For most genshin characters there's 2 ways you can scale them. The normal way or the reading comprehension. I will be scaling the normal way.
Starting off with the comic book we see that she was able to react, out stat and behead hilichurls without the use of her magic. Putting her at low end superhuman (wall level+). As for the game we see that her baron bunny's explosion was able to destroy a ruin guard, and it's explosion was able to encompass most of the colosseum she was fighting on (taken from one of the trailers) putting baron bunny's and thus her AP and DC at building level. We don't see much of her in cutscenes or lore otherwise and we don't have anyone she directly scales to, unlike the captains. Meaning that her scaling should only be slightly higher than in the comic book.
Her abilities as she is a pyro vision user include pyro kinesis, telekinesis (just as all vision users), construct creation, elemental sight (basically gps for magic or elemental stuff), object teleportation (normal teleportation is not counted as it is only usable with waypoints), with her weaponry including her bow (which doesn't need ammo as she can make her own with her vision) and baron bunny.
One notable feat is from the second albedo event with her fire arrows making a small scale explosion of a few meters.
Edit: forgot to put her speed, she reacted to missiles from ruin guards and hilichurl crossbow arrows, which should put her at sub sonic

LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE
Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US:
$1500, United States
Are you open to refurbs/used?
Yes
How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life?
Performance
How important is weight and thinness to you?
Not at all
Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A.
14" +
Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run.
Yes, Adobe CC, Lightroom, Photoshop, Topaz Denoise, Gigapixel, Sharpen
If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want?
Won't be gaming
Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)?
Must have a good screen. 100% sRGB and DCI-P3 would be great.
Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion.
The editing process becomes frustrating when every action takes several minutes to load so I'd like something that can run my editing programs very smoothly.

I am atheist and my in-laws are Catholic. My husband and I have agreed to raise our children without religion, but to me, the role of ‘godparent’ is still very important. My parents are both atheist, but I have godparents. I am godmother to my niece.
My in-laws are very religious, but we have always been respectful of each other. I stand and bow my head at family dinners, I just don’t do the cross thing or say amen. I’ll offer for his parents to say grace in my home. I brought my baby to mass for Christmas and Easter because we happened to be in their town. I display the nativity scene my MIL gifted me among my holiday decorations. After nearly a decade of this, I thought we were all on the same page of live and let live.
We have become very close with my BIL & SIL and they are very involved in our son’s life. My BIL’s work had them staying as guests in our home every two weeks for the last two years. My SIL and I refer to each other as ‘sister’. My husband and I decided to ask them to be godparents to our second child (in my husband’s family, all siblings have different godparents). We assumed they would be really honoured.
Last night, we excitedly asked them. My SIL happily agreed and hugged us, but my BIL looked very uncomfortable, didn’t get up from his chair, and just slowly asked questions with a squished face about what that meant because to him, it was a very serious question. It was super awkward. It felt like something between an interview and asking for a raise. It was like we were asking for him to do us a huge favour that he was reluctant to do.
This has eaten away at me all day. In 10 years I’ve never felt like looked down on for not being Christian, until today. It was like he was offended we would ask him to be a godparent with no spiritual aspect. I also realize I’m pregnant and hormonal, but it’s not even clear to me that he agreed.
I can’t help but feel like his reaction was a slap in the face. I regret asking. If I knew he was going to react that way, I wouldn’t have. We already agreed to use BIL‘s name as a middle name if we have a boy and now that’s the last thing I want to do. It just leaves such a bad taste in my mouth. It feels like a stain on my otherwise blissful pregnancy. My husband is very defensive and thought his reaction was fine. I’m embarrassed and angry, but maybe that’s my own damn fault for asking a devoutly religious man to be the godfather to my heathen child.

I(17f) and my mother(53f) have really only had eachother. I will admit, I have luxuries like a phone, iPad, laptop, AirPods etc that she’s bought for me which I am grateful for. Since I am an inly child, and my father isn’t around I am her support system ig if you put it that way. She’s an immigrant, making me the first to go to college in the states. With that said, I’m counting down the days to finally leave for extended periods of time, and distancing myself, meaning I’m purposely looking for a college that’s over a 2-3 hr drive from where I live(she doesn’t like driving over an hour). Though I love my mother she has her qualities that seriously make me consider leaving. First, she is very narcissistic. From where she comes from, she doesn’t believe in therapy and if you seem “depressed” her first option is to tell you to go to a psych ward. Not even as a genuine answer but as a threat, like she knows what goes on there and how dehumanizing it can be and wants to make you stop feeling what you do. But when you do express your feelings she turns it into a her problem. “Why are you sad when I do everything give you” If I’m feeling down about my looks or weight it’s nothing uplifting, it’s usually “maybe if you washed your face more or ate less you wouldn’t feel that way,” or “I’m this age and my skin look better than you so I don’t know how to help you”. I’m currently struggling with my hair journey and it’s previously been damaged by heat and not proper care and she blames it on my hair styles (which are mainly just slick back buns because I don’t have much time to do much in the mornings) but when I ask for advice she goes silent. She rambles on about how perfect my hair was when she used to do it but I wanted to do “grown” hairstyles. The grown hairstyles she’s talking about is straightening my hair once for a dance and figuring out how to define my curls. The hairstyles she used to do was back when I was 9, when I wore Jo-Jo bows and barrets. Second I’m never “good enough” even when there’s no one to really compare me to. My grades are pretty high but not perfect hundreds so I’m scared if I ever get a B. I test higher than most my friends but she automatically compares them to me thinking they are the perfect poster child just if they have better skin than me. She doesn’t even know them she just “guesses” by their appearance. Third she expects me to do EVERYTHING. I understand she’s an immigrant so she might not know stuff but she doesn’t really “try”. For school in middle school to now I had to enroll myself and answer to the parent questions. I text her coworkers. If my friends parent text them a simple “thank you for letting her go to the party” or wtv I’m the one who needs to respond. At stores or businesses of some sort I have to speak for her, even if she’s perfectly capable(she knows a great amount of English it’s not like she can’t speak it well). Even for job interviews, i had to create an email to send to her boss that said she was sorry for quitting out of the blue that last week and to accept her back(I was literally 13 worrying about if we were going to have a steady income anymore)Recently she’s let some family say at our house for some time to settle into the us. They speak the native language my mom grew up with and I can maybe make basic sentences, but I can’t hold an actual conversation let alone even understand song lyrics in that language. My mom is religious so we go to church and my entire life we’ve gone to an American church that spoke English. The second those people came they complained and forced my mom to go to a church with their native language which is now 5 hours long with no youth group of the sort and doesn’t speak English at all. I’m an Outcast and I can’t talk to the others so I usually bring a book or something. When we got home one day, the people were complaining about how I don’t pay attention in church and read books instead of listening. I try to explain I can’t but all they do is make fun of the fact I can’t understand the language and how can I not know it, like I literally was never taught and just picked up on done stuff when I was younger. But the fact is instead of standing up for me it understanding my point of view, my mother sides with them and laughs at me as well. So now, a few days later I am writing this mixing up all the emotions and coming to this conclusion. I really want to know if it’s just teenage emotion and some Alternative ways I can let them out or if I genuinely have a right to feel like I do so, aita?

Have anyone ever soloed a 10 stars using one? I can’t find a video, I can’t find anyone that currently is farming 10 stars with DB.
The best I can find are g10 DBs being used to farm rank 8s and 9s at lowest difficulty, something like cutting 9stars Pukei tail or breaking 9 stars Jagras forelegs.
I challenged myself after complaining so much about DBs and currently I’m upgrading them all to g10. They feel SO DAMN WEAK. While other weapons absolute DEMOLISH lower rank monsters, DB still feels super weak vs them.
I have a g10.4 anja DB, g10.4 Legi DB, g9.5 Zino DB and a g8.5 Jyura DB.
On the other hand I also have a g10.4 black diablos bow, which kills absolutely almost anything up to 9 stars. And I’m using to farm 10 stars killing banbaroo as, which are super easy.
I also have a g10.2 Kulu LS and I used to some fights that bow struggles with. Like Tobi or Kulu.
Anyway… I ask again, have anyone ever seen someone soloing 10 stars using dual blades? And I mean LEGIT runs. I don’t want to see some BS video of a dude hitting all the PE while dodging with super delay by having cheat behind with hidden skills or hidden values etc.
Please help me. I can’t stand seeing DB being such a bad weapon and EVERYONE seems to not see that, wtf.

Exactly what the post says. This is not my first build, but its my first time using argb lighting/mixed fans. I have 3 argb lian li fans, and 8 Thermalright argb fans ive purchased to intall in my pc. My motherboard has limited port so I will need to use a hub/daisy-chain, etc. After everything is installed, i would like to be able to control all my argb lighting, the fans, keyboard, mouse, case, mobo, ram, and even possibly some external led lighting all in one place (was looking into singalrgb for this). I would also like to be able to controal each fan individually (at least for lighting).
My question is, for that number of fans, from these 2 companies, how many controllers, and or hubs do i need? will the different fans work on the same contorllers/hubs, or does each company need there own? will the fans from both companies sync after everytinng is installed? should i daisy chain the fans before pluggin into the argb hub? power hub (if needed). Lastly, is singalrgb the best bet to synch everything in one place once i have finished or are there some other software programs that might be more suitable.
The controller that i was considering purchasing is the razer chroma controller because ive read good things about it so far, but would be open to any alternatives that would be easiecheaper.
Any help, tips, or tricks would be greatly apprechiated. Thanks!

Exactly what the post says. This is not my first build, but its my first time using argb lighting/mixed fans. I have 3 argb lian li fans, and 8 Thermalright argb fans ive purchased to intall in my pc. My motherboard has limited port so I will need to use a hub/daisy-chain, etc. After everything is installed, i would like to be able to control all my argb lighting, the fans, keyboard, mouse, case, mobo, ram, and even possibly some external led lighting all in one place (was looking into singalrgb for this). I would also like to be able to controal each fan individually (at least for lighting).
My question is, for that number of fans, from these 2 companies, how many controllers, and or hubs do i need? will the different fans work on the same contorllers/hubs, or does each company need there own? will the fans from both companies sync after everytinng is installed? should i daisy chain the fans before pluggin into the argb hub? power hub (if needed). Lastly, is singalrgb the best bet to synch everything in one place once i have finished or are there some other software programs that might be more suitable.
The controller that i was considering purchasing is the razer chroma controller because ive read good things about it so far, but would be open to any alternatives that would be easiecheaper.
Any help, tips, or tricks would be greatly apprechiated. Thanks!

Version 1 Open https://chatgpt.com/ in Chrome Click the 3 dots in the upper right of the Chrome window Choose Save and Share Choose Create shortcut Name your shortcut Drag your new icon to the toolbar Click icon to launch Chat GPT 4.o in its own app window, no more browser tabs. Open as many instances in their own windows as you like with CMD+N
Version 2 Buy any Logitech keyboard, mouse, or trackpad (or use your existing Logitech product) Update the "Logi Options +" app Assign ChatGPT to any button Click the assigned button to instantly launch GPT 4.o

Childe has mastered all weapons yet he chooses to use bow and he is in his learning stage and yet he was a headache in boss fight. He nerfed himself with bow and arrows. Now I wonder what would be his position in harbingers if he took his favourite weapon. Not forgetting the fact he managed to scar Nevillete the primordial dragon. Would be be the most powerful character including physical and elemental? Just a taught.

Hi po! I'm planning to buy Ipad 9th gen and naghahanap po ako ng wireless keyboard and mouse since I'll be using it for school purposes (college freshman). I'm thinking logitech na lang although medyo pricey good quality naman siguro however, may nababasa po akong reviews about it na after one year hindi na gumagana. Do u have any suggestions po na brands? (affordable but nagtatagal po sana). Will really appreciate all the recos. Salamat pooo!!🥰🥰

So I have a fairly new PC and after I enters sleep mode it just won't turn on this has happened before and just worked its self out in like 5 minutes now its been about 30 and it still won't exit sleep mode no matter what I do be it using the keyboard mouse or even turning it off and on and unplugging it nothing works.

My mother is the teacher for whom I'm searching a laptop for. Currently she's using the Acer spin 3 sp315-51 2 in 1 laptop. We have had this laptop for 6-7 years I think. We replaced the HDD with a 256gb SSD. The laptop doesn't have any performance issues besides occasional lag but the body has started to literally crumble. It had started to crack few years ago. Also the touchscreen has gone crazy and the keyboard stopped working. My mother's requirements would be regular teacher work like making PPTs and browsing the web. Nothing too demanding. She wants the laptop to have a- • strong frame so it doesn't break • no touchscreen • no lag during her normal tasks • She would also like to have a smaller laptop since this was 15.6 inch screen which she found too big. Our budget is about 40k. Please help me guys.

First Previous Wiki
Ezeonwha was walking down a long hallway. The dry and plain painted walls and the pure white lighting of the lower levels of the 102nd Visitor Welcome Office helped to frame the dingy realities of those who could only afford these floors. Not even capable of having windows, these were for those who were the cheapest of the cheap or those who mingled with them. He'd passed several Guides on the way in, their claws echoing in the halls as a sign of authority in this lawless land.
Here, mediocrity was king, and he was a loyal servant. He drew his cloak closer about his neck, unwilling to reveal himself to those who weren't already equipped to see through it all. He was famous enough to be an abduction target if he let his guard down. This place was no exception, though Justicar tried to make them such. Too much security on the higher levels and too little on the lower levels. That was the way of things.
Another hallway, this one marked with bullet holes. Two contractors and a Guide were discussing the pricing of the fix project when he turned the corner. Their voices quieted to nothing, the stillness pressing down upon them with the same intensity as the false lighting. Ezeonwha clacked his jaws, giving them a low bow before continuing on his way. He saw the Guide's eyes light up with the sign of his implants getting a reading. It was another impromptu way of tracking via facial recognition, but it was an ancient practice.
Nothing was new about what the Guides did; only how many of them seemed to be on general patrol. Had Justicar hired more of them or actually done full conversions for all of them? Those arm cannons surely weren't cheap or ethical to insert into unwilling participants. And giving a victim a gun they couldn't be disarmed of was a very bad idea, even for Elders. And Justicar was better than most Elders when it came to abject stupidity. He'd likely only been dropped a few hundred times as a child versus the more likely Elder average of a few thousand.
Ezeonwha chuckled at his internal joke, heading deeper underground into the complex. He was going to a certain meeting, and it would be best not to be late. Even if the Guides tracked him, it wouldn't be negative. The group he had been approached by a few days ago wasn't a terror group. He'd looked them up. They dealt in 'freedom and liberation from all chains.'
The Eyes Of Liberty had focused upon Penny as their latest propaganda target and perhaps as a valuable ally in their fight against all tyranny. Though such a flowery message was likely steeped in idealism for the lower ranks, with more pragmatic and likely richer inner circle elites and leaders ensuring the pot would always simmer but never boil or grow cold. That was the way movements such as these managed to skirt the line between inaction and terrorism.
It was a dangerous thing to do. But these were dangerous times. If Penny left, he'd die. Someone with a grudge would kill him. It was a given, and he'd made peace with it now. He needed to get to work, to help others like him and those worse off, with just a small piece of the meager time he had left.
He was in the system as a friend of Penny, so little scrutiny would fall on him as he came and went. He had a new friend, one who was very interested in connecting to Penny.
The offer had come through his communicator, and he'd answered it given its interesting title. After a lengthy discussion about their goals for him and Penny, he'd agreed to at least have a meeting. He didn't tell them that he had a tracker from Phoebe, which would 'be impossible to miss' if things went badly. He knew the value he had, which was why one of the androids was also accompanying him under the guise of being a Sprilnav.
The android was 'walking' on all fours, its mechanical motion entirely silent. It was obscured by a wave of holograms and hard light holograms that would ensure that it wouldn't be considered suspicious beside him. His only guard was a capable one, and Phoebe had all the confidence of an AI who knew that the destruction of her android would only be an inconvenience for her.
Ezeonwha came to an unmarked door with a well-worn door frame. One knock. One pause. Two knocks. Another pause. Four knocks. He waited, and the door swung open. Eight Sprilnav greeted him warily but warmly, their eyes shifting to Phoebe.
The inside of the room was a dull red, coming from a pair of lights in the center of the ceiling that cast dark shadows near the edges. The whole room felt dark and dangerous, and the walls were lined with guns, computers, and several drones. Shelves and drawers were neatly stacked against the wall, as well as five couches and four double beds with ladder access to the top portions.
Bags of food rested atop a trash compactor unit, and the room service button on the inner side of the wall that Ezeonwha could see in the mirror was worn down to the raw metal. No paint jobs here, only grit and business. The room faintly smelled of body odor and assorted foods. Not entirely unpleasant, but also not what he'd expected from a group with sich a flamboyant name. Perhaps they worked in cell-based units. And that was another thing.
Minds were visible in the distance of the mindscape, but the people here were huddled together mentally. They appeared to be haphazard, but Ezeonwha recognized an old army-type defensive formation a mere step from each of their positions. They were more than they appeared. Though based on how their room looked, they probably weren't veterans, just decently trained.
As they walked through the doorway, a scanner activated. One of the Sprilnav, wearing a headset with numbers and letters swirling on the inner side of the visor, called out: "Phoebe android. Commando variant. Risk assessment: Certain Death. Ezeonwha. Carrying two pistols, one hidden in the pack on his left, and the other tucked inside a strap near the lower bottom of his chest."
That made them all pause, sizing each other up. Ezeonwha smiled nervously, failing terribly to break the building tension once again. His nerves started to get to him, but finally, Phoebe spoke. "Well, friends. I, for one, am happy to talk of the business of liberty. Tell us, what do you have in mind for my friend Ezeonwha?"
"It is not about him, AI. It is about the freedom all sentient beings deserve, and which we shall bring to the galaxy no matter if we are alive or dead."
"An honorable goal to strive toward," Phoebe said.
"Thank you. Your words are quite kind for your type."
"I didn't know I had one," Phoebe replied. "But thank you."
Ezeonwha turned his head toward the Sprilnav with all the fancy equipment.
"What is the best way for me and Penny to help in the fight?"
"The best way would be for you to start killing the gang leaders you come across. Barring that, have Penny ignore the graveyards, and continue freeing the slaves as she ought to. The dead have their freedom; the living need her work more."
"I agree with my companion," another of them said. "So far, Penny has done more for the fight for justice than any other on Justicar in generations, so it is a terrible thing to ask more, but we must ask. Even knowing the terrible toll it would have if she loses the Judgment, Sprilnav are at stake."
"People are at stake, you mean," Ezeonwha said. "There is no need to bring species into this."
"There would not be, but it is still a clear factor," another of them said, a female who looked more shifty in her gaze and demeanor. The Eyes of Liberty seemed like one of those groups with too much division.
"Do you disagree with each other often?" Ezeonwha asked innocently.
"Here and there," the tech guy said. "Not often enough to be a problem, and not when what matters is at stake."
"But that is the thing. How can you agree on when something that matters is a stake?"
"Is this a test?"
"Why would it be? Think of it as a genuine concern," Ezeonwha said. "To associate with your group, I have to be certain it will be resilient to change and risks escalating in the future. If the gangs cannot strike at Penny, they will pick the next best targets. Currently, that is me. If I associate with you in a way they can find out, and I assure you they will find out eventually, you all may be at risk as well. And your group's seemingly cell-based design also means large scale mobilization is difficult, ineffective, and risks severe coordination issues which cannot be quickly or safely remedied without changing core security features of it."
"You deduced all of that from context? You are smart, Ezeonwha. And have a good brain in your head. Everlasting knows we need one of those between all of us."
They all shared a laugh.
"I am not as young as I may look," Ezeonwha said. "Penny is not properly learned of the danger that faces us here. I am. The Underground will kill me when this is over. Do you want to die alongside me, all for your beliefs?"
Silence descended again. Ezeonwha kept the pressure on them when one of them stepped forward. "For freedom and liberty? Yes. I would die for that."
"As would I."
"And I."
They all declared the rest in orders that followed the patterns Ezeonwha was noticing. There were variances in their levels of belief and faith in their purpose. Each person had a different level of value difference, which meant that their lives would be worth more or less comparatively.
Cohesion was weaker, too. Not a full defector team, but likely pieces of several. Was that by design from a higher up leader, or was that just circumstance? Another thing to figure out later, that wasn't critical yet, but he would know before he truly went on any missions with them, if he did at all.
He suspected running messages to Penny would be the majority of their tasks. The quality of intelligence the Eyes of Liberty had offered was substantial. Perhaps enough for Penny to turn herself from a major annoyance to the gangs into an actual existential threat. With Justicar's swarming protection of the Fort Court and the 102nd Visitor Welcome Office, there was a limited amount of things that even the gangs could do. And if the rumors were correct, a Progenitor would be partaking in the trial.
"To be clear, if I join up with you, Phoebe would come too."
"Why would we let an AI join us?"
Phoebe smiled. "Without me, you'll die in this fight. You have trained for around 2000 days. You're acceptable combatants, as is Ezeonwha. But you are fighting in a city, and underneath it. You need to know how to keep a low profile. You need to know how to move through a crowd, get in and out. And you need to keep collateral damage to a zero, or the gangs will use you like they have others who had your purpose and were less careful to justify their 'protection' continuing. If you march in there and kill 50 slavers, if you kill a few slaves or a single bystander in the process, your credibility will be smeared. And frankly, with me on your team, you won't get blown up by an IED when you try clearing your first room in a fortress."
"IED?" One of them asked, while the rest digested her statement, going through various levels of offended looks.
"Your translator is too cheap. Improvised explosive device. Here, that can be old engines, reused oil, cracked plastic, frictional fuel bombs, circuit extruders, sodium splash grenades, as well as the more military style attacks they can pack, from small micro rockets all the way up to lower level fission or fusion bombs. Though if you're in a fight with those things involved, you're already dead."
"Why?"
"Because unless you're Elders, or holograms, a nuke will kill you whether you're right next to it or just inside the same shield. They concentrate the thermal pulse, so your bones would be ash before the pain hit your eyes."
"And what protection could you bring against that?"
"Telling you it's there before you start the attack. That is, if you listen to me. I value your lives over that of this android, but also I value Ezeonwha over all of you combined. I will not prevent him from doing this, but I will have you all know the risks involved."
"We are prepared, Phoebe. We have done much of the training you say, though we do not believe the gangs would plant explosive devices in their own fortresses. There is too much risk around that, with betrayals so common. However, the minefields we have scouted are easy to defeat with the right tactics. Perhaps you can give us a briefing on those, too?"
A challenge.
"I can, depending on how long you wish to do this for. But I have the stamina for either hours or weeks, depending on which you choose."
"What of your batteries?"
"They are of sufficient quality," Phoebe assured.
"I hope so."
Their tech guy nodded, more numbers flashing on his visor. Ezeonwha hoped he had a different way of display, like through an implant or something, for the missions in darker areas. The Underground was, by its name, not a place where much natural light was to be found. And the gangs controlled all the power systems in their territory. It was another part of the racket.
"Why aren't you guarding Penny?"
Phoebe's back straightened, a subconscious posture change to make her seem more confident. Ezeonwha caught the tactic for what it was, though without extensive knowledge of bipedal forms, it was less likely the surrounding Sprilnav knew it.
"Penny proved before a trillion eyes she's capable of fighting Elders, Progenitors, and a Dreadnaught Captain. Not to mention her immense power. I can shoot bullets, but she can literally snatch them out of the air and eat them. She has her own way of doing things, and it is a good way."
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Penny landed in the rubble and headed for the Vaquah with a trail of survivors behind her. Many of them, she could recognize the marks of slavery on, with numbers or brands on their skin or just the trauma crouching in their eyes dulled by the pain of a long life in a work camp. Penny went through the wreckage to the shield surrounding the rubble and the defining line between the rest of the city and the destruction. Several news drones flew above her.
More were arriving from various directions. The soft footsteps grew into a constant drumming sound, like a beating heart of doom. Penny marched with them, heading to the spaceport. A large medical operation there quickly rerouted many of its various branches to the most injured freed slaves.
Penny pressed her considerable psychic energy on the entire group, accelerating their healing, slowing bleeding, and generally repairing their bodies and cells from the trauma they'd suffered. But the cloud over their heads did not brighten. The atmosphere remained tense and mournful. Many of them had lost friends, family, and more. She had no right to ask them to feel any different.
She had freed them, that was all. They were not her servants. She was not their ruler.
Several of them came up to her, offering thanks in the small ways they could. Kind words. Attempts at hugs. Even offers of devout prayer and worship, which Penny respectfully declined. She knew, as did most of them, that veneration for her deeds was inevitable. She didn't want to be seen encouraging it at all, since this was a public place where many eyes were upon her.
She knew that it would be misconstrued as a threat if she did. Religions were some of the most major threats entrenched powers could face if not properly co-opted by the state to suit their needs. And here, the 'state' was a military dictatorship billions of years old, ripened with corruption, money, and the immortality of Elders sporting technology beyond any other in the galaxy.
The sky was blue with shields overhead. The Vaquah hung in the distance, its thrusters gently burning to keep it aloft. A trail of shuttles linked the massive ship with several spaceports, including this one. Penny watched the freed Sprilnav get on it one by one, promising themselves to a new life aboard her ship. Technically, they were citizens of the Autonomous Peoples' Stars.
That protection, Penny knew, was why the Vaquah and its innocent inhabitants were still intact. Elders already had hired mercenaries to attack it. They'd failed, thanks to Rimiaha and Penny, but also the defenses of Kashaunta's Grand Fleet when it was in higher orbit. Kashaunta, despite her willingness to use Penny as she would, also had a certain intelligence and empathy. It was highly selective, and only money and power seemed to flip that switch.
But Penny needed the Elder, and Kashaunta only had use for her as an asset. She palmed the new communicator Kashaunta had issued her after the last one's destruction. Kashaunta's hologram appeared. It looked around, noticing the news drones in the air.
"Not here."
"Where?"
"You will know."
In the mindscape, a Sprilnav appeared on Penny's layer. They felt odd to her, almost like the minds of certain humans high up in the hivemind's network. Penny greeted the Sprilnav warmly.
"Hello."
"Queen and Elder Kashaunta requests your presence on her flagship."
"Very well."
In reality, Penny looked around at the crowd. She waited until it dwindled to nothing, and then spoke.
"Displace."
Conceptual energy twisted, and she stood on Kashaunta's flagship, though nearer to the edge than she'd expected. The Elder was waiting for her in an outfit that looked much like pajamas, though they were under a few armor pieces that appeared anything but decorative. Now that Penny noticed it, it was the same sort of armor that Yasihaut had worn to their last encounter, which interfered with conceptual energy. The Sprilnav were highly advanced. She wondered just how far their technology could go. She'd heard mentions of some ships having artificial gravity, and of nanites and programmable matter. But nothing certain.
"Hmm," Kashaunta said, giving Penny a once over. "You have come back. Shall I assume you are still my ally?"
"Nervous, are we?"
"Nervous is what you should be, Penny. The Judgment is coming. Ten days. Indrafabar and Justicar will both be on the court as High Judges. That is not good for us at all. So I figured a bit of prudence was in order. I have thought long and hard about this, and with the great battles of our time so fast approaching, I figure it is time to mend our relationship before the chasm grows any wider."
Kashaunta motioned to a special looking sword sheath on her back. Slowly, she drew a sword. A Soul Blade. Penny began to draw up her armor.
"Oh, I am not wishing for a fight, Penny. I know the damage you could do, even in my sanctum in the sky. Tell me, do you know how Soul Blades are forged?"
"No."
"Good. And tell me, do you know why they draw so much power to swing, even for Elders and beings as capable as us?"
"I have a few theories."
"I am sure you do," Kashaunta said. "But here is the thing. Soul Blades are typically weapons assigned to highly promising Elders, or even Progenitors. Filnatra, undisputed sword master that she is, can wield them as easily as breathing. If I were to swing this blade, there would be no drawback. Why?"
"Because you own that Soul Blade."
"Because this Soul Blade is mine. It is not just something I own. I own around seven or so more Soul Blades, with some weapons nearing their quality lying in my various vaults even now. You did not detect them, because I willed that not to be. I need you to understand this, Penny. You have power. You have might. But you are not invincible. My Soul Blade, if it struck you, would not cutely separate Nilnacrawla or Cardinality from you. Nor would your speeding space entity be able to block this blade with his flesh. If this cut you, it would release unending agony upon you before you exploded in a burst of burnt gore."
Penny sighed. "There is no need to threaten me. Allies do not threaten each other."
"But you do not see me as an ally. You see me as your means to get through the Judgment. You believe I see you as nothing more but a linear singularity maker, and perhaps a passing curiosity I'm backing on a whim. You neglect to imagine that there might be firmer reasons why I back you, and why more Elders are getting drawn into this conflict. You believe I am comfortable with showing you my more pragmatic and ruthless sides because I am comfortable with the fact that you cannot harm me. That you would not dare to do so, when you need my assistance so badly. That I might even be aiming to normalize my 'new' self with you."
"That is hardly my belief alone."
"Is it now."
Kashaunta grinned. There was no warmth in her gaze.
"Nilnacrawla," Kashaunta said. "Cardinality. Exile. Come out and show yourselves. You are being rude as guests."
Exile detached from Penny's head. He grew into the shifting array of fractals and shapes she was more familiar with. What had once grated on her eyes did so no longer. Kashaunta stared at the speeding space entity for ten seconds, then looked back up at Penny.
"He will not work on us. I will cover his form with holograms if he walks through my ship out of courtesy for my workers and crew, if he cannot."
"I am capable, Queen Kashaunta."
"You are quite knowledgable, aren't you?" Kashaunta mused, looking at him hungrily. "Oh, how I wonder what secrets you have in your head. How many of ours do you know?"
"I will not be taken as a hostage," Exile said.
"You will not because I decide not to," Kashaunta said. "Formally, our species are still at war. There is no treaty."
"The Sp'rkial'nova no longer exist."
"Yes, they do," Kashaunta said. "The name was discontinued for use regarding the lesser specimens we created. But I can assure you, Exile, if you wish to go by that name here, that we still do exist. I am a Sp'rkial'nova in the flesh. In the blood. In the mind. In the soul."
"Say what you will, Sprilnav. It changes nothing."
"On that I agree. Though our views on how things are may differ, and yours is wrong, your opinion is not valuable enough to matter."
She turned to Penny. She would have defended Exile, but he gave her a simple shake of his head area.
Nilnacrawla formed out of psychic energy in front of Penny. Cardi did the same beside her. Kashaunta tapped a claw on the ground. Tables and chairs appeared. A chef brought in food that looked passable and a few decent attempts at human cuisine.
"We do not have to eat, though I would expect that all of you at least sit at the table. We will discuss our grievances, and how to solve them before we proceed with the future. We shall first go to the matter of the Alliance. Penny, many in their number wish to establish contact with you. Do you agree to this? If so, I will add their communicator numbers to the translation program I have reserved for your personal use, in case your own device needs another sudden replacement."
"I agree."
"Good. A first step of diplomacy, I would say. Agreement. Now, Nilnacrawla, you look like you have something to say to me. What is it?"
"Free Meridia."
"Meridia was detonated by planet cracker during the 139th Sector 9 Border War. I am sorry more could not be done."
A cold draft of air rushed out of Nilnacrawla's nose. He glared at her. "You let them die."
"I did not. A Grand Fleet was defending that star system, and three came to lay siege. I am many things. A tactician, a queen, an Elder. But I am not a god. I cannot perform miracles. I evacuated 30 billion people from that world and its surrounding stations before the planet crackers hit it. 4 trillion more souls died in that blast. The best I can do is to offer an apology."
"That will never be enough for what you did. If you had never established your nation, they would still be alive."
"They would be slaves. Chattel slaves, not that cute little 'wage slavery' concept privileged people throw around. Perhaps I should remind you just how much darker that reality would have been for your female descendents, specifically. I am a brutal warlord, a dictator with an iron fist. But my claws do not squeeze nearly as tightly as I could. Metrics say that I could extract at least 370% more profit from my people if I simply enslaved them. But despite the shock this may bring to you all, I do have principles. The Autonomous Peoples' Stars are my people. My nation. My empire, if you think I'm imperialist. But I protect them as best I can."
Nilnacrawla's cold anger didn't lessen. Penny placed a calming hand on his front left thigh. He blinked. He let out a long, pained sigh. And he bowed his head to her. Not to Kashaunta, but to Penny.
"There is no need to be cruel."
"My language was accurate, Penny. He is a strong Elder. Everlasting knows he's stronger than most of these fools. Nilnacrawla was and is a hero of the Source war. I respect him enough not to mince words, or to give platitudes. Coddling is for babies. Nilnacrawla is far more mature."
Kashaunta turned to Cardi. "You have been remarkably silent in this, concept."
"I have."
"A wonderfully succinct statement. Perhaps you can shorten it further. But nevertheless, you and I will be working together with Penny much more in the near future. Rest assured, if you refuse to become more independent, you will be nothing more than a crutch for her to rely on before leaving her to fall when you are ripped away."
"When, Elder? I would like to think your protection is sufficient."
"I am sure the truth is quite the opposite, dear. I will now get to the point. Penny needs to move faster, and needs to break out of her shell. She needs to be pushed to do more. She has signed a binding treaty, which shows she is capable of more than barbarian aliens, as some Elders would call her. You, Cardinality, will help her be a high achiever. To do this, you need to learn more about your own history.
That is the theme of the year, after all. History. My history, Penny's history, Sprilnav history, and even Gaia's history, it would seem."
"Gaia? What do they have to do with all of this?" Penny asked.
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that."
"Excuse me? You don't get to decide that, Kashaunta. You will tell me. I refuse to be coddled, like you say. I demand the respect I am owed."
"You forget yourself, Penny."
"I remember myself, actually. I am all I need to be. I can become all I need if I must. You can hold your backing against me all you want, but you won't withdraw it. As you said, more binds you and I than mere money and ideology."
"And if you're wrong?"
"Then I've doomed my species and my nation to war, and this planet to the full power of my wrath."
"Wrath, Penny. Wrath. The Sprilnav have many words for anger, rage, hatred. There is the desire for vengeance, in varying degrees. There is that for justice, which does differ. And that for belonging. I know you believe you are standing up to me as a way to assert your own authority in this relationship of ours. You believe I see you as inferior, and will pull back my help when it is profitable for me. I will not offer you the consequences of what your words could mean.
You already know them, and that argument is as stale as your view on us Elders. I will say this once, Penny. You are the Champion of Humanity. The apex predator of your planet, the only one mostly in charge of an Alliance that does more than merely dream of overthrowing us. It is easy for me to say you are not a threat, though I do not ignore the threat you and your nation are trying to become. Gaia will be a part of your movement, but even my information is not entirely complete. I will not mislead you by claiming I know Gaia's link to this, just that there likely is one.
And I am not unreasonably petty. I am willing to put all our animosity behind us and start anew. Even if you are not willing to do the same, I am willing to make this work for us. You have more people to care for than just the Alliance, now. Do not forget them."
"A lot of words that mean nothing."
"Because you heard, but did not listen. Perhaps it will be easier this way, Penny. I want you to win."
"Explain."
"You wish to overthrow the current Sprilnav led order of the galaxy. Your path to that will likely be through mass slave revolt. A viable strategy that I could spread far beyond just this planet. And I actually agree with you. This Judgment, this utter insanity around the Alliance and your species has shown me the truth. The Elders as a class and a species cannot be trusted to rule any longer. We need new leaders. Better leaders."
"And yourself?"
"As the hypocrite that I am, and the power-hungry ruler of the Sprilnav, I would obviously exclude myself from that number. Let's be realistic. The Sprilnav will never accept a non-Elder ruler. If you wish to see what our insurgencies would be like, imagine the 2090s Struggles of Asia. Expand that to billions of planets, large and small. Countless ships and space stations. We have more collective ships than you have people. And as your military planners know, there is no such thing as an unarmed ship. Without us, without me, your plans are stillborn. Your galactic Alliance or whatever you make will fall to pieces without proper counseling. In essence, my offer to you, and you alone, is this. The galaxy, for the Sprilnav."
"Who backs your offer, with the power to give it?"
Progenitors Lecalicus and Nova appeared in the room.
"I back Kashaunta," Lecalicus wheezed.
"I observe her offer, and wish it a proper outcome," Nova said.
"Thank you, esteemed Progenitors," Kashaunta said, standing just to bow to them. Penny stared at Nova, balling her fists.
"There will be time for battle later," he said. "But not now. Hear out her request. She does not make it lightly."
The Progenitors disappeared.
"If I accept your offer, it will be on a written record."
"No. It will not be, because if that record is written, my nation will be facing war on all sides. A better idea would be for us to keep this under wraps."
"Perfect for betrayal," Nilnacrawla muttered.
"It would be, yes. But consider the second part of this situation, Nilncrawla. If word of this galactic offer, not just the Pact, were to get out, which is why two Progenitors who know the price of interference were called here, it would mean the deaths of Penny and all her kind. Or do you forget what rapidly approaches us?"
Nilnacrawla frowned. "I did. I apologize, Penny."
Kashaunta spoke up again.
"Penny. You believe I will betray you. So I make an offer of collateral. An offer so unbelievably sacred for us Elders that many would recoil at the mere thought of it. Now that you have signed a backed treaty, you are fully qualified."
Kashaunta grabbed her Soul Blade and presented it to Penny.
"What does this mean?"
"Nilnacrawla, tell her," Kashaunta said. "She will trust your mouth more than mine."
"Bonded Soul Blades are priceless artifacts," Nilnacrawla said. "To offer one to another is the ultimate gesture of trust and respect among many martial Sprilnav cultures. It can also allow for a mind bridge, a soul pact, or a proposal for marriage between two great houses, martial families, or Elders of great wealth and power. To offer this to a human... to anyone... is an ultimate sign of backing, and one of trust.
It is a sacrosanct honor, the absolute agreement of speaking truth and respect. The words I can use in any human language are insufficient to describe the weight of this honor. This gesture is one of absolute truth. Family lines with hatred going back millions of years would never dare to violate this honor."
"Only one Elder in history did so, one who once led a group known as the Stannic Resistance. He does so no longer. Penny Balica, Champion of Humanity... if there is nothing else I can give you to prove that I do really back you, there is this."
"...Just how low are my chances in the Judgment for you to resort to this?" Penny asked.
"They are not zero, but your battle with be incredibly difficult even with this boon of mine. The future of the galaxy, I now realize, hinges on the outcome of this. If we do not have enough trust, they will sniff it out, and we will fail."
So she had no choice. But as Nilncrawla continued to explain in her mind, Kashaunta was getting the worse side of the deal. Which meant she was throwing her backing behind Penny for real, beyond all reproach and retraction. Kashaunta, the most powerful Elder in the galaxy.
"And if I reject this gift, or your reasons for it?"
"Circumstances would demand that I kill you and then myself using this blade as a way to cut apart the dishonor, before my remains are dumped into a black hole to be forgotten forever. I would not do this."
"A dark and archaic custom," Penny said. She would have said more, but she looked at Nilnacrawla's face. He was clearly deeply uncomfortable. Her five words had shaken him more than anything she'd ever said to him before.
"You do not understand," Nilnacrawla said. "This is not something to joke or lie about. With a Soul Blade Pact in play, all else must cease. Right now, there is you, and there is her. Accept or decline. The choice, your only choice, is yours."
"How will this look to the Elders in the court? To the Sprilnav, and the people who back me?"
She could see how it would be a boon and a curse.
"You, and I," Kashaunta said. "The whole of the universe between us right now is you and I. No others exist until this one act is done. There will be trust or there will be death. No in between. No middle ground. The nature of this bond will be a Pact of Blades."
Conceptual energy swirled between them. Penny's natural translation, as part of the hivemind, failed for the first time ever. Her communicator likewise did not translate the words Kashaunta spoke.
"Eis nama kaste Penny Balica, sun lanci Dorima Kashaunta. Ko'ri, lanci nupa bes na Dorima'Pecunyanova. Sp'rkial'nova. Sun. Homo Sapiens."
The air grew thick with tension. It was not just emotional, either. Psychic and conceptual energy gathered. The mindscape started to distort as more and more eyes began to view Kashaunta and Penny. But all of them were Sprilnav eyes. All of them were Progenitors. Nova's appeared brightest and largest, nearly six times the size of the next largest pair. They stared at her, sending psychic and conceptual energy down upon her in waves that forced her and Kashaunta to kneel to the ground.
"I apologize for my earlier words," Penny said. "I should not have denigrated this."
Penny stood for an hour, deeply contemplating the Pact. If it was as Nilnacrawla was describing to her, it was a promise that Kashaunta would not break. If she was offering it at all, especially to Penny, it meant she had a level of trust in Penny's capability far above what Penny had previously thought. Apparently, there were even higher agreements than this that were possible, with this Pact being the lowest level of bond and considered unbreakable with the enforcement of consequences coming from the Progenitors themselves.
She thought of her place in Justicar and the wider universe. Hours passed like water. And then, by the end of it, after nearly 19 hours, Penny finally had decided. She gave a short nod to Kashaunta, who had been kneeling to Nova all this time.
Kashaunta gestured at the sword. "Tol, nopa shikai."
Nilnacrawla fed her a few suggestions on what she would need to say.
"I come to this Pact seeking peace, justice, and hope," Penny said. "And a promise not to betray one another, by lies or by treachery."
Nilnacrawla translated Kashaunta's next words to her.
"I come to this seeking trust, understanding, respect, and peace," Kashaunta said. "And a promise not to betray one another, by lies or by treachery. I make this Pact before the gods, those who equal them, and those who surpass them. I bind them to an oath of silence regarding this event, until I directly instruct them otherwise, in a state of a sound mind, body, and soul. Here, we shall step into a future that needs both of us, casting aside that which is unimportant to focus on the ultimate goals we have. I offer my Blade to Penny Balica, of species Homo Sapiens. In this way, we forge a new future, and walk a new path. I accept the Pact."
"I accept the Pact."
Nova and a hundred Progenitors descended. Nova grew larger, and Kashaunta knelt to him. Penny remained standing. His sharp teeth glittered in the light. He pressed his claws to Penny's chest, and to Kashaunta's chest.
"The Pact of Blades is made before the Progenitors. We agree to your vow of silence. The penalty of breaking it will be dismemberment and disposal into a black hole. Penny Balica, Engineer Kashaunta. To break this Pact without mutual agreement is to call down our collective wrath upon yourselves. You both have agreed, and are of sound mind, body, and soul. The Pact is forged. By sword, by word, by action. I, Nova, Everlasting, Lord of the Progenitors, King of all Sp'rkial'nova, Heir to the Mantle of Power, Heir to Narvravarana, Progenitor, Elder, and Sprilnav, declare the deed done, etched in time, space, and Reality."
They winked out of existence one by one, leaving Penny and Kashaunta alone, to ponder the future. Penny's thoughts turned to the Judgment, and her confidence she could win it began to waver. How much worse was this Judgment going to be than before?
Penny stared at Kashaunta's Soul Blade. With careful fingers, she took it. Kashaunta sat up, satisfied.
"Now we can begin. I shall compile all the news about you I can find, and we shall see how to address the questions the High Judges will ask. Now that you trust me, I cannot betray you."

I've been using my current bag for about 4-5 years, and while it's been pretty solid with only minor issues, I'm in the market for a new one. I'll be traveling in about a month and a half, so I need a bag that can accommodate my MBA 15" with a sleeve on. My current bag can fit it, but it's a tight fit.
One essential feature I'm looking for is a water bottle compartment, which my current bag lacks. Although it has side pockets, they're not large enough for a water bottle. In addition to my laptop with its sleeve, I'll also need space for a tech pouch, a low-profile keyboard, a mouse, and a calculator. Furthermore, I'd like the bag to have enough room to fit about three notebooks, as I'll be using them when I return.
TL;DR: Seeking a new bag for upcoming travels in six weeks. Need room for 15" MacBook Air with sleeve, water bottle compartment, tech gear, and three notebooks.

Firstly, to be fair, I am in the U.S., and I think that Pocketbook may be a more Euro-centric device even though it is currently sold on the U.S. Amazon store. I really wanted to like the Pocketbook Era Color, thinking it had a really nice looking form factor. I just did a head-to-head against the Kobo Libra Colour, and at least from my perspective, even though both use the same Kaleido 3-screen technology, they are night and day different.
Pros- I do still like the form factor of the Pocketbook Era color. The plastic sides have a premium faux aluminum look and feel, and the device holds nicely in your hands with it overly large four buttons where you hold your hands. I also like the feel of the flush screen.
Cons - Even though the processors for both devices have close to the same speed, functions lag significantly longer on PB. Even though both devices have the same screen technology, the backlighting on the PB is uneven, with two significant bright spots on the right edge of the display. The hot spots are visible until the front light is almost turned all the way off. I have seen others write about this, so I do not think this was just a bad unit. Lastly, at least for me, in the U.S., there are way fewer options for uploading content. There is Dropbox integration, but the only way to access Overdrive is to log on via the web browser, which is excruciatingly slow, and login info has to be re-entered when opened again. It seemed a really painful option as every step took so long, and every keyboard entry had such a significant lag. I intended to put Koreader on this device and sync between my devices, but with so many negatives, I could not think of anything that PB does that the Kobo Libra Colour does not do better. I am returning the PB. I wanted to share and answer any questions if some were similarly curious about the PB.

Is there anyway I can connect to my desk top remotely via my iPhone and use a usb keyboard and mouse, if so what program could I use?

I’ve noticed this because i exclusively use the swipe keyboard, it seems to almost have an anti bullying feature coded in?
Phrases it will not let me swipe type regardless of how many times I attempt:

• “he/she/you’re gay”
• “he/she is the worst”
• “he/she/you suck(s)” (goes back and corrects the pronoun to “age” for she, won’t type “sucks” for he, won’t type “sucks” for you)
• “i’m going to k!ll myself” (will not type “myself” at all. I use this phrase often - lightheartedly - so I have literally had to make a shortcut to type it lmao)
• “k!ll yourself” (will change the “kill” to “jill”)
• “he/she/they’re ugly” (weirdly will correct to “ugly’s.” OR will remove the apostrophe from ‘they’re.’ It does this with a few things)
• “he/she/they/you’re trash” (will offer “trashy” or again take the apostrophe out of the word)

That’s just a few I’ve tried but I’m sure there are more. Is there a way to shut this “feature” off without just having to type normally? And does anyone know if there’s any official explanation for it?

I have been daily driving an X1 Extreme Gen 5 (12th gen Intel) with RTX 4070 for 9 months and switched to the Legion i7 Gen 9 (14th Gen Intel).
My initial impressions, coming from a long-term business user of ThinkPads to my first Legion, are as follows. This is a personal and opinionated brief summary of impressions.
These laptops have different use cases, but the specs are on par with the form factor. I thought this might help some people when trying to decide.
The outer materials on both laptops fingerprint quite easily, the metal on the Lei7 is a little more resistant compared to the material of the X1E. I wish I could have had the Glacier White as I hear it's more resistant. At the time of writing this, Glacier White is not available on the US Lenovo Store but only available at BestBuy.
Pros for Lei7G9:

• I prefer the feel of the key switches of the Lei7G9, hands down.
• The trackpad feels much better on the Lei7G9, more of a glass feel. I don't miss the physical buttons of the ThinkPad nipple (red dot).
• The screen refresh rates make the laptop experience feel much faster and more responsive than a standard 60Hz display.
• I feel the Lei9G9 is quieter in day-to-day productivity; the fans tend to spin up all the time on the X1EG5.
• More expansion: there are 2x M.2 slots for storage. Although the wireless, albeit relatively, is upgradable in an M.2 slot. ThinkPad workstation series have been moving into less upgradability generation over generation.
• The lip at the rear actually helps when I walk around with the laptop while the lid is open (e.g., moving from your desk to desk).
• I like that Lenovo has a camera bump on their newer ranges of laptops. Instead of the apple way of putting the camera on the screen and calling it a magical island and losing screen real estate this is a nice practical solution and makes opening the laptop easier.

Cons:

• Minor critique: the keyboard key spacing took a little bit to get used to (not long, just a few hours hahaha).
• Minor critique 2: I got used to physical trackpad buttons on the ThinkPad range, so it took a little adjustment to switch back.
• The BIOS doesn't support OPAL disk encryption, only supervisor passwords. This is an artificial limitation that could have been implemented; however, Lenovo chose to lock this feature in their business range. OS independent, Hardware level disk encryption would have been nice.
• I was a little surprised a Mediatek wifi card was used for the wireless module; however, it's a M.2 slot card so a Intel Wifi 7 card can easily slot in ($45 upgrade)
• I believe there is No IR Camera for Windows Hello.
• Sound - I miss the front-firing speakers of the X1E. The speakers on the Lei7 are on the bottom of the chassis; if you use a laptop stand, the sound gets weaker. The sound is far more superior on an X1E. I recommend headphones for this laptop. Speakers that fire at your desk are a strange engineering choice in my opinion, the focus may have been on bass.

Overall, I'm really happy with my Lei7G9. I got used to the trackpad, love the keyboard, and enjoying the experience.

**What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.**

i will be gaming. mostly just fortnite, apex, sims 4, overwatch, valorant, and poppys playtime

**What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?**

$1000, i can go a little over though

**When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.**

plan on buying in a a few days

**What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc\)**

everything, this will be my first build. i do not have access to an ethernet port though

**Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?**

will be purchasing in midwest north america with access to microcenter

**If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.**

not reusing anything

**Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?**

nope

**Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)**

don't think so. though i would like it (the keyboard & pc itself) to be pretty quiet if possible so i don't annoy my roommates

**Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?**

i would like a white theme! doesn't have to be all-white since i prioritize performance over aesthetics. if at least the tower case would be white though that would be nice!

**Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?**

nope

I know this is commonly posted, but I've tried every optimization I can find and while some seem to cause marginal improvement I cannot seem to fix this.
I have intermittent (but frequent, usually multiple times per hour and lasting a few minutes on average) spikes of 100% disk usage (as reported by Windows task manager) that completely lock up my VM. Usually when this happens actual disk usage is very low, often < 1MiB/s or even < 0.5MiB/s. It seems to correlate with multiple Windows processes using the disk but I've seen it happen with as few as three simultaneous processes or as many as eight. At other times the drive can achieve speeds of >200MiB/s without problems.
The physical device is a CT2000BX500SSD1 SSD drive. Nothing fancy, but it is a decent SSD and performs as expected on tests with the host. The drive is dedicated to my Windows VM and should not otherwise be used by the host.
I am using the virtio drivers and I have a pinned iothread. I've tried a few alternate configurations described on https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/PCI_passthrough_via_OVMF#Virtio_disk as well, along with an assortment of recommendations I've seen on reddit threads, forum posts, etc. What I have now is what works "best", but still not particularly well.
Please if anyone has had any similar issues or sees anything wrong with my configuration let me know.
My full libvirt configuration is below:

 win11 696ee705-7c0e-4449-b831-1a8adfc521bf      32800768 32800768     12 1                  hvm     /usshare/edk2/x64/OVMF_CODE.secboot.4m.fd /valib/libvirt/qemu/nvram/win11_VARS.fd                                   destroy restart destroy      /usbin/qemu-system-x86_64