"Good afternoon Ms. Lopez." I say, warmly greeting an elderly Cuban woman in her sixties. She smiles sweetly at me as she asks me if I am the chef behind today's food, in Spanish. I smile and nod at her, and she excitedly begins to chatter in Spanish, telling me the latest chisme regarding the latest romantic escapades occurring in her son's life.
I lightly place some ham on the sandwich I'm preparing for her as she excitedly gossips with me. I cleverly practice my active listening skills, while occasionally chiming in to let her know that I am actively aware of what she's saying. The woman is one of the last people to arrive during today's meal hour. She seems to operate on a sense of punctuality that is uniquely hers, almost like a force of nature. I almost admire it, if I'm being honest. My fellow volunteers look at me and smile as they sense the passive patience I radiate in this minor interaction.
The day has been one of the more chill ones in the soup kitchen, especially since I started actively championing the place. At our most busy we've served hundreds of families in a single day, and today we've served a few dozen. There's something quite nice about this moment of normalcy. I wonder if I sometimes took this level of mundanity for granted during this jump...
To be fair to myself a part of me is almost acting like I'm guaranteed to send myself to some apocalyptic hellscape and that's just not happening. I'm almost guaranteed to go to a place more dangerous than "9-5; a white-collar simulator", but I'm picking my next destination and after the decade of serenity I've had here I've got no reason to act like a dumbass and jeopardize my odds of long-term success in this career by sending myself to a death trap. Ms. Lopez smiles as she walks away, clearly believing she's shared vital chisme with me. To be fair, she did share gossip plenty of people would find juicy, but since I'm not some gossip I was the wrong audience for her words.
My fellow volunteers look at me and glance at my phone with curious looks. I pick up the thing and see that I've been missing an exhilarating conversation in our group chat. I skim the thing, my perfected memory allowing me to instantly catch up with the conversation the small gaggle of brave volunteers who kindly donate our weekend hours have been having before I begin to text the group back.
The rest of the day passes by in a blur. We wait for the people who've come for a meal to finish their food up and then we get to cleaning. After that we do a few sweeps of the parts of the church we've used before going our separate ways. I make my way home, and I do some light meal-prepping as well as practice a few more of my skills. At this point in my stay I've perfected my routine and could do it in my sleep... If I ever slept that is. In the entire time I've been in this setting I don't believe I've slept once. That is a nice feeling, since it means I never wasted an hour of my time, much less six.
The work week is a bit of a slog, since I am eagerly anticipating the news regarding my final promotion. I was never the sort to believe that time felt longer when you were excited about something, or dreading it, but in the time since I came to this setting I've gradually become a believer in such ideas even if they still feel a bit silly. Nonetheless. I diligently work through the week, keep my team on track, and when Friday rolls around I get the news I've waited for.
Thanks to "Gamer's Mind" I am able to keep my face even as the office's general supervisor explains this news to me and not outwardly express my excitement, but internally I am more excited than I've been about anything since I first entered this world. This news means that I'll be getting right around $3,000 dollars every two weeks just for existing! This means that in future jumps working will be optional unless I get really greedy, which frees me up to decide what I want to do in most modern settings. In medieval settings this amount of money could be even more vital, though at the same time such a thing could just... not matter, since in such a setting I could easily just avoid civilization, but this money will certainly liberate me from a lot of the struggles of wasting vast swathes of a jump at a job I don't want.
At the time that I was being told the good news I almost began to cry. Thank goodness for Gamer's Mind, I guess.
Nine years ago I was down on my luck and down to my last dollars when I got the job offer that led me here and this news means that I am free from such things. The freedom and power that comes with making enough to get by, especially passively, is awe-inspiring, and it's quite difficult for me to find the words to express how excited it makes me feel even days after it. I spend... close to a week passively smiling and being just ambiently happy, as I begin to integrate a new set of responsibilities into my work life.
During this time my decision to fix the coffee machine in the office break-room by hand after it almost burns a colleague results in me getting a new class; "Handyman" and the initial ability I receive is a simple one that bolsters my agility a touch, agility being my attribute tied to fine motor skills. I skillfully use this class to actually fix various things by hand, and I begin to steadily accrue various maintenance skills. In days I gain class levels, and with each class level I am able to repair things faster, more cheaply, and eventually my ability to fix matures into an ability to improve things, which I instinctively know will lead to some shenanigans down the line. Before I know it days have turned into weeks, which age and turn into months. My skills with leadership and motivation have continued to improve and I lead my team with my full focus and skillful decision-making. Before I know it I am in the final leg of the final stretch of my first jump.
I've been here for 119 months. Nine years and eleven months. It's actually been... even longer than that. I'm at the beginning of the final week of my stay here, and my hands idly clean a dish as I passively listen to Pastor Charlie, one of the few guest pastors the church has invited in years deliver a sermon. He has the congregants enraptured and eating out of the palm of his hand as he speaks about a miracle that "Our Lord" once performed. His voice is a pleasant distraction and one of my twin trains of thought listens and takes notes on how the man delivers his sermon. Physically I seem to be engrossed in the man's sermon when someone, one of the church's assistants, taps on my shoulder and gestures for me to walk over to the pastor's office. I stealthy get up, activating "Rogue" and make my way out of the serving area adjacent to the kitchen. I relax a touch when I'm in the long hallway leading me to Tyler's, Pastor Rhodes's, office.
As I walk down the humble hallway I feel a strange sense of finality wash over me. There's something uncommonly... real about this trek. I feel more solid, more whole than I have in a while, and I suspect that it's because this is my last time in this soup kitchen, this church. I won't be returning here, at least not for a while, and that's sad. It's not the saddest thing that's ever happened to me, but it is kind of a bummer and I allow myself to feel a touch of real, genuine sadness at the sobering realization that when I leave this place I'll be leaving for a long time.
I eventually put that thought away, shelving it and compartmentalizing my thoughts so I can focus on better, happier things. My enhanced senses allow me to spot things like faint cracks too thin for normal humans to spot, and as I walk past them I cast my handy spell on them. I watch as the walls of the hallway repair themselves and I smile, sensing the powerful potential of the spell at my fingertips. I reach the office of the man I've spent plenty of weekends working alongside, and under, and I smile, even internally, when he looks up and spots me. He greets me with a smile and motions for me to sit down. When I do what he asks, he immediately begins to speak.
"Lucas, I apologize for calling out to you but I wanted to check in. Today you seemed... Out of it." The man exclaims, and judging from the way my heart jumps in my chest I realize that some people are just.... more intuitive than others. My acting skill gets a nice little load of experience when I mask my reaction to his words and let out a small, natural sounding laugh in response to his question.
"Tyler," I begin, causing the man to wince. I'm an atheist, or at least I was pre-chain, now... well, now I'm a lot more curious about religion than I was before. I'm not sure if gods exist, but I sure as shit know the supernatural does and I'm not in the business of denying what I can see. I've made my vague religious position clear to the man long ago so he insists I call him "Tyler" which I've personally always found a bit awkward, but there's something a little funny about how it disarms him so cleanly during this interaction. "I'm doing... Okay. I AM bummed I won't be here next week." I state, calmly. This causes my friend's eyes to widen in surprise.
"You're missing a week? I'm sure some of our regulars will be disappointed. Is everything alright?" The man asks. His question is so sincere, so genuine that it's mildly disarming.
I'm... not a nice person. I'm far from mean, sure, but I've come to accept that there's a core of kindness in some people, even in many people, and I am not someone who has that core, that central, unconscious, guiding light that moves them towards kindness with the ease and naturalness of a heartbeat. At my core rests something else, something I don't know if I can articulate in just a few words.
I wouldn't say I'm mean or anything like that but I'm far more cynical than a lot of the people I've met are. In this world, especially, it seems like a lot of people are just decent at heart and I suspect that that was and is the case in the world I was born on as well. Tyler is one of the people I've met whose central guiding light seems to be centered around decency and kindness and I think in any world the man could find himself in he'd strive to be kind. It's almost like interacting with a real version of Ned Flanders from The Simpsons...
"I'm okay. I'm gonna be doing other stuff, and I normally prioritize the soup kitchen over my work or social life," I state, and this isn't a flex it's simply a very true statement. Tyler hears the remark and smiles faintly. "But I've been asked to help out with other stuff from friends who wouldn't ask if it wasn't something they really felt they could handle alone. I'm just gonna miss one weekend, and then I'll be back." I remark, and Tyler smiles at me.
"Okay Lucas. If you need any help you'd ask, right?" Tyler asks, and I consider the question. This is only somewhat an act, as I don't know if I'd ask for help if I needed it. I ultimately nod at the man and I can sense a touch of sadness as he studies my response, which I don't love but I also don't really feel right lying anymore than is necessary. The man makes some small talk and I quickly breeze through it. In minutes I am back in the kitchen with the others. And minutes after that I am cleaning with my fellow volunteers. Almost before I know it I'm stepping out of the church after we've cleaned out the kitchen. I glance at it one last time before I make my way home.
The next few days pass by in a blur, with only two minor oddities; the first being that I ask Hannah to come out with me on Friday night. I have got to see if I can stomach the idea of any sort of romance in a jump, and this is a consequence free way for me to do something along those lines. The second oddity is that I spend nearly all of my money purchasing... well, everything. Every night after work I go to various stores and spend the money that I really haven't needed all that much until now, purchasing things like weapons, food, and especially books. I buy boatloads of books, both ready and willing to use up something I won't be able to take with me into future jumps anyway in exchange for stuff I CAN take with me, thanks to the fiat-backed power of an infinite inventory.
The work week is, aside from what I do after work every night, pretty normal but Friday itself is weirdly solemn. The day passes by as quickly as any other day has, filled with minor encounters with glitches, and a few more annoyances with my small number of drawbacks but when five rolls around I clock out one last time and give the office a final look. I am weirdly slow when it comes to getting up and leaving my cubicle, in fact I'm actually one of the last office workers to leave the office but as I step out of the building I experience another burst of gratitude to Gamer's Mind, which keeps me from acting odd or even tearing up as I glance back at the place I've spent thousands of hours in.
I allow myself a beat to... honestly, grieve. I tell myself that it's okay to have feelings about leaving, even if those feelings are big and weird and are not the most fun. Nonetheless I don't linger here, at my place of employment, I have other things I both need and want to do. I use my inventory and change into a pretty casual outfit before I begin a brief walk. _________________________________________________________________________
​The park beside the office building is a rare example of a pristine location in the city. It is filled with natural greenery, and at the moment a stunningly pretty redhead glances at her phone waiting for someone to pop into view.
The redhead is wearing a pleasant looking dress and a jacket, as the weather is just beginning to take the seasonal turn towards the unpleasant. It's still warm enough that the clothes are mostly unnecessary but as she waits for her friend, a young man who has finally gotten the courage to ask her out on something vaguely approximating a date, she appreciates the wisdom of her decision to wear the slightly warmer than necessary clothes.
Her "date", mostly in her eyes though he is aware of her feelings and a part of him feels some happiness in the idea that this is a date, enters the park and spots her before she spots him. He reaches into his inventory and he retrieves something, a nice little bouquet he purchased earlier today and safely stored away. The flowers, prettily packed and all, appear as he walks towards the young woman.
Lucas is testing the waters here. He isn't testing the waters with Hannah specifically, but rather what it feels like to go on a date as a jumper. He has long had strange feelings about this, but he knows that he is going to leave tomorrow and so he wants to see if he can enjoy a date as a jumper, so he is doing a scientific experiment even if he feels... less than great about some aspects of all of this.
"Hannah!" Lucas says, calling out to one of his first, in fact one of his only, real friends in this world. The redhead excitedly turns and spots her longtime friend, waving at him and waving him over. She spots the bouquet and lets out a delighted sounding laugh, and when Lucas hears it the smile that alights his features is heartwarming.
In his day to day life some facets of Lucas's charisma-heavy build only rarely surface in ways that matter and his looks tends to be one such thing He is attractive enough that his looks can captivate and reside in one's imagination for a while after they first meet him, but right now, this early on along his chain his looks are only enough to make people have schoolgirl crushes on him and people can and do get used to his looks after a while. Still, in some moments this is enough to color the impression he makes on people. Right now, in a romantic context, his supernatural attractiveness is enough to change the sort of impression he makes on someone.
The handsome actor reaches his friend and sits down next to her. He hands her the flowers and for a moment a strange serenity washes over the two as they enjoy each other's company. Lucas looks inward and he realizes that he genuinely, well and truly, likes this moment. Hannah looks at him and eventually asks an important question.
"Lucas... how am I gonna hold these flowers?" She asks, and this makes him smile. He is quick to offer her a response.
"I'll take them when we get going but I saw them and I thought of you. I felt like I'd regret it if I didn't give you these." He says, and there is an odd, for him, level of sincerity and genuineness in his voice that makes Hannah giggle girlishly. Lucas right now is relying on his perk-enhanced instincts and the charisma he has honed through social encounters for the last decade, and he's enjoying how it feels.
Both of the figures on the "Date", though neither of them officially dubbed it that, enjoy the moment. Their passive delight and infatuation create an envy-inducing atmosphere of closeness and quiet joy that radiates outward. The park is nearly abandoned so there is no one to witness this moment other than Lucas's benefactor, and Lucas is simply at peace.
Eventually he lightly touches Hannah's hand, and asks her if she'd like to go and get dinner before they go to the movie they agreed on going to watch earlier this week. Hannah agrees, handing Lucas the bouquet and he, to her surprise, puts it in the bag he has on his person. When she asks if that will squish or hurt the flowers Lucas tells her, with a bizarre amount of confidence, that it won't. She eventually accepts this, having learned to trust that Lucas knows what he is doing, and the two of them begin a short walk to a mall they both know well.

i'm working on a novel and would like to know if anyone could tell me any improvements i could make to the first chapter and prologue
Prologue
The day had started the same way it had for the past two years. The only difference was that I was going home. The hallway was crowded with people walking to and from their classes. Everyone was crowded next to each other so the halls were making the area feel claustrophobic. All the people talking mixed with the summer heat made me feel like I was locked in a sauna. I walked with Preston to the last class we would ever have together and as usual he was smiling. I never got why he always smiled even in situations where people should be sad he still smiled. He knew what today meant for me and he tried to keep light of the situation. I kept my head down away from what was ahead of me. My mind was too clouded about returning to see my family to notice anything in front of me. I walked into another student. It felt like I had walked into a wall. I knew immediately I had walked into tree. I stumble onto the ground and the commotion around me slows down to make room for us. He turned his bulky body around and apologized profusely without saying a word even though I had walked into him. He helped me off of the ground before hurrying down the hall.
“Alexandria, are you doing okay?” Preston said he had tilted his body downward so I had to look down to look him in his eyes. The way he was standing made him look like an idiot but he didn't seem to care. The way he acted made me laugh, which caused his smile to widen.
“I'm doing fine, just got lost in my head.”
“Thinking about how you’ll leave soon,” he said
“Was it that obvious?” He was the only person I told about me being an exchange student. I came to spend high school in Newkinawa and he was the only person I ever hung out with.
“I see what you mean,” he said “Newkinawa is a beautiful place with beautiful people to live in it…myself included”
“You wish,” I say with a smile we continue walking through the hallway “I'm just not excited to go back yet”
After I say that his smile grows wider “So you will miss me after all”
“I wouldn't say that much” I responded whilst smiling.
We had made it to our last class only to see it closed with a sign labeled “Uma incident” Uma was a student known for messing with the chemistry lab and destroying school property in the process. I've never actually met her but Preston says “She's a little weird but still nice”
“Guess class is canceled for today,” Preston remarked with a smile “Wanna go out to the court till the bell rings.”
“Sure let's go” I respond
The place we ate every day was outside. It used to be a tennis court before I moved in. Now they put trees and flowers all over the place. Preston really liked the blue color of the flowers but it just never clicked for me. I look over at Preston and he's staring up at the sky. There are a number of clouds in almost enough to block the sun but it still pokes its rays through and lands on Preston's face. The clouds swim in front of the sun till they block out the sun's light. Preston faces towards me.
“I'm gonna miss you Alexandria” he says
“You know you can just call me Alex,” I replied. I start to smile again. “I'll miss you too!" He smiles toward me again as we get up to leave as the clouds start to clump together and rain slowly falls. As we're walking back to the school there's a loud tearing sound followed by screams as the ground shakes.
The ground tears itself apart as the dirt and stone erupt from the ground. The sky blackens and a pale blue light escapes the earth. Then creatures erupt from the ground in a violent ejection from the earth creating a white pillar diffusing as they reach higher in the air. Some are clawing their way out of the cracks like maggots out of a corpse. People are swept into the updraft screaming for their lives.
The creatures descend like a tidal wave and tear apart any people caught in their path. They storm out of the crack in hundreds as more cracks in the earth form. Me and Preston started running away as people were screaming behind us. A girl running next to us has her legs slashed by a creature. The monster begins to tear open her chest as she chokes on her own blood. The monster shovels her lungs and innards into its decrepit mouth. Me and Preston keep running until we're met at the entrance of the school and we catch the attention of a monster as it begins to savagely rush toward us. The monster resembles ghosts my father told me about. But this one looks monstrously horrific. It floats in the air and opens its mouth so wide it nearly replaces its entire torso; its jaws hold savage teeth each the same old gray color of its body. Its eyes glow a rotten yellow color through the dark. It stretches out its arms showing its giant hands and claws like fingers. It swipes at us leaving a giant claw mark on the door behind us but Preston ducks my body down to avoid the attack. We run around it as the monster swaps its focus to another bystander. Screaming past us. Me and Preston run into the parking lot as people scream around us. We hide next to a car.
“What the hell is happening!?” I yell to Preston. More of the creatures fly over us and swoop down to people like vultures on roadkill devouring the fleeing people.
Preston starts to breathe heavily ”we need to get out of here and someplace safer”. As we were talking one of the monster phases through the car we were hiding next to forcing us to run into the street.
“Lets go to your house till things cool down” i say to Preston through panted breaths
“Wait couldn't we head to your house instead” Preston says.
“Why would that matter your house is closer anyways” i respond
“But-” Preston is interrupted by two creatures swooping above us to grab another person. The two monsters begin to pull the person apart while he writhes in pain before having his flesh be torn in half and having his organs be devoured.
“Come on lets go!!” I say as I grab his hand and run even faster.
By the time we reach Preston's house any living person is gone. On the street are just corpses laying torn and mutilated on the roads and sidewalk. The air in the neighborhood feels cold despite the season being summer. When I walk down the street I can still hear the occasional horrific wail the monsters give off. We move closer to Preston's house and I can see him sweating. He looked more worried than before when the creatures were chasing us and he kept darting his eyes away from his home.
“Preston, are you feeling okay?” he doesn't respond to my question and keeps darting his eyes. He walks slowly behind me and as I reach for the door handle and when I touch it it feels nearly freezing. I wrap my hoodie around my hand and slowly open the door. The house is quiet so me and Preston creep further into his house. The inside is cold and damp as if we were locked in a freezer. The further we move into the house the louder a subtle chewing sound is heard.
“It sounds like rats are eating a dead cow over there” I whisper. Preston continues to stay silent behind me. We slowly walk closer towards the kitchen and the sound gets louder and louder and louder until we reach the room.
We're met with a rancid smell of vomit and blood. My blood starts to run cold and every instinct in my body is telling me to run. I can feel Preston breathing get heavier as we get closer. We turn the corner and see Preston's mom lying on the ground dead with one of the creatures hunched over slurping her intestines. The sight causes me to vomit alerting the monster to our presence. The creature turns around and its mouth turns into a mortifying grin as it flies into Preston's moms body. The corpse begins to rise and spur splashing blood over the kitchen. When the corpse stops spasming it picks itself up from the ground and with glazed over eyes it holds its intestines in its hand and gives us the same grin it did when it was outside her body. The possessed corpse lunges at me and starts to chase me around the kitchen. The body is running into the walls and cabinets spraying its blood and other loose organs around the area as I'm avoiding its assault. The corpse leans over and ejects one of its loose intestines towards me, wrapping me in it. It pulls me towards it so fast I'm flung towards the ground. The corpse limbers over to me and raises its free hand aiming for my head. The creature's deranged smile causes the corpse’s cheeks to tear apart. It places both of its bloodied and demented hands on my face and starts to press my skull into the ground. I struggle to breathe. The room starts to get dark and blood escapes my head.
Until Preston jumps on top of his mothers corpse with a kitchen knife and repeatedly stabs it in the head. The possessed body tries to shake him off but he keeps stabbing, blood gets in on his face and tears start to escape his eyes. The creature violently ejects from the corpse's mouth causing her head to nearly explode and Preston stops stabbing the body. The body falls over in a splash of blood and organs. The monster leaves phasing through the roof leaving Preston crying over his mother's body. As the blood mixes with the tears he collapses to his knees crying. I walk over and hug him as the air around us turns bitter and the chill of death leaves the room and us with it.
Chapter 1 Eclipse
It's been 2 months since the apocalypse started. We've kept ourselves alive by looting grocery stores and houses, we hide from the creatures as we have no way to fight back against them. Preston came up with the idea to call them glanter’s. He’s looking better since we left his family home but I can tell something is wrong with him that he's not telling me. Everytime I ask him about it he tells me it's no big deal. I asked him earlier today and he just told me
“don't worry about it, I'm over it” without even looking at me. Now we're walking through the street and I'm walking behind Preston, I can barely see his head past the giant bag we're both carrying on our backs we use to carry supplies. I look up at the sky and it's still pitch black except for the moon giving us any amount of light. Preston turns around to face me.
“Let's check out that house, it might have some cool stuff in it” he points to a white house to our right. The house is a two story building with steps leading to the front door. There's a generator poking out from the backyard. The driveway is empty save for a couple of dried blood stains and tire marks. It's similar to the other houses in the neighborhood except for a couple broken windows.
“Sure why not” We head over to the house and I see something shining on the side of the house in the corner of my eye. I turn my head to look at it closer but it quickly disappears before I can see it clearly.
“Probably squirrel or something” I mumble to myself. Preston walks up the stairs to the house and I walk up the steps behind him as a breeze blows past my face. Preston tries to turn the door knob but the door is locked. I start to pull out a lockpick I grabbed at the store earlier. I motion towards Preston to move out of the way as I kneel down to pick the lock. It takes me a couple of minutes to unlock the door so I walk inside the house and Preston follows behind me while closing and locking the door. The doorway of the house leads to a dark room so I take a flashlight out of my bag to illuminate the area. Were put into the living room and bookshelves are on the walls and a large TV sat in front of a large black couch with smaller chairs surrounding it. Dust is covering every surface of the room and spiderwebs litter the corners of the walls. The area smells like moth balls and there's a lack of blood anywhere nearby.
“Guess the owners got out before the Glanter’s got in, '' I say to Preston. When he doesn't respond I turn around and he's already looking further into the house. When I find him he's managed to find a flight of stairs that lead to a lower portion of the house.
“I'll check on him later,” I think to myself as I headed towards the kitchen to see if we could restock on food. I walk past a bedroom and remark on how childish it looked. The walls were painted with blue and green stripes and a bunk bed sat on the right wall. There's a chest at the foot of the bed so I walk over and lift the top off of it. The box is layered with children's toys, a multitude of dolls, bears, and figures all jut out of the box. I notice a small robot toy and inspect it in my hands.
The cold metal makes my hand shiver and the sharp body shape makes the robot bigger than my hand. There's red lining around the robot's buttons surrounded by the cold gray of the robot's “skin”. It reminds me of a toy my little brother had. My heart feels heavy as I worry about what happened to my family. If they're alive, dead, or worse…possessed. The thoughts send a chill down my spine but I push them aside for now. I put the toy in my bag and exit the bedroom.
I can see the kitchen is down the hallway so I walk down the hall and enter. The kitchen is pretty clean except for a couple of dishes in the sink and the dust. There's a table seated for 3 people in the center of the room. I start opening the cabinets in search for any food or water. There's boxes of cereal leftover on top of shelves and a mix of chip bags and cookies in neat boxes stationed in the cabinets.
“Score,” I say to myself as I begin to put the snacks into my bag. When the cabinets are empty I look inside the fridge. The inside of the fridge ran out of power so most of the food inside is rotted. There are a couple of bottles of water in the front so I shove those in my bag. There's also a bag of oranges that still seem to be healthy in the back. I grab them and toss them on the table. There's rotten sandwich meat hidden in the drawer of the fridge.it smells like a dumpster outside of a butcher shop. I wrinkle my nose at the smell. I look around the kitchen for any bread with no luck.
I continue to look through the fridge until I hear Preston scream from another room. Immediately I bolt out of the kitchen leaving my bag behind and run towards the lower part of the house. I run down the stairs and nearly trip on the steps. The stairs lead to a big room. There are posters to tv shows and movies I don't recognize. The walls are painted black and there's a bear skin rug on the floor. I notice Preston standing next to a really big TV hyperventilating. I walk over to him and ask him.
“Are you ok? What happened?”
He talks through deep breaths “I… saw a… spider.”
“What?!” I respond in confusion.
“It was really big and I had jumped at my face”
“Sure it was.” I say while laughing “Let's go upstairs there's some food in the fridge we can eat”
“Wait, I think you should check this out.” He says while pointing towards one of the walls. I grab Preston's flashlight off the floor and face it towards the wall. Hanging halfway off the wall is a large map labeled Newkiwana scavenger hunt of 76.
“I think we should take it,” Preston says “You can read a map right?”
“A little but I'm not the best at it,” I say to him “can you read a map?”
“it shouldn’t be too hard it’s mainly pictures any way I'm sure I can figure it out”
I walk over to the wall where the map is hung there are trophies covering tables and shelved in their own personal cases one of them reads “1st place 100-meter swimming competition for 1986 Zack Hemmingway” and another one reads “2nd place 100-meter swimming competition for 1989 Zack Hemmingway”
“Guess this guy really liked swimming,” Preston remarks while staring at a wall of newspaper clippings. All of them are about the same person in swimming competitions. All labeled different things like “a new record for Zack “the dolphin” Hemmingway”,
‘Zach Hemmingway our star plans for the future” all the newspapers are about this kind he has paler skin and a bulky enough build to swim pretty well. Most of the pictures have him coming out of the water in a pool, his long black hair soaked and sitting at his shoulders. Another one has him sitting at a desk over a pile of books and his hair in a knot , “vicious wipeout ends the Dolphins career”, and “ex-swim champ Zack Hemmingway found in a drunken stupor outside strip club.
“Everyone has their own hobbies I guess,” I say as I take the map off of the wall and fold it up. “Sucks what happened to Zack though” I walked over to Preston’s bag and put the rolled map in one of the pockets. I walk back up the stairs and Preston grabs his bag and follows behind me.
We make our way towards the kitchen and Preston starts looking through the fridge for anything to eat. I grab an orange from the table and throw it at his head. The fruit bounces off his head and rolls on the floor. He turns around and grabs the fruit from the floor
“Why did you throw an orange at me?”
“It's the only food we have unless you plan on eating spoiled a sandwich“ He starts to peel it while walking towards the table. We both take a seat and start to eat the oranges from the bag. He plants his feet on top of the table and bites into the fully peeled orange. I grab a water bottle from a bag and start to drink from it as Preston says.
“I saw a dvd player in that man cave downstairs we could watch a movie if it still has power”
“Sure it could be fun.” Me and Preston spend the rest of our time eating until the bag of oranges is emptied and we head back downstairs. Preston grabs the DVD player from under the table and blows the dust off the top of it; he plugs it into the wall as I plop myself onto the couch. He plugs the DVD player into the TV and sits on the recliner next to me. He presses a few buttons on the remote and the TV lights up. I squint my eyes at how bright it is. It's the most amount of light I've seen that didn't come from a flashlight. I notice there's a box filled with DVDs. I pull the box over towards me. I ruffle through the box and see movies like Silence of the Lambs, Terminator 2, and Home alone.
“Dude some of these came out just before the world turned inside out” I say to him.
“Really? Let's play one.” He responds. I toss him Terminator 2 and he puts it into the DVD player.
We spend the next couple hours watching movies and laughing together. It's some of our only moments of peace we’ve had since the end of the world and to me it's the most fun I've had yet. We're putting in the next DVD when there's a loud crash outside and the TV shuts off. Preston goes behind it to see if it's still plugged in.
“I think the generator outside is busted” i say
“It seems that way” Preston replies while backing away from the tv” i'm gonna go check it out”
“Don't worry I got it” I say as I hop out of my chair. Preston waves goodbye as I head up the stairs. I make my way back through the hallway leading to the living room and front door. I reach the door and start to turn the knob. I open the door wide as a car speeds down the street. I step out of the door to see what had happened when I hear the screech of a glanter. It cuts through the sky like an unholy opera singer. A group of them fly by and chase the car as I rush back inside the house. I slam the door shut and look through the window as I see a couple of smaller glanters grab and shake the car violently looking for the driver. They tear at it, ripping off doors and breaking the windows. The driver screams as the seats cover with blood and he's ripped out of the car as multiple smaller glanters tear and bite off parts of his body like piranha's until his body is completely devoured. I run back to the man cave to warn Preston about what had happened. I spot him laying in his chair spinning a DVD disc on his finger.
“It's not safe outside right now”
“Why not?
“There's glanter's outside, they just ate a dude in his car”
“Did they see you come inside?”
“I don't think so , they flew off before I went inside.”
“well we're not dead so I'm gonna say they didn't see you. But let's stay here for a couple more hours just to be safe”
“Sounds good i'm gonna go find the master bedroom.” I start to walk back up the stairs to the house
“ Hold on why do you get the master bedroom” Preston says while walking after me.
“Because I'm gonna find it first” I say as I start to run to find the bedroom. He chases after me in pursuit of the bedroom. Me and Preston run around the house looking for the master bedroom. We look through room after room finding closets, the garage, a bathroom and a door leading to a balcony in the back of the house. I manage to run into the bedroom and yell out to Preston.``Found it!!”
He comes walking into the room breathing heavily from the running. We both check out the room. The walls are painted a cream yellow and the bed takes up most of the room's center. The bed has burgundy sheets poking out from its bottom and a quilt with multi-colored floral designs lay sprawled out on top of it. There's a wardrobe built into the wall and a black leather couch sits comfortably on the left wall.
“Dibs on the bed” I say as I jump on top of it. I stretch out on top of the quilt and search for a comfortable part to sleep in.
“Where am I supposed to sleep then?” Preston complains
“You can sleep on the couch it looks soft enough” I respond while pointing towards the couch “I saw some spare blankets in one of the closets”
“Alright i’ll be right back” he mumbles to himself “why do i always get the couch”
“ I'll be right here if you need me,” i call after him. I sit up on the bed and start to look around the room more. I notice the entrance to the wardrobe is cracked open slightly. I hop out of the bed and grab a flashlight from my bag as I walk into the wardrobe. I turn on my flashlight and stare in awe at how many clothes are in there. The room is only half as big as the bedroom but it's still bigger than any closet I've ever had. The wardrobe is full of shirts, dresses, pants, and shoes for men and women. I immediately start to look through the shoes to see if any fit my size. I throw a pair of black high heels behind me as Preston finds me in the wardrobe. He looks around before asking me.
“What are you doing?”
“Finding a new pair of clothes to wear cause I've been wearing the same pair of jeans for waaaaay too long”
“Fair enough. Is there any guy stuff in there?”
“Yeah right there” I hook my thumb behind me to point to the other end of the closet.
“I'm sure they won't mind if we take a couple of things…they're probably dead by now anyways,” Preston says with a slight grin on his face. The way he said made me spin my head to look at him but he was already on the opposite end of the wardrobe looking at suits.
I shake away the thought and continue looking for any pair of sneakers in my size. 40 minutes pass before I walk out of the wardrobe holding a new pair of jeans and a black guns-N-roses t-shirt. I toss the clothes on top of the bed and check to see if the shower in the bathroom still works. I turn the dial and wait for a moment. The shower head chokes a little before water comes pouring out. I reach my hand under the showerhead to feel the water. The water is cold, it causes my hand to shiver when I take it out. I shake the water off and say to myself.
“Good enough” as I start to take off my old clothes and get in the shower. The cold water bounces off my skin, it sends shivers down my spine but I still get the old dirt from the last few months off of me. I step out and see a couple of dry towels hanging off of the door. I grab one and dry my body off and grab another to wrap around my head and dry my hair. I step out of the bathroom and Preston is still inside the wardrobe. I put on my new clothes while his back is turned and walk over towards him when I'm finished.
“Still haven't found anything,” I ask him
He turns around “Nothing yet, the only thing interesting was this coat.” He holds a leather coat up to me. The coat is made of black leather and has a skull covered with blue flames on the back. There's a black shirt inside the coat with a skeleton hand making a thumbs-up embroidered on the front.
“ That's pretty cool, it's better than what you're wearing right now at least” he's outfitted in a blue hoodie with holes on the chest and tears at the sleeves. He also has a shirt with a faded picture of a blue flower printed on it.
“I guess you're right” he gets up from the floor and exits the wardrobe. He lays the clothes on the couch along next to the blanket and pillow he brought into the room.
“The shower works so you can get yourself clean In there,” I say to him
“You know, a shower sounds really good right now.” He gets up from the floor and grabs a pair of pajama pants that were laying next to him. He leaves the wardrobe and enters the bathroom, closing the door behind him. After a moment the water turns on and I hop on the bed to get ready to sleep. I squirm myself into the quilt and rest my head against one of the pillows. I shut my eyes and fall asleep listening to the passive sound of the shower like rain on a car.
I'm in a void. It feels like I'm standing in a puddle of water that reaches to my knees. I wade my way forward looking around for anything in the darkness. In the distance I can see 3 figures l. I moved closer to them and their silhouettes get clearer. I realize they are my dad and brothers. I start to run towards them kicking up water behind me until something grabs my leg. It pulls down violently forcing me under the water without a breath of air. I kick at the thing grabbing me until something grabs my other leg. I look down and see two glanter's each with a monstrous smile on their faces. They stare back at me and one of them tugs my leg harder than before and tears it off of my body. The water around me turns red as the glanter laugh's. The other smiles wider as it starts to fling me around the water forcing any air left in my lungs to be forced out as I scream in pain. The glanter throws me away and I can see my family slowly fade into the distance as I'm flown away.
I struggle to swim back to where I was, one of my legs is missing and the other is broken. The glanter's find me again and I try to get to the surface to escape them. I'm flapping my arms in any attempt to escape as one of the glanter's flies in front of me and grabs my arm. I look at the monster with tears in my eyes as it bites my arm and tears my body away from it. It flings my body away and with my remaining arm I clutch the wound as the water floods into my body leaving me in the void I started in. I look around and the glanter's seem to have left. I turn behind me and see my family again, this time I'm closer than before.
I grit my teeth and drag my body towards them slowly as I leave a trail of blood and tears behind me. I finally reach my family and grab one of my father's shoes. I stare up and he looks at me. His stare causes me to feel cold as a grotesque smile grows on his face. I stare in shock as my brothers each have the same look as my father.
I shoot up from my sleep panting heavily in a cold sweat.
“It was just a dream..just a dream…just a dream” I look at my hands as tears fall into them. I look around the room and see Preston sleeping peacefully on the couch. The room feels frozen in place as a chill runs down my spine. I get out of the bed and walk out of the bedroom. I make my way through the dark hallway and find the entrance to the balcony I saw earlier. I creak open the screen door and head outside. The Balcony is pretty large, about the size of the kitchen in the house. There are some chairs knocked over next to a table and I pick one up to sit on it. I look out into the expanse of the neighborhood, houses lined up next to each other, dozens broken apart by roads, and dead bodies scattered across the roads.
I look up in the sky and sit back in the chair. The sky looks empty except for the moon giving this world its only source of light. Without the moon, we’d be left in darkness. It hangs in the sky alone, no stars, no clouds, nothing but itself, and the void of the sky. I think back about the dream I had. My dad and my brother's all dead and possessed and then they kill me. I start to tear up thinking about it. I try to wipe away the tears but it’s no use. I'm too scared for my family. I don't know where they are if they're alive if they're worried about me I don't know anything! I start to quietly cry into my hands. I don't know how long I'm sitting there until I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn my head to face it and I see Preston. He was smiling and looking at me. I turn away to wipe my tears and he walks next to me.
“I heard you sneaking out of the bedroom so I followed you to see where you were going.” he says “but that's not my question.” he pauses and looks at me “my question is what’s got you feeling so down?” he leans over the railing of the balcony
“It's nothing, I just came out here to clear my head.” I say as more tears escape from my eyes in big slow drops that ride down the sides of my face.
“if you don't feel like telling me you don't have to but i'll be here if you ever change your mind”. He looks up at the moon before turning to face me and his smile widens “I'll always be here with you…trust me I'm not going anywhere”
I stare up at him and wipe away my tears as a smile grows on my face to match his. I get up and stare over the balcony with him. “So where are we heading next?” I say to him, Preston pulls the map we got from the man cave downstairs out from his pocket.
“After I got out of the shower I decided to take a look at the map for anything interesting we could see.”
“Ok did you find anything?” i ask
“I did,” he points at a spot on the right of the map. “We should head to the museum”
“I didn't want to go to a museum before the apocalypse why would i want to go now?'' I ask him.
“Well the best part of museums is the cool stuff right”
“Yeah what about it”
“The only problem is that you could only look at the fossils and armor but you could never take them.”
“So you want to rob a museum?” Prestons eyes light up at the question
“Exactly they might have a really cool sword I could use, or I could sharpen a dinosaur tooth and use that as a weapon, there might be a cursed shield that can summon the dead to fight for you. This opportunity is too good to pass up. We need to go!”
“That does seem pretty cool but wouldn't carrying that stuff weigh us down. What if a glanter is chasing us and we can't run fast enough because of the stuff we took from the museum.”
“We’ll only take things that are light. Even then I could just block the glanter with my newly acquired 2000 year old shield.”
“Fair enough we can go in a couple hours” I yawn and stretch out my arms. “Cause I'm feeling way too tired to walk all the way over there right now.”
“Alright i'm heading back to my couch and THEN we’ll head out to the museum” he leaves the balcony and heads back to the master bedroom leaving me alone on the balcony.
“Thanks Preston I'm not leaving either” I say into the sky. I turn around and walk back inside the house, closing the balcony door behind me. I walk back into the bedroom and Preston is hunched over and holding a flashlight looking at the map. He’s drawing lines through roads and marking X’s in different areas.
“What are the X’s for?” i ask him
“They’re places that glanter’s usually stay around. I'm marking them off so we remember not to go through them, or at least be more cautious.”
“Cool. Did you find where we are right now?” He points to an area where the lines all converge out of.
“Right around here is where the neighborhood ends. So if we follow this path we can make it to the museum in one piece” I pat him on the back and take the map from his hands.
“Get some sleep Preston, we have a full day tomorrow” he grins to himself before laying down on the couch. I put the map back into my bag and hop on the bed to get to sleep. I cover my body in the quilt and roll over facing away from Preston as he falls asleep. I nestle myself into the bed and slowly fall asleep to get ready for the next day.
I'm awoken by Preston shaking the bed I'm sleeping on. My eyes open and the room is foggy, I wipe away the sleep from my eyes and focus my attention towards Preston. He's practically jumping out of his skin with excitement, he's already fully dressed for the trip and shaking the bed with a wide smile on his face.
“Ok ok i'm up the air feels heavy as a groggy feeling fills my body. I wipe my eyes and the room starts to clear up. I turn to face Preston. He's still shaking my bed to wake me up, he’s already fully dressed and nearly jumping out of his skin in excitement.
“Ok ok, i'm up you can stop shaking the bed” i say
“Then get up we’ve got a long walk ahead of us” he says as he stops shaking the mattress. He grabs the map from my bag and points to one of the red lines.
“We're gonna follow this way to the museum. We’ll move past the hotel around the ice skating rink and around the park. We’ll mainly stick to walking through the streets, we might have to go rooftop hopping to avoid any glanter’s if we see them but i'm sure we won’t reach that point.” he explains
“Wait, wait, wait, why are avoiding the skating rink and the park” i ask
“ everytime we go near the park there's weird noises and light coming out of it”
“And why can't we go to the ice skating rink?”
“I didn't think it would be important”
“It couldn't hurt to check it out at least”
“Fine we could make a detour”
“Ok and how do you plan on getting on top of roofs?”
“I'm sure we'll figure it out when we get to it”
“Ok man as long as you’re sure '' I yawn and step out of the bed. Preston starts to put the map in his bag. I walk into the bathroom with my clothes and change out of my pajamas. Minutes later I walk out and see Preston sitting on the couch twiddling his thumbs.
“Finally you're out” he smiles at me before handing me my bag and slinging it over his shoulder. We took a last look inside the kitchen to see if we missed anything. Afterwards we leave for the outside. The cold air bites at my face but Preston walks down the stairs, his face buried in the map. I jog to catch up to him as we both head into the street.
“Hey Preston, could I see the map?”
“Sure” he hands over the map and continues walking. I look at the map and the numerous lines drawn on roads. I look at the corner of the map and notice a small map key with numerous symbols for different areas like a library, school, hospital, and more. There's even a way to tell how far away each location is. The text reads “1 inch=5 miles” I quickly count how far we are from the museum.
“Dude this museum is like 100 miles away.”
“Yep it'll be a long walk, it'll take us a while to get there”
“Did you plan on us walking there the whole time?”
“We might find bikes or something.” he pauses “well i did think we would walk the whole way”
“This is gonna take us weeks to get there!”
“Did you have anything else planned?”
“Well…i guess not but we should still try to find some bikes or something”
“Ok if we see any way to travel faster we’ll take it”
“Alright cool” I hand him the map back and he folds it back up and puts it in his bag. We walk further until we leave the gated neighborhood we started in. Preston takes the map back out and looks at it before he turns right and continues walking. I follow him staring forward at the expanse of the road. The outside of the neighborhood is surrounded by roads all leading to different parts of Newkinawa. We walk past a sign that reads “Coretown 20 miles ahead” I nudge Preston towards the sign and he checks the map again.
“Yep, the museum’s in Coretown. Would you believe the residents were pretty proud of it. Should be a fun place to explore” he says
“Yeah but it’ll take us a million years to get there.” i complain
“Lighten up, I'm sure it will be worth it”. We continue walking down the road slowly making our way to Coretown.

(Yes I am using a throwaway acct bc I don't want people to harass me on my main lmao.)
So basically, there's this one ktuber I used to look up to a lot: vixxo. I loved her videos, and would follow her on twt, always stay tuned for her lives, etc. but recently (well for the past year) she's done a lot of things that hadn't sit right with me and I'm really disappointed bc I used to look up to her so much. I don't really know how to deal w all this. I already unfollowed her and blocked her on all platforms but since I used to be so obsessed w her content it's rlly hard not to check back in sometimes, and what I noticed is everyone constantly kisses her ass and acts like "the only reason people hate you is because they can't handle critical opinions about their faves" and it feels very invalidating.
Here's a list of things she's done I dislike. Honestly I know some of these things aren't that bad but I just wanted to talk about everything that made me stop liking her. - she just has a very self centered attitude in general. she’s very smug and seems to think she can never be wrong. whenever someone has a positive opinion on a song she dislikes, she implies that they’re forcing themselves to like it. - one example of this: once some guy named berts bayou said that get up (nwjns) was the only kpop ep he liked. then there was a hit tweet quoting him saying “the reason why it’s the only ep you can listen through is bc it’s 12 minutes and your attention span is too low for anything else” or something like that. vixxo replied to that qrt calling it “fucking hilarious” and i just find it so ironic bc she constantly whines about how people don’t respect her opinions, but she can’t respect others. - her account is just a constant cesspool of negativity and it gets rlly tiring after a while. she’s always complaining about how music has gone downhill, there’s no real vocalists in kpop anymore, etc. and yeah ig she can post what she wants but it’s just tiring like girl nobody is forcing you to consume newer kpop. (again it’s ironic bc whenever someone rightfully complains about a hate train their fav group is going thru she’s like “idc i have no sympathy ur responsible for what u consume” ok then that means it’s ur choice to consume newer kpop and u don’t need to shit on it every 2 seconds. also again she has complained about hate trains HER faves went through so it just feels hypocritical) - she has some kinda weird views? like she said it’s “definitely not” okay for a 17 yo and an 18 yo to date each other even if they’re both in high school. like girl be so fr 😭😭 - she talked shit about a bunch of other ktubers when she was 19 and the other ktubers were like 13. like im sorry that’s pathetic behavior 😭 how you an adult and bullying people who just became teenagers like. she was also extremely xenophobic towards them, mocking the way they phrased things and how their voices sounded when english wasn’t even their first language. tbf she did apologize, but she also deflects and victimizes herself every time it’s brought up instead of just admitting she did wrong and people have a right to not want to support her after what she did, especially if they’ve had to deal w xenophobia in their personal lives. she also stays friends with someone who also participated in talking shit about those ktubers and even blocked the victims, AND i saw her initial responses to the victims and they were gaslighty af. “let’s just all do the mature thing and move on” girl what do you mean “let’s” when you were the one who started it and who do you think you are telling literal children they’re being immature for rightfully feeling betrayed. - she cannot ever admit she is/was wrong. one example is the garam situation. basically she wasn’t on garams side (which i think is understandable at first bc it did seem like the evidence was against her) but she also acted like she was a terrible, irredeemable person (ironic asf bc like i said it’s not like vixxo has never bullied anyone before) and referred to her supporters as “followers who cannot construct an original thought”. then when it came out that garam was the victim and was just defending her friend from sexual harassment, vixxo never apologized even though she said she would if garam was proved innocent. when someone brought it up she was like “im not gonna apologize for supporting the victim lol check yourself?” like no you need to apologize for hating on an innocent minor eventually causing her to lose her career, and defending a sexual predator. - she also constantly complained about how garam stans brought her up to praise her after she left lsf, but meanwhile she brought her up even after she left the group to HATE ON HER. she stated that she had “sinister energy” (very weird to say about a minor ESPECIALLY when you’re an adult) and made a tweet about “i cant believe hybe made garam the center when chaewon was in the group”. this was all after garam left the group btw, it’s giving obsessed. if you’re going to drag an innocent girl even after she stopped being an idol, don’t get mad when people support her after she left lesserafim. - when moonbin and sua performed my ear candy together, she commented about how it was “weird” and “creepy” for siblings to perform that song together. then after 4/19/23, she rted a tweet talking about how the performance was so cute. like girl maybe apologize and hold yourself accountable instead of being fake? - she claims to be a “girls girl” but has done many things proving the opposite. for example when illits final lineup was announced, she liked and rted a tweet calling them “r u rigged” and “I’ll-flop”. she also once said something like “no 16 year old except boa and britney has ever slayed hard enough to be called mother” like why are you putting down 16 year old girls if you’re a girls girl? also it’s just pathetic bc she was like 21 when she said that - she supported addison rae (a tiktok influencesinger with a long history of antiblack racism) even after KNOWING about her actions. and i don’t just mean listening to her music, i mean actively supporting, calling her mothecunty, responding “teehee <333” to a comment that said “laurve you being a low key addison rae stan”, and rting her new years eve post. she eventually unstanned her (for a very good reason, idk if im allowed to say why tho) but it just hurts that she didn’t think antiblackness was a big enough dealbreaker. (she’s white btw lmao) - she went along w the nwjns eta conspiracy theory despite the fact that it’s literally based on right wing propaganda?? also it’s just really stupid in general so idk how vixxo sees herself as some great critical thinker when she goes along w whatever people say just to hate on a group. even though this narrative literally feeds into the oppression of basque people, she doesn’t care - once some guy posted about margot robbie in i, tonya and said something like “i always find it so amazing how actors basically have to become just as good as the profession they’re playing” and vixxo responded very rudely like “open up the schools… you don’t know what a stunt double is?” like no girl, not everyone is as smart and educated on film as you are 😱😱 you could’ve just explained instead of being unnecessarily rude. someone pointed out in her retrospring that it wasn’t that serious for her to be rude and she, again, responded rudely, saying something like “he’s literally spreading misinformation” acting like he had some malicious intent. and idk i could be overthinking but the whole incident felt very racially motivated imo (the guy who made the original post was black, vixxo like i said is white). idk it just feels like a white person who doesn’t see black people as worthy of respect so when a black guy gets something wrong, her immediate response is to be hostile and act like he has bad intentions / is purposefully trying to spread misinformation rather than correcting him in a respectful way. like i said i could be overthinking but the way she treated him definitely felt at least slightly racist. she probably didn’t intend to but that’s how it came off - she made a video about problems in ktube where she talked about nonblack people using aave. during it, she provided a list of commonly used aave terms and said something like “ive used these terms before im sorry and ill never use them again” which would be fine… except for the fact that she used some of those terms again (ex. slay) AFTER making that video. tbh im so used to nonblacks using (or misusing) aave so im not even mad at her for that, im more mad at the fact that she KNEW it was wrong and did it anyway. just feels v performative - she constantly encourages her viewers to have a parasocial relationship with her (which is weird bc she’s not a celebrity) by referring to them unironically as vixxonators, responding stuff like “teehee i love this <33” whenever someone admits to having a parasocial relationship with her, etc. but whenever someone criticizes her she pulls the “some of you guys expect too much from me im not media trained nor do i wish to become a celebrity” card. like you can’t encourage people to have a parasocial relationship with you but then complain about it ad soon as you’re criticized for your actions. also you don’t have to have a parasocial relationship with someone to criticize them - I think there’s a few more things but ive already written a lot so that’s all for now
So yeah. Like I said idrk how to deal w these feelings. It almost feels like she betrayed me, and I know this is a dumb/delusional view to have, but it just sucks bc I used to look up to her sm. Feel free to comment advice, tell me what you think of her actions , validate me, invalidate me, etc.

Nationals @ Braves - Tue, May 28

Game Status: Final - Score: 2-0 Braves

Links & Info

• MLB Gameday
• Game Graphs
• Savant Gamefeed

	Nationals Batters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	AVG	OBP	SLG
1	Abrams - SS	4	0	2	0	0	1	0	.266	.314	.488
2	Thomas, L - RF	4	0	0	0	0	1	2	.188	.248	.271
3	Meneses - 1B	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	.239	.303	.300
	a-Rosario, E - PH	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	.173	.232	.367
4	Senzel - 3B	3	0	1	0	0	0	2	.224	.331	.402
5	Ruiz, K - DH	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	.205	.240	.303
6	Winker - LF	2	0	1	0	1	1	0	.238	.353	.399
7	Vargas, I - 2B	3	0	0	0	0	1	1	.297	.385	.407
8	Adams, R - C	3	0	0	0	0	3	1	.224	.291	.368
9	Young - CF	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	.269	.322	.321
	Totals	29	0	7	0	1	8	10

Nationals
a-Struck out for Meneses in the 9th.
BATTING: 2B: Abrams (10, Fried). TB: Abrams 3; Meneses 3; Senzel; Winker. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Young; Ruiz, K. GIDP: Ruiz, K; Senzel; Thomas, L. Team RISP: 0-for-3. Team LOB: 3.
FIELDING: Outfield assists: Thomas, L (Albies at 2nd base). DP: (Abrams-Vargas, I-Meneses).

	Braves Batters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	AVG	OBP	SLG
1	Harris II, M - CF	2	0	0	0	2	1	1	.259	.303	.376
2	Riley, A - 3B	4	0	0	0	0	3	2	.232	.304	.368
3	Ozuna - DH	4	1	1	1	0	2	1	.309	.391	.613
4	Olson - 1B	3	1	1	0	0	0	0	.232	.321	.423
5	Albies - 2B	2	0	1	0	1	1	1	.271	.337	.390
6	Murphy, S - C	3	0	1	0	0	1	1	.200	.200	.200
7	Kelenic - LF	2	0	0	1	0	2	0	.254	.298	.377
8	Duvall - RF	3	0	1	0	0	2	1	.213	.304	.416
9	Arcia, Or - SS	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	.245	.266	.396
	Totals	26	2	5	2	3	12	8

Braves
BATTING: 2B: Duvall (3, Irvin, J). HR: Ozuna (16, 7th inning off Barnes, J, 0 on, 0 out). TB: Albies; Duvall 2; Murphy, S; Olson; Ozuna 4. RBI: Kelenic (10); Ozuna (48). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Harris II, M; Ozuna. SF: Kelenic. GIDP: Murphy, S. Team RISP: 0-for-4. Team LOB: 4.
FIELDING: Pickoffs: Fried (Winker at 1st base). DP: 4 (Albies-Arcia, Or; Arcia, Or-Albies-Olson; Riley, A-Albies-Olson; Albies-Arcia, Or-Olson).

Nationals Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	P-S	ERA
Irvin, J	6.0	2	0	0	2	10	0	90-58	3.43
Barnes, J (L, 2-2)	1.0	3	2	2	0	2	1	24-17	3.86
Law, D	1.0	0	0	0	1	0	0	18-10	2.90
Totals	8.0	5	2	2	3	12	1

Braves Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	P-S	ERA
Fried (W, 5-2)	8.0	7	0	0	1	6	0	103-62	2.97
Iglesias, R (S, 13)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	11-9	2.21
Totals	9.0	7	0	0	1	8	0

Game Info
WP: Law, D.
Pitches-strikes: Irvin, J 90-58; Barnes, J 24-17; Law, D 18-10; Fried 103-62; Iglesias, R 11-9.
Groundouts-flyouts: Irvin, J 4-1; Barnes, J 0-0; Law, D 2-1; Fried 7-3; Iglesias, R 0-0.
Batters faced: Irvin, J 20; Barnes, J 6; Law, D 4; Fried 27; Iglesias, R 3.
Umpires: HP: Nic Lentz. 1B: Will Little. 2B: Quinn Wolcott. 3B: Lance Barksdale.
Weather: 82 degrees, Partly Cloudy.
Wind: 7 mph, Out To LF.
First pitch: 7:21 PM.
T: 2:04.
Att: 37,598.
Venue: Truist Park.
May 28, 2024

Inning	Scoring Play	Score
Bottom 7	Marcell Ozuna homers (16) on a fly ball to left center field.	1-0 ATL
Bottom 7	Jarred Kelenic out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Jesse Winker. Matt Olson scores.	2-0 ATL

Team	Highlight
ATL	Braves turn two on liner (00:00:26)
WSH	[Jake Irvin begins his outing with a K (00:00:08)]()
WSH	Lane Thomas cuts down the runner at second base (00:00:29)
ATL	Max Fried's 750th career K (00:00:18)
ATL	Adam Duvall's sliding catch (00:00:28)
ATL	Marcell Ozuna's go-ahead home run (16) (00:00:30)
ATL	Max Fried K's six in dominant outing (00:01:06)
WSH	Jake Irvin's stellar start (00:01:55)
WSH	Condensed Game: WSH@ATL - 5/28/24 (00:08:06)
WSH	Nationals vs. Braves Highlights (00:03:02)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E	LOB
Nationals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	7	0	3
Braves	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0			2	5	0	4

Decisions

• Winner: Max Fried (5-2, 2.97)
• Loser: Jacob Barnes (2-2, 3.86)
• Save: Raisel Iglesias (13, 2.21)

Division Scoreboard

LAD 5 @ NYM 2 - Final
LAD 3 @ NYM 0 - Final
MIA 0 @ SD 4 - Game Over
PHI 0 @ SF 0 - Bottom 8, 0 Outs
Next Braves Game: Wed, May 29, 07:20 PM EDT vs. Nationals
^{Last Updated: 05/28/2024 11:42:44 PM EDT}

Going to work with company 1 in ~2.5 weeks. Nothing is legally stopping me from just saying 'nevermind' except feeling bad about it. Just today got an offer from company 2 which is the same as company 1 but different sector but I wanted an opinion on which to pick as while company 2 fits my personal projects experience company 1 seems better suited to grow my career, knowledge and to later on jump to a new one with a much higher salary. Sector wise I have no personal preference.
Company 1:
-Growth Stage: Fast-growing B2B SaaS company in an exciting scale-up phase
-Role:

• Position: Senior Software Engineer
• Location: Remote, it's a client company where I sign a contract through a sort of 'facilitator' (recruiter company but not really a recruiter basically) company do to international tax laws inside the EU
• Key Responsibilities:
  • Design scalable IT architecture
  • Develop modular backend services and performant databases
  • Collaborate with machine learning and optimization teams
  • Mentor junior developers
  • Engage in agile workflows (SCRUM)

-Tech Stack:

• Languages: Python (Flask)
• Databases: MSSQL/PostgreSQL
• Tools: OpenAPI, Kubernetes, Helm

-Pros (With ChatGPT):

• Cutting-Edge Technologies: Working with technologies like Kubernetes, Helm, and scalable backend services will be a strong addition to the skillset.
• Industry Impact: Contributing to a growing and impactful sector
• Professional Growth: The company’s emphasis on personal growth, staying up-to-date with tech trends, and mentoring junior developers indicates a supportive environment for rapid skill acquisition.
• Work Environment: Being part of a selective and professional team will likely provide high-quality mentorship and learning opportunities, which can be very beneficial for your career development.

-Cons (With ChatGPT):

• High Expectations: Potentially stressful (?) due to high standards and demanding environment
• Picky Hiring Process: Indicates high expectations from employees in terms of skills and communication (Other proper technical people at the same level were rejected do to not having a matching personality/proper communication)

Company 2 Overview:

• Growth Stage: Newer software department within an established consulting firm

-Role:

• Position: Senior Software Engineer
• Location: Remote, contract directly with client
• Key Responsibilities:
  • Contribute/Lead to the design and development of web scraping applications
  • Reverse engineer public APIs
  • Develop and optimize RESTful APIs and scrapers
  • Mentor junior engineers

-Tech Stack:

• Languages: Python, JavaScript, HTML, CSS
• Frameworks: Django, Flask, Node.js
• Tools: Playwright, Selenium, AWS

-Pros (With ChatGPT):

• Relevant Skills: Focus on web scraping, API development, and data processing, which are useful and relevant skills in many tech jobs.
• Immediate Fit: Less rigorous hiring process, which might make onboarding smoother
• Client Work: Experience with a consulting firm and working on client-oriented projects can be beneficial.

-Cons (With ChatGPT):

• Less Structured Environment: Newer department might lack structure and mentorship opportunities
• Industry Impact: Not the same impact as company 1
• Tech lead and overall team seems less professional and experienced compared to Company 1 tech lead and team

Out of this short information, which one would you pick/recommend? Benefits wise they are basically the same, company 2 offers a very small couple K's bonus at the end of the year while company 1 doesn't but health plan of company 1 is better compared to company 2. Salary wise they are the exact same.

WARNING! WALL OF TEXT.
Context:
The Empire is an interplanetary power that controls much of the Known Galaxy. It might seem that the Empire built its power on a multi-million army and a powerful navy, but the truth is slightly different. Of course, the role of the Imperial Armed Forces in creating the Empire's power cannot be underestimated, but the real tool that enabled the emperors to get the Empire to the place it is now was the special services, and in particular the Imperial Inspectorate, which was officially supposed to protect the citizens of the Empire against "terrorism and all persons harming the stability and legal order of the Empire", but in fact it was a highly developed apparatus of terror that murdered hundreds of millions of people throughout the entire existence of the Empire. The influence of the Imperial Inspectorate in the Empire was so strong that even the Emperor himself sometimes feared for his life and the loss of power.
Origin and background of the Great Silence:
In the year 1568 of Imperial Time, power in the Empire was taken over by Emperor Sinar Lythe, the leader of the then largest faction sitting on the Imperial Council - the Old Imperialists. This faction primarily postulated the return of the country to its roots, i.e. the Old Empire, during the rule of the Bantar House. Of all the factions on the Imperial Council, the Old Imperialists enjoyed the greatest prestige, were favored by the Emperor, and were appointed to various leadership positions in many Imperial institutions. The Emperor, fearing opposition from the remaining factions of the Imperial Council, introduced a law that prevented the Imperial Inspectorate from arresting members of the Old Imperialists without the consent of their parent faction organization or the Emperor himself. This created a system in which the Imperial Council was pushed into the background and the Emperor consolidated all power in his hands and had a free hand to shape his environment. Aubrin Vervaine, then Chief Inspector of the Imperial Inspectorate, one of the Emperor's most trusted men, cold, calculating, sadistic, will stop at nothing to fulfill his leader's orders. It was this man who was entrusted with the task of "protecting the legal order and stability of the Empire", which in a nutshell meant eliminating those who were becoming too influential and gaining too much support than they should.
For many years, the Emperor eliminated people who could threaten him or the faction he came from. He also felt the pressure put on him by the Old Imperialists, to whom he had granted immunities and created careers in imperial institutions a dozen or so years ago. These people wanted more and the Emperor knew it. He realized that if he didn't do anything about it, they would try to take power in the near future. The Emperor slowly began to turn against his own faction, trying to delay everything, but the faction's leaders knew well what was happening and were also preparing their own plan.
Cyseb Kaldine, a close associate of the Emperor and chairman of the Imperial Council on behalf of the Old Imperialists, began to openly criticize the Emperor for his "rash and condemnable decisions". Kaldine also worked closely with the previously mentioned Chief Inspector Aubrin Vervaine, who also wanted to eliminate the Emperor. Vervaine realized that the Emperor sees him as the greatest threat.
However, Vervaine, just like the Emperor, did not trust Cyseb, so after a personal conversation with the Emperor, in which he explained his concern about Cyseb's behavior, he was ordered to arrest him and sentence him to death. Then, the Old Imperialist faction plunged into a brutal power struggle that lasted until the Great Silence itself.
While the Old Imperialists were arguing over who should take Kaldine's place, Chief Inspector Aubrin Vervaine was murdered in his own apartment in the Imperial capital, Bantares. A show investigation was initiated into this event, but it did not solve anything, the case ended with the fact that it was assumed that the crime was committed by an assassin hired by the Old Imperialists, who, for reasons that have never been explained, was never caught.
The beginning of the Great Silence:
After this event, the new Chief Inspector of the Imperial Inspectorate was Lex Dystra, former Inspector General of the Department "S" of the Imperial Inspectorate, dealing with "Political-Military Surveillance". He was a man even worse than his predecessor and much more fanatical. Dystra believed that all opponents of the Empire should share the same fate - death. For him, the elimination of millions of lives was just a statistic that allowed the Empire to exist in the long run. However, Dystra was not devoted to the Emperor, but to the Empire, and separated these two entities with a thick line. He believed that if the Emperor began to act to the detriment of the Empire, he should be eliminated. Therefore, the appointment of Lex Dystra as Chief Inspector is considered to be the decline of the "Old Empire".
Dystra, apart from being the Chief Inspector, had an extremely strong position in the Imperial Inspectorate, due to the fact that he was previously the Head of the Department "S", he knew how to deal with the political sphere of the Empire and how to slowly eliminate people who bothered him. Like his predecessor, he saw the Emperor as his greatest opponent and slowly implemented his plan to remove him from power. He knew that the Emperor could not do anything to him, because the Department "S", which he so eagerly used, was entirely under the direct control of Dystra. Nevertheless, Dystra was afraid for his life and was protected by his most trusted people, and seeing that the Emperor was increasingly hot on his heels, he decided to take extremely drastic steps.
In the year 1578 of Imperial Time, in the capital of the Empire, Bantares, in the building of the Imperial Council which was directly connected to the building of the Imperial Citadel, the place where the Emperor himself sat, a terrorist attack took place. Terrorists, using previously planted explosives, blew up the entire western wing of the Council building, killing thousands of people, including dozens of councilors.
A huge panic broke out in the Empire, no one knew what was really happening, and the Imperial Inspectorate remained silent. Finally, the Emperor issued a proclamation to the citizens. He stated that the Imperial Council and himself were brutally attacked by "unspecified militants". He also reported that the Imperial Inspectorate was not up to the task and could not protect the Empire from "a visible and clearly imminent threat". He blamed Lex Dystra for the entire terrorist attack, stating that he was "an incompetent, corrupt and self-centered man." The Emperor urged citizens to stay at home until the whole matter is resolved, because, as he stated, "The Empire is struggling with an internal threat of the highest level."
The truth, however, was that the Emperor was behind the entire attack. He knew that the Imperial Inspectorate was an institution completely opposed to him, so he decided to reach out to the Imperial Intelligence Service, which was still loyal to him. However, the Emperor did not know that Lex Dystra's plan was coming to an end, and just a few hours after the terrorist attack, the Emperor was found in his throne room. Dead. Most likely poisoned.
The death of Emperor Sinar Lythe is considered the beginning of the Great Silence, and Lex Dystra, being directly responsible for the assassination of the Emperor, rested on his laurels, believing that all power in the Empire was subordinated only to him. However, he did not realize that both in the Imperial Inspectorate and in the Imperial Armed Forces a conspiracy had been formed against him, led by the Inspector General of Department "A" (Counterintelligence) Alexin Has Kels. Kels was also the leader of a newly formed faction in the Empire called the New Imperialists, who sought to restore law and order in the Empire, eliminate corruption and cronyism.
In the year 1579 Imperial Time, Lex Dystra was found dead in his office at Imperial Inspectorate Headquarters with a gunshot wound to the head...
I will write part two if you like it :)

Hello!
What is the general ratio or general template for a Grixis Control/ Spell Slinger deck? I've made multiple commander decks with success, but this is the first time I've made a High Powered Casual Grixis Commander Deck. I also can't really think of any Finishers for the deck or any good idea of how to effectively play a deck that's both Grixis Control AND a Spell Slinger deck. The deck I'm making is based off of committing crimes and getting value out of Marchesa and with me interacting with my opponents stuff.
Commander: Marchesa, Dealer of Death
Creature (25) 1x Blood Hustler 1x Cormela, Glamour Thief 1x Dockside Extortionist 1x Generous Plunderer 1x Gisa, the Hellraiser 1x Grim Hireling 1x Duelist of the Mind 1x Hellspur Posse Boss 1x Hullbreaker Horror 1x Kaervek, the Punisher 1x Kellogg, Dangerous Mind 1x Kess, Dissident Mage 1x Laughing Jasper Flint 1x Lazav, Familiar Stranger 1x Magda, the Hoardmaster 1x Mari, the Killing Quill 1x Nimble Brigand 1x Rattleback Apothecary 1x Raven of Fell Omens 1x Servant of the Stinger 1x Storm-Kiln Artist 1x Thunderclap Drake 1x Tinybones, the Pickpocket 1x Vadmir, New Blood 1x Vial Smasher, Gleeful Grenadier
Instant (17) 1x Abrade 1x An Offer You Can't Refuse 1x Bedevil 1x Big Score 1x Counterspell 1x Cyclonic Rift 1x Deadly Rollick 1x Fierce Guardianship 1x Great Train Heist 1x Infernal Grasp 1x Mana Drain 1x Negate 1x Prismari Command 1x Snap 1x Spell Swindle 1x Terminate 1x Three Steps Ahead
Sorcery (9) 1x Back in Town 1x Blasphemous Act 1x Blood Money 1x Feed the Swarm 1x Gitaxian Probe 1x Jeska's Will 1x Reanimate 1x Rush of Dread 1x Seize the Secrets
Enchantment (4) 1x At Knifepoint 1x Double Down 1x Rakish Crew 1x Revel in Riches
Artifact (9) 1x Arcane Signet 1x Bandit's Haul 1x Dimir Signet 1x Izzet Signet 1x Rakdos Signet 1x Sol Ring 1x Talisman of Creativity 1x Talisman of Dominance 1x Talisman of Indulgence
Land (35) 1x Blood Crypt 1x Bloodstained Mire 1x Command Tower 1x Crumbling Necropolis 1x Eroded Canyon 5x Island 1x Jagged Barrens 1x Luxury Suite 1x Morphic Pool 7x Mountain 1x Polluted Delta 1x Scalding Tarn 1x Soured Springs 1x Steam Vents 8x Swamp 1x Training Center 1x Watery Grave 1x Xander's Lounge
Avg. CMC : 2.82 Ramp: 19 (9 Mana Rocks) Card Draw: 12 Interact: 21 (13-Removal, 7-Counterspell)
Link to Decklist: Grixis Control (Commander / EDH MTG Deck) (tappedout.net)
I also don't want the deck to be themed around reanimating my creatures since I already have a deck dedicated to reanimating. I also hope to get it around a Lvl 7-8

DAY: May 27 2024
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THE CASE FOR OMEGA-3 SUPPLEMENTATION TO LOWER AGGRESSION

People who regularly eat fish or take fish oil supplements are getting omega-3 fatty acids, which play a critical role in brain function. Research has long shown a basis in the brain for aggressive and violent behavior, and that poor nutrition is a risk factor for behavior problems. Penn neurocriminologist Adrian Raine has for years been studying whether omega-3 supplementation could therefore reduce aggressive behavior, publishing five randomized controlled trials from different countries. He found significant effects but wanted to know whether these findings extended beyond his laboratory.
5-27-2024

WHAT ARE ALTERNATIVES TO OZEMPIC AND WEGOVY AND ARE THEY SAFE?

With summer around the corner, telehealth outlets and medical spas are going into hyperdrive advertising the sale of semaglutide, the active ingredient in popular weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. Recent shortages of the brand-name drugs have opened the door to copycat versions that, while legal, also raise some concerns for consumers, says Kelly Ann Barnes, Northeastern professor of pharmacy law. The copycat drugs are made by specialized pharmacies known as compounding pharmacies, which are allowed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to make off-label
5-27-2024

FIVE BASIC HABITS MAY HOLD THE KEY TO GOOD MENTAL HEALTH

Professor Nick Titov’s professional goal is to make himself redundant. he wants to empower more people with mild to moderate anxiety and depression to understand what they can do each day to care for their mental health. As part of this mission, Professor Titov and his team developed The Big 5, an evidence-based program encouraging five broad types of activities that are strongly linked with good mental health when performed regularly. Everyone’s
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COVID-19 FORECASTING TOOL ALLOWED HOSPITAL TO MANAGE PATIENT CAPACITY, RESOURCES AMID PANDEMIC’S THIRD WAVE

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RESEARCHERS IDENTIFY IMMUNE DYSFUNCTION AS A POSSIBLE ASPECT OF POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME PATHOLOGY

The peripubertal DHT-induced mouse model is a non-obese but insulin-resistant model of PCOS. a) Experimental design. b) Fat mass. c) Insulin levels at baseline and 15 min following glucose administration. d) Blood glucose levels during oGTT. e) HOMA-IR, calculated from fasted glucose and insulin levels. f) Glycosylated hemoglobin levels (HbA1c). A new study shows that hyperandrogenism—a key characteristic of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)—affects immune cell populations in reproductive, metabolic and immunological tissues in a PCOS-like mouse model. These findings are of great importance as
5-27-2024

RESEARCH IDENTIFIES BRAIN NETWORK LINK TO STUTTERING

Common acquired neurogenic stuttering network. Common areas that were sensitive and specific across both neurogenic stuttering cohorts. Amy = amygdala; ASt = amygdalostriatal transition area; Cl = claustrum; Pall = Pallidum; Put = putamen. A new study published in the journal Brain has identified a specific brain network hub that plays a key role in stuttering. The research, by Te Whare W?nanga o Waitaha University of Canterbury (UC) Associate Professor Catherine Theys, examines two different types of stuttering—developmental and acquired—to show a clear neural
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THYROID DISEASE ISN’T THE END FOR YOUR CAREER PROSPECTS, REPORT FINDS

How employers behave toward workers experiencing thyroid dysfunction could play a critical part in addressing the UK’s labor market challenges. With long-term sickness on the rise in the UK, researchers at the University of Aberdeen Business School have marked World Thyroid Day (May 25) by releasing new findings which, for the first time, explore the relationship between employer sympathy and the labor market prospects of people with thyroid conditions. One in 20 people in the UK have a thyroid problem, with a significant majority of sufferers being women. Posing serious
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STUDY FINDS HIGH-INCOME EARNERS AT LOWER RISK OF DYING FROM STROKE

High-income earners have a 32% lower risk of dying after a stroke compared to low-income earners. The equivalent for high education is 26% lower risk. The differences in stroke survival linked to socioeconomics are striking, according to a study at the University of Gothenburg.
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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE COULD ALLEVIATE LONELINESS, SAYS EXPERT

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ALZHEIMER’S REPORT HIGHLIGHTS IMMENSE CAREGIVER BURDEN—AND POTENTIAL WAYS FORWARD

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US FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION APPROVES ARTIFICIAL PANCREAS SYSTEM

An artificial pancreas developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge has been granted approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use by individuals with type 1 diabetes aged 2 and older, including during pregnancy. This means that even more people living with the disease will be able to use this life-changing app. For the first time, the FDA authorized the use of the artificial pancreas system in pregnancy. CamAPS FX, produced by Cambridge spinout company CamDiab, is an Android app that can
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RESEARCH SAYS POMEGRANATES COULD OFFER A SOLUTION TO FATTY LIVER DISEASE

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MAGIC MUSHROOMS MAY ONE DAY TREAT ANOREXIA, BUT NOT JUST YET

Anorexia nervosa is a severe mental health disorder where people fear weight gain. Those with the disorder have distorted body image and hold rigid beliefs their body is too big. They typically manage this through restricted eating, leading to the serious medical consequences of malnutrition. Anorexia has one of the highest death rates of any mental illness. Yet there are currently no effective drug treatments and the outcomes of psychotherapy (talk therapy) are poor. So we’re desperately in need of new and improved treatments. Psilocybin, commonly known as magic mushrooms,
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STUDY FINDS FEEDING INFANTS PEANUT PRODUCTS PROTECTS AGAINST ALLERGY INTO ADOLESCENCE

Feeding children peanuts regularly from infancy to age five reduced the rate of peanut allergy in adolescence by 71%, even after many years when the children ate or avoided peanut as desired. The new findings provide conclusive evidence that introducing peanuts into babies’ diets early will achieve long-term prevention of peanut allergy. Lead investigator Professor Gideon Lack from King’s College London said, “Decades of advice to avoid peanuts has made parents fearful of introducing peanuts at an early age. The evidence is clear that early introduction of peanut in infancy
5-27-2024

EATING MORE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES MAY LEAD TO OPTIMAL SLEEP DURATION

Good health depends on a healthy diet and sufficient exercise and sleep. There are clear associations among these components; for example, good nutrition provides energy for exercise, and many people report that getting enough exercise is important to their ability to get enough sleep. So how might nutrition affect sleep? A new study looks at the connection between fruit and vegetable intake and sleep duration.
5-27-2024

MONITORING THE H5N1 AVIAN INFLUENZA, BIRD FLU, OUTBREAK

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to actively monitor the ongoing outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza, also known as bird flu, and says that the public health risk remains low. Dr. Matthew Binnicker, director of the Clinical Virology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic, says scientists and public health officials have known about avian influenza for decades. “What’s different today is that since 2020, we’re seeing the largest outbreak of avian influenza among wild birds, poultry and backyard bird flocks,” he says. “The virus has also been found in certain
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INTERNATIONAL STUDY REVEALS SURPRISING TWIST IN HOW DIABETES DRUGS HELP THE HEART

A randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial has revealed surprising new insights into how SGLT2 inhibitor drugs, originally developed for diabetes, benefit patients with heart failure. Contrary to common assumptions, these drugs may improve cardiac outcomes and heart health without acting as diuretics. Heart failure is a condition where the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body’s demands, often leading to fluid
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FIRST SEIZURE CLINICS REDUCE THE NEED FOR FUTURE HEALTH CARE, RESEARCHERS FIND

Clinics specializing in first seizures reduce the need for patients to present at emergency departments or be admitted to hospital later, Monash University-led research has found. Timely attendance, particularly within 14 days of the seizure, was associated with reduced subsequent all-cause emergency presentations and all-cause hospital admission. Later hospital admissions were reduced by about 25%. First author Dr. Yingtong Li, an adjunct
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CELL-TARGETING TECHNOLOGY CAN ISOLATE NEURONAL SUBPOPULATIONS AND LINK THEM TO BEHAVIORAL STATES

As gene sequencing technologies become more powerful, our understanding of cellular diversity has grown in parallel. This led scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to
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WATCH OUT FOR THESE HIGH HEAT DANGER SIGNS

Climate change is pushing daytime summer temperatures higher for longer periods of time, and that can spell real danger for folks who work outside, like gardeners and landscapers. Protecting yourself in the heat and knowing the warning signs of heat-related illness is crucial, said Chris Enroth, horticulture educator at University of Illinois Extension. He should know: It happened to him. “When I was working as a landscaper, we had to sod a large backyard during a day when the temperature was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit,” Enroth said. “We were hustling
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STAY SAFE FROM THE SUN AND THAT BACKYARD GRILL THIS MEMORIAL DAY

Memorial Day means firing up that backyard grill for the season, hopefully under warm, sunny skies. You can be sure to enjoy the day without hazards by taking a few simple precautions, said Dr. Mike Ren, an associate professor of family and community medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Watch out for rising heat and humidity If Memorial day is a scorcher, hydration is key, Ren said. “A good rule of thumb is to drink water regularly throughout the day, aiming for 12 or more cups; when in
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HAD A JOINT REPLACED? STUDY SUGGESTS INFECTION RISK MAY RISE AFTER CHEMOTHERAPY

If you’re one of the millions of Americans walking around with a new knee or hip, your odds for an infection in that joint rise if you ever have to undergo cancer chemotherapy, researchers report. “Given the number of people of receiving total joint replacements each year, as well as the cost both physically, emotionally and financially for those who develop an infection and may need subsequent treatment, we need to understand what factors may increase the risk for postoperative infections,” said study author Dr. Janet Conway. She’s an orthopedic
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ANTIHYPERTENSIVES LINKED TO ECZEMATOUS DERMATITIS IN SENIORS, STUDY FINDS

Antihypertensive drugs are associated with an increased risk for eczematous dermatitis in older adults, and the effect sizes are largest for diuretics and calcium channel blockers, whether antihypertensive drug use is associated with eczematous dermatitis in a longitudinal cohort study of individuals aged 60 years and older without eczematous dermatitis at baseline. The researchers found that the overall prevalence of eczematous dermatitis was 6.7% among 1,561,358
5-27-2024

RESEARCH INDICATES KIDNEYS FROM DECEASED DONORS WHO WERE ON DIALYSIS ARE SUBOPTIMAL

Receipt of a kidney from a deceased donor who underwent dialysis is associated with an increased incidence of delayed graft function, compared outcomes of transplant recipients who received kidneys from deceased donors who underwent dialysis prior to kidney donation versus recipients of kidneys from deceased donors who did not undergo dialysis in a retrospective cohort study using data from 58 U.S. organ procurement organizations. Among the donors with
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NEW THERAPY PROVEN EFFECTIVE AGAINST REJECTION IN KIDNEY TRANSPLANTATION

Antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) is one of the most common causes of kidney transplant failure. To date, however, no treatment has proven effective in combating this complication in the long term. As part of an international and multidisciplinary clinical study led by Georg Böhmig and Katharina Mayer, Clinical Division of Nephrology and Dialysis, Department of Medicine III at MedUni Vienna and University Hospital Vienna, a new therapeutic principle in transplant medicine has been found to be both safe and highly effective. The results were recently published in the New England Journal
5-27-2024

SHARJAH UNIVERSITY PATENTS APPLICATION FOR DISTANCE COVID-19 DIAGNOSIS

Smart Identification of Health Status based on QR Code and User Health Data. Credit: author’s own creation The University of Sharjah has been granted a patent for inventing a smart gadget with the ability to filter user information that will allow doctors to diagnose COVID-19 and other ailments from a distance. The patent, granted by United States Patent and Trademark Office on 1 August 2023, comprises “a display unit, a color code detection unit, an image filter, an optical character recognition unit, a code detection unit and an elimination unit,”
5-27-2024

STUDY REVEALS WHERE DELAYS ARE WORST

When it comes to responding to a stroke, speed is a crucial factor; the longer it takes for someone experiencing a stroke to get to a hospital, the worse the outcome will be. Yet across the United States, delays to treatment can be significant. A Yale study uncovers new insights into factors associated with treatment delays and where in the United States patients are more likely to experience slower responses. The findings, which were published May 24 in the journal Stroke, highlight where interventions should

NEW STUDY SHOWS HEAT WAVES INCREASE RISK OF PRETERM, EARLY-TERM BIRTH

The increased frequency and intensity of heat waves due to climate change puts women at a higher risk of experiencing preterm and early-term labor—jeopardizing the health and well-being of their babies. An analysis of 53 million births that occurred in the 50 most populous U.S. metropolitan areas during the 25-year period 1993–2017, showed
5-27-2024

NOISE-CANCELLING HEADPHONES, EARPLUGS AND EARMUFFS—DO THEY REALLY HELP NEURODIVERGENT PEOPLE?

Noise can make it hard to concentrate, especially for people who are extra sensitive to it. Neurodivergent people (such as those who are autistic or have attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder—ADHD) can experience different sensory sensitivities. Their nervous system may process information differently when they are exposed to sensory experiences such as bright lights, loud noise, strong smells or busy environments. Decreased sound tolerance is estimated to affect up to 70% of autistic people and is described in three ways: hyperacusis (perceiving everyday sounds as loud or painful), misophonia (an aversion to
5-27-2024

MASSACHUSETTS SHELLS OUT NEARLY $400,000 FOR VACCINE RECORD CHECKS IN STATE-RUN SHELTERS

State officials have pumped nearly $400,000 into a program to review the vaccine records of families entering the emergency shelter system, including migrants from other countries who may have foreign documentation, according to the Healey administration. Officials at Boston-based John Snow, Inc., which has long worked with the state, have been contracted to review immunization documents. Since January, more than 1,200 children in state-run shelters have had their records checked, according to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, or HHS. Vaccine record checks have occurred since September 2023
5-27-2024

LAWSUIT ACCUSES FLORIDA’S PALM BEACH COUNTY HOSPITAL NETWORK OF SHARING PATIENTS’ PRIVATE DATA

The Palm Beach Health Network has become the latest health provider accused of illegally sharing identities and private health information of its patients with the social media company Meta, owner of Facebook. A lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach says the health network’s websites share code with Meta that enables patients to be targeted with advertising on Facebook based on “highly sensitive personal information” they share. It names as defendants the Palm Beach Health Network Physicians Group, doing business as Palm Beach Health Network, and
5-27-2024

CAN THE PLACEMENT OF DENTAL IMPLANTS IN HEAD AND NECK CANCER PATIENTS BE DONE BEFORE RADIATION THERAPY?

Globally, head and neck cancer accounts for 5% of all cancer types, with a mortality rate of 50%. However, in the Nordic countries, head and neck cancer accounts for only 2.6% of all cancers, with a mortality rate of just 30%. But more survivors mean that many must live with extensive damage and side effects
5-27-2024

STUDY FINDS CLIMATE CHANGE INCREASES RISK OF CRYPTOSPORIDIOSIS OUTBREAKS IN NEW ZEALAND

More cryptosporidiosis outbreaks could be on the cards for Aotearoa New Zealand as extreme rainfall events become more frequent, causing higher levels of the diarrhea-causing parasite to be washed into waterways, public health researchers warn. The researchers studied clusters of cryptosporidium outbreaks around the country between 1997 and 2015 and found 13 coincided with severe weather events. Their research is published in the journal Epidemiology & Infection. It is the first study to compare clusters of outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis to severe weather events in Aotearoa.
5-27-2024

RESEARCHERS EVALUATE IMPACT OF NEW FILM’S MESSAGE ON CHILDREN’S AND ADULTS’ BODY IMAGE, SELF-COMPASSION

Unrealistic expectations about what our bodies should look like—whether from the media, friends or family—make adults and children of all ages more vulnerable to body dissatisfaction, eating disorders and other mental health challenges. In a new study published in Body Image, Flinders University experts assessing the program’s usefulness in classrooms highlight the potential for the film “Embrace Kids,” directed by 2023 Australian of the Year Taryn Brumfitt, to achieve large-scale improvements in body image
5-27-2024

STUDY FINDS INCREASED SUICIDAL THOUGHTS, SUICIDE ATTEMPTS AMONG ADOLESCENTS EXPOSED TO EARLY PHASE OF WAR IN UKRAINE

Data Collection in the War-Affected Donetsk Region and Non-War Kirovograd Region. A new study carried out by a multinational research group showed high levels of suicidal thoughts and attempts in adolescents, which were strongly associated with wartime traumatic experiences, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety. Dr. Sanju Silwal from the Research Center for Child Psychiatry in the University of Turku, Finland, one of the lead authors, says that the study was conducted in two regions that
5-27-2024

STUDY FINDS SIGNIFICANT DISPARITIES IN THE DELIVERY OF CANCER-RELATED CARE

It’s important to ensure that care provided at US hospitals that predominantly serve Black and Hispanic populations is as high-quality as the care provided at other US hospitals. New research reveals significant disparities in the delivery of cancer-related care at minority serving hospitals (MSHs) compared with non-MSHs, however. The findings are published in Cancer. For the study, investigators analyzed information from the National Cancer Database (which accrues approximately 70% of US cancer diagnoses) to identify patients eligible for definitive treatment for breast, prostate, non-small cell lung, and colon cancers between
5-27-2024

WHO SEEKS $7 BN WITH FUND-RAISING REVAMP

The World Health Organization launched Sunday a new financing mechanism that aims to raise $7 billion of funds that can be deployed more quickly and flexibly. The UN agency has traditionally relied on commitments from its 194 member states, but often these are apportioned to specific projects with several conditions attached, including deadlines that can prove too short. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said commitment increases would contribute $4 billion to the agency’s budget of $11.1 billion over the four years through 2028. “The Investment Round aims to mobilize the
5-27-2024

SECOND PERSON DIES OF CHOLERA ON FRENCH ISLAND OF MAYOTTE

Scanning electron microscope image of Vibrio cholerae. Credit: Wikipedia A 62-year-old woman has died of cholera in Mayotte, bringing to two the death toll from the epidemic on the French island in the Indian Ocean, health authorities said on Sunday. The woman died on Saturday at her home in Mamoudzou, the capital, the ARS health authority said in a statement. “Response teams went to the scene to disinfect the home and take care of the deceased’s family and friends”, the statement added. In May, the disease claimed its first life
5-27-2024

ALTERING CELLULAR INTERACTIONS AROUND AMYLOID PLAQUES MAY OFFER NOVEL ALZHEIMER’S TREATMENT STRATEGIES

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have made a significant breakthrough in Alzheimer’s disease research by identifying a novel way to potentially slow down or even halt disease progression. The study, which focuses on the role of reactive astrocytes and the plexin-B1 protein in Alzheimer’s pathophysiology, provides crucial insights into brain
5-27-2024

BRAIN DAMAGE STUDY REVEALS PART OF THE BRAIN NECESSARY FOR HELPING OTHERS

Our willingness to help others is governed by a specific brain region pinpointed by researchers in a study of patients with brain damage to that region. Learning about where in the brain “helping” decisions are made is important for understanding how people might be motivated to tackle large global challenges, such as climate change, infectious disease and international conflict. It is also essential for finding new approaches to treating disorders of social interactions. The study, published in Nature Human Behaviour, was carried out by researchers at the University of Birmingham
5-27-2024

IMPROVING AI LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS HELPS THEM BETTER ALIGN WITH HUMAN BRAIN ACTIVITY

NSP as a computational account of discourse comprehension. (A) Humans integrate words and sentences to achieve a full understanding of discourse. In LLMs, the NSP task proposed by BERT can serve as a computational account of human discourse comprehension. (B) Illustration of the MLM task. (C) Illustration of the NSP task and its relevance to the Mason and Just model. (D) Illustration of Mason and Just’s neurocognitive model of discourse processing. Credit: Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adn7744 With generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) transforming the social interaction landscape in recent years,
5-27-2024

STUDY EXAMINES METABOLIC REPROGRAMMING OF BREAST CANCER TUMORS DURING NEOADJUVANT CHEMOTHERAPY

In a study published in Nature Communications, scientists have made significant strides in understanding the complex interplay between the immune system and cancer metabolism in breast cancer treatment. The research
5-27-2024

RESEARCHERS EXAMINE EVIDENCE FOR A NOVEL NEURONAL MECHANISM DRIVING ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

An international team of clinicians and neuroscientists have published a new perspective on the process of neurodegeneration. Their findings review evidence for a mechanism upstream of amyloid including the key neurochemical driving this process. The paper, published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, focuses on a selective group of neurons (“the isodendritic core”). These cells have a different provenance from neurons in the rest of the brain and have previously been identified as primarily
The research, by a team from Finland’s University of Helsinki, National Institute for Health and Welfare, and Turku University of Applied Sciences, is published in
5-27-2024

WHO CHIEF URGES COUNTRIES TO QUICKLY SEAL PANDEMIC DEAL

WHO countries have spent two years seeking an agreement on tackling pandemics. The World Health Organization chief on Monday urged countries to nail down a landmark global agreement on handling of future pandemics after they missed a hard deadline. Scarred by COVID-19—which killed millions, shredded economies and crippled health systems—nations have spent two years trying to forge binding commitments on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. Negotiators failed to clinch a deal ahead of this week’s World Health Assembly—the annual gathering of WHO’s 194 member states—the deadline for concluding the talks.
5-27-2024

STUDY DEMONSTRATES HOW GUT MICROBES PROCESS STEROIDS—USING FLATULENCE

It turns out flatulence can serve a purpose beyond being uncomfortable or funny: Gas released by some gut bacteria stimulates other gut bacteria to produce a hormone involved in pregnancy and in an FDA-approved treatment for postpartum depression, according to new research led by Harvard Medical School scientists. The work shows how gut bacteria can produce new hormones from steroids in bile and, in doing so, act like an endocrine organ. This research adds to the growing list of ways gut microbiota may influence human
5-27-2024

PHYSICAL FRAILTY MAY PUT PEOPLE AT GREATER RISK OF DEPRESSION, STUDY FINDS

Individuals who meet at least one of the criteria for physical frailty are at higher risk of also developing depression, a new Yale study finds. The findings—which also include insights into the specific inflammatory molecules and changes in brain structure that could underlie this association between frailty and depression—point to a need for routine assessment of physical frailty in clinical practice, researchers said. The study was published May 23 in Nature Communications. In clinical settings, physical
5-27-2024

RESEARCH TEAM RESOLVES STRUCTURE OF CRUCIAL ENZYME FOR THE FIRST TIME

For the first time, a team co-led by CHU Sainte-Justine researcher and professor in the Faculty of Medicine at Université de Montréal, Alexey Pshezhetsky has succeeded in resolving the unique structure of the HGSNAT enzyme, a deficiency of which causes Sanfilippo syndrome, a rare pediatric disease affecting the central nervous system. Through collaboration with a team from Shanghai University, the structure of this enzyme and the mechanism of its function were revealed using high-performance

Nationals @ Braves - Tue, May 28

Game Status: Final - Score: 2-0 Braves

Links & Info

• Current conditions at Truist Park: 82°F - Partly Cloudy - Wind 7 mph, Out To LF
• TV: Nationals: MASN 2, Braves: Bally Sports South
• Radio: Nationals: La Pantera 100.7 FM/1220 AM (es), DC 87.7 (es), 106.7 The Fan, Braves: La Mejor 1600/1460/1130 AM (es), 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan
• MLB Gameday
• Game Graphs
• Savant Gamefeed

	Nationals Batters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	AVG	OBP	SLG
1	Abrams - SS	4	0	2	0	0	1	0	.266	.314	.488
2	Thomas, L - RF	4	0	0	0	0	1	2	.188	.248	.271
3	Meneses - 1B	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	.239	.303	.300
	a-Rosario, E - PH	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	.173	.232	.367
4	Senzel - 3B	3	0	1	0	0	0	2	.224	.331	.402
5	Ruiz, K - DH	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	.205	.240	.303
6	Winker - LF	2	0	1	0	1	1	0	.238	.353	.399
7	Vargas, I - 2B	3	0	0	0	0	1	1	.297	.385	.407
8	Adams, R - C	3	0	0	0	0	3	1	.224	.291	.368
9	Young - CF	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	.269	.322	.321
	Totals	29	0	7	0	1	8	10

Nationals
a-Struck out for Meneses in the 9th.
BATTING: 2B: Abrams (10, Fried). TB: Abrams 3; Meneses 3; Senzel; Winker. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Young; Ruiz, K. GIDP: Ruiz, K; Senzel; Thomas, L. Team RISP: 0-for-3. Team LOB: 3.
FIELDING: Outfield assists: Thomas, L (Albies at 2nd base). DP: (Abrams-Vargas, I-Meneses).

	Braves Batters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	AVG	OBP	SLG
1	Harris II, M - CF	2	0	0	0	2	1	1	.259	.303	.376
2	Riley, A - 3B	4	0	0	0	0	3	2	.232	.304	.368
3	Ozuna - DH	4	1	1	1	0	2	1	.309	.391	.613
4	Olson - 1B	3	1	1	0	0	0	0	.232	.321	.423
5	Albies - 2B	2	0	1	0	1	1	1	.271	.337	.390
6	Murphy, S - C	3	0	1	0	0	1	1	.200	.200	.200
7	Kelenic - LF	2	0	0	1	0	2	0	.254	.298	.377
8	Duvall - RF	3	0	1	0	0	2	1	.213	.304	.416
9	Arcia, Or - SS	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	.245	.266	.396
	Totals	26	2	5	2	3	12	8

Braves
BATTING: 2B: Duvall (3, Irvin, J). HR: Ozuna (16, 7th inning off Barnes, J, 0 on, 0 out). TB: Albies; Duvall 2; Murphy, S; Olson; Ozuna 4. RBI: Kelenic (10); Ozuna (48). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Harris II, M; Ozuna. SF: Kelenic. GIDP: Murphy, S. Team RISP: 0-for-4. Team LOB: 4.
FIELDING: Pickoffs: Fried (Winker at 1st base). DP: 4 (Albies-Arcia, Or; Arcia, Or-Albies-Olson; Riley, A-Albies-Olson; Albies-Arcia, Or-Olson).

Nationals Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	P-S	ERA
Irvin, J	6.0	2	0	0	2	10	0	90-58	3.43
Barnes, J (L, 2-2)	1.0	3	2	2	0	2	1	24-17	3.86
Law, D	1.0	0	0	0	1	0	0	18-10	2.90
Totals	8.0	5	2	2	3	12	1

Braves Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	P-S	ERA
Fried (W, 5-2)	8.0	7	0	0	1	6	0	103-62	2.97
Iglesias, R (S, 13)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	11-9	2.21
Totals	9.0	7	0	0	1	8	0

Game Info
WP: Law, D.
Pitches-strikes: Irvin, J 90-58; Barnes, J 24-17; Law, D 18-10; Fried 103-62; Iglesias, R 11-9.
Groundouts-flyouts: Irvin, J 4-1; Barnes, J 0-0; Law, D 2-1; Fried 7-3; Iglesias, R 0-0.
Batters faced: Irvin, J 20; Barnes, J 6; Law, D 4; Fried 27; Iglesias, R 3.
Umpires: HP: Nic Lentz. 1B: Will Little. 2B: Quinn Wolcott. 3B: Lance Barksdale.
Weather: 82 degrees, Partly Cloudy.
Wind: 7 mph, Out To LF.
First pitch: 7:21 PM.
T: 2:04.
Att: 37,598.
Venue: Truist Park.
May 28, 2024

Inning	Scoring Play	Score
Bottom 7	Marcell Ozuna homers (16) on a fly ball to left center field.	1-0 ATL
Bottom 7	Jarred Kelenic out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Jesse Winker. Matt Olson scores.	2-0 ATL

Team	Highlight
ATL	Braves turn two on liner (00:00:26)
WSH	[Jake Irvin begins his outing with a K (00:00:08)]()
WSH	Lane Thomas cuts down the runner at second base (00:00:29)
ATL	Max Fried's 750th career K (00:00:18)
ATL	Adam Duvall's sliding catch (00:00:28)
ATL	Marcell Ozuna's go-ahead home run (16) (00:00:30)
ATL	Max Fried K's six in dominant outing (00:01:06)
WSH	Jake Irvin's stellar start (00:01:55)
WSH	Condensed Game: WSH@ATL - 5/28/24 (00:08:06)
WSH	Nationals vs. Braves Highlights (00:03:02)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E	LOB
Nationals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	7	0	3
Braves	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0			2	5	0	4

Decisions

• Winner: Max Fried (5-2, 2.97)
• Loser: Jacob Barnes (2-2, 3.86)
• Save: Raisel Iglesias (13, 2.21)

Division Scoreboard

LAD 5 @ NYM 2 - Final
LAD 3 @ NYM 0 - Final
MIA 0 @ SD 4 - Game Over
PHI 0 @ SF 0 - Bottom 8, 1 Out
^{Last Updated: 05/28/2024 11:45:55 PM EDT}

Hey everyone. I’ve been lurking on this page like for a year or so, having been into law of assumption and attraction for a few years. I've just recently had a massive success so I feel like I have to put my two cents in. Bear with me as this is a bit of a long story.
Summary: In November 2023 I quit my job. Went from living in the UK (not where I’m from but where I want to spend the rest of my life), good paying job in the industry (very, very, niche industry and I was at one of the best companies) to being unemployed, living with my parents in my home country. My job was located in a town (not London) I absolutely hated, but the job made it worth it.
Fun side note, before I got the job I wanted to be in London (where I’ve lived before and know I love) but kept telling people I was fine with anywhere in the country, so guess what turned up - dream job in a different part of the UK, far away from London. Anyway, I quit my job with the belief I was going to get THE job in London within like a month or so. This did not happen. Instead I spent 5 months unemployed, running up my credit cards, living with my parents in my home country. After 5 months things changed and within two more weeks I had my dream job, at my dream company, at a specific location in London I’ve been dreaming of working at for years, with a salary higher than anyone I know. All thanks to Neville.
Details: In October I affirmed for a week I was worthy of the career I wanted - and I ended up quitting my job out of nowhere, but I had a strong sense that this move was the right one. I happily put my furniture into storage and moved back with my parents (I’m in my mid/late twenties). I told people I’d rather waitress in London than work and live where I was. I went months unemployed, hating life and doubting Neville so much. It got to the point where I thought I was delusional and you were all wrong haha.
I also had an immigration deadline of 6 months, I could not be out of the UK for more than that without losing my immigration status. Hindsight should’ve just uncreated this. So the months go by and I have very few interviews but I do get one interview I really like. It’s at a massive bank although I’m not in finance I thought it could really suit me and with a yearly salary of 15,000 pounds more than I previously had. I don’t get it because I got too scared and mentally spooked it away. Essentially this job was exactly what I wanted, in the same finance district I’ve always wanted to work. The rejection really threw me off not getting it and I didn’t understand why.
So I thought, f* them, I’ll get a job at an even better bank (referred to as bank X now) with a salary of 20,000 more than I had before (which would mean a massive salary I actually could live really good on and get a decent flat with). No one I know who’s 2 years out of grad school earns that kind of money. It’s more money than both my parents earn. I got pissed and felt like if I’m creating my life I might as well throw in a massive salary.
Techniques: Anyway, months go by and I see my deadline (early May) approaching, throughout this time I’ve changed my mindset. I went from reading articles to reading Neville and implementing it (like you all say). I also read The Power of your subconscious mind by Joseph Murphy.

• I took walks where I pretended to be on the phone to my friends telling them about my new job and what was happening. Because I’ve lived abroad for many years, being on the phone telling my friends about my life felt the most natural to me. I would speak about my new job at X bank, and the salary, and other fun things like events I was attending etc. I mixed truth with future truth, so I would talk about seeing certain friends for drinks (like I always have in the past) and about my (future) job I loved.
• I did SATS, which took effort. I usually meditate every morning but I have always had issues sleeping. It took a good month of trying before I could get it right (we’re now at April ). But once I did, things just started to change. Suddenly there's all these jobs I can apply for. Like twenty a day. And my industry is very niche so this is unheard of. I was relaxing. I knew I had a job. I also did SATS in the morning and for roughly 1-2h every afternoon.
  • I know this is too much and I do not recommend anyone meditating the amount I was every day. Which would sometimes be like 4-5 hours spread out over the day. I got too obsessed but I had so much depending on it. That’s what I had to do in order to not go crazy about how I’d ruined my life, but please don’t go quit your job thinking you can think your way into a new one. Listen to Neville, do not force it. The morning of when I got the first job interview for bank X I had decided not to do SATS cause I just felt full, like the image of an overflowing glass of water.
• Something that also helped was having a different plan. I decided on a date to move back no matter job or money. I figured I could live with a friend and waitress. When I decided that, I still knew inside like that won’t actually happen, but it was like my brain relaxed more when it knew what the plan was instead of just waiting.
• I kept up with SATs and just discipline and mental diet. This was the main change for me. Treating every moment like a cross road instead of as a straight line of misery I had to “manifest my way out of.” Every moment your feelings dictate what you will experience next, there’s no set out plan of misery you can escape with this stuff. I stopped mentally reacting to the 3d and reminded myself as often as I could that this was all fake and just playing out from my own mind. I had reminders on my phone and every toilet visit went from cats on TikTok to YouTube shorts listening to Neville. The early months of unemployment I was doing similar things, but out of doubt and fear. Now it was just to keep me in the state of wish fulfilled.
• I journaled and changed my mindset about what this job actually would entail. I removed all the expectations of how it would be life-changing and all that. I just focused on having a job I was happy with, on a salary I could live good with.
• It’s just staying in the wish fulfilled for as often as you can, and it will harden into fact.
• I could suddenly see how I’d created everything, every moment every aspect. I stopped giving a shit about drama and people and who thought what of me. It’s all coming from me so there is no point in feeling fear. I am god.

Within two weeks of moving back to London I had a job offer at bank X, with the exact F* you salary I aimed for, the exact role, everything. And sure I was super happy when they called, but it felt so natural I almost didn’t call anyone to let them know. The last two weeks since I got it I haven’t been overjoyed and walked on clouds, no it’s just natural. But guess whose start date isn’t until 4-6 weeks so I have to waitress to get by until then. Everything does come true, even the bad stuff.
I hope this story makes some sense and can give someone hope and trust. I read basically every story on here throughout my unemployed months and I wanted to give back. Let me know if you have any questions or comments!! I’ll probably post something in the future about further thoughts and techniques as this experience taught me a lot. But for now I just wanted to share that I got the job!!

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Nationals (24-28) @ Braves (30-21)

First Pitch: 7:20 PM at Truist Park

Team	Starter	TV	Radio
Nationals	Jake Irvin (2-5, 3.79 ERA)	MASN2	106.7, DC 87.7 FM (ES)
Braves	Max Fried (4-2, 3.38 ERA)	BSSO	680 AM, 1600 AM (ES)

MLB	Fangraphs	Reddit Stream	IRC Chat
Gameday	Game Graph	Live Comments	Libera: ##baseball

Line Score - Game Over

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E	LOB
WSH	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0	3
ATL	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0		2	5	0	4

Box Score

ATL		AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA
CF	Harris II, M	2	0	0	0	2	1	.259
3B	Riley, A	4	0	0	0	0	3	.232
DH	Ozuna	4	1	1	1	0	2	.309
1B	Olson	3	1	1	0	0	0	.232
2B	Albies	2	0	1	0	1	1	.271
C	Murphy, S	3	0	1	0	0	1	.200
LF	Kelenic	2	0	0	1	0	2	.254
RF	Duvall	3	0	1	0	0	2	.213
SS	Arcia, Or	3	0	0	0	0	0	.245

ATL	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	P-S	ERA
Fried	8.0	7	0	0	1	6	103-62	2.97
Iglesias, R	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	11-9	2.21

WSH		AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA
SS	Abrams	4	0	2	0	0	1	.266
RF	Thomas, L	4	0	0	0	0	1	.188
1B	Meneses	3	0	3	0	0	0	.239
PH	Rosario, E	1	0	0	0	0	1	.173
3B	Senzel	3	0	1	0	0	0	.224
DH	Ruiz, K	3	0	0	0	0	0	.205
LF	Winker	2	0	1	0	1	1	.238
2B	Vargas, I	3	0	0	0	0	1	.297
C	Adams, R	3	0	0	0	0	3	.224
CF	Young	3	0	0	0	0	0	.269

WSH	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	P-S	ERA
Irvin, J	6.0	2	0	0	2	10	90-58	3.43
Barnes, J	1.0	3	2	2	0	2	24-17	3.86
Law, D	1.0	0	0	0	1	0	18-10	2.90

Scoring Plays

Inning	Event	Score
B7	Marcell Ozuna homers (16) on a fly ball to left center field.	1-0
B7	Jarred Kelenic out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Jesse Winker. Matt Olson scores.	2-0

Highlights

Description	Length
Jake Irvin against the Braves	0:07
Max Fried against the Nationals	0:09
Bullpen availability for Atlanta, May 28 vs Nationals	0:07
Bullpen availability for Washington, May 28 vs Braves	0:07
Bench availability for Atlanta, May 28 vs Nationals	0:07
Fielding alignment for Atlanta, May 28 vs Nationals	0:11
Jake Irvin's outing against the Braves	0:23
Breaking down Jake Irvin's pitches	0:04
Breaking down Marcell Ozuna's home run	0:13
Marcell Ozuna's home run through bat tracking data	0:11
Breaking down Max Fried's pitches	0:04
Max Fried's outing against the Nationals	0:26
The Braves double off Lane Thomas	0:26
[Jake Irvin begins his outing with a K]()	0:08
[Max Fried strikes out Jesse Winker]()	0:07
Lane Thomas cuts down the runner at second base	0:29
Max Fried's 750th career K	0:18
Adam Duvall's sliding catch	0:28
Marcell Ozuna's go-ahead home run (16)	0:30
[Jarred Kelenic's sacrifice fly]()	0:21
Marcell Ozuna grounds out, third baseman Nick Senzel to first baseman Joey Meneses.	0:12

Decisions

Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher	Save
Fried (5-2, 2.97 ERA)	Barnes, J (2-2, 3.86 ERA)	Iglesias, R (13 SV, 2.21 ERA)

Attendance	Weather	Wind
	82°F, Partly Cloudy	7 mph, Out To LF

HP	1B	2B	3B
Nic Lentz	Will Little	Quinn Wolcott	Lance Barksdale

Game ended at 9:26 PM.
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Chapter 122 Sir Janus burst into the pavilion. He had ditched his elegant black Imperial Knight suit for his old grease-stained beige fencing uniform. His beard, previously neatly trimmed, now resembled its usual bird-nest unkempt style, hiding the gruesome scar on his neck. The tournament aides tried to intercept him, but Sir Janus bulldozed through them like a buffalo charging across a cornfield.
“Move aside. I’m a damn Imperial Knight,” Janus grunted as another pair of aides moved to cut him out. He, indeed, didn’t look like an Imperial Knight. In fact, he seemed pretty much intoxicated.
Sir Janus effortlessly knocked over an empty bench as he stumbled through the pavilion. Even the Master of Ceremonies lost track of his words and turned around to see what was causing the commotion. I assumed Sir Janus was searching for Captain Kiln, but to my surprise, he approached me. Meanwhile, the Master of Ceremonies called the final fight—Firana versus Belya Nara, the daughter of Lord Nara.
Firana sprung to her feet and walked to the weapons rack.
“We need to talk, Scholar,” Sir Janus mumbled, putting his heavy hand over my shoulder before I could follow Firana. He was totally intoxicated.
Considering Firana’s confidence was through the roof and the fact we had already secured a victory in the bracket regardless of the outcome, I guessed she wouldn’t miss the last-minute pep-talk.
“I have a moment,” I replied, then asked Ilya to check on Firana in my place. With a nod, Ilya approached the weapons rack, but Firana signaled her to return to the bench. Despite Firana’s gesture, Ilya wrapped her arm around Firana’s neck and whispered a few words in her ear.
I wondered if it was a threat or advice. I hoped it was the latter.
“Come with me,” Janus slurred, guiding me outside the pavilion under the noble teams' glances.
We walked around the Great Hall, passing through a dim corridor into a small cobbled yard where the guardsmen exercised away from prying eyes. Janus looked around, making sure we were alone. Suddenly, any signs of intoxication vanished from his face. I couldn’t help but notice he hadn’t brought Captain Kiln along with us. If this impromptu meeting was due to the last attack on the orphanage, I expected her to be present.
“What’s the matter? I should be in the arena overseeing my team,” I said.
“Did you know Darius Holst has a Silence Hex?” Sir Janus whispered.
The question caught me off guard. The only people who knew about the Hex were Elincia, Captain Kiln, and me. I hadn’t expected Holst to be flaunting the mark around. I examined our surroundings. We were alone, and even the roaring sound of the crowd had vanished.
“I saw the hex engraved in his flesh,” I replied, but before I could ask any questions in return, Janus continued with his interrogation.
“Did you tell Izabeka about it?” Sir Janus’ tone became more urgent by the second.
“Of course I did. Don’t you find it alarming? There is someone out there who wants me dead. Captain Kiln might be the orphanage’s only real lifeline,” I replied.
Sir Janus stroked his beard as he walked from side to side in the corridor.
“Do you trust high-borns, Robert?”
For a moment, I was unsure what to answer. I trusted nobles just enough to take their word at face value. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have negotiated our place in the tournament with the Marquis and Prince Adrien.
“Captain Kiln wouldn’t betray us,” I cautiously replied. I couldn’t say the same of the Prince or the Marquis with complete certainty.
Sir Janus nodded as if he vaguely agreed. His questions, however, were starting to make me nervous.
“Izabeka might be one of the few nobles with a little bit of honor left, but she is loyal to the marquisate,” Janus said in a hushed voice. He glanced around once more before continuing. “I need your help, Robert. I think you and I might be standing on a snare.”
I shook my head, puzzled by Janus’ words. The orphanage enjoyed the royal family's support, and the Marquis had even offered me a title if I won the tournament. We even had Risha and Astrid back at the manor protecting the kids. The orphanage couldn’t be in a better position.
Did all this have to do with the last attack on the orphanage? At first glance, the operation didn’t seem orchestrated by someone closely connected to the high ranks of the nobility; the attackers were too weak and too sloppy. Even the Marquis had access to several level 40 warriors within the Guard and the Sentinels, and he was a low-ranking noble in the grand scheme of the kingdom.
“What does Holst’s Silence Hex have to do with anything?” I asked, trying to unravel Janus’ words.
He shook his head, disappointed.
“Come on, Scholar, use your brain. Silence Hex is a high-level spell. Historically, nobles have used it after ordering their subordinates to commit unlawful acts, to clean their tracks,” Janus explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “I think the Marquis put the Silence Hex on Holst. Izabeka isn’t stupid; she will connect the dots and realize that whatever Holst did, the Marquis ordered it.”
An indirect order. The Marquis couldn’t tell Captain Kiln that he had ordered Holst to attack the orphanage, but she could deduce it via the Silence Hex. For better or worse, loyalty was Captain Kiln's most important trait, and her allegiance to the marquisate went further back than her friendship with the orphanage. The Kiln, Holst, and Abei families had roots in Farcrest since its foundation. It wasn’t just blood that bound the families; it was history itself.
“Why are you telling me this now? Do you think Captain Kiln is going to betray us?” I asked.
“I don’t think Captain Kiln would betray us. I think we are stepping on a trap, and if she realized it, she might be too loyal to warn us,” Janus said.
His words weighed on my shoulders.
“Listen, Scholar. We are in the eye of the storm, but no matter what happens with the Farlands campaign or the new trade routes, nobles will still have to deal with each other. We, the lowly commoners, are expendable.”
A tale as old as history.
Suddenly, Janus surrounded himself with black mana and disappeared. Shadow Step. I looked around, but he was nowhere to be found.
“I’m good at sneaking into places, hearing things. It has helped me navigate nobility affairs since I got my Advanced Class,” Janus said, standing a few meters behind me. “I believe Kellaren Odrac-Aias has been working with the Marquis all this time. The Aias family has been a vassal to the Marquis of Farcrest for three generations, and I don’t see Tauron letting that bond disappear. Too much wasted military power. If Kellaren proves to be a better investment than we are, our position in Farcrest hangs by a thread.”
“But Kellaren is working with Lord Osgiria,” I pointed out.
“And what makes you think the Marquis isn’t playing both sides?” Janus interrupted me. “If the Farlands campaign succeeds and a path into the Kingdom of Tagabiria opens, new commercial routes will appear. Farcrest will be the most important city in the kingdom, but it can be more. The Marquis could be happy and benefit from tariffs… or he could assemble his own routes. And who is the most capable person to establish those routes?”
“Lord Osgiria,” I muttered. The man had the knowledge, the contacts, and the supplies to establish and monopolize the new trade routes. The Osgirians had already done that once by controlling the southern frontier.
Janus’ suspicions made sense. Even Captain Kiln admitted that a Silence Hex was a high-level spell, but at the same time, its mere presence was a powerful indicator that someone wanted to keep a secret. Captain Kiln’s assurance that the Marquis wasn’t a tyrant but a pragmatic person seemed weaker now. I had been inclined to believe Kellaren was behind all the incidents the orphanage had suffered, but Captain Kiln might not have been aware of his relationship with the Marquis.
“I’m still not sure the Marquis is working with the Osgirians. That would be high treason against the royalist faction,” I said.
Other than a vague plausibility, Janus’ theory had many holes.
“The last attack on the orphanage didn’t make sense,” I added. The Marquis was gaining popularity with the royalist faction because of me and the orphanage. Even now, we are beating Team Nara into the ground. So far, Prince Adrien seemed satisfied with my performance, which reflects well on the Marquis. Why would the Marquis risk all he had already accomplished with the royal faction?
Janus nodded. “It didn’t make sense until I found the missing link. Firana,” he said, lowering his voice.
A shiver ran down my spine.
“What’s wrong with her?” I asked.
Far away, the crowd roared. The fight had started.
“Kellaren needs Firana to rebuild the Aias Mercenaries and bring them back to their old numbers, and you are the only one anchoring her to the orphanage,” Janus said. “The Marquis tried to sabotage the orphanage for fodder for the royal army before. Now, he might be the one trying to kill you. He needs to sever the bond between Firana and the orphanage. If Firana takes charge of the Aias Mercenaries, the Marquis will have enough loyal and experienced manpower to escort huge caravans at a very low price before anyone else.”
It made sense. Early investors always get the best returns. The Marquis controlled the Farlands with the Sentinels and defended the city with the Guard, but he lacked an armed wing to operate outside the frontiers of Farcrest. The new path between Ebros and the Kingdom of Tagabiria would change the inner politics of the kingdom forever, and I didn’t doubt everyone wanted to take their part. The Marquis had been preparing the ground for the big moment for years, and he could turn his back on the royal faction if that benefited Farcrest the most.
There was only one piece missing in Janus' story.
“How does this affect you?” I asked.
“Before the old Marquis picked me up, I was a street rat when Farcrest was a hellhole where criminals were sent to die, Robert. A bunch of newcomers will not want what I have built for myself,” Janus grunted. “We can’t touch the Marquis, but if we break the link between him and the Osgirian dogs, we will put him in a position that favors us.”
Whether Janus was right in his assessment of the political situation or not, getting Kellaren out of the picture sounded like a win-win situation. Despite Kellaren being closely related to a series of crimes against royal troops, Captain Kiln’s investigation wasn’t going anywhere. Janus seemed like the kind of man who didn’t care about working outside the law.
“Do you have anything we can use against Kellaren?” I asked.
“Just fragments of conversations and circumstantial evidence, I’m not going to lie. But I believe Kellaren holds receipts of all the shady business he had conducted since the death of the Aias leadership,” Janus smiled. “If we find those ledgers and letters, we could sever the tie between the Marquis and the Osgirians and strengthen the alliance between him and the royal faction.”
So far, our survival strategy has been preparing our defenses and hoping for the best, but that will not work forever. It would only take one word from a powerful lord to wipe the orphanage out of existence. It might be time to take the offensive.
The crowd roared again.
“I need proof,” I said.
“I only have my word. It’s not like I can record conversations,” Sir Janus replied, looking around and lowering his voice until it was a little more than a whisper. “I’m not asking you to believe me; frankly, I might be wrong. I hope I’m wrong. But if my suspicion is right, we are in big trouble. Look, Robert, I’m not asking you to betray the Marquis. I’m just asking for your help to expose Kerallen.”
I nodded. It seemed fair enough.
“I assume we are infiltrating the Odrac-Aias stronghold?” I said.
“Yes, we are infiltrating Kellaren’s manor in the Southern District. The tournament is the perfect distraction. We should wait for further rounds when the stakes are higher, and the matches are more exciting. I will let you know,” Sir Janus said, turning around and walking towards the Great Hall. I did the same but in the opposite direction.
Before I could turn the corner, Sir Janus stopped me.
“And tell the Aias kid not to show off. The better she performs the juicier the target she will be for Kellaren,” he said.
That would be difficult.
The situation remained almost the same. As long as I was useful for the royalist faction, the orphanage would be safe. However, I didn’t expect the Marquis to be flirting with the opposite side, considering how close he was to the Prince. What worried me was Firana. Whether she liked it or not, she was an essential political piece on the board.
I hoped Janus’ was wrong, but at the same time, I knew it was a vain hope.
I returned to the pavilion just to find the crowd going wild.
A sandstone spike emerged from the ground, but Firana jumped out of the way, putting on an acrobatic show and falling light as a feather. Dozens of sandstone spikes and columns emerged from the ground. Stone debris was scattered around the arena as if a giant had decided to topple part of the Great Hall.
Belya Nara kicked the ground, sending a two-meter solid sandstone wave toward Firana. The ground undulated under Firana’s feet, but with the help of [Windrider], she jumped over the stone wave and used the sandstone spikes to propel herself toward Belya.
The crowd roared.
Belya raised her mace and blocked Firana’s shortsword before unleashing a whirlwind of sand. Firana retreated to avoid the sand and waited until the spell lost power to lunge again. A slab of stone stood where Belya was a moment earlier. Firana stopped in her tracks, but the stone slab crumbled, revealing Belya’s mace. The surprise attack almost got Firana, but the girl contorted in a seemingly impossible movement and cartwheeled out of reach.
“What’s the score?” I asked as I sat on the bench between Elincia and Wolf. Ilya was standing on the edge of the arena, yelling instructions. She reminded me of the soccer coaches from the big European leagues.
Elincia instinctively searched for my hand; her’s was sweaty.
“Five barriers down each. Belya Nara is surprisingly talented. She hasn’t stopped casting skills since the start of the combat,” Zaon replied, his eyes glued to the combat.
“Don’t let Ilya and Firana know you compliment other girls,” Wolf joked.
Zaon shuddered and focused back on the combat.
Firana circled Belya, looking for an opening, but the Nara girl was comfortable controlling the center of the arena where the sandstone spikes were sparser. Firana was forced to slither between the sandstone spikes, one eye on Belya and the other on her surroundings. Then, she disappeared. Belya Nara looked around, but Firana wasn’t behind the sandstone spikes anymore.
The nobles in the VIP box stood against the rail guard, burying Ginz in a sea of taller and more muscular bodies.
Belya Nara looked up and summoned her defensive sand in a whirlwind, but Firana used Aerokinesis to disturb the spell before it could gather enough force. Firana landed feet first on Belya’s shoulders, sending her to the ground. The barriers around her body protected her from the impact, but Firana seized the moment to slash one of her barriers. Belya cushioned her fall, turning the ground into fluid sand, and swung her rock-covered mace, but Firana effortlessly pushed off her back and repositioned.
“Blind her! Stick her with the pointy end!” Ilya yelled from the sideline.
“You got it, boss!” Firana yelled back as she cast Aerokinesis with her foot and kicked a substantial amount of sand at Belya’s face.
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Chapter 169 – A moment of truth. A moment to lie.
Shida exhaled slowly as she flew in a parallel line along the massive, slowly rotating hull of the Sun. The near true-black surface of the enormous ship loomed ominously next to her, tricking her brain into the impression that it was somehow trying to pull her tiny little hunter into it like a black hole or some shadowy portal. Though obviously, that was just a literal trick of the light.
Activating her frontal thrusters yet again to slow the momentum of her flight, she just barely noticed the movement on the hull next to her as something adjusted to the now slowing movement of her cargo. A moment later, a harpoon much like the one she herself had fired into the lump of molten material that had solidified around the still dutifully pinging black box shot against the precious debris, latching onto it and connecting it to the larger ship.
With the press of a button, Shida's own harpoon then automatically shot off its tip before her hunter reeled in the connecting cable as well as the remaining rod. Almost as soon as she was detached, the Sun's harpoon already began to reel the black box lump in as well.
It admittedly took a bit of time and finesse, but this process was still much easier than trying to somehow land with the barely controllable lump of hull-slag still attached to her ship.
Rubbing a hand over one of her hears, Shida released a mild huff before then firing her engines up again as she adjusted her course to fly around the ship and find her way into the dock.
Once the slightly precarious maneuver of flying through the relatively narrow, rotating tunnel that was her entrance was overcome, the feline turned her hunter onto 'life support' mode as she sat back, since she would have to wait for the atmosphere in the dock to be reinstated before she could even think about getting out.
Suddenly, a comm came in for her, making her ears twitch as she listened up.
“Please move your ship to the corner of the dock and stand by, Lieutenant-Commander,” the voice from her radio informed her briefly. “The dock will be needed for the landing of an urgent shuttle. Atmosphere cannot be reinstated before it has landed.”
Blinking slightly, Shida stared at her console for a moment. Shuttle? Why was there shuttle flying around in a situation like this?
Luckily, it didn't even take a full second before her brain fired up again and she quickly reached for the button to activate her own microphone.
“Copy that,” she said before quickly starting her ship up again, just enough so that she could slowly roll it into the dock's corner. Once there, she activated her microphone again. “Standing by,” she announced before leaning back once again.
She released a long exhale as she stared at the wall that was now right in front of her. And as she sat there with nothing to do but to think while she was surrounded by an airless room, she slowly began to feel that something was wrong.
Not with the situation, no. Even if she still wondered why the hell a shuttle was dicking around out there just after an active combat situation, that wasn't what was irking her. Though, admittedly, she also didn't really know what was. Was it something about herself? Not really. She felt fine.
Though, after a few more moments of being alone with her thoughts, it slowly began to hit her. Why did she feel so fine?
Not that she had expected to be totally broken up by a combat situation, even if it was sudden. She was trained for that much, she sure would hope that she wouldn't let it get to her too much. However, while not being too stressed out was one thing...why wasn't she angrier?
The last few times she had so much as heard about an attack, she had been absolutely livid. Blood-boilingly so. And that didn't even come close to how she had felt when she saw the victims of the attack on the detention center...
But now? She was calm. They had just been attacked out of nowhere. She had been dragged into a sudden battle. So many people, both foe and friend, had died today. And she was sad about that. She felt the remorse about the people who had been killed here. She even felt the aftereffects of pulling the trigger herself down in her stomach. But apart from that? Nothing.
What was different now? Where was that fire? And more importantly...was it good or bad that it was so suddenly gone?
Prooobably something to bring up with Dr. Nasution once she got an opportunity to attend her next session, which would probably be quite soon given current circumstances. It had been a while with everything that was going on, but she figured there was at least a good chance that their 'pleasure cruise' would not be continuing after everything that had occurred.
It seemed that the coreworlds were even more hostile ground than they had imagined.
About a quarter of an hour later, the announced shuttle had finally settled down and all hatches were sealed shut while air was slowly funneled back into the room. It took maybe a minute or two more before a specialized sensor in her ship informed her with a glowing light on her console that the surroundings were once again breathable, meaning she could safely open her hatch.
Pressing the corresponding button, the hatch of her ship sprang open, releasing a slight hiss as the seal was broken and air-exchange with the outside took place for the first time since she had closed it.
Once it was open, Shida could already hear some commotion as a large group of people came immediately flooding into the room as soon as it was safe to do so, and once she had climbed out onto the wing of her ship, she could see that they had come bearing large bags as they hurried towards the shuttle, which was currently in the process of lowering its ramp.
Resisting her urge to stand and stare to see what was going on, Shida climbed off the wing in order to go and properly announce her return.
However, almost as soon as her feet made contact with the dock's floor, she suddenly felt how she was almost taken off her feet by another body crashing into hers, startling her so much that her claws were already coming out as her arms raised to meet her sudden tackler – though a combination of a familiar scent and breathing luckily soothed her nerves long before her aware mind could catch up to who had run into her there.
Instead of sinking their claws in, her hand laid flatly down on James' broad back as her arms wrapped around him to return his sudden hug. As she held him, she could feel that he was quite unsteady on his feet, and she subtly supported him to not loose his footing as they embraced for a long moment.
A bit of a purr started up in her chest as she leaned her head against his. She didn't say anything, worrying that it may come off as mockery if she did, but she could feel that he had been worried about her. And although she obviously didn't like making him worry – especially since she knew how much that stung after having to worry about him way too often recently - she still couldn't deny that she always appreciated getting to feel just how much he cared about her so directly, and a warm feeling spread throughout her as her purr intensified.
Though admittedly, she could've done without the firm kiss he pressed onto her cheek after a moment. Still, she knew that it was an important expression of his care to him, and so she simply closed her eye on the kissed side and endured it for a moment before he finally pulled away.
Looking at his reddened face, she could read right off it that he wanted to say something like 'Don't ever do that again' or anything in that vein, but obviously he also knew that she was just doing her duty, and so he held his tongue.
His mouth opened a bit, presumably to say something else, however the chaotic and from this distance slightly incoherent shouting of the group that had rushed in earlier now meeting with the crew of the shuttle interrupted him, catching both of their attentions as they looked over.
As they did, Shida's eyes widened slightly once she realized what the chaotic scene she was looking at there really was. A stretcher carrying Admiral Krieger was wheeled down the shuttle's ramp, surrounded by medics and doctors working on her on all sides.
Her skin was a ghostly white, far more so than even her usual pale complexion, and fully on display as the remains of her uniform were under her in tattered, cut-open rags, leaving her almost entirely exposed except for her most private area and her right leg, which had been covered with a white sheet. Every other inch of her skin seemingly had to remain free as the medical personnel worked on it from all angles; sticking her with needles or attaching cables, tubes and electrodes to her as she was rolled along. Two blood bags were already dripping fresh life into her at that point, and by the look of things, a third one was soon to follow.
Still, the almost body-horror-esque sight of the doctors trying to preserve her life was by far not the most gruesome one the scene offered. That honor belonged to her uncovered left leg. Or at least...what was left of it...
Shida's ear twitched as her concentration on the scene was briefly interrupted by a soft voice speaking right next to her.
“Mama...” James mumbled aghast, causing Shida's eyes to widen slightly.
It was one of the few words from his native language that the feline actually knew. “Mom”. And hearing it out of James' mouth was an almost bizarre experience. James never called his mother mom or any similar term of endearment. In fact he made it a point not to.
Granted, in this case, it was unlikely that he had consciously made the choice to do it in this case, however the sheer fact that it would slip out of him like this spoke volumes of just how deeply the shock of seeing her in that state reached.
Not that Shida didn't understand, of course. Familial bonds or not, the Admiral was...well, of course they both knew that she wasn't untouchable by any measure. Far from it. She was just a person like anybody else in the end.
However, knowing that she could get hurt and actually seeing it were two very different things, apparently.
In the corner of her vision, she noticed how James suddenly began to move in the direction of the ongoing rescue, and she quickly jolted forwards to stop him, wrapping her arm around him firmly as she held him back from getting in the way of anything.
Luckily, apart from a brief push that only lasted for as long as it took him to realize that he had been stopped, he didn't resist her as she restrained him from approaching any further, and so the both of them just watched as the stretcher was rolled along and ultimately out of the dock.
“That was meant for me...” James mumbled, clearly thinking aloud as he kept staring at the door even after it had closed again.
Immediately, Shida pulled him in firmer, side-hugging him as she pressed her body up to his.
“She wouldn't have traded places with you if you tried to force her,” she assured him while pushing her face against his shoulder. She knew that the relationship of those two was rocky to say the least, however she still knew that much to be true. Whether she was the motherly type or not, if anything, the Admiral was just as stubborn as James was, especially when it came to duty.
James stood frozen for a bit, seemingly not exactly knowing what to do with his feelings in his current state. Shida could only imagine how much ethanol was still flowing through his veins at that time, mixed with a cocktail of all kinds of different hormones and endorphins. With all of this added back-and-forth stress, she couldn't blame him for struggling to hold onto a single thought at that time.
“Oh, James!” a new voice suddenly joined the fray, whipping both of their attentions around yet again as even more bodies emerged from the shuttle, having presumably stood back to make room while the rescue efforts were ongoing.
But now that the coast was clear, so to speak, two familiar large forms came lumbering down the shuttle's ramp.
Moar and Congloarch looked...rattled...to say the least. With Moar, it was understandable. She probably didn't have all too much experience of standing right next to a dying person as every thinkable thing was done to them to keep them alive, so Shida wouldn't have thought twice about it had it just been her.
However, the tonamstrosite was a...different story. His four eyes didn't scan the room or focus on different things at all. All four of them were pointed straight ahead with only very loose seeming focus on the people he was approaching as he walked.
His mouth hung slightly open, and he seemed to push his tongue out just a little bit while the fleshy muscle twitched up in place before settling down again, over and over, making it appear almost as if he was subtly retching.
James' stormy mind seemed to immediately latch onto the the possibility to focus on anything and went right along with a wave of his usual compassion as his eyes fell onto the to giants. This time, Shida didn't hold him back as he hurried in their direction.
“What in chaos' name happened?” he asked once he was just a few steps away from them, though even in his now focused and concerned state you could clearly tell from his gait that he wasn't quite all there.
“Oh James...” Moar repeated, struggling to speak as she shuddered in place where she stood, both of her clawed hands firmly hooked into her long fur as if clinging on for dear life.
Releasing a deep groan, Congloarch shook himself so heavily that a grinding sound came from some of the plates along his body.
“There was an attack,” the large reptile then said the quite obvious before shaking again. “There was...an invasion-” he kept describing before pausing abruptly, turning his head away as his tongue pushed itself up again, causing him to clearly struggle to suppress whatever urge overcame him at that moment.
Shida's ears and tail sank deeply as she watched those two. She could only imagine what could've occurred to have even Congloarch so broken up. And she could see it on James' face that his heart sank just as much, even if less outwards signs clearly showed it.
Slowly, Shida began to walk up to Moar at an even pace. As she did so, she gently nudged James in the direction of the other giant while passing him, knowing that he had the better relationship to the tonamstrosite out of the two of them.
Taking the hint without issue, James walked up to the enormous reptile and placed his hand on the highest part of the man he could reach while Shida leaned up against Moar's plushy leg comfortingly.
“It's alright,” James then said softly, patting his hand against Congloarch's armored skin gently while also leaning his face against the side of the giant's body. “You don't have to talk about it right now. You can take some time.”
The reactions of the two giants were very different, but at the same time equally appreciative of the soothing contact.
Moar leaned down as one of her hands unclenched from her fur to reach for Shida, reciprocating the gentle touch through an innate social drive. Seemingly on instinct, her hand went right for Shida's hair, seemingly seeking the contact with fur since that is what another rafulite would provide, and so the old lady simply petted through Shida's hair in gentle strokes while the feline pressed up against her.
Meanwhile, Congloarch seemed to simply relax in place as James leaned against him, making no effort to initiate any form of contact himself as his eyes slowly closed.
It even went so far that it seemed like he needed to put in a conscious effort to not lay down right then and there, which would've probably been inappropriate in the middle of a dock. In fact, all of this was probably inappropriate for this place, but sometimes what had to be done had to be done.
Still, with James being only somewhat in-commission right now, Shida eventually felt it to be her duty to coax everyone out of the dock once she felt that things had calmed down enough to move so they could continue this at a calmer, more private location, where the two giants could truly focus on processing everything that had happened.
–
A gentle humming filled the air, stirring her awake as light uncomfortably shone through her twitching lids while she struggled back and forth between a conscious and unconscious state.
Though once she finally pushed herself far enough into awareness to gain control over the motion and slowly forced her eyes fully open, even if she still had to squint heavily against the light from above, she glanced around through her blurry vision, instinctively searching for the source of the increasingly familiar sound of the hummed song.
She recognized the melody. It was the 'Ode to strange suns', a very old and very famous song that first emerged back in the early days of Earth's interstellar travel, when traversing light-years to reach another star-system was still a daunting endeavor. It was often sung by those in the primitive ships, often called 'tubes', to give them hope during their bleak journey. A melancholic song about giving up your life just to see what's out there – and one day push your people so far beyond what they had once been.
So far, they hadn't quite reached the lofty goal that the song set for humanity, since it spoke of mapping every star and finding eternity too short and infinity too small for their ambitions. According to the song, the day would come when 'no more strange suns rise'. What an idea that was...
Still, even more so than the song itself, she recognized the soft voice that was humming it, and her heart lifted at the implications of hearing it. She felt soft sheets rustling underneath her head as she slowly turned her face towards the sound, and the corners of her lips slowly lifted into a smile as her eyes, which were gently tearing from the harsh light biting into them so suddenly, fell onto the scene before her.
Nia sat slightly leaned against the headrest of her bed with her eyes closed, the room's white light gently playing over her dark yet soft features as she turned her face in the Admiral's direction while softly swaying her head to the rhythm of her humming, not moving it more than a centimeter with each tilt so her gentle dance wouldn't interfere too much with the work of James' hands. He sat behind her with both hands behind her back, gently holding her hair as he weaved it into long braids with practiced motions. There was a clear 'weakness' to Nia's movements, and the way she sat strongly indicated that she likely lacked the strength to completely hold herself up on her own.
And yet despite that, her humming was cheerful and content as she had her hair braided by her brother. She seemed...at peace.
After simply observing the scene for a few long moments, feeling like she could get lost in the sight if she wasn't careful, Admiral Krieger then tried to push herself up a bit, however the attempt was short-lived as a searing pain shot through her right shoulder as soon as she put any pressure onto that side of her body, forcing her to flop back down almost immediately. And as soon as she did, the pain quickly dissipated into a mellow numbness that was all too familiar to her.
She was on some strong painkillers, she could tell. Therefore, if it still hurt like that when she attempted to move, moving was probably a bad idea. Not that she couldn't have borne the pain if it was necessary, however the sight of her children like that told her that it very clearly wasn't. Whatever other challenges and battles the future may have had in store for them, this was a moment of peace, and she should use it for her recovery while she still could.
Meanwhile, her movement and brief hiss of pain had naturally not gone unnoticed. Once her eyes were no longer closed from the brief jolt of pain, she saw that Nia's eyes had now also opened. Her humming had stopped as the sweet girl's face lit up upon noticing that the Admiral was truly awake and had not just shifted around in her sleep.
“James!” she exclaimed, trying to move so suddenly that she accidentally pulled on her own hair that was still firmly in her brother's grasp, before he could react and adjust to her movements. Uncaring about the brief discomfort that surely caused, Nia excitedly lifted her hand to point at the Admiral, however James already had a knowing look on his face.
“I saw,” he replied, clearly far less focused on the braiding process than his demeanor would indicate from the outside. He quickly finished up the in-process braid between his fingers and fixated it with a small, golden, tube-shaped clasp before letting go of Nia's hair, thus allowing her to freely move her head around again.
Nia then looked over at her while James slowly stood up and moved to the corner of the room.
“How are you feeling, Sophia?” Nia asked in a gentle tone that did nothing to hide her happiness, her eyes gleaming slightly in the light as tears began to well up within them.
The Admiral released a long exhale as she settled into the sheets, though her eyes never left Nia's face – apart from a very brief moment of them following James to see where he was going. Nia looked slightly messy with her hair half-braided and the light-blue gown she wore all crumpled up, however just like her earlier humming, that messiness had a certain peace to it that allowed the Admiral to relax.
“Just how I look, I suspect,” she replied, the smile on her face returning. “I'm glad to see you awake again.”
“Hey, that's my line!” Nia jokingly complained with a mild chuckle that audibly got very close to shifting into a soft sob at one point.
At this point, James had returned from the corner of the room, walking up to the side of Nia's bed opposite to the one he had been sitting at previously. And with him, he had brought a large wheelchair.
Briefly, he turned his head towards his mother, the look on his face rather unreadable. For a moment, his mouth twitched, and it seemed like he wanted to say something. However ultimately, he pulled his gaze away again before anything was said.
Without complaint, Nia allowed her brother to lift her out of the bed and into the wheelchair, before he slowly pushed her over to the side of the Admiral's bed.
Almost immediately once she was within reach, Nia's hand found hers, holding it gently while James was once again on the move, this time towards a bedside-drawer that stood in between both of their beds.
Opening it, he briefly rummaged through it before pulling out an arrangement of small items, with which he then sat down next to the Admiral as well.
Leaning down, he gently reached for her face in a gesture that could've been mistaken for tenderness, had his fingers not reached to pull her lids open a bit with gentle force right before he shone a bright light directly into her eyes. Despite the uncomfortable nature of the action, Admiral Krieger didn't resist it in any way, physically or otherwise.
After he had ensured her pupils worked properly, James then gently grabbed her by her chin and moved her face around so that she looked straight 'ahead', which in this case meant right up to the ceiling while he got up a bit to loom over her.
“Aaaaaah,” he then ordered while holding a clear, plastic tongue-suppressor close to her mouth.
Following the order without hesitation, the Admiral opened her mouth widely, though she forewent the actual saying of 'aaah' in the process. Soon enough, her tongue was uncomfortably pushed down by the plastic item while she could see some light leaking out of her mouth in the corner of her vision.
After a brief moment of inspection, the pressure was already relieved and she could close her mouth again as James moved away from her, checking some of the monitors of devices that were attached to his mother in various ways.
The Admiral couldn't help but gently chuckle at the professionalism he clearly very deliberately employed as he dealt with her waking up. It was a nice act, however, she was smart enough to know that, since he didn't call anyone in to do it, he likely had asked to conduct these precautionary examinations himself instead of calling a doctor in for it, likely promising to call in someone more professional than himself should he find anything actually worrying.
But, based on his reactions, it seemed like everything was in working order. At least the vitals she could see on the monitors herself certainly were. Not exactly 'healthy', of course, but also not directly concerning for someone who had just gone through the wringer like she had.
Or, well...she didn't quite know how 'just' it had been. She was admittedly a bit too groggy to fully remember the exact date and time during which the attack leaving her injured had taken place, which meant even the clock on the wall was of very little help with determining just how long she had been out for.
“Do you feel anything strange?” James asked her, pulling her out of her thoughts. “Any pain? Nausea? Discomfort?”
Krieger shook her head.
“Nothing, apart from being high as a kite,” she replied before briefly glancing down at herself. Her body was almost completely covered by a white sheet, so she couldn't exactly see anything. However, she knew what was underneath. “Though I'm sure my leg would be in a lot of pain if I could actually feel it.”
In the corner of her vision, she both saw and felt Nia flinch as she was still holding her hand, her face darkening a little.
James' expression also seemed to turn more serious after her jokingly said words, betraying his usually not horrible pokerface.
Slowly, she released a long breath.
“It's gone, isn't it?” she suspected immediately. Not surprising after the state her leg had been in when she last saw it.
Nia's face just turned even more glum at that, however James sighed and nodded.
“Most of it, yes,” he replied honestly, knowing her well enough to cut any sort of bullshit. “Though you will be glad to hear that your usual 'precautions' worked without a hitch. Your body accepted the prosthesis and you should be able to walk again almost immediately.”
She smiled.
“I always told you, it pays to be prepared,” she said, lifting her unoccupied arm with a finger playfully raised in lecture. Though then, she moved her gaze over to Nia, reaching her already raised arm over to Nia's head and pulling her in a bit closer before gently caressing her cheek. “Come on, why the frown?” she asked, giving a gentle smile. “You heard what he said, I'll be good as new.”
A returning smile fought itself through Nia's tears at the caress, and she nodded meekly – before then suddenly throwing herself forwards, out of the wheelchair and onto the Admiral in a brazen embrace.
A sharp pain once again shot through the Admiral's shoulder as another body suddenly pressed down onto hers, however this time she did not care a single bit as she moved her arms around her daughter and gently petted along her back while Nia clearly did her absolute best to suppress the quiet sobs leaving her. Meanwhile James stood next to it all with a stoic expression, only his eyes betraying the obvious compassion he felt for his sister's happiness.
Once the embrace was enjoyed and a few soft words were exchanged, he aided Nia in getting back into the wheelchair wordlessly.
And the Admiral didn't need him to say anything. The mere fact that he had decided to be here told her more than enough – even if he would likely say that he was here to visit Nia when he would be asked about it.
A few moments later, the door to the room opened, with two new people entering in a visible hurry. Though, despite their haste, both Tuya and Shida froze when they fully processed the scene they had barged into, with neither of them seemingly knowing if they wanted to proceed or not.
Taking the decision off them, the Admiral lifted her hand and waved them closer.
“Come in,” she said invitingly, not at all opposed to their presence here. Not for nothing, she was more than happy with the partners that her children had found for themselves. She could hardly have wished for better ones.
Still seeming a bit hesitant, the First-Lieutenant and Lieutenant-Commander then continued their motion, even if much slower now.
James and Nia both had pretty unreadable expressions on their faces at this point as they watched their respective partners approach. They all exchanged a long gaze with each other, which clearly told her children something that she wasn't quite privy to yet.
James was finally the one to break the silence.
“What brilliant timing,” he sighed a bit as he turned around, quickly grabbing a remote from a nearby nightstand. With it, he turned up the volume of a running but up until now muted screen that the Admiral had only been tangentially aware of so far.
Though now that everyone's attention seemed to be pulled towards it, she didn't need to be a genius to realize that something important was being broadcast there. And so she got quiet and listened, her professional seriousness returning as he fought through her slightly hazy state to not miss a detail, especially so as she saw just who the cameras were pointed towards.
Leaving her enormous head to hang slightly, Apojinorana Audoxya Tua, High-Matriarch of the zodiatos and current Acting-Leader-Supreme of the G.C.S. had taken the stage behind what had to be a house-sized podium, even if it didn't appear like it on screen.
The Admiral suppressed any feelings she had towards that vile woman as she concentrated on listening to her words.
They had seemingly missed the beginning of the conference they were not tuning into, so hopefully they hadn't missed anything important.
“...firm the attack. One of the current Nahfmir-Durrehefren, previously known as Melvolhorron, used his command over several of our ships and the loyalty of crews that had been radicalized by the ongoing galactic tensions -both zodiatos and coluyvoree- to mount the attack. No outside influence on his actions from any third-party outside of the zodiatos territories has been indicated during the investigations. The black box that was discovered by the human forces and handed over to galactic investigations in full accordance to communal law and without any resistance brought some additional light to his motivations. Among the usual logs and data you would expect to find, it also contained a seemingly deliberately saved...letter of devotion to...none other than my own person. It seems that this...tragic event turned heinous crime was something that he saw as his best chance to advance his position to that of the true Durrehefren. He seemed to believe that my devotion and favor could be gained through a decisive strike against the humans, whom he believed I hated deeply – along with all other deathworlders, it appears. It also appears that he believed this hate would go far enough that I would approve of any methods to achieve this strike against them – even an attack on not only another coreworld, but one of our oldest and most loyal allies. It's-” she cut of briefly, releasing a distressed trumpeting sound before reaching her trunk up to run its ends over her many dark eyes. “It is, of course, hard for me. Not only to have such a crime committed ostensibly in my name, but also that this seems to be an image that I have imprinted onto my people. An image of hate and discord that has radicalized them to the point that they would stoop to such levels simply to see the 'opposition' suffer. And while it is no secret that the humans have been at odds with me, I would never approve of such a heinous attack, not only because...friends of mine...were lost in it, too. And I am not free of blame. I see now that I was so focused on sternly defending us from the accusations posed against us, that I entirely forgot to also show the compassion that is so necessary at a time like this. And I want to apologize for this. Deeply. Even as the attack was committed by a blinded individual, the zodiatos will take full responsibility for it. We are willing to pay any required reparations to each of the injured parties involved, and we deeply wish that our ties we have to those harmed can be mended, be they old or new, strong or tattered. We will gladly welcome any diplomatic outreach from the injured parties as well as all others who are concerned in hopes to not only aid in the recovery of our alliances, but also in the healing of our very own souls as we will take any effort we can to move away from the hate that has caused this tragedy. Our people will not become one of violence and terror, that I swear by all three of my names. And I hope that all others follow that example, so that this tragic event may become a part of our history that will never be repeated. Now more than ever, we need to remind ourselves of the values that this galaxy was built upon. I thank each and every one of you for your attention. Success to you. Prosperity for all. Unity in the community.”

Hi all, looking for some career advice as I have been thinking more about my future. I am a 22M in the industry. I currently work on a small media relations team at a strategic comms consulting firm focused on social impact work in a major city on the East Coast. For context, my undergraduate was in journalism from a well-known journalism school on the West Coast. I advanced at my firm from associate level to project manager level when I graduated from college last year, and I have worked in my current project management role for the past year.
I have been with the company for three years, coming up on four in the fall. Evaluating my goals and values, I think my current goal is to end up in the C-suite of a media company. I am considering graduate school because I feel that it will be necessary to get me where I want to be in the future; also, if I don't go back within the next 1-3 years, I will not want to go back. I am still considering whether I see myself in the comms industry my whole life. Whatever I do next, I see myself in a role that is media- and entertainment-adjacent.
I am considering two pathways, given my communications background. The first would be going to law school. Given my experience in communications and media, I think that law would be an interesting path. It also would give me analytical skills that would be beneficial in the long-term of my career in various ways. I don't think that I would mind working as an attorney, especially in IP law or as an entertainment attorney. I have interned in a law firm before, although in a different type of law. I also consider that when things go wrong, organizations usually call upon their legal and comms teams first. I am also considering an MBA in a media hub (NYC or LA) with the goal of moving into corporate strategy, although I am open to other careers in the field. I think that an MBA would be more in alignment with moving up to the C-suite, but I think that it is an oversaturated degree to get (one could argue the same for a JD).
An MBA takes two years, and a JD takes three; I would still need to consider the opportunity cost of an extra year out of the workforce and loans for law school.
I wanted to know if anyone has any thoughts on whether an MBA or a JD would be more beneficial for my current objectives and background. In all honesty, I cannot say that I am leaning towards one way or another, as I have considered the pros and cons of both options. Any advice or insights from anyone's experience would be appreciated.
Questions:

• What roles do individuals typically have for people with a law degree and who work in the comms space?
  
• Which degree do you think will have the best career progression, given my current background in communications?
  
• For those with a JDs, was your comms experience in law school and practicing law helpful?
  
• For those with MBAs, how has your comms experience been impactful?
  
• What roles are there for someone with an MBA with a PR background?
  

Hello,
TLDR; I'm an anxious mess because I'm broke and have no idea what I'm doing or where to begin.
To introduce myself I am a newbie real estate agent. I am 30 years old with minimal work experience due to being very sick for a long while in my twenties. I'm used to organized training where one is in training 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for a whole month. This was the case when I worked for Amazon in a call center, and as a dog groomer for PetSmart. Both of the aforementioned careers, I was nervous when I had my first official task (taking first real call, grooming first dog unsupervised), but was able to handle it well and was able to manage myself and be independent moving forward in those positions.
I am just looking for some major advice. As a new agent I am reeling at all the fees I've had to pay so far and will have to pay monthly as well. The brokerage I have been hired on with paid for my classes, which I initially thought was super great. I still think it was a nice gesture, but turns out that was but a small fraction of what I'd have to pay and I had no idea what I was getting into. I am a month in and have borrowed ~$400 from a supportive family member and have about ~$930 racked up on a credit card. I don't currently have disposable income. I was unemployed prior to this venture, going to school part time solely on financial aid, and my fiancé works a retail job at slightly above minimum wage. Nearly half of his paycheck already goes to bills (car, insurance, credit card debt, etc). So, I've been kind of freaking out about finances and thus anxious to start making money so that our finances are more manageable.
That brings us to my other concern; I have no idea what I'm doing. Like for example, If someone came up to me and said they would like to buy/sell a house, I wouldn't know what to do. The required courses to get your license don't exactly tell you how to actually do these things. My brokerage firm does offer a lot of learning tools and opportunities, but my main problem is that I've never been good at learning stuff just by reading the textbook. I do better when I can see examples worked out. For instance, I'm great at math. Once I know what an equation is used for and I've seen some examples worked out, I can do it no problem, perfectly, pretty much every time.
I do know about basic documents at least, like the sellers agent agreement, the buyers agent agreement, of course the residential purchase and sale agreement, and I've been going to my brokerage firm's weekly contracts/documents class. I don't know how to really start the important conversations though. I have no idea how to list a house, and I really just don't know what the step-by-step process is. I do know that every transaction will be different and thus I'll probably be asking questions for a long while. I have someone at my firm I would like to take my concerns to, but I don't know her very well, or this career even, to really know how much help I can really ask for. I'm very nervous that if I voice my concerns and say I need a little extra hand-holding I'm just going to be told that maybe this career path isn't for me (I'm already nervous someone here is just going to tell me that as well).
Anyways, the legal ramifications have got me scared of making even little mistakes cause I'm broke and don't know what I'm doing. And, I'm scared of just not being able to make money either due to the market and/or my own failings cause I'm broke and don't know what I'm doing.
PS I simultaneously have both no doubts and all the doubts about whether I can be a real estate agent. I know in past careers (mentioned in intro) I've been able to thrive and do well, but those were with very thorough training programs in place.

Nationals (24-28) @ Braves (30-21)

First Pitch: 7:20 PM at Truist Park

Team	Starter	TV	Radio
Nationals	Jake Irvin (2-5, 3.79 ERA)	MASN2	106.7, DC 87.7 FM (ES)
Braves	Max Fried (4-2, 3.38 ERA)	BSSO	680 AM, 1600 AM (ES)

MLB	Fangraphs	Baseball Savant	Reddit Stream	IRC Chat
Gameday	Game Graph	Strikezone Map	Live Comments	Libera: ##baseball

Line Score - Game Over

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E	LOB
WSH	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0	3
ATL	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0		2	5	0	4

Box Score

ATL		AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA
CF	Harris II, M	2	0	0	0	2	1	.259
3B	Riley, A	4	0	0	0	0	3	.232
DH	Ozuna	4	1	1	1	0	2	.309
1B	Olson	3	1	1	0	0	0	.232
2B	Albies	2	0	1	0	1	1	.271
C	Murphy, S	3	0	1	0	0	1	.200
LF	Kelenic	2	0	0	1	0	2	.254
RF	Duvall	3	0	1	0	0	2	.213
SS	Arcia, Or	3	0	0	0	0	0	.245

ATL	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	P-S	ERA
Fried	8.0	7	0	0	1	6	103-62	2.97
Iglesias, R	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	11-9	2.21

WSH		AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA
SS	Abrams	4	0	2	0	0	1	.266
RF	Thomas, L	4	0	0	0	0	1	.188
1B	Meneses	3	0	3	0	0	0	.239
PH	Rosario, E	1	0	0	0	0	1	.173
3B	Senzel	3	0	1	0	0	0	.224
DH	Ruiz, K	3	0	0	0	0	0	.205
LF	Winker	2	0	1	0	1	1	.238
2B	Vargas, I	3	0	0	0	0	1	.297
C	Adams, R	3	0	0	0	0	3	.224
CF	Young	3	0	0	0	0	0	.269

WSH	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	P-S	ERA
Irvin, J	6.0	2	0	0	2	10	90-58	3.43
Barnes, J	1.0	3	2	2	0	2	24-17	3.86
Law, D	1.0	0	0	0	1	0	18-10	2.90

Scoring Plays

Inning	Event	Score
B7	Marcell Ozuna homers (16) on a fly ball to left center field.	1-0
B7	Jarred Kelenic out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Jesse Winker. Matt Olson scores.	2-0

Highlights

Description	Length
Jake Irvin against the Braves	0:07
Max Fried against the Nationals	0:09
Bullpen availability for Atlanta, May 28 vs Nationals	0:07
Bullpen availability for Washington, May 28 vs Braves	0:07
Bench availability for Atlanta, May 28 vs Nationals	0:07
Fielding alignment for Atlanta, May 28 vs Nationals	0:11
Jake Irvin's outing against the Braves	0:23
Breaking down Jake Irvin's pitches	0:04
Breaking down Marcell Ozuna's home run	0:13
Marcell Ozuna's home run through bat tracking data	0:11
Breaking down Max Fried's pitches	0:04
Max Fried's outing against the Nationals	0:26
The Braves double off Lane Thomas	0:26
[Jake Irvin begins his outing with a K]()	0:08
[Max Fried strikes out Jesse Winker]()	0:07
Lane Thomas cuts down the runner at second base	0:29
Max Fried's 750th career K	0:18
Adam Duvall's sliding catch	0:28
Marcell Ozuna's go-ahead home run (16)	0:30
[Jarred Kelenic's sacrifice fly]()	0:21
Marcell Ozuna grounds out, third baseman Nick Senzel to first baseman Joey Meneses.	0:12

Decisions

Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher	Save
Fried (5-2, 2.97 ERA)	Barnes, J (2-2, 3.86 ERA)	Iglesias, R (13 SV, 2.21 ERA)

Game ended at 9:28 PM.
Remember to sort by new to keep up!

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Avenida de Blasco Ibáñez, 55, Algirós, 46021 València, Valencia 96 3614811

Hello! Sorry for being lengthy. I want to make this concise as I can without too much negativity, but I also want a little background for how I ended up here. I also want to preface by saying that I know that I'm not that old in the grand scheme of things, I can always try again, most people don't love their jobs etc. But I also want to start making concrete decisions, and I don't have as much benefit of the doubt at my age. The time WILL pass regardless, I just need to take a step!
Anyways, I'm nearly 27, Midwestern, grew up somewhat sheltered, virtual homeschooled, and still live with my large nuclear family. I do housework, cook, help my siblings with school, and help with emergency cash, but I want to contribute to bills until I can move out. I have a HS Diploma, but not a high GPA as I legitimately didn't think I'd make it this far, so I didn't focus much. I worked for 10 years as an (unpaid) teacher's assistant at my old church for K-2nd grade until 2016. Besides sporadic community volunteer work, I hadn't worked again until 2019 at Chipotle. Didn't love it, but I worked hard and liked most of my customers and coworkers. I started saving for a car so I could learn, but once the pandemic hit, I had to step down for my and my family's health.
I had the opportunity to take a free Cybersecurity bootcamp to train for CompTIA A+, but even though I passed the course, fear of failing and wasting money stopped me from getting my cert. I've been using my year of savings to pay for things, but I have practically nothing left. I've been hardcore applying to jobs for a year in anticipation of losing my insurance, but with my employment gaps and weird job history, I keep coming up short. And since I never moved up from line server at Chip, I don't have concrete success numbers/metrics or management skills to put on my resume. I want to take charge of my life, start taking courses and either get certified, or go get a degree. I'm just completely indecisive on what path to take! I don't have a specific interest at all, I just want something mostly stable. The time doesn't phase me and I know I can learn anything, but I want to focus on a position/field that is less likely to be obsolete in 5-10 years. I want to help pay bills, save up for a car, and eventually move out.
I am moderately computer savvy, write 50WPM so far, have been complimented for patience, tenacity and upbeat demeanor at work. I love looking things up and watching and reading essays and deep dives. I have artistic ability, but not enough output to make a career off of it alone. I have mild memory problems, but I am working on mitigating them. I have respiratory issues, so I can't do anything heavily active. I only have proper contact information for one of my bosses for references, and don't have many connections outside of who my dad knows in IT.
I've taken some career tests this week, mostly variants on Holland codes. I've gotten high Artistic and Social scores, with Investigative and Conventional close behind. I've looked into some suggested careers, plus my own external research, and here are a few I've considered:

• Teacher: I constantly go back to this, since I wanted to teach for years, and every test mentioned this option. I do like working with kids overall. But I'm always stopped by the salary, and going back to school to barely make a living seems like poorly used time. And the current state of being a teacher seems bleak!
• UI/UX/Web Dev: I've looked into this option as I'd be able to use some creativity in tech. However, I constantly see that the field is over-saturated and hard to get in to. I've also seen it mentioned so often that I doubt I'd be competitive among others. I'm considering taking a course to see how I feel about it, and I do know a bit of code.
• Paralegal: I like research, wouldn't mind clerical work, and assisting with law without having to be the public face sounds interesting. But I've also seen people say it's heavy hours and low respect. I'd like to work in a law field that feels meaningful to me, like labor law, but I'm not sure how picky I could be.
• Technical writing: Started to deep dive here recently. There's not as much talk about the position so it feels less...overplayed? The idea of taking technical jargon and converting it for laypeople sounds pretty cool, especially as there still is a social aspect to it. However, I know I'd likely need a Bachelors, and experience in a particular field to break in.
• Accounting: Another that I've seen here and there, mostly saying that it's stable and well paid (and I have a cousin who proves that). I know that people say it's not heavy math, but I'm still apprehensive. Looking into it more, the hours also seem pretty heavy. But, doing my "boring" office work then having money for free time seems nice.
• CyberSec/Data Analytics/etc: Going back to get my A+ cert and working in IT. I did already invest time, and I do have plenty of resources. But it was hard for me to be fully into the tech industry side, I kinda felt like a fraud. And paying such a high assessment fee to possibly fail still makes me apprehensive. But, again, the pay could be amazing, and I do love problem solving.
• EditoProofreading: Something I've done on the side for my siblings before, and also at the top of some of my career tests. However, I'm worried how much if this will be phased out by automation, and I didn't see great prospects when I looked into it more.
• Science or History related careers: ?? I've had moderate interest in both since school, but I never specialized in any niches.

At the core of it all, I want something mostly stable, livable wages with money left to be able to help others, and doesn't directly harm anyone. Something where I'm not only helping corporate interests, even if that's most of it. An extra desire would be to eventually be partially/fully remote in regard to my health concerns, but it may not be realistic. All I know is that I don't want anything military or strictly sales related, and I don't think I have the constitution for nursing.
Thanks in advance for any help!

"Vraylar, Unrelenting Force, Fell Specter, Decimator of History" wow someone was going full titles outside my door, that hadn't happened in, hmm I think it's been about three centuries, hell I thought the world had forgotten me, clearly I didn't live up to that last one properly.
"We of the united world alliance beseech an audience with you."
I could always just ignore them, maybe they'd go away. I could check on them with some form of magic but that'd take time. Honestly it was hilarious no one ever figured out how weak I really was. Just because you can decimate an army it doesn't really mean much if it takes days of preparation, or it wouldn't if they weren't all so damned afraid of me. I honestly couldn't do many of the minor quick spells because they tended to be unreliable.
I looked at the door to my peaceful little home out in the country. I had specifically chosen to live way out here to avoid attention. A momentary bit of nostalgia for when I lived in a fortress that intimidated everyone and kept them from even approaching. Oh well nothing to be done about it now. I stepped outside and was surprised, six people, a vampire hiding under an umbrella, two humans, no upon closer inspection a human and one of the fair folk in human guise, a shifter in his mid form black fur bristling, claws jutting from his hands and only standing partially upright as if ready to drop to all fours at a moment, a merfolk in their human guise, gills and scales still apparent but at least capable of walking on land, and one of my own kind a pureblood mage his veins glowing with the mana that infused his very being.
I gave a slight bow and a smile. "Now, what can I do for" a pause as I tried to recall what they'd said. "the united world alliance. I don't suppose you simply came to say hello, if you did it'd surely have been preferable to one of your party to wait until at least dusk."
The vampire stepped forward, his pale skin much more clearly visible, the umbrella twirling as he bared his fangs in what I assumed was a smile. "Vraylar, if I may call you that, you are correct this is not a simple meet and greet."
I shrugged "It is my name and titles stopped having meaning a few, was it decades ago that you united?"
That got a raised eyebrow and a chuckle from the fae who shifted for a moment revealing her wings as she whispered "You owe me."
I couldn't place which of them she was talking to but it wasn't particularly relevant. The mage stepped forward glaring at me and begginning to shift his fingers subtlely. Nope can't have that, I reached out and grabbed his hands in a death grip.
"If you want these unbroken you will keep them still." He glared at me but nodded his acquiesence. I could see the other's muscles were tensed, they still feared me, good that'd keep things a bit more civil. I let go of his hands and looked around at the party assembled for a moment and stepped back from my doorway waving my hand towards the interior.
"Uncivilized of me to keep you all on my doorstep, I apologize please enter freely and know that the rules of hospitality are strictly adhered to in this household." A smirk from me and most were hesitant to enter but the vampire seemed to be more then pleased to be invited in and out of the sun. His unflinching entry apparently brought the rest of them tagging along.
I led them through the foyer to the living room and asked if any would like anything. I saw the merfolk glancing towards the kitchen and nodded before walking off into the kitchen, I decided I'd play it up a bit tonight as soon as I was out of sight I collected a glass of salt water, made a bloody mary with a couple drops of my blood for extra kick and flavor, some milk with just a touch of honey in it, a glass of wine that I'd been saving for a few, well a while anyhow, I hadn't been able to peg the shifter so I poured a second glass of wine, and finally a vial of undiluted mana. Satisfied that each guest would have something worthy of a dignitary I brought all out and set each in front of them.
The vampire and shifter immediately grinned at their glasses, the merfolk was already downing his. The fae simply picked hers up and stirred it with a finger while the human and mage glared suspiciously. As I finished serving I realized I had brought nothing out to drink myself. Oh well, a good host prioritizes their guests. I sat in my favorite chair looking at the motley crew assembled before me allowing them time to decide on their words.
A sigh of contentment from the vampire. "A deliciously made drink, I'd swear you've entertained my kind before. Apologies I realize now none of us have properly introduced ourselves. I am Solemn, Triad of the" I grinned and finished his sentence "of the court of vipers." He looked a bit shocked then nodded "Just so, I suppose you aren't as much a hermit as we thought if you know me."
I shrugged then "I keep apprised." pointed at each in turn "Mab of the Fae 3rd of her name." a slight gasp from the queen who was often thought eternal. "Ferrithir of Tribe Noctis." The shifter simply gave a stoic nod. "Sal" The human shrugged. "Apologies on my poor pronunciation, Qqurnr of the 4th Sea" The merfolk gave a dismissive wave. "and unfortunately your sixth is actually unknown to me, perhaps his skills outstrip mine."
The mage nodded, he still hadn't touched the mana I'd offered. "I am Vraylar of the Arbitration Council." I had to choke back a laugh at that, unfortunately it quickly became a coughing fit that doubled me over. Normally I wouldn't comment on someones name but I couldn't help myself in this case.
"Ok is that your given or chosen name, I just have to know whether your parents were some random groupies or what the hell led to that?"
His eyes narrowed to slits "It is the name I was granted on my ascendancy to the council, they felt it had been long enough since it was used and were certain you were dead."
I nodded, of course bunch of stuffed shirts who oversaw the 'appropriate use of magic' wanted me further forgotten then I had already tried to make myself so wanted someone to take my name and turn it into something new. Once I was collected I nodded.
"Well as your claim is more proper then mine and I'd rather avoid confusion, I shall refer to you as Vraylar, and this assemblage may refer to me as Vray if that is not too objectionable."
The human who had just begun to sip his wine seemed to breathe it in as he began coughing for a few moments. Mab looked over at him and sighed. "If I am not mistaken one is supposed to drink wine, not inhale it."
Vraylar nodded "Just so, Sal please do be careful, I wouldn't want any of us unconcious on our hosts floor." He then turned towards me. "Now with proper introductions and niceties out of the way perhaps we could turn to our actual business. You Vray," his mouth twisted as if he were speaking a foreign language he had just learned at the name "are a threat to the peace of this world, your very existance is an intolerable danger that can not be abided. That said, all here have been briefed on your previous actions and abilities, despite your best efforts some memories and records did survive."
My shoulders slumped and I slid my hands behind my back to hide my fingers twitching. "I suppose by those words this august assemblage is not a dimplomatic party then and is instead the assasination squad sent to 'handle' me."
A unified shout of "NO!" from all but the mage had me leaning back, then forward with an eyebrow raised. "Alright I'll bite, what does this group then do with 'an intolerable danger that can not be abided.' As I know in my halcion days there was only one correct answer to such."
Solemn stood then and spoke seeming to choose his words extremely carefully, his glass now only a quarter full but cradled lovingly in his hands. "What my fine compatriot is Attempting, albeit poorly to communicate, is we can not leave you unchecked and unobserved. However I doubt we could force you to move if we tried." I simply grinned and gave a sharp nod. "As our goal is to maintain peace, invoking the ire of the Fell Specter is clearly a foolish thing to do. Instead we have come up with a proposal, one we hope you will find sufficiently beneficial to all parties." He sat down then and Ferrithir leaned forward some and bared his teeth a bit.
"My tribe remembers your cruelty, your destruction. They remember the menace who threatened to destroy the world." Oh god the destroy the world shit again. I raised my hand and he paused.
"Alright, I need to clarify I was Never going to destroy the world, I live on it and all my stuff is stored here, I Might have tried to take it over once or twice, but was never going to destroy it." well not intentionally anyways but they didn't need to know that.
Ferrithir shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Regardless what my people remember most is your Power, such displays are highly valued by the tribes and had you been born one of us you would likely have been Shaman Chief. We still see value in that to this day." As he sat back and closed his eyes Mab stood up, setting her now empty glass upon the table.
"The fair folk do not respect power alone, nor power for powers sake. We however do recognize finesse, strategy, and forethought as virtues often lacking in the other species." A hiss from the vamp and a growl from the shifter ignored as she continued. "During your time in the spotlight of history you displayed these to great effect, our younglings idolize other species and see the old ways as foolish we can not reach them through normal means."
Ok this was getting Very weird, I thought I saw where this was going and simply hoped I was wrong.
As Mab sat down Sal set his still largely full wine glass down on the coffee table in front of him and leaned forward. "Humans are short lived, we have done what we can to extend that, we have trusted our allies to protect us, but recently things have changed. Once mana was the purview exclusive to your kind." I nodded "However intermingling of species has altered the world significantly, there are those who can draw mana amongst all species now. Humans are impulsive and quick to act, likely due to that shorter life span."
He then nodded to Qqurnr who shook his head as he looked to me. "As my compatriot has said the tides of life are changing, even my people are seeing a shift, our young are taught to embrace all that they are, to flow as the tides do and not to question why or how to simply do. In the past this was fine for we were isolated by the waters, protected by the storms, and peace amongst ourselves was easy to maintain. The changes now though are beyond such and require a new way of thinking."
Vraylar then stood and began moving his fingers once more, in the blink of an eye Solemn was holding one hand and Ferrithir the other. "He warned you about this" Ferrithir growled.
Solemn nodded "If you wish to show him something through your craft you had best explain your intent First."
Vraylar sighed "Of course, it is force of habit." He then turns to me, "Vray, if you would grant me permission I would show you the future the council seers have foreseen, through a few simple illusions."
I considered for a moment and then folded my hands over each other while flexing my middle fingers in the gestures I was taught to prep a counterspell before nodding. He looked over and I saw a slight tightening of his lips. Once my approval was met his hands were released though the two stayed within arms reach.
I watched the familiar gestures, he was definitely crafting an illusion, but of what kind only a true master of mindshift could know. As he finished the gestures his words not even spoken simply mouthed a swirl in the air looking like a heat shimmer at first then solidifying into a proper image, but split in half oddly enough, myself staring out from the center, the split showing a half of me smiling as I watched various children of different races contort their hands, speaking loud words that seemed truly unnatural to many of them. The me on the other half though stood in my old armor, god I hadn't donned that thing in forever, I'm not even sure where I stored it. Overseeing a chain gang worth of slaves toiling at gathering rocks and laughing cruelly. I watched these images for a few minutes, then the cruel me waved at the image and rather then fading normally it burst and knocked all the furniture and the guests over. I rolled to my feet, as I heard Vraylar scream, "How the fuck do you do that you utter Asshole?!" his hands begin twitching even as he was lying on the floor, this time in a spell that was definitely a threat. "Move another finger and I kill Everyone in this Room!" He froze and his compatriots took the hesitant moment to fully dogpile onto him and pin him completely, hands arms, even his legs held down.
I looked around my room and lifted a single chair and sat back down. "Alright first of all, I didn't do that A future me did, nothing I can do about what myself in one possible future does, he probably had his reasons. Secondly assuming I got the gist of your speeches and that little glimpse, you have all lost your damn minds. You want ME, Vraylar, Unrelenting Force, Fell Specter, Decimator of History, Cruelest of Tyrants, Asshole Extraordinaire, Bane of all that is Good, Most hated of Mages." Yeah they'd cut off the insulting titles, but they seemed appropriate reminders now. "To TEACH CHILDREN?!"
Everyone stayed frozen for a few minutes and after a bit I waved at them. "I do believe Vraylar has calmed enough to not do anything foolish, correct?" I gave him an icy glare.
They slowly let him go and then tipped furniture back upright for themselves to sit back down, sadly those with drink left had them wasted, aside from the vial of mana which I'd made sure was insanely durable and my guest hadn't even uncapped. Once everyone was settled though Vraylar remained standing they looked at me, I could see the fear in their eyes.
This time Sal was the first to speak. "Well yes, despite your past you are known as one of the best mages to ever walk the earth, some might balk and it wouldn't be large groups. Likely only one from each race, those showing an abundance of talent, skill, or power selected specifically to train under you. They would be under your care, you would have full authority, within reason over their education and oversight. You would act as both teacher and guardian with pre set times for their parents or legal guardians to visit. An occassional surprise inspection from one of us to check in and ask how they feel things are going. In exchange you would largely be allowed to continue your life as it has been. You would also be given a larger home to accomodate this, placed in any area you felt appropriate so long as it was far enough from a populated area. All expenses for you and the children would be directly covered, requests to be passed along as needed."
I wanted to tell them they were all deranged, I wanted to ignore the request, hell I wanted to spend the next week working on a time warp to get me back so I could ignore the call at the door. However most of all, I wanted the version of me from that brighter future. I have many titles, I have many descriptions, but none of them have Ever, not even in my own mind referred to me as "happy". That version, with the genuine smile, the caring and pride in his eyes. As I thought about it I realized his hand had been twitching too, was he holding back the other's counterspell, could that even be possible. I knew the gestures and the spells, but my power was raw and excessive. A river can be dammed and controlled, the ocean can not.
I looked at each of them in turn. "I will need one last caveat. I have full discretion to refuse a student and ask for a replacement. I also will maintain some of my key secrets, none of them will ever know Everything I know. If you all find that acceptable, then I accept this plan and position."
They took a few minutes of discussion not bothering to hide any of it from me. There were concerns of favoritism towards a race but the fact I had included a replacement seemed to address that. There was some talk about how if they didn't know all I did then it'd be a waste of time, cooler heads pointed out that even a fraction of my knowledge and power was above what many could teach.
Vraylar stepped away as they finished. "We are all agreed, the contract is set, of course you can't expect anyone here to be simply taken at their word, you towards us or we towards you." I nodded and started the gestures, he then looked down at my hands. "If you don't object I'd prefer to be the one binding this." I shrugged "suit yourself" and let my hands lie still. After a few moments all hands glowed and were placed on the coffee table, threads of light each a different color snaking out from them and meeting in the center, tying into first a knot, then a tangle, then another knot, until it formed into such a mess of colors that you likely couldn't even pick one out from another.
I grinned, none of us could break this word now, our contract was bound to our souls and the one who broke it would die a rather horrible death. I'd seen it once, it turns out that you Can turn someone inside out and keep them alive long enough to show them their heart.
"I shall have plans drawn up and a place picked out within the month, hopefully that will give you all time to select some candidates."

Narrator: It was an early September morning. The sun was starting to rise, and the townsfolk were starting to wake up and do their usual routines. One of these townsfolk just happened to be a police officer. They were called into the station, and came as soon as they could. They stepped out of their parked car and walked over to the entrance. Before they entered, they would quickly fix their hat and tie.
Once inside, they would pass the lobby and go to the counte reception area. On the other side, stood a deputy with black, short hair and black eyes. They wore a blue button up with a police vest, blue jeans, and black shoes. A walkie talkie was attached to their vest. This deputy’s name was Jack. When he saw the police officer before him, he smiled.
Jack: Hello Sofia. Glad you could come.” (Happily)
Sofia: “Of course. From what I could tell by John’s tone during the call, it’s something very important.”
Narrator: The officer’s name was Sofia Asturias. Sometimes, she was called, officer Asturias. She had black eyes and medium blonde deep red hair. She wore a blue collared uniform, a cap with a black rim and a badge in the center of it. A black tie, pants, and shoes. She carried a glock firearm, a taser, a radio, and handcuffs at all times. She has been a part of the force for some time now.
Jack’s demeanor changed when he heard what Sofia had inferred.
Jack: It is, Sofia. Let me take you to the evidence room where John is currently. He’ll explain more about what’s happened. (urgently)
Narrator: Sofia nodded and entered the reception area. Together, she and Jack went over to the evidence room. Jack softly knocked on the door, and heard
John: Come in (lost in thought)
Narrator: Jack opened the door and entered with Sofia.
Jack: Officer Asturias is here, John. (presenting)
Narrator: John turned around to face the two. He had brown curly hair and a mustache, his eyes were black. He wore a black shirt and dark blue jacket. A black belt for his brown jeans, and had on black shoes. He currently has a cigar in his mouth. He took it out to talk.
John: Officer Asturias, I know that we just recently talked on the phone, before you came. Though now that you’re here, I’ll be giving you the bigger picture. (serious) Sofia: I understand. What’s the bigger picture then? (curiously)
Narrator: John motioned her to come to his side, before he pointed to a picture on the investigation thread they were producing.
John: Last night, a mutilated body was found in an alleyway. One of the victim’s arms and legs were missing. They also had a stab wound on their back. (Explanatory) Right now, we don’t have any leads, whoever did this left no trace. (frustrated)
Narrator: Sofia looked at the gruesome picture, and listened to what the sheriff had to say. Focusing on the important details.
Sofia: This is the first case of mutilation, correct? (Questioningly)
John: Correct (confirming)
Sofia: How can I help with the case? So we can make sure that this doesn’t happen again. (interested)
John: For now, be vigilant. Especially on your night shift. Hopefully we can gather more clues in the time being before this perpetrator strikes again. (Serious and urgent, with a sense of caution and concern.)
Sofia: Alright, I’ll make sure that nothing slips by me, specifically anything suspicious. I’ll leave you and Jack to it then. (cooperative)
Narrator: Sofia would turn around and leave John, and was facing Jack.
Sofia: I’ll see you later.
Jack: See you, Sofia (friendly)
Narrator: Sofia would exit the evidence room, after giving Jack a smile back, after he gave a smile to her. She left the way she came and entered her police cruiser. She was lost in thought for a bit. She needed to ensure this didn’t spiral out of control. She had a family to think of. A whole town she needed to ensure stayed safe. She now had a clear objective, as she left the parking lot and onto the streets.
It was still morning. In one of the houses of the town, the Rosendale family dweled. Sofia knew them well, because they were her family. Her niece was Evelyn Rosendale, a female teenager. She had green eyes and black hair. She wore a high neck lantern sleeve sweater, flap cargo pants and wedge boots. She was the youngest, two years younger than her older brother. Sofia’s nephew was Toby Rosendale, a young adult male. He had hazel eyes, and rich auburn hair. He wore a plaid drawstring hooded shirt, navy blue jeans, and blue sneakers. Sofia’s brother in law and the father of both Evelyn and Toby, was Andrew Rosendale. He had brown eyes and brown sable hair. He wore a plain color lapel part zipper shirt, with pants and shoes.
At the moment in the household, Evelyn was getting ready for school, while Toby was getting ready to head to his college classes. Their dad was cooking breakfast for them.
Toby: Sis, hurry up. You still have to eat breakfast before going to school! (calling out)
Eveyln: Speak for yourself, you have to eat breakfast too. I’m not the only one at risk of coming late to school! (calling back)
Andrew: Breakfast is ready! (announce)
Narrator: Soon the two siblings raced down the stairs and to the dining room. Where their dad had placed the two plates full of food on the table.
Evelyn: Looks delicious, dad. Thanks. (grateful)
Toby: Thanks, dad. (grateful)
Andrew: Of course. (happily) Now eat up, I don’t want any of you to be late for your classes. (sternly)
Both: Yes dad (in acknowledgement)
Narrator: After the two were done, they stood up with their plates and utensils and placed the items in the sink. Before grabbing their bags.
Toby: Bye dad. (in a rush)
Andrew: Bye son (warmly)
Narrator: Evelyn hadn’t left yet. She wanted to tell her dad where she planned to go after school. She came up to him.
Evelyn: Hey dad? Would it be ok, if after school, I went to the candy club? I just want to get some candy. (Polite and slightly tentative)
Narrator: Andrew thought for a moment. He saw no harm in Evelyn doing so.
Andrew: Yes, you can go. As long as you have the money buy some candy and don’t come late. (granting permission)
Evelyn: I do and I won’t. See you. (happily)
Narrator: Evelyn left with a smile on her face, she was on her way to school. Andrew would clean up the plates and utensils and get himself ready for work. He put on his suit, ready for another day at the bank.
Script 3:
Narrator: It was late afternoon, close to evening. Evelyn had left school and was on her way to the candy club. She had her backpack on her. One of the arm straps was on her shoulder. At the entrance of the store, there were giant lollipop displays, a display of donuts, and cookie bars. A glowing sign above in pink with white letters, that read: -Candy Club-
Evelyn smiled and walked in. The store was filled with candy and sweet treats. The aroma was one of sugar and baked goods. The music was soft, yet cheerful. Behind the counter, was a young man with black hair. He wore a white button-up shirt with a single pink stripe on both sleeves, a pink bowtie that resembles a taffy wrapper with a white swirl on it, a white employee cap, light blue pants, and black shoes. His name was Kevin.
He saw her walk in and greeted her with a friendly smile.
Kevin: Hey Evelyn. Nice to see you again. (Friendly)
Evelyn: Hi Kevin. Yeah, it's been a while. How are you? (Friendly and warm)
Kevin: I'm doing well. As well as I can anyway with this job. You know how some kids are. (Slightly resigned, with a hint of humor)
Evelyn: Mhm. That's good to hear, and just think of it this way. You're bringing delight to everyone with these sweets. Even though you don't make them, people still have to buy it from you. (Encouraging)
Kevin: True. Though sometimes dealing with certain customers can be a pain. (conversational and mildly frustrated.)
Evelyn: I can sort of relate. I worked in retail last summer. There were so many times where I just wished to disappear or just tell the customers off. (Empathic and reflective)
Kevin: (chuckled) I can definitely imagine what you might've told those customers if you had the chance. (lighthearted and slightly teasing.)
Evelyn: (laughed softly) Yeah, I would've left them stunned. Anyway, I'm going to see what candy I'll get. (Confident, then casual)
Kevin: May I give you a suggestion? (Politely)
Evelyn: What's your suggestion? (Intrigued)
Kevin: I suggest you get Zoots. They're sweet at first, but then turn sour quickly with some tiny pops. (Informative, and enthusiastic)
Narrator: Evelyn was shocked, but grinned. She playfully slapped one of his hands. Which was on the counter.
Evelyn: Kevin (shocked)
Kevin: (Laughed) Ow (playfully) Or you can get another candy. (Open-ended)
Evelyn: (gigled) I'll think about it.
Narrator: Kevin smiled, as he shook his hand after getting it off the counter. Evelyn would look around and would pick out the candy. She got a chocolate bar, a pack of bubblegum, a bag of gummy bears, and a small bag of Zoots. She placed them all on the counter.
Kevin: So you did pick out Zoots after all. (Smugly)
Narrator: Evelyn playful rolled her eyes, before taking out the cash to pay for the candy.
Evelyn: I did. I just had to, after hearing the description of the candy. Here you go. (Slightly playful)
Narrator: Kevin took the money and placed it in the cash register.
Kevin: I know you'll enjoy them. Would you like a bag for the candies? Or are you going to place them in your backpack? (Considerate and curious)
Evelyn: I'll place them in my backpack. Thanks. (Appreciative)
Narrator: Evelyn would grab the candy she bought and place them all in her backpack. Once her backpack was zipped up, she put it on her back again.
Evelyn: I gotta go now. It was nice talking to you Kevin. Thanks for the candy. (Friendly and appreciative, with a casual undertone)
Kevin: It was nice talking to you too. You're welcome, hope to see you soon. (Friendly/warm, with a hint of anticipation)
Narrator: After they exchanged goodbyes. Evelyn walked out of the store with her candy. Now heading straight home.
What the police would find the next morning, would be another body.
Bob/Devil: (Evil laughter) echo sound effect

Deadline: 6 June 2024 @ 11:59 P.M. EST
Click for Full Job Description & Application Link!
We are looking for an Emergency Management Specialist to join the City of Charleston! In this role, you will guide and execute the day-to-day operations and activities of the Emergency Management Division and develop and implement strategies to enhance the overall emergency management enterprise for the state’s most populous city, with more than 150,000 citizens in a region that hosts over 7 million visitors annually.

Basic Qualifications

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Emergency Management, Homeland Security, Public Administration, Public Safety, or related field or an equivalent combination of experience and education equaling at least 4 years in a related field

Certifications & Training

• Within 1 year of employment, obtain and maintain all Incident Command System (ICS) courses required to work in the Municipal Emergency Operations Center, including IS-100, IS-200, IS-700, IS-775, ICS-300, ICS-400, and the independent Study Professional Development Series (IS-120, IS-230, IS-235, SI-240, IS-241, IS-242, IS-244)
• Within 3 years of employment, obtain and maintain SC or IAEM Certified Emergency Manager certificate
• Valid state issued driver’s license

Preferred Qualifications

• 2 years of experience in emergency management or emergency services
• Additional FEMA National Incident Management System (NIMS) courses

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A rare disorder but maybe the professional field just isn’t paying enough attention. Being housebound for 2 years I did nothing but research my symptoms and the functions of every part of my body including hormones and neurotransmitters and here’s what I learned about me, having the same symptoms as you all. It was validated for me after I fell asleep on couch and woke up in hospital 3 days later. However they discharged me without me being stable claiming MH. I’m still blacking out from dehydration and malnutrition. Very low blood pressure but high heart rate and low oxygen among many other crazy symptoms that no one can explain. Even my electrolytes were coming back as normal! I also had Pneumonia but no fever - both of which puzzled the doctors. Instead of further testing, they decided that since most of blood work was fine then I must have taken something intentional to hurt myself and said it was MH even tho my blood work didn’t show signs of anything! For a while I’ve been convinced it’s a Vasopressin Deficiency (Diabetes Insipidus)! This is linked to Autism which I now know I am. Thus it makes sense to me., I studied and trained others in Autism my entire career. Genetic testing had autism all over it for me. So Covid disrupted everything in my system and brought a genetic condition front and center. They only look at excessive thirst and higher than average urine output for this condition and it often needs thorough testing. But there are so many others symptoms and it’s one deficiency that is linked to our entire bodies, but difficult to detect. (Cerebral spinal fluid is best but since I’ve given up on traditional doctors I’m hoping a functional medicine doctor can find it). It’s related to the thyroid, cognitive function, heart, lungs everything because essentially our body is in a constant state of dehydration even when we think we are getting enough vitamins and nutrients.). 5 bottles of water a day and I was still dehydrated-POTS until the point of passing out to the extent I did and still do!
Kicker is…. They had me on continuous potassium and sodium IV and my head was starting to clear just a little, though my blood pressure remained dangerously low and my resting heart rate high! Yet all of my blood work was normal except my liver enzymes were over 5000. There are too many articles to quote but essentially I just googled vasopressin deficiency + each of my symptoms. A big discovery for me was its association with both Autism (or any neurodivergent condition) and its relationship to nutrition and the hormone (oxytocin- the love and socialization hormone)! There’s a treatment for Diabetes Insipidus. Wish me luck on my testing. I will post the outcome - I’m hoping to test this theory within a couple of months. I’m not saying Covid is linked to Autism - I’m saying, for me it brought out a genetic disorder. Even my sinuses are blocked and nothing can treat it!!!