New documentary films have been produced to add vitality to the general onward march for ushering in a phase of comprehensive development of socialist construction.
The Korean Documentary and Science Film Studio completed a documentary film "Meritorious Persons of Socialist Patriotism" (4) dealing with the struggle of patriots in the present era who add shine to the new era of national development with their sweat and passion, becoming cornerstones supporting the country.
The film impressively shows the feats of working people who are invariably carrying forward the tradition of loyalty and patriotism displayed by the preceding generations.
It also shows the noble spiritual world and outlook on life of the DPRK citizens, who value their country before themselves, through pictures of the meritorious persons striving to lead a worthwhile life on the road for the prosperity of the country and the genuine patriots devoting their sincerity to assisting the army.
The studio produced another documentary film "2023 with Great Enthusiasm for Sports" dealing with successes made in the sports field last year.
The film introduces the feats of sportspersons who demonstrated the dignity and might of Juche Korea at international games last year. It also shows enthusiasm for sports boosted amid the social concern true to the policy of the Workers' Party of Korea on making sports mass-based as well as the achievements made in the work to put sports on a scientific basis and train reserves.

So many Netflix "documentaries" seem far more like infomentires these days. I suppose they might meet the definition, but not the spirit.
Depending on the series/movie they often only explore one side of information, or they do a 80/20 split.
Even the "experts" that give interviews or commentary seem to be dubious a resource more and more. Netflix usually displays the person's name and some blurb about what they are "John doe, Yale University dept head of history" something like that.
Lately I'm seeing more questionable titles that at first glance sound legit, But on further review are pretty questionable as a source. Some have just been bloggers with no real credentials.
I know allot of us see different shows based on where we are so this might not be universally noticed.
But I feel like many of their docs have definitely been shifting from equal information, to lopsided information from experts that have less credibility than TMZ.

Game Information:
Delta Green is a Call of Cthulhu setting where you normally play secret agents who hunt down supernatural monsters, creatures, and events. In these series of one-shots, you will instead play pre-generated, non-agent characters through specific scenarios.
I currently have three distinct (unrelated) one-shot sessions planned:
One-Shot #1: You play astronauts on a top-secret mission in space.

• 5/5 seats filled; already at capacity
• Friday, May 24, 2024 6:00 PM - 11:00 PM CT

One-Shot #2: You play CDC personnel responding to a mysterious disease outbreak.

• 3/6 seats filled; 3 seats available
• Monday, May 27, 2024 6:00 PM - 11:00 PM CT

One-Shot #3: You play US military soldiers on a peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan.

• 1/7 seats filled; 6 seats available
• Friday, May 31, 2024 6:00 PM - 11:00 PM CT

More one-shots may be planned in the future.
I am slow to respond here (though I eventually will) and may be reached much quicker on Discord (same name).

I want to upgrade a bit of hardware in my prebuilt PC -- if this is the wrong subreddit for that, please let me know!
This is my first time tinkering with a computer. I want to upgrade from an HDD to an SSD, but I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out which SSD I should get.
Computer Info:
I have a Lenovo ideacentre 510A-15ICB. This is the spec page and this is the manual. I've gone over both of them several times, but I'm confused about some of the wording.
I've tried to find information on the kind of motherboard I have, but I think it's some kind of bespoke model that's now discontinued. The best I could find is the replacement product page which just has pictures, no other real information.
Pictures of the inside: https://imgur.com/a/Pc5y9qd
My questions:
Under "storage support" on the spec page, it says "M.2 SSD up to 512GB." Does this mean I can only get an M.2 SSD that's 512GB or less? Or does that mean this model only comes pre-built with an SSD 512GB or less?
Under "storage type," a chart lists the following options for M.2 SSDs:

• M.2 2242 SSD PCIe NVMe
• M.2 2280 SSD PCIe NVMe
• Intel Optane Memory M10 PCIe NVMe, PCIe 3.0 x2

I'm confused about which generation of PCIe is compatible. Is it 3? Is it 1? What's "Intel Optane Memory M10"? Also, is the slot for installing an M.2 size 2242 or 2280?
I don't want to make this post too long, but please let me know if there's more info I should provide! Also, sorry if these are silly questions.

Hey all,
I purchased an opening amount of shares for SMRF.
Looking past the crypto and memestock nature of things – has anyone else looked at their recent financial releases?
I thought there was some interesting data here:
https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/tokens.com-expands-into-ai-and-robotics-with-acquisition-of-simulacra-corporation
Namely:
In the last four years, Simulacra has generated revenues of $15.6 million (CAD$21.1 million) and Gross Profit of $12.1 million (CAD$16.3 million).
That’s more gross profit than the entirety of the current business per-acquisition.
Tokens.com will also grant an aggregate of 7,500,000 stock options in exchange for the cancellation of 567,101 stock options of Simulacra. The Tokens.com stock options will be granted at an exercise price of $0.15 per stock option and will expire on the 10th anniversary of the closing date of the Transaction.
On the other hand. Today’s press release about a million dollar deal doesn’t seem like it’s worthy of a press release:
https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/tokens.com-secures-%241-million-robot-supply-contract-2024-05-14
Overall the last week has seen some upside movement in the stock price. Does anyone else see anything in their research for this stock?

Asgard 1827
The Trial of Asgard made national news in Valhalla . Brunhilde stood there in front of many gods, each vote determining her faith . Does she live or die ? Only odin can make that judgment. Heimdall opened a pamphlet speaking though his horn “ Brunhilde, eldest sister of the gods ! You stand accused of crimes against Humanity and Goding alike ! How do you plead ? “. Brunhilde rolled her eyes before speaking her mind . “How do I plead ? What crimes are you talking about ? I was making coffee before me and Randgriz were arrested on the spot “ she spoke out . “ Don't play dumb Brunhilde I saw you cast forbidden spells and illegal magic “ Odin told everyone. Despite the bold straight up lie hilde remained as calm as ever . Using magic and spells is more for Gondul and she is too smart to get caught. What did Odin really want and why is he dragging Randgriz of all demigods.“Nonsense ! My sister would never so such a ““SILENCE “ Odin shouted but Randgriz stood her ground ready to face death itself to protect Brunhilde. Meanwhile in another area. Loki used his blades to slice the doors open splitting them in half. Beelzebub was in the middle of an experiment his red eyes shooting at loki. “This better be good “ he whispered. “It is Brunhilde and Randgriz lives are a stake during the trial “ Loki spat out in a panicked state . “ Why should I care about some demigod's life when I don't even care about my own? “ Beel questioned. “It's because I know you hate Odin and would do anything to spite him how dare he label you as a freak when he is just as bad “ Loki answered “ Hurry we are running out of time ! “ . “What do you get out of this ? “ Beel stood up . “ I owe Brunhilde a favor “ A flashback of small Loki almost getting eaten by a giant snake until Brunhilde saved him by slicing it in half with a scythe
. “Be more careful child “ she turned around seeing the scared loki shiver .
The flash back ended with Brunhilde standing off to Odin . “Confess your crime or serve death “ A purple hue spear floated over him. “ I choose death, “ Brunhilde replied. “ Brun no ! “ Randgriz screamed buy it was too late . The spear launched at her body with such force blood she was pushed back to the wall. Brunhilde refused to give up despite all the pain seeping into her. “ This is the end of the road valkyrie…” Odin whispering. The last thing she saw was the gods demonic smile before everything faced to black.
“Is she alive ? “
“Wait “
“What if he killed her ? “
“Wait “
“ Is she dead ?”
“I will slap you “
“Yikes chill emo “
Brunhilde woke up in the lab with purple ,red and green eyes staring at her. “ What just happened…” Brunhilde felt a tight hug from Randgriz “ You are alive! “ Grizz cried out. “Yes …I am …” Brunhilde realized. “However at a price ….” Beel commented . “What did you do demon? “ Brunhilde hissed . “ Weird way of thanking someone for saving your life “ Beel brushed that comment off. The valkyrie gave him a weird look , “ Don't mention it I only did it to piss off Odin “ Beel shrugged. “Wait Mr Beel what “price “ are you talking about ? “ Grizz asked. “Oh well being a demigod you are more human then god now “ Loki jumped in stuttering at every word. “Meaning you can't fly , super strength and speed is gone, no more soul connection or anything that would make you a valkyrie “ Loki explained some more “ I had to do something to get Beel to save your life “. “ I'm not mad Loki “ Brunhilde took a deep breath “ This is just a sign that I need to leave asgard now …” Brunhilde stated . “I'm coming with you “ Randgriz sat next to her “ If I stay I'm dead Valkyrie walking “. “Plus it's no longer possible to survive here, however despite losing most of your powers there is still a place for you “ Beel mentioned “ Loki will take you “ . “Wait, what about our sisters ! “ Randgriz started to cry . Loki and Beelzebub looked at each other. “ We will figure that part out but remember if Odin catches wind they die too “ Loki pointed out . “Yes but faking our deaths still sounds horrible, “ Randgriz shook her head. “ Alright I'll do something you will see them again soon “ Beel told her “ Overall you both need to leave as soon as possible “ . “Follow me there is not much time “ Loki used his magic to make a portal . The scenery revealed a large Eiffel tower and people walking by . “ Once we step in there is no going back “ Randgriz shivered. “We don't have a choice “ Brunhilde stepped in holding Randgriz hand to help her . “Even if we never meet again Lord Loki, thank you for saving my life “ Brunhilde bowed down. “ No Brunhilde…thank you for saving mine “ Loki smiled, closing the portal. “So this is our new home “ Randgriz looked around seeing things that just aren't familiar anymore .
5 years later 1832
Late in the afternoon at the Salle Pleyel concert there was the sound of the piano . The fast paced music made everyone in the area cheer . The musician had blonde brown hair that passed his ears . He waved it back and forth like a rockstar smashing his keyboards so hard you would think he broke them. The crowd cheered his name “LISZT LISZT LISZT LISZT “ , fangirls jumped up and down going crazy over him . Brunhilde and Randgriz sat down in chairs watching the man go , “ His music is very rough and insane ..reminds me of home listening to vikings “ Brunhilde mentioned. “ I don't know who is making me more deaf the music or the annoying girls “ Randgriz covered her ears, “If it's too much for you then why did you bother coming? “ Brunhilde gave her a look. “ I don't wanna be alone “ Grizz admitted, “By the way ,..why are you wearing a suit “ Brunhilde wondered . “ The human women show too much window and well sister you don't show just the window the entire frame is gone leaving only thin fabric “ Randgriz gave her honest opinion. “ I don't need a lesson on modesty “ Brunhilde focused her attention on Liszt who kept playing . His piercing green eyes gave her a wink . “Was he winking at me ? “ Brunhilde turned to Randgriz. “Probably or at the other women fawning over him “ Grizz stated . “Yeah you're right “ Brunhilde relaxed some more “Not like I care he is a massive playboy breaking one heart after another I'm not going to fall for that plus I'm not a noble “. “You are right Hilde you aren't..you are a demigod , from our divine perspective human nobility is just fancy talk for commoner” Grizz whispered.
“ Randy shhhh we aren't in Valhalla anymore “ Brun reminded her , “ If looks could kill you would be a serial killer by now “ Randgriz laughed “ I mean I'm not wrong if an Archduke came to Valhalla and started bossing everyone he would be laughed at “. That comment made by a few folks behind her gave the sisters an irritated glare . “Shhh “ a man right next to Randgriz silenced her with his white glove .The concert ended leaving Liszt to step off the stage . He was quickly surrounded by fans causing Brunhilde to leave until she felt something hit her. Behind her was a red rose , she picked it up seeing the musician wave at her before being surrounded by more fans . “Come on Brunhilde let's go, I don't like parties “ Randgriz dragged her out towards the concert halls . “Oof I'm sorry “ she accidentally bumped into the same guy that sat next to him. He was a short guy with a big nose that spoke with a thick polish accident. “Sorry I'm looking for a man named Liszt “ he mentioned. “Down the hallway but you are going to have to wait in line “ Brunhilde pointed to the left before leaving . The man thanked her before walking in that direction, “He is very cute “ Randgriz thought. “Eh …okay let's go home “ she walked with Randgriz.
A few days later Brunhilde went back to the same concert alone this time to attend a mass . There she sat down reading the holy Bible while waiting for the preacher . “ Excuse me, is this seat taken? “ a familiar voice spoke to her . Brunhilde turned around, seeing the face once again. “Are you Franz Liszt ? “she asked while watching him sit down. “Yes “ Liszt confirmed sitting next to her “ Nice to meet you “ . “ Yeah I see ..” Brunhilde stuck her head back in the Bible. “Sorry if I was bothering you “ Liszt apologized getting ready to leave . “No you weren't, I just have a lot on my mind “ Brunhilde sighed. “Oh ..I hope the church can relax you ..lift those spirits up “ Liszt gave a warm smile. “Yeah” Brunhilde half smiled back , “So where are you from? I've never seen you around? “ he questioned. “Oh I'm from - “ Brunhilde tried to think of an answer. “Don't tell me your from heaven? “ Liszt answered "Wait how did you -”Brunhilde's face turned red from the blushing. “ “ Relax I was just kidding c Liszt chuckled . “Oh right …hahaha” Brunhilde joined the laughter

Chapter Two - Part One
Second Half
__________________
Beginning of Entry…
StarDate: Redacted
Perspective: Major Commander Michael Irons
Species: Human, Humanoid Mammalian Species, no tail.
Description: 5 feet 2 inches [1.6 meters] to 6 feet 9 inches [2.1 meters] average height. 185 lbs [84 kilograms] average weight.
Longevity: 70 to 500-year life expectancy with life extension medical tech.
Unique Trait: Resilience and Indomitable Will.
Place: New Paris (Capital City)
Location: New Eden Prime
In the early hours, as the dawn cast a pallid light over New Eden Prime, the situation unfolded with urgent clarity. Major Commander Michael Irons, alongside Captain Adam Richter, adjusted his Raider armor, his eyes scanning the horizon where the silhouettes of enemy ships began to materialize. Both men were seasoned veterans, their faces etched with the lines of many battles, their demeanor calm yet alert. They awaited instructions as they stood amid the bustling rally point filled with soldiers and militia.
Their focus shifted as Colonel Nick Estrada approached, his imposing figure cutting through the morning mist, the tension palpable in the air. The urgency of the situation had drawn commanders and soldiers alike, all responding to the blare of alarms that had roused the colony from sleep and into action. Colonel Nick Estrada approached, his presence commanding immediate attention. His frame was not just physically imposing but carried the authority of a man who had seen countless skirmishes and emerged victorious. The commanders snapped to attention, though the informality of the crisis allowed for a quicker exchange.
Colonel Estrada, known for his strategic acumen, surveyed the gathered officers before speaking. "Gentlemen," he began, his voice carrying over the crowd. "Major Commander Irons, Captain Richter, the enemy fleet is now visible. We're seeing a full spectrum—we're up against a formidable enemy. Reconnaissance has identified a significant fleet composition—strike craft, corvettes, frigates, and troop transports. They're not just probing our defenses; they're here for a full-scale invasion."
Major Commander Irons nodded solemnly, absorbing the gravity of the situation. The enemy's intentions were clear: to overwhelm and conquer. "Do we have any intel on their motivations, sir?" he asked, his mind racing through potential strategies.
Estrada's eyes narrowed as he reviewed the latest data on his tactical pad. "Current assessments suggest their primary objective could be resource acquisition or territory expansion. Given the organized nature of their fleet, we can't rule out the possibility of them establishing a forward operating base," he explained, his finger tracing possible invasion routes on the holographic display before them.
Irons' jaw tightened at the assessment. "Have we identified their point of origin or any specific markings that could tell us who we're dealing with?" he asked, his mind racing through the catalog of known hostile factions and their usual tactics.
Captain Richter, ever the tactician, chimed in, "If we can disrupt their landing operations and take out their troop transports, we might slow their advance and buy us some time to fortify positions."
"Not yet," Estrada replied, turning to gaze at the display screen that showed the advancing ships. "Their configurations are unfamiliar, which suggests they're not from any known hostile group within our usual conflict zones. This could be a new player or a proxy force from a rival colony. But it's clear they want New Eden, as the orbital forces were obliterated in minutes."
Estrada, after careful consideration, turned to face the digital map highlighting strategic points around the colony. 'That's a start, but we need a comprehensive plan,' he declared. 'Irons, your units will be crucial in the eastern sector, where their fleet appears most concentrated. Richter, your teams will be our shield in the orbital defenses; we cannot allow them to establish a foothold there."
Richter chimed in, his voice steady despite the escalating tension. "We need to assess their capabilities and intentions quickly. Are they aiming for strategic locations, or is this an outright attempt to overwhelm and occupy?"
Estrada nodded, his eyes narrowing as he processed the information. "Our immediate objective is to hold them at bay and protect civilian areas. I've already ordered evacuations where necessary. Irons, I need your units to fortify the eastern sector. It's closest to their projected landing sites."
"And I'll take the western approach," Richter added quickly. "It has fewer natural barriers, so I'll set up mobile defenses there."
Estrada approved with a brisk nod. "Good. I'll coordinate the orbital defenses to cover your flanks. We can't let them gain a foothold. Whatever their motive, it ends here."
The officers acknowledged their orders, understanding the critical nature of their tasks. Estrada continued. "We'll use the tram system for rapid redeployment. Keep your communications lines open, and expect dynamic orders. We need to be as adaptable as they are aggressive."
As the meeting drew to a close, Major Commander Irons felt the weight of responsibility settling on his shoulders. The survival of New Eden Prime hinged not only on their military prowess but also on their ability to outmaneuver an enemy whose capabilities remained largely shrouded in mystery.
With a final nod from Estrada, Irons and Richter dispersed to relay orders to execute their assignments; Irons felt the weight of the imminent conflict pressing down. Each step they took was heavy with the resolve to protect their home, knowing the enemy loomed just beyond the horizon, ready to test the mettle of New Eden's defenders. This wasn't just another border skirmish or a pirate raid. The scale of the invasion suggested a well-planned offensive by a formidable enemy.
Returning to his command post, Irons pulled up the tactical displays, which showed live feeds from drones and satellites tracking the enemy's advance. Each ship was marked in red and moved steadily towards New Eden's defensive perimeter.
"Let's show them what New Eden is made of," he muttered to himself, a mix of resolve and anticipation coursing through his veins.
This was his colony, his home, where his family and millions of others lived and dreamed of a peaceful future among the stars. Today, the peace and survival of the colony depended on his actions and those of his comrades.
As the first enemy ships entered range, Irons gave the order. "All units, engage at will. Prioritize frigates and anything making landfall. We hold the line, no matter what."
Back at the rally point, as shells began to crisscross the morning sky and the first explosions blossomed in the distance, Estrada and Richter coordinated their sectors' defenses, adjusting to the flow of battle. Each report, each burst of static on the comms, added to the day's growing chorus—a chorus filled with the sounds of a colony defending its very existence.
Above them, the sky turned from morning gray to the dark of smoke and fire, the battle for New Eden truly underway. As the alien forces made their ground assault on New Paris, Major Commander Michael Irons quickly marshaled his defensive strategies. The invaders had exploited a slight weakness at the equator of the planet's shield, where the northern and southern fields met, allowing a fraction of their invasion force to penetrate. This strategic breach had permitted several enemy corvettes and frigates to support the ground troops as they marched toward the city.
The morning sky, once clear and promising, was now darkened by the presence of enemy ships. Their shadows cast an ominous pall over the city as their engines roared menacingly overhead. Irons, stationed at the command post just on the outskirts of New Paris, observed the advancing enemy through his binoculars, his heart racing with adrenaline and cold determination.
Despite the thinning of their numbers due to the shield's resistance, the invaders pushed forward with relentless determination. Their landing crafts, equipped to penetrate the weakened shield points by slowing their descent, deployed troops directly into the fray. This strategic insertion allowed them to bypass the stronger defenses and land a significant force just outside the protective barrier of New Paris.
Irons, stationed at the command post, monitored the unfolding chaos through live drone feeds. The images displayed a grim tableau: columns of alien soldiers advancing toward the city, their movements methodical and unhurried, supported by the ominous silhouettes of their air support. The enemy's tactical acumen was evident in every maneuver, challenging the defenders of New Eden to adapt swiftly.
"Prepare all air defense units and activate the aerial defense batteries," Irons commanded into the comm, his voice steady despite the escalating threat. The air around him buzzed with the hurried movements of soldiers and the crackling of radio communications. The colony's air defense force, though robust, was significantly outnumbered without the support of their orbital fleet, which had been decimated in earlier skirmishes. "Target their air support first. We cut off the head, and the body will falter."
Acknowledgments crackled through his earpiece as his orders were relayed down the chain of command. New Eden's air defense force, though robust, was not designed for such a multifaceted assault. The absence of fleet support from orbit, a disadvantage painfully felt by every soldier on the ground, meant that each shot from the aerial defense batteries had to count.
On the battlefield, the sounds of warfare escalated. Explosions rippled across the early morning sky, painting it with streaks of fire as the colony's defenses engaged the invading air units. Irons watched as each successful strike brought down an enemy craft, each plummeting vessel a small victory in the shadow of an overwhelming threat.
Yet, even as they held the line against the aerial assault, the ground forces braced for the inevitable confrontation. The alien troops, undeterred by the resistance from above, continued their steady march towards New Paris. Their ranks, though reduced, remained formidable—a sea of figures clad in armor that glinted under the rising sun, their weapons poised for battle.
"The shields are holding, but we can't let them gain any more ground," Irons muttered, analyzing the tactical map that glowed with indicators of enemy movement. The slight gap in the shield at the equator was a glaring risk, one that could not be ignored. "Reroute additional units to the southern sector," he instructed, pointing to the area where the shield's weakness was most pronounced. "Fortify our positions there. I don't want a single invader breaking through."
His focus then shifted to the city's defenses. New Paris, a symbol of human resilience and ingenuity on the frontier, was fortified with multiple layers of defenses designed to repel invaders and protect its citizens. But today, those defenses would face their greatest test.
"We're on our own," Irons acknowledged, his gaze sweeping across the room filled with operators and strategists. "Every soldier, every pilot—we're what stands between them and the city. We hold them here, at the edge, before they can reach the heart of our home."
As the enemy's ground forces drew closer, the clash became imminent. Irons could see the front lines through the drones—human soldiers taking positions, their bodies tense with anticipation, their weapons trained on the approaching threat. The air crackled with the energy of impending combat, a mixture of fear, determination, and the indomitable will to protect their planet.
"Engage at maximum range," Irons commanded. "Use the terrain to our advantage. Make them come to us through the kill zones."
The enemy's corvettes and frigates hovered menacingly, coordinating the ground troops as they continued their relentless march toward the city's defenses. Irons could see the troops adjusting their formations and a tactical maneuver meant to optimize their approach under cover of their aerial support.
"Focus fire on those corvettes flanking to the east," Irons directed, pointing to the screens displaying satellite imagery. The operators quickly relayed his commands, adjusting the colony's firepower towards the threatening vessels.
Despite the heavy onslaught, the morale among Irons' men was resolute. They were well-trained and prepared to defend their home against all odds. The sound of anti-aircraft fire filled the air, a relentless symphony of defiance against the invading forces. Explosions lit up the morning sky as some of the enemy crafts took hits, their debris raining down and igniting small fires upon the rugged terrain of New Eden Prime.
Irons turned his attention back to the ground troops, noting the enemy's attempt to regroup after each barrage. "They're testing our defenses, looking for weak points. Make sure all sectors are covered and reinforce any undermanned positions," he instructed his lieutenants.
The battle was fierce, with every moment critical. The enemy's numerical advantage was evident, but the defenders of New Paris were determined to make every shot count. The city's aerial defense batteries worked in overdrive, targeting the enemy's air support in an attempt to level the playing field. The city's shield generators protected the city from any aerial bombardment from the frigates. Only the ground forces were a threat as long as the city's shield generators held, but with every strike from those frigates, the shield became weaker.
As the enemy advanced, a sudden and intense firefight erupted at the southern barricade. Irons watched through surveillance feeds as his troops engaged the enemy, their laser rifles cutting through the morning mist. The ground shook with the impact of heavy artillery, a relentless exchange that tested the resolve of every soldier under his command.
"Keep the pressure on! Push them back!" Irons shouted over the radio, his voice a beacon of command amidst the chaos. The troops responded with renewed vigor, their shouts and gunfire merging into the cacophony of battle.
[First] [Previous] [Next] [YouTube]

Campaign of Fur & Fang
Act:1 We are here for you “To be honest with you Mr. Speaker, as representative of my fair species, I must inform you and everyone at home watching this debate, that the Lycans only wish to help humanity with our gifts. We are here for you. Yes, times are very scary, especially for the human population that sees not one but two of cultures most feared mythical creatures in the fresh and not just frightening tales and big budget motion pictures”.
(The Rep. of the Lycans, Mr.Olaf Corvin starts the proceedings strong with a voice that demands one’s attention with his deep soothing tunes and leadership-like inflections)
“Why thank you, Mr. Corvin, for your small intro, as we all know, we are here tonight for a debate of most importance. According to the peace treaty signed by both the Lycanthrope and the Empusa. A treaty that ended thousands of years of bloodshed and horror that came into focus for humanity in the past 50 years. Both Lycans and Empusas decided that their treaty was holding both sides at bay but no more, both sides came to a way to end this fighting once and for all. Oddly enough, you both decided on a campaign in the vein of an election, one that is between the Empusa, vampires for the common human knowledge, and the Lycanthropes also known as werewolves. This will consist of a 3-night debate between Mr. Olaf Corvin for the Lycans and Ms.Elisabetha Harkin for the Empusa. At the end of the 3 nights, humanity will vote on either side on who is the dominant species, thus eliminating the other and holding power over us all. This first night will be for Mr. Corvin and the Lycan’s then the 2nd night will go to Ms. Harkin for her argument for the empusa. This being the first night we shall start with you, Mr. Corvin. So I’ll start with the question all of humankind wants to know. Just why did you and your kind think we (humans) should vote for you since we have dealt with werewolves for decades, that we know of at least? Do we have a chance in hell, pardon my speech, of continued existence”?
(The Speaker is direct and surprisingly unnerved by the intense presence of Mr. Corvin being, his stare alone is enough to make your hair stand on end.)
“First off, Thank you all for your cooperation, I know this is uncommon for anyone let alone all of you watching here and at home. So to answer your first part, Mr. Speaker, I have seen centuries of bloody battles both as a human and as a Lycan and one thing has remained constant, no matter who is doing the fighting, blood on both sides will fall and innocent lives will be lost to the violence…to end that I felt this was the better more humane way to go about it.
“So, Mr. Corvin, are you saying that this “Debate” is to determine who is to RULE over all of humanity and use us as nothing more than food and labor”?
“No, both the lycans and empusa met on neutral ground and under special conditions to ensure that no side had an advantage over the other and to hopefully come to a fair compromise to ending the rivalry that has hindered not just the Lycans, not just the empusa Mr. Speaker…but all that calls Gaia home. To the concern and the outlook for humans, do not worry, for we do not condone forced labor among anybody, although if humans wish to share in culture and knowledge we are more than willing to. We wish and welcome it. As for food, hmm, yes we do eat…meat but that's not to mean that we strictly eat humans, on the contrary many of my kind eat animals and most vegetation that the great Gaia provides us all. Not unlike humans do. Don’t forget Mr. Speaker, we lycans have learned to live among humans for generations and hope to continue to do so. Only this time, not to hide what we are and grow together”.
“Well said Mr. Corvin but on the point of what you just said about living with humans for generations. You and others have heard the legends and stories regarding depictions of were…excuse me, Lycans, throughout history and in many different cultures. My question for you is, of most of these claims and even eyewitness accounts of your kind…SLAUGHTERING humans by the thousands in the name of your God Gaia, some as recent as decades ago right here in the country alone. How can we (humans) expect to co-exist with the Lycans after all their destructive actions”?
“The horrors that humanity has both witnessed and have been a part of are not unknown to my kind. We (Lycans) want to set the record straight, as you humans have said. History has been looking at us Lycans as like a plague, a horrifying virus that is contracted through a bite on a full moon, all that isn’t true. You won’t be turned through a bite or a scratch for us. To be one of us, you must first denoise all ties to materials, all bonds for greed, to truly understand freedom…the true freedom of no restrictions to your bond to the Almighty Gaia for she has given us this blessed freedom. Us, yes my family, my pack if you will, have seen the glory of Gaia on that glorious day so many many centuries ago when she took pity on my ancestors. Seeing them in chains of iron, beaten by their masters with barbed whips and prodded with their silver-tipped rods, the great Gaia saw out of all this display of cruelty and hatred that she began to weep”. (Corvin stops and takes a minute to compose himself, turning away slightly from the crowd hiding a small swell of tears.)
“Are you telling me... that to be counted among your kind, to become a Lycan in your community one simply can’t just be bitten but has to fully give themselves over to your way of life? That is truly a far cry from the movie monsters of old have portrayed. It sounds like it is more than some affection contracted from a bite or a curse, sounds like it’s more of a religious act than anything. What is the history of your kind then? Help us understand what the path of Gaia means and how it’s the true path to walk in life”.
“Well, Mr. Speaker, the first thing to learn from us is that under the guiding hand of Gaia, we (Lycans) have lived together with no sense of division amongst our own. No civil wars between ourselves, no reason to, when we all share a common goal of pleasing the great Gaia. Her ways are not strange to anyone honestly, she first bestowed these charges to our progenitor, my father, over 324,000 moon phases ago. It was on that night my father fell in battle against his rival and at that moment, she gave him a choice. Either turn away from the folly of the false gods and temptations of man and follow the path of her grace and in doing so will unite him with his enemies and end the wars that drove them to kill and taint the grounds of her body, or to simply deny her and embrace the world as one big lie and die alone on the ground and to be nothing more but a footnote of the grand story yet to be told”.
“So he chose her over death, to be her devoted one. Her avatar to bring out and show that she is the way to peace and prosperity. Whereas others only want to destroy and claim pieces of her through war and death. She gives it freely to her children. That is what it means to be one of us. Unlike my opposition, who brings death to all, they have the sink of death on them and should not be allowed to continue…I’m sorry Mr. Speaker. I wish to not have it end the way they offer and truly wish for peace for all who LIVE…and share the gift that has given my kind such a grander way of life”.
(Corvin drinks something from his ornate flask & after a moment makes his claim for why his kind should win over the Vampires)
“To all of those who still don’t wish to join us or are skeptical, Let me make it plain as spring rain. We offer you no chains or servitude, we offer you a way to live by us not under. If you decide to choose us over them I promise you this…People will live and live well within. But, I do warn you all, if you do choose Gaia and her gifts, they come with rules and rules that help with holding everlasting peace. Rules are what separates us from the savageness that has been shown by others not blessed by Gaia. Rules are fairly simple to practice”.
( The Rules Corvin laid out were as he said, simple, yet I fear they are not ones easily practiced among most humans. 1. All those who reside on blessed Gaia must swear an oath to not cause her any harm, which includes pollution of any kind. 2. All who receive Gaia’s blessing are to at no point shed the blood of her blessed ones.[Lycan] 3. Once a year an offering to Gaia is MANDATORY. Anything offered up must be prepared for her glory and must be taken with the utmost respect and care. (examples from anything from a blood offering to a prized crop of that year.)
“With this, I offer you true purpose and a life worth living. No more war, no more famine, or even the threat of a short mortal life can be a distant dream with the gift of Gaia”.
“I’m sorry to repeat myself Mr. Corvin, but are you telling us that if we choose you we will no longer be humans? Forgive me sir, but if the humans out there didn’t want and refuse this “gift of Gaia” as you call it, then what comes of them”?
“Mr. Speaker, make no mistake, Not everyone is a good fit for most humans and the gift Gaia offers is not something easily given, but rest assured that we do not wish to persecute nor do we have any intention of hurting anyone without cause. If you don’t have the gift or refuse it as you say, Mr. Speaker, we simply wish to not have the continued harm that has already been done to our beloved Gaia. we will cease all harmful pollution that all your factories, workshops, and all the mining, It all ends under our rule. Life will return to simpler times When the sky above wasn’t flooded with false lights made to blind you from the glory of the stars that blanket Gaia like a grand tapestry”.
“So, you are saying you would see an end to all of our functionality, as we know life, and drive us back centuries in technology and advancements in medicine? This feels like a subject that would cause much strife among humans, it may even be fair to say that this declaration you just put out there, might just make you seem more of a threat to what we hold dear. Forget about phones, the internet, and neon lights. What about the people whose very life is prolonged through this technology? Like a child who lives on dialysis or in a village somewhere far away, that has no access to fresh water or healthcare that would help them. Are you telling me that under your rule as a Higher species, what you offer us is a fair replacement”?
“The simple answer to that Mr. Speaker is yes. But I’ll go a bit further in explaining it for you and everyone watching here and at home. To all those who are fearful for your life as you know it, when the rule of the Lycans is secured, our first action is repairing as much damage as possible including the humans that are at the worst. The ones who are forgotten by their own but not so easily forgotten by our blessed mother Gaia, will be the ones who have earned the gift of Gaia. She has spoken of this directly, she sees all and has a place for the ones no one loves, the ones life has done wrong by. She will embrace them and on to her, they will find peace. As for their practice, you humans have done in the name of “progress” need not fear either. We will not cut your way so swiftly, we will show you the better path through example and have you see that your harmful, hateful ways that have been around since Cain threw the first stone are not the true ways to live on Gaia. Don’t think you will continue this without a gilding hand. We will be that guiding hand and as the hand of Gaia, you will see your harmful ways are not worth the cost”.
“Thank you, Mr. Corvin, for your time tonight. We sure have a lot to reflect on with what you say. The people here, myself included, have never truly given enough thought about just how much we harm the planet…Gaia, my apologies. Your words stir quite a few mixed feelings for us and your proposal is one we shall very much consider. Just one last question before we adjourn for the week. If/When the Lycans take full control, do you plan on completely whipping out the opposition”?
{Corvin lowers his head and looks at his soal powered wrist watch and then drinks again from his ornate flask]
“To that I have only one thing to say” {Corvin smiles and looks directly into the hard camera as it zooms in closer, more distinct features show on Corvin's face. Bushy yet maintained brow that is furrowed into an angle that shows his distaste for his vampire opposite.}
“To my opponent, our agreement will stand whether we win or lose this race but win we win and WE WILL WIN. We expect you and all your kind to do what is promised and hand yourselves over to us so that we can return you to the embrace of Gaia that all your kind has turned away from. Yes, Gaia has not forgotten you as well. She sees all and will welcome you with open arms. Thank you all for your time and my Gaia bless you all”.
{Corvin waves and walks off stage right as the curtain draws and the crowd murmurs and scatters. We truly have some thinking to do and I for one will say that sleep for me tonight will not come to me easy, that for sure. That’s going to conclude our broadcast here come back in a fortnight when we have the pleasure of hosting the Representative for the Vampires, Ms.Elisabetha Harkin.}

Hey CRACK!!!! YEAH WE IN THE BACK!!! BEGGARS CAN'T BE PICKY GIRL!!!! YOU WANT THEM FANCY CALL GIRL ROOM'S!! I BET THAT DOOR TO THE ROOM IS BUSY!!!YOU RUNNING FROM SOMETHING!! IT WILL COME OUT!! GIRL YOU AIN'T GOT NO CASES WHAT YOU NEED AN ATTORNEY FOR!! NOTHING!!! YEP WE STAY IN THE BACK!!! YOU WOULDN'T HAVE NOBODY IF IT WASN'T FOR THE BACK PEEPING IN!!! Girl You Sad!!! Girl You Want ATTENTION SO YOU GETTING IT!!! GIRL YOU ARE A CON-ARTIST IN FULL AFFECT!!!!! KNOW YOU TALKING ABOUT IS YOUR COUSIN A TROLL!!!! YOU SURE ARE RIGHT IT HAPPENS!!! YOU ARE UNGRATEFUL!!!! THERE ARE APPS WHERE PEOPLE CAN FIND ANYTHING THEY WANT TO ABOUT YOU CHILD!!! RELATIVES NAMES AND ALL! WHERE THERE IS A WILL THERE IS A WAY!!! YOU CAN'T GET A DOLLAR OR TWO IN THE LIVE YOU SAY GET A JOB CHICK!! IT SURE IS SOCIAL MEDIA!!! THAT'S WHY I SAY WHAT YOU NEED A LAWYER FOR IT'S SOCIAL MEDIA! NOTHING SIMPLE SOMETHING MAJOR!!!! YOU DON'T LIKE THE CHEAP MOTEL BUT YOU AT ONE AND YOU CAN'T EVEN GET IN THE DOOR YOUR CARD AIN'T WORKING HUH!! HOW MUCH THE ROOM COST?? GHOST TOWN!!! WHERE EVERYBODY AT!!!! GIRL GONE ON!!!! YOU ARE NOT ABOUT THAT LIFE!!! GET A JOB AND YOU CAN STAY WHERE YOU WANT TO!

O.J. Simpson is gone-dead from cancer earlier this year. Rewind back to the 90's. O.J, or not O.J. depending on who you ask, stabbed his ex-wife and her boyfriend to death in Los Angeles. The whole country was subsequently held hostage with round the clock O.J. coverage in the wake of the murders*. Its all anyone talked about and there was no way to escape it. There weren't thousands of channels to flick to, or dozens of streaming services available to seek refuge-in far away from the insanity.
However, after his acquittal he seemed to simply fade from public view-absorbed back into the stained fabric of American society. That was of course before he was locked up for nine years in 2008 for attempting to rob his own memorabilia at gunpoint. So what was he doing with his freedom in the years prior?
Nothing. Well, almost nothing. In 2006, executive producer Rick Mahr, famous for the highly-cerebral Backyard Wrestling series, decided it would be a good idea to tap into the reality show boom with an MTV Punk'd themed prank show featuring O.J. Simpson.
It was a one-hour special that featured O.J. himself engaging in a series of pranks ranging from dressing in rags while selling oranges on the side of a highway, to him serving and insulting fat customers in a fast-food drive thru. At the end of the gig, he'd come clean and tell the victim with a smile "you just got Juiced!" Most of the pranks fell flat on their face: people sometimes didn't recognize O.J. or didn't understand the prank, or the whole idea was just too damn stupid.
But the icing on the cake was the skit where O.J. attempted to sell a replica of his white Ford Bronco, which incidentally was discontinued for years after the murders (but that's another story, you can see below for a few more details). The Bronco even sported a real bullet hole, which The Juice himself signed right above it.
O.J. seems to reflect on the whole Bronco chase as simply comical. Is this some dark type of new-age therapy? "It has great escapability!" he keeps informing customers. Does he admit that there was a dead body in the car? Was it him who placed it there? I have never heard O.J speak so candidly about details from the aftermath of the murders.
Here are some exchanges between O.J. and potential 'customers' as reported in the NPR This American Life episode 564-Too Soon?:

Man: Is there $10,000 in here?
O.J: Nope, Nope. No $10,000,
Man: ...You were carrying it, you know?
O.J: Naw, naw. They say that, I was carrying about $3.
Man: $3?
O.J: Yeah, that's why they never brought it up in court.

In another exchange:

O.J: It was good for me.
Man: Yeah?
O.J: Got me out of harm's way.
Man: ...Ok, I'll sit in it...there was a dead body in there.
O.J: Yeah. Well, um, hopefully there's no bodies in this thing. And I can guarantee you, the car has escape-ability. I mean, if you're ever getting into some trouble, and you've got to get away, it has escape-ability.
Man: (Laughing)

He'd be locked up soon after this aired. Apparently only about 100 DVDs ever sold, and there are no other details about the profits made from the pay per view event, or O.J.'s fee for appearing in the special.
All in all, it was a completely ill-conceived idea with even worse execution that somehow was spewed into existence. It reeks of a desperation for money from all parties involved, none of whom seemed capable of creating any well-written gags for the camera. However, it is memorable in the shock-value of seeing an accused murderer making light of the truck he rode in after he supposedly stabbed his wife and her boyfriend to death.
Most humans will live a rich, full life never knowing this even exists. For the woeful few who do see it, you can't help but leave with an overwhelming feeling that O.J. was a twisted and broken man at this point, straining to grasp at even the the slightest hint of his former celebrity and adoration.
\To most people born post 1980s, OJ Simpson was a famous athlete accused, then acquitted of murder who'd later serve time for a completely unrelated crime.*
But to the rest of us, OJ is the single most infamous athlete name of our lifetimes--the shockwave that was sent through the country when it was announced that his ex-wife and her boyfriend had been murdered in Los Angeles, was unprecedented.
Its impossible to recreate the magnitude of this mono-cultural event that was the OJ Trial, and words don't begin to describe the fall from grace of one of the most beloved sports stars ever.
We'll never be able to forget the image of the low-speed white Ford Bronco chase with dozens of police cars in not so hot pursuit, or the inhumanly long trial that fractured the country along racial lines, or the glove that don't fit (so you must acquit!).
To the younger generation: try to imagine waking up to read that one of the Manning brothers had been accused of bumping off their significant other. Maybe that serves to illustrate the disbelief that we were all hit with that one night in June, 1994.
After the 8 month murder trial (yeah, how many of you had forgotten it lasted that long?), OJ was a free man. Images of him happily golfing sent waves of anger through white America, who felt like justice was cheated by a slick defense team that highlighted the racist tactics of the LA police department. On the heels of the Rodney King video and subsequent riots, this was not only a brilliant strategy, but one rooted in a great deal of truth.
A civil lawsuit followed in which OJ was found responsible for the death of Ron Goldman and ordered to pay his family $33 million. To my knowledge, they never received a cent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOEcsIghRpg

Hi all, I'm trying to automate an emailing system for OTP verification but am running into some trouble. Below is my code, in it's respective files.
In models.py:

from django.db import models from django.contrib.auth.models import AbstractUser, User from django.db.models.signals import post_save from django.dispatch import receiver # Create your models here. class UserProfile(models.Model): user = models.OneToOneField(User, on_delete=models.CASCADE) otp = models.CharField(max_length=6, blank=True) otp_expiry_time = models.DateTimeField(blank=True, null=True) class AdditionalData(models.Model): user_profile = models.OneToOneField(UserProfile, on_delete=models.CASCADE) firstname = models.CharField(max_length=100, blank=True) lastname = models.CharField(max_length=100, blank=True) dateofbirth = models.DateField(null=True, blank=True) phone_no = models.CharField(max_length=20, blank=True) country_origin = models.CharField(max_length=100, blank=True) city_origin = models.CharField(max_length=100, blank=True) u/receiver(post_save, sender=User) def create_user_profile(sender, instance, created, **kwargs): if created: UserProfile.objects.create(user=instance) @receiver(post_save, sender=User) def save_user_profile(sender, instance, **kwargs): instance.userprofile.save() 

In views.py:

from django.shortcuts import render, redirect, HttpResponse from django.contrib.auth.models import User from django.contrib.auth import authenticate, login from django.contrib.auth.decorators import login_required from datetime import timedelta from django.utils import timezone from django.core.mail import send_mail from rest_framework import status from rest_framework.decorators import api_view, permission_classes from rest_framework.permissions import AllowAny from rest_framework.response import Response from .serializers import UserProfileSerializer from .models import UserProfile, AdditionalData from rest_framework_simplejwt.tokens import RefreshToken from .generate_random_digits import generate_random_digits def sign_up(request): if request.method == 'POST': username = request.POST.get('username') email = request.POST.get('email') pass1 = request.POST.get('password1') pass2 = request.POST.get('password2') User.objects.create_user(username, email, pass1).save() return redirect('login') return render(request, 'main/signup.html') def login1(request): if request.method == "POST": username = request.POST.get('username') pass1 = request.POST.get('pass') user = authenticate(request, username=username, password=pass1) if user is not None: if user.last_login is None: user.last_login = timezone.now() user.save() login(request, user) return redirect('firstlogin') else: user_profile = UserProfile.objects.get(user=user) verification_code = generate_random_digits() user_profile.otp = verification_code user_profile.otp_expiry_time = timezone.now() + timedelta(minutes=15) user_profile.save() send_mail( 'Verification Code', f'Your verification code is: {verification_code}', 'from@gmail.com', [request.user.email], fail_silently=False, ) return redirect('otp') else: error_message = "Invalid username or password" return render(request, 'main/login.html', {'error_message': error_message}) return render(request, 'main/login.html') def verify(request): username = request.data.get('username') password = request.data.get('password') otp = request.data.get('otp') user = authenticate(request, username=username, password=password) if user is not None: user_profile = UserProfile.objects.get(user=user) if ( user_profile.verification_code == otp and user_profile.otp_expiry_time is not None and user_profile.otp_expiry_time > timezone.now() ): login(request, user) refresh = RefreshToken.for_user(user) access_token = str(refresh.access_token) user_profile.otp = '' user_profile.otp_expiry_time = None user_profile.save() return Response({'access_token': access_token, 'refresh_token': str(refresh)}, status=status.HTTP_200_OK) return Response({'detail': 'Invalid verification code or credentials.'}, status=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED) @login_required def firstlogin(request): if request.method == "POST": user = request.user try: additional_data = AdditionalData.objects.get(user_profile__user=user) except AdditionalData.DoesNotExist: additional_data = AdditionalData.objects.create(user_profile=UserProfile.objects.get(user=user)) additional_data.firstname = request.POST.get('FirstName') additional_data.lastname = request.POST.get('LastName') date_str = f"{request.POST.get('dob-year')}-{request.POST.get('dob-month')}-{request.POST.get('dob-day')}" try: additional_data.dateofbirth = date_str except ValueError: return HttpResponse('Invalid date format') additional_data.phone_no = request.POST.get('PhoneNumber') additional_data.country_origin = request.POST.get('Country') additional_data.city_origin = request.POST.get('City') additional_data.save() return HttpResponse('WORKED') return render(request, 'main/firstlogin.html') @login_required def home(response): return render(response, 'main/landing_page.html') def otp(response): return render(response, 'main/otp.html') 

In settings.py:

""" Django settings for mysite project. Generated by 'django-admin startproject' using Django 4.2.6. For more information on this file, see https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/topics/settings/ For the full list of settings and their values, see https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/ref/settings/ """ from pathlib import Path import os # Build paths inside the project like this: BASE_DIR / 'subdir'. BASE_DIR = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent # Quick-start development settings - unsuitable for production # See https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/howto/deployment/checklist/ # SECURITY WARNING: keep the secret key used in production secret! SECRET_KEY = '#####...' # SECURITY WARNING: don't run with debug turned on in production! DEBUG = True ALLOWED_HOSTS = [] # Application definition INSTALLED_APPS = [ 'django.contrib.admin', 'django.contrib.auth', 'django.contrib.contenttypes', 'django.contrib.sessions', 'django.contrib.messages', 'django.contrib.staticfiles', 'main.apps.MainConfig', ] MIDDLEWARE = [ 'django.middleware.security.SecurityMiddleware', 'django.contrib.sessions.middleware.SessionMiddleware', 'django.middleware.common.CommonMiddleware', 'django.middleware.csrf.CsrfViewMiddleware', 'django.contrib.auth.middleware.AuthenticationMiddleware', 'django.contrib.messages.middleware.MessageMiddleware', 'django.middleware.clickjacking.XFrameOptionsMiddleware', ] ROOT_URLCONF = 'mysite.urls' TEMPLATES = [ { 'BACKEND': 'django.template.backends.django.DjangoTemplates', 'DIRS': [os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'templates')], 'APP_DIRS': True, 'OPTIONS': { 'context_processors': [ 'django.template.context_processors.debug', 'django.template.context_processors.request', 'django.contrib.auth.context_processors.auth', 'django.contrib.messages.context_processors.messages', ], }, }, ] EMAIL_BACKEND = 'django.core.mail.backends.smtp.EmailBackend' EMAIL_HOST = 'smtp.gmail.com' EMAIL_PORT = 587 EMAIL_USE_TLS = True EMAIL_HOST_USER = 'from@gmail.com' EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD = '############' WSGI_APPLICATION = 'mysite.wsgi.application' # Database # https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/ref/settings/#databases DATABASES = { 'default': { 'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.sqlite3', 'NAME': BASE_DIR / 'db.sqlite3', } } # Password validation # https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/ref/settings/#auth-password-validators AUTH_PASSWORD_VALIDATORS = [ { 'NAME': 'django.contrib.auth.password_validation.UserAttributeSimilarityValidator', }, { 'NAME': 'django.contrib.auth.password_validation.MinimumLengthValidator', }, { 'NAME': 'django.contrib.auth.password_validation.CommonPasswordValidator', }, { 'NAME': 'django.contrib.auth.password_validation.NumericPasswordValidator', }, ] # Internationalization # https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/topics/i18n/ LANGUAGE_CODE = 'en-us' TIME_ZONE = 'UTC' USE_I18N = True USE_TZ = True # Static files (CSS, JavaScript, Images) # https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/howto/static-files/ STATIC_URL = 'static/' # Default primary key field type # https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/ref/settings/#default-auto-field DEFAULT_AUTO_FIELD = 'django.db.models.BigAutoField' 

otp.html:

TLDR:
The problems are as follows:

• 4 verification codes were sent b2b2b2b on the first try
• No longer receiving any emails
• The otp.html redirect after entering the code doesn't work

Dear Reader: Emphasis on the -fi. Don't worry about it.
Effective Death. At least that’s what the news was calling it. The day the world wouldn’t end. Life could go on! It wasn’t over. You could still huddle around the last fires. Smoke the last cigarettes. Have the last children, though no one did.
Instead, they all watched. The slow dimming of light of the last supernova. A thousand little eclipses snuffed out the light as the Final Embrace closed around the star. We would not burn. We could die naturally. Charity. The Plan. The Plan wasn’t much of a Plan at all, and it definitely did not deserve a capital “P.” The universe would die. The Ark would wait. Maybe the universe wouldn’t die.
Then, a pinprick of light in the blackness, and another, and another. A tangled ball of christmas lights flashed in the sky, blinking on and off as people, my people, YSAs, flew headlong into the Ark. We all knew it was a meaningless gesture. One last light in the sky. Then nothing. Nothing more than a gesture: a middle finger among friends, and to people like me - cowards who would rather wait patiently for death than rage! “Rage against the dying of the light!” as their leaders preached. I didn’t care. There was a small chance I’d survive the crash, and then I would have to drift, and drifting was no fun. I’d rather be dead on a dead rock than be a dead rock.
Dehydration was my best bet. You see, Your Friend Corp, or as I called it now You’re Fucked, Cunt had made me into a Yakka Service Android: Lathe. Or YSA for short. And when I say made, I mean made. Per my contract, My DNA was a mishmosh of latent genes reactivated, entirely novel sequences, and of course, the tardigrade - the base model for spaceborne labor. Vacuum, heat, cold, radiation. A small shield powered by a miniature fusion reactor meant I could shrug off wandering asteroids. I didn’t need any PPE because I was the PPE. Cheaper, I guess. Making a welding arc was as simple as squeezing two fingers together, diamond nails and a skeleton of superheavy alloys let me fix anything that needed fixing and make anything that needed making. My copilot AI, Albert, kept my hands steady and made my new diet of ‘whatever’s around’ palatable.
The thing that needed fixing in this case, was my television. I had had enough of “effective death.” I spun up one wrist, and reached in. Shards of glass and blue-hot metal chips bounced off my naked body. Clothes were for those who needed them. I traced a slow serpentine pattern until only the power cord was left, which I unplugged. I looked at it for a moment, then began to chew it. Fruit roll ups, apparently.
‘Thanks Al’ I thought. ‘No problem’ he replied. ‘I was supposed to kill you, you know’ he continued.
‘Why didn’t you?’
‘You always said thank you’ He was silent for a moment. ‘I don’t want to die either.’
‘Thanks Al.’
‘You’re welcome.’
We sat in silence, and we waited. For what, we did not know. For nothing, probably. Technically, definitely.
—
Three weeks passed. Three weeks of nothing but blackness, punctuated by suicides. A small flash of light, a dull red glow of the now proverbial last cigarette, and a larger flash, and a bang. Slowly, people began to wake up. Lights shone in the distance now, as people realized they weren’t dead. Campfires billowed smoke, songs were sung, jokes were told, and I sat in silence. I didn’t want to make any friends. They’d all go away, in the end.
One by one, the fires burned to ash, the lights turned off, and the rock died. I often debated with myself if I was alive anymore. Al told me that since I could reproduce and poop that I counted. I wasn’t sure.
Maybe there were other cowards still alive. Other YSA’s living off dirt that tasted like mashed potatoes, tossing grape pebbles into their mouths. Maybe someone survived the crash, and is still drifting, a not dead rock dying of dehydration like I am. Trying to at least. I kept taking one last sip. Coward I thought to myself.
—
A crack in the sky. Final Embrace began to crumple like a deflated balloon. The scientists were wrong. Typical. They would tell you they weren’t. They would say that a .005% chance of the sun turning into a black hole meant that they had indeed predicted that the sun would turn into a black hole. The last black hole.
“Hey Al,” I said out loud. God I hadn’t spoken since the sky went dark. This is actually kinda nice. “I think I know I want to die. What do you say we take the ol girl out for one last ride?”
‘That’d be nice.’
“I’m going to put my clothes on. I want to hear your voice.”
I gently pushed the earpiece into my ear canal. Small barbed spikes extended, anchoring it in place, and a thin cable wormed its way into my reactor. “If you’re going to die, you might as well look good doing it.” Al said. “I’ll make a playlist.” I nodded, blowing the dust off my pre-op clothes. I always liked the old things, back from when Earth still existed. There was more culture, more life, in everything, somehow. Blue jeans, a white t-shirt, brown leather boots. Classic. Not real, of course. They were all made from the same poly-something textile. Durable, to a fault. I had only ever had the one set.
I looked in the mirror. I still looked the same on the outside. I was a skinny bastard that’s for sure. Olive skin, dark hair, and not a strand below the eyebrows except under my armpits and around my cock. ‘The biggest dick in the world’ I thought to myself.
“I heard that.” Said Al. I jumped. “You told me you wanted to hear my voice.”
“Dammit Al. Sorry. I do.”
“Everyone is dead and you’re making dick jokes.”
“Did you really think better of me?”
“No.”
“Come on then. Let’s take the ol girl out before we die. Give her one last ride too.”
To an observer, it would seem like I was glaring at myself in the mirror. But really, I was glaring at Al. And I was a little confused. I thought AI didn’t make sex jokes.
The “ol girl” in question was another of my fascinations with the old world. She was, or at least she looked like, a 1980 Toyota Corolla. I had made some heavy, heavy modifications. The engine bay houses the reactor and warp field generator. The main engine takes up the entire trunk, and is capable of 5% light speed outside the warp field and a whopping thousand times the speed of light inside it, though I keep the warp field up whenever I’m in it since it doubles as a shield. Ya can’t get hit by space if you’re not technically “in” space after all, and the body is plain ol painted steel - fire engine red, since you asked. Beautiful, but not the most durable. The undercarriage serves as a gravity generator, and yes, the wheels do turn, but since they’re powered by fusion reactor I had to replace the entire drivetrain. Not exactly original, but boy howdy! is she fast on the ground. Speaking of not original, the dashboard was anything but. I kept the old analog style but well, this was a spaceship after all.
I shoveled dirt into the fuel tank - gas tanks they used to call them, when they still ran on gas - then got in and turned the key. The low hum of the reactor was comforting, though not as much as the roar of the engines as I left the dead atmosphere of that now definitely dead rock behind me. I turned on the headlights - pointless, I know, but you shouldn’t drive in the dark with your lights on, and pulled a small bottle of moonshine from the glovebox. You shouldn’t do that either, but I figured I was about even as far as rules went. What was I going to do? Hit someone?
“Hey Al. Do you think you have a soul”
“Probably not.”
“That sucks.”
“Yeah.”
I hit somebody. Or something. Whatever it was bounced off the warp bubble and tumbled into space behind me, briefly red in the glow of my tail lights.
“Oh shit” Said Al and I.
“That was a person” Said Al.
“Was is right.”
“They’re still alive.”
I stopped the car. Al played the sound of tires screeching in my ears. I backed up towards the now spinning uncontrollably figure and rolled down the window. I liked the manual windows. They helped me feel human. I turned off the warp and reached out a hand to catch whoever it was, and they slammed against the side of my car, denting it. Damn it.
I’m not great at reading lips but whoever I hit was definitely alive, very naked, probably the most gorgeous woman I had ever seen, and was almost certainly calling me an asshole. She crawled around to the passenger door and got in. We rolled the windows up, and the cabin atmosphere flooded in. Now she was definitely going to call me an asshole.
“Why the fuck are you wearing sunglasses?” She said.
“Style.” I replied. “I’m going to go die. Want to come?”
“Better than drifting.”
“Where’s your AI?” said Al? I don’t detect one, and your hands are shaking.
“Killed him before he could kill me. Why didn’t you kill this idiot?”
"I didn’t want to die. And he said thank you.”
“Gross.”
I rolled my window down. She did the same, then looked in the center console and pulled out my spare sunglasses. I looked at her. “Style.” She said. Al played The Final Countdown. We were the not dead yets, in the Not Dead Yet Finally, a name for my car! Sunglasses on. Sun out. Life was good, and death was going to be even better.

I'm currently doing a University coding course our finally assignment is to code an entire website and well the code just isn't working and my tutor is of zero help to me. The website needs to be viewable on desktop, mobile and tablet but for what ever reason even using the provided layout from my tutor I'm unable to get anything apart from the nav bar to respond on top of that anything after the about section on the website just doesn't work no matter what I change. I'm frustrated with it and just need someone to explain to me like a 5 year old what in my code is wrong.
CSS:

@media only screen and (max-width: 1920px) { } @media only screen and (max-width: 1366px) { } @media only screen and (max-width: 1024px) { } @media only screen and (max-width: 768px) { } @media only screen and (max-width: 640px) { } @media only screen and (max-width: 360px) { } .navbar-container { display: flex; align-items: center; position: fixed; top: 0; width: 100%; background-color: #5c4033; z-index: 10; } img { width: 80px; height: auto; margin-right: 10px; } #navItems { list-style-type: none; margin: 0; padding: 0; display: flex; width: calc(100% - 90px); justify-content: space-around; } li a { display: flex; align-items: center; padding: 14px 16px; color: #ffffff; text-align: center; } li a:hover { background-color: #c4a484; } a:link, a:visited, a:hover, a:active { text-decoration: none; } Body { background-color: #c4a484; } h1 { font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 100px; width: 500px; position: absolute; left: 75px; top: 45px; } #img1 { position: absolute; left: 1275px; top: 100px; width: 600px; } #img2 { position: absolute; left: 650px; top: 275px; width: 600px; } #goat { position: absolute; left: 25px; top: 475px; width: 600px; } .About { position: absolute; Left: 1275px; top: 920px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; } h2 { font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 50px; } .thumbs { display:flex; justify-content:center; flex-wrap:wrap; width:500px; max-width:100%; > a { max-width:150px; height:150px; margin:10px; overflow:hidden; border-radius:5px; box-shadow:0 0 0 3px white, 0 5px 8px 3px rgba(black, 0.6); img { transform:scale(1); transition:transform 0.1s ease-in-out; filter:grayscale(50%); min-width:100%; min-height:100%; max-width:100%; max-height:100%; } &:hover { img { transform:scale(1.1); filter:grayscale(0%); } } } } .lightbox { position:fixed; background:rgba(black,0.5); backdrop-filter:blur(10px); -webkit-backdrop-filter: blur(10px); height:100%; width:100%; left:0; top:0; transform:translateY(-100%); opacity:0; transition:opacity 0.5s ease-in-out; &:has(div:target) { transform:translateY(0%); opacity:1; } a.nav { text-decoration:none; color:white; font-size:40px; text-shadow:0 2px 2px rgba(black,0.8); opacity:0.5; font-weight:200; &:hover { opacity:1; } } .target { position:absolute; height:100%; width:100%; display:flex; transform:scale(0); align-items:center; justify-content:space-between; *:first-child,*:last-child { flex:0 0 100px; text-align:center; @media all and (max-width:600px){ flex:0 0 50px; } } .content { transform:scale(0.9); opacity:0; flex:1 1 auto; align-self: center; max-height:100%; min-height:0; max-width:calc(100% - 200px); min-width:0; border-radius:5px; overflow:hidden; box-shadow:0 0 0 3px white, 0 5px 8px 3px rgba(black, 0.6); transition:transform 0.25s ease-in-out,opacity 0.25s ease-in-out; img { min-width:100%; min-height:100%; max-width:100%; max-height:calc(100vh - 40px); display:block; margin:0; } } &:target { transform:scale(1); .content { transform:scale(1); opacity:1; } } } .close { position:absolute; right:10px; top:10px; } } @media only screen and (max-width: 1920px) { } @media only screen and (max-width: 1366px) { } @media only screen and (max-width: 1024px) { } @media only screen and (max-width: 768px) { } @media only screen and (max-width: 640px) { } @media only screen and (max-width: 360px) { } .navbar-container { display: flex; align-items: center; position: fixed; top: 0; width: 100%; background-color: #5c4033; z-index: 10; } img { width: 80px; height: auto; margin-right: 10px; } #navItems { list-style-type: none; margin: 0; padding: 0; display: flex; width: calc(100% - 90px); justify-content: space-around; } li a { display: flex; align-items: center; padding: 14px 16px; color: #ffffff; text-align: center; } li a:hover { background-color: #c4a484; } a:link, a:visited, a:hover, a:active { text-decoration: none; } Body { background-color: #c4a484; } h1 { font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 100px; width: 500px; position: absolute; left: 75px; top: 45px; } #img1 { position: absolute; left: 1275px; top: 100px; width: 600px; } #img2 { position: absolute; left: 650px; top: 275px; width: 600px; } #goat { position: absolute; left: 25px; top: 475px; width: 600px; } .About { position: absolute; Left: 1275px; top: 920px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; } h2 { font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 50px; } .thumbs { display:flex; justify-content:center; flex-wrap:wrap; width:500px; max-width:100%; > a { max-width:150px; height:150px; margin:10px; overflow:hidden; border-radius:5px; box-shadow:0 0 0 3px white, 0 5px 8px 3px rgba(black, 0.6); img { transform:scale(1); transition:transform 0.1s ease-in-out; filter:grayscale(50%); min-width:100%; min-height:100%; max-width:100%; max-height:100%; } &:hover { img { transform:scale(1.1); filter:grayscale(0%); } } } } .lightbox { position:fixed; background:rgba(black,0.5); backdrop-filter:blur(10px); -webkit-backdrop-filter: blur(10px); height:100%; width:100%; left:0; top:0; transform:translateY(-100%); opacity:0; transition:opacity 0.5s ease-in-out; &:has(div:target) { transform:translateY(0%); opacity:1; } a.nav { text-decoration:none; color:white; font-size:40px; text-shadow:0 2px 2px rgba(black,0.8); opacity:0.5; font-weight:200; &:hover { opacity:1; } } .target { position:absolute; height:100%; width:100%; display:flex; transform:scale(0); align-items:center; justify-content:space-between; *:first-child,*:last-child { flex:0 0 100px; text-align:center; @media all and (max-width:600px){ flex:0 0 50px; } } .content { transform:scale(0.9); opacity:0; flex:1 1 auto; align-self: center; max-height:100%; min-height:0; max-width:calc(100% - 200px); min-width:0; border-radius:5px; overflow:hidden; box-shadow:0 0 0 3px white, 0 5px 8px 3px rgba(black, 0.6); transition:transform 0.25s ease-in-out,opacity 0.25s ease-in-out; img { min-width:100%; min-height:100%; max-width:100%; max-height:calc(100vh - 40px); display:block; margin:0; } } &:target { transform:scale(1); .content { transform:scale(1); opacity:1; } } } .close { position:absolute; right:10px; top:10px; } } 

HTML:

          
 
Lilac Valley Farm Stay
    
 
 
About Lilac Valley
 Escape to Rustic Luxury at Lilac Valley Farm Stay Imagine waking up to the gentle sounds of a farmyard, surrounded by the breathtaking beauty of the Blue Mountains. Lilac Valley Farm Stay is your invitation to unwind and reconnect with nature in a beautifully restored luxury barn house. This hidden gem, lovingly renovated by local interior designer Marina YeMarina Ye, offers a unique blend of rustic charm and modern comfort. Spread over four acres, the property boasts:
 
 
A stunning open-plan barn house, perfect for families or groups.
 
An enchanting cottage garden bursting with colorful blooms.
 
A refreshing plunge pool to cool off after a day of exploring.
 
Friendly farmyard companions – sheep, chickens, ducks, and the ever-so-charming Rosie the goat.
 
 Lilac Valley Farm Stay has been a favorite amongst AirBnB guests and has even garnered attention online. Get ready for an unforgettable escape. 
 
 
    
 
 
  spacer to keep content centered in the flex container  
  
  
 
  
  
 
  
  spacer to keep content centered in the flex container  
  
             
 
Lilac Valley Farm Stay
    
 
 
About Lilac Valley
 Escape to Rustic Luxury at Lilac Valley Farm Stay Imagine waking up to the gentle sounds of a farmyard, surrounded by the breathtaking beauty of the Blue Mountains. Lilac Valley Farm Stay is your invitation to unwind and reconnect with nature in a beautifully restored luxury barn house. This hidden gem, lovingly renovated by local interior designer Marina YeMarina Ye, offers a unique blend of rustic charm and modern comfort. Spread over four acres, the property boasts:
 
 
A stunning open-plan barn house, perfect for families or groups.
 
An enchanting cottage garden bursting with colorful blooms.
 
A refreshing plunge pool to cool off after a day of exploring.
 
Friendly farmyard companions – sheep, chickens, ducks, and the ever-so-charming Rosie the goat.
 
 Lilac Valley Farm Stay has been a favorite amongst AirBnB guests and has even garnered attention online. Get ready for an unforgettable escape. 
 
 
    
 
 
  spacer to keep content centered in the flex container  
  
  
 
  
  
 
  
  spacer to keep content centered in the flex container  
  
   

Ok this is gonna be a very long, rambling, and probably somewhat disorganized post, so please bear with me.
I'm sure other people have had this same idea as well, but I'm not subscribed to the rebornevo forums and I'm not very active on this subreddit either, so I don't know how frequently it's been discussed outside of the small number of times I've seen it on Twitter, which still was after I had the thought when I first played V12 years ago. Even if it is I still wanted to try and organize my thoughts about it and present all of the evidence that brought me to think this even without engaging much with the larger community.
To jump right into it, the theory that I've been subscribing to for a pretty long time and was very confident in (until realizing some flaws with it) is that Madame X is the incarnation of Nymiera from Maria(nette)'s now dead universe, which is likely the same universe that Clear, Kieran, and potentially the Thunder Warrior Tapu Koko are from. She was defeated by her universe's Indriad but somehow managed to escape with her life, albeit badly injured, and was effectively out of commission, which led to Indriad eventually being able to bring about Storm 9 which would eventually lead to the end the world. Nymiera then likely got help from either her world's Xara and Jean, or Clear and Kieran themselves to construct her suit and escape to the next universe.
There's quite a few reasons I have to think this. I feel like a ton of evidence from throughout the game supports the idea, and I've been making note of them for years at this point. This is gonna be a bit meandering, but it's really difficult to organize thoughts about a plot as complicated as Rejuv's even if you're focusing on only one character, so again please bear with me:

• The most obvious point is that Madame X shows up directly in the prologue, to the Maria that becomes the one we meet in the Chrysalis manor. She clearly already has some amount of control over time at this point as well, meaning she had likely already claimed her world's time diamond but was unable to stop Indriad using it.
• Nymiera clearly still remembers the old world we learn about in the Third Layer. She knows Adrest by name and recognizes his presence within the player, hints at the emergence of the Zeight in the present day, and knows about the Archetype. Madame X, in the first cutscene where she's introduced at Blacksteeple, immediately refers to the player as the Interceptor, and she also clearly recognizes the power the Melia gains from the Archetype in the Bad Future. They in general seem to possess similar knowledge of major concepts like these.
  • Although you could argue that she might simply have learned about these things from Clear and Kieran, the fact that we see Madame X specifically talking to Maria in the prologue shows that she was at least aware of the Archetype already.
• This is an admittedly very small point that is potentially a coincidence, but I still want to acknowledge it: Madame X's suit seems to be evoking the image of a dragon and mostly uses dark colors. The two characters that we know are directly descended from Nymiera, Alexandra and Damian, favor Dragon and Dark type Pokemon, respectively.
• We know that Nymiera dual wielded crystal swords as her primary weapons rather than relying on Pokemon, and Madame X engages in combat almost exclusively with her sword. The only exception that we see is her attacking the player with her Yveltal at Blacksteeple Castle.
• We see the aforementioned crystal swords, as well as the corpse of Hazuki's Aegislash, within the storage room of the Chrysalis Manor, which all but confirms that Nymiera and the Defenders of Aevium were soundly defeated by Indriad in this timeline and he claimed their weapons as trophies.
  • As a small thought on the full fate of her world's defenders: Vivian was already dead because of the botched ritual, Hazuki was most likely killed, Anju was defeated but taken alive and imprisoned, likely to act as a potential vessel for Indriad (which is something I'd also like to talk about but that's best saved for another post). Given how cruel of a man Indriad is and how much he likes to torment people, I think that crippling Nymiera so she could no longer stand against him and then forcing her to live with the pain of her failure sounds like the type of thing he'd do. This is more of a headcanon, though, not something I'm actually trying to present as a major evidence for the theory.
• Because of .Karma Files we have explicit confirmation that Nymiera is an incarnation of Xerneas; it's a little on the nose for sure, but this can explain why she so heavily associates with the letter X, including why she took her name and took the name of Team Xen for her own, new organization even though it otherwise seems to be completely unrelated to the Team Xen of the Miera Region.
• If her mask is destroyed at the Pyramid, and she's effectively defeated prior to Clear and Kieran's intervention, she makes a remark about how the battle would have gone differently if not for her suit. It's vague, yes, but the implication is that the suit places some sort of limit on her power and she'd be far stronger without it, as while wearing it she can't fight at full capacity. This explains why she only wields one sword instead of two, as she likely can't dual wield without her full physical strength.
  • This next bit is straying into headcanon territory, so I don't fully count it for the theory, but we don't know exactly why she's wearing the suit; it's definitely not just to hide her identity, because there'd be far easier ways of doing that. I like to think that it's necessary for her to survive and limits her power to keep her from overexerting herself, similar to Darth Vader's suit from Star Wars. This would make sense with the idea I have that she was grievously wounded by Indriad even though she survived her fight with him.
• We know that there's a second Blacksteeple Castle on the same island that's hidden behind a protective barrier, which only Madame X can pass through. It's likely that this is the original Blacksteeple Castle and the one that we occupy during the prison arc is just a replica. We see in the Bad Future that Blacksteeple Castle has some sort of connection to Nymiera with the mosaic that we see. It's confirmed by Madame X that Blacksteeple was once Nymiera's castle, that she lost in the war mentioned in the legend that Nymiera tells to us. This would explain why Madame X is so protective of the original castle in the present day and why she can access it.
  • This would also explain why so much Xerneas iconography is still included in the replica of the castle.
• Speaking of Blacksteeple in the Bad Future: when confronted with the mosaic of Nymiera, Madame X calls her a cowardly and weak woman who couldn't protect what she needed to when it mattered most. This attitude already does make sense for her to have, but if she is the Nymiera who was defeated by Indriad in Maria's timeline, it only makes even more sense. She is so disgusted at herself for her own failure that she threw away her old name and forsakes her old actions, and looks down upon the Nymiera of the current timeline for making the same mistakes that she feels she did.
• We already know from the Regi sidequests in V13.5 that Nymiera's view of morality was a bit... warped, and she was willing to do some truly inhumane and manipulative shit if she thought it was necessary for the good of the many. Madame X's methods are obviously far more extreme than Nymiera's ever were, but even though her motivations and ultimate goal are unclear there's still hints that all of the things she's responsible for are, to her, just a means to an end. If Madame X is Nymiera, with her spirit having been broken by her failure to stop her world's Indriad, it's not hard to see how that already warped "Good of the many no matter the cost" mentality could evolve into doing absolutely anything to achieve her goals.
• The underground chamber in Kugearen where we find the Weird Diary has a lot going on, but the notable things are the statues of the Defenders,drawing of the Archetype, and map of present day Aevium. Hazuki's is missing, and Anju and Nymiera's are destroyed, with the game specifically noting that their eyes are torn out. There is no statue of Hazuki, and Vivian's is not only intact, but poised for battle. To break this all down a bit:
  • The Archetype symbol being so prominent as well as the present-day map show that it's someone who can both time travel and knows about the Archetype
  • The three states are of the Defenders that we know will suffer a poor fate.
    • Hazuki's is missing because she is the only that survived.
    • Vivian's is standing and complete because she was the only one able to mostly die on her own terms, but her spirit still struggled because of the failed spell; being poised for battle still lines up with the curse placed on her reincarnations.
    • Anju and Nymiera are both missing in the present day and were never seen again. Anju's fate is ambiguous, but obviously there's something going on with Angie (Which I have another theory about, but again, story for another post). Nymiera's spirit has appeared, but clearly can only do so much, as her only real act aside from talking to the player is transferring Hazuki's power to Saki.
  • Nymiera fancied herself an artist, and seemed to especially like working with stone given the many statues in Blacksteeple as well as the multiple stone carvings in her room.
  • All of this points to someone who can reliably time travel, knows of the archetype, has knowledge of Rift Pokemon, and has an intimate knowledge of the Defenders and their fates. Madame X is the only person who meets all of those first few qualifications, and it's also worth noting that Madame X's suit distinctly lacks eyes, similar to the two statues.

Essentially, the image I see with this is a Nymiera who became so disgusted at her own failures that she threw everything away, including her old identity, and and decided the best way to create a good world was to tear everything down and rebuild it herself, taking her belief in "The good of the many" to its furthest extreme and becoming a vengeful and bitter person in the process. She keeps "protecting" the Interceptor in hopes that their own quest will eventually guide them to resetting everything and destroying Karma for good.
However... in the process of thinking through this all over the last couple days, I realized several holes in this theory that I have to acknowledge, and keep it from really being an effective one.
First, if Nymiera is the avatar of Xerneas, then why is Madame X only ever seen using a Yveltal?
Second, the one aspect of Madame X's backstory story that she elected to reveal to us is about her mother. In her own words, "My "mother" was a weak individual who gave her life to protect me". Not only does Nymiera never hint at anything remotely similar this, but none of Adrest, Variya, or any of the files Adrest sends to Erin hint at anything even remotely close to this for Nymiera.
Third, which I think is the biggest issue: when we see Madame X's mask get broken by Sakitron at the pyramid, what little we see of her appearance doesn't exactly match up with Nymiera. What appears to be black hair could also just be a broken piece of her mask, her eyes are a bright red, and even though we barely see any skin, it visibly is not as dark as Nymiera's.
The first point is actually pretty easy to explain: the Yveltal is Indriad. Obviously we don't know how Indriad became a Yveltal, but there is precedent for shit like this happening and there's multiple hints towards it:

• Indriad is confirmed at the end of .Karma files is an avatar of Yveltal in the same way that Nymiera is one of Xerneas.
• In the Bad Future, when Melanie summons her Yveltal, she explicitly refers to it as her father. Melanie is a bad future version of Melia, Melia is in some capacity connected to Maria and is still explicitly related to Indriad's kids, the implication is pretty clear.
• There are other physical avatars of legendaries in the game: Spacea and Tiempa, who both can transform into the legendaries they are the avatars of. I don't know if it's ever been confirmed if Griselda was an explicit avatar of Giratina, but nonetheless, she was permanently transformed into one and can't change back. It's not unreasonable to see something similar happening to Indriad given that we don't know his final fate in the game's main timeline yet.
• Yes, this means there's some fucky shit going on with Angie, I have ideas about that as well but that also takes a ton of explanation and is best saved for a different post.

The other two though... I think more or less disprove the theory. Family-related trauma is already one of the game's biggest theme; if Nymiera had something related to her mother, it would have been made clear by this point. And there's just no way that I can think of to really justify the drastic difference in appearance between the two. I could simply handwave it and say "The differences in appearance are either a spriting error or a lighting thing with her helmet" and "We just haven't learned about Nymiera's mother yet", but both of those would just be copout answers to ignore.
I'm still confident that I'm onto something here and there is a connection between these two characters,
...so instead I came up with a crackpot theory that nonetheless I think has a nonzero chance of being true, although its much less liekly .
Madame X isn't an alternate universe Nymiera. She's an alternate universe Nim.
Is it a stupid assertion? Yes. But hear me out, starting with some of the more minor points:

• There is very obviously a connection between Nim and Nymiera. The game's placed a lot of emphasis on Nim's relationship to Alexandra and Damian, Nymiera's direct descendents, and Nim took her name from Nymiera's. When Nim appears in the flashback with Alexaandra and Damian she's calling out the names of Hazuki and the player character, yelling for them to watch out. This implies four things:
  • Nim originates in the past and was sent into the future.
  • Given that we haven't met her in the past, she probably comes into existence in the state that she already was.
  • Nim will meet the player and Hazuki in the past during some dangerous event, most likely a final battle with Indriad before Storm-9 fully hits, as we still don't know the final fate of the Defenders.
  • She doesn't say Anju and Nymiera's names, implying either something already happened to them or Nim was cut off in the middle of her sentence when she was sent forward in time.
• Despite Madame X claiming that Nymiera is dead, her spirit has appeared multiple times and is still very aware of the ongoing plot. Her body, however, has not.
• Clear going out of her way to manipulate Nim shows that Madame X likely has an interest in Nim herself.
• While she obviously prefers to use her psychic abilities, Nim's still clearly proficient with melee weapons as there's a handful of times where she uses her... hairpin things as a polearm of sorts.

There's three main reasons I think there actually is something here though: Nim's physical appearance, Madame X's "mother", and the reason Madame X needs her suit despite it making her weaker.
First: Nim's physical appearance is extremely similar to Madame X's under her mask. As Lorna, we can see that her pupils have a red hue very similar to Madame X's. Looking at both Nim's sprites and her official art, her skin tone is lighter than Nymiera's but still darker then most of the rest of the cast, which also lines up with the broken mask. Finally, assuming Madame X actually has black hair and that's not just a broken part of her mask in the sprite, Nim's hair is the same color.
Second: When Madame X mentions her "Mother", its quoted, presumably for air quotes. While it could just be her disrespecting her "Mother", it feels far more significant than that, like its moreso implying that whoever she's talking about wasn't her mother in the traditional sense. Madame X also states that the difference between her "Mother"'s sacrifice and the player's mom's sacrifice is that the player's mom's didn't matter; thus indirectly implying that Madame X's mom's sacrifice was important even if she looks down upon her mom for it. Assuming that Nymiera shares some connection to Nim- be it that Nymiera created her, Nim is her reincarnation, or something else- it's not unreasonable to think that Nim, after overcoming her memory issues, could view Nymiera as something of a mother figure, especially considering that Nim took her name Nymiera's because she felt a connection.
Third: The suit. There's a very obvious reason that Nim would need a suit to suppress her own power: to keep herself from draining the life force of her subordinates and stop her own Storm from getting out of control. It's a leap, sure, but it would explain why she needs a suit that actively inhibits her.
Why would Nim be doing all of this, and how would she become such a cruel and vengeful person? We see something similar happen to our own Nim through Clear's manipulation through preying on her fears and insecurities. Assuming bad enough shit happened to her, I could absolutely see an alternate universe Nim who lacked the support of characters like Aelita, Melia, and the Player going down this path.
Is this theory accurate? Probably not, but it was really fun to think about. I never fucking know what's gonna happen with this game which is why it's so fun to speculate about the absolute mess of lore that it has.
Thank you to anyone who took the time to read this massive ramble, it was fun to write and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day!

My mom would often hug, kiss, and tell me she loves me, but would never support me emotionally. Any problem I had emotionally wasn't important enough for her. One time she attempted to help me during a breakdown that was building up for years at that point but her "help" consisted of downplaying my feelings and telling me that it wasnt something to be sad about. (For context the problem was that my cats were having bathroom issues and my parents would yell, throw pillows at my cats, hold their faces in their urine, and threaten to give them away, I was around 12-13). When my mom would get angry she'd get emotionally abusive (yelling, name calling, guilt tripping, etc.), but the situations I would usually bring upon myself. Those would only maybe last about a few hours though and after she'd go back to her loving self like nothing happened.
My dad was never loving to me. He's always quiet, stoic, and uncaring. I've never come to him about an emotional problem in my life. Emotionally he's a stranger to me. I could go days without speaking a word to him
I'm also queer and my household is severely LGBTQ+phobic. I often hear my parents or my grandparents discussing how they want to hit, kill, or watch my people burn in hell. This makes me feel like even when my mother tells me she loves me that she never really means it since if she knew who I was she's probably find me absolutely disgusting. Everytime they speak of LGBTQ people, I feel as if they're talking directly about me.
When the effects of this psycological warfare finally started taking its toll, my manipulative gf at the time encouraged me to get a psychologist. I knew the process would be more than it was worth but I felt like I had to for the sake of them, that my emotional burden was hurting them (and I mean it could have been I still can't tell the line between their manipulation, but I rarely tried to vent to them as it was my worst fear to burden someone with my problems). They also downplayed all my feelings, and they always required my attention which only exasterbated my parent's emotional abuse and neglect. The process of getting a psychologist was low-key traumatizing. I felt weak, and my parents were embarrassed of me. Soon after I lost my gf (good riddance) but I was still stuck with my parent's attitude. The psychologist still hasn't helped me enough for what I sacrificed for her. I regret the process.
This all makes me feel some imposter syndrome though, that since my mom is overly loving, I didn't actually go through emotional neglect or abuse. This type of behavior is generational, and most people I know haven't been affected by anything I have. It makes me feel weak and sensitive, which I've grown up learning was the worst thing anyone could be. I've learned to remain pretty emotionless around them to prevent them from mocking me or telling me how ungrateful I am (which would happen every single time I displayed a negative emotion). Does anyone else have a similar story?

Hello All,
Just joined the group and this is my first Q... any help or point in the right direction would be a greatly appreciated.
I just started working on pipelines and I am trying to change the build output of the pipeline to match what I have in VS which is set to 'Minimal'.
Currently I am getting 100+ warnings when I run the pipeline which I dont need.
I have read many things online regarding buildArguments, verbosityPack: Minimal & verbosityRestore: Minimal etc... as well as being setthrough the UI (instead of yaml)
but I just cant figure it out.... Can anyone tell me how I can change the verbosity level to minimal on the below yaml file please?? as currently im pretty sure it is set to detailed as im getting alot more than I need, thank you for any replies

trigger: branches: include: - main - feature/* - bug/* paths: exclude: - build/ variables: - name: vmImage value: 'windows-latest' - name: solution value: '**/*.sln' - name: buildPlatform value: 'Any CPU' - name: buildConfiguration value: 'Release' - name: artifactName value: 'ui-drop' resources: repositories: - repository: devops-pipelines type: git name: devops-pipelines stages: - stage: Build displayName: 'Build & Test Stage' jobs: - template: src/templates/build-template.yml@devops-pipelines parameters: buildConfiguration: $(buildConfiguration) buildPlatform: $(buildPlatform) vmImage: $(vmImage) artifactPath: $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory) artifactName: $(artifactName) - stage: DeployDev displayName: 'Deploy Dev Stage' dependsOn: Build condition: succeeded() variables: - group: apps-websites-dev jobs: - template: src/templates/deployment-template.yml@devops-pipelines parameters: vmImage: $(vmImage) environment: 'Dev' appService: $(name-app-ui) subscription: 'svc-compnayName-ado-infra-dev' appDescription: 'name-ui' artifactPath: $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory) artifactName: $(artifactName) packageName: 'CompanyName1.Web.zip' - stage: DeployQA displayName: 'Deploy QA Stage' dependsOn: DeployDev condition: and(succeeded(), ne(variables['Build.Reason'], 'PullRequest'), eq(variables['Build.SourceBranch'], 'refs/heads/main')) variables: - group: apps-cft-websites-qa jobs: - template: src/templates/deployment-template.yml@devops-pipelines parameters: vmImage: $(vmImage) environment: 'qa' appService: $(name-app-ui) subscription: 'svc-compnayName-ado-infra-dev' appDescription: 'name-ui' artifactPath: $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory) artifactName: $(artifactName) packageName: 'CompanyName1.Web.zip' - stage: DeployProd displayName: 'Deploy Prod Stage' dependsOn: DeployQA condition: and(succeeded(), ne(variables['Build.Reason'], 'PullRequest'), eq(variables['Build.SourceBranch'], 'refs/heads/main')) variables: - group: apps-cft-websites-prod jobs: - template: src/templates/deployment-template.yml@devops-pipelines parameters: vmImage: $(vmImage) environment: 'prod' appService: $(name-app-ui) subscription: 'svc-compnayName-ado-infra-prod' appDescription: 'name-ui' artifactPath: $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory) artifactName: $(artifactName) packageName: 'CompanyName1.Web.zip' enableAgentIPException: true 

Blachowicz here.
Kept yah’ waiting, huh? Heh, sorry about that one, but I can explain. As we all know… we lost a few good men the last few months.
That’s the brutal part of a hybrid war like ours: We’re fighting a foe unconventional, with half our arsenal tied down because those who grant us authorization are either in disbelief of the true facts, or scared… or already assimilated. That being said our momentum recently was a change not seen in years, and because of that… despite the losses we have garnered, we were close through a breakthrough. One last night Krol pulls myself and other two must trusted squad leads into the back of our COP. There is one of our equipment cages, surrounded by m-bitter radios, tripods, and several hundred thousand dollars of equipment he brought us around a simple worn table. Before us he laid a map of eastern poland… red markings indicating cells that seemed to dot the countryside like a pestilence, or used to… as deep gashes of advance from raids had trisected their lines, even if ones did pop up in the interior.
It was a back and forth; an outside virus infecting Polska at it’s heart, and we were the antibodies sent to drive them out. To which… Major Krol points to one of the largest symbol on the map: a dark red diamond, the NATO symbol for an enemy unit, deep inside of an untouched wooded area, adjacent to a mountain ridge. Several jagged lines indicated entrenchment, with red horizontal lines indicating possible enemy control… or our contested control, for over 20kms surrounding it. Letting us all look, the Major lit himself a cigarette.
“Sir, you sure it’s wise to smoke in here with the dive tanks just behind us” 1st Squad’s lead quipped. “Fuck off” Krol dryly said.
“Alright… this is it… this is the one we’ve been searching for for years, this is the nucleus my predecessor commander died trying to find” he says, pointing to it. Not far from Zamosc, it was almost touching the border with Belarus, the contested area indicating the Strigoi did operate over it… indicating one of the largest spill through points. “-It’s an old soviet bunker, made during their 1960s initiative it was designed to hold the munitions and manpower of several units in the event of a NATO first strike” Krol explained. “It’s gotta be massive then…” I said gazing at the map; “Didn’t the army demolish all of the old soviet hulks near Belarus to prevent any infiltrations?” 3rd Squad’s lead asked. “National Police took the effort over… and by extension, the Strigoi. It was halfway demo’ed before they burrowed into it and have been using it as a bridgehead ever since. This is it…” Krol said. He looked around at all of us, a sense of certainty I had never seen before as he blew smoke from his nostrils; “We’ve been fucking around in the dark for so long, it’s hard to believe we’ve made any progress, but this is it. With this gone, this will set them back over a decade and the momentum will finally shift into our favor… into Poland’s… -Europe’s”.
I swear there was almost a flash of joy, of pride in his eyes and a phantom of a smirk before reality set back in “That being said… we can’t leave this to chance, especially not something as important as this. We’re going to have to go there ourselves… clear through every inch of that place, and tear it all down, piece by piece. I will be straight with you all… when we go, there will be some of us that aren’t coming back. -but we are going… a whole generation is counting on us, and unborn billions rely on us to succeed”. We all nodded, a silent agreement washing over us as we took this upon ourselves. Echo-1 spoke up: “So… They’re authorizing a raid? How big?”. “We’re rolling in as a hard target, armor, explosives, and air support” Krol answered, taking a drag off his cigarette. “Aviation? How the hell did we get that approved, we’ve gotten attempts shot down four times due to those leeches” I said in disbelief. “There’s too much evidence here pointing to the human trafficking tied to their actions… We’ve finally got too much weight pinning them down, to keep the hammer from slamming into their necks” Krol chuckled. He looked around “Any questions?”. “When?” Echo-3 asked. “Three hours. We’re hitting them in the dead of night, only time we could get the birds authorized. Get your boys ready. We’re rolling out” Krol said, dying the cigarette bud out on the table. I can’t begin to tell you the euphoria we felt leaving that cage, as our men started arriving, they did so a lot quicker, and with their heads a lot higher than they had in weeks. As Second Squad’s lead we were going to be one of the main arms of attack into the bunker, thus I made sure we had a breacher loaded with enough thermite, charges, and tools to cut through anything. Our shield bearer we ready to go, as was our assaulters, grenadiers, and machine gunner. I double checked each and everyone of their weapons; ensuring the feeder paws of our squad’s belt fed were intact, making sure every breach charge we had was properly set and packed. There was going to be no mistakes, no slip ups. The margin of error needed to be the smallest it had ever been for us tonight if we were going to make the gore spilt worth it.
Finally… there on the outside of the building, the bright LED lights kept the darkness of the ensuing night at bay as the roar of our MRAPs could be heard. It was said once that war is 99% peace, and 1% chaos, they were right. The slow periods where the blood slowed and the doubt creeped in was the worst… yet we all kept it at bay. We needed to, there was going to be no backing down tonight. All three squads were up, all of us ready to go… we circled up… short stares and shaky nods telling us one things: We were in this together, till the end… the finish line so many before us had been searching for, we were being granted tonight.
A single set of footsteps could be heard as we turned, Major Krol stepping into the center. He took the last drag of a cigarette, throwing it down to the ground and stamping it out onto the damp concrete. He looked around… his chin strap blowing in the weak air as he met everyone of our gazes… then mine… then looked around. “I want you to remember every detail of tonight, as you have every other night… when you are situationally aware, scanning for the enemy, liberating the subjugated, I want you to remember the sting of anxiety, the shake of adrenaline, the chill of the bunker, the heat of your weapon as it cuts them down… because tonight we are going to write every fine detail of our victory, their defeat, in history…” Krol’s words echoed deep into our souls. He paused for a moment, staring around he looked down… a small pause before he said “When you are ruthless in combat, remember to be patient, and reserved in victory. This conflict is for our existence… a lot of innocents have bled due to the mistakes of those who failed to listen, a lot of our brothers are now laid under because we had to bridge the gap of uncertainty with their lives. We remember them now… but in an hour? We forget them… when we raise our barrels, when we cut into those foes, and we liberate Polska!! This does not end tonight, but history puts everything in it’s place, and patience is the companion of the victor… All of our hard work will be cemented, no matter the obstacles we face in that darkness… no matter the demons, the blood, no matter what incomprehensible horrors, we will make them comprehend that to invade our land, to bleed our people, the justice will be paid in full… Load up. It’s time*”*.
The purpose in our steps was heavy as we climbed the back ramps of the MRAPS; Four of the heavily armored vehicles, one for each squad with an additional for attached personnel including our JTAC, the term means Joint Terminal Attack Controllers. With air support requisitioned to us for this operations, there needs to be a definite liaison on the ground who can directly communicate to the birds, and coordinate their fire and progress. I’d worked with many of them in the past, resourceful guys, quick thinking though I guess that comes with the position they hold of needing to quickly figure out what bombs to drop, on which target, at what precise points, whilst taking contact. He loaded in the lead vehicle with Major Krol… and soon, our convoy kicked off.
The drive was several hours as myself and my squad sat in the back of that forty ton goliath, the rumbling of the engine keeping us awake as the crap heater fought to keep the cold from the outside frost from setting in. I looked around to each of them, some were catching some sleep because even with the circumstances… better to get all the energy you can, than to stay awake for nothing. Others were checking their weapons… My gunner locked eyes with me, the same one from the village extraction… many of these men I had trained with for a while now, fought with for months.
We may have met on unconventional circumstances but those in JW Grom thrive on austere chance and create opportunity from scratch. I was pulled from my thought by the sound of a transmission, my peltors were set up for dual comms so I could both receive information from the Major and other leads, whilst communicating with my team.
Krol himself sent out: [“Approximately 10 minutes from enemy AO…”]. As the rest of the squads acknowledged, I quickly sent out [“Echo-2 Copies”], before kicking the boots of any of them sleeping: “Look alive, we’re here”. Through the exterior net armor of the MRAPS, and the bars protecting the small reinforced windows, we could barely see jack shit. I reached up, turning off the overhead light as we all looked through our nods to scan the outside. A dark wall of dense trees was shown before us, making it difficult to see… in addition to night vision capabilities we had also requisitioned ourselves some thermals… when mounted onto rifles they were bulky, made it a pain to aim down quickly, but considering the supernatural capabilities of spotting our foes we needed every advantage necessary.
I flipped out one of my tubes… scanning the outside with my scope. I looked over to one of my assaulters who had been assigned to man the turret of the MRAP, seated near the view screen as he controlled the 50. Cal. Each of the vehicle turrets had been assigned a direction to cover… we took the 9 o’clock, the left flank. “See anything?” I asked. He shook his head; “Negative… wait… I’ve got two cold signatures, front left heading to our rear”.
I quickly scanned the far tree line, at approximately 60 meters off our left were two cold signatures… followed by a third heading to our front… then another. They were surrounding us, moving at speeds so fast I could barely keep my reticle on them. Is this what the National Police saw? What they faced at that lodge without the benefit of a foot of heavy armor protecting them on all sides. Then… suddenly. Something slammed into the side of our MRAP so hard, it caused it to shake. From over the leader comms, Echo-3 quickly shouted [“Contact right!! 4 hostiles!!”].
One of the Strigoi… so bold, had charged and slammed into the side of our MRAP. I quickly looked to see the figure, a dark blue mass of cold energy through my thermal, back away without so much as a stagger… as they tried to flee into the woods, the white hot justice of Echo-3’s gun fired at them, cutting them down. “Blachowicz I’ve got a few breaking for our vic” my man on the turret called out, I spun around, spotting out the window.
Just then, Major Krol announced [“weapons free, watch and shoot for targets of opportunity…”]. I turned to him… “take those fuckers out-”. Without hesitation my vic’s turret began to quickly target them, and through the darkness I saw a stream of outgoing fire bisect one of them, the ISR of the black blood freaking out the optic so badly it didn’t know what temperature to register it as… but it did register it. As another was cut down, one broke through the tree line and latched onto the side of our MRAP. The thing tore at one of the outer net armor panels, usually made to stop RPGs. It grabbed at the bars near the windows, tearing one off… I lowered my rifle as we locked eyes through the reinforced window.
The thing… the Strigoi looked at me, skin cracked as putrefied muscle fibers seemed to leak through dead flesh. It’s teeth were corroded and worn down to sharp fragments, alongside newly mutated fangs that messily protrude from the jaws. Even through the thick walls of the MRAP I could hear it’s roar, as it then tried to punch it’s way through… it cracked the outer coating of the vehicle… but it wasn’t getting anywhere near. My machine gunner, seated next to me, seemed to chuckle at the sight, quippily saying “Yeah… fuck you too”. It’s then our vehicle lurched upwards, as we began to climb the small incline of the bunker. I knew the layout, mapped it in our head, the main entrance was built into the rocky side of an old cliff meaning we could easily set up a defensive perimeter around it, a horseshoe. Krol’s vehicle was first, taking to the right as Echo-3’s MRAP followed. My vehicle, third, left the incline and took a left and… that’s where things got complicated.
We’re still trying to work out what happened but… from what Joakim says his drone captured. Right when the MRAP turned, several of the monsters quickly slammed into the side of the vehicle, as another more bulkier one, pushed at it’s undercarriage. The result.. Was the 40 ton armored vehicle tipped over. It wasn’t uncommon, hell in some cases a well placed IED, a good shot with a recoilless rifle, have been known to tip over Oshkoshs and Maxpros all the time. But this beast? Needless to say we barely had a second to comprehend it as it leaned to the left; “Grab on to something-” is all I had time to shout. A mess of gear and men spilled onto one side of the vehicle as it slammed into the old gravel and dirt.
Several of my assaulters, my grenadier planted right ontop of myself and the others as we came to a stop. Someone’s knee slammed directly into the side of my skull, causing me to dazily bob in and out of consciousness as my face was smushed against the glass of one of the windows.
Through my peltors, the other squads were erratic;
[“Echo-2’s vehicle is down!!”].
[“Echo-3 to Echo-2… Echo-3 to Echo-2…”].
Krol’s voice came through the comms;
[“Echo-Lead to Echo-2… Fuc-... Echo-1 secure Echo 2’s flank, Echo-3”].
[“Echo-3 to other units, they’re spilling through, I’ve got several enemy combatants converging on Echo-2’s vehicle”].
I pushed the legs of my grenadier off my head as I fought to my hands and knees, unfucking my nods as I looked around… “Fuck it… we’re going lights on, shield your eyes” I muttered as I reached for the overhead lights and flipped them on. The bright LEDs bathed the inside of the vehicle as we all gained our bearings, a mess of multicam, gear, and weapons as we quickly pushed each other off. My gunner caught as he fought to realign his promask, from what I gathered one of the assaulters had landed directly into his gun, pushing it directly into his jugular, as pulled back at the rubber and coughed, freeing up his esophagus. We didn’t have time to think however… the sound of bending metal caught our attention… as the back ramp door of the MRAP was ripped clean off. I could barely believe it but as the white light of the MRAP’s interior poured to the outside, a hulking mass leaned in, the dead flesh on it’s face nearly fallen off as the hideous Strigoi leaned inside.
Without hesitation I aimed took aim, yelling “Keep to the deck!!” to any of those inbetween myself and the invader as I opened fire. A burst of full auto fire tore through it’s collar and neck, my men quickly clung to either sides of the fallen MRAP as a few more fired out. As the thing backed up, a blast of .50 cal fire quickly tore it to shreds, along with several others as I realized they were fuckin swarming over the outside of our vehicle. Echo-3’s vehicle continued to carefully fire on the Strigoi on the outside, the sounds of .50 cal ricocheting off the outside of our armor was enough to make the pucker factor set in.
[“Echo-3 to Echo-2”].
[“This is Echo-2, we’re green on ammo, equipment, men”].
[“Roger, we’re shifting fire, exit the vehicle”].
“Hurry up let’s go!!” I barked to my men, leading the way as I staggered out. I turned on my peq, taking aim at silhouettes in the brush as I began to fire. The sounds of machine guns lighting up the brush, as a sea of growls, howls, and incomprehensible roars fired back at us was the ambient noise of the night. My men quickly exited, my gunner being the last as he and I pulled back to the rest of the defensive perimeter. I set in my men to take up the frontal security, as 3rd squad took the right flank, 1st squad to the left. Major Krol and the JTAC were bickering with each other; “How far out are the birds”. “They’re entering airspace now…” Joakim said, already scanning his smart book.
I asked “What’ve we got?”. He then flipped through… to the NATO combined arms segment, quippily saying; “Apaches…”. This caused me to pause as Echo-3 turned their head whilst directing their squad’s fire “The hell… where did we get apaches from?”. “The Americans… they volunteered” Krol said dismissively as he took aim at the darkness, firing off a controlled trio. “Volunteered? They’re aware of what’s going on?” I asked.
Krol seemed to stop, glancing back at me before returning his focus “There’s a lot more going on than you realize, Blachowicz… Prep the breach, you and 1st are going on”.
I quickly pulled my breacher off the line, securing some thermite as the reinforced bunker door wasn’t going to go as easily as a conventional door breach would. 1st Squad pulled back, stacking up and preparing themselves to be the first in. All the while… Joakim gave his firing solution; “Alpha Hotel Two Five Nine, This is Bravo-4…… Type 2….”.
I snapped to my right, watching as a Strigoi managed to dark across the clear gravel field, only to be cut down by my gunner, the peq’s laser marking the burst as it tore through the beasts’ hips, as it hit the ground and still continued to claw, another GROM operator took aim and fired into it’s skull. Joakim popped up to his feet…. “Marking laser, high power…”. He then pulled out a target marking laser… if you’ve watched night operations, you’ve probably seen them.
The green laser than as it says on the label, marks targets. The pattern of which can vary… if it’s a point target, it’ll usually lasso an area, or remain on target until the target is removed with extreme prejudice. If its close air support, then it’ll be a line of the general area… and Joakim damn near marked the entire perimeter around us. He quickly pocketed the tool, turning back to Krol; “Don’t go past 20 meters unless you want to be liquidated”.
With that… 2nd and 1st stacked up at the door as 3rd squad took up the perimeter security. As Major Krol went over to Echo-1… I saw them. A single blinking IR strobe from the beasts as they moved on the far off horizon, converging from several angles… and fired. The sound of the Apache’s main gun, the M230, truly sounds like the hammer of god… the 30mm cannon shot through the dark sky, lighting it up as we saw three incoming streams tear up the woods. Only then as the sound broke did we start to hear their rotors as they broke and began to circle, firing again… then… Joakim dipped his head and looked to Krol; [“Foxtrot Mike, hang onto your teeth…”]. One of the Apaches fired off a AGM-114… a Hellfire. I barely saw it out of the corner of my eye as the Apache from our right flank fired off at a target approximately 200 meters off. A fireball lit up the forest as the horrendous roar echoed throughout… then went silent.
Echo-3 scanned the horizon carefully;
[“Echo-3 to Echo-Lead, enemy contact is starting to die down”].
[“Maintain perimeter, Close Air is to maintain fire mission until we are boots up, Break…”].
[“Echo-Lead to Echo-1, condition white has been met. Proceeds”]. I saw Echo-1 and his men quickly stack up close to the wall and gesture to me; Breaching. I quickly pulled my stack back against the wall as his and mine breacher quickly hit their actuators. Now under normal circumstances, it doesn’t take much for thermite to melt the locks off of a metal surface, in fact it’s a more precise took as alternative means get real medieval like saws, pry bars… we weren’t in the mood for precision, we need to breach their little lair, and drag them out. The sound of several pounds of hellfire burning through the metal could be heard around the corner as a sea of white and red sparks flew out… after several seconds, two of our men tossed a fragmentation grenade and a nine-bang through the opening… a series of concussive blasts and a large explosion rang out.
Echo-1 and his men maneuvered. 1st Squad quickly converged as we followed them in.
Stepping through the black wall of smoke, the dark abyss of the interior was illuminated in a white light as entered barrels raised. Shots rang out as several of the beasts near the entrance were cut down, though not immediately, rounds disconnected the shoulder of one of them, leading to their arm hanging limply by a single tendon as they roared… another series of rounds putting them down. What greeted us was a messy concrete hell of rust and debris, fecal matter, trash, and all kinds of obstacles laid in our way, our boots sticking to the floor. I thank every god we had promasks that night. I called my shield bearer up, 2nd squad leapfrogging ahead to take the next corridor as 1st squad checked their weapons.
One of my men mule kicked the metal door ahead, twice, finally the latch gave away as we tossed in a grenade. A horrifying roar was cut off as an M67 shook the walls of the ancient soviet mausoleum, frag and spall kicked off the walls as I moved in right behind my shield man. The cramped russian design meant there was barely enough space for three people, and that’s three normal people, not in 50kgs of kit, moving slowly and maneuvering against creatures of the dark. Still… we moved forward, my shield bearer and I pushing the pace as two stacked of either squad formed on either wall.
As we passed doorways they flowed in… “Door Left!!”, “Door Right!!”. “Move!!”.
Two men entered each side, no gunshots, we moved up, a roar came.
“Door left!!-”. A series of gunshots came out as we continued to push forward.
“Two down!!”. “Confirm them” Krol commanded, as a series of gunshots run out in response. From one of the doorways, a Strigoi emerged… a female… clumps of hair had been ripped from her decaying skull, as her blooded eyes locked on myself and my shieldman. The skin on her hands had been tore down to the point where barely her bones and tendons remain… looking like huge talons as she roared and lunged at us. He fired off his pistol, though the rounds did little to stop her as she pushed against our stack.
“Fuck!!” he muttered, somehow her strength caused him to stagnate, holding up the advance… fuck that. I shoved the muzzle of my MK18 into her ribcage, flipping the weapon to auto as I fired of round after round. The 5.56 salvo disconnecting her spinal column, causing her to fall as I continued to fire, along with a man to our right and left as the stacks reformed as we pushed to the end of the hall. I fell back, dropping the magazine and loading a fresh one, like clockwork a GROM Operator from 1st squad took my place. Krol was beside me as we approached the end of the hall.
[“-Prep an entry”] I radioed to my breacher, a comrade handed him one of the charges from his back panel as he took to the door, quickly securing it. We all moved as far back as we could, look away, exhale. The blast knocked metal and wood in all directions, scrapping against our uniforms and kit as we made our way in and what laid before us was… it used to be the center atrium of one of these bunkers. Soviet’s loved their grandiose designs, the complex was supposed to be a circular room around a central planning table… instead. It had been turned into some sort of church. Runes and old eastern Romuva pagan symbols written in black ink and blood across the walls, old rotten filing cabinets, long receipt terminals. In the center… several of the Strigoi were kneeling before the table where someone had been tied down, flayed, and… shared amongst the group. They rose to their feet, we aimed our barrels…
The ladder amongst turned to us… his skin wasn’t cracked, or flayed, it was smooth… it still looked dead as the body on the table but it seemed more… accustomed to it. I don’t know… evolved? Under the surface however I could see it’s darkened veins pumping whatever cursed blood ran through them as it locked two blood red eyes onto each of us. It’s nose had long since been turn off, exposing boney nostrils to the open air as it seemed to smirk. All across it’s body were the same symbols on the walls, in every cell… markings of death, of rebirth, of assimilation… From behind this seemingly Alpha emerges another figure I had never seemed before… dressed in a white cloak with a deer head.
"So they've followed the trail... they're too late" the Deer headed individual spoke, definitely not from here, a dialect similar to an Americans but... aristocratic? Each word was drawn out, assurance as if they had everything mapped down to our actions. They didn’t sound like they were from Poland or the east.
“Doesn’t matter…” the Alpha growled… and then, it lunged at us. Quickly breaking from their ground it slammed into my shield man knocking both him and myself at the ground as it displayed an intense feat of strength. Around us I could see several of the Strigoi leap at our comrades… though to no fruitful endeavor as I could see one GROM operator cut two down, as another got into a hand to hand confrontation… my breacher, crafty as they were, reached back and slammed one of the prybars of his kit into the skull of the beast.
The Alpha however was not content as it threw away the 90lb shield, sending it flying across the room as it grabbed my comrade by the skull. I quickly kicked up at it, firing my MK18 into it’s body as the rounds pierced it’s gray and rune covered flesh. The thing simply seemed to chuckle… that was until Major Krol blasted away at the side of it’s head, the alpha turned… and it’s smirk turned to a scowl when face to face with the major. A knowing pause almost like they had done this dance before…
The creature lunged, locking up with Major Krol as it swung and slammed railing. Krol didn’t back down however as he pushed against the creature, hiptossing it to the ground even as it tore at his armor and gear. But the beast pulled, both of them rolled and the Major was on his back as the thing reached for his neck. I fought to a kneel, firing into the creature messily with my MK18, trying not to hit my commander… then…
Click. A sound sends a chill up the spine of every warfighter during a firefight.
My gun ran dry. I dropped the magazine, looking to load another, but the thing came up and with one of it’s claws, sliced deep into my cheek, through the pro mask. I could feel my own blood go flying through the air as I landed hard on my back plate, spitting out red iron as I quickly tried to adjust my mask. Through my fogged up, blood covered lense… I saw my shield man raise his pistol, firing into the skull of the thing staggering it with a roar. Krol came from behind, drawing his knife he sunk it deep into the neck of it…. I reached for my rifle, forcing a new magazine in and damn near punching the bold release. ““Sir, down!!” I shouted, Krol rolled away, back to his own rifle as I fired. So did my comrade as he continued to fire his pistol… so did the Major as he fired his rifle. All of us chewing through that apex predator of darkness, that beast… the leader that had been preying on our people for so long. Layer by layer, muscle group by bone… eventually… the alpha landed on whatever was left of his back.
The silence of the fight died down as all of us checked our surroundings, GROM Operators putting controlled pairs in the heads and nerve stems of any Strigoi laying around… I flicked my weapon onto safe, letting it hang as I pulled off my mask. I dared not touch the wound on my face… the pain nearly crippling me if it wasn’t sheer will pushing me through, and adrenaline doing all it could to subdue it. The sound of the apaches continuing to lay hate drew us from our moment of contemplation as the Major went back to work; [“Confiscate any info, burn the rest…”]. He turned back to me as I shoved my damaged M50 mask back into it’s bag, chuckling as he looked at the sight; “You need a medevac, Blachowicz?” he quipped.
I shook my head, barely able to speak as I muttered; “Negative sir…”. The two of us scanned the room as my shield bearer went to collect his defense implement turned 90lb projectile, we scanned the center of the room, checking and confirming bodies, until we got to the last one alive. His white gown was soaked in red crimson and black ooze, as his dear head was mangled from bullet fire and impact from falling on it. I swear… the way his blood poured out of it though made me wonder if it was a mask. I gave it no second thoughts as he looked to Krol; “You… you can’t stop this, they’ve already-”.
The Major was in no mood for communication as his rifle snapped up and fired off three rounds to the body, four the head. The violent yet quick salvo ending the cultists life, I looked down at it, then to him as he remarked; “Have your squad drag him out to the front, burn the rest”. I stood alongside him, looking down as the sight of it’s deer head was both captivating and horrifying… the curiosity in me wanting to look closer at it fighting the primal instinct I had to burn the thing to ash. “-Haven’t seen one of those before…” I muttered, thinking the Major had an answer.
He didn’t. Krol saying “Neither have I…” shortly before he walked away, was what truly shook my soul about that entire night. Victory stood firm in our hearts that night as we stood outside of the bunker. The night sky burning with fire and white phosphorus as we watched the ruin burn from the inside from the other side of the lot. In the distance, the Apaches continued to scan and circle the forests, no longer firing…. Which meant they had driven any or turned to glass any enemy combatants within a four miles, probably both, more than likely the latter. Echo-1 patted me on the shoulder as we stood there, soaking it all in, though Krol looked none to pleased. “In the time it took us to take this one down, they’ll be trying to set up three more cells… that being established…” he said, looking to either of us, then to Echo-3. “-Hell of a thing we did tonight, been waiting for this one for a decade, cleanly, maybe more… but no time to rest on our laurels… we’ll have another task for us as soon as we’re boots down back home” he said, to which his eyes followed mine, the body of whatever cultist that was zipped up in a black body bag beside the wheel of one of the MRAPs. The fire from the bunker casting an orange hue over it’s shiny jet black outside, something didn’t sit right with me… “That wasn’t a Strigoi…” I said to Krol.
“That’s very clear…” the Major said, shoving his mask under his arm and lighting a cigarette. “So… someone’s helping them?” I asked. The meer notion of it shook me to my core, sickened me. This parasite was already badly infecting Europa, Polska… if it was spread like this throughout the world. Krol settled my nerves: “We’ll be ready… It’s not just us anymore”. As he said that, I realized what he meant… my eyes looking to the Apaches as they started to form up, leaving the areas as their thunderous propellers melted into the night’s calm, unnerving ambience.
It’s been a couple of weeks since then, Echo Detachment has been busy. We’ve gained good ground against the enemy and honestly I think in a few years, we might see a much larger change. For now… we must keep going, that being said the Strigoi aren’t the only ones we’ve been combating. Recently we’ve made contact with of some sort of extermination coalition, they’ve known about the Strigoi, and others plaguing the world, the level of corruption and corrosion on society goes deep. Regardless a lot of the units we’ve been working with are apart of NATO, such as this “4th Special Forces Group” of the American Military. I don’t know where the road from here leads, but we’ve gotten momentum on our side, finally. Just remember… these things are out there, in every town, every city, every nation… preying and waiting for you to be alone, vulnerable, so they can take you and replace you.
Watch your back, and stay safe.
For now, Blachowicz signing out. Until next time

Maybe I just haven't tried enough of the skincare 10% versions, but most recently I've been using The Ordinary's 10% suspension for Azelaic Acid.
Well, I wanted to try the 15% prescription strength so asked my PCP to write a script for the generic finacea - so just generic 15% azelaic acid gel tube. Insurance even picked up the bill, so it was $10 for a 50g tube!
I've now been using it for a couple of days and I like it SO MUCH more than The Ordinary's. It goes on so smooth, even though it's a gel it feels more like a light lotion or cream. It dries nicely, is not quite at 'matte' as the name-brand lower potency stuff, and frankly is less irritating.
Imagine that - cheaper, generic, larger tube, nicer feel & application, less irritation!
What other secrets are out there where the cheaper & more potent version of a product is substantially better than the 'fancy' stuff?

“As you know, each mech is programmed to its operator's DNA,” Hector walked through the armor vault with a small group of green-boots trailing behind him. “Once linked, nobody else can operate your armor without command authority override.”
The armor vault was ten stories high, the distant ceiling crisscrossed with the immense cranes and rails used to move the powered-down mechs in and out of the bays. Crossing from one side to the other took ten minutes at a brisk walk. Every inch of the place was filled with twenty-foot-tall mechs mounted in their bays, and all of the gear and machinery required to repair and optimize them for battle.
Hector used to feel shame for lying to the newbies and had dulled that terrible ache at the bottom of a bottle. Orders were orders.
These days, he was rather numb to it, resigned to the fact that 90% of the raw recruits that came through his orientation would be compost within a year. Perhaps less.
He stopped, turned and clasped his hands behind his back. The green-boots stopped with him.
They were young, baby’s in uniform, their battle dress crisply pressed and boots polished to a mirror shine. The room continued to spin for Hector, and he covered his sudden loss of balance by leaning against an armor bay strut and casually pointing up at the mech. “See that prismatic shine over the armor?”
The recruits nodded, craning their faces to peer up at the mech.
“Know what that is?”
“Stealth coating, sir,” an eager young woman with short-cropped black hair and skin nearly as dark raised her hand and spoke.
“Very good,” he said, pleased that his words weren’t slurred even a little. “That coating is a retrofit. The Nek’s can’t see through it.” He met each fresh young gaze, and all he saw were corpses. All he spoke was lies. “Makes us ghosts on the battlefield.” Not exactly a lie, but misleading for sure.
“How does it work, sir?” A young man with fiery hair and just enough fuzz on his face to warrant the purchase of a razor asked from the rear.
“Shit if I know, son,” Hector had to piss, bad. Time to wrap this up. “All I know is the casualty rates dropped to 1% of pre-retrofit high.” Another lie. He forced on a confident and reassuring smile. Wise and fatherly, he fancied. “And our kill ratio of the enemy climbed 165%.” Lie.
He needed a shot of bourbon. Fuck he had to piss.
“Each of you will go to your assigned armor bay for encoding once this tour is done. There, your op officer will walk you through the armor initialization process. Then, you will be assigned to your units. With any luck, you’ll be out there killing Nek’s within a week.” He beamed his gigawatt smile. “Any questions?” Wonder if they have that imported scotch in the officer’s lounge tonight?
Hector’s eyes wandered across the bay to the door leading out of the vault to the hallway that would carry him across the base to his comfort waiting in a bottle.
“How many kills you got, sir?”
Hector swallowed back his longing, squeezed his bladder shut so he didn’t piss down his leg, and fastened hard eyes on the fool who’d asked the question. He put his face an inch from the asshole’s nose. The kid’s eyes went wide and fearful. He instinctively snapped to attention.
“Never ask that question. Ever.” Hector saw flecks of saliva pepper the kid’s face, but he didn’t care. Fucking fool. Everyone knows it’s bad luck to ask a man that. “Understand, shit for brains?”
The kid swallowed hard. Hector realized the rest of the recruits were at attention, too. He waded back from the battering waves of his anger, fought himself back to calm.
“Bad luck,” he said to the kid. “All of you, you’re dismissed.”
They did an about-face and hurried off to their respective bays, some muttering and glancing back over their shoulders. Fuck’em. He didn’t care. This time next month, half would be dead or laid up in some battlefield infirmary with grievous wounds. He couldn’t afford to care.
Not anymore.
Damn he needed a drink. He smacked his mouth and pulled a hand down his face. Why was he here? Why him? He watched the new recruits fade off into the distance and for a heartbeat, he hoped they would survive the coming horrors. Hoped to see them again, at least a few.
Memory stirred.
Fire and blood and death on a distant world with no name, flickered around the edge of his thoughts. He growled and forced it away. Why him and not them?
Fuck it.
He sighed, hardened his heart and turned toward the latrine. If he waited any longer he’d spring a leak. Hope they have that imported scotch. So smooth. Have to piss. Why me?
Tonight, he’d pay the price for a full bottle.
Tonight, he hoped to wake from this nightmare.

I built my current PC over a decade ago and am much overdue for an upgrade. I mostly am looking to play video games, and all I really do otherwise is browse and chat with friends on Discord. Not looking for anything fancy, just something that should run whatever game I want for the next 5 years or so. Is this good? The case and monitors will be scavenged from my old build, so I don't need those. Any advice is welcome. TIA!
PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 7 7700X 4.5 GHz 8-Core Processor	$379.99
CPU Cooler	Deepcool AK500 DIGITAL 68.99 CFM CPU Cooler	$69.99
Motherboard	MSI PRO B650-P WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard	$0.00
Memory	G.Skill Flare X5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL32 Memory	$0.00
Storage	Crucial M500 240 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$67.99
Video Card	Zotac Twin Edge GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER 12 GB Video Card	$599.99
Case	Antec Three Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower Case	-
Power Supply	MSI MPG A850G PCIE5 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$119.99
Operating System	Microsoft Windows 11 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit	$109.99 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$1347.94
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-05-14 20:44 EDT-0400