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About half of the student body was blinded by the sudden and intense flash of light that blanketed the room.
The other half seemed to have reacted in time to shield themselves from that unexpected assault on the senses.
I was part of that latter half.
And what I saw during those precious few seconds of visual overstimulation was nothing short of remarkable.
The walls that had resembled Mal’tory’s dark and dreary office quaked and quivered in place, as if the whole room was a living organism, and we were somehow nestled within its guts.
Each of the ornate wooden panels began dislodging from one another, their formerly flush surfaces cracking, revealing seams where there had been none before. These seams too began expanding, as each of the panels started wobbling, wiggling, then eventually disconnecting from one another entirely; moving independently of one another as if freeing themselves from a long-dormant state.
For a moment, they looked almost like a reptile’s scales when put under magnification.
Then, and without any warning, they began disappearing, each panel violently pulled back and into some dark anomalous void that existed behind the walls themselves; sending the EVI into another fit of spatial error reports.
We were, for a split second, completely wall-less. But not a second after the old walls had been… for lack of a better term — banished to the literal shadow realm, did a set of new walls suddenly take their place.
And quite dramatically too.
As an entirely new wallface suddenly emerged darkness of the void, one that was earthy in tones, and reminded me more of those old teakwood heritage buildings back on Earth. There were fewer embellishments to them compared to the previous Victorian-styled walls, less patterns and ostentatious designs, instead simply going with this less is more approach that left vast empty gaps where decorations and patterns were previously present. It was almost as if they were left empty and bare for a reason.
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 475% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
Out of nowhere, dozens of pots, planters, and trellises suddenly embedded themselves through the wall, decorating what was no longer a blank canvas.
Plantlife soon followed this open invitation for a free home, as hundreds of flowers bloomed all across the wall, carefully trimmed and perfectly appointed to the lattice structures they coiled on, with not a single one of them looking too wild or out of place.
The sudden and abrupt remodeling completely threw me off.
At least, until the source of it all suddenly made themselves known.
“Welcome, first years, to Mana-field perception and Light Magic theory.” The voice continued, as through the literal haze of change came a female figure that the EVI had little problem assigning a name and identifier to.
ENTITY IFF CONFIRMED: A109 Apprentice Larial Essen - NEXUS [CORDIAL]
Yet strangely, the metallic footsteps that I’d heard just before she crossed the staff door’s threshold didn’t seem to follow her. Instead, only the apprentice emerged from the door behind the lectern.
She continued towards the lectern with a forced and somewhat stiff poise and gait, her general demeanor identical to how she carried herself prior to the whole crate saga. Which was of course, stern, tired, and completely unyielding; a fact supported by the impeccable posture she used to walk into class.
Though the class’ focus certainly wasn’t on her demeanor, or her posture, nor even on the room that had completely morphed into a completely different space.
No.
It was instead almost squarely focused on the apprentice’s cloak, which was most certainly not black.
This prompted the entire room to erupt into a frenzy of whispers, tempered only by those daring enough to deploy privacy screens.
But before those antics could evolve any further, and before my mind could even catch up with this turn of events, a loud, high-pitched, and unbroken — SHUSH — erupted from the front of the class. Emerging from a certain gorn-like lizard, who’d stood up to face us rather than the apprentice currently manning her podium. “ALL STUDENTS RISE!” He commanded.
To which the entire class followed, with the only two tentative parties being myself and a certain bull.
“ALL STUDENTS FORWARD AND BOW!” He continued, prompting the whole class to follow suit, and from there, receiving a head-tilt’s worth of praise from the apprentice.
“Thank you, Lord Qiv.” The apprentice spoke appreciatively, before setting her sights on the rest of the desks and chairs—
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 200% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
—which were subsequently transformed into brighter-toned variants of their formerly dark and depressive selves. “I understand that there may be quite a few lingering questions amongst the crowd that quite a few of you wish to be addressed. In the spirit of ensuring that these needless thoughts and senseless rumors do not come to cloud your mind throughout the rest of class, thereby rendering these lessons moot, I wish for them to be addressed here and now.” Larial announced tacitly, but with a severity that was clearly modeled off of her mentor.
The mood of the room quickly changed following that.
But instead of shifting to the deference and submission in Articord’s class, or the tentative acceptance of Vanavan’s class, there was instead an overarching tone of outright confusion.
It was as if the whole class didn’t know how best to handle the situation.
But whilst the rest of the room remained undecided, with a few shaky hands rising up one by one, a sense of relief quickly washed over me as my emotions finally managed to catch up to the rapidly developing turn of events.
I couldn’t help but to immediately activate the in-armor positional readjustment mode in the suit, allowing myself to just… slouch; as I took in the class with a renewed wave of reprieve.
It was that same feeling you get when you arrive on the day of the test, only to find it delayed by a week. Or that feeling you get when a notification arrives in the dead of night, on the eve of a presentation, to inexplicably announce that the whole project was now put on hold due to some unforeseen event.
But unlike those situations where the why of the situation didn’t really matter… here, it most certainly did.
Which prompted me to listen in, as the questions began flying towards the apprentice.
“If I may be the one so brazen as to offer myself as the voice of the year group, Apprentice Essen?” A certain Auris Ping took the lead, having been chosen by the apprentice amidst a sea of equally inquisitive hands.
“The floor is yours, Lord Ping.” The apprentice proclaimed.
“Thank you, Apprentice.” The bull responded curtly, eliciting a particularly intense glare from the likes of Thalmin. “Where is Professor Mal’tory?”
The apprentice’s features shifted somewhat at that question, as if she wasn’t expecting something that blunt and straightforward right out of the gate. “The professor’s whereabouts are the business of the Academy’s faculty and staff.” She spoke firmly, yet with an authority that she was clearly under equipped to wield. “If you wish to inquire as to the nature of this class going forward, I will be more than happy to-”
A series of hands were raised even before the apprentice had even finished her sentence. Which prompted the overworked and exhausted elf to switch over to another student before she even had time to finish her own thoughts. “The floor is yours, Lady Ladona.”
“Thank you, Apprentice. Now, to clarify, are we to expect you to be teaching us for the rest of this class?” The being, which I could only describe as a butterfly with most of their insectoid-traits toned down, asked politely.
“That is correct, Lady Ladona.”
“And is this expected to continue for… the rest of the month?” Ladona continued, her features shifting if only to show her growing sense of confidence.“The semester perhaps? Or maybe even the rest of the school year?” She continued at a rapid-fire pace, making a point to catch the apprentice off-guard before she could even respond to that first point.
“The responsibility of tutelage has been deferred to me on the basis of Professor Mal’tory’s current inability to fulfill this particular aspect of his responsibilities owing to his current engagements. This will remain so, until the Professor returns from said engagements.” The apprentice responded in that same jaded, no-nonsense tone of voice she’d used during our pre-life debt interactions.
It was, however, woefully inadequate in dealing with the likes of a vicious social predator like Ladona, who immediately waded through the tepid waters towards the first sign of weakness. “So when can we expect his return, Apprentice?” She pushed further, her polite tone of voice acting like a velvet cloth, barely concealing the sharp mandibles beneath it.
“That is something I cannot answer.” The apprentice replied sternly, taking a stand against the shark that had now tasted blood in the water.
“Is this because of a lack of correspondence to the faculty?” The butterfly-person shot back quickly with an innocent cock of her head, her antennae swaying as she did so.
“I am not at a privilege to divulge such details, and that is most certainly not the case, Lady Ladona.”
“My apologies, Apprentice.” Ladona spoke in a calculated show of apologetics. “In any case, am I to assume then that in addition to the responsibility of tutelage, that the responsibilities of proctorship, examination, and evaluation, have likewise been deferred to you?” She shifted gears once more, this time, her question garnered quite a few murmurs to emerge from the rest of the class.
Murmurs which, as the EVI’s little picture-in-picture subtitles hinted at, were all in support of Auris Ping’s right-hand.
“That’s right… are we to assume that an apprentice of all people will be responsible for the evaluation of our performance?”
“I mean, she is an elf, that should count for something right-”
“Have some dignity! Just because she’s an elf, doesn’t mean she has any right to be dictating the fate of our academic progress!”
“That’s right! This is an insult to our titles! How dare they relegate the tutelage of a class to a mere pitiable apprentice! What do they take us for, the dregs of society?”
These hot-takes continued escalating further and further, until finally, and seemingly out of nowhere, several of those voices began dying down seemingly mid-sentence; something had distracted them from their little outbursts.
In fact, as the seconds ticked by, Thacea, Thalmin, and Ilunor turned towards each other knowingly, as if sensing that something was amiss.
That something was soon made clear to me by a sudden uptick of mana that rose from two, to three, to four hundred percent above background radiation.
At which point, several warnings suddenly slammed my HUD.
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 400% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
CAUTION: Concentrated Heat-Energy Surge Detected!
CAUTION: Localized Temperature Surge Detected!
Those caution reticles quickly formed just behind the apprentice, hovering ominously over that void-filled doorway, right before a stream of concentrated flames surged forwards towards her.
However, instead of dodging, ducking, or leaping out of the way, she stood firm; her features not even shifting even a little.
As right before the flames made contact, so too did they suddenly stop, as that surge of mana radiation fluctuated wildly—
ALERT: VARIABLE FREQUENCY FLUCTUATION OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED 200 - 400% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
—before suddenly disappearing.
The room was left stunned.
Any remaining conversations were halted mid way, with many of the more chatty students barely even registering what’d just happened.
So for those who lacked situational awareness, and were still very much looking around for the reason why the rest of the class had gone silent, there was a round two to these attacks that erupted as suddenly as the first.
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 650% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
This was signaled at first by the cracking of rock and the quaking of the entire room, followed closely by four distinct sinkholes forming along the floor at the very front of the lecture hall. A gurgling, churning noise echoed ominously from deep within the newly-formed holes, like an ancient concrete mixer dialed up to eleven.
Eventually, it stopped.
And soon after, four humanoid earthen behemoths erupted from those sinkholes. Each of them easily towered over the apprentice, whilst each of their fists were at least a full Ilunor in size.
A tense confrontation followed, and a silence that could be shattered by a pin drop soon descended upon the formerly whisper-filled room.
Yet despite it all, the apprentice didn’t move a single muscle, and to top it all off her eyes were closed shut as if in deep thought.
Seconds passed.
Then finally, the four cobblestone golems made their move.
All four moved in sync, their first steps caused the whole hall to shudder, prompting me to instinctively flinch towards my sidearm as the events of the second day hit me harder than a sack of bricks.
The first golem was poised to strike her side—
ALERT: VARIABLE FREQUENCY FLUCTUATION OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED 300 - 650% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
—but found itself crumbling before our eyes, as local mana radiation spiked and shifted erratically.
The second golem reached down with its fist, poised to grab the apprentice through the lectern—
ALERT: VARIABLE FREQUENCY FLUCTUATION OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED 250 - 700% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
—but like the first, it found itself reduced to rubble, falling where it stood; as rock by rock, it collapsed under its own weight.
The third and fourth golems charged forward together, lunging down fast towards the lectern—
ALERT: VARIABLE FREQUENCY FLUCTUATION OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED 350 - 725% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
—but like the first and second, they too found themselves victims to the great equalizer that was gravity, as whatever magical glue was holding them together just up and failed, reducing those humanoid forms into harmless piles of rock.
A few stray rocks did reach the lectern, but were effortlessly swatted away by an invisible barrier, leaving the apprentice and her immediate surroundings completely unharmed.
Silence once more descended on the entire class.
But just like the silence from before, that lull period wasn’t destined to last, as a loud, boisterous, and jolly series of bellowing laughs emerged from behind the void of that door.
I could tell, with immediate certainty, who that voice belonged to.
I didn’t even need the EVI’s tag system for this one.
ENTITY IFF CONFIRMED: A110 Professor Sorecar Latil Almont Pliska - NEXUS [CORDIAL]
“Spectacular work, young apprentice! Spectacular work indeed!” The man came marching through the door, walking up and towards the apprentice.
“Thank you, Professor-Armorer Pliska.” The apprentice responded softly, prompting the armorer to reply with a sharp and brisk bow of his own.
“You can reserve your thanks for after class, I have plenty more exercises where that came from, and each and every one is going to be tougher than the last!” The man proclaimed not-so-discreetly, eliciting a worried expression to form on the apprentice’s face, highlighting the seriousness of the otherwise lackadaisical tone of his voice. “Needless to say, I don’t think you’ll be thanking me much after I’m done with you! The Academy’s gotten a bit softer over the years, and I’m about to make up for lost time before they toss old-Sorecar Latil Almont Pliska back into the workshop!” He paused, before shifting his tone towards a more menacing one. “And that applies to your understudies as well, Apprentice.”
“Now!” The armorer quickly shifted his attention from the apprentice, and towards class, his gesticulations wild, as if making for the apprentice’s slower, more sluggish demeanor. More specifically, he maintained this sort of “Y” posture, with both arms high above his head as he spoke. “For those of you wondering exactly what just happened… well, perhaps it would be best for you to leave the class considering this is exactly the sort of thing we’ll both be expecting of you following the conclusion of this school year! And for those of you who openly doubt the qualifications of our dear apprentice here… just know that she was hand-picked by Professor Mal’tory himself for a reason.” The man paused, before bringing his arms back down to his sides, if only to emphasize his point, before resuming the posture from before. “And until I see a single one of you being personally selected by a black, red, blue, or white-robed professor… I don’t want to hear a single peep of doubt from you lot. At least as it pertains to the apprentice’s ability to teach these classes! And if you need an extra guarantee of such? Well… know that the Academy does not allow an apprentice to teach without supervision from an appointed Professor of the Magical Arts.” He paused, as if for dramatic effect, before pointing both hands down towards himself. “Which just so happens to be the only Professor otherwise free from the burdens of stringent schedules — yours truly!”
To Sorecar’s credit, the murmurs born of inflated egos, and the whispers of dissidence did not once dare to interrupt, or follow-up on the man’s proclamations.
If anything, that entire… display was enough to keep the critics at bay, and the ones on the fence to fully hop back on the side of respect.
At least, until one group decided to tempt fate, deploying a privacy screen.
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 350% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
If only for that privacy screen to suffer the same effects as the rest of the spells casted throughout class thus far.
ALERT: VARIABLE FREQUENCY FLUCTUATION OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED 100 - 350% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
“Bold! Brash! And indeed, cheeky, if that word still holds true in this era’s vernacular!” Sorecar announced with a laugh that radiated deep from within his armor. “Unlike other classes that prohibit the casting of magic save for practice or demonstrative purposes, I fully allow it, nay, I say, I encourage it! You youths should be free to cast magic whenever and however you like!” The man paused soon after, and once again shifted gears towards a more severe timbre, yet never once losing that lackadaisical personality I knew him for. “But just remember, while you may freely practice these magical gifts you have and hold so highly, doing such in this class is to be considered a direct challenge by yours truly! This is the study of Light Magic and Mana-field Perception, after all! And thus, in the spirit of scholarly competition, I shall take every spell cast as a chance to prove what’s what!”
The man paused, before gesturing towards the apprentice. “Now, for those of you still quite confused with the definition of Light Magic as it pertains to the Nexian vernacular, I shall defer the right of tutelage back to that of our dear Apprentice. The floor is yours, my lady.”
A brief exchange of bows between the teaching duo was had, before the apprentice finally started, now with all doubts and concerns fully addressed not just by words alone, but through action as well.
“As all of you may have already discerned, the demonstration Professor Pliska had so graciously provided, was an attempt to illustrate the most visible effects of Light Magic — that being the detection and subsequent dispelling of active and pre-active spells. The subject of Light magic, thus refers to the study of the detection, dispelling, counterspelling, and disarming of all forms of other magics.”
“And by that definition, it is the single most combative field of magic there is.” Sorecar promptly chimed in with a nod towards the apprentice, almost like he was tag-teaming this opening statement with her; establishing a precedent for the dynamics of the class. “For in order to practice Light Magic, one must be in the presence of an active spell. And in order to truly practice Light Magic, one must be in the presence of active danger, as unlike most forms of magic, unevenness and intensity in casting is key to the successful destabilization of an offending spell.”
“So THAT’S what the fluctuations were.” I thought to myself outloud inside my helmet.
“Moreover—” Sorecar continued, raising his arms into the air once again as if to emphasize his points. “—to the seasoned and the wise, Light Magic as a field is known to be the single most versatile field in existence. For if implemented correctly, it has the capacity to bring all other forms of magic to its knees.”
“Versatility and adaptability are core elements of Light Magic, so while not capable of much harm by itself, it is capable of incredible feats of defense if used correctly.”
To say that I was pleasantly surprised would’ve been an understatement by this point. Because not only was Mal’tory completely out for the count, and not only was he replaced by two of my only cordial relations within the Academy thus far, but the class itself was refreshingly straightforward. There was no mincing around words like Vanavan’s class of lectures, there was also no overt signs of blatant propaganda and indoctrination like in Articord’s class. Instead, this whole class started out with a practical demo of all things, followed up essentially with a breakdown of exactly what we were studying.
“What you observed during the start of class, were just two out of a near-infinite set of examples demonstrating counterspell and dispelling measures, a rather dramatic one I might add but one that you may very well one day use.” The apprentice continued following yet another exchange of nods with Sorecar.
“And indeed, while they may have seemed trivial to the keen-eyed observer, the execution of their dispelling is anything but. Because despite what most misinformed minds may believe regarding counterspelling — dispelling isn’t simply a matter of overpowering an offending spell with a burst of mana, but instead, more akin to the unwinding of a knot, or the picking of a lock. You must act to untangle a spell, until the spell itself falls apart at the seams.” Sorecar continued, before once again swapping the baton with Larial through an exchange of nods.
“Which is exactly why Light Magic continues to be a field forever expanding in its domain.” The apprentice continued. “Because as every other field develops more and more convoluted forms of spells and artificing, so too does Light Magic have to adapt, improvise, and overcome these advanced and oftentimes eclectic means of casting.”
So an arms race… I thought to myself.
“It is, in essence, a pure magic field. Yet it is applied as if it were an applied magical field of study.” Sorecar surmised, prompting me to actually listen in with genuine intent, this marking the first moment I was truly engaged with a class with none of its politics.
“And as for the Mana-Field Perception class?” The apprentice continued with an inquisitive tone of voice. “It’s effectively an extension, or rather, a foundational element of Light Magic depending on how one wishes to view it. Because in order to become proficient in Light Magic, you have to first understand and hone your abilities in order to detect the nuances within mana-streams and mana-fields. It is only through the detection of disruptions and the accurate understanding of a spell being cast, that you are able to apply more advanced abjurations in an attempt to counter these spells. Sometimes even before they’re cast if you’re so inclined to.”
“Now, how many of you can genuinely say you noticed the shift in the room’s aura prior to the casting of that Firestream?” Sorecar asked the crowd, prompting almost every hand to be raised.
“Well that’s just a blatant lie now, isn’t it?” The man retorted bluntly. “I can tell by your reactions just before the Flamespear hit, you know. So please, honestly now, I’m giving you one more chance to answer.”
About three quarters of the class lowered their hands, leaving only the gang, Auris Ping and Qiv’s group, as well as a few other scattered students to maintain their raised hands.
“Alright, that’s about exactly the number I counted from behind the veil! Rightio then!” Sorecar proclaimed through what I could only imagine would’ve been a grin if it wasn’t for his armor. “This is exactly why mana-field perception is necessary. Because to most mages, it is a learned skill rather than an inherent trait. Which, of course, is by no means a demerit! But moreso, a wonderful little oddity in the grander tapestry that is the magical arts and pedagogue!”
The apprentice quickly followed that up with a series of talks once more summarizing the expectations of the class. Mana-field perception was, unsurprisingly, divided into practical and theoretical assessments. Which, at first, seemed to be a potential roadblock, until I realized one fundamental way this class could actually benefit my aims.
“EVI?” I spoke inwardly, as Larial started her lectures on mana-field perception.
“Yes, Cadet Booker?”
“Is there any chance you can maybe interpolate and extrapolate on the Apprentice’s points? As in, is it possible to… visualize magic, as opposed to just alerting me to bursts of it?”
“The mana-radiation visualization project, or MRVP, has been in development for some time, Cadet Booker. The research and development teams however, were unable to create a reliable model for field-use that wouldn’t have been a liability to operations.”
“So it wasn’t field-deployable because of the variance and accuracy issue.”
“Correct, Cadet Booker.”
“Alright, and you said all they needed was more data to create a better model for it, right?”
“Correct, Cadet Booker.”
“Could you… do that with this? Is that within your mission parameters to do so?”
“It is indeed one of the many ongoing projects taking up the bulk of my processing capacity, Cadet Booker. However, proper implementation of this will require additional hardware to be developed, tested, and then field-deployed for testing. The success rate of which is yet to be determined. I cannot guarantee this operation will yield the desired results inferred, Cadet Booker.”
“Alright, that’s good enough for me.” I acknowledged, before turning back to class with a renewed sense of invigoration.
The lecture continued, only stopping about midway as the apprentice realized she’d yet to elaborate on the whole Light Magic class side of things.
Which, it turns out, was more or less similar to Mana-field perception in its assessment criteria — that being a mix of practical and theory assessments. A combination of written exams and practical counterspelling would be expected in tests, midterms, and finals. This would mark my first true hurdle… but then again, perhaps I could balance out the rest of my grades against the practicals which was more or less an impossibility given my obvious human limitations…
“As with most of the classes in the first year, I will treat both periods as one. As both subjects are intertwined, we may see glimpses of both within the same period.” The apprentice continued, before shifting gears towards something else. “And on the topic of periods, since we’re nearing the conclusion of the first, with lunch quickly coming upon us, I believe it to be necessary to inform everyone now of what awaits at the end of this second period.” The apprentice spoke ominously, as she made the effort of meeting every one of the students’ gazes. “By day’s end, I intend for a pair of you to perform a practical demonstration of the fundamentals of light magic. So I expect everyone to pay close attention after lunch.”
A small pause punctuated the room yet again, before Sorecar, after several hours of silence, came to complete the apprentice’s thoughts; his faceplate squeaked to form a shape that just barely gave off the feeling of a smirk.
“Be prepared, and be ready, for your first real brush with magical dueling.”
“First being the operative word here, I must add.” The apprentice quickly clarified. “Within the bounds of demonstrative purposes.”
I could just about hear the band rounding out the corner outside the hall, and I could just about see a few students ready to pack up their things for lunch.
However, before the band could arrive, Thalmin unexpectedly stood up, raising his hand in the process.
“Yes, Prince Thalmin Havenbrock?” The apprentice acknowledged.
“I wish to volunteer as the issuer of this duel, and to designate the other party for this duel as well.”
The apprentice paused, considering this carefully, before nodding. “Granted, though I warn you Prince Havenbrock, this is an introductory demonstration, and will be treated as such. In any case, who would you wish to designate as the other party?”
“Lord Auris Ping.”
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(Author’s Note: And there we have it! Light Magic Theory and Manafield Perception classes are both now in session! This is probably the most fun and engaging class I've written yet, and this is a sentiment that Emma shares as well! I do hope you guys share the sentiment haha as I still think that action is something I still am quite lacking in, in terms of my abilities to properly write and convey it. I hope you guys enjoy! :D The next Two Chapters are already up on Patreon if you guys are interested in getting early access to future chapters!)
[If you guys want to help support me and these stories, here's my ko-fi ! And my Patreon for early chapter releases (Chapter 80 and Chapter 81 of this story is already out on there!)]

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Old-Scool Diet 2.O
"A comprehensive article on bodybuilding diet minutiae - and SO MUCH MORE
What follows is my version of an old school (mid-80s to early 90s) bodybuilding fat-loss diet/regimen, with an updated (2020's) dietary supplementation plan. This type of diet was very popular when I was a child and produced results for many who used it. I was reminded of such diets by bodybuilding writers such as John Romano, who wrote about the basic bodybuilding diet in an issue of Muscular Development sometime around 2008.
Although renowned for its simplicity, it can become somewhat monotonous. The key tenets of this type of fat loss diet are 1) being in a slightly negative caloric balance, 2) using a simplified shopping list of 15 or fewer items, and 3) taking in large amounts of protein, a moderately large amount of carbohydrates, and a small/modest amount of dietary fat.
You will consume 3-4 "whole-food" meals per day along with 1-3 protein shakes (more on workout days and less on off days). You should drink at least 1 gallon worth of calorie-free liquids per day.... the closer you get to 1.5 gal and even 2 gal (if you're really big) the better.
The Shopping List
So, you're at the grocery store and you're in and out within 10 minutes. You don't care about the weekly sales (unless they involve one of your "weekly 15" items). Thus, grocery shopping becomes a snap.
As for the items themselves, a basic "old school" bodybuilding diet would likely contain:

1. Eggs
2. Milk (skim or 2% or UF/CFM)
3. Chicken Breast (boneless and skinless)
4. Tuna chunk light, canned
5. Cottage Cheese (2-4%) & red-fat cheese
6. Lean Gr Beef or Sirloin, NY strip, etc Steak
7. Rice
8. Oatmeal
9. Whole wheat (or white) Bread
10. Apples
11. Oranges
12. Pasta
13. Frozen Berries
14. Bananas
15. Broccoli

Of course, you can rotate in other vegetables such as corn on the cob, salad greens, and lettuces (with light balsamic or low-carb vinaigrette dressing if a salad) etc etc.
Eating a variety of wholesome foods that are (by and large) as unprocessed (aside from rice and oatmeal which must be processed as well as some dairy items) as possible typically means you'll be getting a wide spectrum of nutrients, including both macro and micronutrients. A daily multivitamin/mineral tablet can ensure you're filling any gaps in micronutrient needs (vitamins and minerals). As for macronutrients, this diet provides the bulk of its calories as protein and carbohydrate with only about 10% of the daily calorie allotment being reserved for fats.
What is the logic behind the macronutrient breakdown?
You'll be eating about 45-50 percent of your calories as carbohydrates and 40-45 percent as protein with only 10-15% as fat.
Why 45-50% as carbohydrate? Carbohydrate is stored in the liver and muscles as a substance called glycogen. For every gram of glycogen stored within the body, there are 2.7 grams of water attached. This gives the muscles a pumped appearance and feeling. This also means the muscles are well stocked with stored energy. The majority of your weight training sessions will involve anaerobic exercise. This type of exercise utilizes the glycolytic energy pathway to generate ATP or Adenosine Tri Phosphate.
(Note: The amino-acid-based dietary supplement Creatine also supports ATP synthesis by donating Phosphate to ADP).
Having adequate amounts of both calories and carbohydrates helps prevent dietary-induced drops in TSH.... or Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. This, in theory (and empirical practice) keeps one's metabolism humming and prevents one from "drying out." Simply put, you'll get great pumps in the gym thanks to all that stored water (remember 2.7 grams of water is stored per gram of glycogen).
Energy-rich carbohydrates (grains and fruits) differ from fiber-rich vegetables. Not only do energy-rich carbohydrates provide far more calories but the calories they supply raise blood glucose levels markedly and rapidly. These types of carbohydrates are more easily broken down into simple sugars (glucose etc). Simple sugars and carbohydrates such as rice and white bread are termed high-glycemic (they spike serum blood sugar and insulin levels) while whole wheat or rye bread and things like oatmeal and non-starchy vegetables are deemed low-glycemic.
To be completely forthright and technical all carbohydrates and macronutrients provide energy. The phytonutrients, micronutrients, and fiber aside, carbohydrates simply provide a "higher octane" energy (than protein or fat). ATP is regenerated via the glycolytic energy pathway; carbohydrates stoke the glycolytic energy pathway most efficiently. Despite this, carbohydrates are technically unessential.
Fat and in particular protein can both be used to create carbohydrates. And both fat and protein can supply energy. But fat and protein contain essential nutrients the body cannot manufacture. These essential nutrients are essential fatty acids (EFAs) and essential amino acids (EAAs).
What about Protein?
Because you're getting roughly half of your calories from carbohydrates the protein you take in will likely be spared from providing energy - at least that's what we're hoping for. You're going to shoot for 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. The actual range of values would be between 0.8g/lb to 1.4g/lb (grams of protein per pound).
You're going to want to consume high-quality, complete protein from sources such as meat, poultry, fish, and dairy. If you have 4 meals and a shake and are taking in let's say 225 grams of protein per day that works out to 45 grams per "feeding." To be more realistic we'll simply say take in between 40-50 grams of protein per feeding.
Protein supplies nitrogen and the "building blocks" of skeletal muscle tissue (amino acids). Protein is essential because 8-10 amino acids are considered essential (other amino acids can become essential in certain situations or circumstances, they are called conditionally essential amino acids).
If you're 200 lbs taking in 1.25 grams protein per pound of bodyweight you're consuming 250 grams of protein per day. Protein contains 4 calories per gram. Thus you'd be consuming 1,000 calories of protein. At 45-50% of total daily calories, carbohydrates would comprise app 1.25x worth of calories as compared to protein. Thus, carbohydrates would come to 1,250 calories. Total daily calories would thus far be 2,250.
2,250 divided by 0.9 yields 250 calories, and at 9 calories per gram that would afford us a mere (roughly) 25 grams of fat. I would at least double this figure (not counting supplemental fats). 50 grams of fat adds 450 calories. 450 plus 2,250 yields 2,700 calories total. Thus, your diet breakdown will be closer to 16-20% fat (20% when including supplemental EFAs), 40% protein, and 40-45% carbohydrate).
Note: If need be, you can cut down carbohydrates by a few hundred calories and increase your protein consumption. This would change the dietary breakdown to roughly 40/40/20 (popularized by Barry Sears as the Zone diet).
You'll want to stay on this diet for a week and record how you felt, what you ate, and how well you slept. Every other day weigh yourself after your morning shit, shower and shave. If you maintain your weight the 2,700 calorie mark is your body's "set-point target." To reduce excess weight (fat) reduce your total daily calories by roughly 10-15 percent and exercise 3-5 days per week. Include cardiovascular training in addition to your weight lifting to further speed up your fat loss efforts. You can do LISS (low-intensity steady state) cardio (walking) or you can do HIIT (High-intensity interval training) cardio 2-5 times per week. Personally, I would choose 5 45-minute leisurely walks over other forms of cardio.
What about "fat burners?"
When people say "fat burners" they're referring to thermogenic agents which speed up the body's metabolism by some 5% or so (5-8% for an hour or two). In the 90s both Phentermine and the ECA stack were popular. These catecholamine-based compounds were potent appetite suppressants, particularly phentermine. The ECA stack was/is also a beta-adrenergic agonist. Since then a host of other supposedly "thermogenic" compounds and preparations have come into the limelight. Yerba Mate comes to mind, as do the popular OTC products Xenadrine and Hydroxycut. Even plain old caffeine is sometimes considered a first-rate "fat burner."
The truth is these products barely increase metabolic rate enough to make much of a difference. Most of their worth comes from their appetite-suppressant effects. Now, I'm not saying if you're suddenly prescribed Adderall or start smoking ice you won't lose weight - you will. It's simply that most weight loss, even from strong stimulants, comes from their appetite-suppressant effects.
The only "fat burners" that truly increase fat burning without the need for appetite suppression are L Carnitine and Cardarine. Cardarine is a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-delta agonist. Cardarine enhances lipolysis during exercise. Training increases energy availability by promoting catabolism of proteins, and gluconeogenesis, whereas GW501516 enhances specific consumption of fatty acids and reduces glucose utilization. L Carnitine can be beneficial to exercise performance and fat loss; paradoxically it also suppresses T3, or active thyroid hormone.
T3 or Cytomel can be used to markedly increase resting metabolic rate, but "T3 burns through muscle and fat indiscriminately." You can reduce the amount of muscle tissue being burned and attenuate the reductions in "muscle pump" experienced when supplementing with extra T3.
To do so you'll need to drink water like a camel and supplement your diet with beetroot crystals and citrulline malate. You'll also want to utilize Tadalafil or Cialis. Surprisingly, aside from increasing the pump one experiences from lifting weights Cialis also increases fat burning and creates more BAT (Brown adipose Tissue as compared to WAT... white adipose tissue), relatively speaking. BAT is metabolically active and behaves more like muscle in this respect.
To reduce muscle loss while on higher doses of T3 nothing short of AAS (@ least 200-300 mg/wk, if not 400mg + per week) will truly help. SARMS such as RAD-140 may be of some (yet limited) value. To be honest I would avoid T3 supplementation unless also using Testosterone (Enanthate 400mg/wk) or other AAS.
As for fats, their consumption is largely incidental on this diet and comes from the dairy, red meat, poultry, occasional salad, or handful of mixed nuts one might expect to consume if adhering to the aforementioned dietary principles .
This means the amount of saturated fat as compared to MUFAs or PUFAs will be somewhat high. To remedy this one can consume tuna packed in soybean oil as well as by supplementing 3x per day with triple concentrated, enteric-coated, fish oil capsules. These fish oil capsules break down in the small intestine and there are no fishy burps with them thanks to that enteric coating. They are extremely rich in the special fatty acids EPA and DHA, Eicosapentaenoic acid and Docosohexanoic acid.
One might also supplement with an Udo's Omega 3:6:9 blend of daily supplemental oil.
As for specialty fats, one must purchase the next two in supplement form. CLA is conjugated linoleic acid and it helps improve body composition over time by increasing muscle mass and decreasing fat mass. Sesamin has a host of potential health benefits. Together these two designer fats can markedly improve physical aesthetics, health, and overall well-being.
Finally, there is GLA or gamma linoleic acid. Unless you eat a lot of cashews you'll want to get this fatty acid in supplement form as well.
Note: You needn't supplement every specialty fatty acid mentioned to reap benefits from each fatty acid you choose to use.
The GOLDEN RULE of DIETING: CICO
Calories in vs. calories out. It's so simple yet so misunderstood. When you reduce dieting down to its least common denominator it's CICO you're left with. If you aren't gaining or losing weight you're at an established set-point. You're at current equilibrium. It also means you're essentially burning just about every calorie you take in (burning every single calorie to be more precise, it's just the body's ebbs and flows and an equilibrium setpoint is usually somewhat elastic ).
If you begin to regularly consume more calories than your BMTMR allot (and than you burn via daily movement and exercise), you will put on additional body mass (including both fat and skeletal muscle). If you begin to consume less than your BMTMR allot, and/or begin exercising yourself into a negative caloric balance, you will lose weight, typically a combination of fat and muscle (but usually far more fat than muscle, particularly if one lifts weights throughout).
Note: BMTMR = Basal & Total Metabolic Rate
So are all macronutrients equal then? I mean, do all macronutrients convert into ATP at the same efficiency rate?
Technically no they do not. Protein is far less efficient in its conversion to ATP as compared to fat or carbohydrate. Thus, it takes MORE protein to create "x" amount of ATP. Remember, ATP stands for adenosine triphosphate. It is the body's preferred cellular fuel for high-intensity, high-octane activities. In this sense, protein's inefficiency in converting to ATP means a calorie really isn't a calorie after all. (Because) It takes more protein calories to create "x" amount of ATP than if one were creating that same "x" amount of ATP from carbohydrate or fat calories.
Now that that anomaly is out of the way it's best to simply memorize CICO, calories in vs. calories out, irrespective of macronutrient source. This is the most practical, tried and true way to diet scientifically.
So you've established your caloric allotment for metabolic equilibrium and lowered that figure by 10-15%. You've added in 3-4 30-minute LISS cardio sessions per week in addition to 4 weight-lifting workouts. You're beginning to lose weight week in and week out and then your progress slows and eventually stalls. Your body has become accustomed to the lower calories and the extra workload. Unfortunately, aside from supplementing your diet with substances such as Cardarine or Clenbuterol, there is little more you can do outside of dropping calories once more.... (or adding even more cardio).
Over time these successive reductions in calorie allotment lead to a reduction in TSH, or thyroid stimulating hormone. It's the body's way of slowing things down in an effort to maintain homeostasis. To continue improving body composition one mustn't merely lose as much fat as possible, but also must maintain the muscle mass one has - or even build a bit. Now I'll come right out and say it, if you're 6-10 weeks into a strict fat loss diet you're not going to be concerned with building additional muscle unless you're using Testosterone and/or other AAS and PEDs. Even then, if juicing quite a bit, at some point building muscle transitions into preserving muscle. No matter how much you're pinning if you aren't eating enough calories you simply cannot (physiologically) add appreciable lean fat-free body mass.
To boost the body's T3 levels one can supplement directly with T3 (Cytomel) or with pro-active-thyroid T4 (converts to T3 in body; Synthroid). There is supplemental T2 but I advise readers to steer clear of this thyroid analogue. Another way of boosting T3 levels, and a legal, natural way to boot, is by having periodic carbohydrate-rich refeeds and higher calorie days. Have a carbohydrate-rich meal every 3 days if on a lower carbohydrate diet as well as a higher calorie day once every seven to ten days whether on a mixed macronutrient or a lower carbohydrate type diet.
How many meals do you need to eat per day?
While there is potentially some slight advantage to eating several smaller to moderately sized meals spaced evenly throughout the day the science says "when you eat the bulk of your calories makes little to no difference." So if you'd rather have two larger-sized 1,350 calorie meals and then intermittently fast for the rest of your wake-sleep cycle (or "day" whether a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd shifter etc) go ahead. That said, I would personally recommend at least 2-3 whole food-based meals and 1-3 protein shakes per day for best results in the gym. As for weight loss, remember it boils down to CICO: whether you have 10 270-calorie mini-meals or one 2,700-calorie smorgasbord makes practically no difference.
What about enhancing insulin sensitivity and improving glucose metabolism while imparting a nutrient-partitioning effect?
I first learned of the term Glucose Disposal Agent while reading Dan Duchaine's Underground BodyOpus. Dan was recommending an isocaloric diet at one point but I believe he'd moved onto cyclical ketogenic-type dieting by the early to mid-90s - and obviously by the time he wrote Underground BodyOpus. Because catecholamines work better in low (serum) insulin environments and because high levels of insulin in the blood render fat-burning enzymes such as HSL largely inert, it is a good idea to release as little insulin as is necessary/possible. Postprandial serum insulin concentrations share a direct correlation with postprandial (after a meal) blood glucose levels. To help optimize glucose metabolism and loweoptimize postprandial glucose numbers far more efficiently - while also driving nutrient partitioning by enhancing the selective expression of GLUT 4 (on muscle cells and not fat cells), one should consider the use of glucose disposal agents such as Na R ALA and Berberine HCL.
Over time the use of GDAs improves insulin sensitivity markedly, assisting in the significant attenuation of metabolic syndrome. Berberine alone has been shown in some clinical trials to perform as good or better than the popular diabetic medication Metformin. Na R ALA is the most bioavailable form of alpha lipoic acid and you need only 250mg 2-3x/day to reap major benefits. If you use the cheaper form of alpha lipoic acid use 400-700 mg 2-3x/day.
To these two GDAs I would recommend a form of Vanadium, Vanadyl Sulfate. I would also add a form of chromium, either chromium picolinate or chromium polynicotinate. There are scores of various GDA or GDA-like compounds to choose from. For the most bang for your buck start and stick with this 4 part GDA stack before adding additional GDA compounds into the mix.
Note: If you combine the regular use of GDAs with a modified lower or low-carb diet one can literally reverse Type 2 Diabetes, particularly if the disease is in its early onset stage(s).
Maintaining Energy (to train intensely) while on a reduced-calorie diet
When you lift weights getting that all too familiar "pump" feels amazing. Arnold Schwarzenegger once compared it to sexual release - even going so far as to claim the "pump was better than cumming." I would have to disagree with Mr. Schwarzenegger on that, but I will concede that getting a vein-bursting, skin-splitting pump (obviously I'm embellishing: no pump bursts veins or splits the skin) gives one a major short-term motivational boost as well as an endorphin rush. It also feels great and makes one look more muscular and vascular. But getting a great pump while in a major caloric deficit, particularly if one is restricting carbohydrates, becomes difficult to say the least. So how does one boost the body's high-octane "energy" source, ATP, without taking in extra calories?
If you were unaware that ATP can be supplemented directly (orally), now you know. PEAK ATP is a well-known ATP supplement. In addition to supplementing directly with ATP one can also utilize Creatine Monohydrate (or other forms of creatine) to behave as a Phosphate donor. Creatine is stored within the body as creatine phosphate. Creatine phosphate donates its phosphate ring to ADP, or Adenosine Di-Phosphate, creating ATP, or Adenosine Tri-Phosphate. As you know ATP is the body's preferred "high-octane" cellular-energy-medium. Creatine and ATP are both important to high-intensity anaerobic exercise. But what about boosting the glycolytic energy pathway?
The body utilizes glucose and stored glycogen to replenish ATP. When glucose/glycogen is in low supply the body will utilize glycogenic amino acids (in a process called gluconeogenesis) to boost serum glucose concentrations, especially while involved in intense exercise such as weight lifting (bodybuilding). Supplementing (pre-workout) with whey protein isolate and/or EAA/BCAA+Glutamine can help prevent the body from utilizing its muscle tissue as a donor source for gluconeogenically-derived "energy."
Note: Glutamine can increase both hepatic and skeletal muscle glycogen stores (without carbohydrates).
Another thing you can do to enhance fat burning is to increase the proportion of fuel burned as fat during exercise. To achieve this supplement with the PPAR delta agonist Cardarine. Cardarine markedly increases cardiovasculaendurance capacity as well as muscular endurance. You'll be getting a few more reps per set on your higher rep sets and increasing the amount of fat (instead of blood sugar) your body is using while doing so.
Note: Stacking Cardarine with the infamous lipotropic L Carnitine may further enhance each supplement's effects.
Note: I have a separate article written on L Carnitine. See this article to learn everything you would ever want to know about L Carnitine in less than 5 minutes.
What about maintaining the muscle mass you built while in a caloric surplus after you diet your way into a significant negative caloric balance?
The supplement HMB, Beta Hydroxy Methyl Butyrate was over-hyped in the 90s. Everybody was looking for the "next creatine." And HMB showed promise. Then the research trickled in. Initially, HMB appeared to be of little value. Then more and more research poured in. Today we know HMB is most effective as an anticatabolic supplement.
HMB helps ensure the body remains in a positive nitrogen balance, but not by increasing protein synthesis. Rather, HMB reduces the breakdown of muscle mass (protein), and is particularly useful in lower-calorie settings, and/or high-stress situations (including recovery post-surgery and healing from serious burns).
You'll want to use a minimum of 3 grams of HMB per day. Amounts as high as 10 grams or more daily can be costly but are safe (and more effective than lower dosages, which does not necessarily hold true for other dietary supplements).
A second anticatabolic supplement you might consider is Phosphatidylserine or PS. The use of PS is reportedly effective in reducing excessive serum cortisol concentrations. Cortisol, a glucocorticoid, increases protein catabolism. This supplement can be costly to use, however.
Some trainees, gurus and gym pundits firmly believe the conditionally essential amino acid Glutamine is a potent anti-catabolic substance. The research on Glutamine's efficacy for athletes isn't clear; some studies show benefit(s) while others clearly do not.
If you're using appreciable amounts of protein powder (Whey Protein Isolate, Pea Protein Isolate, Caseinate, Milk Protein Isolate) you'll be getting about 4-5 grams of Glutamine (and precursors) per scoop (app 25 grams of protein. Most protein rich whole foods are also rich in Glutamine.
If you're in a caloric surplus (off season mode) then additional Glutamine is essentially a waste of money. Glutamine is best utilized while in the throes of strict dieting, when muscle mass losses are most likely. Glutamine can contribute to the Amino Acid Pool and act as a gluconeogenic donor if need be. Glutamine can also help restock both hepatic and skeletal muscle glycogen stores INDEPENDENTLY of carbohydrates (Glucose). To enhance glycogen replenishment, particularly in the peri-workout period, Glutamine must be taken in very large doses (up to 15-20 grams pre/intra workout & post workout).
Another thing you can do to reduce the loss of muscle mass while dieting is to raise your protein consumption to as high as 1.5 grams per pound of body weight. Of course, you'll have to have a commensurate reduction in calories from carbohydrates and/or fat.
And remember, while dieting to maximize fat-loss your goal isn't to build muscle, but instead to maintain that muscle which you've already built. This means you must take care to avoid overtraining. Not only is overtraining unnecessary at this stage, but it can be extremely damaging to one's physique. You run the risk of injury anytime you step foot in a gym but the probability of injury is geometrically increased if one is overtraining, particularly while on a low-calorie diet. Limit your weekly lifting sessions to no more than 5. Don't go crazy on the volume (# of sets) and stay in the 8-12 rep range most of the time (you can do more or fewer reps but 8-12 is a great rep range for most). You aren't going to be setting any PRs here.
Can you tell us what a sample day of eating might look like?
Let's say you decide on 3 whole-food meals, 2 shakes, and a snack every day. Let's assume your shakes are composed of ultrafiltered skim milk (12 g protein and 8 grams carbohydrate w/ 0g fat per 8oz), 2 scoops whey isolate (40 g protein), a small banana, and 1/2-1 cup frozen strawberries. By themselves, the two protein shakes will supply 130 grams of protein. And remember, at the beginning of this article we said our hypothetical dieter was 200 pounds. Thus your total daily protein goal in grams was 250 grams per day. Hence, you need only consume 120 more grams of protein, divided between 3 whole food meals and your optional snack.
Your total daily calorie and macronutrient allotment breakdown:
Calories: 2,700 Protein: 250 grams, 1,000 Cal Carbohydrate: 310 grams, 1250 Cal Fat: 50 grams, 450 Cal
Note: the caloric/macro breakdown above yields appx 37% protein, 46% carbohydrate, and 17% fat. This differs slightly from the 40/50/10 breakdown we began with but the actual percentages are simply a guide post. If you're more endomorphic you should probably drop the carbohydrates to 37% and raise the fat to make up the difference (or add protein for the same reason). If you're an ectomorph or mesomorph you can handle the 46% carbohydrate level without missing a beat.
Note: Supplemental fats do add additional fat grams (and calories to your daily totals). Thus, your total fat intake will likely be closer to 80 grams per day. You may also take a shot glass or two of extra virgin, cold-pressed organic olive oil 3-5 times per week to increase MUFAs in your diet.
Removing the protein shakes' nutritional values (130 grams protein, 0 grams fat, and roughly 60-120 grams of carbohydrates: one protein shake may be simply protein powder with milk or water and ice) leaves 120 grams of protein, 50 grams of meal-derived fats (excluding supplemental fats) and approximately 190-250 grams of carbohydrates for the remainder of the day. These figures will be spread (evenly or unevenly) over 3 whole-food meals and one snack. This works out to 40 grams of protein, 80 grams of carbohydrates, and about 15-20 grams of fat per meal. Under this scenario, your snack would have to be something like sugar-free jello which has practically no calories whatsoever.
As for how you put together your meals....
Because your list of foods was basic and limited to 15 items you'll have an easy time putting potential menus together. Choose foods from your list and match up their nutritional values to fit the macronutrient and caloric allotment for each of your 3 whole-food meals.
Note: If you need more variety go ahead. The number of different foods you eat has no intrinsic bearing on the results you'll achieve from dieting. I give the 15-item limit to reflect the authenticity of old-school bodybuilding dieting as told by John Romano, the famous bodybuilding author, and for simplicity's sake.
Look up the nutritional value of the various 15 (or more) foods you chose for your diet and write them down on the front page of your diet journal. You're going to want to make use of nutrition labels anytime you deviate from your list of foods. And if you're not accurately eyeing up proper portion sizes you'll want to invest in a food scale. Studies have shown that people who didn't record what they ate often overate far more than what they self-reported they'd eaten. The same goes for people commonly overestimating portion sizes. That's why you're going to record everything you eat and weigh out or measure proper portion sizes.
So how do you know how many calories you should begin the diet with?
There are many useful diet and macro calculators available online. One figure I've come across quite a bit is 15-17 calories per pound of body weight as a good, "average" starting point. For a 200 lb person, this works out to between 3,000 and 3,400 calories per day, which might be a bit high. If consuming even 1.25 grams of protein per pound of body weight that 15-17 cal/lb figure leaves 2,400 "energy" calories to come from carbohydrates and/or fats. Our hypothetical diet above was 2,700 calories with 250 grams of protein for a 200-lb individual.
So the two figures (2,700 cal and 3,000- 3,400 cal are close enough to be compatible and would likely fit any 200 lb hard training individual quite well - but we can't be certain. The only way to do that is to keep a diet journal for a minimum of 7 days where you record every morsel of every foodstuff you consume, each and every day and night. You also tally up your macronutrient totals for each of the seven days. At the end of those seven days, if your weight has remained the same, you have found your homeostatic caloric setpoint.
Add up the total amount of calories consumed over the seven days and then divide the resultant figure by seven. You now have your starting caloric allowance. If you want to gain quality mass you would increase your calories by 10-15%. But, we want to lose fat, so we will cut out starting caloric allowance (homeostatic-setpoint) by 10-15%.
If you simply don't have the discipline to keep a food journal you'll also have trouble keeping track of calories later on in the diet and end up overeating, even if unintentionally. That said, 15-17 cal/lb of body weight is a good average starting range for most lifters.
If you'd like, I'm open for consultations.
Contact me for nutritional, dietary supplementation, and exercise regimen consulting.
Mike Renteria BigMikeRenteria@gmail.com BPVA Summer 2024
Photo: Gunter Schlierkamp, IFBB LEGEND, 2002 GNC SOS CHAMPION (Defeated Reigning Mr Olympia Ronnie Coleman)

Are you ready to take your saree game to the next level? As we step into 2024, it's time to embrace the latest accessorizing trends that will elevate your saree style to new heights. From statement jewelry to trendy footwear, here are some tips on how to accessorize your sarees in line with the fashion trends of 2024:

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By following these accessorizing trends for 2024, you can take your saree style to the next level and make a fashion statement wherever you go. Experiment with different accessories to find the perfect combination that reflects your personal style and showcases the latest trends in ethnic fashion.
Happy accessorizing!

This is my first time writing anything like this about my life so I'm sorry if it's too long as there's a lot to unpack and I want to just lay everything out to get the best advice to help my decision.
I come from a family of 6. There was me, my mother, father and three sisters. I'm the youngest and there's an 8 year gap between me and my sisters, who only have around a one year gap between each of them. Growing up it was always World War 3 in our house with them as when they were in their teens the three of them shared a room. The sister in question, "Sarah", is the middle in age of the three, "Winifred" the oldest and "Mary" the youngest.
Sarah has always been the least like any of us, we're all very different, both in personality and looks, it's been pointed out multiple times by friends how different we all are from each other, but Sarah has always carried an air of superiority I've never seen in the rest of my family.
The one trait me and my siblings share would be we all have/had put ourselves first, which can be a good thing but can lean into selfishness pretty easily, a problem that plagued my personality until I met my husband who helped me see the difference in putting myself first and being a selfish AH.
Sarah has never been the type to let anything go. She always brings up things that happened when my sisters were teenagers (they're all in their 40s now) along with embellishing or completely fabricating things that have happened that make her out to be completely blameless. She retells these story's over and over until she genuinely believes them and then throws a tantrum when one or more of us correct her. I remember arguments Sarah would have with my parents that always ended up with her storming out of the house, she tends to run away from problems.
Sarah and my mother have never seen eye to eye. In many ways they're too similar, always need the last word, headstrong, never apologizing, the need to always be right and they obsess way too much about what people think (in different ways, Sarah cares about how people/ strangers perceive her and her families manners/ social status and success, my mother is particularly obsessive on people knowing details about her personal life and is a very private person). It's always been my view that Sarah has always lacked my mother's warmth and her honesty (mostly to a fault but she would always try and spare someone's feelings and bite her tongue when she really needed to). Sarah's name calling about my other sisters was always a main spark to her and my mothers arguments.
Her and Winifred got on well for the most part from what I remember, and when we all got older she was fine to talk to. There were even a few times when my father was sick, myself, Sarah and Winifred had some bonding time which was nice.
Several years ago Mary was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia ( severely effects her central nervous system, can cause wide spread pain and can easily cause fatigue) and a few years ago she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. She had a full hysterectomy and the cancer seems to be a memory but this still wasn't enough for Sarah to not belittle Mary and her, what Sarah calls "life choices". Mary has struggled with her weight since she was a teenager and Sarah never held back in letting her know her opinions on it.
It's common knowledge in our family that Sarah has always been ashamed of where she comes from and would always be embarrassed by how my mother and Mary acted and spoke (little filter and Sarah considers this candour and how they speak "lower class" ). Mary has always Sarah's verbal punching bag, both to her face and behind her back but has always disliked when people, mainly my mother, would call her out and tell her to stop. The most recent example of this I was told about was that at my wedding, she made a nasty comment about the dress Mary was wearing. Months later my mother mentioned it in an argument to Sarah that her sister (my aunt) overheard Sarah's remarks and made a disapproving face. Sarah apparently just walked away from the conversation. The next day my aunt called my mother and asked that she "not be involved in my family's drama". My mother, confused asked her what she meant and my aunt said that Sarah drove (1.5 hours) to her house to confront her about it even though it happened just short of a year before.
For years our father had been desperately trying to get my mother to agree for them to move and downsize homes so they could enjoy their retirement with a little extra money but she was extremely reluctant to leave the family home due to a combination of leaving happy memories behind and being afraid of such a big change.
Then one day, Sarah offered to give up some of her land for them to live on as a cheaper option. I think we all agreed it was a good idea and we were all so surprised by what seemed to be generosity, it blindsided us all and we mistook it as her turning over a new leaf. Our father was all for the idea as him and Sarah agreed it was good to be near family in their golden years.
I replay my parents asking my advice on this over and over in my head, as in hindsight it was obviously an awful idea. But like Winifred and Mary, I agreed it would be the best move.
Their original idea was for them to get a tiny home and have it about 100 yards from Sarah's home. Sarah entertained that idea for a short while but convinced them a built small property attached to their home would be better.
The family home was nearly 2 hours drive away from Sarah's home so her and her husband took charge with contractors and overseen almost anything to do with the build if my parents couldn't make it.
The first quote, pre-build, they received was 50k. But in the end it tripled into 150k. Over the course of the build Sarah had changed things, the location of the front door, which was now facing the window to her home office (which is her main place of work), and back door, which changed to face the back of Sarah's house ( I know this all seems like major red flags but again, her and her husband convinced them it was to do with not damaging parts of her property and what seemed like other valid reasonings).
Cut to the house being built, selling the family home and them moving in, it wasn't long until our father became ill. First we noticed his memory wasn't as sharp as it was, then he had difficulty driving and had to stop completely. It was around this time and slightly after the sale of their house Sarah started pestering him for a loan. He told me this himself, at first it was suggesting they bring everyone on a big holiday, then it was saying it would be nice to give all their kids 20k and how it would be nice to see us enjoy it. She eventually wore him down and he loaned her 20k, I'm assuming to get her off his back. At some point after she booked a trip to New York, brought 2 suitcases, one of which was empty but came back with them both packed full. I know it was her business what she wanted the money for but even if it was for a shopping trip she could have had the decency to conceal it a bit better. She promised him time and time again she'd pay him back. He never seen a penny. Previous to this he offered Winifred the same amount as she was going through a divorce and it would have gone to a house for her to move out, she thanked him for offering but turned it down and said she'd be ok. She didn't tell him that it was because she thought it wasn't right to accept money from him knowing he was sick as he was a very proud man.
My father was the best man I've ever known. Incredibly down to earth, very open and friendly and could make friends at the drop of a hat. I remember a couple of vacations when we were kids. Thousands of miles from home he'd bump into old friends of his.
He was the kind of person who rarely got a cold so his decline was obvious to everyone. It was a year of being misdiagnosed until he was finally correctly diagnosed with stage four liver cancer, which had moved to his lung and towards the end, a part of his brain.
His last month was the worst time of my entire life. The arguments, the tears, My mother and one of my sisters (I can't remember who) caught covid so we had to juggle who could be where. It was also the first time in nearly 20 years all of us were together for longer than a day.
Myself and Winifred were lucky enough to have bosses that were very understanding and adjusted our schedules so we were given the month off to be with our family.
As I said Sarah works from home and sees clients from her home office. She maintained her regular work schedule while we were all meters away. I understand that was her choice but it seems like odd while our father was literally wasting away in his bed, especially since she works for herself so has a pretty good control of when she can work.
Our father was such a strong person. Every palliative nurse that came were more and more taken aback with each visit that he was still with us.
We all said our individual goodbyes and promises to look after each other when his condition had advanced too much not to, and the next morning, he passed.
He had a special relationship with all of us and things Sarah has said since his passing leads me to believe she thought hers was the only one that mattered.
The funeral ceremony was quick (as per his wishes). We elected Sarah to be the one to give the eulogy as the rest of us have anxiety issues with public speaking, but we read what she was going to say a few days before the ceremony. I was the first one to read what she wrote and noticed a bulk of the corrections were changing "My Dad" to "Our Dad", I wouldn't have mentioned it but there were even times even in conversation I would correct her on this, it may seem insignificant but it's just something that really bothered me. I mean when siblings talk about their parents to each other is normal to just say "mom" or "dad" to each other.
There was light food and drinks in a local bar afterwards. As there were so many arguments the previous month between Winifred, Sarah, Mary & my mother, me and my husband were really the only people making conversation with her and her husband, apart from the odd distant relative or two. A week or so later Sarah flew off to New York, something she tried to conceal from my mother but she forgot she mentioned it to her almost a year before. There was yet another huge argument between Winifred & Sarah when Sarah thought Winifred told my mother this big secret. This is another trait Sarah and my mother share, forgetting they say things and to whom. When asked why she was so mad if my mother knew she was going away was something along the lines of "Because I didn't want to give her any ammunition use and tell everyone at the funeral". My mother is a chronic complainer who has never seen the bigger picture in social situations, but she knows better than that. Plus she had just lost her husband of 46 years who was also her best friend of 50, something I think Sarah will never see
The last two years without our father have not gotten any better, Winifred was diagnosed with breast cancer, started chemo, then discovered it has spread to her other breast, all while looking after 2 teenagers with CF and going through a divorce to a deplorable human being who seems to take pleasure in making her miserable. When Sarah heard the news of the divorce she offered to attend court with her, Winifred told me she yelled at her and her representation for not saying enough in court and then later told my mother "I only helped her because she has cancer".
When going on vacation with her family Sarah told my mother days before there departure and I later found out her children caught chicken pox but she took them on the plane anyway. My mother does not drive and there is no stores that are easily accessible for her.
Sarah was also diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in her colon. Both have had treatments and they seem to be on the mend.
The relationship between Sarah and my mother did not get any better in fact Sarah's partner Billy became a reluctant go between for them both.
After our father passed, my mother asked Billy could her utility bills be altered as she was still paying half of everything, even though there was four people in their house (2 kids) and she was now on her own. His response was no and that her and our father agreed to split utilities evenly. We advised my mother to organize a pre-pay electric meter for her part of the house so she could manage it properly. Shortly after, Sarah and Billy stopped using the jacuzzi they recently purchased as it was too expensive for them to run.
One month my mother paid €400, the next month €200, 2 months later it was €500, there's no way a pensioner living on her own could rack up half of those bills (The average household here only gets their oil refilled once every 3-6 months). She also bought a free standing gas bottle heater in her main living area and had her upstairs radiators were turned off to try and limit the usage as she never really went up there. I will add that Sarahs business requires a somewhat constant use of energy so even a 50/50 split of bills seemed unfair. Since our fathers passing, my mother would also spend days at time either with me, Winifred or Mary, but she paid it anyway just to not have any arguments.
She made one small payment of about 4% of the total 20k to my mother before our father passed and laid out a payment plan to her about how much she'd pay each month. There were no further payments. A year later Sarahs family dog got seriously ill and needed a surgery that would cost 1300 and asked my mother to lend her this money & my mother, being soft hearted loaned it to her. She did make an attempt to pay my mother back but again, one small payment was made and no more. Each time my mother brought up the money she'd brush her off and not speak to her for a while. The longest was 3 weeks with zero contact, and remember, she lived right beside her and my mother doesn't drive and it would be impossible for her to walk to a store. If it weren't for Myself and Winifred constantly checking in my mother would have just rationed the food she had. We had suggested to arrange a food delivery in the past but Sarah and Billy didn't want strangers to know the code for the gate to the property, but knowing she hadn't spoken to our mother for 3 weeks and didn't care enough to ask if she needed anything in the store forced my hand to arrange one anyway.
Everything that's happened with Sarah has made us seriously re-think everything she said has happened in her life, and a pattern we've noticed is that she's pushed away all her serious partners family from them. Her first serious boyfriend of 7-8 years, then her ex husband and her current husband Billy. First it would start with their mother or sisters, small squabbles at here and there, then on a weekly basis, followed by a giant falling out which would result in her partners only seeing their family on occasion and eventually cutting contact. At the time we all took her at her word: their mothers didn't want their sons taken away, they were rude, they were jealous of her independence etc. But seeing her push us all away and seeing the same thing happen to us we all feel incredibly foolish.
Sarah has done and said some pretty horrible stuff over the years. I can't remember specific times or dates and some may seem trivial but these ones just stuck with me:
- When Winifred was fighting with my mother over something trivial, she suggested "keep your kids away from her (my mother), that will hurt her". She's always used her children under the guise of care anytime they had a disagreement, to try and manipulate the argument in her favour. On several occasions my mother would wave to them playing outside or walking by her window and they'd rapidly put their heads down as if being scolded, so god knows what Sarah has ben saying to them. While we were helping my mother was move out, my niece came inside and she was in tears because my mother was not there for her birthday a few weeks before. She asked her why she didn't come out to her, why she didn't see her on her birthday and asked why she was moving and if she still loved her. Taken aback when she heard this she said of course she told her she loved her and she always would, she told her once she has a phone she could call her every day if she wanted, she explained she needed to be somewhere she could go grocery shopping and have things close to her home. I wasn't thee for the whole interaction but when my niece left my mother said the things my niece said were things Sarah had said to my mother in the past verbatim.
- Bringing her kids on a plane to vacation while they (1 or both I can't remember) had chicken pox.
- Casually mentioning to my mother about money she has left from the sale of the house and what pension she’s getting and how much (some of my mothers post had gone missing)
- She once ran away from home when she was a teenager for several weeks because my parents gave her an 11PM curfew
- Always passing comment and keeping tally about how much her or her children received for birthdays or any kind of milestone event (most recently my aunt gave her son €30 and it was the first thing she mentioned when she talked about my aunt not staying until the end for her sons birthday, something along the lines of "€30? What can he buy with that?" He just turned 12 and we only see this aunt a couple of times a year. (Also I give all my nieces and nephews that amount for birthdays and Christmas so hearing this made me re-think all her past thank yous)
- Decades of berating Mary and putting her down, always about her weight or the way she acted (hyperactive, no filter etc)
- Admitting to Winifred that she decided to build a barrier at the end of her patio to make my mother take a less direct route and, in-turn, from "looking into her house" when she needed access the trash, but told us all it was a wind barrier. My mother has always preferred to keep her own blinds shut so she's usually adamant on not looking in other peoples houses.
- After divorcing her first husband my parents took her in until she had somewhere to live. Sarah was insistent on compensating them and our father eventually accepted as she wouldn't let it go. Months later during a heated argument she said they never cared for her, to which they argued that they recently asked her to live with them after her divorce, and without missing a beat she replied calmly "you were well paid for that"
-While our father was in decline he wasn't very verbal and his motor skills weren't the best, one time she brought her and her family out for waffles, she posted a photo of them in the car, and on inspection I noticed he is holding a knife, backwards trying to eat, I still think about this photo regularly because it just angers me that she mostly wanted to be seen taking care of him, without first seeing if he was even able to eat. She documents almost every activity her and her family do, which is fine, but it really calls into question if any of it is for the sake of the activity and trying to capture the moment for her family to remember, or just to be seen doing it. Another instance of this was each morning if it wasn't her turn to stay up for the night shift, the palliative care nurse would arrive Sarah would bring everyone breakfast, but if the nurse wasn't there there'd be nothing, which I know she didn't owe anyone and I shouldn't expect good deeds from people, but she'd also be in to see our father much later those days.
- Once my parents moved into the house, not a week had passed and her and Billy would say things such as "you know we're not your carers so if it comes to it you should have something arranged" and there was always snide comments about how they built their property on her kids play area, suggesting it was an inconvenience and big of her to let them build but I don't think she's ever thought how my parents chose to spend their retirement years with her and her kids. Both my parents had told me this and we were all appalled.
- While our father was unconscious towards the end, my mother just asked Billy about an additional €5 on her utility bill. He said the internet went up and my mother either just asked when or that she didn't know it increased. He left and then 20 minutes or so later, Sarah marched in and loudly exclaimed something like "Do you think Billly is a thief or something?!". This could normally be passed off as a somewhat regular family argument, but it was generally agreed between all of us that my father could still hear us. There were certain reactions when my mother would speak to him, or when I played him his favourite songs, so her choice to start a fight about this with our dying father inches away still infuriates me.
- My mother was an avid gardener, but when she got to Sarah's land she only allowed her to have 4 plant pots at the back of the house. So many times I remember waking up with her already outside, she'd have her visor on with dirt on her clothes waving to me in the kitchen. I've been asking her what plans she has for her garden now it's taking a lot of encouragement from the rest of us for her to get back into it now she has the space.
- When me and my sisters were alone while my father was sick, we were talking about my mother and how she would cope with life when my father passed. He was responsible for everything, bills being paid on time, insurance etc. Her finances came up and Winifred asked the room if she'll have enough coming in to live off. Sarah, with a combined covetous and grudging tone I'll never forget, listed off payments my mother would be getting and ended with a " so she'll be fine" and then scanned the room for our reactions. I immediately responded with "Oh thank god, I was so worried she'd be struggling", shocked by my relieved response she stared at me for a couple of seconds and then shifted to a softer tone "Oh yeah she'll be ok" then changed the subject. I know this is conjecture, but I know my sister. Her repeated mentioning of my parents money and her general obsession with how much people have, I know she was hoping for us all to join in on what I know would have been an acquisitive rant.
- Close to our fathers end, I could only bare to be at the top of his bed. It was too much for me too look at him. This shell of a person, who was so strong in life was now half his body weight and all my family in agony around him. When it got too much for me I'd ask someone (occasionally Sarah) to sit with him while I called my husband for support and to help me through it. I later found out she brought this up against me and said I was a wreck and kept running off and my sleep breaks were too long (I stayed up for 24-30 hours at a time so I was the only one to sleep more than 5 hours). Who is she to monitor how anyone grieves. She could go into Billy whenever it got too much so she had her support system right there.
I'm sure Sarah is a good mother to her children, as they're both always so happy and care free, but Sarah sees the rest of us all as this big stain on her life she's more than happy to wash out. She's said this in some form of another several times to my mother over the past few years, "I don't need any of you, I have my family, they're there for me". I've never been the most involved in all of my sister's life, but I always make sure to never miss a Christmas or birthday for them and I always send money or buy gifts for her children, I've sent her flowers when she was unwell and when she received her diagnosis, but with everything she's done even the idea of keeping up the pretence of civility puts a bad taste in my mouth.
My mother has recently bought a new house and looking at her it's like a light switch has turned back on. I haven't seen her so relaxed and happy since my father was alive. The years living on Sarah's land she barely decorated and never really got comfortable. But the same day of moving in the first thing she did was put up one or two stuffed animals and other trinkets. Our mother decided to keep buying a house a secret to not cause an argument with Sarah as it was too draining and Sarah would make an argument out of anything my mother said. When she had signed the papers she decided to message Sarah to tell her she was leaving (Sarah had decided to not speak with her at all and for months had only spoke to her through Billy, but if my mother was outside while Sarah was with a client she would wave and say hello to her) her response was very nonchalant with a "that's your decision" all of us expected a huge reaction as it was the norm.
A part of me thinks maybe this was her end game all along, not speaking to my mother, not helping her with groceries and never having time to knock on her door to see if she was even alive. Sarah's last words to my father while he was unconscious were that she was going to try and make it work with my mother and my mother promised the same. With 2 kids and a business to run she's always so busy so any text messages my mother would always sign off with "I'm her if you need me, you know I'm always here" and varying ways to let her know the ball was very much in Sarah's court. Myself, Mary and Winifred all have been visiting my mother from hours away so I don't know why she expects my mother to be the one walk 15 meters to her front door, one time my mother tried and she was greeted with Sarah's arm literally blocking the doorway to stop her from coming in. It's my view that Sarah's last words to my father were a complete and utter lie to him, a lie she can never take back or explain and I hope it haunts her.
The way Sarah has acted and the things she has said since my father’s passing it’s obvious she has warped the memory of who my dad was and it couldn't be more wrong. Being the youngest, quiet, and sort of on my own a lot growing up I was always a very observant person. My father worshiped my mother, they were best friends, did absolutely everything together, he always took her side about everything, every argument, every situation, he was her number one fan and it never faltered no matter what, they were always a united front. I know he would be incredibly ashamed and appalled of what Sarah and Billy have put my mother through, squeezing her for every penny, being incredibly cold and not even feigning that they care, although through outside sources she's painted a completely different picture, to which my mother and sisters have used pain remover each and every time. To Sarah, she lost her father and her father only. She is starting chemo soon and sources say things are looking better for her health wise but I'd still like advice.
Thank you.

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Welcome to The Oblivion Cycle universe, a vast setting spanning all of time and space and so much more. While many stories may shed perspective on this grand cosmic vista, there are also tales of adventure and sacrifice, romance and terror, grimdark corruption and scientific progress. To become immersed in the setting is to let the chaos of creativity flow through you, to let go of what is probable to discover what’s possible. I have created TOC for one reason, to inspire and entertain any who will listen. So please feel free to join me on this great adventure as I push the boundaries of what is possible and expand the limits of our creativity together. For more information on the setting and its lore there is a subreddit for TOC at TheOblivionCycle and a Discord server dedicated to it here [ https://discord.gg/uGsYHfdjYf ] called ‘The Oblivion Cycle Community Server’. I hope you find the following story entertaining and once more, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy.
After more than a year in hiatus, the story of Balinski Katars returns. I hope that you have all been well and here is another episode of the story for your reading pleasure.
+ Episode 1: Part 1 + Episode 1: Part 8(Previous Part) + Next Part +
_____________________________________________________________________
Continued From E1:P8
The interior of the cramped space was dark and brooding. Not a word was uttered as the transport jostled over the rough and broken up roadways of the old city, the silence inside almost as stifling as the darkness itself. Amongst the people situated in the rear of the vehicle there sat a huge hulk of a man, his body covered by a great dark trench coat and wide brimmed hat. Only the chilling green glow of his cybernetic eye peeked out from the shadows he sat in.
Across from him was a large insectoid alien, the vinarfelien woman looking as if somebody had taken a centipede and scaled it up to monstrous proportions. Not only that but had to finish the look by strapping on ten arms and covering their whole body in chitinous armour thick enough to stop bullets. The vinarfel was wearing heavy body armour on top of all that, her long torso covered in holsters and pouches from which many weapons hung.
The other people in the back of the armoured transport were in similar states of dress, their police issue body armour and heavy weapons adding an air of tension to the atmosphere. This silence might have dragged on forever were it not for a strange furred creature hopping up off the floor into the big man’s lap.
As it did so a muffled chuckle rumbled out of the man’s chest. He put out a hand to scrub the beast’s fluffy head, the fingers of his hand the dark black of cybernetics. “Oh what do you want now you big fluff ball?” Balinski chuckled as Caesar butted her head into his chest.
She didn't reply, she was just a dog after all. A very intelligent dog with neural implants, but an animal nonetheless. Instead of giving him any indicators, she turned and pranced over to the large vinarfelien police woman seated across from him and placed her paws up on the bench next to her. Her pointed ears twitching as she cocked her head up at the alien.
Daryon seemed a bit perplexed by the attention that Caesar was giving her. “What does she want?” The vinarfelien woman asked, her insectoid head cocking slightly and her antennae twitching in apparent consternation.
Balinski simply shrugged. “Beats the hell out of me. I never know what’s going through that cybernetic brain of hers. Try giving her a pat on the head, maybe she’ll leave you alone then.” He knew full well what the sly dog was after. Ten hands were, as they said, better than two.
He watched in mild amusement as the woman reached down tentatively towards Caesar’s head. A daunting proposition given the fearsome cybernetic jaws she had, the titansteel chompers were powerful enough to shear through solid steel. Or cybernetic limbs, as was their purpose.
But this fate didn’t befall the alien as she gave Caesar a small and very polite pat on her cranium. He watched as her ears flattened and she shook her head, letting out a pitiful whine as if begging for more. He smiled again as Daryon’s antennae rose slightly and she gave the cyberhound another pat, this time followed by a little scrub that had the pup’s mouth lolling open and her happy little tail wagging.
From there it devolved even further as more and more arms got involved till Caesar was in doggie heaven. Ten arms questing across her head, shoulders and back, all of them sending jolts of bliss to the poor dog’s brain till she flopped over onto her side and swished her feet around, wriggling around like a thing possesed.
Daryon looked over at him, an expression of surprise on her chitinous features that he had learned to read after much time spent with other vinarfel. “What happened, iss sshe alright?” Her accent catching on the s’ and drawing them out with a hiss.
Balinski shook his head as another passenger chuckled at the sight. “Yeah, she is going to be fine. But I am pretty sure you just sent her to doggie nirvana. She is going to be out of it for a bit I am guessing. You have my thanks.” He gave her a small salute to which she seemed to shrink a little. Her antennae perked up at the same time. It was an odd reaction that he wasn’t quite sure he knew the meaning of, but it seemed positive so he just shrugged internally and went back to thinking about the raid on Slake’s operation.
They had managed to capture the gangster, and done it without too much bloodshed to boot. He nodded quietly to himself as he turned his gaze inward, using his cybernetics to replay the scene over again in his mind. A very useful skill in his line of work.
Another thought crossed his mind, that of a tall nerivith woman in severe looking police attire. Her magnificent swept back horns the same love shade of pink as her almond shaped face. Two violet eyes as deep as the oceans of abyss looked back into his own in his mind’s eye. He found himself smiling, he couldn't help it. It just happened whenever he happened to think of the police commander.
The intercom announced their imminent arrival to the precinct and Balinski realised that he had been daydreaming. He glanced around but was relived to see that his relative lapse in attention had gone unnoticed. What was more, Caesar was still lounging on the floor, her senses hadn’t detected anything off with him and so she had left him to his own devices. That was a bit of a relief, it would be awkward if she started thinking his daydreams were some manner of psychotic fit after all.
The vehicle jostled them roughly, the driver apologising as they ran over a series of speed bumps designed to slow approaching vehicles. The roads leading out of the station precinct had no such disadvantages however, ensuring that the officers would be able to respond to threats as rapidly as was possible.
After another minute or two the armoured personnel carrier ground to a halt. Balinski was the last to have boarded and so he crouched and undid the rear door. The handle was quite stiff, but no match for his cybernetics. All at once the relative quiet of the interior was shattered by the sounds of barely controlled chaos. Sirens and distant shouts filled the air around the precinct, its busy atmosphere never slowing either day or night. The city was large and this building policed a significant portion of its more heinous districts. One had only to wait for a minute and another series of emergency vehicles would surely be dispatched from the precinct.
He exited the vehicle and stepped out of the way as the other officers did the same. His attention was taken up by the other vehicle that had been following close behind. It was a relatively nondescript white and grey-blue van, the pattern having been chosen to blend into the surrounding traffic.
He knew that inside its nondescript confines sat the man who was responsible for so much of the death and addiction that befouled the streets of Cheenha. Slake, that foul mouthed man having been betrayed by his own ambition. If he had taken less money, made less noise, he might have flown under the radar for years. But instead he had decided to get high on the power that his booming trade garnered. Living like a king on his ill gotten gains.
Balinski smiled cruelly, if any passers-by had taken a peek under the dark brim of his hat then they surely would have met with catastrophe. The sight of the huge cybernetic man with such a look might have been enough to send most onlookers screaming. What with the horrific scarring on the left side of his face and the ominous shine of his cybernetics, he looked like a corpse that had come back to life.
And he might as well have been. He had been blown to literal pieces by an orbital strike, only the heavy armoured layers of his powered armour he had been wearing at the time had sustained his life. His capture and subsequent incarceration at the hands of a cell of Hegemony rebels had also taken its toll on him. Mind and body, he had been physically and mentally broken only to later be reforged by the best Union doctors the government was willing to provide to a hero of the Union.
“What a joke.” he muttered under his breath as the thought crossed his mind. Hero? He was nothing, just one more asshole that had believed too hard in a lost cause. Fighting a corrupt war for a government that didn't actually care about him or the others that fought and died in its name.
He frowned as something butted into the side of his thigh and whined. It was Caesar, the cybernetically enhanced husky was both his best friend and his support animal in one. She was attuned to his mood and must have sensed his growing fugue, attempting to change the direction of his thoughts before he fell into a fit again. And it worked, as it always did.
He smiled and kneeled on one knee to bring his face down to her level. Caesar gave him a doggie kiss and he chuckled in spite of his thoughts as he wiped his cheek with the back of his hand. “Oh you goofball. I can’t stay negative when you are here to cheer me up girl. Thanks Caesar.” She gave a happy growl and butted his chest with her head before he stood and turned back towards the precinct. “Alrighty then, let’s go and watch them process this asshole.” Caesar gave a very undoglike head nod, her neural implants giving her the cognitive intelligence of a young human child.
She wasn’t a genius, for a human. But she was far smarter than any dog had the right to be, and that had come to their collective advantage on many occasions.
Balinski walked through the main doors of the precinct and showed his security ID to the main watchdesk, the bored looking human man behind the counter waving him through without a second glance. He coughed into his wrinkled uniform as the two walked away and Balinski shook his head. They really needed to take security more seriously in the station headquarters, they might think themselves untouchable but the city was full of dangerous criminals.
It didn’t take them all that long to find out where Slake had been taken. As he walked down the narrow hallways he was forced to move out of the way of the other officers, detectives and general inhabitants of the large station. He was wide and took up a lot of the available space. As one particularly muscular specimen of a female yeown slipped by him he frowned as he noticed one of her fuzzy eyebrows raise. She slowed and gave him a speculative appraisal before cracking a predatory grin and moving on, her stance changing slightly as she stalked away.
He knew enough about her people to know that she had been checking him out. The yeown respected strength and cunning above all other attributes, and if she had recognised him as it seemed then it was likely that his exploits on the latest raid had already spread through the building. He just shook his head and kept moving, his eyes moving from her impressively muscular bulk as Caesar gave a low growl of contempt.
He chuckled. “Don't worry, you’re the only girl for me.” She just raised her head and walked away in a haughty manner. Likely a bit annoyed with him, her behaviour that of a disdainful child.
She could get so emotional for the smallest things. He needed to remember to schedule her a cognitive implant check soon, she had taken a couple decent knocks to the head and body recently, he wanted to make sure none of her proverbial screws had come loose.
She seemed to know where she was going as he followed her down the hallways. She must be tracking where they had taken the slaaveth criminal by his scent. For in a few more turns they arrived at a door guarded heavily by four Havoc troopers. The heavily armoured officers appraised him as he approached, determining in seconds that he was an adversary to be wary of. Hands reaching for holstered weapons accompanying the whine of power armour.
The door behind them opened and a very tall figure stepped out, they waved a single hand and the Havoc troopers stood down. Albeit a bit slowly. This newcomer looked his direction and smiled, pearly white molars made for crushing fibrous matter flashed at him as Siyel grinned.
She motioned for him to accompany her, “I thought you weren't going to show up to the party Balinski. Come on, the interrogation has already started.”
He didn’t need to be told twice, a grin split his craggy face despite his best efforts to remain professional. The serene posture of the woman oozed confidence and power, her face like an iron mask when in the regular course of her duties. But she seemed genuinely pleased to see him, and it made his cold dead mechanical heart skip a beat to see the warmth in her eyes.
He followed her inside, the door leading to a darkened hallway that was guarded by another two Havoc troopers in medium powered armour. They saluted her as she passed and they entered one of the two doors at the end of the hall. The room was small, cramped with monitoring equipment. One entire wall was taken over by a one-way glazmite mirror that looked into a dingy room with only a single table and two chairs.
The occupants were currently seated, the officer that sat across from the shackled and defiant face of Slake seemed to be getting nowhere. As Balinski watched the man rail the criminal with accusations and evidence the other man simply laughed. He gave away nothing and seemed to seep confidence, as if he was not worried about getting caught.
This continued for another few minutes with Siyel getting noticeably more and more frustrated by the man’s smug demeanour. His pitch black eyes and scaly features seemed to give nothing away as the officer inside asked him questions from a manilla folder placed open in front of him.
Balinski didn't know the exact contents of the folder, but if it was the same case he had been helping Siyel uncover for the last few weeks then it likely had evidence of drug trafficking and distribution on a mass scale. Enough to hang the man with a mile of rope to spare.
Balinski thought hard, his remaining eyebrow crinkling in thought. There must be some reason for his lack of worry, something that he knew that they did not perhaps. Balinski made everyone in the room jump as he suddenly spoke, “That's it. Let me in there.”
Siyel shook her head slightly. “As much as I would love to see you go in there and bust his head, there are procedures we have to follow here. I am bound by the letter of the law after all.” She slumped slightly, the tiniest crack of defeatism seeming to slip through the momentary gap in her armour.
He thought for a moment. “But he doesn't know that.” Balinski told her. She cocked her horned head, raven colored hair shifting in the tight ponytail she wore.
She narrowed her violet eyes, har voice taking on a bit of a suspicious tone. “What do you mean.”
He shrugged, the faint whine of his cybernetics muffled by the heavy clothing he wore. He gestured at the ineffective interrogation that was happening inside the room. “What I mean is Slake has no idea what the exact operating procedures are. At least not to what level you are willing to stoop. I’ll bet you my hat that he is more scared than he is letting on. Let me in there, I won't say anything or do anything directly. But I'm the one who took down his operation, the boogeyman so to speak.” She began to nod as he spoke, her face lighting up as the idea spoke to her.
She rubbed one of her long curved horns idly. “Yes, this could work. But if you are going in there then I am going with you. I want this shrij broken like an egg before my shift is over.” Balinski nodded eagerly. Happy to get things moving along. He hated the waiting for approval part of the job, if only he was given free reign to just get the luck damned job done.
She took a few steps towards the door and then stopped, turning to look at him. “Well, are you coming? Leave Caesar here though. At least until he doesn't seem like cracking.”
Balinski nodded, that seemed fair. He gave Caesar a look and told her sternly, “Stay here Caesar. And don't harass the officers, they need to keep an eye on the interrogation.” She made a series of small chuffs. Her way of telling him to stop babying her. He just gave her a raised eyebrow and proceeded to follow Siyel out of the observation chamber.
The hallway outside was still dimly lit, the two sentries still in positions outside both doors. Siyel led him past the saluting officers and to the next room. Without a word she opened the door, causing the interrogator to stop speaking.
The man stood and walked over to Siyel quickly, his voice a whisper that Balinski’s advanced hearing could only just pick up. “What are you doing, Siyel?”
She spoke right back to the human, his face a mask of annoyance. “You aren't getting me results. So I’m turning up the heat.”
The interrogating officer seemed to be a bit upset at her comment, the man clearly not wanting to be relieved. “I must say, this is highly irregular. You can't just come in here and kick me to the..” but he never got to finish his comment.
Siyel spoke over him. Her slightly husky tenor easily carried in the confined space. “I have given you a direct order, now hop to it.”
The man spluttered, clearly not used to being spoken to in that manner. But he nodded stiffly and complied, glaring daggers at Balinski as he exited the room. Siyel gave Balinski a quick gesture to hold his position. Balinski didn’t immediately follow instructions, instead waiting just out of Slake’s vision as Siyel sidled into the room and took a seat delicately on the side of the table, the armoured door swinging closed. But he held it open just a crack.
She tutted, Balinski watching through the gap as she picked up the evidence folder. “Hmm. Let’s see. We have multiple serious charges here. Evidence of massive drug trafficking, armed robbery, assault and murder. Whew, you are going away for a long time.” She frowned as Slake simply chuckled.
“What is this? Are you trying to bore me to death now? There are those that have the guts to make change and those that toe the line.” He gave her an appraising look that Balinski could only just see. The door was cracked just enough for him to hear the conversation. Slake continued, “And you, tits? You just don’t look like you got the claws to do what needs to be done.”
The slaaveth chuckled, his gurgling accent making Balinski’s mouth turn to a frown. Siyel seemed largely unaffected though. “Oh you may be right about that. I don't have any.. claws, as you say.” She stood and walked around behind the shackled man. Leaning down closer to his ear, but not so close as to be within his range of motion. “But that’s why I hire people that do.”
She nodded towards the door, a clear signal for Balinski to enter. He took a breath and then put on his most severe face. He opened the door casually, not trying to be anything too over the top and stepped inside. He was tall enough that with his hat on he had to duck slightly, his shoulders filling the door frame as he stepped inside the room.
Slake immediately reacted, jerking back as if stung. “Who is that? What the deep are they doing here!?” they asked in what appeared to be mild panic. Surely they could recognise him, they had been quite lucid when Balinski had taken him down after all.
Siyel turned and gave him a simple glance, as if he were no more concern to her than the sand that stuck to her boots. “Oh? Just a consultant. One not bound by the same restricting rules and regulations as I am. As I am sure you no doubt witnessed first hand when he single handedly waltzed through your entire operation and grabbed you.”
Not strictly true. But he had to hand it to her, the embellishment worked. If the man had been capable of sweating he would have been sweating bullets by now. As it was, he was shifting nervously. His dorsal frill drooping in his turmoil.
Slake looked at Balinski, the definite gleam of fear in those pupilless black eyes. Balinski simply dipped his head slightly, the only thing visible from under the shadow of his wide brimmed hat was the gleam of his cybernetic eye. The cold green piercing through the criminal’s bravado and cutting straight to his cowardly center.
Slake asked quickly, “What do you want from me? I'm just a simple businessman. I didn’t do anything..” But he didn’t get to finish his excuse as Siyel cut him off.
Siyel gestured to Balinski. “That’s ranxshit of the highest order and you know it. My.. associate here. Well they have already been to your little warehouse down by stonewall. And let’s just say that the evidence they found was enough to damn you a dozen times over. You are as good as convicted, what we want from you before we drop you in the hole is the location of your other business associates. Ties and connections to other local gangs and where you commonly sell your goods.” She looked like she wanted to say more. To indicate the other atrocities that he had committed in the name of money.
He watched as the tall nerivith held her tongue though, the effort visible in the manner her long sinuous tail twitched and the crack of her knuckles as she clenched her hands. Slake didn't seem to notice though, his attention being focused solely on Balinski himself. Probably exactly as Siyel had intended, she was very good at her job after all.
Balinski shifted slightly, not in an attempt to cow the man, but the slight movement seemed to draw the criminal’s attention just the same. Before he had the chance to say anything, Siyel slammed a pink-skinned hand down on the metal table causing the slaaveth man to jump as much as his shackled hands would allow.
She picked up one of the documents and slid it towards the man. “This is your handiwork, a week ago at the eastern loading docks. Some of your goons killed a pair of dockhands over a crate of illegal psilocybin shipments. We tracked the manifest back across the city to a warehouse near stonewall and my associate here wiped it out.” Slake picked up the picture, the corpses of the various thugs that Balinski had killed were clearly visible.
If the scaly alien had the ability to turn pale they likely would have. The carnage in the scene would have turned the stomach of all but the most hardened. He spluttered, “Who, what? He did this? Alone?” He seemed to be part horrified and part impressed.
Siyel didn't answer. Instead she pressed him, “I want to know who the buyers were. And I want to know where the shipments were coming from, you clearly don't have the operational capabilities to manufacture on that scale.”
Balinski leaned forwards a little. Now this was information he was also interested in hearing. Instead of speaking though, Slake clammed up. His scaly face returned to its impassive state.
Siyel chuckled. “Your silence speaks volumes Slake. It tells me that somebody’s got a hold over you. Somebody that scares you to silence..”. She petered off. Her face taking on a thoughtful expression.
She stood suddenly and began to pace, her tufted tail twitching in thought as she made small circles in front of the table. As she muttered to herself Balinski noticed that Slake was becoming increasingly agitated as she did so.
After another few moments the man shouted, “You want me? Lock me up, see if I care! There isn’t anything you have on me solid enough to convict.” Once more the smugness. No, he wasn’t smug, he was terrified. And he was using this devil-may-care attitude to cover it up.
Balinski made a small movement, nothing much, enough to get both of their attention. Siyel paused and asked, “Yes? What is it?”
Balinski spoke, making sure to keep his voice as sinister as possible. He had read up a bit on the gangs that operated in Cheenha. And the ones that seemed most likely to be working with the Golden Boys were either the Pit Vipers or the Bloodborn. He decided to take a chance.
He gestured towards Slake, “I think we should go and ask one of our informants in the Pit Vipers what they think of the situation. Maybe they can get the word out that old Slake here has split like an overripe frubble. Spilled his guts to us, it doesn't even have to be true so long as they believe it.” He gave the man another cruel smile.
Now Slake was really freaking out. His already wide eyes opened even further, the man practically vibrating in his seat. “You can’t do that! That's against the law!”
Siyel made a big show of covering her ears. “What I don’t know can't hurt me.” She smiled widely.
Balinski stepped towards the door, but Slake blurted out, “Wait! Stop.. if I tell you something, will you protect me?”
Siyel stopped in her tracks, her face impassive. Though Balinski could tell by the aggravated flicking of her pink tail that she was excited. She gave Balinski a glance and then turned back to Slake. Sidling up to the table she plopped back down into the seat across from him and folded her arms. As she leaned back into the seat, Slake’s eyes seemed to flick between them. Though it was somewhat hard to tell exactly where he was looking.
She nodded to Slake. Balinski moved forward to take up a position over her left shoulder. The intimidation obviously affected the man as he was starting to crack under the pressure.
Siyel closed the folder and asked confidently, “Alright then. Say we were willing to offer you some measure of police protection, and I'm not saying we are.” She raised her hands up. “But on the off chance I am feeling generous, what do you have to offer me?” She spoke calmly, but Balinski could feel the tension growing in the room.
If the man uttered the right word then there was a chance that they might be able to move on the problem once and for all. Every crime they hindered, every gang they were able to knock down a peg. It all helped the greater good. And so if there was any chance at all for Balinski to weed out corruption, he was going to take it.
Slake leaned in, conspiratorially and began to speak. His hushed tone barely audible, as if he were trying to speak without speaking. “It wasn’t just the Pit Vipers.. there is so much more to the story that you don’t understand. It all started six months ago, the rebellion was getting slower and there were fears that the wartime revenue would slow down. So the Sunstarters made a deal with me through an intermediary.” He stopped, his mouth closing as if he would say no more.
Siyel waved a hand in frustration. “That's all you got? You made a deal with the Sunstarters? What the hell convinced you to do something that stupid?”
Balinski frowned. That was unprecedented. The Sunstarters and the Golden Boys were officially enemies. With bloodshed dating back decades. Who had the sway to mitigate so much bad blood and animosity between the rival gangs? Especially two of the bigger players in Cheenha.
He was about to recommend politely that Siyel ask about who was giving orders to settle blood feuds between rival gangs when the entire room seemed to shudder.
Balinski was forced to lock the stabilisers in his legs to avoid toppling over, Siyel gripping the table as dust fell from the ceiling tiles.
She stood quickly, the chair toppling backwards in her haste. “What in the name of the powers that be was that?!”
Continued in E2:P2
==End of Transmission==

EDIT: I WAS RIGHT YOU REGARDS!!! LETS FUCKIN GO
Ok here’s the deal. We all remember the hype when Canada legalized. Everyone thought it was the ultimate infinite money glitch.
And for a while, based on the hype, it was. Canada was the first major first world country to outright legalize (sorry Netherlands your half measures are no good for stonks), and the outlook was looking good for US legalization. We had a boomer Republican president in the US at the time, but one who was decidedly less hostile to Marijuana than the typical boomer Republican. Speaking of boomers…their parents who grew up watching reefer madness and blamed all crime on Mexican reefer addicts and always voted 98% no to any loosening of marijuana laws were finally starting to fucking die. No one under 40 still thought it should be illegal and the national pulse had finally turned in favor of legalizing nationwide in the US. Everyone saw it coming imminently.
But Canada is a nation of 38 million. Barely a single major city in the US. Not nearly enough to justify the size and scope of the weed market that emerged. The stonks soared. I remember ACB at 200 times it’s current price.
But it slowly dawned that no, in fact, America wasn’t going to reschedule, let alone legalize. There wasn’t going to be a big enough market to support all the infrastructure the Canadian firms invested in. The stocks cratered and a lot of degenerates lost a lot of money.
Then Biden, a democrat, gets elected….the democrats being the party who overwhelmingly support legalization, it stood to reason that a liberalization of American marijuana law was imminent and again the stocks popped, though nowhere near the 2019 highs. This is where I jumped in (MJ ETF, ACB and OGI)…and again, it slowly dawned that US legalization was going nowhere…and again the stocks slowly waned, punctuated occasionally by big pops on irrelevant news like another state legalizing…each time I thought this was it, this time it turns around for good.
I lost like 75% before giving up and selling my shares, and good thing I did, because I’d have lost another 75% had I sat on it.
Now Germany just legalized and again the stocks are popping and a lot of us can’t see past these old painful memories. I get it.
Just hear me out.
Now keep in mind right off the bat Germany is a much bigger nation and economy than Canada (>2X the population and 2x the GDP, roughly). It alone can support a much larger market than Canada. So the pop in weed stocks we’ve seen now is already justified and yet they still have tremendous upside.
But my fellow regards, this is just the warmup round.
Joe Brandon is in trouble. He’s behind in the polls, he’s seen as old, stuffy and senile. His oldness, stuffiness and senility are perfectly encapsulated by his antiquated commitment to continuing marijuana prohibition. It’s worth noting that he is the leader of a party that abandoned its commitment to marijuana prohibition decades ago and while he’s stubbornly been clinging to it more and more of the old fuddie duddie hardliners have died and almost no one in the country still supports continuing prohibition. Certainly almost no democrats. Also, RFK is running as an independent and he has confirmed he will make marijuana legalization a priority. While RFK will be pulling support from trump too (think Covid hoaxery) I am convinced he’ll be pulling harder from Brandon.
Brandon needs something big to revitalize his campaign, and he’s been dropping hints that marijuana very well could be that thing. April is “second chance month” and this year he went further than before in his commentary on the topic, suggesting rescheduling and/or hinting at legalization. Kamala Harris has been pressuring the DEA to take action now. Things are happening that are unlike anything from 2019 or 2021. Traditionally 4/20 is associated with marijuana and the bettor in me senses something big may be coming this month, possibly on or around that day.
Yes, marijuana stocks are up somewhat on German legalization, but still down well over 90 to 95% or more from the 2019 highs.
I’m not saying YOLO on weed calls. But picking up some shares right now is a relatively low risk (the stocks are already so so so far downbeaten with residual pessimism) move with tremendous potential upside.
TLDR; buy weed stonks before 4/20
Position (edited to reflect additions since OP): 5,000 Tilray in at 2.41. 2,000 SNDL at 2.40. 500 ACB at 6.90. 800 CURLF at 5.45. 500 CGC at 9.55. No options (NB4 ‘if you really believes in your DD you’d YOLO your life savings into calls’, I’m 40 years old and have 4 kids, I can’t afford the risk. I don’t fuck with options, ever).
I’ve read some DDs on here that convince me Tilray is the strongest play. Pick whatever suits you.
This is not financial advice. I’m a regard
Some more edits.
1) German legalization not being true commercial legalization.
True and a valid point. The play here is not on German legalization. The play is on an anticipation of a forthcoming change in US law. Apart from being the worlds largest economy, the US has been the stick bearer enforcing marijuana prohibition around the world. Many nations have wanted to legalize in the past but have been held back by the UN convention on psychtropic drugs from the 70s…the U.S. has been the standard bearer of enforcement of that convention. Once the US legalizes, I think that this UN convention loses relevancy and the dominoes will start falling in short order and many more nations will legalize. The smart money knows this and the bulk of the movement in the stock will all happen once the US announces meaningful change. The play is to get ahead of that announcement.
2) edited GDP ratio of Germany to Canada because yes that data point was off
3) if y’all can’t handle some embellishment I can’t help you. The NYC metro area is 23M people. Canada has 38M. I think it’s fair to say 38M, as the population of one of the world’s top economies, “barely” exceeds that of a single city’s metropolitan area. Yes you regards, the specific data point is embellished to emphasize the fact that the US has 10 times the population and 12 times the GDP of its northern neighbor. It’s a much much bigger deal. When you consider the likelihood of copycat legalizations in the wake of US moves, now is the time!

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In thirty years of serving in The Corps, I encountered exactly two Telkan who believed in and prayed to the Warfather.
Now, I give him thanks every time I put on my armor, call out to him for aid during combat, and give him thanks again when the armor comes off.
It's amazing what seeing a few million Mar-gite charging your line will do to your beliefs. - Gunnery Sergeant Zolpad, Gray Lady Marine Expeditionary Force, Third Mar-Gite War Year Zero.
The gym, if you could call the massive interior bay that, was full of Terrans, with a few Rigellian females and a handful of Tukna'rn scattered around. Jaskel stopped only two paces into the cavernous gym, looking around himself and staring.
In a dozen rings Terrans fought one another at lightning speed, the blows coming hard and fast, both combatants still fighting despite taking heavy hits. Scores of areas had Terrans working out with free weights. More had Terrans working out on machines. A line of treadmills that had to number at least a hundred has Terrans running smoothly on inclined belts. Lines of Terrans sprinted a hundred meters, turned, and sprinted back as fast as they could. Whole companies of Terrans jogged in long rectangles, perfectly in time, calling out cadence.
Everywhere he looked, Terrans were exercising, working out, or relaxing in between sets.
The whole thing was nothing but Terrans engaged in hard physical exercise.
"That's a hell of a thing," Captain Nakwel said quietly, looking around.
A Terran was jogging toward them, wearing the same exercise uniform as every other Terran in the gym.
"Let me do the talking, sir," Gunny Zalpod said.
The Captain just nodded.
"You're Telkan Marines, right?" the Terran asked, coming to a stop. He was tall, over twice as tall as Jaskel, who was tall for a Telkan. He was nothing but thick muscle and heavy bone, with reddish-brown hair cut close to his scalp on his head and fierce looking green eyes.
"Sure are," Gunny Zalpod said. He held out his hand. "Gunnery Sergeant Zalpod, part of the Gray Lady's Telkan Marine Expeditionary Force."
"Colonel John Jane Tenfingers Ranadheer, TerraSol Marine Corps," the Terran said. He turned and waved at the gym. "The Gray Lady has plenty of workout space. We only have it every other day, the aerospace mechanics use it to train on refitting, repairing, and rearming the aerospace strikers on the off days. We use Gym-19 on our off days according to the training schedule."
The Gunny nodded. "Is this all the Terran ground combat troops?"
The Colonel laughed. "Not even. This is just the five thousand and change of Sixth Regiment, and there's seven Regiments in the Division, five divisions for II Corps," he waved his hand to encompass the gym. "That's without getting into the almost million dog faces in the Army aboard this old dame."
Jaskel blinked several times at the numbers.
"That's without getting into the aerospace guys, the wet-navy guys, or the million and change Space Force that run this whole thing," the Colonel said. He waved the Telkan forward. "Since you've got an entire Division of Telkan aboard," he started saying.
"Severely understrength," Gunny Zalpod said. "At about half."
"You guys can't print up more? It's been like forty-kay years. You didn't crack it?" the Colonel asked.
"No. It was pretty much considered a myth," Gunny said. He laughed. "Till about two months ago, Terrans were considered a myth and legend, lost to time."
"Ain't that a bitch," The Colonel said. He gave a sudden grin. "Well, we're back now, and we'll make that everyone's problem soon enough."
The Colonel led the small group of Telkan Marines through the gym, introducing them to combat arms officers, senior NCOs, explaining the exercises.
After a while, Gunny Zolpad and Captain Nakwel told everyone they could look around.
Jaskel noted that the big thing was 'reflex burn in' and 'printer to sprinter' to take everything laid in by the bioprintecloning bank and the SUDS template impression and ensure everything was working properly.
He talked to power armor jocks like him and found that most of them had experience against the Mar-gite from the First Mar-gite War.
The biggest thing he noted is that they didn't discount what he had seen, just asked questions that clarified the Mar-gite tactics, how large the clusters were, and inevitably focused on the silver liquid-appearing ships that came in after a few Petra-Constructs came in.
He was watching several power armor jocks putting metallic discs with red lights on their bodies. Back of the hand, forearm front and back, biceps front and back, legs front and back, chest, and having someone put it on their back.
They activated them and there was a slight shimmering.
"Step back," a Captain said, pointing next to him.
Jaskel moved back to stand next to the Terran Captain. Even with the phasic suppressor he wore around his head like a headband, it felt like heat was radiating off the Captain and made his teeth feel like they were covered with electric glitter.
The Terrans wearing the pads began moving in synch.
Jaskel recognized it after a moment as basic power armor movement.
"What's the disks?" Jaskel asked.
"Armor's changed since we last trained. The disks use close in forcefield tech to simulate the armor, the one on the pilot jack simulates the suit's functions," the Captain said. "We're reburning new reflexes."
"Huh. Does it work?" he asked.
The Captain nodded. "Really well. Not as good as actually using the armor, but better than eVR because your body is actually moving. Plus, it gives the techs and mechanics good baselines for the armor."
The Captain sighed and ran his hand through his close cropped kinky black hair. "Wish we had greenies. None of them made it."
Jaskel nodded. "I've pretty much got the only Greenie in the battalion."
"Little guys are an amazing force multiplier. I'd rather have a greenie than an eVI any day of the week," the Captain said. He bent down, reached into a box, and pulled out one of the disks. "Wanna give it a try?"
"Will it work for Telkan?" Jaskel asked.
The Terran nodded. "Telkan were probationary members of the Confederacy when we jumped from TerraSol. We were supposed to take on some Telkan Marines before everything went charlie foxtrot on us."
Jaskel thought about it for a minute. "Sure, I'll give it a try."
"Just hold it in your hand, let it access your palm mounted data/smartlink," the Captain said. "Might take a minute to synch up with maintenance for your armor's specs."
Jasked took the disk and held it in his hand. He could tell by the tingling along his arm that his smartwire was moving a lot of data.
"Might take a minute. You have modern armor," the Captain said. "You know, once you're fully synched up, you can run the CQC course with us," he looked around. "You know, I'll have to get with the Colonel, maybe the General, about working some of you guys in with us."
Jaskel just nodded.
"Kind of funny, you know," the Captain said. "We were on this ship and twenty-three just like it, all heading for Lanky Space to kick their ass off of them for what they did in the Harmonous Cluster. Now, we've got Lanky in the TO&E."
"The Lanky can be good fighters. Very doctrine focused. Not as bad as the Tukna'rn, but more than us Telkan," Jaskel said.
"Every species has their strengths," The Captain said.
Jaskel watched as two Terrans squared off and began fighting hand to hand, their movements like they were in full power armor. Fists, forearms, shins, and feet smashed against the pads they were both wearing.
The disk beeped.
"Your ready," he said. "Hand it here, I'll put it on your jack."
Jaskel handed it over and turned around. He felt it click against his pilot's cyberjack, then felt the plug lock into the socket with a slight whir. The Captain kept tapping a disk against the one on the back of Jaskel's neck and then putting them in place.
A red square came to life on the floor, like a nearly transparent crimson overlay. It had a white border that shone brightly.
Another Terran helped him put on a padded helmet and a set of protective pads. When they were locked in, the Terran patted the top of Jaskel's head and moved away.
"OK, you're ready. Do you see a red square on the floor?" the Captain asked.
"Yes, sir," Jaskel said.
"Go stand in it," the Captain said. He turned his left palm up and a holokeyboard popped up. "I'll help you run through the basics."
Jasked stepped into the square. There was a slight buzz and he suddenly could see his armor on his limbs, taste the recycled air, and his HUD went live like he was in his armor.
"All right, trigger a function check. Tell me if there's anything wrong," the Captain said.
The function check went smoothly, even for the weapons.
"Lets do some basic warmups," the Captain said. "Show me your normal warmup routine, I'll check it against your armor and we'll synch it up to your armor even better."
Jaskel did as he was instructed, going through the basic function check movements, then to walking in the square, moving as he was told. As we moved, the feeling of being in his suit matched up with the experience more and more.
Finally, the Captain called a break and Jaskel came over, panting and sweating. The Captain seemed to be standing in the middle of a crater blasted moonscape.
"All right. Basic suit is loaded. We've got your suit's idiosyncrasies loaded up," he tapped his arm and the HUD view vanished. The Captain was standing there with 8814 down by his foot. 8814 was wearing a headset with a visor.
"Your battle buddy is synched in. I'm going to bring up some hard light, let you practice," the Captain said. He smiled. "I've always enjoyed this. I loved being the battalion training officer back in the day."
Jaskel just nodded, still breathing heavy.
"Plus, we'll load your suit up with some autonomous movement sequences developed for species that can't do unconscious movement easily. Telkan bio-profiles says you're capable of it, but have to have it trained or pushed through experience," the Captain said.
8814 and Jaskel both nodded.
"Train to fight," the Captain smiled. He held out a squeeze bottle with a plastic straw. "Have some electrolyte squirt and we'll get back into it as soon as your battle buddy says green."
Jaskel just panted, nodding.
-----
Captain Nakwel had found himself on one of the training ranges inside the huge bulk of the Gray Lady, watching the Terrans work.
He turned to the Major next to him. "Why aren't they in power armor?"
The Major turned his chair to face Nakwel. "What?"
"Why aren't your men training for power armor. Mag-gite seem to require power armor," Captain Nakwel said.
The Major shook his head. "Armor plating, minimum EM profile. We figured out that even your weaponry needs to be EM shielded as best as possible. Its why TerraSol went to chemical propellant weapons during that war."
Nakwel frowned. "Won't they see the plate armored and go for them?"
The Major pushed himself back. "Captain, take over."
The Captain next to him nodded, tapping at the keyboard.
The Major stood up. "They don't see like we do," he said.
Nakwel nodded. "Well, no. They've got those five eyes on the ends of their arms."
"Not eyeballs," the Major said. He waved Nakwel over to the holotank. "They don't see like you think. They don't see visible light."
Nakwel frowned. "They don't?"
"Those nodules aren't eyes. They're electromagnetic sensors," the Major said. He tapped the holotank and a Mar-gite appeared. "They see in the electromagnetic spectrum. They can see us talking, literally. We don't think they hear like we do either."
"What about the screeching?" Nakwel asked.
"That's always been a thing, but..." the Major tapped the keys. "Its a broad spectrum atonal signal across multiple frequencies, some of which happen to be in audible range for most species," The Major brought up the frequency chart. "We think it's biological jamming. About all they can't jam is our quantum and spooky particle channels. Even the quantum can get jammed if there's enough of them, but the paired quark still works."
"Oh," Nakwel said.
"I spent over a hundred years fighting the Mar-gite," the Major said. He held up one hand. "I'm not saying you don't know what you're talking about, or that you're stupid. I'm saying you know pretty much what I knew at the beginning of the war."
Nakwel nodded curtly. "So, why just hard plate."
The Major tapped a few controls and the holotank showed a skirmish line. Emplaced guns, warmeks, power armor, hardshell troops, even some troops in basic uniforms. There were armored vehicles mixed in.
"This is what we see," The Major siad.
"Right. The Mar-gite target the warmeks and vehicles, then the emplaced guns and the power armor. They twist a lot when you get ready to shoot at them," Nakwel said. "They can see us and predict where we're aiming."
"Not exactly," the Major said. He tapped a few more keys and the whole thing turned into overlapping shifting and moving colors and streaks. "This is the EM sensitive view."
The meks and vehicles burned brightly. Beams lanced out, sweeping around Nakwel's side of the holotank. The power armor and emplaced weapons burned, but not as bright as the warmeks. He could see huge blooms of fire and large sweeps of bright light.
"That's how the Mar-gite see things. They aren't attacking power armor and warmeks, they're after the highest EM signatures," he tapped some more keys and there were suddenly holes shaped like warmeks and vehicles. "That's when they run under EMCON. The Mar-gite know that holes in the EM field don't appear in nature, so they all rush them."
Nakwel suddenly understood.
"They're going for what they can see the brightest. The largest predators. They can see us ranging them and move to avoid it because they can see our targeting systems," he said. "So why go after people?"
The image rippled again. Shapes were highlighted. "Pheromones. A primary sign of life."
Nakwel stared at the holotank for a long moment.
"They don't even need to really think, do they?" he asked.
The Major shook his head. "You'd need very little dedicated neural systems. It would be about as smart as a warhead penaid."
"That's why they just keep coming, isn't it?" Nakwel asked.
The Major nodded. "As far as we know, they have no sense of self, no fear of death," he wiped the holotank clean.
"By the end of the war, we'd come to the conclusion that they are just a weapon," the Major said. "But this war brought in additional data and now we have a suspect for who is fielding them."
He brought up an image of the liquid chrome appearing pumpkin seed shaped ship.
"These guys."
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I just browsed a recent thread with so many comments saying time, effort, and money are required for looking put together.
I couldn't disagree more.
Instead of being comment 570, here are some things I personally do.

1. Take 1 hour on Sundays to find 7 outfits for the week. Iron them and put the accessories with them on a hanger. Sometimes I'll find too many outfits and get a head start on next week's planning.
   
2. Take a picture of you wearing outfits when you have completed them. Save it to an album on your phone. Now you have a catalogue to pull from.
   
3. Get wardrobe essentials first. For me, that was no print basic tees, tanks, blazer, sweater cardigan, button up, Jean, legging, pants in black, brown, tan, gray, and white. Monotone outfits can be reworn 5 million times with different shoes/accessories and no one will notice. Prioritize the fit! Basic doesn't mean unimportant whatever items. Your everyday black t can have interesting draping, ruching, sheer sleeves etc. You can also have 5 'basic' black tees before ever moving onto anything printed or funky.
   
4. A couple times a year I'll get printed or funky items in SETS. If I get a lime green shoe, I must get matching accessories or the lime green blazer the store is also selling at the moment. Sparkly shoe needs a sparkly head band. Otherwise I get stuck with cool items that I have no idea how to incorporate.
   

*get accessories cheap and in big sets. So idk go on shein or something and buy $30 of ONLY silver or pearl or beaded accessories. Pick 1 color or theme and make sure they can all be mixed and matched together; Necklaces, rings, belts, hats, earrings, hats, bracelets etc.

1. Keep your stuff clean and organized as often as possible. Get rid of everything that doesnt fit perfectly or isnt comfortable. If you can easily see it and throw it on that cuts down time and effort.
   
2. Determine when you are your laziest. I'm super lazy mornings AND nights lol. So immediately when I get home, I do my skincare routine and shower. I lay out my makeup and hair stuff on the counter for the morning the evening⁸ before.
   
3. Find the simplest beauty routine consisting of the cheapest most effective products for YOU. Subscribe to the company that sells them and buy in bulk on sale only. Skincare: neutrogena oil cleanser + african black soap+ paulas choice toner and moisturizer. I thrift my sunscreen so it's always random brands spf 30+. Powder sunscreen kept in car to go over makeup throughout the day.
   

Makeup: Revlon spf foundation $40 for the year. Bought 4 for $12 each at walgreens. Find your favorite mascara, elf tinted lip, eyeliner and blush.
Nicer foundations and fancy makeup looks are for days when you feel extra special. Otherwise, make sure your everyday look is quick and still beautiful! I focus on overall complexion and lashes everyday. I skip concealers and eyeshadow.
Thrift perfume.
Maintain Eyebrows regularly and find 1 or 2 easy hairstyles that can be done quickly. I do a bun or headband wigs.
Hope this helps!