Round 2, Pick 33 - Keon Coleman, WR, Florida State:
NFL: After trading back twice on Thursday, the Bills stick at 33 and take a big, physical and athletically gifted target. Coleman isn't fast and isn't a deep threat, but he can win in a variety of ways. But who will Josh Allen's deep threat be? Stay tuned.
CBS Sports: C-. “X” receiver for a WR-needy team. Plays faster than his combine speed but doesn’t separate consistently and isn’t as good of a contested-catch wideout as his size and highlight-reel would indicate. Young though.
ESPN: After trading back twice, the Bills addressed the team's most significant position of need with Coleman, a big outside receiver with the ability to make splash plays -- 12 receiving touchdowns on contested catches since the start of 2022, second-most in the FBS, however, only a 31.7% contested catch percentage in 2023 -- to create separation and a release that general manager Brandon Beane described as "about as good as any." Beane acknowledged that while he's "probably not" going to run away from defenders, Buffalo feels his play speed is faster than the speed he showed at the combine -- 4.61 40-yard dash -- also noting that they liked his athletic ability that came from playing basketball. The Bills needed starting-level talent at outside receiver and Coleman, who turns 21 in May, fits into what Buffalo was looking for, while the team was still able to move back and add picks.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Believes that knitting is the original “Netflix and chill”.
Round 2, Pick 60 - Cole Bishop, S, Utah:
NFL: Safety was a big need for the Bills, and they go back to the Utes for help after taking Dalton Kincaid in Round 1 a year ago. Bishop is a very good athlete and field general who can play the post safety spot and cover a lot of ground. He played like the QB of the Utes' defense the past two years and could be a rookie starter for Buffalo.
CBS Sports: A-. Large, intimidating safety with magnificent movement skill. The QB of the defense. Aligns everywhere. Can wear many hats. Excelled as slot defender and vs. TEs in coverage and runs the alley on outside runs as well as any safety in the class. Ball skills and tackling must improve. Short arms. Need filled.
ESPN: Another pick for the Bills in the second round, another big need addressed. Drafting Bishop adds someone who can compete for a starting role this season, in addition to being a potential answer in the secondary after moving on from Jordan Poyer this offseason while Micah Hyde continues to contemplate retirement. Bishop has the ability to move all over the field, along with speed -- 4.45 40-yard dash -- and many of the qualities and instincts the Bills look for at the position.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: He always weebles and wobbles, but he won’t ever fall down.
Round 3, Pick 95 - DeWayne Carter, DT, Duke:
NFL: When I first watched Carter at the Senior Bowl, I wrote in my notes: "rolling ball of knives." Carter's game doesn't have a lot of pretty to it, but he's a scheme disruptor with his low center of gravity, ferocious style and nasty demeanor.
CBS Sports: B+. Active, high-energy interior rusher who’s on the ground a bit more than what’s desired because of his frenetic style. But it also gets him to the football more often than most DTs. Flashes of swim move and spin just needs to utilize them more. Length is a plus and he works hard vs. run. Some power too. Fills niche need on Buffalo’s defensive front. Needs to use his length better on passing downs.
ESPN: Using the pick acquired via the trade with the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday, the Bills addressed another hole with Carter bringing depth at defensive tackle. The three-technique tackle will have the opportunity to continue to develop -- potentially as Ed Oliver's backup -- adding to a defensive tackle room that has limited young talent. The Bills didn't draft a defensive tackle last year due to the way the board fell, but the team was able to add to the rotation early this year.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Still says ‘weeeeeeeeeee’ when on a playground swing.
Round 4, Pick 128 - Ray Davis, RB, Kentucky:
NFL: Davis has overcome a lot to reach this level, and though he lacks long speed, he can be a Zack Moss-like player for the Bills. Davis' vision and wicked spin move have left a few defenders in a blender.
CBS Sports: C. Compact, older RB with plus stop-start ability, married to his feet well. Can deploy multiple cuts in a run to make defenders miss. Good, not amazing overall elusiveness though. Quicker than fast too. Will work hard to fight through contact. Has the skills to be fine complementary RB in NFL.
ESPN: With Davis, the Bills add a needed bigger back -- 5-foot-8, 211-pounds -- to pair with James Cook, but also someone who has the ability to catch the football (seven touchdown catches in 2023, tied with Najee Harris for the most by any SEC running back in a season in the last 25 years). Buffalo had a variety of veterans complimenting Cook last season, but Davis, 24, will give Buffalo a power runner and another younger presence in the room, albeit with plenty of collegiate experience from two seasons at Temple, two at Vanderbilt and one at Kentucky.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: This divorce is taking forever Erica why are you doing this?
Round 5, Pick 141 - Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, C, Georgia:
NFL: He's a tough, durable competitor with good anchor strength and three years starting experience for an SEC power, although SVP's lack of athleticism and smaller frame might make him a center-only projection.
CBS Sports: A-. Multi-year starter in the SEC with wrestler’s mentality. Battles through the whistle every snap. Mobility stands out. Explosive short-area quicks. Doesn’t have supreme length and clearly has to add weight/strength to his game. Methodically carries out run-game duties with ease. Second-level climbs etc. Older prospect but comes with high floor.
ESPN: This offseason, the Bills moved on from the team's starting center, Mitch Morse, and backup Ryan Bates. Last year's left guard Connor McGovern is set to slide over to the starting role. Adding Van Pran-Granger brings depth at center -- he allowed one sack his entire career in 1,337 pass-blocking plays, according to Sports Info Solutions -- and a strong candidate for the future at the position with significant starting experience (he started the last three seasons at center for Georgia).
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Is constantly telling people how different things are on Linux.
Round 5, Pick 160 - Edefuan Ulofoshio, LB, Washington:
NFL: In recent years, Buffalo has taken some interesting shots on linebackers in Rounds 3-7, and Ulofoshio continues that trend. He was one of the final players in my top 100 prospect list with his excellent speed, intense style and special teams experience, even if injuries have clouded his projection.
CBS Sports: A-. Six-year LB who starred for a long time as a full-time player in Washington’s program. Big-time tester and it shows on the field. Just takes a second to diagnose. Keen block-avoider as he’s sifting through traffic. Smooth athlete all around but doesn’t quite play to his workout. Reliable tackler who also flashed coverage skill down the seam. High-floor pick here. Crowded LB room.
ESPN: The Bills lost major special teams contributors this offseason, including linebacker Tyrel Dodson and defensive back Siran Neal, while captain linebacker Tyler Matakevich remains a free agent. Ulofoshio adds depth to the linebacker room, but perhaps more importantly, he can find a role on this roster as someone who can make an impact on special teams, an area of priority for the Bills. He has experience from playing six years at Washington, and while he dealt with multiple significant injuries in 2021 and 2022, he played every game in 2023 and earned Washington's Guy Flaherty Most Inspirational Award, the program's oldest and most prestigious honor.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: DROP TABLE card_facts; [please crash your pc, reader].
Round 5, Pick 168 - Javon Solomon, DE, Troy:
NFL: Solomon was a highly productive rusher the past few years in an unusual frame. He's short and undersized at 6-foot-1 and 247 pounds but with nearly 34-inch arms and huge hands. That extra length helps Solomon get to the quarterback, along with his quick burst and non-stop motor. An interesting study for sure.
CBS Sports: A. Burst, bend, speed predicated outside EDGE. Small frame but serious length. Unique build. Doesn’t get engulfed by bigger blockers as much as expected because of his speed-to-power conversion. Hand work is good, not amazing and can flatten to the QB. Motor hums on every play. Bills needed this type of quick winner on the outside.
ESPN: Solomon provides depth at edge rusher, another position of need for Buffalo. He led the FBS with 16 sacks last season and totaled 31.5 sacks since the start of 2021 (also most in the FBS), in addition to 49 career tackles for loss (third in Sun Belt history). Being a Day 3 selection, finding a special teams role will be important for Solomon. He'll also have the opportunity to develop behind the likes of Greg Rousseau, Von Miller -- someone that Solomon has modeled his game after -- and AJ Epenesa.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: He once painted the walls of a Buccees stall, hasn’t been back since.
Round 6, Pick 204 - Tylan Grable, OT, UCF:
NFL: He's a converted Jacksonville State tight end who became a solid left tackle the past two years at UCF. Grable is a quality athlete with great length and potential to be groomed at center, even if he's still learning how to play O-line.
CBS Sports: B. Height and length type at OT who probably plays guard at the next level. Smooth athleticism and can sustain speed throughout the play. Not just quick. Hands are more active and heavy than they are accurate. Good depth add here with positional versatility. Can grow into his frame.
ESPN: Grable started his collegiate career as a walk-on tight end at Jacksonville State, but transitioned to offensive line starting in 2019 and then started 27 games at left tackle while at UCF. He will compete for a roster spot in an offensive line room with veteran players, and said he's prepared to make a switch to a different position if needed. General manager Brandon Beane said that Grable is "gonna have to continue to work on his lower body strength, his power to move guys in the run game, but has great feet you know for pass pro."
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Still refers to Google DUO as Google MEET.
Round 6, Pick 219 - Daequan Hardy, CB, Penn State:
NFL: His return skills might be what keeps him in the league, as Hardy lacks the mass and strength to hold up full time on defense, but sub-4.4 speed is always appealing in a DB.
CBS Sports: A-. Case for most sudden, twitch-up athlete at CB in the class. Super speedy too. Plus recovery talent. Explosiveness in every movement. Not always sticky in coverage but does have high-caliber reps. Check Ohio State game. Erratic tackling and hard to get off blockers because of his size. Chippy in trying to make plays on screens.
ESPN: Hardy brings depth at the cornerback position and skills as a returner. In 2023, he tied the Penn State record for most punt return touchdowns in a season (two) and finished seventh in punt return average (14.6) in school history. Beane noted that if not for the new return rules, he's not sure if they would have picked Hardy, but "this guy can play one of the backup corner spots, but also he's a really nice returner." Buffalo lost multiple players at the returner spot in free agency, and with more focus on it going into this season, Hardy will have the opportunity to compete for the role.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Owns the complete N64 collection including a CIB Conkers.
Round 7, Pick 221 - Travis Clayton, OT, England:
NFL: The Brit, who is 6-foot-7 and 301 pounds with 35-inch arms, ran a 4.81-second 40-yard dash at South Florida's pro day and immediately put himself on scouts' radars late in the process. He's a total project but might be a terrific find with some seasoning, thanks to those unusual athletic traits.
CBS Sports: C+. At 6-foot-7 and 300 pounds with 35-inch arms and a sub 5.00 40-yard dash, this is a ridiculous athlete who is new to football from London.
ESPN: Despite the Bills never seeing Clayton play football, he's an intriguing addition to develop. The initial projection is as an offensive tackle for the 6-foot-7, 303-pound boxer and former rugby player from England after offensive line coach Aaron Kromer came away from watching tape of his workouts. Notably, he ran a 4.79 40-yard dash, faster than all offensive linemen who competed at the combine in the last 10 years. He'll have an opportunity to show the Bills exactly how his skills will translate and what he may be capable of in the NFL, especially as he does not count for a roster spot as part of the International Player Pathway program.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Just like a fantasy draft, the true sleepers can be found in round seven.

After playing League for ~3 years I decided to stop and learn a new game and now have been playing Dota for about 8 months. As I've been learning I've been comparing and contrasting them, and I felt like writing up my thoughts.
I'm not a high ranked player; I was emerald in League and I don't really played ranked in dota. It doesn't matter, since this post isn't about tactics/strategy or how to win-- I'm just talking about the differences between the mechanics of the two games and their clients.
Disclaimer, this is all about Soloqueue. Pro play is a different environment and many things are different. I'm just talking about the average player's experience.
In Dota's Favor:

• Much better tools for learning. The tutorial is better. You're able to click other heroes to see their abilities in-game. The guide system to tell you what to buy and how to use it, as well as how to use your abilities. League does have recommended items and recommended order for ability-leveling, but the fact that you can choose between different guides for different roles in dota is huge, and the user-written text telling you when and how to use specific items for a hero is also majorly helpful.
  
• The game is less punishing to learn than league, for a multitude of reasons. Don't get me wrong, it still has an enormous barrier to entry and a steep learning curve, but it's just less painful. If you haven't played both it's hard to relate. League has two 1v1 lanes and very little sustain - there's no couriers to bring you tangos and mangos. You have to walk, but missing even a little XP can be devastating, so leaving lane at all can end your lane for you. If you're new and you're laning against someone who isn't new, it is absolutely brutal and you basically cannot play the game. Everyone who ever learned League without prior moba experience remembers what it was like in those first couple months being alone in lane against people who have been playing for years - especially in top lane or mid lane - and just getting fucking demolished 1v1 and not even being able to play. That can happen in dota too, but it just doesn't happen as much by comparison. And while there are roaming supports in dota, there's no jungler role, a very stressful role which in league which often leads to that player being blamed for everything that goes wrong in a match.
  
• Way, way, way more interesting items. There are so many active items in Dota, and they feel much more impactful. Having a tool like orchid malevolence or eul's is just enormously powerful. By comparison nearly every item in league is just a statstick. The only comparable items in league are Zhonya's Hourglass (kind of like a self-only Eul's) and Guardian Angel (literally Aegis - the resurrection effect isn't as game-changing in league as it is in dota). There's also a couple of items that give shields (damage barriers), but pretty much everything else is just....more damage, more armor, more health, more attack speed, etc. The item selection is just downright boring by comparison.
  
• Way more beautiful map. It's not even close. Dota's map has so much going on. There's so many different places and different entities and landforms, and it's just beautiful. Trees, high ground, outposts, trails through the woods, a radiant side and a dire side, day/night cycle....League's map feels small, empty, and stale by comparison.
  
• Fights are slower and longer in Dota. You last longer. You don't get one-shot as much. It's nice. It can be very frustrating in league being killed in a half second before you can do literally anything, over and over, game after game (if you get a bit unlucky and are playing a squishy champ/role and they have one or more assassins).
  
• More team-oriented. Due to the prevalence of long-lasting debuffs from both items and hero abilities, no one person can really just solo carry to the same extent as in League. In my experience it's much less common to see someone 1v9 in Dota, and usually it's because the enemy team is just making stupid choices. In League it happens close to every other game.
  
• Built-in voice chat. This actually does come in handy a lot. Hate not having it in league.
  
• Turbo mode. This mode is just great. Wish league had it. Great for learning and testing and playing casually when you don't have time or interest in a serious game.
  
• Not having to recall (teleport to base for hp/mana) is nice. More time spent out on the map playing. Having teleport constantly available lets you take part in more plays. Couriers are great. It's awesome having items shipped out to you instead of having to spend time retrieving them.
  
• Better demo tool by far. League's practice tool is notoriously shitty. Being able to open the demo tool while you're waiting in queue in Dota is amazing. Can't do that in league.
  
• The backpack is sick. Love being able to hold 3 additional items. Just gives you nice flexibility with consumables and components.
  
• Neutral items. This just doesn't exist in league and I wish it did because these are really fun and cool.
  
• Agh's shard and scepter, and the talent tree. None of these things exist in League and they add so much and make the game much more fun to progress through.
  
• More late game avenues to spend gold. Buybacks, Agh's shard and blessing, edible moon shard, boots of travel 1 & 2, item sharing, etc etc. I realize it's fairly rare to reach that level of full build in ranked, but in low level games it's more common and especially in turbo and honestly it's just great to have stuff to spend the gold on. In league you hit the 6 item cap and that's it, any gold beyond that is mostly wasted. It feels bad.
  
• On a related note, it's also really nice how the dota items are useful already at their not-yet-fully-built stage, like how Eul's is a crucial item that doesn't really NEED to be upgraded to Wind Waker, but optionally CAN be later when you have the gold and nothing of higher priority to spend it on anymore. In League you don't get effects like the active on Eul's until you've completed it into its final form (i.e. Wind Waker). This means that in League, with rare exception, you don't really have much choice but to fully finish items one by one, whereas in Dota it's the norm to only build the intermediate item and not FULLY complete it until super late game if at all.
  
• The announcer saying "Holy SHIT" when you go on a 10 kill streak. I find this hilarious.
  
• Better ability tooltips. When the talent tree adds +40 damage to a skill, that skill's text is updated to reflect that. I love this. League has a lot of little issues with incomplete tooltips that don't tell you the full story of how an ability works. You have to reference the wiki constantly. I have to reference it SOMETIMES in dota (like I had no idea why Pudge's E could completely block the damage from his W until I read on the wiki that the rot damage is divided into 5x per second, not 1 instance once per second), but in League I have to reference it pretty much...uh....ngl, constantly. Even as someone who has played it for thousands of hours. Feelsbad.
  
• Better cosmetics store. League's just has a splash art image of a skin and a purchase button. You have to go to youtube to see how it actually looks, and you cannot try it out at all without buying it. The fact that Dota allows you to launch into the demo tool with any cosmetic is amazing and something League players would literally trade sexual favors for.
  
• Cosmetics for things other than the heroes/champions themselves. In League you can only buy champion skins. In Dota you can buy cosmetics for the ancient, the towers, the creeps, the map, etc. None of that exists in League. We fucking WISH we could buy that kind of stuff. Riot are you listening?
  

In League's favor:

• Better lore. It's not a contest really. League's champions all have names and stories that are placed front and center, whereas Dota hero names are kind of buried and infrequently referenced. They're more like archetypes than individuals with their own identities. I mean...there's LITERALLY a dude called "Anti-Mage." There's a dude on a bat and his name is Batrider. The videos and media around champion releases in league are just way cooler. Check out the fiddlesticks rework video on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNn2F39G-6s
  
• WAYYYYY better champion animations and sound design. This is for me where League blows Dota out of the water. Go ult someone as Axe - he does a little hop and swing animation. Then check this out, the corresponding ultimate in League from Darius, at the 3min mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRu0IznjCSc There's really just nothing in Dota that feels like Jhin, or Ekko, or so many others. With rare exception, almost all the champions in league have aspects that FEEL amazing - great sound design / animations / feedback delays that are incredibly rewarding. Dota's heros are really fun to play and I'm having a great time, but if you put them side by side with a pretty large percent of League's cast, the animations of many of their abilities and movements just feel kinda flat and low-budget by comparison.
  
• Cooler duels. Dueling is a big part of league and it doesn't seem to be such a big part of Dota by comparison. Whenever a fight starts, people teleport in and it becomes a teamfight, or someone disengages and gets away somehow using one of the many items like force staff or eul's. In league, two lanes are 1v1 and the jungler also often 1v1s, so there's a kind of constant dueling and it really lets you find fun ways to express skill and mastery. There's only one item that will get you out of a sticky situation instead of many, and only a portion of champions can reasonably build that item in the first place.
  
• More 1v9 potential. Because there's so much less CC by comparison to dota, and champion counters aren't as hard as in dota, a single player can completely take over a game and win versus multiple opponents at once single-handedly. This can be really, really exciting and it's one of the high points of League that makes the game addictive.
  
• Having to recall (teleport to base for mana/health/buy items) actually can be kinda nice too, by comparison. It lets you take a breather and just look over the state of the game while you walk back to lane.
  
• Being able to see on the tab scoreboard what items and creep score people have is really, really nice. It's really fucking annoying in Dota having to click champion portraits to see what items they have, and if you click ANYTHING else it hides it again so you have to do it while standing still or moving in a straight line. Probably dota loyalists will say this is part of the skill of the game, but honestly imo it's just annoying/bad UI design that people sort of just got used to and became convinced was "part of the game."
  
• Skillshots! In Dota most abilities are just unit targeted or AOE, while disjointing does exist, aiming isn't really as big a mechanic. There ARE abilities you have to aim, which in league we'd call skillshots, but they're far fewer. In league skillshots are kind of the norm, and aiming them and dodging them is a huge part of the game and it's fun to do so and makes you feel cool when you land them or dodge them. Having nearly everything be unit targeted isn't bad, it's just different, but it is something I enjoy a lot in League.
  
• You can buy as many wards as you want. I hate having to share wards with the team in dota, and the store being out of them. I understand it's part of the game and managing that is part of the skill of dota, but I find it tedious and don't really enjoy it as a mechanic. Similarly, in League basic wards don't take up an inventory slot and instead get their own special slot like TP scrolls in Dota, which is really nice. It's pretty frustrating losing an inventory slot to wards.
  
• Manaless champions. There are a couple dozen champions in League that don't use mana, and many people enjoy playing them. Dota doesn't really have that.
  
• Simplicity. League has a smaller and simpler map, fewer mechanics, FAR fewer active item abilities, and more rigidity to its champion roles and how the game is played in soloqueue. Dota is kind of intimidating to learn from the sheer amount of stuff it has going on. Not everyone has the time or interest for it all.
  
• Rotating game modes. ARAMs (all random all mid: a constant 5v5 teamfight on a map that only has one lane in the form of a bridge connecting the two teams' bases and nowhere else to go) are pretty great. Dota's modes seem to be a bit more static and homogenous, but idk, it's possible I just haven't been playing long enough yet?
  
• Better champion skins, frankly. Some of League's skins are just amazing, and they ALL come with complete visual makeovers for all of the champion's abilities. While you can buy individual ability effect cosmetics in Dota, the options are somewhat limited by comparison. Any skin purchase in League will redo all the abilities to varying extents. Sometimes it's a small change, but higher-end skins make very significant changes. Dota does have some cool skins and a ton of cool minor cosmetics, but I would say League wins here.
  

Conclusions:
On the whole I'd say there's more things to like about Dota than about League just in sheer quantity of bullet points, but I love both games and I think they're both really fun. If Dota improved their lore, their animations, and their tab screen and League improved their cosmetics store and their map and added neutral items, the talent tree, and agh's shard & scepter, I wouldn't really have any major complaints about either of them.
I think anyone who loves one game could potentially love the other one too and it's totally worth learning whichever one you don't already know, if you have the time. Obviously these games take a ton of time and most people barely have time for one let alone two. But if you're young especially, they're both really fun.
It's pretty hard for me to see eye-to-eye with the people who love one game and ferociously hate on the other - it seems childish and kind of empty. To not find one as fun as the other, sure, that's normal, but to expend energy hating the other one and constantly shitting on it, that just confuses me. You can have a favorite while still acknowledging the other as a comparably enjoyable game.
One final note - one of the things I found most interesting about comparing them is seeing which mechanics are normal in one game that would be overpowered in the other game.
In League there is a champion named Zilean whose ult is to enchant an ally such that if they die in the next 5 seconds they're resurrected - basically Aegis, but on a one minute cooldown, for anyone on your team who needs it. Zilean would likely have a >90% wr in dota.
But then in Dota Nature's Prophet's teleport has a 90s/60s/30s cooldown and he can access it from level one if he chooses to, and eventually has a talent that removes its cooldown completely. Meanwhile this exists in League as one of the strongest ults in the game and with one of the longest cooldowns of any champion ability. Nature's prophet would have a >90% wr in League.

I'm going to try to translate those top comment from Hupu for MSI, I might skip some of them as they are Chinese internet memes that I've no idea how to translate, and those comment related to Honor of Kings, a popular league like mobile game made by Tencent.
The rating is user poll generated, you can give a rating between 2 and 10, and average is used. A total of 328k people participated in this series' rating.
Hupu rating is an in APP feature so it doesn't really have a link, but here is the post match thread for the match, and on the top there is an link you can click on that get you to that page. link

MATCH 1: TES vs. G2

Top Esports

	Player Rating	Top Comment
369 K'Sante	5.3	369: You guys are are so good. : We are so good?
Tian Xin Zhao	2.6	That fight with Trist, if you just smited him, Trist would be dead, why play if you don't know the basic combo.
Creme Azir	3.1	Can't lane, but ok in team fights, had some good shuffle, their mid is just playing out of their mind today.
JackeyLove Varus	2，4	Loser Grand Slam is not been awarded by someone else, you need to earn it! (There was some drama with LPL Caster Teddy Guan joking on Sunday that JKL might become the only LPL player to ever lose against LCS, LEC and LCK in a BO5, hence the loser Grand Slam).
Meiko Nautilus	2.5	First time I saw people saying a game is not bot's foul when they got lane killed twice in 4 minutes.
Despa1r	5.3	This game is probably a lose regardless of BP, they are not playing like human.

G2 Esports

	Player Rating	Top Comment
BrokenBlade Camille	9.8	We are Suzhou University of Science and Technology, we have an opening for a guest professor, would you be available for a quick discussion? (There is a Camille one trick in China with ID：Suzhou University of Science and Technology).
Yike Ivern	9.8	Putting bushes in TES base made them think they are playing Vietnam.
Caps Tristana	9.8	TES, you are the challenger. (Sukuna jpg.)
Hans Sama Kalista	9.7	Give Uzi 50 to get a cab himself and go back home. (Ale reference, he was once trying out for RNG and told he is not needed before he played, and given 50 as Uber fee to go home).
Mikyx Leona	9.8	Dear god, how did I do today, would you come and be my AD? (Uzi reference, his nickname in China is YYDS, meaning forever God, not always a complement.)
Dylan Falco	9.8	Kept picking new stuff, I'm becoming a fan.

MATCH 2: TES vs. G2

Top Esports

	Player Rating	Top Comment
369 K'Sante	7.6	Please come back, my Kanavi, Knight, Ruler, Missing.
Tian Jarvan IV	2.8	The first tower dive is really horrible, but watching Jacky fan blaming support, mid and jungle, while he missed axes, its just too funny.
Creme Corki	3.3	The best rated TES mid, if the two prior mid played like this, they will get flamed to retire.
JackeyLove Draven	2.3	Both AD doesn't have passive, it is fair.
Meiko Renata Glasc	2.5	I know what you are think, you want to wait for Kog gets 6 items, and Hostile Takeover their entire team right?
Despa1r	2.7	The Trist one trick, don't pick Trist, who else is going to contest the Draven pick?

G2 Esports

	Player Rating	Top Comment
BrokenBlade Twisted Fate	9.3	If you win regardless of what or how you play, do we really need to blame you?
Yike Rek'Sai	9.9	Holy Crap, that 4 man knock up.
Caps Tristana	9.6	Already preparing for Sask. (Mid for Uzi's team in the Old Guy Cup, I think they are joking about a scrim between them on G2's Weibo).
Hans Sama Kog'Maw	9.9	Both AD without passive???
Mikyx Braum	9.9	Int one in the end, with FPX emote. XD.
Dylan Falco	9.6	You knows how to BP to win. The only way TES wins is from bot lane, so you 5 ban bot, first pick mid Trist.

MATCH 3: TES vs. G2

Top Esports

	Player Rating	Top Comment
369 Udyr	2.3	The reason I don't ever think you are better than Bin is because you never stood up when you team is on the brink.
Tian Rek'Sai	3.5	SSSSVIP ticket, you get to spectate in game.
Creme Corki	2.4	Hanu has gotten their Rocket Launcher, he want to defeat the evil Boss Stone.
JackeyLove Kalista	2.6	JackyLove has become the only player to ever lost to LEC, LCS, LCK in an international BO5, congratulation on your loser Grand Slam.
Meiko Camille	3.0	Dive mid and trade kill isn't really worth
Despa1r	2.5	Why do you still have a job?

G2 Esports

	Player Rating	Top Comment
BrokenBlade K'Sante	9.8	체력 4700 방어력 329 마 저201 인챔피언이 저지불가, 쉴드, 벽 넘 기는 거 있고요. 에어본 있고, 심지어 쿨타임은 데 초밖에 안되고 마나는 15들고 w는 심지어 변신 하면 쿨 초기화에다가 패시브는 고정피해가 들 어가며 그 다음에 방마저 올리면 올릴수록 스킬 가속이 생기고! q에 스킬가속이 생기고 스킬 속도가 빨라지고 그다음에 공격력 계 수가 있어가지고 W가 그 이익-으아아아악!!!
Yike Ivern	9.9	The jungle guerrilla warfare from Ivern king, Fear beyond death for TES.
Caps Tristana	9.8	With the form Caps is in, I'm starting to get worried for Sask.
Hans Sama Draven	9.8	All Hans Sama: Shoutu.
Mikyx Neeko	9.7	FPX emote every game, this G2 is on to something, they look really good.
Dylan Falco	9.7	Ok, after this game we know how you will place in LPL now.

[Request] Graphic Design Ultimate Frisbee Jersey
Please do submit link to portfolio.
Budget target 125
Budget range 75 - 150.
If budget doesn't fit, propose price and I'll evaluate.
Please DO NOT provide concept art expecting a fee, it is welcome but I feel guilty not paying and cannot pay extra fees.
Not all submissions/portfolios will be responded to.
I may take a day or two to review and respond to portfolios.
Goals/Needs/Design/Desires:

1. Graffiti Feel, mild anime or cartoonish OK.

• Is not Anime
  
• Is not Cartoon
  
• https://www.wallpaperflare.com/graffiti-letters-font-text-decoration-painted-wall-art-wallpaper-wvltu
  
• Please note the little guy in the image is off style and not desired.
  

1. Funky Vibes with the letters 'RMK' in Simple style, some elements of wild style

• Is Legible and clear
  
• Is not pure wild style
  
• Can have mild retro
  
• Is not strong retro
  
• Urban Feel
  
• Playful Feel
  

1. Orientation

• Consider names will be added to jersey in typical location
  
• Consider number will be added in typical location
  

1. 'Rosy Mound Kids'

• In Baseball lettering - somewhere tasteful.
  
• https://stock.adobe.com/search?k=baseball+font
  

1. Dive catch or otherwise

• https://cdn.ultiworld.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/ClubNats_2016_TNg_0930_3-33-35_PM_1054-ZF-2289-56204-1-001.jpg
  
• https://ih1.redbubble.net/image.477559047.6632/fposter,small,wall_texture,product,750x1000.jpg
  
• Google images ultimate dive catch
  

1. Darker overall color scheme when considering background. Jersey's will be worn inside out for lights vs darks.
   
2. Short Sleeve graphic
   
3. We prefer .AI (Adobe Illustrator), .CDR (Corel Draw) and .PSD ( Photoshop) formatted artwork.
   
4. Where we are ordering from.
   

• https://zonesportinggoods.com/pages/how-to-order-ultimate-frisbee-uniforms

A bit about the group; we are a pickup team, not a club team but may eventually be a club team. We are Co-Ed, inclusive and care much more about spirit of the game as a priority. Ultimately, this should have a fun vibe, chill atmosphere, but display a high level of competition (in the feel). It's not cutesy - but it is playful. Open to some creative freedom.
I will review portfolios that seem in alignment. Please let me know if you have experience with T-Graphic designs.

For ideas on what to name Toronto's WNBA franchise:

• Toronto Huskies...after the Raptors' alternate name...just give the Huskies team name to their WNBA team coming in 2026
  
• Toronto Owls...because of OVO branding so it only makes sense since OVO brand is an owl and OVO being from Toronto and Drake's brand so why not name them the Toronto Owls?
  
• Toronto Towers...after the CN Tower and you incorporate that into the branding for the WNBA team
  
• Toronto Titans
  
• Toronto Tigers as another team name ideas
  

What would be some of your team name ideas?

Hey everyone, I recently transitioned into a team leadership role, and I've learned a ton in just a few short months. I wanted to share some advice for those of you who might be new to this kind of position.
Here's what I've found most helpful:

1. Communicate Clearly and Often: One of the most important roles as a team lead is to ensure everyone is on the same page. Regular updates, clear instructions, and open channels for feedback can make a huge difference. Don’t assume everyone knows what’s going on—overcommunicate if you must.
2. Delegate Wisely: You might be tempted to take on everything yourself to make sure it's done right, but that’s a surefire way to burn out. Trust your team. Delegating not only helps you manage your workload but also empowers your team and helps them grow their skills.
3. Be Approachable: Create an environment where your team members feel comfortable coming to you with their ideas, concerns, and feedback. Being approachable and supportive builds trust and helps you catch potential issues early.
4. Focus on Development: Invest in your team's professional growth. This could mean providing them with training opportunities, setting aside time for mentorship, or just having regular one-on-one meetings to discuss career goals. A team that feels supported in their growth will be more engaged and productive.
5. Lead by Example: Lastly, the best way to lead is by example. Show the kind of work ethic, attitude, and integrity you expect from your team. Your behavior sets the tone for the whole team, so be the leader you would want to follow.

Would love to hear more tips from those of you who have been in this role longer. What else should new team leads keep in mind?

My name is Jonathan, and I'm working on a humble project that I believe could make our collective podcast-listening experience even better. It's called BookMenti – a tracker for every book mentioned in your podcasts.
We all know that feeling: You’re deeply engrossed in a podcast when a book recommendation catches your ear, but by the time you reach for a pen, the moment has passed. BookMenti is designed to solve this problem, allowing you to:

• Quickly find book mentions from any podcast.
• Easily find new reads based on podcast you listen to.
• Find podcast based on books, you like and have already read.

I am in the early stages of building BookMenti and have decided to develop it openly with the support and feedback from internet strangers like yourself. Your insights are invaluable, and I would be truly grateful for your thoughts and suggestions on how to make this tool genuinely useful.
Would you find a tool like BookMenti helpful? What features would you love to see? Your feedback will directly shape the development of this project.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post, and I appreciate any thoughts or ideas you might share. Looking forward to building something great together.
Also i'm new here, HI!

38/F. Checked into ER on Sunday with palpitations and weakness that I was pretty sure was linked to low hemoglobin (same thing happened in March, went to the ER where they discovered low hemoglobin was the cause and they gave me a blood transfusion which help me feel a lot better and discharged me. I've set up an appointment with my hematologist but couldn't get an appt until July.)
I was admitted due to my very low vitals and blood counts, namely:

• Hemoglobin: 7.1
• WBC: 3.6
• HR: high 30s-mid 40s
• BP: averaging 80s/high 30s, highest has been 89/50.

I've been seen by the gastro team, who wants to do an endoscopy but ultimately as an outpatient procedure because they're concerned about doing it while my WBC is low due to increased possibility of infection.
I've been seen by the cardiac team, who is going through my past records (the hospital I'm in is where I had a cardiac ablation for an arrhythmia back in 2018), but ultimately will want me to get an electrophysiology study - but whether I do it while inpatient or do as an outpatient once discharged is TBD.
They've given me some IV iron and ongoing saline drip but my numbers are not shifting.
I also had some bacteria in my urinalysis but no other symptoms, but they're giving me antibiotic IV just in case.
Basically, my case has my medical team at a loss, so thought I'd share my results and history here to see if anyone had any ideas!
Abnormal test results since being admitted (any value not listed means it was normal range.)
Echocardiagram abnormal findings:

• Trace miltal regurgitation.
• Mild aortic valve thinking. No aortic regurgitatin.
• Trace tricuspid regurgitation.

EKG 12-Lead abnormal findings:

• QT Interval: 464 ms
• QTC calculation (Bazett): 478 ms

Abnormal bloodwork:

• Reticulocyte hemoglobin: 20.7
• Ferritin: 3
• Iron: 13
• Iron saturation: 4%
• WBC count: 3.6
• RBC count: 3.57
• Hemoglobin: 7.2
• Hematocrit %: 24.8
• Mean corposcular volume: 58.7
• Mean corposcular hemoglobin: 19.9
• Mean corposcular hemoglobin conc: 28.6
• RDW - CV%: 20.3%
• RDW-SD: 52.2
• Neutrophils %: 22%
• Lympocytes %: 68%
• Neutrophils absolute: 0.8
• Chloride: 115
• CO2: 17
• BUN: 5
• Creatanine: 0.48
• Calcium: 7.7
• Albumin: 2.9
• Protein, total: 4.9
• Bilirubin total: 0.1
• AST: 60
• Alkaline phosphatase: 38

Relevant history/surgeries/medications listed below.
Medical history:

• Had a modified duodenal switch surgery (also known as SIPS) in July 2017 (both bariatric but did that surgery specifically because it helped address hormonal issues like overproduction of ghrelin.) Went from 260 lbs at 5'1" to my current weight of around 110 lbs. This surgery also resulted in malabsorption, so have been on bariatric ADEK/multi and bariatric iron supplement since then.
  
• Had a 20+ year history of an eating disorder (primarily restrictive but worsened after SIPS as getting adjusted to that led to occasional regurgitation, which I started to take advantage of so symptoms turned more to restricting purging type.) Went into treatment in 2019 at a treatment center that was HAES and focused more on intuitive eating and body neutrality, which ultimately was hugely successful and I've been in true recovery since I was discharged in February 2020.
  
• Had palpitations in 2017/2018 which were later diagnosed as bigeminy PVCs. Ablated and had loop recorder inserted. No issues since until I started experiencing some palpitations again in March, which is what led me to go to ER, where they identified low hemoglobin as the issue.
  
• Have had low hemoglobin previously due to malabsorption, and had series of iron infusions in 2021.
  
• Have rheumatoid arthritis, diagnosed in fall 2019. Currently between medications (was on methotrexate but wasn't doing anything) - currently just have predinsone but I only take it when I'm having a flare. Rheum and I are exploring Rinvoq but am in the process of getting updated scans and labwork to check on RA progression before updating treatment plan.
  
• Have previously had stomach ulcers caused by NSAIDs (was negative for H Pylori at the time), but has not been an issue since winter 2013.
  

Previous surgeries/procedures:

• July 2017: SIPS / modified DS
• March 2018: Cardiac ablation for bigeminy PVCs
• Fall 2018: skin removal surgery post weight loss (abdomen and upper arms)
• Fall 2019: Emergency surgery for intrasucception
• Winter 2020: Gallbladder removal

I naturally fell into babysitting around the age of 14. Through friends and family, I got leads for babysitting to score some cash, which definitely beat having to work at a restaurant. The job had its ups and downs, but overall it wasn’t a bad gig at all.
Yet, as many good experiences as I had, they were all eclipsed by one night.
A new family in town talked to my dad at work and it turned out that they needed a babysitter. I happily took the job and found myself watching their 10-year old boy a couple of weeks later. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the family themselves. They were the model citizens of suburban America, complete with the white picket fence and blue shutters. Nothing about their house was strange or even unique. Their son Avery was very mild-mannered and polite. Even their car was basic. Not that these were bad things, but I expected it to be a very boring night.
What I did not expect was the uncomfortable, inexplicable feeling that I got when I set foot in the house. A chill ran through me, but there was no draft. I rubbed my arms as I gazed at their staircase as we passed. They gave me a brief tour of the house before they left a note of instructions and all the usual information I expected from a job.
While trying to figure out what was making me so uneasy about the place, I noticed something about their basement door when I passed it. A padlock was placed on the door, along with a deadbolt in place.
"Any questions?” The father asked as my mind was pulled out of my curiosity.
"No, sir. Everything looks great!”
So they left and Avery and I played some games before I made dinner. A couple of times, I thought I heard Avery call me into the den. Both times, I found him sitting on the couch in what most recognize as the TV-zombie state. He denied having called me, and I went back to making dinner. After the third time, I told Avery it wasn’t funny and that he should stop.
“I’m not doing anything, I’m just watching TV!”
His voice went to that higher tone of pleading, sounding desperate for me to believe him.
“Avery, I know it’s my first time and sometimes you wanna test things out, but I’m trying to get dinner ready so if you call me again, I’m not checking on you, okay?”
“I didn't say anything.”
The child glared at the TV with a pouting face, and I began to feel bad. As many times as I’ve heard lies, I was starting to sense that he was telling the truth. So what was I hearing?
“Hey, it’s fine. I’m not mad. Promise.”
Avery turned his head back towards me, seeming to test if I was the one fibbing now.
“How about I let you stay up a little later if we forget about it?”
“Do you really promise?”
“Pinky promise.”
With our contractual pinkies interlocked, spirits were raised again and I was able to finish dinner. Although I didn’t finish without hearing Avery’s voice calling me once more. I ignored it, and when Avery didn’t mention it at dinner I figured it was him fooling around again. The whole time we chatted as we ate, I couldn’t help but feel that something was not right about this house.
As hard as I tried to not look, my eyes kept diverting to the heavy padlock and chain on the basement door. Curiosity got the best of me and as we were cleaning up, I couldn’t help but ask.
“So Avery, what’s the deal with the basement door?”
“What do you mean?”
His words did not match his demeanor. It was obvious he didn’t make eye contact as he forced his sentence out.
“C’mon, you know what I mean. The padlock, chain, and deadbolt. Y’all have dangerous chemicals down there?”
Avery’s face grew paler and he stared at the wall for a moment.
“Hey, it’s okay. You don’t have to tell me. I didn’t mean to…”
“Dad said no one can talk about it anymore.”
This really threw me off, and I couldn’t possibly finish my sentence now. A thick veil of tension materialized between us.
“So you…you guys aren’t allowed to talk about it?”
Avery shook his head.
“Ah, okay. That’s cool. No big deal.”
It was nothing but a big deal.
Was their dad doing something illegal down there? Or was it something strange that no one could do anything about it? Maybe their dad was in denial about something going on. There were waaaaaay too many questions going through my head now.
“Hey, how about we put on a movie?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“What am I saying? Everyone likes movies, right?!”
Now excited, we decided on a fun movie that quickly pulled our minds away from the mysterious basement door. Well, that’s not entirely true. Maybe Avery was distracted, but it was killing me. As we ate popcorn, I couldn’t help but watch Avery, wondering what was going on in that little head of his.
Was there something awful going on in the house and there was nothing I could do to stop it? Or maybe the dad was just…
“Stop,” I told myself inwardly.
Mulling over it all endlessly was not doing myself any favors.
So the movie ended, and I ushered the drifting child to his bed. Now, the house was all to myself until twelve, so I had a good three and a half hours to myself. Immediately, I began texting my friend to tell her all about the weird experience I was having that night. She dismissed it, saying that I was getting spooked by a new place. This annoyed me to no end. I’d been at bigger, way creepier-looking houses but never got weird vibes like this.
Then…I heard it.
“Stephanie…..”
I went instantly still and listened intently.
“You didn’t hear that, Steph. Just keep texting your friend and…”
“Stephanieeeee…”
There was no mistaking it this time. It was definitely coming from the basement.
The acoustics couldn’t have been from Avery upstairs. The voice sounded like a little girl’s. In fact, I’m not even sure he could make his voice like that, anyway.
Slowly, I stood up from the couch and approached the door. Maybe like earlier, I was just hearing things. Maybe being creeped out by the house was starting to mess with my head. That made sense…right?
“Stephanie?”
I jumped back from the door, almost wetting myself in the process. There was no way I could dismiss it as anything else now. There was a little girl’s voice coming from the basement.
“H-hello?” I responded.
I couldn’t keep my voice from shaking.
“Is this Stephanie?”
“Y-yes, it’s Stephanie.”
“Can you help me?”
“Who are you? Why are you locked in the basement?”
“My name is Meredith Rosenberg. They’re kept me locked up for a long time now. The police were almost on to them and that’s why they moved. Can you get me out?”
A cold shock washed over me and made it hard to respond. Was I actually babysitting for a family that kept a little girl prisoner?
“Oh my God…um….how long have you been locked up with them?”
“Ever since I can remember.”
I felt somehow hot and cold at the same time, and wanted to throw up. This all made sense now with what Avery had told me. Of course his father didn’t want him talking about the door…
“I just need to find the keys and I can…”
“They’re hidden in the garage underneath the metal shelf. It’s inside a magnetic key holder.”
“Okay, just hold tight.”
In a panic to free the poor girl, I darted into the garage and began feeling the space underneath the bottom shelf and sure enough, there was a magnetic key holder there. Running back, I popped the key holder open and began to insert the key into the padlock.
“Did you find it?”
“Yes, sweetie. I’m almost there!”
“Oh, please hurry! Sometimes they come home early!”
This sent me into even more of a rush, and I barely managed to fumble the key into the padlock. I finally heard the successful click of the padlock, pulled the chain off, and slid the deadbolt to the right.
“I’m coming, Meredith. Hold on!”
I turned the doorknob and threw open the door, only to be met with darkness. Now full of adrenaline, my hands felt around for the light switch. Finally finding my purchase, I flicked the light on which lit up most of the stairs.
“Meredith?” I called out.
Unless I was remembering it wrong, it sounded like her voice was just on the other side of the door a minute ago. In fact, it was quite strange that she wasn’t waiting for me at the top of the stairs. Wouldn’t you immediately run out of a basement that you were locked in for God knows how long?
“I’m down here!” The little girl’s voice called out.
Judging from the distance, it sounded like she was calling from somewhere at the bottom of the stairs. My brain suddenly began piecing all the details of this interaction together and the idea of going down into the basement became absolutely terrifying.
“Meredith, you can come up now! The door’s open!”
I couldn’t hide the tremor in my voice. Why I was scared of a little girl was beyond me, but much like the house itself, something felt very wrong here.
“I hurt my leg, owww! When you said you were getting the key, I went back down to get some of my things and got hurt. Ahhh….”
Her sounds of pain filled me with sorrow, but an invisible force was holding me back from taking another step into that basement.
“Can you move? Maybe pull yourself up on the railing?”
“I can’t! It hurts too bad!”
“Okay, sweetie umm…”
“What’s wrong? Won’t you help me?”
“I-I it’s just…really dark down there and…and I don’t want to get hurt too. Is there any way you can get to the stairs? Any way at all?”
“I tried to sit up, but my shoulder hurts too much.”
“I thought you said your leg got hurt?”
The words hung in the air like a noose. It was only after I said it that I realized there was several things seriously wrong about all of this. A question popped into my head I didn’t even have time to think about until now.
How did she know where the padlock key was?
A deathly silence took up the space between me and wherever this girl was. It was a standoff, and I couldn’t think of anything else to say. There were questions I could ask her to figure out what was happening, but I felt that her answers weren’t going to be honest. Perhaps at this point, the truth was too frightful to know.
"Meredith? Are you still there?"
It was a stupid question, but it was the only thing my mind could conjure. The additional silence only unnerved me, so I decided to try and get a better look. Fishing my phone out of my pocket, I clicked on the flashlight. It didn’t do me any good because of the awful range, so I did the one thing I’d already told myself not to do…
I took a step forward...
Maybe it was the angle of the stairs or the lighting, but that one step gave me more information than I ever wanted to know. I caught a better view of the bottom step, which was essentially a ledge into a black abyss. Something looked different on this step, but it took a second to register what it was.
The step was wet, a pool of some unknown liquid overflowing into the darkness of the basement. I knew for sure that the father hadn’t mentioned any flooding so it would be way too random for that. So I stood there, watching in frozen curiosity as the puddle then suddenly rippled…and I realized the abominable truth.
It wasn’t water.
It was a puddle of saliva…and something was drooling into it from the dark.
A wretched chuckle emanated from the horrid void beyond the step, and it cemented me even further into place. It was a wet chortle, and positively evil.
“How did you like my voices?” The thing said from the dark. “I’ve been practicing."
The epiphany creeped down my spine…it was now talking in Avery’s voice. Everything in my body screamed at me to run. I heard the screams but I couldn’t respond no matter how hard I tried.
"A pity though…almost got you."
At this, the most gruesome face peeled back the shadows and revealed itself, along with its unearthly mandibles and small fountain of saliva. My faculties finally came to and I threw myself into the house and kicked the door closed. In mere seconds, I had the door bolted and chained. Leaning against the door, my chest heaved as I struggled to catch my breath.
Just as I felt I was safe, the door shuddered as a terrible blow rocked it. I screamed and ran upstairs to grab Avery.
I practically dragged the poor kid out the door and called the police. It wasn’t until the operator came on that I realized I was about to report a monster in the house. Thinking quickly, I told them that I heard a burglar in the home.
It wasn’t long before the police and Avery’s parents came home. Nothing was found, even in the basement, but I didn’t even care at that point. I just wanted the hell out of that house and away from whatever that….thing was. Avery’s parents kept glancing at me funny the whole time, probably because they knew I had their basement key. I shoved it into their hands before I hugged Avery and got into my car to drive home. That poor kid has to live in that house with that thing, but there was nothing I could do about it.
As long as I am alive, I will never….ever set foot in that house again.
And as for basements go, I can't go into them anymore. I just simply can't...

filename is rexx6
Firstly, I played this game around 2005 on the family computer acquired by my family in 2003 with around ten pre-installed games such as duke nukem 3d, comix zone, ecco the dolphin, and a lot of French educational games as for example: "Lisa, la maison du temps et de l'espace".
I recently recovered the hard drive of this PC in order to recover and export all the possible images of our family and among these images were resource files from certain games like those mentioned above, this game is the only one that I didn't find the name of.
The game icon was a brown door with red edges.
The game begins with the sound of a door slamming and the word "Start".
The goal of the game is to survive against a half-dog, half-peacock monster (really terrifying)
It's a point and click like myst, and is very similar to the game "forestia" (another "educational" game) in the way it is designed.
We were chased by this "monster" and the image on the post is one of the jumpscare frames when he catches us.
At the bottom right of the picture was an air duct that I had to go to and some cables falling right next to it.
the white/blue line on the right in the middle was probably a table.
And so the monster is on the left.
The game was truly terrifying and looking back I find that the game was strangely "beautiful" for its time.
Why is the image so ugly? this is the only resource file that I found among all the images present on my hard drive
So I would like to know if you have any idea of ​​it's name? I'm available to any questions.
Thanks.

I'm looking for a 2Xgreat-grandmother whose name no one recorded. I have some reason to suspect that she might have been the daughter of a cousin of the man recorded to be their father. Family adoption situation. When I looked at that woman's ancestors I saw a number of names of couples that are showing up in the trees of my mom's DNA matches. Yes! I started to get excited that I had solved this mystery, so in my DNA linked tree I moved my mom's line over to descend from this woman, and I waited 48 hours to let Ancestry's servers catch up.
Thrulines is still showing zero descendants from that woman or her parents or grandparents. Yet I know of DNA matches to my mom who descend from them, I can go to their pages and look at their trees. Any ideas why the Thrulines aren't connecting up?

If you're considering starting a business, you've probably heard about Limited Liability Companies (LLCs).
But what exactly are they, and why might they be the perfect fit for your venture?
In this little post I shall lay out a few things you need to consider before you start your LLC.

What is an LLC?

An LLC combines the best of both worlds: the liability protection of a corporation and the flexibility of a partnership. When you form an LLC, you're not only taking responsibility for your company's profits and losses but also safeguarding your personal assets.

Advantages of Forming an LLC

There are several compelling reasons why opting for an LLC might be the right move for your business:

1. Limited Liability: With an LLC, your personal assets are protected. If your company faces legal issues or debts, your personal finances remain untouched. This is a stark contrast to sole proprietorships or partnerships, where personal liability is a significant concern.
2. Less Corporate Formalities: Unlike other business structures, such as corporations, LLCs have fewer formalities. You won't need to conduct annual meetings or file extensive paperwork, making the setup process relatively hassle-free.
3. Flexibility in Management: Unlike corporations, which have rigid management structures, LLCs offer flexibility. You can tailor the management process to suit your business's needs, whether that means centralized decision-making or a more collaborative approach.

Key Considerations Before Starting an LLC

Now that you're sold on the idea of forming an LLC, it's time to delve into the nitty-gritty details. Here are some essential pointers to keep in mind:
1. Choose a Unique Business Name
Your business name is your brand's identity, so choose wisely. Here are some tips for selecting the perfect name:

• Keep it simple and memorable.
• Brainstorm with your team to generate ideas.
• Avoid trendy buzzwords that may become outdated.
• Ensure the name is not already in use by another business in your state.

2. Select Your Headquarters Location
Consider your target audience and the specific laws governing LLCs in different states when choosing your business's location.
3. Develop Your Business Plan and Obtain Necessary Documents
Craft a comprehensive business plan and apply for a Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) from the IRS. Additionally, open a separate bank account for your business to keep your finances organized.
4. Obtain Licenses and Permits
Ensure you have all the required licenses and permits for your business's operation, both at the state and federal levels.
5. Define Management Style and Set Up Accounting Systems
Create an operating agreement to establish roles and responsibilities within your LLC. Additionally, explore insurance options and consider implementing accounting software to streamline your financial processes.
By following these steps, you'll be well on your way to establishing a successful LLC that provides both protection and flexibility for your business endeavors.

Genocide Reigns
(note: I'm an indie game developer making an action/horror title called Phantasphere. This story is a spin off set in the same universe)
Year 2480X Ryze County Police Department
He's coming. The ensuing panic spread like a virus infecting all present with symptoms of looming dread. Officers worked steadfast to prepare also taking what time remained to train the few combat hardened civilians whom had fled to the station earlier. If only they knew. This demon that presented itself as a man had led a string of senseless massacres across the country. Only recently had it begun to prioritize police stations and army bases as a means of breaking the will of civilians who knew they would be next. Officers from several counties across the states were transferred here for this last stand. This Genocide must not continue. Gracia checked her pistol. Some 20 bullets remained. "I can do this", she thought, "I have to". She had dealt with similar cases before. Some poor soul is overtaken by some inextricably evil force and makes it their life's work to propagate death. Gracia had killed quite a few already. Live arrests weren't always possible. Beyond saving, careful interrogations of the scarce live catches yielded a startling connection. These killers all alluded to a well of overwhelming hatred and despair that consumed them after making eye contact with...Pale, black eyed entities. Some type of demon? Ghost maybe? The idea seemed nonsensical, but there was evidence nonetheless that some outside force was using them to fulfill some unknown purpose. At the present time, all they could do was stop the killers after they had killed. It was always too late by then and more would appear randomly elsewhere. What good could be done here in an isolated station hoping to stop one guy out of possibly hundreds? "The guy we're waiting for is different from the others," detective Evans spoke from the center of a crowd nearby. Gracia moved in closer. "The others typically strike from the shadows, hide their faces behind masks, and prefer to get up close and personal with their victims. What we're dealing with is on a completely different scale. The trail of bloodshed this guy leaves is too difficult for the media to cover up. He loves the spectacle. Headlining the news. We can't keep using the burst pipeline excuse for 6 stations being destroyed in a row. We have to stop him before the world at large finds out. You wonder why we need so many people here? Its simple. We're gonna out-man this one man. He always attacks stations through the front door. Like other killers he's fast, strong- you know the usual, but he also uses guns." "What!", a voice rang out from the crowd. "They aren't supposed to do that!" another gasped. Officer Lary spoke with a cheesy grin" Ya tellin' me we just gotta deal with a regular ass gunman eh? That's a welcome change of pace init? Heck I'm too old to be running around being chased like I'm in some scary movie". The detective rebutted" You don't get it. He uses guns. Not a handgun, not rifles, not boom sticks, not rpgs, not knives not grenades but ALL of them. He uses guns. Plural. It'll take essentially an army to match his arsenal. He used to be a man named -redacted-, but in his pursuit of chaos he has become Genocide." A dark form manifests from the night outside the station. Genocide is coming.
Bang! something slams into the front door. Everyone freezes. Officer Tatum edges slowly to it, shockgun in hand. By no means lethal, the shockgun was lighter, easy to control, and could stun targets temporarily. If Genocide was here, Tatum could stun him and duck for cover leaving the station free to light him up like a Christmas tree. That was the plan they came up with. He got closer to the glass door and peered outside. He was met with hate filled bloodshot eyes framed by an unkempt beard and wild straggly hair. Tatum felt some relief. He knew the man outside. It was Jim Jimenez. Jim was a former drug dealer turned informant. He was found out and had to flee from his old life. He became homeless, hiding in plane sight. This allowed him safety at the cost of his mental health. Tatum knew the man, but those eyes were not his. Tatum blinked and saw that the look of malice had vanished. What he instead saw was a helpless, wounded man, bleeding from the right arm pleading for help. Tatum looked behind Jim, eyeing the empty lot. The coast seemingly clear Tatum unlocked the door and let Jim in. Jim had been roaming the town looking for shelter and tried squatting in an abandoned looking apartment complex. There he found that the building contained several murdered families some succumbing to gunshots but the majority having met their end to fire and suffocation. Jim had decided to make his way to the station to tell police what happened and met trouble on the way. He described getting stabbed by a man wearing a trench coat with long dark hair. Despite the injuries, Jim could move surprisingly well and seemed to ignore the pain. Jim insisted that the man had spared him on the condition he deliver a message. "What message?" Tatum asked. Jim beckoned him to come closer. Tatum leaned in and Jim whispered, "Tell them. Tell them that Genocide is coming closer." The following events were a blur. Jim had concealed the knife he was stabbed with. He stabbed Tatum 4 times in the chest and wrestled his shockgun away. Using Tatum as a shield, Jim engaged everyone in the lobby. Jim wasn't himself. He was stronger. He was faster. He was tactical. He would stun an officer in place only to stab them and use their as a body shield. No one could get a clear shot without hitting a colleague. Gracia watched the scene unfold. In minutes Jim had acquired a magnum from the holster of one of his victims. In seconds 3 officers had their heads exploded. The magnum rounds coated the walls red with those they hit and stained the clothes of those they missed. Gracia felt fear rising in her chest. She calmed herself and tried to think. She saw the bodies on the ground. The blood. She saw how dismissively Jim stepped over them. Like they were nothing. Like trash. She saw the man firing erratically into groups of people, not so much to kill but as to cause panic. That's it! As Gracia contemplated her next move it hit her. She was knocked backwards and landed on the ground. She weakly clutched her chest. Her breathing grew shallow. Jim mad his way deeper into the station. The officers were retreating from their standoff. Jim stepped over her body and saw red staining her uniform. Just another casualty. He moved on. At this point the civilians began panicking. Everyone gave up trying to save their allies and fired blindly at the madman. "Don't shoot the messenger," Jim laughed as he stripped his latest meat shield of an automatic rifle. Detective Evans took cover behind an overturned desk. To his left Larry struggled to light a cigar. "You still think this is a cakewalk?" Evans shouted firing 2 quick shots from his gun before ducking back down. Lary lost hold of his lighter and it clattered on the ground." Crap." He reached for it and looked in the corner of the room. A mirror. He looked at it for what seemed like ages and his smirk returned " Y'know that mex'n gal with the short hair. Where is she? I didn't see her get shot." Evans glanced a peak at Jim spraying lead in all directions. Behind him was a corpse. Evans blinked. It seemed to be getting closer. Its her. Gracia painstakingly inched her way into Jim's blind spot. She was roughly 6 feet away from him. Flanking him seemed like a brilliant idea but waiting idly by for the right moment as the people around her died filled her with anger. Worse still, she had to steal a blood soaked shirt from one of the deceased officers to keep up the facade. Inching ever so steadily she mad it within 3 feet of Jim. She reached behind her belt and unclipped a pair of handcuffs. Screams could be heard as more people were hit. Gracia couldn't wait any longer. Fluidly she got to her feet and rushed Jim. She kicked the back of his knee causing him to stumble as she put the handcuffs on him. Figuratively. The handcuffs were around Jim's neck. She yanked him back causing his gun to drop. "You don't know what you're doing." Jim spat. "We all need to accept it. The end of days is upon us. Death rides his horse through these forsaken lands. We must serve or be sacrificed in turn. Accept it!"He elbowed Gracia in the ribs causing her to let go. He spun around and lunged at her. She landed on her back, Jim steadily choking her. Gracia thought fast. She couldn't struggle. Jim was too strong. She delivered a precise chop to the center of Jim's neck which was exposed. Jim lurched back to catch his breath. A clean shot. A bullet pierced through Jim's back. Weakened, Gracia rolled him over and began punching him repeatedly using the handcuffs as brass knuckles. The sound of Jim's skull cracking echoed through the station. This would go on for nearly 20 seconds before Gracia stopped, checked his pulse, confirmed Jim was still alive, then finally put the cuffs on Jim's wrists.
Click. Bodies are wrapped and moved to a makeshift storage room. Click. The available weapons are gathered and redistributed. Click. Officers are assigned to sniping positions on neighboring buildings. Click. Police cruisers circle the lot outside. Click. In the holding cell, Jim opens his eyes. Click. Lary flicks his lighter. Click. Gracia sips coffee from a paper cup. Click. Shells hit the ground at the feet of Genocide. Click. Genocide walks outside a cafe and looks at the station in the distance. Click. Lary clicks his lighter.
"All ya'll gon' fall," Jim ranted." You can't drain the ocean. You can't put out the sun. Evil will always exist. That there Genocide is proof . I saw him. Saw myself within his eyes. Saw the evil in me that I could no longer try to hide. He taught me to embrace the darkness within. Its in all of us begging to be let out. Can you hear it!" Lary clicked his lighter and got up from his chair. He grabbed a cup of liquor from another officer mid sip and walked over to Jim. He doused it on Jim, the liquid stinging his open wounds. Jim yelped. Across the station, radios blurred to life. Several of their lookouts on the outside had been killed. "He's gon' get ya," Jim smiled imitating Lary's signature grin. "Genocide! Genocide! Genocide!" The other inmates saw the chance to irritate Lary and joined in all shouting in unison,"Ge-No-Cide! Ge-No-Cide! Ge-No-Cide!" The chanting grew louder. Unbearable. They invoked upon the name of the beast, and so it came.
Genocide is upon us. A wave of dread spread across the officers. They could feel its presence. Gracia knew the sensation. The awful aura that the other killers gave off. This was different. Far more oppressive. She struggled to breathe as the air got colder. Her instincts screamed for her to run. She could only imagine what the others were going through. Its time. Across the lot Genocide stood. A siren blared over the intercom. "Everyone get into positions!" Evans yelled. Wayne finished setting the last of the c4 near the station entrance. "That's the last of them. Have remote triggers set around all the major hallways. I'll be in the security room ready to pull the switch." Wayne acted as an explosives expert. His job was to detonate bombs placed throughout the station to slow down Genocide should it enter the building. He would stay in the security room, monitoring the cameras and giving real time updates on the officers' positions. From the holding cell, inmates chanted for Genocide. Lary got off his phone" That bastard mixed us up. How did we not notice?" Evans asked what he meant. Lary, dumbfounded, said that most of the town was already dead. Genocide had broken his usual pattern. He went on a killing spree across a defenseless town BEFORE attacking the police station. They had let everyone down. The people they swore to protect. This Genocide was a monster, but he was still a man. Capable of learning from his past actions. Planning. Adapting. It wasn't in his style to stealthily kill his victims or even use a silencer on any of his guns, but an exception had been made for tonight. An exception that would cost them. Gracia was stationed on the second floor. She peered out the window. Her heart skipped a beat. Two cruisers made slow donuts patrolling the lot and standing unmoving between them was a man all in black. Gracia called in to Wayne asking if he saw anything outside. Wayne said the monitors were all clear then checked again. He cursed. He noticed small details were off. The cameras showing the outside of the station were wrong. Sure they showed the same scenery and weather but cars passed by on screen too frequently for a dead town. Too many to make sense for the quarantine they had set in place. Wayne concluded that the cameras had been hacked. Different prerecorded footage was being shown on the live feed to misdirect them. Gracia saw the man look up at her. A light rain started to fall. The officers patrolling outside were contacted. From the holding cells, inmates called for genocide.

My car's transmission is on the fritz, so it's in the shop and I'm working from home for at least today. Thank goodness I can even work from home, or things would be a lot more complicated. Anyways, that's just a bit of a vent. I've also decided that I might do little lore-esque prechapter bits for some extra flavor. Hope you guys enjoy them! I find them to be fun little thought experiments on how people might perceive the world I've created from within vs from my own perspective. Enjoy some crafting and some romance!
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We know that the spots that are caused by looking at a source of light are, in fact, damage of some sort to the eye. This is confirmed by the spots rapidly disappearing should someone be healed whilst experiencing them. But why? Is there a divinity within light, beyond what our mortal eyes can withstand? Is there some sort of invisible emanation that comes alongside the light that damages us in some way? The discovery of light damaging the eye has opened more questions for me than it has closed.
-Musings on the Relations of Light and Fire, by Jarwic Leftun
\***
Xander carefully opened the door, finding Gabrelle already asleep, and sat down on a chair. Maybe he could get that adaptive camouflage to work right on bright colors. Surely he had some colorful things in his inventory.
He did in fact have a few colorful things in his inventory, and he whiled the rest of the night away making small adjustments to the runic array that was embroidered into the cloth. He was satisfied before dawn, the cloth now performing as well with light colors as it had with darker colors. Now he just needed to make a cloak out of it. He briefly considered coating his armor with the array, but discarded it. There might be times where he’d want to be seen. Besides, a hooded cloak would better break up the outline of his figure, the ripples of fabric, especially if he were to crouch or lay prone, obscuring his outline even more. In little time at all, he had a long, deep hooded cloak of the color shifting, runed cloth in his hands. He stashed it in his inventory for now, as he had no particular need to sneak up on something right now. The rest of the time before dawn he spent silently sitting in the chair he’d chosen, trying to keep his thoughts to a minimum, just daydreaming. Night dreaming? He couldn’t sleep anymore, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t try to let his mind wander.
As the dawn came and the sun began to shine through the window of the room, Gabrelle slowly awoke, once more finding Xander sitting in a chair rather than in bed.
“Mmf,” She grunted as she stretched. “Morning, Xander. You got back late.”
“Morning, yourself,” Xander said, turning his head to look at Gabrelle. “Yeah... Yeah, I guess I did.”
“What were you doing, anyway?” She asked, curious. “You didn’t mention that you’d be out late, just that you were going to go to see Valteria at her shop.”
“I uh... went on a date.”
“I knew it! ‘Comparing notes’ was a date!” Gabrelle exclaimed triumphantly.
“It was not!” Xander complained. “But we went to a tavern in the evening and it sort of... turned into a date on the way there.”
“Awhh, that’s so cute,” Gabrelle said. “Did it go well? Is she nice? Did you kiss?”
“I think it went well. We talked a lot about different projects and ideas we had. I also got to meet another [Godsmarked] - he owns the tavern we went to. I think she’s nice. Maybe a little shy. I think she’s gotten used to being treated differently by people. I don’t think she really believed that I wanted to go on a date with her, at first. ...And yes. We kissed.”
“Ooooh, look at you! You’re growing up so fast!” Gabrelle teased.
“Oh hush. I’m older than you!” Xander huffed, then returned to seriousness. “But ah, if I’m going to be dating someone... we need to have a conversation, Gabrelle.”
“We need to stop sleeping together?” Gabrelle quickly deduced before Xander could say it himself.
“Yeah... It doesn’t feel right, even though it’s just platonic between us. I don’t think I would appreciate being in Valteria’s situation and knowing that the person I was seeing was sleeping with someone else at night.”
“Well, I figured this would happen eventually,” Gabrelle said. “Either you or I were bound to find someone eventually. Don’t worry, I’m not upset. Don’t get me wrong, the snuggles were nice, but like I told you a while ago, I don’t have nearly as much trouble sleeping when I’m with the team.”
“Thanks for not being upset, Gabrelle.”
“You know this means you have to start paying for your own room, though, right?”
“Ah, shit, you’re right. I forgot.”
Xander left the room to allow Gabrelle some privacy to get dressed and meandered back down the stairs to see if any other members of the team were already up. Looking around, he spied Graffus eating breakfast at at table and moved to sit with the dwarf.
“Mornin’” Graffus greeted Xander through a mouthful of bread.
“Morning,” Xander greeted back.
“Glad to see you made it back, we were wondering if you’d be out all night,” Graffus told him, after swallowing his bread.
“I was out a bit late, I suppose. I let the time get away from me.” Xander said, not really wanted to be teased again about going out on a date. “So what are you planning to do today?”
“Bah, Frazay has roped me into helping her do research for the drakeling. So reading is what’s in store for me.” Graffus tore himself off another piece of bread from his plate and slathered it with jam. “You going to be going back to that [Tinker] you’ve been spending time with lately?”
“Yeah, that’s the plan. I’m supposed to learn more about converting mana types today, and also help her fix the suit of armor that I wrecked.”
“Welp,” Graffus said, now on his last piece of bread, “I hope ya learn something new. Never had much to do with [Tinker]s – not saying I dislike them, just that I haven’t had much experience with them – so it don’t make much sense to me. Using a hammer is about the only overlap in our professions.”
“I think your hammer is significantly larger than the one most [Tinker]s would use,” Xander chuckled. Thinking about what he should be doing before he headed to Valteria’s, he asked Graffus, “Hey, I might need to buy some monster parts or elemental cores, something like that, for practice. You know where I would go to find stuff like that?”
Graffus shrugged. “Dunno. My guess would be an alchemy and reagents shop. That’s generally what we’ve sold monster parts to that didn’t go to a smith or leatherworker.”
“Thanks, Graffus.”
The two of them chatted for a while longer, catching up on what each other had been doing. Graffus excused himself to finish getting ready for the day, saying he needed to tend to his beard, leaving Xander downstairs. Deciding to be productive and proactive, Xander stood as well and headed out of the inn to find an alchemy shop.
It wasn’t long before he found one, a familiar scene of an eclectic collection of powders, liquids, crystals, and strange organic things floating in jars inside the building. The proprietor was a dwarf, seated at a workbench. They were grinding something into a powder as Xander entered. He received a distracted greeting before the dwarf returned to his work.
Xander wandered about the shop for a few minutes, looking at the various materials throughout the shop. He identified what he thought might be an elemental core, a jagged piece of crystal looking material that seemed to have an inner flame. As for the monster parts in jars, Xander had no idea what was what. He finally felt he’d waited long enough and moved closer to the worktable that the dwarf was still sitting at, working away at the mortar and pestle.
“Excuse me,” Xander said, grabbing the shopkeep’s attention.
“Mm?” The dwarf said questioningly. “Can I help you find something?”
“I was wondering if you had any elemental cores. Something small, I just need one to practice with.”
“Aye, I’ve a few of them around the shop. You want something to practice with? So a relatively weak core, then – not all the small ones are weak. Do you need any particular type?” The dwarf stood up and stretched, moving to one of the shelves.
“Uhm no, just whatever is cost effective, I suppose.”
The alchemist rifled through the various bits and bobs on one of the shelves nearby before producing a small chip of what looked to be a semi-translucent stone. It was tinged slightly yellow with streaks of white. “This here is a chip off a lightning attuned core. Pretty weak, but it does still produce mana.”
Xander could see the dwarf’s arm hair standing up as if from static electicity as he held up the stone. “How much?” He asked.
“Twenty gold.”
Xander shrugged. Twenty gold wasn’t an issue for him anymore, and he didn’t feel like haggling. He always hated haggling. “Sure.” He fished out the coin and handed it over to the dwarf.
The dwarf handed over the stone to Xander and the pop of a static electric shock could be heard as a tiny arc passed between the two of them. The dwarf grunted and shook his hand. “Thanks for the business,” he told Xander. “Anything else you find yourself in need of?”
“Not at the moment, but thanks for asking.” Xander waved goodbye to the dwarf and pocketed the tiny elemental core. He continued down the street in the direction of Valteria’s shop, thinking about how he was going to undo the welding job he’d done on Valteria’s armor. He’d need her to guide his repair efforts.
Xander returned to the inn momentarily to grab one of his golems. He settled on Atlas for now, as it was the most basic of the humanoid forms he’d created. No extra arms or weird feet on him, no sir.
Arriving at the building that contained Valteria’s home and shop, Xander knocked before opening the door. “Morning,” he called out.
“Xander! Hello!” Valteria called out. She was at the same work bench she’d been at yesterday. Jarrett didn’t seem to be in the shop at the moment, as Xander wasn’t able to spot the man.
Commanding Atlas to follow him in and closing the door behind him, Xander started walking towards Valteria. “How’s it going?” He asked.
“Good, it’s going good,” Valteria responded as Xander brought a stool over to her workbench. “How about yourself?”
“Not bad. The upside of not sleeping is that I never struggle in the mornings now. I used to hate waking up.” Xander laughed. “I even ran an errand before I came here! Picked up this.” Xander fished around in his pocket until he found the small chip of elemental core and held it up for Valteria to see.
“Core?” She asked distractedly, staring at Atlas. She tore her eyes away and looked closely at the small crystalline stone. “Lightning attuned?”
“That’s what the [Alchemist] at the shop said,” Xander affirmed. “Said it was a very weak one, but that it did still produce mana.”
“Mmm, a good practice piece, then.”
“I thought it would be, too. Not that I know what to do with it, yet.”
“Well, how about this: I teach you to set the stone and make some conduit, and then you can help me fix my armor. All the glue has turned to dust by now, thank the gods.”
“Sounds fair enough. So, how do mana conduits work?”
“Well, the concept is simple enough. It’s a tube which conducts mana,” Valteria began to explain.
“Mmhm.” Xander nodded along.
“What you need is a setting – usually of silver, as it has good mana conductivity – which will be the first step of conduction, taking the mana from the stone. Simply wrapping the core in silver wire can work well enough, drawing in the mana that the core puts out through its surface, but for a more effecient setting, small holes are usually drilled into the core to set the wire into as well, giving more surface area to draw from.”
“So we care about the mana conductivity of the material, then? That makes sense, I just hadn’t thought about it. I actually did a little experiment with my rune work to test which fillings were the most conductive.”
“Oh really?” Valteria said, interested. “What were your results?”
“Well, gold and silver were high up there in conductivity, and probably make the most sense for someone who has to physically manipulate material without use of a skill – both for a core setting and for inlaying a rune – but I did find that sapphires and rubies were even more efficient at transferring mana than gold and silver.”
“Mmm... interesting. I’ve heard of gemstones being used in very high-grade settings, as well as various other exotic materials. I read an account of one [Mechanist] who used tubes of mercury to conduct mana, though the relative effectiveness compared to silver wasn’t mentioned.” Valteria cleared her throat. “Uhm, now, where was I? Right, basic settings. Once you have your core – or monster organ, if you’re going that route – you connect it to the conduit. Usually, this is also silver wiring. I like to braid several smaller wires together, personally. I find it to be sturdier and hold up to flexing better. From there, it needs to be tied into a device. Which is a topic for tomorrow.” Looking around the shop, Valteria seemed to identify something on one of the shelves nearby. “I have a core that you could watch me set, and then you could try setting your own, if you’d like.”
“That sounds good to me,” Xander said. “I always love to see a master as work,” he added, opting for a little flattery.
“Follow me, then.” Valteria said, standing up from her stool and waving for Xander to follow.
Xander followed Valteria as she walked over to the shelf she’d been looking at earlier and took a palm sized, bright green stone from it. “Nature attuned core,” She explained, holding it for Xander to see. “I’m told it was taken from some kind of moving tree.” Valteria then moved to another worktable, on which were several of what looked to be drill bits to Xander. There was also an apparatus that look like it was designed to hold the bits, which was confirmed for him when Valteria slotted one of the small drill heads into the device. “This thing,” Valteria said, waving the drill a little bit, “is a life saver. I used to have to drill holes with a hand cranked one. Worth every single coin I paid for it to get an enchanted one.” She turned a dial on one side of the handheld device, which Xander was coming to think of as a magic dremel tool, and it began to come to life, the drill bit beginning to spin with a quiet whirring sound.
“Neat.” Xander commented. He watched patiently as Valteria drilled a series of shallow holes in the stone, the distinct screeching of metal on stone echoing through the shop floor. “So where’s Jarrett today?” He asked.
“Oh, he has the day off today. He asked for it about a week ago, not sure what for, though,” Valteria said distractedly. Soon she was finished with the holes she was drilling into the core, and moved to another workbench. “Now we create a setting for the core. This is a fairly simple way of doing it, mind you, but it is effective.”
Xander watched as she took sections of pre-braided silver wire and fitted the ends into the holes she had drilled. Once each hole was filled with a section of wire, Valteria began to pull wire from a spool, wrapping the stone until it was completely covered with silver wire and binding the braided sections to the stone in the process. “There,” she said, setting the stone down on the workbench. “A perfectly serviceable setting."
“So, if I understand correctly, you coat the core in a mana conductive material – the more surface area, the better, hence the holes – to create a setting?”
“Mmhmm,” Valteria said, nodding.
“Seems fairly straighforward. And then you connect the silver wiring that’s wrapped around it to more wiring, and attach that to your device? Why the distance? Why not just connect the setting directly to the device?”
“You absolutely can, if space isn’t an issue. Technically, the connection between the mana battery and the device, even if it’s just a single point with no distance, is still referred to as a conduit, though, so it’s considered a three part creation.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Do you want to try making your own, now? I don’t mind lending you a little wire.”
“Sure, but I should be good on material, I can produce it with my skills. Doesn’t last without a source of mana, but I guess the core itself might provide enough. Think this little chip is a bit small to put holes in, though.”
Xander looked at the small piece of crystal in his hand. If he just need as much contact as possible with a mana conductive material, his best bet would be to embed it into a sapphire or ruby. He decided on ruby, for no particular reason. Still holding the chip of core in his hand, he concentrated on his [Creation] ability. Valteria watched, amazed, as a ruby began to take form and grow around the piece of core until it was completely coated in a thin layer of gemstone.
“So, you can just... make things?” Valteria asked, sounding jealous.
“Well, it costs mana, and anything I make that isn’t provided a source of mana that leaves my person disintegrates in a day, but, yes. I can just make things with my skills. But,” he added, cutting off Valteria’s complaint of unfairness, “I have never received a skill that actually lets me improve a material. Sure, I have runes, which generally makes up the difference, but I don’t have any skills that improve the things I make. So, if you made a mana battery, and I made a mana battery the same way with identical materials, yours is going to be better, I assume, because you have skills that passively improve the things that you make, am I right?”
“Okayyy,” Valteria huffed. “I guess that does make it a little less unfair. But ugh! It would be so nice not having to source materials.” She looked at the ruby with a piece of core set inside it that Xander had made. “Well, I guess that about does it for making a setting... I thought it might have taken you longer to make one. I guess we can move on to fixing my armor even sooner! It’ll be nice to have it up and moving again.”
“Sure, sure, we can do that. Where is it, anyway?” Xander asked, looking around the shop again like he somehow would have missed the eight foot tall suit of armor.
“It’s in a shed behind the house,” Valteria explained. “I have it on a hoist so I can work on it.”
“Ah, that would explain why I haven’t seen it around.”
Exiting the shop, stopping for Valteria to put a small ‘closed’ sign on the door, the two of them made their way around the building, where Xander saw the small shed that presumably held Valteria’s armor. It looked like it could just barely hold the armor and one person – two, if they were comfortable with each other – inside it.
“So this is where the magic happens?” Xander asked.
“If by ‘magic’ you mean maintenance and upgrades, then yes,” Valteria agreed. She opened the door of the shed, which comprised most of the front of the tiny little building, revealing her suit of armor, which was currently hanging from several chains attached to pulleys on the ceiling. Plates of armor were laying strewn about the suite, leaving the joints and inner workings more exposed.
Xander whistled, looking at the inner workings of the suit. He could see gears, cogs, and joints, and throughout the entirety of the armor were running filaments of silver wire, which he assumed were mana conduits running to and from elemental cores and the various mana powered aspects of the suit. “This thing really is impressive. Almost as impressive as the woman who made it,” he said.
Valteria giggled, “Stop it! You’re supposed to be fixing this mess, not flirting with me!”
“Awh, can’t I do both?” Xander asked, trying to sound as saccharine as possible.
“Mmm, I suppose that if you are sufficiently skilled at multitasking, I might allow it,” Valteria said in a mockingly thoughtful tone.
“Well, I just so happen to be an expert, so flirt away I shall,” Xander replied. “Now, how about the beauty in front of me shows me exactly where the other beauty in front of me needs some repairs?”
Valteria sighed at Xander’s antics, but he could see the slight flush in her face. “Well, you welded the wrist joints, elbows, and knees. They aren’t welded all the way round, it’s more like you smoothed over a portion of it like it was wet clay. So if you could just... put it back? Shape it back to how it was, that’s should be all that’s needed.”
“Pretty straightforward,” Xander said, standing behind Valteria as she pointed out each joint. He could see the misshapen parts where he’d slapped a weld onto the metal. He leaned over her and put his hands on the elbow joint that they were closest to and began to shape the metal back to its original form.
“You’re... very close,” Valteria murmured to him as he formed the metal.
“Would you like me not to be?” He asked, carefully.
Valteria was silent for a moment before answering, “No...” quietly.
Xander carefully shifted to be a little closer, but still not quite touching, as he moved on to the wrist joint of the same arm. The process itself was simple, but he was enjoying taking his time. As he finished the wrist, he turned to look at Valteria. He found himself looking right into her eyes, as she was staring back at him. Unable to resist the temptation he leaned in a little closer, gauging Valteria’s reaction. When she, too, leaned towards him, he closed the small gap between them, drawing her into another kiss. Valteria pressed herself against him, the shed hiding them from any prying eyes on the street, and let out a small noise as Xander squeezed her tight. She was breathing a little bit harder than before the kiss as they separated again.
Valteria let out a breath. “You’re… a really good kisser.”
“Yeah?” Xander said, pleased with himself. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
“And you’re a tease, looming over me like that in this tiny little shed,” Valteria continued. “Now you’ve got me all flustered, how am I supposed to work now?” She mock complained.
Xander was glad to see that Valteria was comfortable enough with him to joke like that. “Forgive me,” he said formally, making a deep bow, “How ever can I make it up to the lady?”
“Oh stop it, I will tolerate no bowing and scraping, even in jest,” Valteria said, slapping him lightly on the shoulder, as he was still holding the bow. “You can make it up to me by fixing the rest of these joints! And by taking me out to dinner?” She added, hopefully.
“I think that can be arranged,” Xander said. “Is there anywhere you have in mind? I will admit, I haven’t become very familiar with the local restaurant scene, what with my… dietary restrictions.”
“It doesn’t… make you feel bad to go out to a restaurant, does it?” Valteria asked softly, watching his face for a reaction.
“Nah, don’t worry,” Xander said, waving off the question with one hand. “It doesn’t bother me too much. Sure, I miss the taste of a good cut of steak, but I was never that into food. Eating was more of a thing I did because I had to, so I’m not completely devastated by the loss. And I can still get some vicarious enjoyment out of watching someone else enjoy their food. Really the worst part is awkwardly having to refuse ordering anything,” he said with a laugh.
“Alright, if you say so,” Valteria said, letting out a slight breath of relief. “I was just worried that it might be upsetting to you, is all. I know I would miss eating.” She paused for a moment, something clearly on her mind. “What do you miss? If you don’t mind my asking. I just… well, I’m curious what it’s like for you.”
“Mmm, in a lot of ways, life is still the same, and in other ways, I’m technically doing better than I was before. I’m incredibly resistant to damage now, even without my armor. I do miss sleeping, though. I try to give my mind a rest and just sort of daydream and let my thoughts wander or do some meditation during the nights, but it’s just not the same. Also means I’m the one that pulls guard duty through the night,” he grumbled. “Let’s see, what else, what else. Ah, right. I can’t smell anything. Or taste. I haven’t worked out how to recreate those senses, yet. Though no sense of smell can be handy sometimes, I suppose. I don’t know if you’ve done much merc work – you mentioned being surprised that I’m not just moonlighting – but uh… the smells that you encounter on a battlefield are… unpleasant. To say the least. It was weird not having a sense of touch either, but I’ve resolved that. It’s a little bit different than my previous, natural sense of touch, but I’ve become accustomed to it to the point that I don’t much think about the difference anymore. I think I’ve even got the density of receptors down in certain areas compared to others, so I'm more sensitive in some areas than others now, just like I used to be. I’m still immune to being tickled though, so don’t even think about it – that’s a fight you’ll lose.” Growing a bit more somber, Xander continued on. “I think… the biggest thing I miss is just the feeling that I fit in more. Now I always worry about being different, there’s that nagging fear that anyone I get to know well is going to reject me once they find out what I am. Like I’m secretly lying to everyone around me with this façade I have going on.”
Valteria nodded sadly. “I get that. I’ve been… rejected before, too. At least it happens or not right from the beginning for me. I get to know if they look down on me for being different immediately instead of fearing they might later down the road.”
“Yeah,” Xander said. “People can really suck sometimes. But at least I can just, like, not tell people what I am if I so chose. You, my teammates, and the guild, since it’s on my status sheet, are really the only people who know. I keep it pretty private. You can’t do that, so I think you probably have to deal with a lot worse than I do. Not that I’d want you to hide what or who you are,” he added. “I happen to be quite enamored with who you are,” he said, teasing a smile from Valteria’s sad face.
“Sorry to bring up such a dour topic,” Valteria apologized. “I didn’t think much on it before I asked.”
“No worries,” Xander told her. “Honestly, I think it’s good to be able to talk about it with someone. It’s healthy to be able to get you feelings out there. And it helps that I feel like you understand where I’m coming from with it, though from a slightly different perspective.”
“You’re surprisingly thoughtful sometimes,” Valteria said, only half teasing.
“Only sometimes?” Xander asked with a faux expression of hurt on his face. “By the way, you didn’t react much to my comment about moonlighting as a merc. Do you ever go on contracts?”
Valteria shrugged. “I certainly wouldn’t describe myself as a professional mercenary. Moonlighter is an apt descriptor, for me, I think. I have gone on a couple, here and there, mostly on kill contracts that would net me a core or organ that would be useful for my work.”
“Mm, that makes sense. I suppose it could be handy having access to the ability to take contracts that would give you access to specialty materials,” Xander said.
“It’s also good for business,” Valteria explained. “Mercs tend to like to buy from someone who has at least been out on a contract or two before.”
“Ah, that makes sense. What kind of things do you sell to mercenaries, anyways? I saw Jarrett with a crossbow yesterday, but I imagine you make other things, too.”
“Oh all kinds of little things. Portable, flameless heaters for cooking. Water purification sieves. Mm, let’s see… I’ve made a few custom order devices, too. One customer wanted to be able to shoot a jet of flame from their gauntlet, that was a fun one.”
“Ooh, that does sound fun… reminds me of my flamethrower.”
“Your flamethrower?”
“Yeah, it’s basically a big tank with a hose attached to it. At the end of the hose is a pump that causes the flammable liquid – I use dragon’s tar – to shoot out. Add a flame that the tar passes over and bam! You’ve got a giant stream of flame that will coat anything it hits with sticky, flammable tar,” Xander said, excitedly describing the device.
“That’s… impressive. And kind of horrifying,” Valteria responded.
“Mm… I guess you’re right. I mostly use it on giant spiders. Blugh,” Xander shuddered. “But yeah, I suppose it’s not the nicest of ways to go. Very effective for area denial, though. Ah, actually I have an idea for crossbow bolt head that would ignite when it shatters! We should make that sometime and see if it sells.”
“Hmm, I think that would draw some buyers. A flaming bolt head you didn’t have to light first could be desirable to certain buyers.”
“Put that on the list and we’ll get around to it sometime.”
“We have a list?” Valteria said confusedly.
“We should!” Xander said with a laugh. “Now let’s get the rest of these joints done.”
The repair of the other arm and the leg joints that Xander had locked into position during the tournament was a short affair. Looking over the bare metal frame of the armor still hanging from the ceiling, Xander clapped his hands together, mimicking dusting them off. “Good as new!” He exclaimed. Looking over to Valteria he asked concernedly, “It is good as new, right?”
Valteria had been staring at the armor as well, lost in thought about how she was going to improve it next. “Hmm? Oh, yes. It’s right as rain again, ready for use. Thank you, by the way. For fixing it,” She said awkwardly.
“Well I’m the one who broke it, so it’s only fair that I fix it. So what do you want to work on next?” Xander asked. “I could do some rune work for you. Orrr… we could kiss some more?”
Valteria flushed at the question, but didn’t immediately say no.
A few minutes later, she found herself on her tip toes and lightly pressed against the interior wall of the shed, her lips pressed against Xanders.
Once the two of them were done acting like teenagers parked in a secluded parking lot, they made their way back into the shop. Stepping inside and closing the door behind them, Valteria let out a breath. “I think… you are going to have to do a lot of rune work to make up for how much you just kissed me, Xander.”
“What, you didn’t like it?” He said with a raised eyebrow.
“I didn’t say that,” Valteria said with a smirk.

Hello! Last weekend I played my first game at my LGS in their escalation league, currently at 1000 pts. My opponent was the gentleman who runs the league and he was very helpful. My issue was that I ran a Retaliation Cadre list (posted at the end) and his entire army ran flamers. I have another game in two weeks against Drukhari, but two weeks later we have a 1000 pt tournament where I’m sure I’ll be facing this DG list again and could use some pointers.
TLDR: Flamers made my life miserable and I need pointers to not get crushed on primary.
I believe his list was: -two units of plague marines in rhinos with flamers in the firing deck. -six man unit of terminators (also with flamers) led by typhus -tallyman -leaders for the plague marines put out an aura that lowered my toughness but I can’t remember their names -and a tiny little ripper swarm looking thing that was in deep strike.
I had no idea I would be playing against this army before I showed up so it was definitely a challenge running retaliation cadre. All of my detachment bonuses put me into flamer range and therefore overwatch. We played on a full sized table and I was far too concerned with deep strike which left me too spread out to start. Him having sticky objectives was also a pain on such a big table with so few units.
First round went okay as my hammerhead popped one of the rhinos and dropped marines on the center objective, but the remainder of the game was me trying to avoid overwatch and suffering on primary. Torchstar gambit was great and totally kept me in the game though.
His Tallyman was getting him an extra CP every round. Without an ethereal it felt like I couldn’t keep up.
I realized with some correct sequencing I could be forcing the overwatch on some cheaper units before risking it on my crisis suits. I found this to be very difficult in such a small game though. My coldstar had the internal grenade rack enhancement which I never ended up using (I’ll be swapping it for starflare ignition system next time).
My thoughts are that I could almost entirely avoid his termies since they move so slow with typhus and only have a 12” range. Be more patient and use my range/movement to my advantage. Especially with starflare ignition system allowing me to unstick some of his objectives and missile pods still giving me range on his units.
I don’t want to tailor my list specifically to this army because we have that tournament coming up, but any insight as to how I could play it better would be greatly appreciated!
My list is as follows: Farsight is leading the starscythe from deep strike Coldstar is leading the fireknife Fireblade with breacherfish
RETCAD1000 (1000 Points)
T’au Empire Retaliation Cadre Incursion (1000 Points)
CHARACTERS
Cadre Fireblade (50 Points) • 1x Close combat weapon 1x Fireblade pulse rifle 2x Gun Drone
Commander Farsight (105 Points) • Warlord • 1x Dawn Blade 1x High-intensity plasma rifle
Commander in Coldstar Battlesuit (130 Points) • 1x Battlesuit fists 1x Fusion blaster 2x Fusion blaster 2x Shield Drone 1x Shield Generator • Enhancements: Starflare Ignition System
BATTLELINE
Breacher Team (100 Points) • 1x Support turret • 1x Breacher Fire Warrior Shas’ui • 1x Close combat weapon 2x Gun Drone 1x Pulse blaster 1x Pulse pistol • 9x Breacher Fire Warrior • 9x Close combat weapon 9x Pulse blaster 9x Pulse pistol
DEDICATED TRANSPORTS
Devilfish (85 Points) • 1x Accelerator burst cannon 1x Armoured hull 2x Seeker missile 2x Twin pulse carbine
OTHER DATASHEETS
Crisis Fireknife Battlesuits (150 Points) • 1x Crisis Fireknife Shas’vre • 1x Battlesuit fists 1x Gun Drone 1x Missile pod 1x Missile pod 1x Shield Drone • 2x Crisis Fireknife Shas’ui • 2x Battlesuit fists 2x Gun Drone 4x Missile pod 2x Shield Drone
Crisis Starscythe Battlesuits (130 Points) • 1x Crisis Starscythe Shas’vre • 1x Battlesuit fists 1x Marker Drone 1x Shield Drone 1x T’au flamer 1x T’au flamer • 2x Crisis Starscythe Shas’ui • 2x Battlesuit fists 2x Gun Drone 2x Shield Drone 4x T’au flamer
Hammerhead Gunship (130 Points) • 1x Armoured hull 1x Railgun 2x Seeker missile 2x Twin smart missile system
Stealth Battlesuits (60 Points) • 1x Stealth Shas’vre • 1x Battlesuit Support System 1x Battlesuit fists 1x Fusion blaster 1x Homing Beacon 1x Marker Drone 1x Shield Drone • 2x Stealth Shas’ui • 2x Battlesuit fists 2x Burst cannon
Stealth Battlesuits (60 Points) • 1x Stealth Shas’vre • 1x Battlesuit fists 1x Fusion blaster 1x Homing Beacon 1x Marker Drone 1x Shield Drone • 2x Stealth Shas’ui • 2x Battlesuit fists 2x Burst cannon

A couple of years ago I tried writing my own version of Stones Abbigale. I never got past the first couple scenes, but I'm considering returning to it. I wanted to basically rewrite and change up a lot of things, mainly focusing on Abbi and Davis and changing some elements. Let me know what you think!

1
It's almost four in the morning and Seth is threatening suicide again. Good. Fuck him. I hope he does it. I don't text him that because I read about this girl who told her boyfriend to kill himself. The irony was that when he actually did it she got charged with second degree murder. My life is fucked as it is I don't need to make it worse. It's almost two in the morning and I have to be up for school in a few hours. I’m shivering under my comforter because we’re halfway through November. I think about the turkey that won't get made this year and the family I won't see. I think that's swell. Seth is still texting.
Its like u dont even care after everything that happened and after everything we did together i saved ur life and i stayed with u when u cried and i hugged u and i did everything for u but that wasn't enough was it? i try so hard and all u ever are is a bitch to me that's not fair u want me to die and u hate me and u dont even care and im sick of it abbi why is is so hard for u to care about me?
I don't respond. I don't like how I feel about this. This should be easy. He won't actually do it. He won't. He’s too self involved to kill himself. I put my phone face down on my bed. The sheets shake around it as he sends message after message. I was sleeping on a ticking bomb so I got off of it. My feet stick to the floor, I struggle to step. I might as well have been standing barefoot on ice. I trudge to my window so I can see my street at night. Winter is really coming. You can't hear as many birds as you used to. They've all gone. They've all flown away. I can see three streetlights from where I’m standing. If you can from right to left you can see the concrete fracture into the sand. I open my window and brace for the chill. I stick my head outside. The ocean is not far away. I hear it hitting the shore over and over. Waves of water splashing incessantly, almost beating out my text notifications. The street lights flicker. I think of last summer. When Seth and I got really high after the news broke that my Mom was cheating on my Dad. I was making out with that bong. Emptying bowl after bowl, clanking the glass on the road to empty it out. Just thinking about it makes me feel the street pole against my back again. I was laughing and crying. Seth leaned in and hugged me. “I’m a sure thing,” he said. “I love you and I always will.” I caught my reflection in his sunglasses. I looked awful. I shiver at the memory. My phone is still buzzing. I try to catch my breath. I shut my window and start to walk back to my bed. A room always looks different in the dark. Maybe you think you know where you are, but there is always something that can jump out at you on the floor. Like a ghostly paper bag or a vengeful shoe. Objects that seem to move on their own with the sole drive of tripping you. I crawl back into bed. There's the phantom of Dad’s snoring . I know he's not sleeping in his room, he fell asleep on the couch after finishing his seventh fifth. Sometimes my brain fills in the gaps so I can hear it everywhere. Funnily, I haven't actually heard him snore since Mom left. That's the one thing I ever heard them fight about. Before she turned out to be a whore, I guess. BZZT.BZZT.BZZT. I can't bring myself to read any of his messages. They're coming so fast all the paragraphs are lost to motion blur. Seth’s arms wrap around me and I think about the beating of his heart and the warmth of his lips against my skin. I open up the texts, ready to respond.
I love you
I text this over and over until I fall asleep.
Davis was the only senior on the bus. Somehow, everyone else had a car or a ride. It’s all right, though. James would probably give him one if he had a car, but he skated to school every morning. That's why he barely ever rode the bus with him. The bus thumped along the under paved roads. Davis forgot his earbuds at home, so the only music that accompanied him was his racing thoughts. Two sophomore girls popped their heads over. “Ohmigod, Davis!” One of them shrieked.. “As I live and breathe,” he smiled. “Nice,” she said. “I’m so excited to see your finished painting.” Davis took the lower level art class for a requirement. Like most things, he's not taking it very seriously. For their pop art unit, he's painting a portrait of the art teacher with a warthog face. It's one of his funny disruptions. He knows Mrs. Stanley is going to have a real field day with it, but it doesn't matter. Artistic liberties, he’d profess. “She's such a bitch, isn't she?” The sophomore girl turns to her compatriot, who only nods in response. “She's just jealous,” Davis says. “It must be depressing to teach art and see the youth soar above her.” “For sure,” the girl doesn't get it. Class clown is a semi-heavy burden. Davis doesn't really feel like talking to these girls, but his position demands it. Comedy informs everything about him. To the giant thrift store jeans, to the loud Hawaiian shirt. He and James are the ultimate combination, at least he likes to think so. Quiet brooding begs for bright distraction. The girl is still trying to talk to him and Davis is saying his preprogrammed lines. The bus stops in front of James’s street. Surprisingly, James is standing there. “Like I’m this close to just filling my hydroflask with vodka, yaknow?” says the chick. Maybe she's just trying to get a rise out of him. “Better be prepared to give me more than a sip,” Davis is watching James grumble towards the bus. The sun is beating down on the forming ice puddles. James stomps through them with small shattering steps. James turns up the bus aisle and plops in the seat next to Davis. Davis’s smile is genuine now, but he fights it from getting too wide. “Crash your vehicle?” Davis asks. “Something like it,” there's something off with him. Davis doesn't want to push it. “Well damn, hope insurance covers it,” Davis wants James to break and laugh. Is it just another mood or did something actually happen this time? “It won't, I got bad credit,” James grins and it's like heaven. “What's the move for you today?” “Surviving art and physics for me,” says Davis. “Those bastards love to keep me down.” “Who doesn't,” James eyes the girls who have since returned to whatever they were doing before. It's the judgement stare, as Davis calls it. James likes to observe his peers like a zoo-goer. Breaking them down to taxonomic types. Davis likes to think that James doesn't do this to him, but he knows he probably does. “It sucks you decided to be bad at school and take baby art,” James is still dissecting the sophomore girls down to their tropes. “We could have done Art II together.” “I wouldn't want to get between you and Alex. I know how you love it when people piss in jars next to you.” “That's disgusting,” James breaks his glare at the girls. “It's performance art, it's beautiful,” Davis gets up out of his seat to yell. “Everyone witness the wonderful work of Alex Madov! Disengage yourself from the shackles of capitalism by shouting with me: Poopy, pee pee, poop!” Davis gets a few chuckles from the other kids on the bus. “Sit down, fatso,” mumbles the bus driver. “I will not be silenced! I’m a messenger of the good word, sir!” “More of this shit and I’m skipping your stop!” “Fine, but I will make Alex remember on the day of judgement,” Davis sits back down. James is full belly laughing. “You're so retarded,” James wheezes. Davis can't even come back with a response. He's high off of it.
The bus pulls into the school lot with a short stop. The mobs get up and begin to race out. Davis follows James down the line. “You know Abbi?” James asks. Davis feels a little pit form in his stomach, but he doesn't change his expression. “Vaguely, what about her?” “She's in my art class,” James begins. “And I think … well you know, I’m going to talk to her.” He walks down the steps and out the door. “Doesn't she have a boyfr-” before Davis can descend the driver's arm blocks him. “I’ve had enough of your shit, kid,” he says. “If you keep being obnoxious, I’m gonna find a way to make you pay for it.” James looks back, but he can't stay. Davis knows that he's gotta get to class. James does a little wave goodbye and Davis salutes him. “Are you even listening to me?” the bus driver seethes. “Yes, sir. Divine retribution, got it.” Davis ducks underneath his arm and exits the bus. James has already disappeared into the crowd.
I pass the bong to Ashley. She starts another bowl. She’s the transport and I provide the material. The little things that keep our friendship afloat. I look at the clock in her car. “It's 8:45,” I pick a piece of bagel out of my teeth. “So that's it, we officially missed first period,” Ashley tops it off. “They won't mark us, you know. It's a study.” “Yeah, but when's the last time we signed in? I heard they're changing the policy again. Do you still have the lighter?” I toss it to her. I don't get it. It's always her idea to pick me up so we can smoke before school, why now is she suddenly caring about attendance? “We're pretty girls, we can get out of it. I’m next,” I tap on the clock. “Are you sure it's not fast?” She shakes her head as she takes a snap. We're parked in the pond area a block or two from the school. It's our designated smoking spot. I like it, even at the end of fall it's pretty. I’m so engrossed that I don't realize her tip out the bowl and put it back in the cup holder. “I don't know if it's wise to keep up the activity, we should probably get going soon,” she starts up her car again. “Okay,” I say. She reverses and swings out of the lot. We lean into the silence and it's super weird. “Seth texted me last night,” I wait for her reaction. “Oh,” she grimaces. “What did you say?” “That I loved him.” Silence again. Ashley's trying to put together something well-meaning while understanding that I’ll probably ignore whatever she has to say. “Abbi, I’m not trying to tell you how to run your life, but …” Her expression is now quizzical. She's said what she is about to say a number of different ways all ready. She thinks and thinks and decides to say nothing. Good call, I would have screamed at her. Not because what she thinks about my situation isn't true, I’m just in a ‘screaming at people mood’ because of it. “I’m going to dye my hair again,” she changes the subject to avoid conflict. Classic Ash. “Oh yeah? What color this time?” “I don't know,” she checks her reflection in the rear view. “The red has faded out, maybe blue or pink this time.” “You should go with a softer pink,” I say. “Since you're a soft spring.” “Yeah, maybe.” We enter the school lot. “Listen, do you want to get together when I do it? Maybe you can dye your hair too.” “I don't know, I might be busy,” I say. “Seth might want to do something,” I pause for her to protest. “Okay,” she says. She parks and we get out.
I barrel into art class. I don't care if I reek, out of all the teachers I can tell Mrs. Stanley smokes the most. It would be hypocritical of her to care. It looks like I’m the first one. Weird. I check my phone. It's 8:45. Well, fuck. Looks like Ashley needs to fix her clock. Mrs. Stanley is at her desk. She looks at me knowingly. “Eager to create today, Abbi?” I just nod and sit at my desk. I’m really feeling it. I open up my precalc notebook and just start sketching. Birds, eyes, trees, whatever. Kids start coming in. Their chatter echoes around me, I try to focus on what I’m doing. Someone bumps into my table. I look up. It's this lanky blonde kid, I think his name is James. He presses his hands underneath the desk as he leans up to talk to me. “Eww!” He shouts. Some kids turn and laugh. I don't. I just stare at him. James goes red and sits next to the kid who pissed in a jar. Once an adequate amount of students are in the room, Mrs. Stanley starts her lesson slideshow. On the screen is a dirty urinal. “How many of you are familiar with this work by Marcel DuChamp?” she asks. At this point, Jason, the designated meathead jock, enters the room. “Sorry I’m late, Mrs. S,” he booms. He looks at the slide. “We building bathrooms today?” Mrs. Stanley glares at him. “Wouldn't you like that? Considering you spend all of your time in there.” “Whatever,” Jason brushes his mullet behind his ears. “No, not whatever. Would you like me to move you into the sophomore class with Davis? Believe it or not he's getting much better marks than you are getting in here.” Jason rolls his eyes and takes his place in the chair next to me. “Up to a little extra curricular activities before art, Abbi?” he motions a joint in his fingers. I scoff and go on my phone. There's another text from Seth.
sorry about last night
and
im reading it all right now that was fucked im sorry
I start to respond, but before I can Mrs. Stanley outstretches her hand. “Give me your phone, Miss Hagerty. I’m sick of giving you warnings.” I don't have the energy to fight, I just give it to her. “You can pick it up at the end of the day.” My jaw actually drops. Jason must have really set her off, she's not usually such a cunt to me. “Anyways, found art. What is it? Well, found art is the use of everyday objects to convey an altered meaning. It can be something you find on the street or something that once held value to you. For example, My Bed by Tracey Elim.” She pulls up a picture of a messy bed that looks suspiciously like my own. “So for your final unit of the semester, you will be making your own found art. I really want you to take this project a little more seriously than most of you have been taking this class. I’m giving you the privilege of picking your own partners, but I’d like to remind you to be thoughtful with your choice. This will be worth more for your grade.” I look around. I don't have any friends here. I toy around with the idea of asking Jason for convenience and he looks like he's about to pull that move. Behind me there's that James guy. He’s sheepishly looking at me. He seems kind of nice. Okay. I don't feel like getting up so I just turn around in my chair. “Hey James, wanna be partners?” He balks a bit and then smiles at me. “Yeah, totally,” He's beaming and it's somewhat endearing. Alex and I switch seats and now I’m next to him. “I’m gonna be real with you …” I begin. He stops and shifts a little. “I have no idea what we're supposed to be doing for this.” He regards me oddly. Like he's trying to piece me together. It doesn't bother me. “She said we have to bring in an object that's special to us and present it artistically basically,” he rubs his chin. Damn, I must be baked to hell. I didn't hear her saying that at all. “So got any stuffed animals we can cut up and make Lovecraftian monstrosities out of?” “I got a hamster cage, hold the hamster,” I say. It comes out kind of weird and I probably sound stupid, but he doesn't seem to care. “Let's make a fucking zoo.” “Perfect!” He’s kind of cute actually. In a way. Something about this feels fun. I realize the bell will ring soon. “So um,” I rip out a page of my precalc notebook, still fresh with my drawings. I scrawl out my number and push it to him. “Call me so we can figure out the project some more.” I pack up all my stuff and start to head out. I can feel him watching me and it's not that bad. “I sure will,” he says. Everything feels really groovy. There's a lightness now. I’m halfway out the door when I remember my phone. I can't believe that I just forgot about Seth. I think about begging for my phone, but I feel too above that. Still, something shakes the good feeling as the bell rings.

https://ccs.getmonero.org/ideas/ https://repo.getmonero.org/monero-project/ccs-proposals/-/merge_requests/462
has been discussed a bit today in the #monero-community matrix channel: https://libera.monerologs.net/monero-community/20240514
overall: price asked is way to much even tho having to deal with disputes and a few more things can be very time consuming 1 individual rather than a team... without escrow... that could lead to many many scams which would be just too much for just 1 dude, just sayin.. like, scams happen all the time especially at the start before all the people got time to grind that reputation thing
but aside those few points that would need to be thought a bit more.. well i guess it's pretty much ded cause seems like he "wont do for $20-30 per hour" it's still something that could be very beneficial to the community P2P trades been around since even bitcoin with like d2jsp that is still around, with their own currency "forum golds" (shorten to "fg") and it's still going stronk af to this day, like, people still trade in games items for that forum currency
sidenot fun fact, ceo of kraken jesse powell started his buisness with selling in game items (that are still to this day sold on the d2jsp forums by people still playing the video game)
and as it was talked about, Haveno users need to already have monero (for the deposit fee) to buy monero, that's a catch 22 to actually onboard new people... so the P2P trading room could definitely be somewhere to send people that have like zelle, revolut, SEPA or whatever people be using but dont have even have a monero for themselves just yet
so overall, great idea definitely something that could be heavily beneficial to the ecosystem.. but imo should do it more like neroshop is doing: https://github.com/layters/testshop

Disclaimer: The neroshop team is comprised of a single developer that operates independently and is not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with the Monero project, Monero team or any other organization.

which as mentioned in #monero-community a ccs would be kind of an official endorsement, which may not be the best thing
definitely would appreciate seeing it going forward but defnitely need more people involved than just 1 dude, what yall redditors be thinking?

So I run a appliance repair small business in Australia, based around in-home repairs but I'm toying with the idea of rotating one of my team members out one day a week and keeping them in the workshop.
The reason for this is that it is we then have someone on standby in case someone gets sick, and to give them a break from driving all day.
We don't currently have the space to work on full-size appliances in the workshop, and we don't have the water availability to hook up a dishwashewashing machine for testing for example.
This got me thinking that this would be a good opportunity to work on stuff that folks could bring in that doesn't take up much space - namely small appliances. We would be up-front that these would be "get to them as we can" and subject to interruption as operational need require.
I tried this a few years ago with prosumer coffee machines - but the customers are just too crazy - they are calling every hour sometimes for updates.
Replacing the sacrificial gear in a Kitchenaid seems ok, but time consuming, especially when it comes to replacing the grease.
I'm considering repairing robot vacuum cleaners, as the repair vs replacement cost seems on par with regular home appliances - especially the high end models. My concern with these though is the number that would be brought in because they ran over dog shit.
Regular vacuums could be another option too - at least they wouldn't have gone through shit (hopefully).
Does anyone else do small appliance workshop stuff? If you do, what works well for you?

Keshad Johnson saw his collegiate career end in the Sweet Sixteen with the Arizona Wildcats this year after a very successful season, helping the Wildcats earn a #2 seed and win the Pac 12 regular season. Johnson was a member and starter on San Diego State's Final Four team that made the championship in 2023 and played four years for the Aztecs before transferring to Arizona for his final season.
Johnson was a role player for San Diego State, two year starter but primarily a defender and play finisher. He wanted the opportunity to expand his role and he received that this season at Arizona.
Johnson is long, powerfully built 6'7 PF. Weighed at a very chiseled 224 pounds with a 6'11 wingspan at the combine. He has impressed so far with a 42 inch vertical and strong athletic numbers as well as displaying his versatility as a player on both ends: https://twitter.com/JonChep/status/1790163683806462145 https://twitter.com/DraftExpress/status/1790185163655356782 His stock appears to be on the rise during the draft process. He is a big time leaper in the open floor and with any time/space to load. He's fast in the open floor. He has a quick first step and is very mobile. He plays physically and isn't afraid of getting dirty. He uses his length to his advantage on both ends. Johnson's physical tools are at the heart of his intrigue as a prospect.
Johnson is a big time transition threat, lots of lobs throughout the season, a big time dunker that elevates with ease. Gets off the ground quickly and has a big time vertical. He runs the floor hard. He can even handle a bit in transition. He took it coast to coast a few times during the season.
Johnson isn't the best ballhandler overall, he doesn't have much in the way of advanced moves, he can get a bit uncoordinated at times when looking to do a little too much with his handle and he's not an isolation guy at all, but he is someone in the halfcourt and in transition that plays strong with the ball in a straight line. He's a good straight line driver off rips, he has a quick first step. His mobility aids him as a PnR roller. He makes himself presentable and available for ballhandlers in the PnR as a roller. His ability to elevate makes him a lob threat as a roller. His mobility allows him to fluidity get to the rim. He can finish with both hands. His length gives him good extension.
He's aggressive off rips on the perimeter. If he can't get past a defender off a closeout, he will use his strength to shed them and get to the rim. He's capable of hitting pull up jumpers from the midrange although he's not a great off-the-dribble shooter. He can beat switches against smalls down low in the post. His post game isn't advanced but he has good enough footwork and strength to take advantage of the mismatch.
He's a smart cutter and good at duck-ins and finding easy ways to score. He didn't get to the line a ton this season but that's in large part because he found easy ways to score down low; he had 49 dunks on the season. He's a good offensive rebounder with a nose for the ball, willing to pursue balls in the air, and able to grab balls in traffic. He tips quite a few balls out for his teammates and creates extra possessions, his length and elevation makes him a positive force as an offensive rebounder. Johnson isn't an elite finisher outside of dunks, as he doesn't have quite as much pop vertically when he can't load and he can be swallowed up at times because of size, I don't think he has elite touch, but he was a strong finisher overall. He does have a decent floater in his arsenal if not right at the rim.
Johnson shot 39% from 3 on the season and 41% in conference. He averaged 2.6 attempts per game. His form is OK but is also a bit on the square side. The mechanics are fine, and he's also a good midrange shooter. He's not an off the dribble guy and not as good when facing contests, but give him space and he will knock down the C&S 3 and 2. He even made a few 3's off screens. He shot 71% from the line and had never been a shooter before this year. People will have their questions about sustainability, I don't think he's a natural shooter, but he knocked shots down this year and he being someone who spread the floor and was a reliable C&S guy from the perimeter has really made him a far more attractive prospect.
Johnson sets good screens both on and off the ball, he's a space creator as a screen setter. His screen setting aids him as a PnR rollefinisher, as well as his ballhandlers. He's very fluid in peeling off the screen and rolling to the rim. He does ancillary things very well on the offensive end. He's also a solid passer. He averaged 1.8 assists and will make nifty passes and quick reads in a variety of ways. He finds cutters at the top of the key and FT line, he finds dump off guys and cutters when driving to the rim, he finds shooters off the roll. He will engage dribble handoffs and roll or pop and make shots or find the open teammate. He's not an advanced passer but makes good reads with good timing and good accuracy and has good vision as a passer. He's a good ball mover and functions well within the context of the team on the offensive end.
He also functions well as a team defender. He helps the helper, he's a good and sharp rotater, he deflects passes and keeps his hands up in trail positions and facing ballhandlers, he blocks quite a few shots from behind as a helper. He plays a pretty disciplined brand of defense. He's not someone who's gonna take big risks doubling down for example and straying off shooters, but he does have active hands as a defender and deflects passes with his length. He's really good at contesting shots both on the perimeter and the post. His length helps, he doesn't launch and take himself out of plays....he doesn't bite for fakes often and he can recover when he does. He's very good with verticality down low as a help defender. He's someone who's very good at remaining vertical and bothering and making it a lot more difficult for opponents to make shots around the rim.
Arizona switched a lot and though they had some miscommunications across the board, Johnson is good at executing switches quickly and he has the ability to hang on the perimeter, especially against small forwards on switches. He's a very good on ball defender against forwards overall; he doesn't give up ground, he's got excellent footwork, he's just too quick/strong/long for them to get around. He's a little less apt against guards...he doesn't have elite agility, double moves can catch him out. He's not quick enough laterally to stay with every guard/forward he sees. He has some impressive moments, and I still think he's fairly switchable because of his length if not an elite option down the lineup.
He is a good switch guy up the lineup....he plays strong in the post defensively. He won't be able to deal with every big man he comes across but he's gonna battle.
What makes him a good offensive rebounder also makes him a good defensive rebounder....his physicality, length, motor, and ability to carve out space and attack balls in the air.
Keshad Johnson had a breakout season as a 5th year senior for Arizona and displayed a versatile skill set on both ends of the floor that any team at the NBA level could use. He checks a lot of boxes. He's one of those guys who isn't the sexiest player but his motor, his intensity, his IQ, and ability to fit into a role and contribute in a variety of ways makes him someone whose stock is seemingly on the rise. What do you all think about Keshad Johnson? Thumbs Up, Down, or Across?
Note: Reposting after measurements/athletic testing numbers