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WaveOfWire Edits :D
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Harrison’s vision was still foggy from waking up, several blinks failing to clear the tears from his drawn-out yawn. He just escaped the encompassing embrace of his four-armed guardian, leaving their shared bed for the bathroom, where he would have to say goodbye to his beard. If he was going to travel out of the settlement, a proper seal on his gas mask was a must.
It was a shame. The slow buildup of the hair over the last month or so was a representation of his growth in a way, building up alongside his experiences in this hellhole, be they life-threatening or informative. It was almost like wiping the slate clean, even if cutting some chin scruff didn’t really change anything at all—he’d never be able to forget anything he had seen here for as long as he lived.
And there was no telling how long that’d be.
The engineer sighed, splashing the lukewarm barracks water into his face from one of the many wall-attached sinks, allowing him to fully open his eyes and size up the damage done to his favorite black blood-and-sweat-stained t-shirt. It always stayed in good condition with washing and fabricator repairs, but somehow Shar’s talons always found a way to make small holes in it. She wasn’t trying to, but with the way she fully wrapped her arms around him, the tips of her sharp fingers sometimes ended up poking into the fabric and causing some cuts.
It was such a small issue that he never considered bringing it up to her. Plus, she’d probably do her whole guilty talon-tapping thing with puppy eyes and all… He shook his head, letting the stray beads of water on his face drip into the sink.
His palm ran across his beard while his other hand reached for the razor. There wasn’t any shaving cream or the like, but he’d make do. At least he had one of the proper tools for the job. He went into the task, the blade driving through his scruff, slopping off wide areas of his hair from jaw to chin for a few seconds before it was interrupted.
A short ‘woosh’ of the entrance caught his attention.
“Aww, you’re shavin’ it off?” Tracy commented dejectedly through a yawn, the lazy drawl reinforcing the fact that she just woke up. “Th’ beard was sorta growin’ on me.”
He eyed her through the mirror, his voice coming out in a dull tone. “Yeah. I feel the same.”
She squinted under the bright bathroom lights, rubbing an eye with her wrist as she walked up to the sink beside him and started her own morning routine. “Mmm… Womp womp. Why though?”
“Need it to get a gas mask seal,” he stated flatly, focusing on the task at hand.
The technician stopped momentarily, the gears turning in her head before she gave him a downcast frown. “You’re still set on going for the vehicle bay? You know we can just send some long-range drones out there, right?”
His short exhale echoed throughout the tiled room. The engineer closed his eyes, already mentally withdrawn from the conversation. They've had this discussion twice now. “It’s to be better prepared for any chemical, biological, or radiological surprises that might come up—not just for the excursion. Even more importantly, there’s no guarantee the module is in perfect shape. If I’m there in person, I’ll have the means to get through anything for those blueprints. Plus, it should only be four days, so the only issues we have are my beard and finding a way to protect the Malkrin from the radiation while we’re out.”
Tracy looked like she wanted to say something back, but bit her lip and cast her eyes down at the sink in front of her, twisting the knob before mumbling a quiet response. “I don’t think you need to protect them from radiation at all…”
“Hmm?”
She stared at him meekly, his dismissal of her worries having clearly dampened her mood. Guilt tugged at the back of his mind before her words further caught his interest. “I think they’re immune… or resistant or something. Radiation immunity is the whole reason they were sent here. You’ve added up the pieces together too, right?”
He stared down at her, running a hand through his hair with tired exasperation depressing his voice. “Tracy, I’ve been trying my hardest to just make it another day on this God-forsaken planet, not dig into their religion. So, no. I have not spent the time to add up the pieces. Enlighten me, please.”
“…S-Sorry. I just, you know, get a lot of time to think when working on drones, and Cera has been drawing all kinds of representations of these things.” Tracy paused, gesturing toward the engineer. “Okay, so you remember the whole backstory for why the Malkrin are on the mainland in the first place?”
“Pseudo-eugenics?” he commented dryly.
“Yeah.” She nodded, a sense of excitement leaking into her voice. “And what were the parameters of banishing someone?”
“Not getting sick from a rock.”
She eyed him feverishly, brows raised with a sudden zeal. “Aaaaand that rock represented the Sky Goddess’ wrath, which did what?”
“Uhhh…” He looked upward in thought, recalling his conversation with the paladin. “I think Shar mentioned nausea, vomiting, blisters, skin melting… off…” He froze, the pieces forming. “Wait, you don’t think…”
“I do. Those symptoms could mean a lot of things, but the anomaly field was the real kicker. You know that Shar just straight up didn’t have any lingering radiation effects or anything while you were nearly put… six feet under…” Her voice quieted momentarily, the speed of her speech outpacing her train of thought. “Sorry. Um… so, I was gonna say that she, uh, I mean the scanner mentioned she had damage from ‘alpha particles’ on her skin, but nothing else happened to her organs or anything.”
Harrison squinted at her for a moment, mouth slightly opened and prepared to give some alternative reasoning besides ‘immunity.’ Maybe her armor protected her from it? No… she didn’t even have full protection, radiation would have certainly gotten around her eyes or snout. What about her height? What if… No.
He didn’t just want to believe that somehow the Malkrin could just evade a force of nature, but he didn’t have any way of proving or disproving it on hand… Well, no humane way of testing it.
“I… guess?” the engineer grumbled, rubbing his eyes. “Even then, they still need armor and gas masks. The worst part of the radiation isn’t even the ionizing part. It’s the trace elements that get into your lungs and decay there. So it doesn’t hurt to use some CBRN filters.”
“Fair… but it’s interesting, isn’t it?” Tracy beamed. “Like, what kind of evolutionary factors lead to radiation immunity? Why do only some of the Malkrin have it and others don’t?”
The only real cause of radiation he could think of would be a massive nuclear proliferation of some sort. Maybe the anomalies? He ran a hand through his hair, pushing the lingering thoughts away. “I wouldn’t know. You could always ask Sebas to bring up some papers about it or generate some theories when you get the chance.”
“I probably will at some point… Maybe while I’m working.” She poked him in the bicep. “You’re still helping me with the mule, right?”
He bobbed his head, loose beard hairs itching up his chin. “Sure am. Gimme a bit to shave and test the fifty-cal ammo, then I’ll be free to assist.”
“Kay Kay.” The tradeswoman smiled and returned to the sink, washing her face.
- - - - -
“What the hell did you do to your shield?” a stunned Harrison asked the paladin, his face scrunching up in concern… and confusion.
Sharky proudly held up her once grungy orange shield with a smile, looking at its new… paint job? “Artificer Tracy has s—n to imbue my bulwark with the crest of the Sky Goddess herself! Observe the b—utiful wings that cover it!”
The engineer had just got back from setting up and overseeing the automated mule’s first excursion to the mine and back. It was a grueling task, requiring him to reset its pathing several times before it was able to make a round trip without input. Now, the maroon-skinned Malkrin in front of him had apparently gotten her massive aegis laser imprinted with crossing wings in the two hours or so he’d been gone. The areas between the black feather decals were colored with white and blue paints, contrasting with the new dark gray background.
A small weight was placed on his shoulder, Tracy’s forearm suddenly appearing atop it despite her being nearly a foot shorter than him. She beamed, staring up at him with all-too-proud eyes. “The scout regiment symbol looks good on it, right? Cera helped me with the laser engraving.”
“I…” His brows raised in perplexity. “The scout regiment?”
She shrugged, watching the paladin observe her shield from all sorts of different angles underneath the workshop’s light fixtures. “From an anime I used to watch. Men and women who were sent out to battle against massive titans for the greater good of the last settlement of humanity. Somewhat fitting, and fuckin’ awesome on her big-ass shield! Matches the bird’s wings on her armor too.”
He loudly sighed. “You wasted materials on imprinting wings on Shar’s shield? Really?”
“Hey!” Her brows furrowed into faux-annoyance, a smug grin betraying it. “It’s not a waste if you were never gonna use the paint we had on hand. Plus, we’ve got energy to spare with all the wind turbines and power cells you’ve been printing out.”
“Those paints probably could have been used for important designations… or something…” he grumbled.
“Doesn’t matter.” She stuck her tongue out at him. “Anyway, want me to put some scary teeth or something on that big ‘ol fist-sized muzzle break on your shotgun?”
“No?” he took an incredulous step away from her, letting her arm fall off his shoulder and to her side.
“It’s okay to admit you’re jealous of Shar’s awesome decals, bro,” Tracy teased, her smugness growing tenfold. “No need to get defensive.”
He groaned, figuring there wasn’t a point in staying to bicker with the tradeswoman, leaving the two vanity-focused females to their devices. He still had to figure out how to fabricate armor and gas masks for the Malkrin and himself.
“Hey! Where ya goin?” the technician called out, clearly disappointed that he hadn’t indulged in her taunts.
“Work.”
Short taps against the hard floor sounded out as she caught up to him. She leaned forward and curiously looked up at him as she walked, holding her hands behind the small of her back. “What kind? Can I help?”
“Just need to take some measurements and compare options. Right… Speaking of which.” He turned around and cupped his palms around his mouth. “Hey Shar! Get over here, I need your help!”
The addressed Malkrin perked up, snapping out of the small haze of admiring her new shield and happily making her way toward him. She stood at attention, her tail oscillating side to side. “What n—d do you have of me?”
“Just a quick task,” he briefed her, grabbing some measuring tape from his desk… that Tracy had decided was her new chair. He sighed and turned his attention back to the paladin. “Can I bother you to lean down for a few seconds while I take some measurements?”
“Of course. Pl—se, take your time.” She stepped forward and kneeled, her head brought down to his height. Her face wore that simple content look he was growing all too accustomed to by now—slightly vibrating frills, a little curl upward of her lips, and warmly glowing eyes.
He wasted no time getting to work, noting down the various distances around her jaws, snout, eyes, and ears, already piecing together how he could cobble together some gas mask designs to fit the dimensions. She sat there quietly, sometimes leaning into the accidental head scratches adorably. It contrasted heavily with the cold-sweat-inducing layers of razor-sharp teeth within her muzzle as he measured the angle her maw opened at, bringing an idle curiosity prodded his mind.
“Say, Shar, do your teeth grow back if they fall out?” he poked, absently observing the dozens of triangular bone protrusions in her mouth as he held the underside of her jaw.
“They do,” she confirmed, the way she was able to speak despite not moving her mouth still messing with his head. “Do y—rs not?”
“Nope. Only once.”
She attempted to tilt her head, but quickly returned it when it left the embrace of his palm. “Only once?”
He nodded. “Yeah, sometime a few years after birth. They’re replaced with the teeth I have now. Don’t get any new ones, so we gotta take care of ‘em.”
“Birth?” The Malkrin’s eyes widened. “You were not cr—ted as you are now?”
A shock of stress poured down his spine like a bucket of ice water, raising the hairs on his back. Fuck. How did he let that slip? He was supposed to have just appeared from the sky to her, right…? He was doing so well for so long in keeping that in. God, had he really gotten so comfortable with the paladin that he simply forgot what he was to her? His teeth clenched, a huff of air escaping his nostrils as he lightly shook his head. It was a bit too late to backtrack. It could be explained vaguely and brushed off, right?
“Yeah. I was born,” he affirmed flatly. His hand dropped away from Shar’s muzzle, her head falling an inch or two before she registered that she couldn’t keep leaning into his touch. “That’s it for measurements, so you’re free to leave.”
A frown carved through her small smile. “I… See… F—give me if I have brought up someth—g improper.”
His exhalation burned through his frustration at himself, his hand running through his hair to wash away the spike of anxiety. “You’re fine. You haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Th-Then I shall take my leave,” the massive alien stated softly.
He nodded, feeling a little regretful for pushing the kindhearted Malkrin away as he shuffled back to his desk. Tracy was still sitting atop it, giving him a disappointed reaction with low brows, forcing a pointed reaction from him. “What?”
The technician took a long inhale before shrugging. “Nothin’.”
“…Alright.”
The rolling chair squeaked lightly as he rested himself, his hands already going through the motions of opening the computer and the blueprint folders. There were plenty of tabs open of sensors and motor assemblies he hadn’t closed from the previous night. That wasn’t even mentioning the pile of notes he had on proper radio-protective methods, their corners bent from his frequent flipping through them.
“Soooo…” The short black-haired woman leaned forward from her perch atop the only clear part of his desk. “Can I help you with your ‘comparing options’ work, mister busyman?”
“Sure…” He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, raising a brow. “How much do you know about armor?”
- - - - -
“No way. The back support is a must, so you can have extra plating over your shoulders and chest.” Tracy pointed out from her seat beside Harrison’s, all but forcing him to pause his Malkrin gas mask designing to give her argument his full attention.
He calmly took his hands off the mouse and keyboard. “A back support needs leg assistants, which means I’ll need to have at least a fifteen pound battery pack somewhere. Those kinds of exosuits are either all in or not at all. You can go full armor and engine, or lightweight protection and simple limb support.”
“So you’re just gonna go out there with normal armor? Just run-of-the-mill plates and gear? Those fucking things would go through that shit like butter! I know we can’t make synthetic muscle yet, but at least consider wearing something a bit more. Please. Even Sharky has heavy armor!”
Harrison pinched the bridge of his nose, his brows furrowed. “Do I look like a several-hundred kilogram monster of pure muscle to you? I’m more than willing to put on a few extra kilos for protection, but I’m trying to weigh the pros and cons of putting on more armor rather than more equipment. I’d rather fifty pounds of magazines and ammo than fifty pounds of armor. You know what I mean?”
“Yeah yeah… You and your storage space…” she mumbled, swiping through a few more images on her data pad when a familiar Mars-pattern suit showed up, catching his eye.
“Hey, wait, pull that one up…”
She rotated the tablet for him to see a little better—despite already being shoulder-to-shoulder with him. “This one? What’s so special about it?”
He analyzed the few pieces of equipment on screen, noting the rusty-orange and tan color scheme, the old Martian-American flag attached to its breastplate, and the iconic quad-nod integrated helmet. “Holy shit,” he whispered. “That’s… We have that in our blueprints?”
She raised a brow, clearly confused. “Whaddya mean?”
“That’s an Orbital Drop Ranger’s standard kit,” he stated slowly, a simmering sense of awe bubbling up—why the hell was it in their blueprints folder? “It was used during the Sino-Venusian incursion of southern Mars. It still has the Old Earth American flag embedded into it, so you know it’s pre twenty-two-hundred C.E.”
“Oh shit… Pre-St.Loual’s construction? This is ancient, then, huh? Would it be any good?” She leaned in closer to him, eying the tablet further.
“Does it have the assembly view of the armored pieces?”
“Mmhmm.” She tapped a few icons, showing an isometric, exploded view of all the parts and their individual components.
It was a piece of history alright. The armor was produced just about the time when Mars was connecting their orbital stations and ground colonies to work in tandem, allowing for specialized forces to be trained in space and launched anywhere across the planet from drop pods in mere minutes, leading to common nickname of ‘Minutemen’ given to the troopers. The suits were expertly designed to withstand the harsh environments of Mars and give the soldiers the ability to engage with enemy combatants for several days before extraction, though the adept units usually completed their objectives within twenty-four hours of their landing.
The helmet was very angular and blended in with the expected rocky terrain of Mars, each component taking on a sloped frontal design with rectangular prisms flowing behind—radio, breathing apparatus, and vision modules all sharing a sleek, yet bulky look in their own right. It reminded him of some in-atmosphere ships, with the overhanging visor above the quad-nod viewport being the only non-aerodynamic pieces.
The chest and legs were a bit different, following the design of late twenty-second-century operators with tan lightweight rigs, and ammunition pouches alongside armored plates that ran from the shoulders to wrists in segments. There was a rusty-orange undersuit beneath it all for the purpose of keeping air in, which required some sturdy polymer structures to ensure it didn’t rip. Then, of course, there were the classic shock-absorbing leg supports. They weren’t too far off what Tracy was asking about earlier, but these ones didn’t provide any assistance in moving with any motors—just straight-up structural reinforcements.
Hell, the blueprints on screen even had the mag-grip gloves used to scale domes, buildings, and satellites alike. There was no doubt that the Orbital Drop Rangers had some of the coolest equipment on Mars, especially considering that it was the last to keep the ‘operator’ look… It was such a shame the government decided the orb-like helmets and rounded bubble armors were more effective.
“Hey, you know what?” he asked the technician, a shot of excitement in his voice. “This might actually work out as a suitable armor replacement.”
She perked up, her brows raised. “Oh? Actually?”
He shrugged, trying to play off the smirk plastered on his face. “Wouldn’t need a horrible amount of changes to work for our purposes. Just need to remove the oxygen converter on the back and put a gas mask replacement in the front portion of the helmet. Plus, we could probably get rid of the airtight aspect and just keep the undersuit for scratch protection. And, most importantly, it’s radio-protective.”
“Meets all your criteria, then?” She tapped through some UI interfaces, sending the armor assembly to Harrison’s monitor, which he accepted quickly.
“Sure does.” He readily clicked through the different parts and systems to differentiate what needed to be kept. “We have the resources for it, and all it needs is a layer of cadmium plus a few replacements. Definitely doesn’t need the heads-up display since there’s nothing for it to interact with either, so that’ll save on print time and materials too. Shame I cut up the beard… the Orbital Drop Rangers were allowed to have some cool ones.”
The tradeswoman scooted in even closer, practically resting her chin on his shoulder and watching him sift through the working parts. “Yeah, rest in peace, beard. Still, your armor situation is solved. What about the Malkrin?”
“I’ll be working on their gas masks, then I was thinking I’d use another one of your modeled armors for their protection since they’ve helped Shar a hell of a lot. Do you have any recommendations?”
“Mmmmm…” She looked up in thought, a smile forming along her cheeks. “You know, until we can make them any real power armor, I was thinking just some regular phobos-pattern armor. Could color ‘em based on their skin too.”
“Phobos-pattern armor?” he hummed to himself, clicking through the folder to find it. It was just as bulky as Shar’s armor, except it appeared a good bit smoother, with more rounded edges compared to her horns-and-spike-lined gauntlets and pauldrons. The blue suit Tracy was proposing didn’t have the four-armed protection compared to the chaos version, but it certainly had the same thickness of its metal plates. “Looks like it’d work pretty well. Does it have any electric components or anything?”
“No…” she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Not so good with designing that stuff in the modeling program I did the WarHarberd stuff in. Could add in more sophisticated leg support or whatever if you gave me time, but for now it’s just maneuverable slabs of alloy.”
“I think that’s all we need for the time being.” He shrugged. “I just don’t want the others to be vulnerable to getting cut up by the little spider-crab grunts.”
“As long as it works for what we need, then.” Her elbow poked into his arm. “Here, how about I take care of that armor stuff while you finish up the gas masks? They need the extra arm slots too, yeah?”
“I’d actually appreciate that a lot.” He offered her a back-palm fist bump, to which she eagerly took, taking on a grin that he mirrored. “Thanks, Trace.”
“Don’t mention it. I wish work was always just doing my hobbies like this.”
\= = = = =
A grand pylon of metal construction taller than the mightiest female’s frills stood atop the beach. Blue-scaled surfaces extended near the foot of the tower, gathering the power of the sun itself. The lattice layering upon their sides hid the weaving wires and Goddess-blessed machinery. A staff the same as Shar’khee’s peeked from its top, the glass eye on its side given a wide view of the sandy environment it resided on, the defense it now provided becoming absolute. The aura it exuded as a creature of pure metal was awe-inspiring, its mere presence a showing of Harrison’s might and domain.
No abhorrent would dare step foot upon the meadow’s rolling hills, for such a mistake would ensure their immediate execution for encroaching upon his settlement—the ‘fifty-cal-e-bur’ bullet is not one to rend any beast with only simple injuries, especially with three hundred of them available at once.
The maroon-skinned paladin treaded up the hill, having completed her task of setting up the last turret. The craftsman, the juvenile, and the lumberjack had also assisted with its setup, pulling their weight in both mind and muscles to piece the components together. They completed a few others around the modules already, but this one was done without the star-sents’ oversight. The four Malkrin had practiced and learned enough to be entrusted with such.
The idea of Harrison having enough confidence in them sparked much conviction in the group, each of them more than eager to prove him right—none more so than Shar’khee herself, of course.
She finally returned to the workshop, the sun’s last rays pressing into the back of her head and frills as she crouched beneath the doorway, a small gnawing hunger for dinner digging within her stomach. The cacophony of machines soon reached her ears, the sounds of their efforts almost working in tandem with the strange melodic music playing from an unseen source above her.
Tracy was in her corner, working on new beings of metal as always. The bright lights above were turned off in favor of smaller, warmer emplacements atop her surrounding circle of desks. A hard worker, that star-sent was, though both of them were like that, the paladin supposed. Their kind was certainly intent on keeping their hands busy.
Shar’khee passed through the snakes of machines, finding her way to Harrison’s desk with an increasingly strong sway in her tail. He was working with a black object with light gray accents. It appeared to be partially flexible, yet firm in other places—notably, a large glass fixture on one side of it. There was very little she could make out about its purpose, but with the delicate touches he applied, it appeared to be quite important.
Her tongue clicked twice, garnering the attention of the Creator. He paused his work, swiveling his chair to face her and revealing a long blue-leaf jutting from his mouth. Her male appeared quite tired, but his voice did not show it.
“Oh, Shar, what’s up? Did y’all need any help with the last turret?”
She shook her head. “We do not n—d such, for it is completed. Would you care to join me for din—r? The rest of the settlem—t is enjoying their meals as of now. ”
He raised his brows before looking back at the myriad of notes, tools, and materials atop his cluttered desk. “Well, I’m kinda busy, but…” His jaw rolled around in contemplation. “Here. Let’s just test this thing real quick.”
Her head tilted. “What sh—l we be testing?”
“Your gas mask… er, well, a Malkrin gas mask. Kneel down real quick, I’ll run ya through putting it on.” He stepped off his chair and grabbed the equipment, uncomfortably rotating his shoulders. How long was he sitting on that chair? The male approached her and she did as requested. “I had the sewist help me with some of the design. Never considered you guys would ever wear hats.”
She nodded. “It is unh—lthy for one to have their frills touched by the sun for so long. Adequate shade is a must, and trees are not so p—valent along farm land.”
“Mmhmm. Shame this is just a mask… Alright, this might be a bit uncomfortable, but it’ll do the job.”
He stepped forward and slipped the black apparel onto her snout, pushing it over her face until it pressed against the sides of her head. A cool material rubbed against her skin, locking her into its embrace. It was encapsulating, surrounding her wholly.
Her breaths strengthened as she allowed the mask to cover her, a short shock of nervousness riding down her spine. She was only now registering how vulnerable she was, allowing him to possibly suffocate her… but she stayed put, keeping her four palms rested within her lap as he continued to apply the straps around her ears. She would allow it. She trusted him with her life. She would not falter.
The cords around the back of her head were tight, a few of which went along both sides of her frills, pushing up against their sides. He kept going, ensuring a ‘seal,’ but it was getting much too—
Pop.
A lightning bolt of pain rolled throughout the top of her head, sending her reeling. It stung for the briefest of moments, but its effects rebounded through her entire body, short sparks pulsing from its origin. She felt nothing but its agonizing hold for several more moments as the rest of her body caught up.
When her eyes opened once more, she found herself on the floor and staring at the ceiling. The star-sent rushed to her side, appearing to ask many questions while looking over her head, but all she heard was a piercing ring and the gruff vocalization he made whenever he shared his intent. No words reached her mind, only the now faint phantom pains from where her frills met her skull. It put everything in a haze, her eyes barely settling on her dearest’s, despite how nauseous she had become.
His deft hands quickly worked to loosen the straps, practically ripping them off until his voice suddenly reached her, like breaching the surface of the water. His voice was deep, attempting to be calculating, yet despite his calmly created stoic demeanor… she could feel his panic, his sheer worry almost flooding her senses through practiced medical queries. She slowly sat up on the floor, holding herself with two arms while the other pair quelled the kneeling male, assuring him that she was alright with their weight resting atop his shoulders.
“I am well, dearest Harrison. Do not fret for me. The straps were simply too tight.”
His anxious breaths barely slowed, narrowly allowing for his exclamation. “Too tight? Shar, you practically blacked out!”
“Too tight upon my frills, I mean. There was a pain there for a few moments, but it has passed,” she returned calmly, softly kneading his stiff shoulders with the joints of her digits.
He exhaled sharply, matching her gaze with regret in his eyes. “I’m so sorry, Shar. I should’ve known. I was just trying to see how…” He paused, resting his palm atop her forearm. “Nevermind. I just… Are you alright? Should I get you to the med bay for a quick scan?”
“I do not believe that to be necessary, no.”
His guard finally fell. “If… If you say so. Guess I have to redo the straps then. Definitely gotta make sure they’re not pressing on your frills like that.”
She smiled, appreciating his dedication. “Would you like my assistance?”
“As long as you don’t have anything else to do.” He shrugged, his shoulders barely moving upward against her massaging hands.
“There is no greater wish of mine than to be by your side,” she stated warmly.
He was frozen, the soft ministrations of his digits along her arm slowly stopping in contrast to the red flush growing from his cheeks to his ears. The crack of a smirk on his face finally with a short, heart-warming chuckle brought the statue back to life after a few moments. “You know… that’s probably the sweetest thing I’ve heard for years.”
Her brows raised in subtle surprise at his response. “It… was not intended to be such… However… you are more than welcome. You must understand by now that I am speaking only the truth.”
The two of them sat there in relative silence amongst the desks and machines; her half laying on the ground with her hands on his shoulder, and him on his knees by her side, a singular hand running up and down her comparatively large forearm. She felt… weak, in a way. A vibrating sensation rummaged through her stomach, attempting to pull her muscles and nerves astray.
It was warm, just like his palm, each motion of his hand sending lightning through her skin. The upward curl of her lips into her cheeks was suddenly an insurmountable force, incapable of being put down by a thousand females. There was a tear within her to either look away or… close the distance, and she suddenly found looking anywhere but his curious green eyes to be a waste of her time.
Her talons wrapped further around his shoulders and his back, ever so slightly bringing him into her embrace—
“A-HEM.” A voice cut the moment down to its knees. “The fuck happened here?” Tracy’s swift interjection caused the paladin to flinch backwards, allowing her to see that Harrison’s other hand had been hovering right beneath her snout. The female star-sent wore a furrowed brow and crossed arms, looking down at them. “I heard a crash and came over. Are you two alright?”
Harrison cleared his throat, ever-so-subtly scooting away from the paladin. “Uh, yeah. Shar fell because, um, I tied the gas mask a lil’ too tight.”
The artificer wore an expression that told of her disbelief. “She fell because of the gas mask?”
“It was something with her frills.” The male returned with a shrug, picking himself off the floor before offering the paladin a hand up.
She took it, despite not requiring it, and wiped off some loose dust from her pants. The three of them quickly returned to work soon after, with both her and the black-haired star-sent joining Harrison in his quest to produce the gas mask. She was much less… What did the Creator call it? Bubbly? Yes, that was it. She was much less bubbly than usual, sometimes sending a cold yet emotionless glare toward Shar’khee… Nevertheless, the two females offered input on the design and applied help where they could, eventually creating the final piece of equipment.
Tracy commented on its looks, apparently drawing inspiration from the Leviathan itself, as she believed it to be like that of a ‘Sea Dragon’s.’ The maw-covering portion held two cylindrical canisters on the adjacent sides, the bottom portion being capable of distention, so that the user’s mouth may open somewhat. Its motion created what the female star-sent believed to be ‘the coolest teeth design on a mask’ she’d ever seen with how the separation formed alternating triangles.
The monster-like appearance was furthered by her own frills and horns that peeked out from behind the mask. That was not even mentioning the see-through visor that formed a malicious glare of sharp brows. The paladin looked through a hand-held mirror, finding it difficult to disagree with the look. She could imagine the horror on a fisherwoman’s face as such a terrifying creature approached from the depths.
And yet, despite its nightmarish visage, it was apparel designed to save lives, not take them—much unlike the unassuming metal rods that spewed fire with a mere flick of a lever. Curious indeed. The star-sents were seemingly never out of surprises. They even spoke of grand robots and firearms larger than Shar’khee herself as possible future projects.
Only time could tell what machinations of alloy would be birthed from their hands.
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Next time on Total Drama Anomaly Island - Under The Milky Way

I should start off by saying that this is my first actual pair of professional grade IEMS, so I don't really have anything to compare it to. Anyways, I've been using the IE 600s for about 3 days and I love them, the cold metal feels really nice in my ears, they are very small so you can pop them in your ears and forget about them, sound quality is very nice for a single driver, and it's overall a really good pair of earbuds. Although, what really drives me insane is that they don't use standard mmcx for the input on the iems. Meaning thay you have to buy an adapter just to use your own cable! I really did not like this considering I have some really nice cables lying around. Anyways, Should you save up 800 dollars for them? Ehhhh...Maybe. I do have to say you are definitely paying for the brand, which however doesn't invalidate their quality.
If you don't want to read all of that:
PROS:

• Comfort (I forget about them sometimes)
• Durability (AMLOY metal) (NASA shit Imao)
• Portable (Comes with a nice carrying case)
• 2 Cables (One is 3.5 mm, the other is 4.4mm)
• attachments (Whole Lotta stuff)
• Noise cancelation/isolation (I can't hear myself when music is playing)

CONS:

• NOT A STANDARD MMCX CABLE!!!
• Cable quality (plasticity)
• Price (not quite worth it imo)
• Kinda hard to put on (Especially if you have a lot of hair)

In conclusion, is this IEM good enough for the audiophile collection? Absolutely. If you are looking to buy a long lasting IEM to travel with and such, I recommend these. Again, this is my first actual pair, so I don't really have anything to compare it to

Nature of Humanity Ch 70
Destination; Wriss Part 19
A Fanfic of u/SpacePaladin15’s work “The Nature of Predators.” Thank you for the story!
___
Excerpt from Morvim Charter Spy Crevan’s log, recovered from a Betterment facility on Wriss,
Journal Date: T.S.T. November 5th, 2136
Father believes that turning my notes into something more of a confessional might help deal with my night terrors without appearing weak in front of the crew. Last night’s were some of the worst I have ever had. It started out with how they all do. I wear the guise of a true red-blooded Auditor, and find some unwitting sap to feed to the Dominion’s growing paranoia and execute them. Their brains pour out of their head like water. Then the call comes in. A suspected defect harboring malformed Arxur and prey.
The home looks like every single one approved of by the Dominion. The muffled screams coming from the gagged and bagged barely even register. It takes me no time to find the trap door. Even less to pry it open and rip my own son out of his only shelter. Wriss damn me, I feel nothing, breaking his neck just like every other malformed I’ve found.
I hear scampering in the hole. I pull out Elva, Wiesera and don’t even blink as I throw them to the Dominion raiders accompanying me. The sounds of their screams mean nothing as I continue my search. Rivera, Caulnek, and Barmlin are hiding in a closet. I don’t even bother opening the door. Just fire my sidearm through it.
When I exit the house I pull the bags off and execute my father. Then the two I just roped into this. Followed shortly thereafter by Lesh and Mico. I save my wife for last. The Wriss-damned Prophet descendant himself praises me and tells me to kill the final traitor. I put the gun to my own temple and pull the trigger. I never have enough rounds for myself too.
I don’t feel better writing this down.
We have had a full shift rotation without any serious problems. Most likely the Venlil’s natural desire to be friendly with everyone in their herd is going to cause an issue with Lesh most likely and Mico and Ishviel as close seconds. I am hesitant to try and keep those two away as they at least try to be social, but Lesh is actively lashing out.
It started with the ‘movie’ night Caulnek had. Father and Hrallak happily watched the ‘for fun media’ and Ishviel tried his best, but human entertainment was lost on him. Lesh found the entire idea to be a waste of time and chose to remain alone until his bridge shift arose.
From there, Lesh refused to communicate with anything more complex than a grunt to his shift partner Hrallak. The girl has enough problems as is. We don’t need Lesh causing more stress for her. We may also have a problem with Rivera who is either pushing Lesh into having a meltdown or accept that the changes we are experiencing are, in fact, good. Whenever Lesh goes to have a meal the eccentric Venlil isn’t that far behind him.
Turns out those broad flat teeth actually do a good job of breaking bones to get to the marrow, which he isn’t interested in. So they have a sort of standoff mutual existence going on where Rivera gets Lesh’s bones and Lesh takes advantage of Rivera’s teeth in place of putting the effort in himself. I can’t tell if the stillness that comes over him is from holding back the rage of listening to that Venlil yap or if he actually enjoys the noise.
Hrallak has been getting trained by Dr. Wiesera, who has high hopes for her. I’ve not had a chance to speak to her about training more Doctors for the colony of runaways we are trying to make, but I should make that a priority. Better to plan for a future we don’t have than to outlive your plans.
Approximately [twelve days] to Wriss. No other events of note to add.
~~~
Memory transcription subject: Crevan, Morvim Charter Soldier
Date [standardized human time]: November 5th, 2136
Ugh. Today’s the day. No time to walk or even have something to eat. Lesh should be ending his shift and hopefully that will leave him tired enough to be reasonable. What a great way to start the day. Going into a disciplinary meeting with probably the strongest Arxur on the ship first thing after waking up. One that doesn’t have to fear what the dominion would do to him if he killed me.
He wasn’t difficult to find. He, of course, beelined straight for his room, “It’s a nice luxury, isn’t it? Not being packed into this glorified meat carrier with a hundred irritable Arxur. Walk with me.”
He hissed in frustration but turned as ordered. I wasn’t expecting a miracle. Just to get him to at least try and loosen up a bit, “You are in this for revenge. As far as I can tell, you are the only one of us in this for revenge. I have a proposition for you.”
His reply came forth like a saw trying to cut through metal, but the blade was on backwards, “Yes sir?”
I led him into the cattle pen that was turned into a makeshift freezer. The cold air seemed to affect us both equally, as we shivered a bit, “I’ve been thinking about the Dominion… the Federation… and whatever stupid alliance Humanity has managed to pull out of its ass…”
The pause I inserted into my preplanned speech allowed me enough time to judge his reaction on each of our enemies as well as to ponder on Humanity and where I was going with this. He hesitantly took the bait, “And what have you concluded.”
“The Federation can’t destroy the Dominion and the Dominion won’t be able to fight on two fronts. Humanity knows war. They’ve lived and breathed it for centuries, we’ve only fought a one-sided genocide. The Dominion and the Federation won’t be able to compete with humanity the second they get their feet under them. The bombing of Earth hasn’t slowed them. It’s lit a fire under their ass.”
I had a hunch that Lesh wasn’t some roided up raider. I could see the gears turning in his head, “With Isif protecting Earth… The Federation can’t finish the job and the Dominion won’t attack them to bring them in line… Humanity has already started producing Prey- Alien? FUCK it. Prey fighters that can actually fight and sit in the same room as us without shitting themselves to death…”
“They have to take out the Federation first. No doubts about it. But they aren’t going to let the Dominion just continue to eat Sapients. That is going to result in the Dominion doing the stupidest thing possible and attacking an Earth and its allies that have been gearing up for real war since the second the bombs started falling. Remember. The ONLY reason we took the cradle is because Isif sacrificed hundreds of ships in orbit. We didn’t take the ground. We only took space which they came back and took. Every engagement on the ground resulted in fifteen and a half dead raiders to every human.”
The carnage of that debacle brought a happy jilt to his body language, “So, the only way this will ever really end is with both the Federation and Dominion falling.”
“And with what I know of the humans, neither side will be allowed to go without punishment. That is assuming there's enough of them left over to be tried for their crimes.”
“I like that thought but why bring this up to me.”
“Because all that will be left of us will be this tiny colony when this is over. It will be the only thing Humanity can say is untainted enough to be worthy of not being baptized in holy antimatter. I need- No. We need people that can help lead us. The remnants of the Morvim Charter NEED you. Need your strength, your guile, your… sociableness and sense of justice. I am asking you to join us proper. To help us forge a path into the future. Fight not just for your justice but live to build a better world.”
I felt fear as rage rushed across his face, and hope as it softened. He huffed and spat and paced around the room. It felt like the punch he launched into the steel wall reverberated through the whole ship. The panel fell off as he pulled his fist from the dent he made. He didn’t ask for permission to leave as he stormed away. At least I’m alive… Going to put him down as a maybe.
Unfortunately, it would seem Caulnek and Rivera picked now as the perfect time to also talk to Lesh. Rivera was sort of bouncing on the spot as Lesh growled and thumped his tail angrily, “Lesh! Guess what I remembered I found back on earth!”
The well-built Venlil rolled his eyes and smacked Rivera on the back of the head, “Rivera stole a copy of a Human military strategy game. One famed for simulating actual human battles. It’s set from military conflicts from their first World War to the last war before their first contact. Ishviel was hoping for more insights on Human strategies, and we thought it would be something that would pique your interest. You are welcome to come or not. Just don’t bring that shitty attitude you’ve been carrying around. We are trying to enjoy these few days before landing in paradise.”
My jaw nearly hit the floor as what I could only describe as a Lesh gently lifted his tail in intrigue, “What is this… game?”
Caulnek scratched his chin for a moment before snapping, “It’s a squad-based attack vs defense game with one or two players. One person sets up their defense and the attacker has to go in blind and deal with it. It’s actually a pretty clever system and I have no doubt the owner is going to peel Rivera’s hide off when we get back to Earth.”
The kleptomaniac slowly realized what Caulnek said, “Yeah it’s pretty fuuuuuu- huh?! Wait! Do you really think Andrew would do that?!”
Caulnek turned and walked off as Lesh followed, “Hrm… It sounds like it might be an effective way to mentally prepare for our own assault.”
Rivera tucked his tail and practically begged for an answer, “Guys… seriously! Am I going to be in danger?! Guys!”
Caulnek whipped his tail excitedly, “At the worst it will be a nice distraction. The game only has Human units in it, but it actually has a stat editor. I think I can bypass its normal restrictions and program in stats similar to what we can expect our enemy to have, but let’s play the game first. Get a feel for the rules and see if it's even worth the effort.”
With Lesh calmed down I made the choice to give him a little more time before I decided to see what this game was. I made my way to the bridge. Oddly enough I walked past Mico sitting in an open closet on my way there, “Mico? What are you doing? Shouldn’t you be resting?”
The sleek Arxur didn’t turn to face me, “I am in a sense resting right now. The Humans call it meditation. I received a book on it. So far… I think it's forcing me to come to terms with some stuff.”
I leaned against the door frame, “Is it better than sleeping?”
There was a long bit of silence before Mico brought his paws to his face and messaged his eyes, “No. But… it’s not really a replacement for sleeping.” He picked up a nearby book and opened it, “Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that can benefit your emotional well-being and your overall health. You also can use it to relax and cope with stress by focusing on something that calms you. Meditation can help you learn to stay centered and keep inner peace.” He set the book back down, “Basically, I think it will help me remain calm. Despite being in the least crowded ship I have ever been on… It feels more claustrophobic than ever. The Prey- our companions are… I have no other word to describe it but intense. It feels like my head is going to pop when I am in a room with them. This meditation is helping me I think. Since I started this before we left… It’s been easier.”
I rapped my knuckles on the door frame, “If it works get Lesh to do it too. The thug is going to blow a gasket if he can’t calm down soon.”
Mico let out a slight chuckle, “You don’t have to tell me that. I just got off a shift with him, and he wouldn’t shut up about bringing the prey and defectives along. I think he’s actually scared they are going to get hurt.”
I plodded off to let Mico resume his meditation. His words about Lesh weren’t exactly anything I didn’t know. That Arxur cares more than any other I’ve met. He’s been hurt before by that care.
The bridge door opened to reveal my father in his command chair with Elva lounging at the pilot’s seat. The latter of which tried and failed to perk her floppy ears up with concern, “Did something happen? Shouldn’t you be watching over the rest of them? Make sure no one… flips their shit?”
I scoffed, “Yeah… I don’t think those paranoia plans will be necessary. Lesh is acting out because he has grown attached to all of you. Us too. Mico is taking up ‘meditation’ to calm himself and better deal with everything. Hrallak is just happy to be free even if she ends up dead, and Ishviel… well, he’s already a runt. Caulnek and Rivera could easily take him, let alone together and even then, he seems to be happy that he doesn’t have to prove his strength to them to get respect. The lot of them can go unsupervised… for a bit.”
Elva leaned back in her chair and relaxed, “Good. Hopefully, this is a sign of things going smoothly. My guts have been in a knot since we left.”
Ivan barked out a laugh, “I think that's been the case for all of us. I’ve never liked returning to Wriss to begin with, but before I never had to worry about fighting the entire damned planet. This is… Terrifying.”
I nodded my head in understanding, “We are about to either do the dumbest thing ever or kickstart the end of the Dominion.”
Elva asked, “Is it true we aren’t saving the entirety of the Morvim Charter Remnants?”
My father sighed, “Yes. A lot of them have to remain behind to cover our escape. They also need to stay behind to fan the fires we leave. The Dominion is going to appear weak so it's the best recruiting drive they will ever have.”
Elva closed her eyes and leaned back, “Alright then. We get there. Secure a port. Plan our attack, take the ship and get the hell out of there… Far too much can go wrong with this.”
I couldn’t help but nod my head, “On the bright side at least you guys have a get out of jail free card. If we get caught… well, it’s not going to be but a few moments of extreme heat for us.”
My second in command let out a long exasperated sound, “Uuuwweeeeeegh… Can you leave now? I was having such a nice time sitting here bored out of my mind before you showed up. Go check up on the guys. See how Hrallak’s medical lessons are going or something.”
I bowed and left the bridge. The infirmary our ship had wasn’t quite suited to actually saving lives. At least that was the case before Humanity got their hands on it. Wiesera and Elva had been delighted to go through all the gadgets and gizmos the ‘Doctors Without Borders’ had given them. Apparently, mobile medical hospitals specialized for ease of movement and treatment in war torn areas is something of a specialty of theirs.
Sadly, as I entered the actual infirmary only a small fraction of the medical devices were even set up. Wiesera and Hrallak were standing over a table with a startling realistic headless torso of an Arxur laying on it with its chest pried open.
The Zurulian picked up a latex heart, “As you can see here, the Arxur heart is a three-chamber heart. This implies that the Arxur were at one point coldblooded, like other reptiles. I imagine given another few hundred generations we might see Arxur with four-chambered hearts.”
Hrallak twisted her head to the side confused, “Why would we get four-chambered hearts?”
“Efficiency. Four chambered hearts can keep deoxygenated blood from mixing with oxygenated blood. This way the only blood entering the lungs is completely ready to pick up Oxygen and all the blood going to muscles is carrying its maximum capacity for oxygen. As short sprint, ambush predators you don’t need a strong supply of oxygen to hit your target, but if the chase were to carry on, animals with four chambers can better supply oxygen to their muscles…”
Hrallak bobbed her head in understanding, “And maintain power for longer…”
“Actually, we are already seeing medical reports of Arxur with a harmless heart defect giving them four chambers.” To my surprise, both ladies didn’t jump at my sudden interjection. It seemed they noticed my arrival, “The Prophet-descendants were debating on scanning people’s hearts and purging those with the defects… until one of the descendants was found to have the defect too and now its ‘proof of superior genetics’ or some bullshit.”
The medic in training set a paw on her chest, “Makes sense. I wonder if I have it too.”
Wiesera looked at the latex heart in her hands, “It wouldn’t hurt to set up the portable echocardiogram. It wouldn’t hurt to make sure we know what biology everyone has… actually, Crevan. Let the Arxur crew know we are about to do some health check-ups on everyone. I want to know what everyone’s hearts look like in the event I have to fix them. Now Hrallak see here- Crevan! What are you waiting for! We do not have forever here! Move it!”
I bowed and headed for the Cafeteria. It would seem Wiesera is warming up to her role as lead medic.
___/\___
Crevan seems to not being doing too hot… actually most of the crew is on edge. Lizard boi does his rounds and checks on the crew. It seems like everyone is settling in for the long ride to Wriss. Hopefully things go smoothly when they get there.
Welp! I got laid off! So I’m waiting a month to see if my job opens back up or if I am going to be working somewhere else. Now that sounds like I have time to write but my job actually kept my Autism/ADHD in check as the only thing I could do on break was write so hopefully I can keep up with my chapters and get Part 2 of the devil you know done. I almost had it done but I hated the whole chapter and have to rewrite it.
Special thanks to u/JulianSkies and u/callmefishy11 for proofreading! Seriously it felt like my eyes were melting out of my skull and your feedback was everything I needed!
___/\___
Directory
Library of BiasMushroom contains every link for everything I have written! Check it out as some stuff related to Nature of Humanity may not appear on HFY! As well as my little side stories and Fanfics of other NoP fanfics!
The Nature of Humanity
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Destination; Wriss
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The heat and the pressure are on—for our planet, and for one more World War.
Last Week in Collapse: June 2-8, 2024
This is Last Week in Collapse, a weekly newsletter compiling some of the most important, timely, useful, soul-crushing, ironic, stunning, exhausting, or otherwise must-see/can’t-look-away moments in Collapse.
This is the 128th newsletter. You can find the May 26-June edition here if you missed it last week. You can also receive these posts (with images) every Sunday in your email inbox with Substack.
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Bengaluru broke a 133-year rain record by almost 10mm last Sunday, with 111mm (4.37 inches) of rain falling in a single day. In Sri Lanka, some 24,000 people were displaced by recent flooding. A heat wave swept through the southwest United States and northern Mexico. Part of Niger already broke its June temperature record. Parts of New South Wales, Australia broke nighttime temperatures as well; so did the Philippines, and Vietnam. And a heat wave in Greece.
“Atmospheric blocking” happens when regions of the atmosphere remain stationary for days or weeks, imposing similar weather on a region for a while. A study released in Nature Communications looked at Svalbard, which is warming faster than the Arctic, which is itself warming faster than most of the rest of the planet. The researchers claim that atmospheric blocking has resulted in warmer & wetter conditions in Svalbard, which is driving its ice loss. “The augmented blocking in the Ural and Scandinavian regions in the future combined with the projected declines in sea ice, and increases in sea surface temperatures and moisture availability, will likely increase the magnitude and frequency of exceptional rainfall incidents similar to the 2016 occurrence, posing further hazards to the population and ecosystems in Svalbard.”
A paywalled study in Nature Climate Change emphasizes “in the absence of a global tipping point there is no safety margin within which permafrost loss would be acceptable.” The summary states that permafrost melt does not have a worldwide tipping point, but rather several local temperature thresholds. Permafrost worldwide is expected to be all melted once global temperature gains hit 5 or 6 °C.
We are currently in the brief neutral period between El Niño and La Niña, expected to begin around August. Meteorologists expect temperatures in the eastern Pacific to decline for between 1 and 3 years—and for stronger Atlantic hurricanes. A 14-page report from the WMO forecasts a particularly wet summer for Central America.
Monsoon storms in Sri Lanka killed 14, mostly by falling trees, though others drowned or were covered by landslides. Texas saw “canteloupe-size hail” fall during a freak tornado; some think it is a record size for the region. Experts say some 23% of Africa’s land has been degraded, by five major factors: 1) invasive species, 2) climate change, including Drought and flooding, 3) resource extraction, 4) deforestation, and 5) pollution, including algal blooms. Poverty, population growth, and resource dependencies have aggravated the problem, says the article.
In Kashmir, a glacier Collapsed, sending three plunging into the ice, one of whom has still not been found. In the Philippines, a volcanic mud landslide swept into a village; volcano alerts were raised to 2 (on a 0-5 scale). Rising sea levels are displacing residents of one of Panama’s islands (pop: ~1,200); others will follow. Greece is gearing up for a fierce wildfire season ahead. And, in a moment of hopeful news, Sweden is banning bottom trawling in its “marine protected areas.”
In the EU, early polling appears to show a “greenlash,”, a backlash to the Green Alliance—and perhaps a loss of some 30% of their 72 current seats in the EU Parliament (705 total). Some blame the “moral superiority complex” of Greens, while others believe it is their lack of compromise on important issues. Farmer protests also damaged Green sentiment; now future sweeping climate reforms will probably have to wait years to get passed, since conservatives are expected to make gains. Most results will emerge within 24 hours of this post.
Worldwide, 39% of environmental journalists have faced threats due to their reporting—according to a 112-page report by the Earth Journalism Network. Most of the threats came to reporters writing about illegal extraction operations.
Roughly 20% of sealife near the surface is expected to face a “triple threat” of climate hazards: extreme heat, oxygen loss and acidification. Some of these species will die in place; others will be forced into progressively smaller living spaces. Most of the danger lies in the northern Pacific. The full study in AGU Advances has more.
The UN Secretary-General announced that we are on the “highway to climate hell.” And we aren’t wearing any seatbelts. The EU Copernicus Programme says last May was the hottest on record. This means the last 12 months were the hottest on record, with each consecutive month setting a new monthly record. Our planet is supposedly on the edge of 1.5 °C temperature increase, but some think we’ve already surpassed it.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released a 27-page report, “Global Annual to Decadal Climate Update 2024-2028,” predicting short-term temperatures exceeding the 1.5 °C mark.

“The global mean near-surface temperature for each year between 2024 and 2028 is predicted to be between 1.1°C and 1.9°C higher than the average over the years 1850-1900. It is likely (80% chance) that global mean near-surface temperature will exceed 1.5°C above the 1850-1900 average levels for at least one year between 2024 and 2028. It is about as likely as not (47%) that the five-year mean will exceed this threshold….Arctic warming over the next five extended winters (November to March), relative to the average of the 1991-2020 period, is predicted to be more than three times as large as the warming in global mean temperature. Predicted precipitation patterns for 2024, relative to the 1991-2020 average, suggest an increased chance of low rainfall over North-East Brazil and an increased chance of wet conditions in the African Sahel, consistent with the warmer-than-usual temperatures in the North Atlantic….

The Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy released its 2024 Environmental Policy Index, and the 204 pages illustrate the state of sustainability in 180 countries, according to 58 indicators. The document, full of useful graphics and accessible summaries, presents a world in escalating danger of global heating, pollution, and biodiversity loss. It is well worth skimming. These kinds of climate reports usually seem to me like, overall, much more time was spent making them than people spend reading them…

“Only five countries — Estonia, Finland, Greece, Timor-Leste, and the United Kingdom — cut their GHG emissions at the rate needed to reach zero by 2050….After climate change, biodiversity loss has emerged as the most serious and irreversible environmental crisis….As of 2022, aggregated GHG emissions were falling in 60 countries but still rising in 128…. Human activities, namely the combustion of fossil fuels, of which CO2 is an inevitable byproduct, have caused a nearly 50 percent of the increase in CO2 levels in the atmosphere since the industrial revolution, with atmospheric concentration surpassing 426 parts per million in April 2024 — a level higher than at any point in human history….China, the United States, and India are pivotal, accounting for over half of global GHG emissions…China used more cement in two years (2020 and 2021) than the United States did in the entire twentieth century….Air pollution remains the most serious environmental threat to public health. Long-term exposure to fine particulate matter less than 2.5 µm in diameter (PM2.5) caused 7.8 million premature deaths in 2021, close to 12 percent of global deaths…” -selections from the first third of the report

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Mexico saw its first human case of a bird flu strain, H5N2, in a dead man supposedly with no known previous exposure to animals. Two turkey farms got outbreaks in Minnesota, and Iowa’s first dairy farm reported bird flu as well. American health authorities expect H5N1 human cases to rise in the coming weeks. Bird flu was also found in San Francisco last week. Millions of human vaccine doses for bird flu are being prepared for the United States this summer.
Citigroup says the United States is already in a recession, though other institutions disagree. Nevertheless, junk bonds are becoming even more junky, and economists agree that the economy is at least slowing down. Credit card debt is reportedly rising, and the “personal savings rate” has dropped to pre-COVID levels. “America’s debt accumulation over the last seven years is akin to the costs of a world war,” says the article. Cuts to the Federal Reserve interest rate are coming, and the rise of tariffs is unlikely to stop soon. And Europe’s strongest economy, Germany, is not seeing a strong recovery from last year’s recession.
Thousands are starving in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where Drought and school dropouts have also worsened. Investigators claim in a new report that both sides in the Tigray War committed grave war crimes and “acts of genocide” in the conflict, which ended (on paper, anyway) in November 2022; intercommunal violence continues at a lower intensity.
The American Heart Association released a report projecting the rates of heart illnesses by 2050, and they believe the rate of hypertension among adults will rise from about 51% in 2020 to 61% in 2060. Diabetes rates are expected to jump from about 16% in 2020 to almost 27% in 2050; and obesity rates will expand 17% to over 60%... A number of other heart conditions are expected to worsen as well, though at least high cholesterol rates are expected to decrease.
A 12-page report by Oil Change International says what we all know: most nations are failing to meet climate targets. “Some G7 countries are massively expanding fossil fuel production at home, while others are investing in more fossil fuel infrastructure abroad.” China is, far and away, adding more renewable energy capacity than any other nations on earth, supposedly adding “over 90% of all renewable capacity mentioned in NDCs {nationally determined contributions}” in the 2020s so far.
The U.S. FDA has unanimously recommended a new vaccine be developed to address the JN.1 COVID variant. Vaccine-manufacturers say that a new vaccine could arrive as early as mid-August. A 242-page prepublication report on the long-term dangers of Long COVID, with a view to planning future impacts on Social Security.

“Even individuals with a mild initial course of illness can develop Long COVID with severe health effects….Women are twice as likely as men to experience Long COVID….Long COVID can cause more than 200 symptoms and affects each person differently….There currently is no curative treatment for Long COVID itself. Management of the condition is based on current knowledge about treating the associated health effects and other sequelae….Long COVID symptoms generally improve over time, although preliminary studies suggest that recover can plateau 6-12 months after acute infection. Studies have shown that only 18-22 percent of those who have persistent symptoms at 5-6 months following infection have fully recovered by 1 year. Among those who do not improve, most remain stable, but some worsen.” -selections from the study summary

Germany reported African swine flu in some pigs in the northeast. Monkeypox cases remain in the United States, and at higher rates than last year, despite waning media coverage. And four strains of dengue fever, yes four, are still sweeping through Brazil with no end in sight.
A number of current & former employees at OpenAI are warning of the careless pursuit of dominance of the artificial intelligence arena—and the supposed 70% chance that AI could bring about “doom” for humanity. Some of the computer scientists believe that a general intelligence (AGI) could arrive as soon as 2027—a generation earlier than previous estimates of roughly 2050. "The world isn’t ready, and we aren’t ready," said one dissenting researcher.
——————————
The intervention into Haiti is almost ready to go, but gangsters in Haiti have escalated attacks against police in advance of the Kenya-led operation, set to begin in a week or two. “The gangs are just waiting for the Kenyans, they’re just cracking their knuckles and stretching out.…It’s going to be a battle if not a bloodbath of a war, because the gangs are ready,” said one ex-diplomat. A new PM has been installed, Garry Conille, a guy who previously served as PM for 4 about months in 2011-2012. Gangs vying for power control roughly 80% of Port-Au-Prince; will they remain fragmented upon the arrival of an outside coalition, or make an alliance of convenience to oppose police intervention?
Although New Caledonia’s state of emergency has ended, over $1B of damage has been wrought by rioters opposing an expansion of voting rights. Analysts say that the Pacific island’s abundant nickel reserves—essential for France’s renewable energy push—have seen their extraction obstructed by recent events. A curfew remains in place, and social cohesion has been seriously damaged by the protests and the central government’s reactions.
President Biden issued new orders restricting the flow of migrants and asylum-seekers at the Mexico border. At the U.S./Canada border, migrant arrivals have spiked 1000%+ in the last 3 years. Days before the EU election, Portugal instituted stronger controls over immigration. On the Poland/Belarus border, a Polish soldier died, after being stabbed by a migrant from Belarus.
Georgia’s controversial foreign agents bill has been signed into law despite strong protests from the masses. Some call the law a form of Russian hybrid warfare, though Russia contends that allowing foreign media funding functions as a kind of anti-Russian hybrid warfare on its own.
South Korea suspended a military agreement with North Korea over their waste balloons sent into the South. This will result in a more militarized border, outside the DMZ, in the coming months. President Putin is also planning a visit to Pyongyang, which has been long-supplying materiel to Russia for use in Ukraine. A border clash between Chinese and Indian forces took place in their contested mountains—using only sticks and stones.
Conditions in Gaza are said to be “beyond crisis levels” for the 1M+ people who have been displaced from Rafah, as the Israeli advance continues—despite calls from the ICJ to halt the operation. “The sounds, the smells, the everyday life, are horrific and apocalyptic,” said one observer. Killings in the West Bank have now exceeded 500 since October 7, and aid deliveries have sunk 65%+ since the Rafah offensive began. A strike on a school killed 45 people sheltering there, according to Gaza officials. In the coastal settlement of al-Mawasi, where many IDPs moved after the Rafah invasion began, toilets are so scarce that over 4,000 people share a single latrine.
The battlefield is expanding; in some ways, it has always been all-encompassing, and it’s only now that the world is re-learning it. Ukraine has sent soldiers to Syria to fight Wagner Group mercenaries operating in the failed state. Ukraine had earlier intervened in Sudan to combat Russian forces operating in the country. Ukraine also struck an air defense unit inside Russia for the first time, marking another escalation in the War. Russia struck Ukraine’s largest hydroelectric power plant in Dnipro, which is now in “critical condition.” Russia reportedly intends to restart the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant at some point, though international regulators argue that it would be unsafe to turn Europe’s largest nuclear facility online while War still rages around it. Half of Ukraine’s electrical generation has been taken offline. Although weapons are reaching Ukraine’s frontlines, they are not enough to change the tide of the War—and are still outnumbered by Russian soldiers & munitions. Ukraine is also crowd-sourcing 3D-printing drone parts to support their drone fleets—a key part of future modern warfare.
Russia also claims that French military instructors within Ukraine present a lawful military target for Russian forces—and an opportunity to start WWIII. But others believe the flashpoint may come from elsewhere—Taiwan, or the unfolding Israel/Hamas/Hezbollah/Iran conflict, which are intensifying on the Lebanon/Israel border. Russia is also taking over Niger’s uranium reserves, once held by a French corporation. And four Russian sea vessels will be visiting Cuba—but not carrying nuclear weapons.
Around Sudan’s capital, looters, checkpoints, and violence have been established. Several torture chambers have been discovered, and the smell of death hangs in the air of a few neighborhoods, contested by both sides. The number of displaced people is approaching 10M. Russia is supposedly playing both sides to its advantage. “All over Sudan, people are going hungry because they have lost everything, the economy has collapsed, and armed men frequently steal what little aid is available,” said one reporter. The insurgent RSF forces are said to not only be fighting for the future, but fighting over history as well. The National Museum has become a cemetery for RSF fighters. University archives have been burned. And ancient artifacts have been cleared out, sold to mysterious buyers, stashed away in unknown places, or simply destroyed… Other horror stories are still emerging; this article details some of the worst recent tales in the War.
One major NATO supplies provider claims that a decade of arms accumulation is coming, to replenish stockpiles given to Ukraine and in advance of a potential open War between China and whatever western nations decide to participate. China announced its intention to detain vessels moving into its alleged national waters near the Philippines—and presumably to sink those which resist. Ukraine used up six years’ worth of shoulder-fired missiles, like javelins, in just one year. The development of the F-35 will exceed $2T, although the U.S. military is planning on using it less than previously expected. NATO is also planning its rapid-transit troop corridors through Europe to the expected frontlines of a potential open War against Russia.
——————————
Select comments/threads from the subreddit last week suggest:
-It is a common refrain that the education system is a bellwether for Collapse. It is also a symbol—alongside our food system, plastic dependency, state militaries, and many other institutions—of how difficult it apparently is to change course. The institutional friction and incentives are burnt in. This detailed post on the (American) school system and the “metacrisis” and much more. Several thorough comments build on the OP’s thesis. Peek into teachers for a glimpse into our doomed future.
-People in southern California are evidently closing their eyes and ears to Collapse, if this weekly observation is to be believed. The author writes about their unfulfilled hope that humanity might turn the ship around during the COVID period, cognitive biases, the persistence of COVID denial, plastics, and the early burning sun.
-Society is closing in on a Doom-Awakening, says the comments on this post. Some disagree (see the above observation).
-Nothing works, and everything is breaking—say many terrific comments in this self-post about the lack of empathy, passion, quality products, and the atrocious job market.
Got any feedback, questions, comments, complaints, upvotes, hurricane advice, bird flu tips, cheap off-grid land, etc.? Check out the Last Week in Collapse SubStack if you don’t want to check collapse every Sunday, you can receive this newsletter sent to your (or someone else’s) email inbox every weekend. What did I forget this week?

Looking for any suggestions! I have such a hard time sleeping when it’s in the mid 80 degrees in my room and I am not allowed to use the AC where I am living. I blast a fan on me but unfortunately it doesn’t do enough (I also have an ear injury so the noise irritates me a lot but I’m afraid of not being able to hear my work alarm if I wear earplugs). I’ve looked into portable air conditioning units but they seem to all need to attach to a window and I live in an area with bad pollution and bad pollen 🤦‍♀️ is there anything else I can try or am I doneso? I also keep getting heat rashes from sweating if anybody has suggestions for that as well!

First: https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/14vo5lb/troublemakers_deaths_pity/
*previous:* https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/1d3yvie/troublemakers_parabellum/
......
Go'mon stormed through the castle corridors. He'd sensed something slip beside him during his encounter with the vampire lord. It wasn't just that damned top hat with the thief's prints. No, it was more subtle than that, it was the sound of a gossamer chain rattling against cloth. He scanned every square inch of the hallways as he walked, slowly twirling the Warhammer in his off-hand as he calmly held the pistol muzzle-up towards the ceiling. He'd barely gotten a glimpse of what almost looked like mist as he stomped through the grand halls with paranoia-fueled, seething anger. Abruptly turning a corner he fired the revolver at what he thought was that pesky invisible parasite.
The shimmer shuddered and he switched to the visible spectrum to find out it was just a tapestry in front of a heating vent.
Go'mon let out an enraged scream, tearing the tapestry apart with his bare hands after casting his weapons aside in a fit of rage and impotence. The visage of Monarch D'vinn looking out from the top of a bombed-out hill in battered armor at the shattered remains of the once human-occupied city, being shredded like single-ply latrine paper by go'mon's molecularly edged cybernetic claws. Having spent his rage on the tapestry, he panted dramatically as his heart pounded in its cask. Turning around he let out another furious scream, howling madly as he scanned the hall with thermals. His Hammer and revolver had disappeared without a trace.
The sudden blare of a Klaxon made him pause as he adjusted his armor, forcing himself to calm down as he examined his molecularly edged claws. The main enemy was at the gates, he should go meet them.
...
Cassius' Heart pounded as he took shallow breaths, Go'mon's backplate inches from his own chest as he held onto the Hammer and Pistol for dear life. As the general strutted outside, Cassius moved in perfect synchronization, his left leg rising with the general's before being placed down in sync. He'd been practicing for weeks with the security droids at the mansion, practicing to keep inches from their backs without touching their metal carapace. Now he strutted behind perhaps the second most powerful being he knew like a silent specter. As Go'mon slammed through a door, breaking it into splinters, Cassius lifted his right leg and rotated out of the way just as Go'mon's tail would've brushed against his Calf, giving him away. As the General strutted out into the middle of the courtyard, Cassius used the various straps attached to his gambeson to affix the weapons to his waist before grabbing his Kama and weighted chain from a small pouch at his belt.
Cassius tossed the weighted end of the chain over the wall of the castle after a short run-up, wrapping the gossamer chain around his hands with each rapid step he took up the wall. Reaching the top, he unhooked the weight from the small bar he'd tossed it around quickly disentangling his hands from the chain. He groped the air on the outside of the wall until he touched the enchanted ladder the Top-Hats had left him. Sliding down the ladder, he spotted Drake sitting astride Barney in the middle of the street. The rest were nowhere to be seen but that indeed was part of the plan. Sprinting over, Cassius leaped onto Barney behind Drake and slipped Go'mon's revolver into the empty holster at his belt. Drawing out no reaction save for a few words from Drake, who didn't turn his head lest he give the gambit away.
"Good work Cassius, Fall back and get a gas mask on. We still don't know what's in those canisters because they inked out the labels."
Cassius slipped off of Barney's back and slipped into a nearby building before De-cloaking as he pressed himself against the wall next to a Warmonger who passed him a spare gas mask. He pulled it on and checked the seal before sitting against the wall as his legs jellied beneath him. His mouth was dryer than the scrubland as he accepted a Volunteer's canteen, drinking heavily through a port in the mask as he rode out the adrenaline crash. He glanced over to where their fighters had pried open a sewer access hatch and were dropping in, the smell of sewage souring the air. A few warmongers closest to the opening had comically attached wooden clothesline clips to their noses.
...
Caz lay atop the second-tallest building in Golgatha, trash and debris piled up around her for camouflage ash she drew a bead on the strutting Go'mon. Her god-given eyes were able to see the purple miasma that rose from him like mercury vapors. She didn't even turn her head as she softly asked.
"Distance?"
The man with Heavy cybernetic augmentations pulled casually from a large pouch of grain alcohol, camera-lense eyes extending from his face as he chewed on a bullet thoughtfully. Slowly he stated.
"One thousand five hundred and sixty-seven meters, If you're keeping it under auto-ignition velocity, you should be able to hold it one mil above and..."
The sound of the bullet in his mouth getting chewed filled the air before he stated.
"Two mils right, wind fluctuates between us and the target, expect a half minute of angle deviation."
Caz adjusted her optic, bringing the point of aim directly onto her crosshairs. The man next to her had called himself "an Olympian" an old sect of bionically enhanced warriors from even before the betrayal wars. In the small amount of time she'd gotten to know the man, she'd found him palatable at the very least, soft-spoken with a touch of crazy, it was refreshing. She tried to ignore the artillery-sized rifle he laid behind, the barrel itself bigger around than a drainage pipe, a suppressor of equally massive size almost protruding over the edge of the building. She watched from the corner of his eye as he pulled the breech open to the side and selected a shell thicker and longer than her forearm with a fused tip. He rammed it into the gun with the same ease she loaded her flechettes with.
They both had different jobs despite sitting on the same roof. She'd take care of anything on two legs, and he'd handle anything that had an armored skin. From her vantage point, she watched as the Agri-bots moved into position, planting their artillery pieces against the ground in preparation to fire. They weren't using High explosives much to Remin and Destrier's chagrin, but with their attack plan, they couldn't risk collapsing the sewers. They were instead armed with a chemical weapon known as "CS Smoke" which would obscure visual sightlines for anyone with unaugmented vision. Lucky for her and the Olympian, that wouldn't be an issue with her clear-sight and his advanced optics. She slowly swiveled her focus onto Drake, keeping the center of the crosshair off him as she watched him.
Sitting astride Barney, Drake looked every bit the warrior he was. His dark helmet and armor were almost lost in the dark night. But the red shock of his Helm's mohawk could not be mistaken, glowing brightly against the darkness. As his palm came to rest on the pommel of his sword, she saw something entirely different for a moment.
A warrior in battered, rusty armor, the flesh falling from his bones as a pair of white lights gleamed behind the helmet. A skeletal hand held a rusty sword in its sheath, Its pale, emaciated steed's head hanging low, milky eyes soulless and empty.
But as soon as she saw it, the image faded and she swiveled her crosshairs onto the castle's inner courtyard. A small, dim red light blinked on the side of the Olympian's skull as the Geknosians organized into fighting lines. Hulking Geknosians in overbuilt power armor manned emplaced turrets and the looming Gas generators. A small feed from the Olympian's perspective overlaid itself on her scope before minimizing to one corner. She watched as his crosshair fell onto one of the two Gallicks. The horseshoe-shaped APCs presenting their bulk to the gate as a bulwark. Caz switched her aim to a heavily armored Geknosian, slowly dialing the small wheel on the forend of her rifle to half-power, just under auto-ignition velocity. The geknosian seemed to get uncomfortable as her crosshairs landed on his chest, fidgeting at the controls of their AA plasma Beam-cannon.
The moment the Agri-bots fired their artillery, she'd remove him from the gene pool and take that AA gun out of the fight so Destrier could get into position.
...
Destrier and Remin ran last-minute checks on the small fleet of two-wheeled land vehicles the Top Hats had called "Dirt bikes." The variable electric powerplant produced little to no noise, even now, powered on and ready to roll they didn't even humm. Stepping back, Destrier let the forearms of his power armor clamshell close as he retook the hand controls. Contrary to popular belief, the hands of power armor weren't at all like gloves. A handle with a pressure sensor for each finger was clasped in his hands, allowing him to manipulate the hands of the armor like his own. Destrier turned his head, helmet whirring on its bearing as he watched Remin mount one of the Dirtbikes, the black scimitar strapped to the suspension of the bike within arm's reach. The old man's Mongolian lamellar draped over either side of the bike like fabric, small metal plates clinking and clattering softly as he pulled his fabric-wrapped helmet back on. Destrier clomped over, hardly noticing the backpack with over two hundred rounds of 13x110 mm HEP.
Remin looked up with a grin and met Destrier's arm halfway in a forearm-gripping handshake, their metal hands clanking together as they slid their arms back into a grip around the base of each other's thumbs, then to a normal handshake before waggling their fingers at each other.
Destrier chuckled softly and looked up at the sky, night vision lenses making it appear stuffed to bursting with stars.
"What's on the black samurai's mind?"
Remin asked softly, head tilted back to also look at the stars between the rooftops.
"Well... I'm looking forward to the fighting to finally being over... Maybe I'll finally be able to settle down and invent something with Martha..."
Remin chuckled softly.
"A noble goal... I'd expect nothing less from you Destri... I'm actually hoping to catch a ride back to human-controlled space. I'm too old for this shit, I want to settle down and live out the last years of my life in peace..."
Destrier nodded in agreement, slowly turning his gaze back to the helicopter, blades slowly turning in preparation for takeoff.
"How old are you Remin? I don't think I ever asked."
The old man paused, thinking for a long time.
"Oh... I'd say I've made it past a century at this point. Got a cybernetic heart when I was a kid thanks to a car accident, Ol' things been keeping me going far past when I shoulda dropped."
Destrier nods and laughs softly.
"Damn, and I thought you were only in your fifties."
Remin laughed in agreeance, setting his hands on the handlebars.
"I don't blame ya, I feel like it. Especially now that my legs aren't filled with creaky arthritis."
Destrier sighed softly, gently punching the old man's shoulder as softly as he could in his power armor.
"See you on the other side old man... whether that be the living side or the dead one."
"Here's to hoping it's the former not the latter."
Destrier chuckled his agreement and boarded the helicopter, making the landing gear compress slightly as he put his weight on the flight deck. Unhooking the feed chain from the side of the backpack, he clipped it into the Ma-deuce's feed chute. It whirred as the heavy cartridges were funneled down the chain and into the gun with a click and a clatter.
...
Barney shifted from one leg to the other beneath Drake, Death's chosen reaching down and gently patting his neck fondly as he softly whispered.
"Just a moment longer boy... There's someone I need to talk to."
Drake closed his eyes, letting the Darkness envelop him for a moment before opening them again.
He looked at Death, who was casually swirling a glass of black bourbon thoughtfully.
"You said you wanted to talk to me right before the battle?"
Death nodded and slid the glass of black bourbon his way.
"I did, I want you to drink this before you go into battle."
Drake picked up the glass, inspecting the pitch-black, inky liquid curiously. Before sniffing it and coughing as his eyes water.
"No offense, But I think something died in your liquor bottle."
Death laughed jovially, pouring his own glass from a red crystal decanter.
"That's because this is made from the blood of my predecessor. I thought i might as well get it out of the way."
Drake suspiciously looked at the glass.
"Okay, what happens when I drink it?"
Death paused, slowly swirling his own glass of black bourbon pensively. Then, he slowly knocked his own back, eyes dilating wide before returning to normal.
"Well, It should allow you to control your power, bypassing the decades of training most need."
Drake gave Death a side eye, sniffing the foul drink one more time asking.
"What's the catch?"
Death frowned, then set his glass down.
"Considering that it's going to completely restructure your magical and circulatory pathways. It's going to hurt like nothing you've ever felt before. It also may or may not bind your guardians to your soul."
Drake's head snapped up.
"Guardians... you mean my parents?"
Death nodded softly.
"Guardians, souls that loved someone so much that they remained on after death to watch over them. Your parents loved you... loved you enough to stand by your side even in death... and before you give me some bullshit about this not being what your parents would want... Remember, they'll always be at your side until you die one way or another."
Drake slowly swirled the bourbon before nodding softly, bringing it to his lips, he downed it in a single gulp. It burned on its way down, the tingling feeling intensely spreading throughout his body and to his fingertips in a moment. His nerves burned, and his very being felt as though it was being scalded by burning hot water. But as he set the glass down on Death's desk, he smiled softly. There was a warmth to the pain, like a cold rag against a feverish forehead. The sting of a garlic poultice applied to a fresh whip-wound. It was the crack of his father's wooden sword against his knuckles during their sparring, the sweat that would drip into his eyes on long evenings working the fields. Drake opened his eyes slowly, no longer sitting in Death's office, but his own soulscape, looking at the long-neglected buildings halfway through construction. But he wasn't alone.
Drake smiled at his mother and father. His mother gave him a soft smile as she touched the scar across his face, the wound in his cheek where a gauss slug had torn it open, then, she took his hand to gently touch the scarred wound where Garravan's knife had pierced his hand. His father just sat cross-legged, drinking a stout mug of scrub tree tea with a proud smile on his face. drake looked between them before holding out his hands.
As his parents took them, they dissolved into motes of light that drifted into his chest. His veins burned, and his eyes and nose bled. His entire existence felt like a blistering inferno as the ground of his soulscape rumbled, small, red flowers the color of blood and the shape of gunshot wounds popping up from the ground. But even as the pain grew, and grew, and grew, He found himself simply laughing, grabbing what felt like an invisible pair of chains and pulling up on them as he stood.
The ground erupted in the middle of his soulscape, a massive, gnarled oak tree sprouting from the ground. Its sturdy trunk protecting a small patch of pink carnations interspersed with curly-petaled white Gardenias. Drake felt something form atop his head and reached up, feeling a thorny crown, he gently pulled it off, looking at the black-petaled roses fondly before returning it to his head. The thorny veins grew down from the crown, snaking their way deep into his flesh only to bloom into what felt like new muscles and tendons that weren't attached to his physical strength. Looking at his upturned palms, he curled his fingers, a steady, smokeless pale flame popping into existence in his palm with next to no effort.
As the pain subsided, Drake closed his eyes, relishing its departure before opening them to the shocked and concerned face of Death. Drake gave him a curious look and Death coughed softly as he composed himself before speaking.
"Look, I know I can hide pain well... But that smile you get when you're hurting is capital C Creepy."
Drake touched his grinning face with a soft laugh, wiping a trickle of blood from his nose.
"Well, guess I can add that to my achievements list, Creeping Death out with a smile."
They both chuckled softly at the joke before Death sighed softly.
"You should get back to them, they're almost ready."
Drake nodded and stood, stepping over to the door.
"Wish me luck."
"Good luck, my Champion. Give them hell."
Drake smiled softly and stepped out the door. When he opened his eyes, he was back in the real world, staring up at Go'mon who'd perched himself atop the castle wall, eyeing Drake hungrily.
Giving Go'mon his signature grin, He reached up and depressed a countersunk button on the side of his helmet.
"Hit 'em"
Drake stated, the sound of artillery rocking the city as Go'mon's hungry look quickly turned to rage. There was a loud, screeching whistle as the artillery shells streaked in, blanketing the area in stinging fog. Drake drew his sword, extending thorned vines of power into it as the blade ignited with pale flames. Barney snuffled excitedly and roared as Drake nudged him forward, the Dinosaur leaping over the wall in a single bound. The final battle for Golgatha had begun, after this, they would either be free...
Or they will have died free.
......
Part 112: will be linked here upon completion.

28, queer, nonbinary, from NY I like reading, writing, making playlists, creating art, crocheting, playing video games and building stuff! Big into social justice and trending topics, so if you want someone to dissect the world with, I’m all ears! Looking for friends to talk to as my hobbies aren’t very social most of the time lol
No pressure to be besties right away, but looking for people who like to chat at odd hours as I’m always on a weird sleep schedule lol

Maggi stumbled upon a hidden garden deep within the academy's grounds. The garden was filled with rare and exotic flowers, and in the center stood an enormous tree. As she approached the tree, she heard a soft whispering in her ear. It was the spirit of the tree, who revealed to her the secrets of the ancient swordsmen.

I’m currently undecided between these four headphones: Sennheiser Accentum Plus, Sony Ultra Wear, Soundcore Q45, and Sony 910N. Here’s a bit of background on my previous experiences:
I’ve used three main headphones in the past: Soundcore Q20, Sennheiser HD 4.40 BT, and Sony XB950, along with one non-branded pair. Out of these, the Sony XB950 was my favorite. It might be nostalgia, but the sound quality was heavenly for me. Although it was wired and I broke the hinge more than ten times, I kept repairing it until it finally gave out. Unfortunately, that line has been discontinued.
I then tried a non-branded pair, which broke down within a month. After that, I moved on to the Sennheiser HD 4.40 BT. The sound quality was a monumental improvement, even better than the XB950, but for some inexplicable reason, I still preferred the Sonys. Next, I used the Soundcore Q20. While it was my first experience with ANC, everything about it was mediocre—the sound quality was just alright, but the build quality was horrible. The battery degraded by 60% within a year, and now I use it with several tapes attached to keep it functional.
A little about me: I’m a gamer who primarily enjoys single-player story-based games. I also listen to a lot of music, with alt rock, emo, orchestral, and R&B being my favorite genres. I love watching musicals too. My ears are between small and medium in size. I wouldn’t call myself an audiophile, as I don’t fully understand terms like mids, trebles, and highs, but sound quality and separation do matter to me. I use audio wearables for at least 4 to 6 hours a day. Currently, I’m using the Soundcore Q20 and OnePlus neckband (for the gym or when I’m working at my store). I want something that is very pleasing to hear, with a slight preference for a bassy sound.
TL;DR: Please help me choose between Sennheiser Accentum Plus, Sony Ultra Wear, Soundcore Q45, and Sony 910

I’m currently undecided between these four headphones: Sennheiser Accentum Plus, Sony Ultra Wear, Soundcore Q45, and Sony 910N. Here’s a bit of background on my previous experiences:
I’ve used three main headphones in the past: Soundcore Q20, Sennheiser HD 4.40 BT, and Sony XB950, along with one non-branded pair. Out of these, the Sony XB950 was my favorite. It might be nostalgia, but the sound quality was heavenly for me. Although it was wired and I broke the hinge more than ten times, I kept repairing it until it finally gave out. Unfortunately, that line has been discontinued.
I then tried a non-branded pair, which broke down within a month. After that, I moved on to the Sennheiser HD 4.40 BT. The sound quality was a monumental improvement, even better than the XB950, but for some inexplicable reason, I still preferred the Sonys. Next, I used the Soundcore Q20. While it was my first experience with ANC, everything about it was mediocre—the sound quality was just alright, but the build quality was horrible. The battery degraded by 60% within a year, and now I use it with several tapes attached to keep it functional.
A little about me: I’m a gamer who primarily enjoys single-player story-based games. I also listen to a lot of music, with alt rock, emo, orchestral, and R&B being my favorite genres. I love watching musicals too. My ears are between small and medium in size. I wouldn’t call myself an audiophile, as I don’t fully understand terms like mids, trebles, and highs, but sound quality and separation do matter to me. I use audio wearables for at least 4 to 6 hours a day. Currently, I’m using the Soundcore Q20 and OnePlus neckband (for the gym or when I’m working at my store). I want something that is very pleasing to hear, with a slight preference for a bassy sound.
TL;DR: Please help me choose between Sennheiser Accentum Plus, Sony Ultra Wear, Soundcore Q45, and Sony 910N.

I’m currently undecided between these four headphones: Sennheiser Accentum Plus, Sony Ultra Wear, Soundcore Q45, and Sony 910N. Here’s a bit of background on my previous experiences:
I’ve used three main headphones in the past: Soundcore Q20, Sennheiser HD 4.40 BT, and Sony XB950, along with one non-branded pair. Out of these, the Sony XB950 was my favorite. It might be nostalgia, but the sound quality was heavenly for me. Although it was wired and I broke the hinge more than ten times, I kept repairing it until it finally gave out. Unfortunately, that line has been discontinued.
I then tried a non-branded pair, which broke down within a month. After that, I moved on to the Sennheiser HD 4.40 BT. The sound quality was a monumental improvement, even better than the XB950, but for some inexplicable reason, I still preferred the Sonys. Next, I used the Soundcore Q20. While it was my first experience with ANC, everything about it was mediocre—the sound quality was just alright, but the build quality was horrible. The battery degraded by 60% within a year, and now I use it with several tapes attached to keep it functional.
A little about me: I’m a gamer who primarily enjoys single-player story-based games. I also listen to a lot of music, with alt rock, emo, orchestral, and R&B being my favorite genres. I love watching musicals too. My ears are between small and medium in size. I wouldn’t call myself an audiophile, as I don’t fully understand terms like mids, trebles, and highs, but sound quality and separation do matter to me. I use audio wearables for at least 4 to 6 hours a day. Currently, I’m using the Soundcore Q20 and OnePlus neckband (for the gym or when I’m working at my store). I want something that is very pleasing to hear, with a slight preference for a bassy sound.
TL;DR: Please help me choose between Sennheiser Accentum Plus, Sony Ultra Wear, Soundcore Q45, and Sony 910N.

Hey Guys, when I was able to get an erection I was definitely a grower (to 6”) not a shower. My flaccid penis in warmer months would be nice to look at but in colder months it is mainly just foreskin. I know this might seem trivial and agree a dick able to get an erection should trump anything else. But my question is for those who are not circumcised and have some extra foreskin, does the implant mean your flaccid penis will be longer? Is it comfortable?
I hear a lot about dog ear and the discomfort.. does giving yourself a few pumps get rid of the discomfort and if you are constantly walking around with a couple of pumps does this mean the expected life of the implant is shorter?

This happened about a year ago and the mystery has plagued me since so I thought I would share here. I'm not sure if it is inherently paranormal so bear with me.
My roommate brought a couple vases of flowers home one day, I can't remember where from. They had lilies in them and we have 4 cats in the house so he ended up tossing them. Him and my fiancé each kept one rose from the bouquets, and stuck them in the freezer to preserve them a little longer. The roses shriveled up after a bit, and they eventually threw those away, too. There were no more flowers in the house.
The garbage bag containing the roses was, of course, taken out and collected on trash day. We had one more trash day before this incident occurred.
My roommate got in the shower one evening. Our second roommate was in his bed, I was in mine, and my fiancé was at his desk on his computer. 2 of our cats were on our bed sleeping with us, my roommate's cat was sleeping in his bed, and our 3rd cat was somewhere else in the house. Our TV was on a low volume, and there was no other sound in the house. The roommate that was in the shower gets out, goes to his room, and sees something incredibly perplexing and honestly creepy.
Scattered on his chair and in the floor were dried up, yellow petals, the same ones from the roses they threw out. We have absolutely no explanation for how they got there. Considering they were thrown away, long gone, the house was silent save for our TV, and he was only in the shower for about 15 minutes. The only thing unaccounted for at the time was my 3rd cat.
If it matters, there have been other creepy things that have happened in our house over the 3 years we've lived here. My roommate has heard loud noises out of one ear when on his computer with his headset on. I've felt my hair being pulled when lying in bed. Our deadbolt has locked itself from the inside when nobody was home and we didn't lock it before we left. Most of these experiences could be explained by our cats (logically), but often things don't feel quite "right" when they happen, you know? I'm sure there are more that I can't think of right now. If it matters, we live in the easternmost part of Kentucky deep in Appalachia.
Does anyone have ideas for how the petals could've gotten there, or where they may have come from? I've been curious about it ever since it happened. I know this may not count as being paranormal, so if you read this far I hope it was worth your time! Thank you friends :)

We’ve been together for 9 months now and i’ve never gotten flowers, he’s gotten me other things before (i am very grateful for them ofc) but never flowers. i even asked him for flowers and he always says they’re too expensive or i have to wait but he doesn’t have to get me anything expensive n he knows that, he could just pick some for me and id be happy.
although, he doesn’t have a job yet he’s been trying to get one but he gets an allowance of $35 dollars a week and i know he can get flowers with that so unemployment isn’t the issue here, ive seen flowers that cost less than that at walmart and other places, i even pointed out a sale on roses to him, a bouquet for $20 and nothing..
and if you’re gonna suggest i get him flowers i technically did, i got him a spider man bouquet but the flowers were crocheted so i think that counts but idk
I understand it’s not really that big of a deal it’s just he knows how badly i want flowers and since he’s able to get me other gifts at times why can’t he get flowers, yk? he knows it would make me super happy so why not i just don’t understand. And js i don’t expect gifts from him he doesn’t have to get me things but bc he does anyways i would just like to get some flowers some time