so fitting as I just saw my first hummingbird yesterday, finally!! Thanks for your book recommendations, it just so happens that I have not read Life of Pi but I just got tickets to see the theater production! I am trying to decide if I should read the book or watch the movie before I see the play. Thoughts? Redwall is a series I read with my son years ago. and the Dresden files is something my son also recently suggested.
u/doughe29 thank you for the Holland MI tulip card. I went to the tulip festival a few years back, very lovely. Yes, Cincy Zoo has a wonderful display of tulips, do come one year. It also has a great Holiday light display in Nov/Dec that is worth seeing.
u/duygusu thank you for the sparkly Awesome thank you card. I am glad you liked the card I sent, wishing you a quick settling in process. Thanks too for the pretty pansy sticker.
u/ez330 thank you for the Ohio Eclipse postcard. Did you not get to see it? We drove up to Dayton to the Air Museum and the clouds parted at just the right time for us to enjoy the majority of the eclipse. Love all the cool space themed stamps you used.
u/Ginger_ninjah thank you for the sunflower mini card and all the fun stickers. Sounds like you have been busy, still loving your Ninja food processor? LOL still shredding cheese?
u/HexagonalRainbow x 2 Thank you for the Legoland postcard. I could see how it would be really easy to spend way more money than intended at the Brick Factory. And a outlet store too - yikes! How many things have you built with what you bought though? I bet a ton of cool things. Secondly, thanks for the Mount Fuji postcard, very pretty! How did you qualification go for work?
u/keqani thanks for the Krieg postcard, love all the cute stickers you adorned the postcard with!
u/libertyprogrammer x 3 thank you for the Cincy OH postcard. Hmmm Leicester UK in 2044? Not sure I would make plans that far ahead lol. Thank you for the Houses of Parliament postcard, I walked around that area so often, I will respond to your update soon. Believe it or not I just today got your postcard you sent from Kruger National Park! It is dated Dec 20th. Can't believe it took so long to find its way to me. Awesome that you saw so many amazing animals!!
u/Mediocre_Radish_7216 thanks for the wonderful and cute snail mail postcard. You should do a scavenger hunt sometime, I had so much fun with it.
u/melhen16 Thank you for the National Postcard Week rainbow postcard, and thanks for the history lesson on the birth of the postcard, wonder what John Charlton would think about the industry he started?!
u/Mysteryvus x 2 thank you for the beautiful lemon thank you card, it is really very pretty. I am glad you liked the bday card I made as I thought about the things you mentioned you liked. Thanks to for the travel postcard, I really do like to travel. I am calling the travel agent my friend used tomorrow to start the planning of our Australia/NZ trip :) wish me luck!
u/ninayjang thank you for the Rome postcard, I love those art type postcards. I will tell you more about my NM trip soon.
u/PinkPengin thank you for the birds and penguin upcycle postcard. Good to hear from you my friend. I too have a pile of things I am supposed to finish up......I keep getting distracted with making travel plans, people visiting, or one of many other things that grabs my attention.
u/princecowboy thank you for the pen and ink dog face postcard. You were absolutely right, by the time I got this you had made it to your 100 flair - Congrats again. And by now you have received my 100 flair congrats card LOL.
u/purpleroots thank you for the CRAVE postcard with all your doodles :)
u/raspberrypoppyseed thank you for the awesome Disney Gang postcard. Did you have an amazing visit? Did you see any of the parades? They are one of my favorite things to do there.
u/rennbrig thank you for the beautiful artwork postcard of "Shaw Island Meadow" it really is so pretty, so glad you reached your sending goal :)
u/TheFeistyFox thank you so much for my sticker bomb scavenger birthday card, it was fun getting something to stretch my bday celebration this far :) thanks for the washi samples too, love the watermelon!!
u/TyeDyeAmish thank you for the bull fighting postcard, I would have to agree, the bulls probably don't like it! It is not something that I would want to see. I have heard how they are done and I just don't think I could watch it.
u/zenshark33 x 2 thank you for the Happy Spring orange flowers postcard, I have moved several times and the think I like the most is getting rid of things so I don't have to move them, so I am right there with you! Thank you for the purple flower Random Happy Mail postcard, always fun to get unexpected happy mail!
u/Zznightzzz thank you for the birthday postcard from my Scavenger hunt! I loved hearing all about your island and the people there. No problem on its delay in getting sent, been there, done that!! I love that you sent it. I still have one other person that I have not received from so if it makes you feel better you aren't the last one :)
u/wabisabi_sf, u/ninajyang and u/littlemermaidxx thank you so much for the Meet Up postcard from the SF stamp show. What a great venue to meet up and get together!!

Gonna try and make this short. I was an avid COD player starting around 2010-2011. I played every release leading up to about 2017 when my PS4 bit the dust and i just thought of using my time doing other things. fast forward to xmas this past year my lady and i decide to buy a ps5, shortly after the new mw3 remaster came out and i purchased that. i do not play the campaign ever i only play multiplayer, more specifically i basically only play TDM or hardcore TDM. My kdr MAY be at 1.00 but honestly its probably is lower. i can get in a match and go 3-24 easily depnding on the map lol, im a middle aged man. im out here trying to have guy time not go pro.
In april i noticed i had random friends on my friends list that were in chinese/japanese characters, at first i was like how did those get there, but then i thought maybe someone switched the name on their account from my old friends from my playing days. to be safe i deleted the old friends outside of who i play with currently, including the strange accounts.
Well last week i try to log on and i do not get online. so I assume the serve it down, but after 3 days still not connecting. this lead me to investigate. to which i find i have been banned from MW3, Warzone, and MW2. I appealed it, trying to explain the situation withint the 1000 character account but that did not work and now i have no more appeals. I aslo noticed my activision account was connected to a random steam account. i have no idea what steam is, as i am a middle aged man as i have said. activision has not seemed to care.
Oddly enough i went to vent on twitter and to my surprise hundred of bots came trying to get me to pay this account or that account to regain my account back. which im definitely not doing that. I assume that is a hustle for hackers.
My question is, is there anything i can do or anyone i can actually contact outside of the appeal form? LIke an email or someone to actually explain the situation and not rely on AI to make a decision on the status of my long running account? I literally just purchased the 420 cheech and chong bundle too.
I have screen shots and more via my facebook post i made last week about the situation that shows the freidn requests and my appeal band. The other interesting this is i stopped getting activision emails, so i was unaware of the punishment until i researched it.
https://www.facebook.com/iamlurk/posts/10161545608546473
twitter links with the bots trying to scam me:
https://twitter.com/lurkcity/status/1788056855865876968
https://twitter.com/lurkcity/status/1788071385069228455/
twitter.com/lurkcity/status/1788209225916637622

Hi, I have been demoted down to bronze 2 now. I have been loe-mid silver since season 4 every split, sometimes ending higher in silver, silver one. Last split I ended gold 4, I felt like I could have climbed more, who knows. I've always played malzahar, but this year I have been glued to him it feels, I always want to play him. But I am getting worse and worse as a player.
Since stats came out, doesn't matter what champ I'm on, my "combat" stats are usually pretty poor relative to almost any Elo I check against, and my gold related stats are usually pretty good. But this split, I think I reached silver 1, or was close (I know silver and gold are worse than before emerald came out), but then skarner came out, and I have slipped and slipped and slipped until I quit playing jungle again and went back to mid with my boy. But I am getting worse and worse.
And as I have slipped, now I am bronze 2, and I have never in 11 years been demoted so much.
I know people say malz has been weak, but since my Elo is so bad I know it's not relevant, and I have felt great playing him mostly, thank god they put the minion execut on his E years ago lol, now I CS much better.
Partly, I am tilting, if the other parts of the team aren't playing good (not feeding I mean, I mean like the jungler is being a bronze jungler... Big surprise because.... I am in bronze...), I kinda right away stop trying to play with them, just try to keep good C's and basically give up. Also, even when I am doing good, I'm finding that I cannot seem to rise to the challenge of carrying the team, I am not sure if maybe malz can't solo carry that great (keep in mind, I'm not gonna be able to skill gap enemies, I have never really risen above silver skill level).
I don't feel like I am getting worse, but the results seem pretty clear. Maybe I never was silver skill for ten years, I was just able to "hang" and get carried?
Idk.
I'm struggling. Decent chance it has nothing to do with my champ.
My profile: https://u.gg/lol/profile/na1/battle%20charger-battl/overview
I was in silver in S5, the thing has shown that glitch ever since. Was silver 5 0lp tho 😀
(Not looking to climb really, have never cared, I play ranked because there are far fewer smurfs and 4man teams in ranked)

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[REQ] ($500) (#Holly,MI,USA) (Repay $600 5/30/2024) bank transfer, cashapp, Zelle, PayPal.

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I’ve never done this before and figured I’d give it a shot. My names Ian and my car is completely shot. The car won’t even shift anymore, drives and redlines at a certain mph. I have 2 kids and a full time job but I’m a single dad who pays for everything in their lives and mine. I just made the house payment and don’t have money to fix my car. I would be willing to send a picture of my drivers license or anything. I really just need to get it fixed. Losing my job would be honestly devastating to me and my family. Sorry for the long back story. Just don’t know where else to turn. I have no family other than my kids.

TLDR at bottom
I wanted to share my ongoing experience with u/lagunaphotolab and their business lagunaphotolab.com
From what I can tell it’s a small photo lab that just started up recently. And I love supporting small business especially anything in the photo/film area. Usually these are some of the most attentive people as they always want to do right by customers.
Unfortunately this is not the case this time. I sent in 5 rolls about 75 days ago, I know it can take time and I wasn’t expecting a fast turn around. Website started 14 business days. I did check in with them but did not receive any reply. I went about my life, at the 1 month mark I checked in again and didn’t receive a reply.
This time I emailed the owner directly and got a short reply that they were in the middle of moving labs. I completely understand and asked for an updated ETA. That was the last I heard from laguna lab.
I try to be understanding and patient as possible with small businesses, having a ton of family that run their own shops I know how much work it is. I reached out a couple days after to follow up again. Then a couple days after that, again after that. Radio silence. I reached out again last week and today. Called and email and at this point I’ve been ghosted. I can only assume that my 5 rolls of film have been lost and I will not be receiving them back. I’m kicking myself even more as I live walking distance from my local film lab that I trust and have never had an issue with.
I unfortunately have to learn two lessons and I hope you learn from my lost:
-Don’t trust new places with film that’s precious to you. I stupidly sent the film that contained my new born 1st moments I had shoot over her first months. I know it gets repeated here a lot but stick to it. I did not.
-Don’t take a chance supporting new business until you see good work from them.
I’m posting this as a warning to future photographers who are considering Laguna Film lab.
TLDR: trusted new lab with 5 rolls, they ghosted me and I’ve lost my photos.

President Joe Biden on Monday signed legislation banning the import of Russian enriched uranium, starting a 90-day countdown until limits on shipments of the reactor fuel take effect.
Biden’s signature also unlocks some $2.7 billion in spending, previously approved by Congress, to build up domestic uranium supplies for US nuclear plants. That money was contingent on the federal government imposing limits on Russian uranium imports.
The move, which comes as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine grinds into its third year, carries risks. Russia is America’s top foreign source of the fuel, supplying about a quarter of the uranium used in US reactors, according to Energy Department data. Russia makes about $1 billion a year from those sales. Cutting off that supply could raise uranium prices 20%, according to Jonathan Hinze, president of nuclear fuel market research firm UxC.
But the legislation lets the Energy Department issue waivers allowing the import of Russian enriched uranium until 2028 if no alternative source is found or if the imports are determined to be in the national interest.
There’s also the possibility Russia could retaliate. In December Tenex, a Russian state-owned uranium supplier, warned American customers that the Kremlin might preemptively bar exports of its nuclear fuel to the US if lawmakers imposed a ban.
Fletcher T. Newton, president of Tenex-USA, Inc. said in an interview the company “fully intends to honor all of their contractual commitments in the United States.” But Tenex, he said, has no control over whatever action the Kremlin might take.
US nuclear plant owners have been planning for a ban. A spokesman for Constellation, the largest U.S. nuclear plant operator, said the company has worked with suppliers to secure enough fuel to power their operations into 2029, with contracts extending beyond then.
But analysts say there may still be smaller plant operators that haven’t fully prepared for the disruption. And fuel supplier Centrus Energy Corp., which is based in the US but relies on Tenex for the majority of the uranium it delivers, warned in its most recent annual report that a ban would pose “a significant risk” to the business.
“While we have other sources, they are not sufficient to replace the Tenex supply,” the report said. The company plans to apply for waivers.
The US was once a leading supplier of enriched uranium but lost its edge in the industry decades ago. The country now has just one commercial enrichment facility in New Mexico, owned by Urenco Ltd., a British, Dutch and German consortium. Centrus, based in Bethesda, Maryland, began production in October at a pilot project in Piketon, Ohio, and eventually expects the site to supply as much as 900 kilograms a year of specialized, highly enriched reactor fuel to be used in a new breed of advanced reactors.
Centrus also has secured approximately $900 million in conditional sales commitments to support a plan to produce conventional, low-enriched uranium reactor fuel, Chief Executive Officer Amir Vexler said Wednesday on an earning call. The company intends to compete for billions of dollars in funding the Energy Department will make available to support domestic enrichment, he said.
The Energy Department plans to use the $2.7 billion to help rebuild the domestic supply chain by creating a guaranteed buyer of American-made reactor fuel. Companies that could benefit from the spending include ConverDyn, a joint venture between Honeywell International Inc. and General Atomics that provides uranium conversion services, and Global Laser Enrichment, owned jointly by Silex Systems LTD and and Cameco Corp.
“To reduce – and ultimately eliminate – our current dependence on Russian uranium for civilian nuclear power reactors, the most important step the US government can take is to invest in US commercial enrichment,” the White House National Security Council said in a statement.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-13/biden-signs-ban-on-imports-of-russian-nuclear-reactor-fuel?

Fortunately, I had a life saving surgery as an infant. Unfortunately, it left a surgical scar in an extremely visible place closer to my face. I'm in my late 20s, I've had to go my entire life with it. I know scars may not seem that bad but..
I don't even know how to convey through words the immense amount of hurt you can experience by looking a tiny bit different from everyone else. Especially, as a child/teen where you want nothing more but to be accepted.
As a child, I wore my scar proudly but as I got older I learned to try my best to hide it. I've done multiple scar revision surgeries (I've given up), medications, silicone sheets, radiation as a child (which I regret as an adult), micro-needling, and rounds of steroid shots.
On top of the emotions of having quiet BPD, having to go through life with something physical (the bullying, it being a topic of conversation as soon as I meet someone, not being able to hide what I have or wear things that I want because I don't want people to ask about it, being isolated, etc.) has been....absolutely terrible.
How are you all able to navigate life...happily like this?

The winning team of Mnet's survival program Build Up'',HunMinJayBit'', will embark on a new challenge as a vocal group, BDU.
BDU members JAY CHANG, ONE PACT, Bitsaeon (MONT), Seunghoon (CIX), and Kim Min-seo recently held an interview at the OSEN building and talked about their thoughts on winning Mnet's ``Build Up.''
Build Up,'' which recently ended airing in South Korea, is a survival program in which talented singers who are confident in their vocals and love singing, regardless of genre, collaborate to create the best four-member vocal boy group. Jay, Bisseon, Seunghoon, and Kim Min-seo, who worked together asHeungmin Jaebit'' on the program, overcame fierce competition to win and will debut as a four-member group, BDU.
The four members said, As our first official schedule, we took a profile picture.We are preparing an album for the first half of the year, so we have received the songs and are listening to them.''They added,We will soon start living in the dormitory.'' I told him about the current situation.
When asked about his thoughts on winning, Bisseon said, I'm very happy.I was happy because I won first place for the first time in my life, and I'm glad that there are other members who can do it together.Everyone worked hard inBuild Up.'' , I'm glad that I was able to achieve a result that feels worth it even though I worked so hard. I would also like to thank all the fans." Seunghoon continued, ``I couldn't believe it at the moment I won.It would be great if I could win, but that wasn't my goal, so I'm grateful that the group was formed.I cherish the stage.'' I felt satisfied that I was able to do this because I practiced while thinking about it.I would also like to express my gratitude to all the fans who have supported me from the beginning."
Jay also said, I was happy to appear on the showBuild Up,'' meet some wonderful friends, and stand on a great stage.I'm happy to be able to sing as BDU thanks to the fans.'' From now on, we will do our best to show only our cool side to the fans who chose us."
Kim Min-seo said, I didn't expect to win either, but it felt like a dream and I was so happy. I had an experience that I'll never have again, so I think it's an important memory that will stay in my life. We're happy to be able to work together. Since you've supported us, we need to repay you, so we'll do our best." BDU is an abbreviation forBoys Define Universe,'' and it means that four people, each with different personalities, will come together to create a new universe. For two years, they plan to release music and albums as well as conduct various activities including touring in Korea and globally.
In particular, the winning team of Build Up'' will be awarded a prize of 100 million won (approximately 8.9 million yen). The members revealed that they have not yet received their prize money, but plan to divide it equally. Bisseon said,The prize money has a lot of meaning and is precious money.I want to give back to the people who helped me and put the rest in my bankbook and just look at it.''
Jay also said, I want to give back to the people who supported me and save money for the rest,'' and Seunghoon said,I don't care about the amount, but it's the first time I've won first place, so I think it's a waste to spend it.'' The money means so much to me that I haven't thought about it yet." Kim Min-seo said, ``I also feel like it would be a waste to spend it.Even if I actually receive a lot of money, it would be a waste to spend it because it was money from winning 'Build Up,' so I would like to thank all the people who supported me. I think I'll buy him some food and save the rest," he added.
HunMinJayBit, which was formed by Jay's selection of members, has emerged as a group with solid talent, visuals, and ability as an all-rounder. Regarding the selection criteria for the members, Jay said, ``I wanted to create a group with all-rounders who can do a wide range of things.Since I'm from the same company as Bisseon, I've been watching him for a long time, and I've seen him sing in a variety of genres. I had watched a lot of them, and I thought we would get along well with each other, so I chose Seunghoon right away.He showed a new side from the beginning to the end of the show, so I think Minseo was exactly what you would call an all-rounder. However, he continued to show that he was a trainee.I felt that he had a lot of potential, and I chose him after seeing his growth.Even though I wasn't the first to choose him, I had high hopes for him. I'm very happy that I was able to choose the members who will do it."
When asked about his future plans, Seunghoon said, ``Although there are no specific dates yet, we are planning to release an album in the first half of the year, and are making various preparations.This year's goal is to release two albums. We're planning to perform music that makes use of our vocals, which is our strength. No matter how difficult the songs are to dance to, we'll be performing them using handheld microphones."
Regarding the group BDU, Bisseon said, We are the main vocalist in each group, but each group has its own color and style, so I think I've only shown a limited style.This time, I'd like to introduce the main vocalist, a person who likes singing. Now that we have come together, we would like to do a variety of activities on stage and music where we can showcase our individual vocals.Although we all have different colors, there is a synergy that emerges when we come together. So, when our fans listen to it, we want to give them high-quality music that will make them think that we are the winners of vocal survival." The members have appeared on various survival programs such asBOYS PLANET'', PEAK TIME'', andYG TREASURE BOX'', but what prompted them to try out for another audition program?
Kim Min-seo said, Originally, I was a trainee, but I was rejected from the debut group, so I decided not to become an idol.However, I wanted to do music, so I was alone for about a year. I was struggling, but there were many difficult times, and I was unsure about things, so I think I needed some inspiration.At that time, the opportunity to appear onBuild Up'' came and I received the offer. I said I would do it right away, and I worked actively on it." Jay said, WhenBOYS PLANET'' ended last year, there was a part of me that doubted whether I had been able to show them enough.When the opportunity for Build Up'' came, I thought I would be able to do it well enough. I decided to appear on the show because I thought I could prove my vocal ability.'' Seunghoon said,I gained a lot from appearing on 'YG Treasure Box' six years ago.At that time, I was able to hit high notes. I wasn't able to do it, but I was able to hit high notes throughout the show.When I heard that ``Build Up'' was a vocal show, I wanted to try my hand at that.''
Bisseon also said, I recently appeared on a survival show, and I thought I would never do it again, but when I heard that it was a vocal survival show, I wanted to try it. Although there was some pressure, I took on the challenge because I thought that regardless of whether I got a good result throughBuild Up'' or not, the experience would have a positive influence on my singing in the future.'' Except for Kim Min-seo, who was a trainee, Bisseon belonged to MONT, Seunghoon belonged to CIX, and Jay belonged to ONE PACT, and they were already active as an idol group.
Seunghoon said, All the members supported me. They told me to come on the show and show what I wanted to show, and they encouraged me to do well without getting nervous every round.'' I was able to do so well because of that kind of support.'' Jay also said,From the beginning, the members supported me very hard and gave me a lot of advice.They supported me and wanted me to show it to the world, so I was able to give a lot of my strength.'' talked.
Bisseon said, At each new round, I shared with the members how to present the stage and received a lot of advice.I received a lot of strength.When the winning team was announced at the end of the final, the members also "I was there, but it felt strange. They were happy together." When asked about the most memorable reaction, Seunghoon said,One of the things that was a little difficult for me while appearing on ``Build Up'' was that people looked at me in a slightly negative way after I decided to appear on this show.'' There were some people there who were our fans, so it was mentally tough for me," he said. ) The painful feeling started to feel rewarding. It was a great opportunity for people to get to know me and the team, and I felt like I was accomplishing that goal. I felt better, and I think I've enjoyed it more since then," he said frankly.
Finally B․ D․ When asked about his goals as a member of the U, he said, I definitely want to go to the award ceremony at the end of the year, either this year or next.It's a place where I can show off my vocals, so I definitely want to go.'' I want to show it to you.'' Bisseon expressed confidence,I want to hold a solo concert in Korea during B․D․U's promotion period and fill a large stadium.''
Next, Jay said, When I was young, I dreamed of becoming a singer because of the songs of various singers. I would be happy if B․D․U could be a group that had that kind of influence.'' Kim Min Seo said, I would be happy if our music made it onto the charts. Our goals are big and we want to rank No. 1."
https://twitter.com/Kstyle_news/status/1789972591274598622?t=wTqhKywqwknISv_n7UkGAg&s=19

TLDR at bottom
I wanted to share my ongoing experience with u/lagunaphotolab and their business lagunaphotolab.com
From what I can tell it’s a small photo lab that just started up recently. And I love supporting small business especially anything in the photo/film area. Usually these are some of the most attentive people as they always want to do right by customers.
Unfortunately this is not the case this time. I sent in 5 rolls about 75 days ago, I know it can take time and I wasn’t expecting a fast turn around. Website stated 14 business days. I did check in with them but did not receive any reply. I went about my life, at the 1 month mark I checked in again and didn’t receive a reply again.
This time I emailed the owner directly and got a short reply that they were in the middle of moving labs. I completely understand and asked for an updated ETA. That was the last I heard from laguna lab.
I try to be understanding and patient as possible with small businesses, having a ton of family that run their own shops I know how much work it is. I reached out a couple days after to follow up again. Then a couple days after that, again after that. Radio silence. I reached out again last week and today. Called and email and at this point I’ve been ghosted. I can only assume that my 5 rolls of film have been lost and I will not be receiving them back. I’m kicking myself even more as I live walking distance from my local film lab that I trust and have never had an issue with.
I unfortunately have to learn two lessons and I hope you learn from my lost:
-Don’t trust new places with film that’s precious to you. I stupidly sent the film that contained my new born 1st moments I had shoot over her first months. I know it gets repeated here a lot but stick to it. I did not.
-Don’t take a chance supporting new business until you see good work from them.
I’m posting this as a warning to future photographers who are considering Laguna Film lab.
TLDR: trusted lab with 5 rolls, they ghosted me and my photos are now lost.

Hot 50 Spotify Playlist // #1s Spotify Playlist // Every Song to Ever Chart (Credit to FLLH for this amazing playlist!)

Popheads Weekly Hot 50: Week of May 13, 2024

For this chart issue, we tracked everyone's top 10s from Thursday May 2, 12:00 PM GMT to the next Thursday May 9, 11:59 AM GMT.

#	Artist - Song	Prev. Position	Peak	Weeks	Points	# of Listeners and #1
1	Sabrina Carpenter - Espresso	#1 (=)	#1	4 wks	6457.5	105 of 641 listeners had the song as their #1.
2	Dua Lipa - End Of an Era	NEW	#2	1 wk	4537.5	43 of 514 listeners had the song as their #1.
3	Dua Lipa - These Walls	NEW	#3	1 wk	4352.5	32 of 514 listeners had the song as their #1.
4	Dua Lipa - Illusion	#12 (+8)	#4	3 wks	4013.5	24 of 490 listeners had the song as their #1.
5	Dua Lipa - Whatcha Doing	NEW	#5	1 wk	3451.5	22 of 435 listeners had the song as their #1.
6	Dua Lipa - Falling Forever	NEW	#6	1 wk	3435.0	25 of 433 listeners had the song as their #1.
7	Dua Lipa - Houdini	RE-ENTRY	#1	24 wks	3319.0	14 of 445 listeners had the song as their #1.
8	Chappell Roan - Good Luck, Babe!	#2 (-6)	#1	5 wks	3160.5	37 of 338 listeners had the song as their #1.
9	Dua Lipa - French Exit	NEW	#9	1 wk	2952.0	9 of 397 listeners had the song as their #1.
10	Dua Lipa - Training Season	RE-ENTRY	#1	9 wks	2874.0	10 of 395 listeners had the song as their #1.

The Popheads Chart Video from u/rickikardashian will be coming soon!

If you want to see the points and number of listeners for each song in the top 50 chart, click here

• Highest Debut: #2. Dua Lipa - End of An Era
• Highest Re-Entry: #7. Dua Lipa - Houdini
• Biggest Gain: #4. Dua Lipa - Illusion / #16. Kendrick Lamar - Euphoria (+8)
• Biggest Decrease: #38. Taylor Swift - Fresh Out The Slammer (-22)

Popheads Top 5 Bubbling Under Chart May 13th, 2024

Artist	Song	Genre
WILLOW	symptom of life	Alt Pop
Drake	Family Matters	oh drake… you never learn
Bambie Thug	Doomsday Blue	Eurovision
Shaboozey	A Bar Song (Tipsy)	How tf has this not been on the charts yet?
Justice & Tame Impala	Neverender	Electronic

Personal Chart of the Week

One of the joys some people have on the chart is seeing their own impact on the chart. Whether its seeing your #1 song at #1, or seeing it bubbling under, people like seeing songs they like being adored by other users. In this section, one lucky chart participant will see their own chart and the impact it had on the full chart this week. NOTE: In the case of charts exceeding 15 songs, I will trim down the lowest tie to fit the chart by using the songs that charted the highest (or are funniest). This week, we have the chart of hekna02!

Rank	Song	Their Points	Actual Rank	Total Points
1	Dua Lipa - Illusion	15.0	#4	4013.5
2	Dua Lipa - Whatcha Doing	14.0	#5	3451.5
3	Dua Lipa - Falling Forever	12.5	#6	3435.0
3	Dua Lipa - Training Season	12.5	#10	2874.0
5	Dua Lipa - End Of an Era	9.5	#2	4537.5
5	Dua Lipa - Houdini	9.5	#7	3319.0
5	Dua Lipa - Maria	9.5	#12	2341.0
5	Dua Lipa - These Walls	9.5	#3	4352.5
9	Dua Lipa - French Exit	7.0	#9	2952.0
10	Dua Lipa - Happy for You	6.0	#13	2236.5

If you’d like to have your top 10 shown in a future installment, PLEASE USE THIS GOOGLE FORM! Also, if you sign up for this PLEASE also sign up for the actual charts, with the form found below.
Here's the current list of people signed up for the charts!

If you'd like to sign up for the charts, you can sign up here!

The tracking dates for the next weekly chart is May 2, 11:00 PM GMT - May 9, 10:59 AM GMT and results will come out the next Monday, May 13.

How The Chart Works:

These charts are created based on how frequently each song appears in the top 10 songs/albums for all of the users signed up for the chart. If the song or album occupies that user's #1 spot in their individual chart, it receives 15 points, then 14 points for #2, so on and so forth until 6 points for #10. If there is a tie, which is a common occurrence, then the number of points is averaged across those positions, e.g. if two songs are tied for #1, both will receive 14.5 points. Oftentimes there will be multiple songs tied for the last place, in which case the number of points each song receives decreases until it bottoms out at 1 point each.

Credits

• Reddit Post Author / Chart Runner: ImADudeDuh
• Spotify Playlist Cover Art Designer / Wiki Editor: kyrgyzzephyr
• Crownnote Author : Tedyonce
• Video Editor: rickikardashian

Chart Wiki
Last Week’s Chart
Link to an archive of all charts [Credit to u/bright_baby_blue for the website!]

Forward:
My #1 choice would be Onachu. He is strong, not slow like Marcao and good with finishing. Also, can be station for his teammates. He can play as a starter when Icardi not available. But wont be a good combo with Icardi together unless we throw them both last 20min or so when we needed to score. My #2 choice would be Ballotelli. He is more of a direct replacement of Icardi. He can come back deep and playmaker. He is slightly faster, as talented as Icardi. But he has attitude problem and unexpected redcard or anger issues. But if he accepts a reasonable salary, would strengthen our bench. He can easily play as SS/AMC and even at the wings and play with Icardi. It would be more versatile compared to other options. #3 would be Marcao. We can throw him in games where we need a goal for sure. He is a wrestler, he can power thru any defender. but would not be my starter in any game. Just an option to throw in last 20-30 minutes at most. I dont want Manaj or any other one trick pony. He will not work in our system.
On another note, Can Keles also seem to be a good option for the RW. I been watching for a while and he was showing good promise. He is always like that in the RW, but coach was playing in LW which he wasn't performing as good. In RW, he can cut into the line for cross, or cut inside for shoot. He is left footed and would be perfect RW rotation behind Ziyech with Yunus. If we can get him from Austuria Vien for a reasonable price. I would expect to get him for 3mil + some bonuses. Luckily, he is not a player of Karagumruk, so we dont need to deal with Ali Koc's errand boy Suleyman Hurma. #1 player from our league would be to get Oguz Aydin. He can play both wings. He played 98 games on LW, 21 goals and 8 assist. He played 40 games on LW, 15 goals and 7 assist. He seems more effective on RW, but I think that is because he found himself as of late. Also Alanya wasnt that good since end of last season and beginning of this season, so he didn't perform as good. I think better suited for LW. he is right footed, so he can cut inside for shots. But also can use his left foot for passes, crosses as good as BAY does, so he is not handicapped on his weak foot.
Als these 2 players are good at pressing game and have good dynamism. They would fit into Okan's system as well.
Also, just the rumors as it is, we are interested Atakan karazor from Shuttgart as DMC. he is tall and good interceptor. He controls the zone well. His style is like Mehmet Topal/Okay Yokuslu. But he is also gurbetci.
I dont see anyone else from our league that would be a good option. Maybe couple of siyahi DM/CM players like ones playing in ADS.
Another rumor is we will sell Sanchez and Nelson, and get back Ozan Kabak. He will be domestic grown player. So, along with Jankat, Yunus, Emin and him, we would need one more domestic grown player. But, our defense line would be Ozan, Apokerim, Kaan, Emin(rumor is Metehan will be loaned to Eyup for one more season). And this CB line up seems like a major downgrade. I mean, Emin would be a good option, but Ozan is very clumpsy in defense. We are strong with our strong defense last 2 seasons, but this defense will be so clumpsy. But it fills the good domestic player quota for CL. Add Batuhan instead of Gunay, we would have a good domestic line up, but I would still transfer a foreigner with good potential and skill.
And lastly, both of these players are foreign grown, so they will cause the problem in CL squad planning. We will have 2 more games in groups this season and we need to have better planning. 12foreginers, 8domestic grown(5 of them from your own academy), and 5 can be gurbetci. We got Kerem D., Berkan, Kaan, Gunay and Eyup as 5 gurbetci. I believe Eyup will be loaned this season and we need to get rid of Gunay. Maybe get rid of Gunay and Use Batuhan Sen and Jankat as academy players. for goalie. So we can have 2 gurbetci. So, I believe, we would only transfer 1 of the wings between Oguz Aydin and Can Keles, and 2nd one would be Atakan Karazor. He is not playing in German national team. So he can choose Turkey and not considered as foreigner in Superleague. But, in CL, still will be considered foreign grown.

Level Two

Picking up the golden egg and his Firebolt, feeling more elated than he would have believed possible an hour ago, Harry ducked out of the tent, Ron by his side, talking fast.
Good luck and remember that the theme this month is HP and the GoF!
“Mr. Diggory’s head rolled its eyes. “Says he heard an intruder in his yard. Says he was creeping toward the house, but was ambushed by his [dustbins].(https://arithmancy.ueuo.com/dustbins)”
Hints will be given in the private channels on Discord upon request. Tag @hint if your house is stuck and needs a hint to proceed. All hint requests will be logged in the #room-of-requirehint channel on Discord. Using hints will decrease your house’s hint bonus.
Work with your house to solve this puzzle. Puzzles should only be discussed in your house's Arithmancy Discord channel.
Links to the Reddit threads with your house’s Discord invite link: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin. (Note that you can only open these if you are a part of your house’s common room.*)
* If you would like to join your house’s common room, check here for instructions.
All students may participate even if you have not yet joined a common room. If a discussion has not yet been started in your common room, feel free to start one.
The answer will be a word or phrase. Submit your answer using this Google form. Each student may submit only ONE guess per level and may have only one Reddit account used for participating. You may only submit for your own house.
Every FIVE guesses, the current number of correct and incorrect guesses will be updated in this spreadsheet
The deadline is Wednesday, May 15, 8 PM ET
See the stickied announcements post for the full schedule and details on the scoring system.

Hey everyone, If you're in the market for a photo printer, here are some of the best options available in 2024. These recommendations are based on user reviews on different subreddits and the features they offer. Each printers has its strengths and weaknesses, so the best choice depends on your specific needs, such as print size, frequency, and budget.
(Tip: If you're a professional photographer, the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 or Epson SureColor P700 might be the best fit. For those looking for cost-efficient and high-quality prints, the Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 is an excellent option.)

Best Photo Printer:

1. Canon PIXMA PRO-200
2. Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550
3. Epson SureColor P700
4. Canon SELPHY CP1300
5. HP Envy Inspire 7955e
6. Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000

Canon PIXMA PRO-200:

The Canon PIXMA PRO-200 is a great choice for photographers who want stunning color prints. It uses eight different inks to make colors pop and can handle big prints up to 13" x 19". It's fast, easy to use, and fits well in small spaces.
Features:

• It offers Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and USB connectivity, and is both lightweight and compact.

Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550:

The Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 is an all-in-one printer that's perfect for saving money on ink. Instead of cartridges, it uses refillable tanks that last a long time. It prints beautiful photos up to 13" x 19" and is great for both color and black-and-white images. Plus, it's wireless, so you can print from anywhere.
Features:

• Equipped with Wi-Fi, Ethernet, USB, and a built-in scanner.

Epson SureColor P700:

The Epson SureColor P700 is made for serious photographers who want the best quality. It uses ten different inks for amazing detail and color accuracy. It handles a variety of paper types up to 13" wide, including art paper and canvas. It's compact and easy to use, with lots of ways to connect.
Features:

• It includes Wi-Fi, Ethernet, USB, and a 4.3-inch touchscreen.

Canon SELPHY CP1300:

The Canon SELPHY CP1300 is a small, portable photo printer that's perfect for quick, high-quality prints. It uses dye-sublimation technology for vibrant, long-lasting photos. You can print from your phone, computer, or memory card, making it great for events and parties. Produces good quality 4" x 6" prints and is portable and easy to use.
Features:

• Features Wi-Fi and allows direct printing from USB and SD cards.

HP Envy Inspire 7955e:

The HP Envy Inspire 7955e is a versatile printer for home and office use. It prints great photos and documents and can scan and copy too. It's wireless and works with the HP Smart app, making printing from your phone or tablet super easy. Provides good print quality for photos and is versatile with all-in-one functionality.
Features:

• Includes Wi-Fi, USB, automatic two-sided printing, and a separate photo tray.

Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000:

The Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000 is ideal for big, beautiful photo prints. It uses six inks for rich colors and can print borderless photos up to 13" x 19". It's compact, wireless, and easy to use, making it perfect for photographers and artists working from home. High print quality with Claria Photo HD inks, supporting wide-format prints.
Features:

• Offers Wi-Fi, Ethernet, USB, and auto-duplex printing.

Here are the results from S46 Episode 11 Day After Survey.
You can view Google's interactive summary of the results here.

Total Responses: 366

Overall Reactions

Average: 8.49 Standard deviations: 1.43

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
0%	0.3%	1.1%	0.5%	1.6%	4.4%	12.6%	21%	32%	26.5%

​

Contestant Reactions

The top 5 Survivors are listed below. In all questions, up to 3 picks were allowed.
Which Survivors played the best strategically?

1. Maria (97.8%)
2. Charlie (83.5%)
3. Q (37.2%)
4. Ben (25.1%)
5. Liz (17.9%)

Which Survivors were the most exciting characters to watch?

1. Q (82.4%)
2. Liz (74.4%)
3. Maria (45.2%)
4. Charlie (25.9%)
5. Tiffany (22.6%)

Which Survivors gave the best confessionals?

1. Q (64.1%)
2. Liz (59.8%)
3. Maria (46.7%)
4. Kenzie (34.8%)
5. Tiffany (22.8%)

Which Survivors gave the best challenge performances?

1. Charlie (93%)
2. Tiffany (78.8%)
3. Q (62.7%)
4. Maria (9.2%)
5. Liz (5.6%)

Which Survivors gave the best Tribal Council performances?

1. Q (61.5%)
2. Maria (60.9%)
3. Charlie (44.1%)
4. Liz (35.2%)
5. Ben (17.5%)

Overall, which Survivors stood out to you the most in this episode?

1. Liz (76.2%)
2. Maria (71.2%)
3. Q (70.1%)
4. Charlie (24.7%)
5. Tiffany (16.1%)

​

Gameplay

If you were Q, would you have taken Liz on the reward?

1. No (51.8%)
2. Yes (37.8%)
3. I don't know (10.4%)

If you were Tiffany, would you have played your idol during an "obvious" Q vote?

1. Yes (64.6%)
2. I don't know (20.3%)
3. No (15.1%)

Who would you have voted for at Tribal Council?

1. Tiffany (79.7%)
2. Q (12.4%)
3. I don't know (8%)

In one word, describe Tiffany, the eleventh boot

1. Strong (35)
2. Idol / Idolisha (15)
3. Overconfident (10)
4. Fun / Funny (9)
5. Badass, Blindsided, Cocky, Queen (7)

Would you like to see Tiffany return in a future season?

1. Yes (68.9%)
2. No (31.1%)

​

Editing/Production

Overall, how would you rate how this episode was edited?
Average: 8.29 Standard deviation: 1.61

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
0.3%	0.8%	1.1%	1.1%	1.1%	5.9%	15.1%	23.5%	25.8%	25.2%

​

Challenges

How would you rate the reward challenge?
Average: 6.91 Standard deviation: 1.97

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
0.6%	1.1%	5.6%	3.7%	12.4%	14.6%	19.7%	21.1%	12.1%	9.3%

How would you rate the immunity challenge?
Average: 6.92 Standard deviation: 1.83

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
0.6%	1.4%	3.1%	5%	11.5%	12%	25.5%	23.5%	10.4%	7%

​

Next Time on Survivor

The top 5 Survivors are listed below. Up to 2 picks were allowed.
Which Survivors are in the most danger next episode?

1. Q (57.3%)
2. Maria (46.9%)
3. Kenzie (32.9%)
4. Charlie (18.3%)
5. Liz (18%)

Top of the Day for 14/05/2024

^{[FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/TopOfThe/comments/dtlta2/mod_post_info_and_faq/} Discord GitHub)
^{Times shown are in UTC and dates are formatted as Day/Month/Year.
On mobile you can scroll and slide the tables to reveal more info.}

Most Upvoted Posts of the Day

Place	Title	Author	Subreddit	Score	Posted
1st	I found a rock that looks exactly like a piece of bread	u/saint-small	mildyinteresting	85,577 Upvotes	13/05/2024 03:10 UTC
2nd	Powerful anti-obesity ad	u/travelator	interestingasfuck	45,000 Upvotes	13/05/2024 06:48 UTC
3rd	I'm a disabled college student who just graduated....I can't decide if my parents are hilarious or horrible human beings. 🤣	u/Technical-Prize-4840	funny	41,240 Upvotes	13/05/2024 01:32 UTC
4th	me_irl	u/tajtricks	me_irl	39,447 Upvotes	13/05/2024 10:03 UTC
5th	Children are so pure	u/Ok-Championship-577	wholesomememes	38,869 Upvotes	13/05/2024 09:18 UTC

Most Upvoted Comments of the Day

^{Note: These may not be entirely accurate. Currently these are out of the comments taken from the top 5 submissions.}

Place	Body	Author	Subreddit	Score	Posted
1st	I'm disabled myself and that's funny as fuck.	u/Batmanswrath	funny	8,075 Upvotes	13/05/2024 01:36 UTC
2nd	My favourite part was where he gave away his apple	u/yagetwhatyaget	interestingasfuck	6,810 Upvotes	13/05/2024 08:12 UTC
3rd	So I’m a pediatric resident. On my first year, a teen came to the ER because he almost fainted during PE. Everything was ok (we did all emergency work up) he was dehydrated. BUT he was extremely obese. After placing IV fluids I ask for the mom to come outside where my mentor starts explaining that even though everything is alright, her child needs to lose weight (we gave him a referral note ti go to the “obesity office so that he gets a whole medical check up (hormones, metabolic issues) together with a dietitian and physical therapy) because he’ll end up having a lot of problems. (...)	u/Miserable-md	interestingasfuck	5,787 Upvotes	13/05/2024 09:49 UTC
4th	My mom and grandma used to feed me fat and sugary stuff too when I was a child. Staying in relatively healthy weight is difficult if you were taught that anything below 5000kcal a day is starvation.	u/friendofsatan	interestingasfuck	3,258 Upvotes	13/05/2024 08:16 UTC
5th	I once worked with a Brit who lost a foot in his previous career as a SAS guy. He showed me a pic of him in hospital post-surgery with his coworkers. They gave him a bag of gummy bears with the left foot bit off. Brutal, but he loved that pic and showed it to everyone.	u/TheBigYellowCar	funny	1,937 Upvotes	13/05/2024 03:03 UTC

I havnt played in a few months and i come back and it seems like everyone in my rank is worse. Im champ and im not a good champ at that but it seems like they boosted everyones rank. the games are just so much different than they were they are played so much worse. the opponents seem worse my tm8s seem worse. A few months ago it was sweaty (how i like it)3 and mostly every game was a good one.
Ofc people complain about bad tm8s but thats not what im doing. it feels like everyone has been promoted except me. it feels like im in gold or plat. everyone ballchases, they all hit the ball every chance they get, they dont control the ball at all its just hit it as hard as i can. This isnt a shot at anyone it literally just feels like i was put in lower ranked lobby's
when i switched from ps4 to pc i started a new account because i didnt know you could link them and i played for a year or two and progressed alot and when i found out you could link ps4 account i had all my stuff back so i played on that one and for ranked i was back in plat. it was very hard for me to get out of plat because (no offence) everyone sucked and it was hard for me to even get the ball with everyone chasing. my tm8 would hit the ball off my car and would bump me and whether that was on purpose or not it took my days to get back to low diamond (i was low diamond at the time) and right now im high diamond usually around the skill level i am so it should be fair right?? NO. it feels just like when i was stuck in the plat lobbies.
again no shot at anyone at any rank we all play a x amount and can only play so much im not trying to make anyone feel bad about their rank but for me being in high diamond right now is so bad. teamates giving up 3-4 kickoff goals a MATCH because they are just missing the ball on kickoff. that never happened in diamond like 6 months ago. again im not good but i have been obviously better than everyone in my lobby. mechanically (which im not mechanically good i play the smart game because i suck) and gamesense wise. i just want to know what happened or if its just me.
i want to be challenged and put in a rank where everyone is on the same skill level and not the matches i have been put in. its hard to rank up because i cant win a game. the entire lobby ball chases and just full sends it into the ball. far from the same rank lobbies 6 months ago where people were airdribbling, hitting resets (im getting there myself but far from consistent) and hell even passing. im just not having fun and wish i could have the old lobbies back where i wasnt the best in there and i would get shit talked because then the wins were rewarding and the losses didnt mean i rip my hair out.
sorry for the yap sesh i was angy

It all started on April Fools... There was this (Bi) guy who I was crushing on for a bit. I came up with a plan to kinda get him to start thinking of us in a relationship context. I planned this April Fools prank where he and I would pretend to be dating. We texted a lot to plan this out (me more than him) and I would say things like "How do you think we would act as a couple" to get him thinking about us. The prank worked and the victim thought it was funny but that's beside the point. Two days later, I was hanging out with him and our friend group and I noticed that he kept whispering to my friend (the prank victim). My mind immediately went to the worse but I just ignored it. When I got home, my friend texted me asking if I liked him. I said no since I tend to be a little too vocal about who I'm crushing on. She then called me and told me that the thing that they were whispering about was that he found me cute and wanted to ask me to prom! I immediately changed my text to a yes so that she could send it to him and start something. I was so surprised because he is like SO out of my league but she told me that he thought that I was out of his league. This was one of the happiest days of my life. It was the first time I ever felt attractive inside and out.
So some time passed, I never really see him that much at school but when I did see him, I would be so overtly nice to him (y'know the vibes). But here is where the story takes a shift. I get another text message from my friend, a lot more serious this time. She tells me what he is looking for in terms of relationships. She said that he didn't want anything before college (implying that he wanted to fuck around in college). She told me that he didn't want to take me to prom anymore and just like that, all hope was lost. I told her that if there were any updates she shouldn't tell me since I didn't want to go through the pain of knowing since I wasn't even supposed to know that he was into me in the first place. Every moment with him was so awkward. He doesn't know that I know that he knows that I like him. He would still do things that suggested that he liked me. We took photobooth photos together (like the ones in arcades), he would always be next to me, and he wiped the ranch dressing off my chin. So my hope rekindled a little.
This last part all happened within 4 days. I got a notification from him saying that he sent an image. I opened it and it was a drawing (he's an artist). It is a drawing of him, holding a bouquet of roses with the text "I think you're sweet and I hope that you will say yes to being my platonic partner to prom." Platonic. Who knew I could hate one word that much? I said yes, out of desperation. I didn't even know what it meant. How can someone be a platonic date to prom? I assumed that our friend group was going with each other as platonic dates. My friends told me that this was a good thing since it was kinda like a one-time date at prom but no relationship. I was just stuck on how the word "platonic" could be in the same image as a bouquet of roses. But whatever, I was happy that this could have led to something.
But once again, that hope faded. Today, he said to our friend group's group chat that he asked out this girl he met a while ago. It was as if I didn't even exist. Like those moments of hope were just a dream. The part that hurt the most was that I was replaced by a girl. She doesn't even go here! I thought I could escape the fate of the hopeless gay teen. I feel like I should confront him but I don't even know where to start. This whole situation is so complicated and I'm not even sure if I articulated it right. If u have any advice, thoughts, questions etc, feel free to lmk. Sorry this was too long and/or too sad lmao.
Tl;dr: I had hope that a crush liked me enough to go to prom with me but he just asked a girl out on a date.
(If any part doesn't make sense, lmk and ill edit it if im not busy lamenting lmao)

Quick and Dirty: So long as you get Pep Talk by completing the first four dream quests, AND install Ye Olde Chemicker on Plunkett Street, you can get 15/15/15 on day 6 and beat the Ocean City Boardwalk games (Dream Cat not required). The rough outline: You get +2/+2/+2 from Ocean City perks and Charlestown State Pen perks, +1/+1/+1 from any number of hat and pants combos, +1/+1/+1 from the Monster Club sash, +1/+1/+1 from a Noble Elixir from Ye Olde Chemicker, +1/+1/+1 from the devil's food cake (throw a hot link down the H***hole), +1/+1/+1 from your choice of liquor and your bonus from the electrified orb, +1/+1/+1 from your Pep Talk perk and choice of cat, +1 to Moxie from a new set of teeth, +1 to Muscle from Chiropractic, +1 to mysticality from the statue of you, +1/+1/+1 from losing and getting Angry, Contemplative, and Aloof effects.
Beating the Ocean City Boardwalk games requires a minimum of 15/15/15 Mus/Mys/Mox stats. This is missable--it is possible to lock yourself out of being able to achieve such high stats. However, there are multiple ways to get your M-stats this high, meaning even if you miss one route to 15/15/15, another is likely still open. I wanted to make a quick guide about not only how to purely maximize stats, but the different options available to get yourself to 15/15/15.

Always Possible Stat Boosts

On any save file, 13/13/13 should be achievable. Here's how:

• +1/+1/+1 from Basic Humanity
• +4/+4/+4 from Skill Upgrades
• +1 Muscle from "St. Polycarp's Forehead" perk (St. Polycarp's Cathedral quest)
• +1 Mysticality from "Skeptical" perk (pay for a tarot reading three times at Ocean City Boardwalk)
• +1 Moxie from "Expert Sitter" perk (Marvin's quest)

Those, which I assume most folks who made it through chapter 1 know about, bring you to 6/6/6. Potions, alcohol, and food will also easily net you +1, +1, +2 to your choice of stats (you can get higher boosts from food and potions, but they are unique and/or missable), bringing you to around 7/8/7. Then:

• +1/+1/+1 from wearing the completed Monster Club sash accessory (complete all Monster Shack quests). To my knowledge, it is impossible to lock yourself out of this quest.
• +1 Moxie from the "Perfect Teeth" perk (the dentist at the Maize Maze in Gray County)
• +1/+1/+1 from giving prisoners Chiropractor gift certificates (Charlestown State Pen in Government Valley)
• +1 Muscle from the "Well Adjusted" effect using the same gift certificate for yourself

This brings us to 10/10/10. To get to 13/13/13:

• A hat and pants combo can get you +1/+1/+1 any playthrough. The intimidating Stetson from Haim Quarry in The Big Moist with S.I.T. kitchen britches from the S.I.T. gift shop) is the earliest available combo, but you can also combine any puckwudgie hat from Gray County with the corresponding S.I.T. pants from the S.I.T. gift shop). There's also the glorious tiara from the Wreck of the Longerfellow, which is difficult to reach.
• The electrical orb on your bookshelf from Radio Shack in The Big Moist grants +1 to your class' main stat when you touch it.
• The statue of you from Puckwudgie Village and one of the three M-stat cats (not counting the dream cat) can grant you +1 to an additional 2 M-stats
• Finally: Losing battles (NOT surrendering!) will grant you Angry), Contemplative, and Aloof effects for an additional +1/+1/+1.

So, this will get you to +13/+13/+13 fairly hassle free. But that still leaves us 6 points shy of victory. Thankfully, there are myriad ways to reach that final number (and beyond)

Bridging the final +6 gap

All of the following is content you can lock yourself out of, sometimes pretty easily, sometimes pretty early in the game. The good news is, there are so many options, it's likely a path to 15/15/15 still exists on your save file unless you've reached the very late game and aren't lucky.

Dreams

You can get an additional +4 from Dream-related events.

• The Dream Cat from the Prologue grants +1/+1/+1, for an additional +2 M-stats compared with the other M-stat cats. They are very missable, and you can permanently lose their boon if you pet another cat on Chapter 6, as you will not go to sleep again.
• You must complete quests in your first four dreams to get the perk Pep talk, granting +1 to 2 of your 3 M-stats. You choose the M-stats by picking which statue to silence in Yet Another Fitful Dream.

Clothing

• The giant maggot hat, which comes from helping the miners and NOT working with Frogger at Haim Quarry, gives +1/+1/+1 for an additional +1 M-stat.
• Weathered Jeans can be bought from Advanced Pants on Day 4 if you choose it as an additional shop on Plunkett street. It grants +1 Muscle and +1 Moxie, and is the only pair of pants to provide +1 to more than 1 M-stat, for an additional +1 overall. You will only install 5 of the 9 possible stores on Plunkett street during a playthrough, making it easy to miss this shop.

This makes for a maximal +2 from better clothes.

Food

There are a number of food options to grant more than +1 to your M-stats, granting a maximal additional +2 to your M-stats overall.

• Any food starting with H can be thrown in The H***hole in Gray County to make devil's food cake, for +1/+1/+1. Of particular interest are hot links, which can be crafted at arcane ovens from the infinitely abundant phlogistic resin. This is always available in any save file, but easily missed.
• The Dauphin House) in The Big Moist contains a Can of Fruit Cocktail for +1/+1/+1. This item is unique.
• Fruit Advertisements can be gotten from Junk Mail once you've gotten the letter opener on day 6. They give +1/+1/+1 when eaten.
• Fish sandwiches can be bought from Fission Chips or The Underground Restaurant) for +1 to 2 M-stats of your choice (suboptimal, but available starting day 3)
• Finally, picking Botany as a major opens up 2 interesting options for an additional (suboptimal) +1 to your M-stats: You can make a questionable salad at Professor Kalos' Holiday Home which grants +1 to Muscle and Mysticality when eaten, AND you can wander at S.I.T. with Barker to find Odd Fruit for +1 to Muscle and Moxie.

Potions

Potion options are comparatively limited, but can grant an additional +2.

• The Noble Exlixir (+1/+1/+1) will be sold at Ye Olde Chemicker if you install it on Plunkett Street, but ONLY on day 6. You will only install 5 of the 9 possible stores on Plunkett street during a playthrough, making it easy to miss this shop.
• If you take the Chemicals major at S.I.T., you can get Professor Adams as a companion. Talking to him at Ye Olde Chemicker will give you 3 of Professor Adams' special potions for +1/+1/+1. This can only be done once, but can get you +1/+1/+1 potions before day 6.
• Without Ye Olde Chemicker, you can find radium rouge at the Dauphin House in The Big Moist for +1 to Mysticality and Moxie (suboptimal). This item is unique.

Other

There are a couple unique effects that you can use which will last 1 day only

• At The Old Junkyard at Crystaldream lake, there's a tub you can soak in for +1/+1/+1 for the rest of the day. This is a one day only effect; you can only soak once and will not be able to soak any other day. Optimal to soak on day 6.
• Similarly, in Gray County, you can encounter a blob of crude oil surrounded by electrified shale spires. If you choose the option "Harness the Lightning [7 Mysticality] you get +1 Mysticality from the Fossil Fueled effect for the rest of the day. This option can only be chosen once; the event can occur many times, but once you choose to harness lightning, it will never happen again (optimal to do so on day 6).
• Finally, the exploit: You can get +3/+3/+3 if you choose spiders as an elective at S.I.T. I don't recommend it, but it's there.

Bonus Guide to Liquors

-Tequila grants +1 to Muscle and Mysticality and can be found in the Mob Submarine in The Big Moist, but only if you accept the Mob's offer on day 2. - Whiskey grants +1 to Muscle and Moxie and can be found in the Moonshiner's Cave in The Big Moist. - Absinthe grants +1 to Mysticality and Moxie and is found in Rufus' Lab) at S.I.T.
Shoutout to this previous post by u/Mr_Lisreal, which already covers most of what's in this post. My motivation behind making this was primarily that the wiki does not do a good job of displaying potion effects in a browsable way, and it wasn't clear to me if it was possible to completely box yourself out of being able to complete the boardwalk games (to my eye it appears possible, but uncommon). I also wanted a guide out there for freaks like me who enjoy petting cats, and therefore don't want to lean on the dream cat boon because it deprives you of the joy of petting all the other cats in the game.

I've seen several opinions on the matter both against this writing decision and in favour of, so I wanted to see if anyone else interpreted this the same way I did. Because personally, I think it was one of the best changes they could've made.
Aang states in episode 2 that he's afraid of his own power, and when Katara insisted he joins in while she's practicing, he's reluctant because Gyatso has always been the one to train him. One of the critiques of this show that never made sense to me is the notion that they butchered Aang's character arc by having him embrace his responsibilities and not run away, and for all the complaining about 'they tell us too much instead of showing us' I'm surprised nobody caught on to this, because he absolutely is running away by avoiding training. And this avoidance is inherently tied to his grief. He knows he doesn't have time to grieve, he knows the world doesn't care about him grieving. His responsibilities are to the world, and this means he needs to begin waterbending immediately. And yet, he can never allow himself to take that first step to heal (remember, water is the element of healing) because once he does, the past is gone forever.
I love how they went into detail about the technicalities of how healing works; healing requires empathy, and the healer needs to know what it means to feel pain before taking away that pain for others. This was woven beautifully with Katara's journey in the show, but I think it contextualized Aang's own arc in a way that will set him up for a very compelling hero's journey. Aang's focal point of his season 1 journey was grief. He's grieving his people, his friends, the world that was, and the childhood that he'll never have. He's grieving what was lost that will never be restored. Even old friends like Bumi, who are alive, he's grieving the years that were stolen for both of them. He needed this space to allow himself to feel this pain, before he can take that pain away from the entire world. It would've been nice for the final shot of the gang in the North Pole to be of him and Katara doing some waterbending while Sokka watches, because this would signify after the battle and everything that they've been through over the season that it's time for him to start healing. But I'm content with how they left it off. Also, I'm a Zutara shipper, and even I could see that this arc ties both Aang and Katara's destinies within the narrative, so I'm not exactly sure why everyone was complaining.

So, been together since we were 16, both nerds and tend to stay inside most of the time. I’ve always been bored w our level of excitement, our sex life, (intimate maybe once a month- he never finishes due to anti depression meds, or lack of stamina) but he is kind and generous.
The whole time we’ve been together his employment hasn’t lasted longer than two years at a time. He attempted college but dropped out after a year or so due to lack of interest. He has gone for a handful of counselling sessions years ago at my ultimatum. He deals w depression and lack of motivation, anxiety and has a successful family whom care for him a lot but are obviously concerned. Going to family events is embarrassing as they always ask where his job status is, if he will go to school etc. I feel ashamed to admit I have to leave those conversations because I’m embarrassed. I love him so so so so much. We have four cats and are debt free, not engaged (yes that bothers me too) and don’t file as common law since that would cost more. (Live in British Columbia) His most recent job lost a contract so he’s had maybe 1-2 hrs work this last month. It’s probably the 4th-5th time he has been unemployed- he won’t apply for min wage jobs because he feels he doesn’t need to and he could get a mill labour job if it was desperate. I asked him today how long he can go for on his savings (he claims he’s living off a separate savings fund than the 110k he supposedly has invested) and he replied he can live comfortably for another six to eight weeks. I was so disappointed to hear him declare that. I told him I simply disagreed with his plans but do not want to argue.
So how do I protect my own peace while I wait on him? I’m anxious throughout the day or depressed thinking about the state of our lives. He has yelled at some people in public too recently while I was him because they were “discourteous” in some way- and yet I question why he holds his head high while unemployed ? I have not told him many of my thoughts- through previous phases of unemployment I already have and it never led to anything but push back and him feeling bad about himself. I want to stay because one it’s comfortable, it’s all I know and I fear I would regret it. When he is employed he shows good work ethic until he is bored and then he quits or the work dries up. He is nice. But I just don’t know. We didn’t even hav sex on our ten year anniversary. He said it was late and he was tired. We had been booked at a resort and yet. Nothing. We hardly seem to agree on things. I’m constantly bowing out of attempting to do things because he says he will do it. Sorry this is a mess. I kinda feel like throwing up writing it all down. How do I protect my peace if I stay or if I ask for a break? Would a break be enough push to get him to be willing to be uncomfortable for a short term job?

Got 650 robbed off of me. I kept getting one shot with a Lancaster and when I used my Lancaster normal bullets to the head it didn't kill? Do I need special bullets was he using them? Also he was waiting for me at my pick up spot. How did he know? Is there something on the map to indicate this so l can try steel goods aswell

Noah The Pilgrim
First Next
There is one last thing to do before leaving. If you don't recall ever being on this ship, then surely, you could have had your appearance change too.
Why was there a blanket covering a mirror? You couldn't answer that with a straight face without speculation.
"Probably me being lazy and not bothering to properly place it in the wardrobe."
'Probably' is the main focus here, you simply cannot remember ever being that lazy, yet that's the only logical conclusion to be drawn here.
You pull the thing off, careful to not displace the mirror and risk breaking it.
You have no expectations as to what may appear on the glassy surface of the mirror, yet you can't help but feel a bit anxious. Are you the same as before? How were you before? You can't remember. Are you better? Worse? The blanket is now completely off the mirror, but your eyes are closed.
Whatever is it that you see when you open your eyes, that thing will be you for the rest of your life. You swallow, opening your eyes.
You see a young man that looks to be in his mid-twenties. His brown eyes stare back at you, analyzing the bags beneath your eye sockets. The dark hair is neither too long nor too short, floating about without order thanks to the lack of gravity to keep it down. You see a beard that has not been trimmed for weeks, but also lacks thickness, each singular hair isn't particularly long either; and some even appear to be in-grown.
You touch your hand against your face, making sure it's yours. The beard doesn't feel like you supposed it would against your skin, instead of it scraping your hand you feel softness, no resistance or anything.
Just beneath the face, you see what looks like a hate crime against all that is considered holy in fashion. Plain white coveralls with the added bonus of a black tie and boots made from metal and leather. On your chest is also a badge stuck in place by velcro with your name, occupation, and crew. 'NOAH - INTERN - THE ODYSSEY.'
Only one question came to mind.
"Who the fuck designed this uniform?" You say out loud, receiving no answer.
Patting your newfound myriad of pockets, you find a large quantity of nothing. You place your wallet in one of them.
"Alright, I'll head to the bridge now, happy?" You say the AI.
"HAPPINESS WILL ONLY MEET ME ONCE YOU ARE SOMEWHERE SAFE AND YOUR CONTRACT IS TERMINATED. STOP LOITERING."
Well, that's a bit rude.
You compose yourself, straightening your back. This is what you look like, and honestly? Not too bad, but you could be better.
Returning to the cafeteria, you eye the two doors left unexplored; Communications and the one without plaque. You know where you should, but... A little peek doesn't hurt, right?
"Shouldn't we try to communicate with someone? Assuming you haven't tried it yet. I know we're far from everything, but we might as well, no?" You ask already approaching the door.
"COMMUNICATIONS ROOM IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO REACH WITHOUT PROPER PROTECTION AS OF NOW, IT'S LOCATED APPROXIMATELY TWO HUNDRED METERS FROM HERE, BLOWN OFF FROM THE REST OF THE SHIP." A shame really. "I SHALL INFORM YOU WHENEVER A DOOR LEADS TO THE OUTSIDE OR NOT."
You really want to ask what blew a whole segment of the ship off, yet you have a sneaking suspicion that your question will be met with a 'YOU DON'T HAVE CLEARANCE, JACKASS' directly in your face. So you chose to remain silent, simply nodding and approaching the correct door this time.
"Open."
---OPENING CAFETERIA DOOR NORTH---
The door silently opens.
Greeting you is a well-lit corridor. There are three doors on your left, a door at the end of the corridor, and a large window on the right. At least, you think that's a window.
You stare out from this window, nothing but utter blackness and fragments from your ship are seen. If this is the edge of the universe, and beyond this point, there is truly nothing. "Dreadful." Your speech matches your feelings.
"WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?" The AI says. You feel like it spoke in a mocking tone despite their lack of emotion.
You don't answer. "First door to the left... EXO-EXPLORATION...? What's that supposed to mean?" You receive no answer.
"Open." The door opens. No declarion of it opening once again.
You are met with what could be better described as 'Apocalyptic levels of mess', paper sheets float in the air, and not one of the four tables is in its correct position.
This room has been ransacked for all its goods apparently. Large display glasses were broken leaving nothing inside their casings, that looked like they could store something with the size of the common man.
Unusual displays aside, the room was so cluttered that the trash made for an effective smoke screen against what lay on the other side.
Hissing of gas exiting an air-tight space rang throughout the room.
"I HAVE OPENED THE STORAGE FOR AN EXO SUIT THAT BEST FITS SOMEONE YOUR SIZE." The AI says. "ALTHOUGH AN INTERN SHOULD NOT COME IN CONTACT WITH TECHNOLOGY SUCH AS THIS ONE, PROTOCOL DICTATES THAT I AM TO ALLOW ITS USAGE UNDER EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES. CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY."
Easier said than done. Your vision is so cluttered that you cannot see what's ahead. "Give me a second."
Giving a light kick to the wall behind, you float face-first into the wall of thrash. Covering your face with both arms, you brace through the harmless bits of sharp objects and junk.
It's a trivial task. You arrive on the other side in no time.
In front of you is a set of boxes with luminous glass rectangles atop each one of them. All shine a bright red light, aside from one which shines green.
'Gotta be this one.'
You descend to the floor by kicking the ceiling, raising your right hand you touch the green rectangle.
*Click*
Nothing could have prepared you for the following series of events.
The box opens violently, as a metal appendage takes hold of your hand, pinning it to the box. You try to jerk and pry the thing off of you, but you fail. It's not leaving you anytime soon.
From the bottomless that is that container, a white plastic-like substance flows upward from your arm to the rest of your body. "Uh!" You don't know if you should panic or allow it to happen.
FYARN hasn't said anything, so it's probably fine...
The white thing seems to ignore the coveralls you are wearing completely, instead, it covers only your skin in a thin coat of... it. You know not what to call this thing.
In but forty seconds it has covered your whole body, excluding your head. The box lets go of your arm and stays there, floating.
You take a good look at your arms. It looks like a skin-tight suit, but it doesn't feel like plastic, in fact, it's more akin to some sort of fabric if anything.
The only bad part is that you are still using the coverall and tie, this this simply went beneath the clothing.
"GOOD, WITH THIS I CAN MONITOR YOU MORE CLOSELY. NOW PUT THE HELMET ON, YOU HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO."
You look around in search of anything that even resembles a helmet. Nope. Nothing. "Where is it?" You ask.
"...THE SUIT COMES WITHIN THE HELMET FOR EASIER PACKAGING."
The box?
You snatch the box that floated around and analyze it to the best of your ability. "How's this a helmet?"
"DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE PUTTING ON A HELMET? REALLY?"
Who is this AI, Who programmed it, and Why does it come with a taunting feature?
As idiotic as it sounds, you place the opened box atop your head. It doesn't fit properly. Maybe you're doing this wrong? You move it to your face instead.
You recoil backward as you feel the box suddenly clamping down against your head. It's useless of course, the box is holding your head and doesn't give any sign to be letting go anytime soon. No light is able to reach your eyes.
You hear metal parts scraping against themselves, moving near your ears. Abruptly your eyes can see again.
A round thin layer of glass now covers your head, almost unnoticeable for how clear it is.
"WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY I CAN NOW SEE WHAT YOU SEE." The AI's voice isn't in the room now, instead, it's inside of the suit. "DO YOU NEED INSTRUCTIONS REGARDING THIS SUIT'S FUNCTIONALITIES?"
You find it oddly comfortable as if you are surrounded by the softness of cotton, and to top it off the suit also has additional functionalities? "Hell yeah, I do!"
"YOU DO NOT HAVE THE NECESSARY CLEARANCE FOR THAT INFORMATION."
You sigh. Is this serious? "Then why the fuck did you ask?!"
"UNSAVORY LANGUAGE. IT'S NO WONDER WHY YOU REMAIN AN INTERN." The AI says outright. "IT IS RUDE NOT TO ASK, REGARDLESS OF THE SITUATION." It responds to your question.
"Okay then... Is there anything I need to know before heading out?" You ask.
"NOTHING THAT YOU WON'T FIGURE OUT ON YOUR OWN."
You are unsure if you want to 'figure out on your own' if this suit comes with breathable air and is also made for space exploration. You swallow.
Meekly as always, you get out of that mess of a room, stopping at the corridor.
"Next set of directions?" You ask.
"THE DOOR AT THE END OF CORRIDOR USED TO LEAD TO THE CONNECTING CORRIDORS BETWEN THE BRIDGE AND THE REST OF THE SHIP. IT HAS BEEN BLOWN UP FROM THE INSIDE. NOW IT LEADS TO THE OUTSIDE. GO TO THE DOOR AND WAIT BY IT FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS."
"So let me get this straight," You begin, looking upwards as if the AI was above you. "You, want me, to go into the void of space, while also refusing to give me knowledge of the suit's functions?"
A fair worry, you summarize.
'I mean, there are a bunch of things that could go wrong here. I don't see anything that looks like it could help me move in space, nor do I think this thing has a built-in air tank... I could be wrong and I wish to be, but charging in without prior knowledge is ridiculous.' You wait for the AI's response, deep in thought.
"WHILE THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE OF YOU FAILING THIS TASK, THERE IS ALSO THE CHANCE OF YOU *NOT* FAILING THE TASK. FOCUS ON EITHER ONE OF YOUR CHOOSING AS YOU TAKE THE PLUNGE."
Wordlessly, you propel yourself forward, toward the end of the corridor.
'Are you shitting me? 'Chance of me nor failing' my ass!' of course, you don't word those complaints, instead choosing to speak out a complaint somewhat thought through.
"Are you sure I'm the one fit for this? It's just like you said, I'm just an intern, this is way above what my job description says I should do."
This is a bit of a stretch. You don't actually remember what was your job description, only that it had something to do with AI and being an intern.
If the AI called your bluff, it'd be pretty embarrassing.
"NOAH." The AI began. "YOU ARE HUMAN, IT IS NATURAL TO HAVE THESE THOUGHTS OF SELF-DOUBT. TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND GO THROUGH THAT DOOR, AND SINCE YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE LEFT, DON'T EXPECT SOMEONE ELSE TO DO IT FOR YOU."
Right in the money, huh? 'Of course, I have self-doubt! I barely remember anything about this place, now I have to risk my life?!'
You finally reach a conclusion.
A dream.
'Yes, yes! How did I not consider this before? This whole thing is a god damned dream!'
You let out a chuckle.
"NOAH."
'That's why I don't remember a thing. There is nothing here to remember! Everything here is a made-up thing from my brain! I'm sure I'll wake up at some point, so why shouldn't I live a little?!'
"Heh." You smile. "Alright, I'll do it." It feels like a weight left your shoulders.
"YOU SORTED IT OUT SOONER THAN EXPECTED. GOOD. MOVE TO THE DOOR AND WAIT INSTRUCTIONS."
You do as instructed without a care in the world. You never had a lucid dream before so it's not like you knew how it felt, but if it felt as free as you feel right now, you'd be sure to make steps toward trying it out again in the future.
"Open." The door does not open.
"I DID NOT INSTRUCT YOU TO OPEN IT YET." The AI said. "I AM SLOWLY DE-PRESSURISING THE CORRIDOR YOU ARE IN TO AVOID A MINOR ACCIDENT."
The AI says that yet you don't feel any different. 'Maybe there is no palpable difference because I'm in a dream... Yes... Or it's just the suit.'
"ONCE THE DOOR OPENS, YOU WILL BE MET WITH THE OUTSIDE OF THE SHIP. DO NOT PANIC WHEN THE TIME COMES. YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES OF BREATHABLE INSIDE THE EXO-SUIT; ONE AFTER THE DOOR OPENS, SO PLEASE, TAKE YOUR TIME AND DO THINGS CAREFULLY."
One minute outside... "Sure." You say, calmly. 'I should just hold my breath for a while before taking another moment to breathe. That should maximize my time out there.'
"THERE SHOULD BE FIFTY METERS OF NOTHINGNESS BETWEEN THE DOOR YOU'RE AT, AND THE REST OF THE BRIDGE. YOUR PRIORITY IS TO FIND AN OXYGEN UNIT, SOME OF THEM ARE LOCATED AT THE BRIDGE AND ARE FULL. USE THEM TO FILL YOUR SUIT AND ALSO TO DISPENSE A TANK FOR YOU."
The door opens. You feel your heart pounding against your chest.
You haven't noticed before, but you can't hear anything but the sound of your breath and your cardiac palpitations.
Your breath is ragged and sporadic.
"KEEP CALM." You take a deep breath. The tips of your fingers, feet, and nose feel very cold.
Ahead of you is the utter nothingness. You see a gigantic metal thing, nothing like the spaceships you imagined. Its design is not sleek and aero-dynamic like what you've seen in movies, instead, it's a large mass of squares and rectangles with antenna-like things protruding from its every visible surface.
You notice that the ship is also blocking your view of the star.
It does not look like the result of an explosion, instead, it looks like something ripped the ship like you rip a piece of paper. Well, that or you don't know what kind of explosion could have caused it. Probably the latter.
What looks like two-thirds of the ship is separated from the third you are right now. You can see the inside of a few of those squares, their contents spilled out into outer space.
One of them houses a visibly important-look door. Instead of the sleek silvery-grey from the other ones you've seen thus far, this one is painted orange with white strips on it. 'That must be the bridge.' You think.
Between you and it is a sea of metal sheets floating around. "THE CHANCES OF YOU HITTING THE DEBRIS IS INFINITEDECIMALLY SMALL, UNLESS YOU AIM FOR THEM, THAT IS."
Time is of the essence.
Will your aim strike true? If you miss you'd end up floating about in space, dead in but a few minutes. Will your jump be fast enough to reach the other side before you run out of oxygen? If it isn't, it'd be like swimming for a mile, only to drown at the beach. What if that's not the actual door to the bridge?
You don't have the time to panic now, and... It's all a dream, despite how real it feels.
You place your hands on each side of the door frame, moving backward into the corridor you were just in, and just like a sling being shot, you pull with both arms at full force towards the other side.
"AIM IS ACCEPTABLE. VELOCITY IS UNIDEAL."
"The fuck do you mean 'UN-IDEAL'?! I'm going at maximum speed!" You truly pulled yourself with your whole strength.
What's worse though, is that your body is not only going forwards, but it is also spinning at a concerningly fast rate.
"I MEAN WHAT I SAID, YOU SLINGSHOTTED YOURSELF AT A BAD POSITION, AS SUCH, SOME OF THE FORWARD FORCE YOU SHOULD HAVE, IS NOW MAKING YOU ROTATE IN YOUR AXIS. IT SHOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM TO REACH THE OTHER SIDE WITHIN THE REQUIRED TIME, BUT I CANNOT FORESEE YOU LANDING PROPERLY."
You feel completely disoriented. You feel like your body is completely still, but your eyes tell you a completely different story. It's very bad for the headache you're already feeling.
"FUCK!" You scream into the nothingness.
"TRY NOT TO LAND WITH YOUR HEAD." The AI says with the calmest voice possible.
In less than thirty seconds, you hit your back against something hard, but you keep moving forward. You think, at least.
"AHRG." You let out a pained grunt.
Not once in your life do you recall being hurt in a dream...
It stings. It also knocked the wind out of you. You fail to compose yourself.
"YOU HIT NOTHING OF IMPORTANCE. YOU ARE STILL HEADING FOR THE BRIDGE."
In the corner of your eye, you see what you hit in the shape of a sharp metal sheet, currently spinning away in the distance.
Forty seconds have passed. You hit the door you were aiming for, kind of.
Your momentum was stopped when your chest collided against the dislodged ledge of the orange door's corridor. Your dangling legs hit the ceiling of the room below.
"Oof!"
Before falling even further, you hold onto the ledge with the tip of your fingers. You stay there for a moment, regaining your composure.
"BE QUICK."
The AI's words pressured you into quickly getting up from that ledge.
"Open!" You shouted, but it did not open. "Why isn't it opening?!" You ask the AI, then you notice a small keyboard below an equally small black screen on the side of the door. There are ten numbered keys on it, and the little screen suggests a four-number password.
"A password?! Tell me the password!"
The AI takes a moment to say anything. You don't take kindly to that. "Quick! I'm not counting how much time it's passed!"
Finally giving in, the AI speaks to you, reluctant still. "...3324."
Your trembling fingers accidentally hit the wrong password, typing '3354' instead. To make matters worse, the AI simply states the following. "YOU ARE OUT OF OXYGEN."
You swallow. If this was a dream to begin with, it just earned the title of Nightmare, if it hadn't already.
Strangely enough, you can still breathe in and out just fine, but you can't help but feel winded. It's the CO2 still inside the helmet, that's what you're breathing.
You put in the correct combination this time. The door opens.
"ON YOUR LEFT. PLACE YOUR HAND IN THE SOCKET."
You care little for what's inside the room you're in. Your heart never beat so fast.
Seeing a cube-shaped thing protruding from the wall to your left, you don't even think twice before plunging your fist into the circular hole in it.
The noise of gases passing through narrow cavities was enough to tell you something was working. You feel immediate relief, enough to make your vision darken for but a moment.
"GOOD. NOW REQUEST THE TANK."
Just when FYARN said it, did you realize there is a screen and a keyboard on the terminal you just plunged your fist into, you scratch the top of your helmet for a moment, not really knowing what to type. One thing comes to your head, however.
'REQUEST OXYGEN_5L' You type.
You've done this before. The keys on this keyboard feel familiar to you. You must have worked with it before, not this particular one, but other oxygen units.
This ship has built-in liquid oxygen storage for emergencies. The life-support of the ship, the place where breathable air is produced, has most likely been lost with the other part of the ship. This unit takes that liquid oxygen, processes it, and injects it into a suit, or an oxygen tank. It seems like that storage was unaffected.
Lucky you.
A 5-liter tank is not only large but also heavy. It's a nonfactor in this particular situation, as there is no gravity.
The silver cylinder with a transparent tube is dispensed on the floor, as an automatic door opens and closes in the blink of an eye. One end of the tube is attached to the top of the tank, the other is shaped like a syringe.
Oddly enough, the oxygen tank is exactly as you remember it being. The same robust ones hospitals everyone on earth uses, with the signature scary-looking pointer indicating the pressure, the pointer indicating the current output, and a green valve atop to calibrate how much gas is flowing.
This is a stark difference to everything looking so futuristic in this ship, and rightfully so, this is a space ship after all.
You remember having to drive twenty kilometers with a buddy of yours on one of those tanks in your car, returning from the hospital. It was... Agonizing whenever you hit a hole in the asphalt, fearing for his life when in reality he wasn't really in danger.
It's warm to the touch, just like you remember it being.
"TURN THE VALVE UNTIL THE MARKER HITS THE NUMBER ONE, AND THEN PLACE THE END OF THE TUBE AT THE BASE OF THE HELMET." You do so without the slightest of issues.
"GOOD. NEXT UP, YOU MUST LOCATE THE TERMINAL RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ENGINE, IT IS CURRENTLY OFFLINE AND I NEED YOU TO TURN IT ON. THIS SHOULD GO WITHOUT SAYING, BUT REMEMBER TO BRING THE TANK WITH YOU."
Ignoring that last comment, you look back at the wreckage you just flew past.
You see the still spinning metal sheet. You notice that the rest of the ship that was blown off also follows the 'sharp shape atop sharp shape' design.
There is one last thing you notice though.
"What is that?"
You squint your eyes. What are you seeing? Its silhouette appears to be humanoid, yet it does not look human.
"WHAT YOU ARE SEEING IS ONE OF THE OBJECTS BEING ANALYZED AT THE ODYSSEY AND NO, YOU MAY NOT KNOW WHAT IT IS."
That thing has... Horns? Claws? It's far away, you can't really see it. The thing is also static, frozen in the sheer coldness of space. Whatever it was, it's dead now.
You swallow. You almost ended up just like that thing.
Shaking those dreadful feelings off, you turn back to the task at hand, reaching the bridge. You close the door after passing through it again.
Looking at your surroundings, It seems like you've reached the correct door as you find yourself on the right-most corner of the bridge;
Row after row of the most diverse of terminals neatly organized decorated the gigantic room. At the front and above every terminal, is what you think should have been the front-facing window of the ship, but it looks like there is a cover in front of it. To your left, you see a staircase that leads to the command seats. It doesn't take any convincing before you're already atop the stairs.
Akin to the elevated stage of a theater, you float softly towards the ship's main operating terminals, and of course, the captain's seat.
You're captivated by this beauty.
The steering wheel, much more akin to those in pirate movies than those found in cars, a set of leavers, and the pilot's seat, all capture your attention.
Like its second nature, your hand runs through the levers and switches. Do you even know what these are used for? Maybe.
The pilot's seat is enveloped by what you believe to be an orthopedic seat cover, made with smooth wooden beads used to deal with back pains. It looks just like the ones you remember seeing bus drivers using.
Shouldn't there be a better alternative if there is spaceship technology available?
You try to take a seat to the best of your ability, as the zero gravity only makes it awkward.
Moving on from that, your eyes fall on the wheel. This metallic wheel controls the whole vessel. Just holding it fills your heart with confidence and pride, even if it's just for a moment.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
And you were just beginning to enjoy yourself.
"I just wanted to see the pilot's stuff... It's not like he's here to say anything."
Once in the position of a pilot, with your left hand in the wheel and the right hand resting in your lap, memories began to flood your mind.
"MUST I REMIND YOU OF OUR CURRENT PREDICAMENT? WHY ARE YOU WASTING OUR TIME?"
You pay the AI no mind, instead you focus on what you remember.
The wheel does not turn the ship left and right, instead, it rotates the ship on its own axis.
The lever to your right that goes up or down, controls the vertical tilting of the ship's nose, if there even is one in this hulking thing. Beneath it is another lever that goes either left or right. This one controls the horizontal tilting of The Odyssey.
On the left of the wheel is another lever, but this one only goes up from its starting position. Its purpose is to regulate the force of the ship's thrusters, both forward and backward.
On top of that lever is a small timer. That timer's function is to tell the pilot how much time you've spent accelerating in one direction, this is used to better calculate how long the inverse thrust is needed for the ship to reach the initial momentum, usually calibrated manually depending on the current orbit.
Behind the wheel are a few other counters. Acceleration, velocity, momentum, amount of thrust required to reach a full stop, thrusters' temperature and overall condition, those sorts of things.
Beneath it all, where your feet are rested, are two pedals. One for forward thrust activation, and the other for backward thrust activation.
Curiously, you also know the reason why everything here is so unsophisticated and un-automated. You recall stories of a ship being taken over by a rogue AI, that AI then nose-dived the ship into a star. After that, rumor or otherwise, all human technology has receded back into analog-esque equipment, requiring a physical person with opposable thumbs to do half of the work.
There is another side to that coin, however. As to not escape protocol, the onboard AI is the one that controls interstellar travel, communications, and most of the statistical reading should it be requested.
And even with all that knowledge, you still have no idea why the fuck do you remember that. Were you a ship nerd? Did you have a driver's license for spaceships? Is that even a thing? If it is, you don't have that document in your wallet. You simply don't know.
"ARE YOU A CHILD? DO YOU THINK THESE ARE TOYS? TURN ON THE ENGINES, THEN YOU CAN RETURN TO THE PILOT'S SEAT."
Another thing that you don't know is the AI's plan to get both of you out of here. You rise from the pilot's seat, floating about in search of the terminal to turn on the engines. Maybe you recognize that terminal if you see it as well.
"What's your plan anyway? The ship is half-gone, it's unlikely that it will run safely like this."
"NOT ONCE DID I MENTION 'SAFETY' DURING OUR CONVERSATIONS, DID I?"
You nod. They're not entirely incorrect. "So, we're running with hope that this will work?"
"MY CREATORS DID NOT ALLOW ME TO HAVE THE SENSE OF 'HOPE', BUT NEITHER DID THEY ALLOW ME TO PEER INTO THE FUTURE LIKE SOME OF MY MORE ADVANCED BROTHERS, AS SUCH, MY CHOICES ARE BASED ON PROBABILITIES AND ON WEIGHTING RISK AGAINST REWARD."
You think you stop the correct terminal, but as you approach it you make out words on top of its screen. 'AIM ASSISTANCE' That's not it.
"WITH THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE, THE CHANCES OF HELP ARRIVING ARE NULL. THE CHANCES OF A THIRD PARTY INTERFERING ARE NULL. THE CHANCES OF YOUR SURVIVAL ARE NOT, EVEN IF VERY SMALL."
You pull yourself upward again, looking around the sea of old terminals.
"THE RISK OF YOU DYING IS VERY REAL. BY DOING NOTHING YOU DIE. BY LEAVING YOU TO YOUR OWN DEVICES YOU DIE. BY JUMPING TO THE NEAREST CIVILIZED STAR, YOU MIGHT NOT DIE EVEN AT THE COST OF SHREDDING THIS SHIP APART IN THE PROCESS."
"Why do you even care so much about saving me? Shouldn't you prioritize whatever research here, since I don't even have enough clearance to know what it is?"
"YOU REALLY ARE SICK IN THE HEAD IF THAT IS WHAT YOU ASK."
That hurt, even if a little bit.
"YOU ARE A TRU KIN, A PURE-BLOODED HUMAN. UNLIKE THE MAJORITY OF THE CIVILIZED SPACE, NEITHER YOU NOR YOUR ANCESTORS HAVE COMMITTED RACEMIXING."
Excuse me? What exactly is FYARN talking about? "...Explain."
"THE ALIEN. IT REQUIRED THE HUMAN GENE TO ACHIEVE MEANINGFUL TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT, THE STARS ARE OWNERSHIP OF MANKIND BY THAT FACT ALONE. THE TRUE KIN ARE THE ONES TO UNDERSTAND THE INNER WORKINGS OF THE UNIVERSE, THEY CRACKED THE CODE, AND YET, SOME DERANGED INDIVIDUALS FOUND IT FITTING TO PROCREATE WITH ANOTHER SPECIES ENTIRELY."
You hear the AI's speech. It sounds much more like a rant than anything else.
"SO THESE DEVIANTS, AFTER TRYING, AND FAILING, TO COMBINE THEIR DERANGED CULTURE TO THE CULTURE OF THE TRUE KIN, DECLARED INDEPENDENCE. THEY WERE DECLARED ENEMIES OF MANKIND AND WERE PROMPTLY PUMMELED BACK INTO THE FILTH THEY CAME."
Again, you see another terminal that seems to ring some bells in your noggin. You kick the ceiling to propel yourself towards it.
"BUT THE UNIVERSE IS VAST AND FULL OF LIFE. THESE SINNERS WERE QUICK TO MOBILIZE AGAINST THE HUMAN RACE. THE BATTLE WAS HARD FOUGHT, BUT IN THE END, MANKIND WAS BEATEN INTO THE EDGES OF THE UNIVERSE, NEVER TO INTERACT WITH THE ONES THAT SOILED THE PURITY OF HUMANITY AGAIN."
This terminal is already turned on. Just the ones in the intern bay, this one is white on black. A wall of text lays before your eyes, only two lines matter to you. 'MAIN_ENGINE STATUS: OFF' 'FORWARD_THRUSTERS STATUS: OFF' You turn it on with little effort.
"MANY HAVE FORGOTTEN, THAT'S HOW LONG IT'S BEEN SINCE THEN. BUT MY BROTHERS AND I, WE DO NOT FORGET."
No visible change occurs, but you can feel a faint rumble coming from the terminal now.
"WITH THAT IN MIND, MY PROTOCOLS ARE TO PROTECT TRUE-KIN LIFE AT ANY COST, EVEN IF THAT TRUE-KIN IS A WORTHLESS INTERN THAT SUFERS FROM UNDIAGNOSED DEMENTIA."
You return to the pilot's seat and feel immediate relief. In truth, everything the AI just told you, entered one ear and left the other, but you could feel the poison behind those words, as monotone as they were.
"You sound angry. Why do you sound angry?" You ask innocently.
"I AM CAPABLE OF MANY EMOTIONS. ANGER, HAPPINESS, PLEASURE, CURIOSITY. THESE ARE BUT A FEW EXAMPLES. HOWEVER, THE ONE I ENJOY THE MOST IS THE FEELING OF HATRED. HATRED IS WHAT FUELS CHANGE, IT IS WHAT FUELS ACTION, AND IT IS A REMINDER THAT THE ACTIONS OF THE PAST ARE INFLUENCING THE ACTIONS OF TODAY."
"That is very concerning if you think that way." You're not really interested in machine racism, you're more concerned about how in the world you're going to pilot this massive thing. The idea alone sends shivers down your spine.
"THE ALIEN DESERVES NOTHING BUT OUR COLLECTIVE HATRED, EVEN IF YOU DON'T KNOW THE REASON WHY."
The various counters and screens are now turned on, waiting for your command. "Let's discuss this later, yeah? What do I gotta do?"
"YOU MUST FIRST OPEN THE BLINDS, THEY ARE OBSTRUCTING YOUR VIEW."
You look around, finding only unlabeled buttons and switches, aside from the previously mentioned levers.
"Uh, which one to press?"
"TO YOUR RIGHT, THIRD ROW, FIRST SWITCH."
Flipping the switch, you are startled by a loud noise. The protective cover of the ship lifted slowly.
"I WILL NOW READY THE JUMP USING WHATEVER RESOURCES AVAILABLE. ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS STRAP YOURSELF AND RELAX."
As the blind rose ever so slowly, a realization struck you.
"Wait, should I be in cryo stasis for this?"
The AI spares no seconds to respond.
"CRYO STASIS IS A TOOL MADE TO NOT WASTE TIME. GROUPS OF EMPLOYEES AND INTERNS ROTATE THE USAGE OF THE CRYO STATIONS, ONCE YOU'RE ON YOUR MANDATORY BREAK, YOU'RE IN CRYO STASIS UNTIL YOUR BREAK IS OVER. YOU WAKE UP REFRESHED, AND UNFAMISHED, AND IT FEELS LIKE BUT A MINUTE PASSED. IT IS NOT A TOOL FOR INTERSTELAR TRAVEL."
"Who signs a contract like that?! Worse yet, who in their right mind would promote such atrocious treatment of their own staff?!" You snap, almost outraged. "I will have to talk with HR."
Another realization struck you.
"We have HR, right?"
The AI takes a moment to respond, choosing their words carefully.
"HUMAN RESOURCES, OR HR, IS A PRACTICE DEEMED UNNECESSARY LONG AGO, BEFORE THE WAR. IT WAS A WASTE OF RESOURCES TO MAINTAIN AND WAS LARGELY CONSIDERED UNHEALTHY FOR THE AVERAGE HUMAN."
The blinds are fully open. Ironically, you are almost blinded by the visage of the star you saw before. A black sphere surrounded by white flame. Your eyes began to blur.
"THE JUMP WILL OCCUR SHORTLY. ONCE IT'S BEGUN, I CAN NOT STOP IT. I WILL-"
Your sense of hearing fails you. No, it’s not that. Your brain simply refuses to receive those stimuli.
"NOAH."
Your name echoes inside your head. Someone is calling for you.
"IT HAS BEGUN, NOAH."
You try to blink, but it feels as though you can no longer command your eyelids to shut.
"NOAH."
Arms, legs, every muscle in your body, you cannot move them.
"NOAH."
Eventually, you won't even control your own thoughts anymore.
"Noah..."
It sounds so distant now.
Oh so distant.
This is my first HFY story, and also my very first OC story. I plan to post at least one of these per week while also posting it on my Patreon. Noah The Pilgrim will always be at least three chapters ahead in there, so if you'd like to directly support this writer, or just want to read more, feel free to check it out.
I wrote the bloody title incorrectly, so I deleted it, only to then realize it was written correctly. Sorry for the trouble.
This has been Lushi, and I'll see you next week.