DISCLAIMER: I think there are already a lot of great "guide to 52X" scores on this subreddit. A lot of this is just written as context before my last month of studying, the studying I did was honestly super haphazard up until that point so I recommend looking at how other guides tell you to study for those earlier months. Feel free to skip to the last 5 weeks, but if you want to compare your progress before that last month to mine I've written out background. I would come to this guide when you need a reminder of the fact that you will make plans and your plans might backfire, but you can still end up doing well.
I've always been a crammer, have never been the type to be able to stick to a set amount of anki cards a day over a long time period (this sucks! I actively am working to change this attitude). I also didn't feel like I knew much from my classes (especially in orgo, genchem, and biochem) since again, I generally tend to cram, take the exam, and forget all of what I learned. Going into studying, my biggest worry was that I didn't have a lot of background knowledge that I remembered.
Background:

• 2 months studying (5.5 weeks content review, 2.5 weeks uworld) summer 2023. Ended up taking sample unscored a month before my august test date, getting a 507, and then deciding to reschedule to March.
  • Biggest takeaways: spent too long getting bogged down on details of content review, avoided practice questions on I was bad at instead of tackling them head on, did not stay consistent with anki. Also barely studied psych at all
• August to January: did not study, was in last sem of college
• 1.5 months Mid January - end of feb (content re-do with anki, and uworld): I felt like I got a decent overview of content from the summer, so even if I forgot the details, it now felt like I was starting studying at the same place as everyone who had retained information from their undergrad classes.
  • Typical day looked like: 1 section uworld C/P or bio + review, ~70 cards of anki/day + more reviews, reading 20 pages of psych. Studied for 4 days / week, took an FL on 5th day, then had rest day or hospital shift on the other 2 days.
  • By the end of Feb, I had finished around 27% of uworld (I reset it after the summer), and done anki with reviews for bio. Had also clicked through MD anki for orgo genchem and physics but didn't do reviews for these since i used it as a refresher

Practice test scores from mid Jan through March: FL1 509, 510 (retook sample), FL2 513 (127 across all sections except 132 CARS somehow), Fl3 513 on March 5th. I seemed to be plateauing around the low 510s, so I decided to push my test date back one more month to the 4/13 date.
Took a few days break where i just passively clicked through some of pankow psych and watched mamma mia and random other shit
------------
Last 5 weeks of studying:
At this point the cramming panic somehow hit, and I was set on the fact that it was time to lock the fuck in. From March 5th to April 9th (5 weeks) I went from a 513 -> 522 on my Fls. I remember scrolling through this reddit and reading about people saying it's only possible to increase scores by a few points in the last few months, and was kind of doomspiraling because of these posts and comments. I think it's so important to realize that everyone is in a different situation, and you can't generalize a score increase that one person had to what you will have without evaluating your strengths/weaknesses with theirs -- which is why I'm going to try and give as many details as possible on why I think I was able to make this improvement.

• Started using Uworld as a LEARNING TOOL instead of an assessment tool. After all the work so far I was doing ok on timing for the sections, so I used tutored and untimed mode on uworld. I reshaped my mindset to "i am so fucked bc im getting these wrong" to "there is a month left for this exam, I now know why I got this wrong and it's going to at least be in my short term memory for the exam". This was just an exercise in gaslighting myself into confidence, and it seemed to work -- the mindset change made me a lot more motivated, and things felt a lot less disheartening once I stopped caring about what my uworld averages looked like.
• Week 1: Up until this point, I had still not covered the psych content in full since the science sections were "scarier" to me. Would average 127 on my psych sections on previous FLs. Took one week to go through psych Uworld in full, wrote all of my missed questions into an anki MQL deck. Clicked through 100 cards MD a day the week after that (while doing uworld physics) to finish the deck, did not do reviews (this was ridiculous tbh like do your reviews LMAOO). On March 19th, 2 weeks after my 513 on FL3, I scored a 517 on FL4 with 3 points of that increase coming from psych. I think this was mostly due to doing all of uworld psych + going hard on reviewing my uworld sections
• Week 2 and half of week 3: Did uworld for sections that I was bad at -- I had spent about 1.5 weeks going through 75% of the uworld physics questions and uworld orgo questions, and then targeting areas I had weaknesses in for genchem on uworld. After this, I felt a lot more comfortable with the science sections given the background I had already had from doing anki
• Halfway point: 2.5 weeks left until my exam, I started AAMC material. I had done the chem SB and half of the bio SB already, but had not touched the rest of it. In retrospect, give yourself 3 weeks for AAMC material at LEAST, or be prepared to be ok with not finishing all of the material like I did. Bio/chem qpacks and AAMC discretes had not seemed super difficult to me, so I skipped the second bio qpack and half of chem. I finished all of the material except bio qpack 2, half of chem qpack, AAMC discretes, half of CARS qpack1, and CARS qpack2. THAT SAID, the rest of the shit was so hard. The only thing that kept me going was my "this is a learning tool not an assessment tool" mindset and thinking that I was learning things from making these mistakes.
• CONTENT BLITZES (!!!!!): At this point, I knew my strengths and weaknesses, so I actively tackled my weaknesses by going back and clicking through anki chapters/looking at videos for the specific topics I know I was bad at. I made one page "guides" on them, and from the last month of studying ended up having 40 looseleaf pages of "guides" that I looked through 3x -- twice in the 2 weeks leading up to the exam, and once the morning of my exam (oof). This was INCREDIBLY helpful since it made me feel like there was no topic that I would be scared to get on the exam, since I now felt like I had at least a baseline understanding of most things.
• random game changer: found this MCAT AI tool (based on chatGPT) from a company called 1SM. Paid $12 for it in the last month on studying and used it to upload screenshots of practice qs and get their AIs explanation
• Took FL5 on April 9th, and scored a 522. I was so fucking happy im ngl
• Ended up finishing about 43% of uworld with a 73% average, but again I was using it as a learning tool
• LAST 2 DAYS: funny funny funny story is that I never properly reviewed any of my FLs (had reviewed C/P for half of them). this is because reviewing sections i made a lot of mistakes on is something I loathe since it takes me fucking forever and its so much work to figure out why I got things wrong, condense that into a few sentences, and then put that in an anki card. So during my last 2 days I finished reviewing the C/P B/B sections (went faster since now i knew a lot more), but still didn't review any of my P/S or CARS sections. this was stupid imma be honest

Final score: 521 (131/129/130/131) on 4/13 exam

• was part of the people that had the glitch, somehow I just made the assumption that the breached qs were experimental qs and it thankfully didn't interrupt me that much other than the 5min it took for the proctor to look at it. I later absolutely freaked out about the implications of the glitch post exam

Final Musings:

• VERY MUCH do regret skipping the CARS qpacks, but I was feeling a bit more confident about CARS after reshaping my mindset to "this is such an interesting passage and I am actually so FUCKING excited to read about this because its literally hidden knowledge that was declassified or like recovered from the library of alexandria" and seeing better performance after that. Once again, literally just an exercise in gaslighting yourself. I also knew that if I were to finish CARS I would be sacrificing part of studying for my other sections. Still quite happy with my score though so like womp womp i guess it didn't matter LMFAO
• LAST DAY: "dont study on your last day" I was a fucking adrenaline junkie and was absolutely determined to cover the things that I needed to cover in order to feel confident going into the exam (did not do any practice, thats draining). So I studied longer than I have ever studied in 1 day, clicked through all of bio anki / anki on sections i was bad at from 7am to 10pm straight with only a one hour break from 3-4pm where i walked around my house in a haze. I dont recommend this per se, but I guess I am an example of it not entirely fucking me over (but n=1).
• Biochem last 4 chapters I mostly learned by writing out the pathways in a giant map
• Morning of: once again I was in my insane era and studied from 6:15-6:45am, then again in the car from 7am - 7:39am. I took 5 minutes to clear my mind and touch grass outside my test center until 7:45, then walked in and had 7:45-8:10 to clear my mind and not think about anything before I started my exam
• please review your fls before the last 2 days dawgz
• MINDSET IS HUGE. part of why I think I had such a score increase was 1) actually doing psych 2) CONVINCING myself that I was improving and on the right track. Control f everywhere i said "gaslight" and ingrain that shit in your mind because it is actually so powerful
• for the last month of studying i holed up in my apartment and did not see any of my friends (maybe left my apartment 3 times ever?). it was horrible but i was like this is a sacrifice i need to make, also fits the crammer description very well. my only breaks were blasting 2010s hits and country music and dancing to it in my room and also making an ominous classical music playlist (top song of march was mozart's lacrimosa lmaoo)

*******OPENING MY SCORE: I was so fucking scared the day before and even more so the morning of. That said, I knew I had tried as much as I could given the general exhaustion and the wacky way I studied. Honestly I thought I would feel happier after opening my score, instead I felt relief but there was no surge of happiness. Still kind of feel empty, I think it hasn't hit yet. Am in theory very happy though, I remember imagining how happy I would be if i got a score like this. I think this also just goes to say there is life outside of this exam and getting a solid score isn't always like some magical thing but also it is DEFINITELY a relief
In retrospect you should honestly just use this to learn from my mistakes because there were MANY, but I think there is also some helpful advice in here. Am really just hoping this helps at least one person even if its pure yap to 99% of other people. tbh im not proofreading this like im not reading all that again LMFAO but If anyone reads this far and has questions on specific FL section breakdowns or anything else I'm happy to answer! GOOD LUCK MY BITCHES I BELIEVE IN YOU FR

I got a Blackstone about a month ago. I've been using it like crazy. I followed all directions to the letter as far as seasoning and stuff.
I haven't used it in about a week, as it's been raining every day. I have kept the cover on it securely.
I took the cover off today, and everything except for the food surface is rusted. The sides of the griddle are fully rusted.
What gives? Do I have to store this thing in my house to keep rust off of it?

Samples of all four plants are planted within a limited area of forest, enclosed on all sides. Which one covers the largest area first, which causes the most damage to the ecosystem, and which is the last one standing?

I have around 30,000 dollars of credit card debt.
One of my debts is being payed down but they are raising the amount I owe next month... which I am worried about. They issued a lawsuit against me....
So I have other creditors mostly credit cards and now I have another notice from the same company above (MIDLAND) that sent me a pre- legal notification. ..
this debt has been sold at least twice before but I haven't been able to act on much of any of my debt due to crippling health injuries. (Long term Covid / brain fog, hospitalization etc).
I am feeling a bit better to deal with this matter but I know I am deep in the hole.
SO for this one creditor... should I bother sending them a letter asking for more information. I know where the debt originally came from but I am concerned about how many times it has bounced around . Is it worth it sending them a letter requiring them to give me this information?
The other issue... I am honestly unable to pay off the entire amounts. I can maybe pay $10 dollars a month on this particular card .. (which is is around 3,000 dollars).
I had a tough time negotiating with Midland once the lawsuit on the other card occured. .. but I cannot reasonably afford another $100 dollars a month on this debt.. as of now.
I have lost a few years since the pandemic and have struggled to get back on my feet. Things have just not lined up the way I had hoped they would and now with inflation I can barely afford food.
Recommendations? Tips.
Here is the sample letter I pulled..
"To whom it may concern.
I am responding to your contact about a debt you are trying to collect. You contacted me by
Mail on May 1^st, 2024 and identified the debt as from \*****S Bank. Please supply the information below so that I can be fully informed:*
~Why you think I owe the debt and to whom I owe it, including:~

• The name and address of the creditor to whom the debt is currently owed, the account number used by that creditor, and the amount owed.

• If this debt started with a different creditor, provide the name and address of the original creditor, the account number used by that creditor, and the amount owed to that creditor at the time it was transferred. When you identify the original creditor, please provide any other
name by which I might know them, if that is different from the official name. In addition, tell me when the current creditor obtained the debt and who the current creditor obtained it from.

• Provide verification and documentation that there is a valid basis for claiming that I am required to pay the debt to the current creditor. For example, can you provide a copy of the written agreement that created my original requirement to pay?

• If you are asking that I pay a debt that somebody else is or was required to pay, identify that person. Provide verification and documentation about why this is a debt that I am required to pay.

~The amount and age of the debt, including:~

• A copy of the last billing statement sent to me by the original creditor.

• State the amount of the debt when you obtained it, and when that was.

• If there have been any additional interest, fees or charges added since the last billing statement from the original creditor, provide an itemization showing the dates and amount of each added amount. In addition, explain how the added interest, fees or other charges are expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or are permitted by law.

• If there have been any payments or other reductions since the last billing statement from the original creditor, provide an itemization showing the dates and amount of each of them.
• If there have been any other changes or adjustments since the last billing statement from the original creditor, please provide full verification and documentation of the amount you are trying to collect. Explain how that amount was calculated. In addition, explain how the other changes or adjustments are expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or permitted by law.

• Tell me when the creditor claims this debt became due and when it became delinquent.

• Identify the date of the last payment made on this account.

• Have you made a determination that this debt is within the statute of limitations applicable to it? Tell me when you think the statute of limitations expires for this debt, and how you determined that.

~Details about your authority to collect this debt.~

• I would like more information about your firm before I discuss the debt with you. Does your firm have a debt collection license from my state? If not, say why not. If so, provide the date of the license, the name on the license, the license number, and the name, address and telephone number of the state agency issuing the license.

• If you are contacting me from a place outside my state, does your firm have a debt collection license from that place? If so, provide the date of the license, the name on the license, the license number, and the name, address and telephone number of the state agency issuing the license.


I have asked for this information because I have some questions. I need to hear from you to make an informed decision about your claim that I owe this money. I am open to communicating with you for this purpose. In order to make sure that I am not put at any disadvantage, in the meantime please treat this debt as being in dispute and under discussion between us.


In addition to providing the information requested above, please let me know whether you are prepared to accept less than the balance you are claiming is owed. If so, please tell me in writing your offer with the amount you will accept to fully resolve the account.

Thank you for your cooperation. Sincerely,

LIBRA ZODIAC PREDICTIONS MAY 2024

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Stand name: Tatari (by Joel Corelitz)
Stand user: Mary
Strenght: B
Speed: C
Range: E
Durability: B
Precission: D
Potential: C

Appearance:

(The picture is created from the stand ability of a friend of Mary, she doesn't actually wear such clothes)
Unlike other stands Tatari doesn't directly posses a physical form and instead transform the users body to look like a humanoid goat hybrid that even has traits unnatural for humans and goats alike. After transformation Mary's body will be covered in grey fur and gain increased muscle mass, bone strength and black hoves for feet, the most noticable features are her long ears and zickzacked yellow horns on her head.
Tatari acts like a different independent person inside Mary that can communicate throught specific methods with her like letters or messages left behind. Tatari is quite like Mary and posseses similar characteristics and traits as Mary like being naturaly curious and thicc headed, this is likely because of how it was created.

Origin:

Mary was originally two persons which were Airy Baron and Mathew Baron who were siblings, Mathew possesed a goat looking stand (therefor its appearance) with the ability to make temporary holes in objects and Airy with a humanoid stand with the ability to control plants through a virus in its blood. During an incident Mathew was fataly wounded and as a last resort Airy located an Rokakaka Fruit which fused the two into Mary with her Tatari.

Abilities:

The first ability Tatari has is to allow Mary to transform her body into Tatari or just partially transform, this increases Mary's overall strenght and durability being able to survive a car crash relatively unharmed, should Mary also choose to only partially transform her mind will merge with Tatari's with the more dominant depending on how much of Mary's body is transformed. This transformation reverts to normal if Mary or Tatari exhaust themselves to much which will cause too much strain on Mary's body if overused.
The second ability Tatari has gained through the fusion of Mathew and Airy are tears which she can shot on command and contain a virus that make the tears of Tatari burn through anything like acid and form corrosive clouds near them, Tatari can also cover herself in these tears without any issue to protect herself or launch them like a squirtgun through her eyes.
If Mary is dying or is already dead for a few moments Tatari can take over for a whole day as a last resort of some sorts after which Tatari also dies and perishes.

Weaknesses:

Even though Tatari is a stand it's still has a body physical in nature being unable to directly interact with other stands
Overusing the tears may dehydrate the body
Due to Tatari's own personality she might not listen to Mary and follow her own desires and fight in her own style (Tatari is kinda a dork)

Hey, sorry it’s been awhile. Thought I’d update on how getting back into my truck driving career since starting Trikafta, is going. That sentence felt awkward lol Anyway, first off I graduated CDL school and am now looking for a job. I’m on a waiting list to start orientation with 3 companies and will likely go with the one that calls me first. With trucking in the USA you basically have to drive long haul until you get experience before you can get local jobs. The information I found out that might be helpful to share with my USA people is that if you are on access medical care, there is a program called DB101 aka “freedom to work”. It will keep you medically covered as long as you are making less than $3138 a month and are disabled by Social Security. That’s a Mountain includes any disability payments. You may receive. And if you do not have a formal disabled diagnosis you can still apply this will keep your medical coverage until the application is out of the pending status. They will do what they can to try to prove you are disabled. So you have a good chance of getting approved. If you are not approved, there’s still a silver lining. It takes up to six months for the whole process, and while your application is pending, you are covered under access medical coverage. So that could give you time to be able to enroll with your company’s medical coverage. Or Obama care. You can also contact the cystic fibrosis foundation and they will help you review any company insurance so you can select the correct one. Another bonus is my CF team told me to go ahead and get a job and no matter what insurance I find myself on, they will make sure my Trikafta is covered through grants and whatever other help is offered. In short, I just want to encourage any CF’er out there who is interested, to look into training for a career that may work for them. I was able to go to school completely for free. There are grants and options out there for training. So if you are interested in returning to the work field, just know, you can keep asking questions until you find your footing forward. And of course, I just want to say, I know not all of us can return to work. CF is extremely hard and just doing basic living activities daily can be exhausting, I know.

Im going to send in my cv and expression of interest form for the direct appointment scheme. Do i need to send a cover letter as well?

Not shared, nor my shade; but something to be weaved; just as the measure of disappointment became it's own solution. But I talked my way through things forbidden, just to find myself blind in bed with those who are dead. Clumsy, but altogether natural of course, because it's consciousness what you refer in the description, yet that's what we don't get a lot about. See your deeds the way you are seen, and then return to a restless place: and the question in-between sheets will be why. Well, I just can't motivate myself to work without hot bitches staring. And that's the truth. Sad but True
— Hearfelt comment for an instagram witch.
Del desprecio a ese descarte, no he visto muchas cosas. Así se pasa una más para las cuentas, y aquí otro más para los versos, por qué aquí no hemos sido vistos. Cuánto más querría uno, que sino lo cuentas ni mucho menos piensas: << lo de este pibe que cosa más horrible>>, haciendo eso lamentable, por qué en decirlo nadie ha mentido. ¡Es horrible! Que cara es entonces la cuenta de lo que le sale a uno vivir sin más complejos; mejor seria cobrarmelo, para así saber que de algo ha valido. Bloqueame.
— Heartfelt comment for a random supermodel-to-be.
The Spirit of Fire
Flames begone, flames in spite: their warmth I felt - so I closed my fist until I could feel the warmth of my blood in my hand. And in dreams Fire came up to me and said: who am I? And I said unto him: you are bound to my bidding, thus your name misery will be. But fire wretched as he was, got closer and asked: and who are you?
And I said unto him that the blood of David ran through my veins, as I was his heir; for the mother of God claim me from death as a son. So Fire tried me, and figured it out.
You are son of woman —said Fire unto me— but as Fire acknowledged the name, I extended my left hand, and took Fire by the neck throwing him into the gound. — You are going to lace yourself to the right hand of the beast, and you'll keep him steady, so I can cleanly take him down. And Fire stayed down, and with his forehead kissing the ground asked unto me —why would the heir of David do so to earthly man?
And I said unto Fire that the beast from the abyss had left no mother for God, so I was to leave none of his body left for his head; as I was going to make it bleed until the end of the end of times.
The Spirit of Earth
Shapeless and without body, but keen within her many numbers, Earth came up to me in dreams, and said: who am I? And posessed in spirit as I was, I said unto her, that God had made her maiden again, and that she shall become the coins that Judas never received, which were to become the due payment of man and women for the body of Christ. Then I extended my right hand, and grabbed Earth by her hair —which descended deep into the abysses of hell— and cut it short so the demons of Lilith would no longer had her gripped by her back.
You are now a woman, and I'm going to rise you from the grounds. You'll lace yourself to the left hand of the beast, and keep it steady so with one shot I can cleanly take him down.
The Spirit of Air
A dream shaped by written words, whispered down for years by the currents of this Montain, and it's requiem witnessed but by a few — the end of dreams. But from where I standed at the peak, I called upon the distant currents that went down, and asked them: who am I?
And Air came unto me as bird, which had thousands of letters for feathers, and in the tongue of dead men answered.
"Somebody who only a few will remember by strange deeds; as the burden on your back, is a past tainted by impossible dreams. You were a lunatic giving new names to folk, and folk never bothered to remember —so your name must be freak, as you died in a forgotten shack some short time ago."
And as Air said these things upon me, I called Misery —as I had dubbed Fire — and told him to get inside my shot. The burden as Air had said, became lesser as i took the shot from my quiver. And I said upon Misery; that he was to set ablaze this arrow, as I was taking down the bird of Britain, and that I would do so, so God would give the deeds of Earth some better names.
The Lord is making a bridge between the empire of strength, and the last empire of men. Now by God's grace, I'm making the tongue of free men, the tongue of Spain. You will be eventually bound to my bidding, and if not me, it will be to the one I'm preceding; for I'm giving you twenty years to attone your wrongdoing. Alas, now because of your wretchedness, my shot on earthly men won't be clean, for his left leg won't stay steady.
Your old name was apathy, now I'm calling you Cisma, which in the tongue of dead men means schism. So now by the will of God lay unto the ground and say the words you've been teached. And as the arrow blazed forward, it's bending motion pierced the veil hiding the secret ladder of men. The bird of Britain catched on Fire, and it's hollering resounded throught the ladders of the mountain until the depths of the abyss. A column of air turned into fire, then violenty erupted from the vowels of the bird, and the wild fire spread as a storm from west to east all throughout the five kingdoms of men away from its own fiery wings, with a gift of misery and a few words to say.
"The name of your woman or the name of your man, will no longer explain their purpose to a man, a woman, or God. Charred words written by thunder will now be the new ladder of men — but until then, darkness upon thee."
But the feathers of old words, layed on the ground, for common folk now knew by the light of the storm their meanings — and horrified, they waged war on each other, killing each other, and seeking revenge on each other. Thus the bird of Britain dragged further into the ground, screaming and flapping
The House of Water
I head into the coasts, and the beautiful beaches in-between, to find the stranger who burns images in the skin of men. He is the stranger, and has adopted the body of a monster, and he is one who cannot be understood, so he went on to only go out home in stunts, for the burdens in his heart have become too great to bear. Through terrible pains he has given all he once was for an identity, and as I pick up on his past, i found familiarity in the feelings of his heart. Oh dear friend how we found looking in sadness to ourselves, after doing same but with different means, carrying into our shoulders the loneliness of this world. As you have in-skin the garments of the strange doctrine that I preach — I shall congrate you, for you truly have fought the world entire, for my doctrine is the words of those who shall defeat the world entire.
I may not have your strangeness in-body, but I have it in these words, and in the true feelings of my heart. And I say in admiration that there's no higher form of art, philosophy or religion: than those who perform the highest thing they can give a name about.
Now even within solitude, and at odds with what old dead men call God, I see you and I found strength in you, as I can see you are within me, and in that, you are within everything as it should be - as is meant in everyone who does something that touches the heart of another man. I call this the kingdom of God. Yet blind men and women will wonder how can the kingdom of God possibly be within two outcasts such as you and me.
Upong giving my regards and waiting for response, I found my way into a bench. It was a warm afternoon, and the wind carried the water of the sea. The bird of Britain came about down from the wind of north, and layed on the bench were I was sitting.
The bird asked: why hast thou become this?
And I said back to bird, scorched he was and nearing death, that it was me someone who was supposed to give names, yet for years I couldn't figure out one for myself. Then on went to being given a name, Alas all the wrong ones. Did Adan gave himself a name? - I asked the bird back. And there was no response from bird. Then I continued.
A man has the essence of his soul retained by what he is seen doing. Yet I did things nobody saw, so my soul wasn't with God but with something just as ancient, and nonetheless unknown by men in its true nature — then Satan as the better known devil, came about and pushed me into a hole. It was my own doing. Yet the things I did, I thought were seen. But nonetheless what I did was without contemplation on a posible return. Just as somebody who prints an image on their own skin. It's permanent. This is the essence of a memory in the soul of the man who's seen by others. But in the familiarity of a man who picked every irreversible decision like the Alien, I find myself feeling sympathy, for the man is still not what he has been seen doing, he shall redeem himself by what he decides to turn himself into.
Is this a way of saying that you want to get yourself a tattoo? Get a new look? - the bird mockingly asked.
And I gave the scorched bird no answer.
Then the bird said unto me: what about your career as a prophet, uh? And the things you said about returning with substance? Do you actually think this is substance?
And i considered what the Bird said, then I negated with a movement of my own head. It is not i answered, but i find the memories of me not making sense unbearable. For those mean the memories of a fool, un pendejo, an insane person, or both. And I will always try to amend what I don't do well. But now I wish for only one thing, and it is to be remembered as someone who makes sense, and who out of that sense, made good upon the world. I don't expect anything in return for what I do now, as it is merely an outlet to keep me sane while I finish editing my work. It's clear I'm too incompetent to be a competent influencer. As for once, I don't care about influencing anyone into what I think; but to perform what I think it's important.
Then every proverbial student is free to take classes so as they see fit, and to interpret such classes as their comprehension gives them grasp of what it's said. In such regard, this is what I offer now, while I make the journey to Madrid. And the bird tilted it's head so as to observe me with his left eye, then after a long impasse, it made a loud and painful caw, and finally flew away. Soon after the bird flew, I looked upon the stars in the nascent night, and confessed to them, that it was the memories of who we were, what often stumps us into wrong beliefs of who we should be, maybe even wasting an entire lifetime retained by that which other people remembered us as being. But we are not the owners of our own names, the place we go, and our destiny. That's the biggest lie the western world of hollywood heros tell you, as in truth is collective agreement what determines what we look like doing and thus the meaning we should comfort to, recalling that names are practical mechanisms to remember the purpose of things, their meaning, and how their motion is described in the world.
But making the task of beating that collective belief, akin to the Nietzschean ideal of the camel turning into the lion, so as to transform it's spirit and become something else. But if it's the golden dragon of all the huamn values which judges you insane, will you be prepared to wrestle with the entire culture so as to have your way?
As I layed my eyes upon each star counting up to the number seventeen, I confessed of being scared of those beliefs, as revisiting the past, became a painful deed — and as I prepared to leave, I uttered one wish on the seventeenth point in the sky.
Lord please grant me strength, the way you have given my friend strenght.
2.
The night deepen, while the sea tide sang its own song of breathing. Some time passed, and then on the stranger showed himself approaching at the distance. I waved my hand at him, and after the instant, he found his way into my bench while I welcomed him with an extended fist which he casually bumped - after the short acknowledgement the dark alien looked at my face in between it's cover of dark, and looking at it undiscernable in its true features, with suspicion asked.
— What is it that you want?
I acknowledged him as a friend, then mentioned my brief research, as I had come to know him as man looking for a job, yet nobody would hire for things mundane due to his appearance. I listened closely to the news, and came to understand that this was a man looking for a second chance.Then I saw the intent behind his doing, and two words came to stick to my own thoughts. The first one was <> and the second one was <>. I was admired.
In analytical psychology I figured this man was the ESFP —the personality archetype related to the performer and the entertainer—, possessed in an abnormal way by the spirit by which a person submits to it's contrary nature, seeking to integrate and find fulfillment through the chase of what's perceived absent. If he was the ESFP then doing the flip by following the radial axis of each Jungian function in the stack towards their opposite resulted in the INTJ. The mastermind. The architect. The genius yet awfully complex individual. That was the elusive spirit he was chasing.
But a spirit and a character that at its most pronounced embodiment in a person, would experience life as an eternal foreigner hiding from the light of other men. Such made sense to me, for I myself was the INTJ, and had at spirit the ESFP. Him. So where as this man chased the spiritual fulfillment of being a complex and deep individual, I chased the fulfillment of becoming simpler, so I could demonstrate with action the deepest desires of my heart. One who was born plentiful in means to be liked, becomes complex, mysterious and uncomprehended, meeting one who will be seen trying to make sense becoming simpler. For Carl Jung portrayed the anima and animus of individuals, as the sense of what its absent, yet deeply cherished an valued. So I said these things to the alien, while he silently listened to me.
— All of that sounds like bullshit to me. -Said the alien after some contemplation .— Sorry but the things you say, don't mean anything to me.
And alas for I expected such response, as if one thing was true about this journey, was that explaining the journey in and of itself would become it's grimmest task. I affirmated what he just said with a slight nod of head.
— These things I say and how they relate to each other, in its excercise are similar to doing stecheometric balance with equations in the head, but simpler I'm afraid. - Then I paused, looked back into the sea, and continued. — That's high school chemistry, but I don't expect everybody to pick up on it, nor like it, nor understand it.
— Now i have called you a friend, and where I came from we dub with this title the people we share destiny with. As far as I'm concerned, we are chasing the same thing, which is the hardest posible thing. We both innately understand that we are not home, as we want our spirit to return to us, and that's not what a lot of people ever honestly try to attempt in a lifetime; as such is anyone's call to feel complete.
— And very few people ever reach true individuality, beyond the name they are imposed at birth.
Then I looked into the black alien, and in-between his foreign facial features, I interpreted something familiar. Disturbance. And I continued.
— We have given ourselves hell as we lived chasing something hard, so we can avoid the same hell later on when we are finally back to our own house. This is a christian precept, altought a rundimentary one. Does that makes sense to you?
And after listening such, the black alien calmly looked at the veil in my face in silence. Trying to discern what my face actually looked like, but the night was dark. Then turned his stare back to the reflection of the moon over the waters, giving some thought to what I just said. I opened up my backpack, and drawed two cans of beer from it. Offered one to him, and he silently refused with a gesture of hand. I popped my can and gave it a sip, while I myself stared at the tides coming in and out of the shore.
— If you wan't a tattoo, we can work that out. But this sounds annoyingly familiar, and my interest is not religious. Are you religious?
I nodded in affirmation, and complemented saying. — But my doctrine is something nobody has heard nor seen. For its aim, is doing as Christ said, in perfect means. Yet its true that the teaching fits you, as it's the teaching of the future man; and there's nothing in common between the current man and the future man, as they may very well be different species. This is the precept of evolution.
The alien seemed surprised.
— These two men don't know each other, for the current man doesn't know where the future man comes from, for he himself doesn't know where he is going. Yet in deep realization of your own artistic concept, I think you might want new ideas to meet with your appearance. So tell me, are you curious about what truly happens to a man after he dies? Do you want to learn how to read someone's mind? Do you want to blast with words of fire the hearts of an amazed crowd?
But the black alien broke his calm contemplation of what I was saying, and slighty disturbed, aggressively rebuked after hearing such.
— But you mentioned 'Christ', so you must be christian. How can a christian even say anything interesting in this current time? Last time I asked, their sayings were dreaded by restriction - so why would anyone condemn themselves to a life of bore? Are you a christian?
And I nodded after the question, in silence. Admittedly, for I knew what the problem was with being what I was, and my new companion was bang on identifying it. Made a pause, then raised my sight to where it met with the sky and the stars in it, and I said back to him.
— I am, but not one of a type you have ever seen, for the Christ that comes, is a Christ of art.
2.
The riptide sang, in its secret dialect of earth and sea. I looked upon the coast, turned an eye blind, and saw the ocean as the scorpio, and the land as the taurus; as it was the struggle between two lovers, never meant to consume each other. Ideal love then - yet not to confuse with this partnership as it was whimsilcally tied by the means in which i arranged my current conversation; for my lady somewhere waited for me. Then i allowed my eyes to rest still.
The alien looked upon me, undiscernable in my intentions, and again figured for himself that my interest towards him wasn’t clear. In suspicion, and after the moment he collected his thoughts asked “In your weird words you dubbed me performer, so what is it exactly that you wan’t from me. To me it seems like you are gathering people for some form of religious clown show. When you forced this meeting upon me, was this a proposal you thought i would find amusement in?”. And after the statement my own stare wandered in my conversation partner. While as he had his say, i returned to my can of beer, and finished it with a long gulp. Tempered in an unwillingness to fall to my new found friend irritation, i said within my own thoughts: “The alien looks easy going, but he is barbed in wit”.
Then i opened the can of beer that the stranger rejected; the loud pop resounded in the relative silence, interrupting for a moment the steady chorus of the sea. Gave it a long sip, and said.
– Theres no proposal in place yet. But im certain of something, and that is that both of us are messed individuals which reached the bottom doing the same thing - but the way my understandment of the human soul goes: two people can act by mere interaction as reactives to each other, creating a new chemical compound after the fact.
– This new psychology is very much like chemistry. But it is not my intention to draw you into something, but to pull myself out of this «something» by doing right on another person and maybe that person reflecting the good back on me. I just need a conversation partner, thats all. And i will do this with you, and with many people more. Presidents included.
The alien reflected on it, and after the hiatus of a long standing position of suspicion he finally gave in, and eased up with a slight smile. A strange smile of relief. But the smile, was all too familiar for me, as i realized the man was a tortured individual: a person in long standing pain. I smiled back the way he did, and continued.
– Our pain has a common name, and is a name that can be written with words unfortunately. It’s the devilish mother of all spiritual ills and its foundation, rests at the concept of a past that wasnt solved. It’s called «inadequeacy», and for people like you and me, understanding one day that such inadecuacy had to be solved by our own means, lead us into an act where our name changed as the changes in our cover up act to solve our inadequacy did.
– We never honored the past or the present in our pursuit, as we desired in passion to find solution to the present, by matching it into the idealization of some future without ever realizing that the old or present essence of ones being would be crushed into non existance by said future.
– Then we found the realization of that new name, only to understand that its demands became a tyranny on the other faces of our soul: as our soul is not something that can be undestood in unity, but something that conceives in the beginning in multiple things which try to give shape to one thing. Theres many people in a village, and our minds, are no exception.
— But happiness is only achieved by those who have their soul entire - or those who are the same person regardless of the context and scenario. And we gave to much to somebody that wasn't us, as our spirit took possession and lead us down.
– This is this the essence by which someone goes to hell, only to do one thing over again, getting an ever lasting pain for all the things that were given up chasing that which was absent. The more someone is forced into being shaped by the thing that was concevied in lust, the more the individual misses the place they used to call home, for that is no longer within ones reach. Does this makes sense to you?
The alien left me with no answer, and as he contemplated the sea, a tear travelled through his strange face.
– In this state of anguish, affliction rarely ever feels company, as the very individual condition that was pursued, became a full suit and persona to be forced upon and wear. Hell, is one lonely place man because we only learn to speak a language, that only makes sense to ourselves. But i think we can find a way out of it. This is why I'm here.
“Look, what you’ve done, it’s not something i can see the way you can see my own doing on me.” The alien replied. “Besides the way in which i canno’t see your face in this night, you seem ordinary — but what you talk and the way you say it, evokes in every word regret. What is it that you’ve done that has you regret like this?”
As the alien finished speaking, I emptied the can of beer, layed my eyes on the irregular grooves that my feet had left on the sand, and then replied back to him, after making a recap of the story i had repeatedly told myself after falling down.
“My story, is the fairy tale of a guy who makes way for the new coming of a new man; a better man for the world, while he casts disarray upon the earth: much to his dismay, at the expense of his own soul as the people who become victims of disasters, were ones who this man deemed unfair; cruel, evil, despicable in past. That was at the beginning."
"Theres a pile of corpses behind that character — even in covid time, people as close as the local priest of the small town he lived in, would break their neck after falling in the shower, as he had the slightest suspicion of their secret deeds. All clean deads for that matter. Untraceable to nothing but sheer randomness. Magic as it seeems. But were this folk truly evil people or even guilty of anything? You may ask - the man never knew it for sure, as he never had faculties such as godly omniscience to actually know it; which has taken a toll on him, as the burden of justice is an unberable one for anything but a god."
"Which leads to another point: spontaneously picturing random numbers in the head, associating them with psychological compounds by angular momentum, and actually being bang on the suspicion. Truth friend, in its stochastic presentation: it's unberable.”
“Consequential of such attempts to rationalize his own story in the eyes of people such as close family, my dude became clinically diagnosed with referenced thinking. Which are fancy words for schizophrenia. Nobody believed the story as it was uttered."
"Yet the consequences are there for everyone to see, altought not visible in their cause and effect by anybody but this guy, which lead him first into regret over ever starting his quest as a reformer; and then repent.”
“Now before he realized of this lets call it «curse», he preached for years over the internet as the disasters started to slowly creep up. He preached in a fashion parallel to Niestzches Zarathustra; Zarathustra meaning a famous philosophical device artificied by the philosopher Niestzche, who’s aim was to portray the best posible man, as something he dubbed the <<Übermensch>> ”.
“Such concept being the seemingly more elegant brand of a humanist ideal for a not so distant future: today - albeit a wrong one, for this guy was not dyonisian himself. The backbone of his framework, is analytical psycholgy becoming a chariot for a true understandment of human nature: and ultimately a facilitator for love within light: not within ignorance; not within darkness. Most philosophers today though would mock anything analytical in it's aim."
"Then on the guy preached and dwelved further into the relative hole of his own doctrine: and became imprisoned by what he didn’t got right at first attempt, making him in the process the character that Nietzsche from the comfort of his own writers seat, never attempted to actually embody within realistic means: eventually figuring out within himself the ultimate Nietzschean aristocrat: a magic pen granted by being capetian by mother: from judah by father."
"But Alas, you have no idea how common suicide is within philosophers after they finish their best work. As language, becomes the ultimate barrier for understandment, and then to ones capacity to feel love. Difference — true saliency in ones individual destiny— leads to the gravest posible pain. Ironic isn’t it?”
“Besides technical work with a new form of psychology inspired by analytical chemistry, as that drawed from his efforts during the light of day, five years ago, once he felt the urge to try to reach out to the world from a position of what he deemed was greater understandment: he primitively preached during night his new set of ideas for people to behave beyond the limitations of manipulative psychology, albeit a harsh doctrine meant to clear the way for a better product: Christ himself."
"This is not a doctrine a human being can actually perform, as such its christianity at its highest capacity to bear fruit. It’s an impossible doctrine, yet solves the oldest problem posed in the bible. All which sounds very sci-fi bullshit-y but actual problems started for the protagonist in this tale, when the preaching matched with terrible consequences. Not figurative, but within tangible reality.”
“So just as we talk, theres a small legion of hackers pretending to be doing internet social experiments while talking in an artsy matter: much in my own style, entertaining the exact same concepts - a legion of dangerous monkeys, i have no control over."
"One of the many unexpected consequences being this, yet prompted by something evil; ancient: essentially replicating what my protagonist developed and then preached over the years, while these "hacktivists" lay their attention on things and people, as they select them and enforce upon them strict surveillance, to behave properly. Then to destroy them, as they did in 2020 with many corporations and institutions.A bizarre combination of theater actors to my own liking, and then cyber-security demigods: omniscient in their claims to surveill, and they are - derivative such of another device of what I've done; which is to build a theater so people can make-believe that they are infact performing within themselves something greater - but that's matter for another story."
“Most of the corpses piling up flat out dead, have no relation to him whatsoever; they became victims as my protagonist took measures to fight back the monster he found at the foundation of the known world. This is not an elaborate analogy for one's own unseen capacity for evil, as i mean this: a monster as literally as it can be. For these things friend, im doomed as in true strenght, i have nothing but the pen i use to write down what i think albeit always at danger of it’s eventual inversion. I have no real friends left. Not one who can understand, or help bear the pain: as friendship and love are all gated by understandment."
"The full story has many more vertients, but i think i’ve done it enough justice. This is the predicament of an insane man chased by his own shadow as he builds a better man: one who delivers heavenly things, and then a shadow stringed to deliver tyranny as the very strings behind him make the better man stumble while he tries to keep a grasp of his own spirit, and then of his own soul."
"That monster behind, is wicked smart — and cannot be outwitted nor overpowered but anything but divine smite."
“I’m heading now to a new country, to try to get friends from the only institution in the world who knows and adresses the current times being, and who by extension, might believe me. And to clarify, these being the end of times; but not the end of the world. Yet now i myself have a damocles sword pending over my own head, and i need to do something about it before it falls.”
And as i said these things, i reached out to my backpack drawing a third can of beer from it — besides my own super laptop, thats what my backpack had: an infinite supply of beer. Corona, Indio, Victoria, Dos Equis, Heineken; you name it. I popped the can, and gave it a long and definite sip as i emptied it complete.
The alien didn't try to show that he understood, but stood still in silence, with his sight in the sand below and pressing lips, knowing by my demeanor; that these things as I've said them was something that I needed to do. Then he said: "I don't follow man. You say you preach and then disasters occur. Like a prophet from the bible?"
"Yes. Then I preached to get rid of the things that are actually making the world worse, and something awoke soon after, and since then; everything I do is subject to being misinterpreted due to the diffamatory action of this thing. Now everytime I do something, it can be twisted and turned against my original intent. Right now the hackers are my worst problem: I may have a degree in computers but I have no fucking idea whatsoever of hacking. I earn my living as an A.I engineer.".
The alien raised his sight to meet with mine, and after doing some contemplation on the fact, quite simply said: "You are insane". Then lowered his own sight, and raised it again to meet with the sea and continued. "If you want a tattoo, we can work that out. But either way and whatever parts of your story are true and even worse; the ones you may be lying about: you sound dangerous in a delusional kind of sense, and my life is hard enough as is."
I pressed my fists, knowing then the old same thing had happened again. For I had never forced anything upon anybody, and I was willing to respect that until the bitter end. Then I released the build up of frustration with a loud sigh, and after this amend, I replied back.
"I understand and respect it. But let me just propose you that if you ever want to figure what is beyond life as it's lived by person who has never seen what is like to be someone you write a great story about; you can pin me, and I'll show you what's beyond that door. Give it some thought."
The alien; The Black Alien Project stayed there sitting, spechless but calm, almost expecting something else to be convinced about. But pointless, for i knew that nobody can be forced into anything without bringing a transgression into play – and i wasn’t one to taint myself in sin if it could be avoided. Not anymore.
3.
I made the distance at steady pace walking along the shore, until i found a small group of pines in-between the liminal space of the beach and the land. I sat with one of the pines trunk behind my back, and drawed the Schizo Pills from my eternal supply of traveller goodies.
Quetiapine 100 mg, and Olanzapine 10 mg, i made a smaller fragment from the olanzapine pill, and swallowed both complete. As their side effects were concerned, they would soon knock me out of conscience, as this little ritual was my own way of calling the day complete – then i layed there, vigilant, waiting for my own drowsiness to claim me into sleep - but the Bird of Britan came flying from above, and stood besides me.
\Chirp, Chirp, Chirp**
I watched the bird, annoyed, as its presence had become an omen for contempt. For me and the death people of my past. I frowned upon the little shit, and said nothing. The bird made a little nod, while tilting its head in excentricity the way birds do, and replied. — Hey Andrew!, do you remember when you tried to penetrate your own computer to make a universe grow inside of it? I just wan’t to know something: did your computer moan? Did it finally learnt how to scream your name?
\Chirp Chirp**
Ignoring the bird, i closed my eyes and stayed like that for a long moment, hoping to make the bird think i was asleep. Maybe that would make him leave.
— Can’t bullshit me like that Sweetheart. So please tell me something; why don’t you command one of your supermodels; these muses, to come here and warm the bed for you. It's a cold night and you seem lonely brah
. \Chirp Chirp**
I opened my eyes, and irritated, pointed menacingly at the bird turning my left hand into an imaginary gun. I had already failed at something today, and wasn’t convinced i needed the memory of the things i failed at before. Not now.

• Hol’ up cowboy ! you wan’t to bang my bird ass when you should be banging a bitch ass. What happened with Tyrone huckleberry? Did you managed to make him as impotent as you are right now? —I held steady my hand; and tired, the tempation to pull again the trigger on the bird was growing larger. I saw red roses in my own sight, making a terrible omen for a migraine forthcoming. Said nothing.

— The glowniggers are out there brah. You may not be a hacker – and its true, but i took notice of your last words: so now the glowies are going to instead dreambooth* people into every posible kind of scenario of extorsion, while they surveil like a motherfucker. Like you dream boothed yourself for your little ahem "art project". Then we will use Suno*, then Sora* when it open sources. Are you going to protect your hoes?
Said nothing.

• Alright cowboy, i will give meaning to that revelations verse. What was it? Ah yes. Revelations 9:6. Every single person with an internet history will be as paranoid as you were in 2020. Everyone will be diffamated into acts of political terrorism! Aren’t you am-

And as i pulled the imaginary trigger from the imaginary pistol, an imaginary arrow in the sky descended with a blaze of not so imaginary flames on the Bird of Britain, engulfing the little shit in heat, and making it’s body explode into a gore of scorched viscera. As if the bird was in a microwave oven. I inmediately gasped as the explosion was too close from where i was sitting - after the conmotion, stared at the red and burned stain in the floor, and left my sight rest there, as sleep finally found its way into my restless thoughts.
"No longer care for love unless it's between good friends”. Said to myself. There was certainly a migraine coming, but maybe my dreams would help convince it otherwise. And as far as the hoes were concerned, Furious Angels would be there for them. Like the Rob Dougan song.
4.
Found my own mind after the slumber – asleep, then awake. I realized several hours passed - at least enough to wake up and witness the sun rise above the sea. But as for dreams, the light veil of their memories wasn't something to rely upon. But i did remember something, and it was some overtone in dread; an atmosphere of fear – and a kind of dread sustained in it’s inevitability by the urgency that builds upon dearth.
Now what exactly was it though? I couldn’t remember from my dreams, but ever since i falled to my own death i had always present in mind the future succesion of events that would follow when things started to go very wrong. Iran, the U.S, Israel - now whatever was it in the news; the outcome would be the same. A thousand more cuts to an already languishing economy. Make that corpse bleed, and then fall off a cliff.
As such things would be cooked, just as the bird of britain. The bird was still there though: just in pieces and roasted like the contents of a dropped KFC bucket would. But the little shit would return - as it always did. The economy? Not so much.
Yet i digress. None of the world circumstances mattered as far i was concerned – i had built a small and portable solar system to power my laptop, and my beer supply was well, infinite - i made myself sure that i had my needs covered whatever happened around me. Not tied to even a house for that matter. I incorporated myself and gave my back a stretch. The morning breeze coming from the sea evocated in my memories some time that had long passed – late childhood. I rejected those memories as they beared with them things i didnt wan’t to remember - then wen’t on as usual in my morning routine scrolling through my instagram feed, figuring if there were any new hoes to maybe motivate me into doing my God imposed labour.
Labour which was to either write, or to finish the House of Water — then after scrolling i did in fact saw a new hoe; i dropped a Faux Pas comment. Maybe she would play along, maybe not. Whatever. Sometimes I would put in a lot of effort to do a rhyme. But the effort depended on the insta-hoe in question. I know. Not the best of habits, but back in elementary school i was the kind of kid that would only get motivation when the girls in the classroom were present in physEd. And then i would run faster: whole lotta faster. Run Forrest! Run! Women love used to fuel me; and the habit sticked — and at the moment, i was kinda done with the idea of female trascendence. Would rely on their love, but not on their validation. Not like a simp. Fuck that.
Furthermore, what results did i demonstrably mustered after pursuing true egalitarianism and sharing it? Exactly. A bitch gonna do what a bitch gonna do, and so does the human female. After publishing the comment, I locked my phone and walked towards the highway, as i was planning to pay a visit to somebody long forgotten - I had kind of a schedule that i was going to follow, before taking the plane to Madrid and become hispanic Jon Snow from the walgreens Nightwatch.

I'm entering the CreateButton code to the letter from the documentation, but the button just doesn't show up. I restarted Studio. I combed carefully through my code to make sure it's IDENTICAL to the sample in the documentation, but I get no button; just the plugin in the debugger with no way to use nor test it. Can anyone help? Please?

Credit to Blue for the wonderful cover art of Trilvri
Thank you to:
u/SpacePaladin15 for creating the Nature of Predators universe.
u/EdibleGojid, author of Dark Cuts, for proofreading.
EmClear, aspiring author, for proofreading
You, the reader, for your support. I love reading your comments.
Please consider reading the works of my proofreaders as they’re all authors of excellent stories and be sure to check the links below for more of my work and beautiful art from members of the community.
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Memory transcription subject: Sawvek, Junior Extermination Officer
Date [standardised human time]: October 5th, 2136
Hard foam presses uncomfortably up against delicate pressure points situated across the length of my entire body, building up to an unbearable ache that makes me shift and turn against the thin mattress pad. I yank at the rough old blanket I’d taken out of storage and clutch it even tighter around my body, trying to keep out the chill. The best racks, the ones near the heating vents, had already been claimed long before I’d decided to move into the Guild House’s Barracks and it doesn’t seem likely that the current occupants will be giving up their spots any time soon.
My mind is still racing from the events of last paw, replaying the scene over and over again in my dreams and in my head. The way my brother had looked at me… That look on his face when he’d seen the real me…
My paw gives a sympathetic throb in memory, still aching from where it had met the wall, but at least I had been able to wrap it up a bit and stop the bleeding. I feel like I should take it as a small miracle that it isn't broken. More medical bills are the last thing I need right now.
I turn about in the bunk once more, rolling around in vain to try and find a comfortable position that doesn’t seem to exist. Through a conscious act of will I try to empty my mind and sleep, but the very act of trying not to think about things only brings them bubbling back up to the surface of my thoughts. My heartbeat echoes in my ears, a damnable drumming sound brought about by the exertion of my own restless tossing and turning. Out in the hallway I can hear the muffled shuffling of feet and murmurs of conversation. The Guild Hall never sleeps, and it seems that neither would I this paw.
Electing to abandon the attempt as hopeless, I cut my rest claw short and get up, venturing out into the hallway. If I can’t sleep anyway then I might as well start my waking claw early, maybe get in a little exercise. It’s not so bad when it’s self-directed, almost fun in a way. If our family had the money to support it then maybe I could have been an athlete of some variety growing up. I had always possessed something of a natural physicality.
“Stop wasting time with worthless questions about what could have been, Killer.” The voice interjects, early and active today by the sound of it. “You’ll never amount to anything more than a wild predator kept on a leash.”
There’s nothing to do but sigh and carry on. It was right after all. This is it. This is my life now.
Making my way down the hallway towards the gym I find myself walking past a row of private offices assigned to some of the more veteran officers on staff. Most are empty at this claw, their occupants either asleep or off doing other work. One room in particular catches my attention though, the one belonging to our newest PRED Team Commander.
The door leading inside is open and ajar, seemingly forgotten in the midst of more pressing business and granting me a look inside. The entire room is a mess, papers and binders strewn about everywhere with official looking documents littering the floor. A map of the city decorates the otherwise unadorned and impersonal space. On its face it hosts a variety of multicoloured pins, all connecting seemingly arbitrary locations as well as photographs of people and places from the records department. The face of the former PRED Team Commander, Vrienna, looks out at me once again with the same cruel eyes that decorate the memorial wall. Beside her photo are another pair of eyes, a pair I recognise, but not one I would have expected to see here.
Trilvri, my brother’s creepy coworker, the one who’d brought him home the night he’d drunk himself into a stupor, stares out at me from the wall. He was younger in this photo, barely of age, if even that, and dressed in a regulation space corps flight suit, but I could still recognise him. Trilvri’s eyes appear somehow more lively than when I had met him in person, though it does nothing to improve his overall disposition, looking, as they are, as if behind them resides only hatred and a feral desire to kill and rend. Come to think of it, he had mentioned he used to be in the corps hadn’t he? ‘Used to’ being the operative word. When I’d asked he hadn’t seemed particularly fond of his time in the service…
Situated as he is next to Vrienna like that, their pitch-black wool and evil-looking eyes bear a striking resemblance. It was the exact same sort of predatory expression that bore into your soul, the kind that made me feel weak and exposed, the same kind that was worn by-
“What do you think you’re doing in my office?” A voice asks from behind, nonplussed, but with a casual depth of power and authority behind it that makes me freeze on the spot.
“Commander Glagrig, Sir!” I turn about on the spot, fixed at attention in the doorway as I stare up at the man himself. “I’m sorry to intrude. I noticed someone had forgotten to close the door so I was just going to secure it.”
“I see.” Glagrig doesn’t seem to believe a word of it, but neither does he seem inclined to press the issue. “At ease. Tell me, do you recognise the man in the photo there? Have you ever seen him before?”
“No, Commander.” I lie reflexively as I shift to a parade rest, not fully knowing why, but knowing that whatever is going on I want no part of it, for me or my brother. It’s only after the fact that it occurs to me that lying might be worse than telling the truth.
“How… regrettable.” The prestige officer says plainly and I can’t tell whether he believes me or not. “If you do ever catch sight of this individual, then be sure to let me know immediately.”
“Y-Yes, Commander.” I subconsciously swallow with apprehension, hoping that he doesn’t notice. I want nothing more than to run away as quickly as I can, but I haven’t been dismissed yet.
“Junior Officer Sawvek, was it?” Glagrig carries on, looking me up and down, dissecting me with his eyes. “You have quite the interesting record on file and Officer Intalran is quite adamant about your potential. Your simulator results speak for themselves, even if they are just simulations.”
“Thank you, Commander.” I can feel myself growing dizzy as I answer with uncertainty.
“Don’t thank me,” the all-consuming void in front of me replies with no hint of warmth, “just remember that your performance is under evaluation. It’s in my interests to keep note of promising young aspirants who might someday join my team, and I would hate to see you squander your talents.”
“I-I understand, Commander.” I flick my tail in agreement, straining not to look away towards the floor.
“Dismissed.” Glagrig brushes past me as he enters his office, moving to shut the door behind himself.
“Um, Commander?” I ask just before the door shuts, feeling a beckoning call of curiosity that even the predatory prestige exterminator couldn’t crush. “If you don’t mind me asking… Why do you have all that stuff up on the wall there?”
The door opens again, just a crack, and I can feel my superiors' weighty presence bearing down on me, almost suffocating in its intensity. “It’s simply a personal matter. I have reason to believe that the prior investigation regarding the kelach incident was conducted according to… insufficient standards. The predator responsible was never found and I intend to remedy that deficiency.”
“How hard could it be to find a kelach?” I tilt my ears in confusion. “They're huge!”
“Despite initial reports,” he answers with an ominous, cold tone that sends a chill up my spine, “it may be possible that we're dealing with something far more dangerous than just a kelach.”
“T-Thank you, Commander.” I flick my tail in appreciation and the door closes.
I breathe a sigh of relief as the malevolent aura recedes. That was too close.
“And you’re a complete moron going back to ask him more questions afterwards, Killer.” The voice rises with amusement. “What? Do you want him to figure you out and turn you to cinders? Only a matter of time, Killer.”
“Ugh, shut up.” I mutter under my breath, quickly turning back around to make sure Commander Glagrig didn’t hear me, but when no reprisal comes I quickly depart. If I’m gonna be stupid I should at least try not to do so right in front of his office.
As the imminent threat of our in-house prestige exterminator dwindles so too does the energy driven by the adrenaline of the encounter. It figures that the moment I roll out of bed I want to take a nap again, but I know the moment I lie back down I’ll be back to full wakefulness in an instant. That’s just how that sort of thing works. With that in mind there’s really only one solution, a big, steaming hot cup of tea.
Making my way towards the tea machine I spot Jonsco, the feisty little primitive that mans our dispatch centre, smacking the top of the dispenser with a clenched paw while holding a mug underneath it.
“Is the tea machine fixed?” I ask as I pull out a mug from the cabinet myself.
Jonsco sighs heavily and shoots me a combative glare. “For the last time it’s not my brahking job to fix this damn tea machine! You got a problem with that then you can go pester someone else about it!”
I shrink back under the harsh rebuke. Jonsco may be small, but there was as much rage and fury condensed into that little package as anyone else in this department. Maybe more.
“I… I didn’t mean to imply…I just wanted to know if it was working again or not… Sorry.” I sputter out, feeling properly admonished as I look away towards the ground.
Jonsco looks at me quizzically, his hard glare softening somewhat as he seems to truly see me for the first time before returning to his usual scowl.
“Right…Whatever you say…” With one final smack the machine coughs and chokes, sputtering to life with a struggle, and a small trickle of freshly brewed tea begins to fill Jonsco’s cup. “The machine is on the fritz again as usual, but if you hit it just right, do a little percussive maintenance, then you can get it started again.”
“Thanks, Jonsco.” I lean back against the wall and watch as the mug slowly fills, impressed by the primitives know-how. “That's actually pretty smart of you.”
“For a ‘primitive’ right?” The words are barbed and spiteful, but lack his typical enthusiasm, more of a simple statement of fact than a real question. I couldn't exactly deny it, those had been my thoughts, and so the silence drags on awkwardly, marked only by the splash of tea falling into the steadily rising pool.
“What are you doing here at this claw anyway?” I eventually ask, dodging the question entirely. “We’ve still got at least another half-claw until our crew's shift is supposed to start.”
“I could ask you the same thing, you know?” The angry little dispatch operator retorts. “I'm here early working an overtime shift so I can afford to put food on my family's table. It's expensive feeding that many mouths. What's your excuse?”
“I had a fight with my brother…” I rub the back of my neck as I turn away abashedly, “moved out of the apartment and into the barracks full time… couldn't sleep…”
“Well then you should hurry up and work on patching things up with him.” Jonsco looks at me with an uncharacteristic hint of sympathy in his eyes. “Your family are the only ones who might actually care. This Gods-damned place is a slyther’s nest and no one here gives a speh about you or your problems. If you want my advice, you should do your best to spend as little time in this cesspool as possible.”
With his cup now full, Jobsco steps back from the machine and begins walking out towards the main hall.
“Thanks, Jonsco.” My words stop him in his tracks as he walks away from me. “I appreciate it.”
“... You're welcome.” He says after a short pause, glancing back to look at me one more time before leaving. “See you around, Sawvek.”
Taking advantage of the tea machine while it’s still mostly working, I fill up my own cup and drink deeply of the warm, fragrant beverage. The taste is bitter and unpleasant, just about the quality I would expect of this Guild Hall, but even at the first taste it’s evident that it’s been loaded with an extra strength dose of caffeine. I down the drink quickly and rinse out the cup before continuing on my journey towards the training hall. Fatigue begins to fall away as I walk, bit by bit as the drug makes its way into my bloodstream, blocking off sleep receptors and energising me. I know I’ll probably pay for it later, no amount of caffeine can actually replace sleep, but for now it feels good and I can see how some people can get addicted to the stuff.
A loud, metallic clanging emanates from the gym as I approach, something unexpected for this time of paw. No one's reserved space in the gym for this claw and not many people are industrious enough to sweat on their own initiative. Peeking my head inside the door I spy Bikim, the perfect, privileged, ‘holier than thou’ brahkass occupying the otherwise empty weight room. His irritatingly handsome face is taut with strain as he performs a series of weighted squats, his back and leg muscles straining underneath his short-cropped wool, and he pants heavily under the exertion.
I’m half tempted just to leave and go back to bed despite the fact that there’s no way I’d be getting any sleep with the tea running through my system. It’s too early in the paw to deal with Bikim’s speh. Before I can slip away unnoticed though, he spots me. I give a heavy sigh and continue my way inside. There's nothing to be done for it now. Trying to back out now would only make things worse later, a sign of weakness.
“What… Do you want… Predator?” Bikim asks between gulps of air as he reracks his weights, practically hanging off the bar to support himself on shaky legs.
“Good paw to you too, Bikim.” I say, forcing civility into my tone. “I’m here to use the equipment. Same as you. I'm allowed.”
“Whatever…” He eyes me with suspicion. “Just keep your distance… I don't want to catch any of your taint.”
“Believe me,” I flick my tail out in irritation, “I intend to.”
Looking around the room for available spots, I march my way over towards a cable machine on the opposite side of the room. Not nearly as far from Bikim as I would like, but the farthest I can get without leaving the weight area entirely. Bikim watches me all the while as I seat myself down and begin adjusting the machine. Eventually he grows tired of watching me fumble around with the machine and returns to his own exercises with a displeased flick of the tail, quite obviously judging me for my lack of experience with the equipment.
A tense sort of quiet settles over the room as we each go about our business, trying our best to ignore one another. Bikim slowly winds his way around the room, cycling from station to station to exercise all the different parts of his body in sequence before repeating it all again. He seems to bypass my corner of the room, glancing over at me with each repetition of his pattern. For myself, I stay put where I am, taking advantage of the varied exercises offered by the versatile machine to experiment with different muscle groups. Occasionally I slip up, dropping the weights with a loud clang that always draws Bikim’s ire. Every time he seems just a bit more disgruntled, a bit less patient. Eventually, the constant disruption reaches a tipping point and the pompous, self-entitled jerk walks over to confront me.
“Do you always do this?” He asks rhetorically. “If you keep slamming the weights like that you're gonna break it. Your form is speh so either fix it or lower the weight so you don't have to keep compensating. Better yet, just leave. You’ve been monopolising the cable machine for almost half a claw now. I don't know why you're even here in the first place.”
“Oh, look at Mr. Know-it-all thinking he can just go around telling us what to do, eh Killer?” The voice rises to the challenge. “Where does a guy like that who's been handed everything his whole life think he can get off with telling us how we should be doing anything?”
“Brahk off Bikim!” I don't even try to reign in the predator inside, feeling justified in letting it roam free for once. “I didn't ask for your advice and you don't get to kick me out of the weight room just because you can't wait your turn! I'm here because I don't have anywhere else to go! Ever since Intalran dragged me into this stupid Guild this brahking job has taken over my entire life! I don't even have a home to go back to anymore!”
Bikim's body tenses at my tirade and his tail flicks out aggressively like a whip.
“That's your own damn fault, predator!” He shouts back, eager for the excuse to vent his own frustrations. “Maybe if you weren't just some blood-starved beast out roaming the streets then you wouldn't be here right now! I’ve read your file! You got a history of herdless behaviour and physical altercations! Someone should have institutionalised you a long time ago, but someone took pity on you and let you slip through the cracks because of your poor dying mommy! They should have known it would come back to bite them! A normal, functional member of the herd wouldn't even think to pick a flamer up off the ground and burn another person to death with it! But you? You did it instinctively! You revelled in it!”
“You think that was easy for me!” I get up and walk towards him as I yell incredulously. “You think I asked for that to happen! You think it was fun for me to get choked out and almost eaten! That thing I burned wasn't even a person anymore! It was a predator in the middle of a feeding frenzy! So yeah, I did what I did, and you know what? It's a good thing I did! If I wasn't a freak of nature then that thing would have kept on going and kept on killing! Last I checked, preventing that sorta thing was supposed to be your job, but I had to be the one to step up! Now I have to live with the consequences of my actions every paw, knowing that I’m a Protector-damned killer that doesn't belong anywhere! Maybe you, in your infinite wisdom, would've known the perfect thing to do in that situation, but I’m not you! I’ve had to work and struggle for every little thing I have! Not just had it handed to me on a silver platter!”
“Oh, so you got me all figured out do you?” Sarcasm drips from Bikim's mouth as he looks down on me. “You don't know me. You don't know my life or what I’ve been through, how hard I’ve worked to get where I am. You just see the end product from cycles of effort and assume that it's always been that way, that it's always been that easy. It hasn't.”
“Yes, I’m sure you had it so hard growing up Bikim.” Saying it aloud almost makes me laugh. “You’re such a child of privilege that it drips off of you with every move you make and every word you say. I hate people like you, thinking that you're better than everyone else just because you were lucky enough to be born into wealth and status. Try living like the other side for a change, scrounging for every credit just so you can afford to eat, and then try to tell me how hard you had it with a full belly and a warm home!”
“You’re right, predator,” Bikim says contemptuously, “I am a child of privilege. My family has a long and decorated military tradition, my father is a captain for the space corps, a brahking hero, and I’ve reaped the benefits of that. That privilege came at a cost though, and that’s called expectations. Second best is not good enough and I've had to put in ten times the effort as anyone else my whole life just to meet standards! At least you grew up with a father who was there for you and loved you without the condition that everything you do is perfect!”
“All that talk about reading my file and you didn't even get past the first page did you?” I snap at him with a snarl. “ I didn't grow up with a father at all! He's been dead since I was in elementary school! Killed in action! I barely even remember him anymore!”
That one seems to give Bikim pause, but I’m not done yet.
“If you and your whole family are such a bunch of brahking heroes then how come you're here, working as a common garrison exterminator in a run-down backwater city like this?” I taunt. “Shouldn't you be out gallantly fighting the Arxur with one of the fleets or on a colony pacification force rather than making my life here harder than it already is?”
“That's the price for failing to meet expectations,” Bikim quiets down, drawing away from the world and into himself, “the price for knocking up a beautiful, wonderful girl right after graduation and refusing to get rid of it afterwards. You get cut off. You lose that privilege, and you do whatever you have to in order to provide and try to be a good role model for your son.”
Now that one threw me for a loop. In the short time I’ve known Bikim I’ve had a lot of thoughts about him, few of them good, but never would I have expected him to be the type to take responsibility… For anything. Still, there is one thing about his story that doesn't line up…
“Oh really?” I take a step back as I watch for his reaction closely. “I seem to recall Jonsco mentioned just the other day that your wife had left you for a Human.”
“Don't you bring that brahking primitive into this!” Bikim's anger flares in an instant before returning to a subtle simmer of regret. “We’ve just been having a… a rough patch in our relationship. I’m not giving up on us. I’ll win her back. She's just… confused and being taken advantage of! It's all that damn predators fault!” Bikim sighs and sits down on a nearby bench. “You're not the only one whose had something taken from them because of this job. You're not the only one without a home to go back to.”
Looking at Bikim now, a sad, pathetic man moping on the bench with nothing better to do on his rest claw than to try to externalise his inner pain… I find it hard to stay angry at him. He's still a narcissistic brahk ass and a complete jerk, but it's hard to truly hate someone when you actually know them. I had made quite a few assumptions about him when we first met, and he certainly hadn't helped my impression of him since, but… perhaps I was wrong to judge him so harshly?
“Nah,” the voice chortles, “he’s a piece of speh that got what he brahking deserves for being an insufferable prick.”
Overhead the intercom crackles to life and I can hear Jonsco's voice reverberating over the airwaves.
“Officers Vaesh and Sawvek please report to the briefing area for assignment. Repeat. Officers Vaesh and Sawvek please report to the briefing area for assignment.”
“Sounds like it's time for your first field assignment, Kid.” Bikim says, staring up at the intercom. “At least it gets you out of my wool. Try not to brahk it up and make the rest of us look bad.”
“Hmph.” I turn to leave, muttering to myself. “Stupid brahkass.”
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N - Hello! Sorry this one took a while. Like I mentioned before I got delayed working on my Ficnapping chapter as well as a crossover One-shot that's still in progress (but hopefully will be done soon). In other news we have new art of Sawvek's life-changing encounter in the Builder's Lane Bloodbath as drawn by Miglove and you can still find that and everything else Nature of Family in the new Master Post linked up above.
If you like the story then please remember to upvote, comment, and use the “!Subscribeme” function to be alerted to all new posts. I post as often as I can but real life has a tendency of getting in the way and my job makes it almost impossible to keep to any kind of schedule. Your engagement and support go a long way towards helping to keep me on track and motivated, so thank you very much for reading and I hope you'll stay tuned for next chapter!

The lotus leaf is listed as the greatest cleaning agent known to mankind in wikis and was the religious symbol of countless religions. when dirt is wet and becomes sticky mud it dries caked on and stuck and traps or allows for other air or splashes or spills to sort of stick. nanotech is so much smaller its like a big warehouse of crates having dust settle between them and by wiping and buffing and polishing around you remove some of the dirt hopefully most of it and get it underneath it will go right through and under about anything, got a tarpaulin or umm curtains over the window spray the curtains and unseen fine nanotech SHINES the window beautiful perfect coatings. the thin film is like nonstick frypan stuff but not the teflon stuff its safe diamonds arent teflon so the moisture and dirt wont stick as much and easily clean off or sorta slide down? nanotech like INKS and alcohol dyes (food coloring) or other paint pigment powders and !SOME! clearcoat polishes over a certain hardness rating which are safe for homes as under sapphire 9H or 10H it might be some sort of waste product cheap being sold as something like SCOTCH GUARD which may or may not have those long lasting microplastics which could be tiny serrated or jagged. If something is 9H or 10H diamond or sapphire hardness the few enamels or epoxys that bond that strong are small enough and dense that their structure is so tiny it slips through and under inside things and can reinforce them but doesnt damage round cells in organisms. the same way glass cleaner must be diluted and used everywhere as glass is porous and prehistoric volcanic obsidian glass walking spiders can walk up glass with special microhooks in their feet for the holes in glass look a bit like a golf ball dimples everywhere with tiny hole looks like hair lines through it like imagine those office ceiling panels with the holes in white particle board. So glass cleaner cleans out the gunk or else your windows will have a brownness you struggle to clean out of the glass without a deep penetrating cleaning agent that comes out looking a bit like brown river water thats discolored from the porous rocks in the water having umm tiny microorganisms yep rivers of brown. So a tiny drop of glass cleaner or a couple drops in a spray bottle or a bucket of water and maybe some one or two drops hydrophobic glass coating or quickpaint coat and a tiny drop or two or a single spray of PLASTIC AND LEATHER RESTORER
with these drops of stuff in water in a spray bottle or bucket you maybe wanna find something with a high % percentage of surfactants on the back of the detergent/soap bottle to wipe out germs and uhh its the cleaning component in all bubbling detergents the sort of science and cleaning and germ killing powers of it. Some floor cleaners made for timber floors that might be a little streaky and say like a polish or cure or something that maybe gives timber a little bit of a darker look when used regularly and appears subtly more expensive looking like hardwood but isnt carbonizing its a type of cellular structure bonding that reinforces not prehistoric torture the wood into looking blowtorched carbon stuff chemicals its a cleaning product disenfectant that protects and polishes but it needs some sprays of water then a spray or a few drops then buff it in and then dust mop it dry as its got some mild ANTISTATIC which helps lift up dust.. i found one that cleans like magic at my asian supermarkets but im not recommending specific brands over the other its the science of cleaning. then maybe put in a couple drops or up to a teaspoon of 10H hardness and like spray your laundry on the line or your carpet or whatever.. i do everything.. some products not 9H or greater will use some unsafe superglues which ignite cotton fabrics into flames or other things.. now house construction products like liquid nails brown glue for holding timber together might have a clear version called liquid glass that might be for window glazing or whatever i hadnt checked if its safe to use on fabrics and other surfaces the POINT of it is the NAME might say liquid glass but its maybe not silicon dioxide that the florist uses to keep their plants fresh for 2 weeks longer liquid glass as in THAT liquid glass like on your phones nanotech liquid screen protector you apply several coats of one each day then reapply every 8 months the cheap stuff.. some of the auto ones for cars can last 9 or 10 years. i found lots of bargain store looking products of sites like aliexpress or maybe amazon with brands like glassxkare or fantastic XML and adams polishes for tiny vials of 50ml or less of 10H hardness affordable or fantastic XML for like a big 500ML 9H hardness spray bottle that when sprayed into a spray bottle of water and glass cleaner and a drop of hydrophobic coating and plastic and leather restorer and a tiny drop of timber floor polish cleaner that may or may not make it a tiny bit streaky or splotchy the hydrophobic coatings may also be too hydrophobic you can tell if your spray bottle wont suck up water because the water cant enter the tube but if you spray a couple spray bottles of such tiny drops the nozzle will clog and not spray anymore.. nanocoatings can be tricky i dunno what to do. if its scratch protect films make it streaky and require buffing power tools and youre not loud big tools like me maybe aim it at carpets and couches rather than windows and do those without the floor polish. I've found no sort of uhh possible forseeable reasons for any health issues and my stuff looks and FEELS amazingly better, i think bathroom toilets or tiles or shower and tap fixtures or.. walls and floors and furniture and clothes.. i think id only not try spraying my drinking cups and cutlery but i honestly think i might need to drink the stuff its THAT GOOD. my cats LOVE IT! its kinda scary awesome.. i tried brands of plastic and leather restorer and quick paint coat and hydrophobic glass coating from HGKJ black and green labels. I couldnt tell you how safe it is, i just struggled as im a disability pensioner and saw our really old house falling apart and this damn near reversed a few decades off it and brand new snow clothing and jackets and throw rugs i bought felt BETTER THAN NEW i mean ridiculously better than new. ancient poisons used to clean HALF as good and were feared for being too good and too cheap. But diamonds and liquid diamond are naturally occuring hot springs reactions and the reason monkeys stay in there. its literally pretty much good for all life.
(plastic and leather restorer see leather deep conditioner but better and sorta similar to glass cleaner but a sort of UV protect oil and reinforce that adds the rich deep black color back to PU leathers and those vinyl anime girl figures yellowing from the sunlight and UV will becomes their original selves again or old yellowy car headlight covers get fixed up but so do most paints and timbers and other things. but you wanna seal it in with a nano coating when cleaning it out plastic and leather restorer is used in plastic manufacture and when you peel those clear plastic film stickers off shiny new products they help prevent its slow gradual evapouration and why they look so nice and black and arent just to prevent scratches. several days later plastic and leather restorers super shiny rich deep 'wet hair look for your black pleather chair' will seem to have worn off but its UV protect and other things will still be there and some polishes waxes or coatings can help keep it and its colors and UV protect there a bit longer well the look the restorer itself keeps it like how it was quite a while years? till it goes yellowy or faded again.)
So when we look at the water beading on lotus/lily pad leaves and things, ancient people used saps and old polishes and obsidian blades arrowheads since dinosaurs era. which with 200 times sharper than steel knives carbon nanotech its super dangerous deadly and was mostly all used up and we swapped it all out for modern glasses and glazing and safety glass so we dont slice our selves into piles of body parts on invisible pieces. Since the days of ink and whetstone nanotech advanced impossibly high particularly in volcanic hot springs countrys with samurai swords and caligraphy brush ink. Trying to find the scientifically safest and best possible cleaning products super affordably that might be useful for washing clothes, cars, metals plastics and other things.. are strangely not at the home hardware stores.. you see synthetic diamonds been on the gem market for centuries but too expensive to produce till modern different approaches with lasers and different gas precipitation with super high electricity concentrated over weeks or months or special electrolosys solutions will slowly layer and create diamonds but the diamond solution precipitated that grouped to each other or doesnt perfectly slot into the sort of tetris like bonds of the outer layers of the diamond a bit like diamond growth needs spaghetti O's and we're raining alphabet soup at it till with a bout 30% of the letters having a good chance of sticking. every few hours the solution of sublimation precipitate is swapped out creating a couple oven trays of 'liquid diamond solution' 10H hardness brightness and shines up glass with a thin film of diamond giving it moisture modest water resist we can use graphene to increase water resist and 10H+ hardness and apply hydrophobic coatings.. So who makes lots of these liquid finishes and what are they used for? Most are produced by a car race track owner who insists they protect their cars before taking them out onto the track or a speck of dirt or sand might scratch up the paint. But if i wanted to like power pressure washer spray it up onto my roof tiles and thin out some of that lichen and make them more uhh watertight leaks arent a concern but it might prevent a terrible future. anybody know why its not already a thing and there isnt countless guides on the ideal ratios and stuff? i mean its about as expensive as laundry detergent concentrate and used to be in most of those still is in some developed countries.. its what makes american movie sets look so umm bright and shiny and polished and awesome and makes mansions look like mansions or wealthy look and feel and its where LUXURY COMES FROM. is my cheap poor persons attempt at cleaning my own home not good? even if its mildly bad i think i'd use it forever. ESPECIALLY on things like 100% bamboo bed sheets i bought cheap ones from an australian online retailer and a few coatings of sprays and they felt and looked so dang shiny and awesome. Some bottles of the stuff claim 6 drops coats the car but remember many are diluted or not full strength or dont last long as advertised or a big bottle 500ML might be 3months to a year.. rather than tiny medicine bottle 50ml or 30ml sized 3-5 years most i guess, you need to keep applying a coat very often but having it not be streaky or buffing it in is tough so i maybe shaved years off its coating and thinned it out and just apply a bunch of coats as often product claims 9H its only a tiny % the whole spray bottle and needs many many applications to approach that but it is POSSIBLE theoretically. remember all glass cleaner is blue colored so when you dilute it with water you shouldnt have it fully color the water too much or its TOO STRONG. 80s people cleaned 80s glazing which maybe radium or lead tincture as radiation blocking films were often lead or radiation lined literally as a radiation shield was a.. film of radiation so it lasted years and needed double or triple glazing for expensive high rise buildings and cleaning heaps of smoky 80s glass dredged out horror mud floods of brown sludge that got them accused of dirtying things, though 80s squeegee thingys are really bad unless you reverse them and press down on a microfibre cloth with them for good even pressuer and a nice streak free clean using the back black rubber blade part to make a thin line of glass cleaning cloth good contact i previously saw reverse squeegee you mount cleaning cloths into specifically but searching i cant find to buy it when i tested it out at home with a squeegee that doesnt clip in like that. are there special tools you guys use? whats the secret? also the purple ceramic graphene ones seem awesome but maybe arent quite close to 9H either.. the bright shine of 10H or 10H+ on tiles and glass.. when apply hydrophobic it looks like zero application of anything somehow its gone for days. does anyone have a more ideal ratios specific or specific active ingredient amounts by weight or dilute with stuff that isnt water to help it keep its years of coating? does using a power washer make it not last? or last longer? or apply streaky splotchy? if its splotchy would more coats over weeks get it all consistent?
the liquid diamond stuff is in many countrys water or whatever.. but uhh concerns about silicosis maybe arent a thing at all if you cough it feels like its cleaning your lungs not harming them. Silicosis happens when criminal retards enter a sandblasting sealed room containment to steal the literally raw materials from factories or whatever or they use water cutting and sand blasting and CNC machines and sharpening blades constantly without sealed enclosure vacuum air scrubber filters. thats what wrecks those benchtop workers also they maybe mixing or breathing wrong epoxys and resins or dont seal them with the correct sealants and polishes and finishes.

TLDR:

At the small post we were on, the 25m zero range and qual range SDZ's did not allow for firing these rifles. Something we only learned after confirming our zeros on the 25m range.
It's still heavy, but after a day or so you stop noticing it until you have to shoot from a standing position or doing are doing CQB. then you are painfully reminded how off balance the rifle is.
The two sample rifles we had were consistently 3 MOA guns.
The non-reciprocating charging handle on the left side is not as cool as I initially thought, and it ruins the whole "truly ambidextrous" feel that the Sig MCX line has.
The folding buttstock can go fuck itself.

A review of the 277 Fury rounds is here and you may need to read it for some context, but I have endeavored to make this review stand alone as much as possible.
Over the course of three days, a friend of mine and I lived with the M7 Spear. We spent time at various ranges, doing "tactical stuff", getting in and out of HMMWV's and GSA's, while trying to figure out the ins-and-outs of the rifle.
My sample, #087, had between 8K and 10K round rounds through it. The number of combat vs training rounds was not tracked, but given the expected barrel life is 10K combat rounds we ran a borescope through the barrel and the chamber to see what we could see.
His sample, #529, had between 6K and 8K of an unknown mix combat and training rounds through it. We ran the borescope through it as well.
There was no real difference in the wear between the two rifles.
We spent the morning of the first day playing around with the ammunition and doing comparisons against 308 168gr SMK, while the ultrasonic cleaner did Gods work on the various bits and bobs of our sample rifles.

Note when we did the ammo comparison we used a Remington 700PSS with 24" barrel. It quickly became apparent when we were testing the rifles, that was a poor benchmark, as the Remington outperformed both rifles in everything but rate of fire. Its a sniper rifle, granted its your Grandfather's sniper rifle, but its still a fucking sniper rifle. The Spear is not, its a battlerifle, and so I won't be including the comparisons here.

We tried cleaning them without the ultrasonic cleaner...but I'm not sure these rifles had ever been properly cleaned before.
I've got mixed feelings about the MCX system. It ticks a lot of boxes, short stroke gas piston, no need for a buffer tube or spring, superior handling of gas when suppressed and so on.
However, when it comes down to the nitty-gritty of the maintenance? I absolutely despise it. Despite owning a MCX in 300 blackout myself, every cleaning session feels overly complex and time consuming.
We kicked off the afternoon with both rifles, setting up for grouping and zeroing—my rig was outfitted with the Tango 6T sporting the "Hellfire" reticle in MOA, resembling your standard rifle scope setup. His, on the other hand, featured the same Tango 6T but with Hellfire in MILS, decked out with the Christmas tree reticle.
Some time back, I made a comment after my initial rounds with the Spear, labeling it a "tack driver." In hindsight, I probably should have clarified that bit. Typically, when shooting a new rifle, if I land three out of five shots within a 1 to 1.5 MOA spread, I chalk up any outliers to user error rather than blaming the rifle or the ammunition.
However, it appears that assumption was a bit off.
Our zeroing and grouping efforts at 100 yards turned into quite the saga. We found ourselves mostly hitting 3 rounds within the 1 to 1.5 MOA range, but occasionally, one or two shots would balloon the group size to between 2.5 and 3 MOA.
Instead of descending into frustration and stubborn attempts to tighten these groups, we opted to settle for anything under three MOA as acceptable for our purposes and proceeded to finalize our zero.

Side note, my last zero group was my best of the day coming it at just over 2 MOA. My friends best group came in at 1.8, and quite honestly he's a better shot than I am.

Research shows that the original specs for the NGSW called for a 4 MOA battle rifle. Despite some noticeable barrel wear on our two test models, both rifles still performed beyond this requirement.
Following our grouping and zeroing session, we spent the remainder of the afternoon plinking with training rounds at 100 yards.
During this, I learned a hard lesson about the non-reciprocating charging handle—it needs to be firmly locked forward before hitting the bolt release on the left side. After a couple of painful mishaps and a few close calls, I finally caught on and made it a routine to ensure the handle was properly set before engaging the bolt release.
I really wanted to get on board with the side charging handle, but after three days, I'm just not a fan. It tended to snag on my gear (Eagle MARCRIS plate carrier) when maneuvering or positioning the rifle to fire, making it less convenient than I had hoped.
Interestingly, I found myself using it more during offhand shooting. I'd instinctively remove my left hand from the pistol grip to work the side charging handle, rather than using my right hand on the traditional top charging handle. Yes, I'm aware this breaks the cardinal rule of keeping your firing hand on the grip, but this method felt more intuitive, similar to operating a bolt-action rifle.
When shooting offhand, the rifle scores highly. I don't often shoot this way, but I encountered none of the usual drawbacks associated with traditional AM platforms. Aside from the tricky side charging handle, the rifle seemed inherently designed for ambidextrous use, which I particularly appreciated when firing left-handed.
I was tempted to launch into a tirade about the ridiculously designed folding stock, but you deserve a more structured critique. Here are the three major gripes:

The stock's release mechanism is a convoluted affair involving an awkward dance of pushing down on the rifle while yanking up on the buttstock just to get it to close.
Once "closed," the stock doesn't truly secure—it juts out at a precarious 20-degree angle, seemingly relying on mere friction to stay in place, which neither of our samples managed successfully.
The overall build felt flimsy and loose, perhaps a consequence of the extensive wear from firing 8,000 to 10,000 rounds.

After wrestling with these issues, we wrapped up with a quick cleaning session for the rifles before heading out to the range we’d "camping" at.
The next day, we arrived ready to group, zero, and qualify with a local unit. We had informed them of our visit and assumed everything was squared away with range control.
However, that assumption fell flat. Turns out, the range’s surface danger zones weren’t set up for the 277 Fury. Just as we finished dialing in our zero (.75 inches low at 25m), range control showed up, questioning our activities.
Following an awkward exchange and the diplomatic offering of a case of beer, they agreed to let us continue and even served as OIC and RSO for the KD range. We proceeded with the old KD qualification, alternating between marking and raising targets, and both of us qualified without any issues.
With some extra time on our hands, and much to the amusement of range control, the session evolved into a lively mix of burpees and sprinting between shooting positions. We experimented with various firing positions and sequences, such as starting from standing unsupported at 100 yards and moving down to kneeling unsupported. This exercise underscored the rifle’s heft yet manageability, while also highlighting how the forward-heavy balance made extended unsupported shooting particularly taxing on the arms and upper back.
The afternoon unfolded with battledrills and land navigation alongside the unit we were scheduled to qualify with. Given the theoretical roles and limited numbers, the platoon leader assigned us to the designated marksman/squad designated marksman roles, which was logical considering we were the only ones equipped with the new rifles while the rest of the squad used M4s.
This setup sparked an intense discussion among the officers about how tactical deployment might shift once the rifle was fully integrated into service. There was plenty of speculation on how military tactics and doctrines would need to adapt to leverage the new capabilities offered by this rifle.
However, I'm somewhat skeptical. I don't see this rifle as the revolutionary game-changer it’s touted to be. While it's undoubtedly suited for the designated marksman role, I doubt the Army will invest the necessary time, money, and resources to train every soldier to this level of proficiency. Consider that there are reserve units that only qualify every four years, often just to help "point-needy" soldiers piggyback for qualification. This rifle won’t alter that reality.
As for the night qualification, we were slated to test that as well, but circumstances didn’t allow for it, so I can’t comment on how the rifle performs at night with night vision devices.
On the third morning, we headed to the LMG range, ready to go full-auto from a bipod, gearing up to tackle the 249 qualification.
Honestly, this was the most amazing shooting experience I've had in ages. The only snag was the 20-round magazine capacity, which felt limiting amid the thrill—it was the only moment of frustration in an otherwise splendid session.
We ran a practice session with the training rounds, followed by a qualification shoot with both the training and combat rounds. By lunchtime, our shoulders were thoroughly sore, but I can't remember the last time I'd grinned that much in a long while.
Post-lunch, we dropped in on some local law enforcement officers who were operating a shoot house. Initially, we navigated the course with M4s to familiarize ourselves with the layout and safety protocols. After getting a handle on things, we switched to the M7s, running through the course using the last of our training rounds, having depleted our combat rounds earlier on the machine gun range.
Both of us found ourselves moving significantly slower with the M7s. Reviewing the footage, it was clear that I was painfully slow to get on target with the M7. It wasn't just about slower movements, but also a delayed response in engagement. Initially, I chalked it up to age, I'm over 50 and a bit heavier than ideal, but the reality struck when I saw I wasn’t this slow with the M4. In fact, I was quicker than some of the officers.
Similarly, my buddy was slower than usual, not lagging behind me, but certainly off his usual pace with the M4.
Interesting side note: We're no longer welcome at that shoot house. The staff was fully aware of our arrival and what we brought along, and everything seemed fine until the exercise wrapped up and we faced some "constructively harsh feedback" about 277 and damage done to the tire and sandbag walls as well as the plywood target backers.
That's rant for another time.
Regarding the suppressor:
It's really more of an enhanced flash hider than a true suppressor. I'm probably a bit biased—shooting a 300 Blackout through a Sig TI suppressor spoils you with its movie hitman silence.
By comparison, the M7 setup was louder than my suppressed .308 shooting 175gr SMK.
On the topic of the optic:
The Tango6 was decent.
The clarity was impressive, and its brightness and MOA configuration were points in its favor.
However, achieving a consistent cheek weld and finding the right optic position for proper eye relief across magnifications 1 through 6, especially from unsupported positions, proved challenging.
The issue could be me, the stock, or the optic itself. While it was somewhat bothersome, it wasn't enough to cause significant frustration.

Hello All.
So my story starts from when my wife's '17 Forester was starting to reach 60K miles and needed to do the big 60k maintenance service. We have taken this car into the dealer for it's services since we bought it. The price vs convenience was not bad and they gave us several free oil changes throughout the years so we kept going back. So, back to the 60K maintenance service. The service was quoted to us for $1200. I could see that I could do most of it myself. We just got new tires 2 months ago so that part of checking the tires and rotating them was out. I did the oil/filter, cabin air filter, engine air filter, spark plugs, and checked all the fluids and refilled as needed. Granted I didn't replace the brake fluids but it still looked ok to me. the big things such as the front and rear differential oil change, i haven't done it yet since I've never done it for a Subaru. Reading up on it, not any different from other diff oil changes, which I've done before. CVT fluid replacement, well, everyone says to leave this to Subaru, so I will leave it to them.
been busy so i haven't had a chance to take the car in to do the "leave it to Subaru" parts. I just received a letter from the dealer service dept to give them a call "regarding the continuation of protection for [my] Subaru that [I] serviced with [them]." So based on the in-service date of my vehicle and mileage, which i think is pretty low for a '17 (60K so far) they recommend me to give them a call and obtain a Vehicle Service Contract to protect against financial cost of mechanical and electrical repairs.
I feel like we don't need this as we do maintenance on it on a regular basis and for my car, which we bought new as well (same dealer) they never reached out to give me this 'offer'. my car is even lower mileage for it's year. '12 mazda3 with 72k miles. no issues.
Anyone know what this is about? done this?

Why is it just acceptable and expected to not hear back from jobs you apply for, or even worse actually interview for? I’m not saying you need to give me the job, but some sort of response, whether positive or negative, I feel should be the base minimum expectation right? I took the time out to apply, write a cover letter, interview, etc, then you just get left hanging. Is this common, or just a me thing?

thank you in advance!

Greetings practitioner of magic, 

Hi there. I'd like to write letter to a couple of my old neighbours who helped me when I was in a bad situation, but I'm not great with words and I'm not sure what to say. I was hoping this sub may help 😅
To give a bit of background; I recently left a long-term relationship that turned emotionally/psychologically abusive in its last few years. My ex would ridicule and shout at me for any reason, sometimes for hours on end.
A couple of times the police came to our door after an anonymous person requested a wellness check on me, though I imagine after those couple times the police got tired of coming out if I was just going to cover for my ex. The following time he had been shouting for hours he answered the knock at the door atnd it was our upstairs neighbour barging in; 5'5 of furious Scottish woman demanding to see for herself that I was alright and berating him for being so loud and bullying his wife. She came back a few times more over those wretched years and, though my ex had me quickly assure her then shoo her away, I greatly apreciated her for doing it each time.
On the occasions I was able to get away from the shouting to go for a walk, our downstairs neighbour would come out and walk with me to ask if I was alright and invite me in for some tea. I regret not taking her up on her offer but her gentle support and knowing I had 2 people watching out for me helped me get the strength to tell my family what was happening and leave.
I've been back home for a few monthsn and things are alot better for me, though I keep thinking of my old neighbours. Two strong, older women who I came to learn were both DV survivors; one who put herself between me and an angry giant to make sure I was okay, another who gave me a friend and a safe space to go if needed, who both helped me until I was strong enough to save myself.
I didn't get to say goodbye or thank them as neither were home as I was leaving, and I'm a continent away now (and frankly don't ever want to be back in that building) so I can't drop by for tea anymore, but I was thinking of writing them each a letter since I know their adresses and at least their first names.
But when I try to write I don't know what to say. Part of me feels bad for them having to live next to so much chaos for three years and I wonder if maybe they'd be glad to not hear from me again 😅 Part of me is also deeply touched that I had guardian angels during that scary time, I'd like to at least express my gratitude and let them know I'm safe. I'm just struggling with trying to put that in words, I suppose.
Can anyone suggest how I could start off? What would you like to hear from someone you had helped in this situation?
I apreciate your time if you've read this far 🌷

#linux #hydra #hydralauncher #archlinux #steamdeck #steam #howtowork
Hydra Launcher is a launcher designed to simplify the management and sharing of your favorite games. Available on various platforms, including Steam Deck, Hydra Launcher offers a wide range of features to enhance your gaming experience.

• Game Management: Hydra Launcher allows you to collect and organize your games in one platform.
• Detailed Information: Thanks to integration with various sources of game information, Hydra Launcher provides essential details such as average completion time, images, descriptions, video previews, and game size. This helps you make informed decisions about your next gaming adventures.
• Compatibility with DRM-Free Copies: If you own DRM-Free copies of your favorite games, Hydra Launcher allows you to include them in your library and access them directly through the launcher.

This guide aims to help Steam Deck owners install Hydra Launcher in the simplest way possible, with the possibility of changes due to updates.
But let's move on to the installation steps.

WARNING PLEASE - Disclaimer on Usage and Responsibilities

It is hereby stated that neither the project, nor the website, nor the author of the article assume any responsibility for the use of the program and the results obtained. Furthermore, no responsibility is assumed for any errors that may cause the console to be blocked or malfunction. It is strongly advised to perform each step with awareness and competence, and it is strongly discouraged for those who are not familiar with such procedures to proceed. The user is required to fully understand the actions they are taking and to act with caution.

Installation Steps on Steam Deck:

1. Download the latest version zip of Hydra Launcher.
2. Extract the zip file to a folder of your choice.
3. If you haven't already, unlock the read-only mode to install programs. Note that the database is in read-only mode, hence you'll receive an error with the same phrase.

sudo steamos-readonly disable sudo sh -c 'echo "keyserver hkps://keyserver.ubuntu.com" >> /etc/pacman.d/gnupg/gpg.conf' sudo pacman-key --init sudo pacman-key --populate archlinux sudo pacman-key --populate holo
3.1. Save the following text into a file named setup.sh in the same folder where you extracted the program. This script will install the necessary dependencies to proceed with the program's build. The file will install Node.js, Yarn, and Python 3.9

#!/bin/bash
# Install Node.js, Yarn, Python 3.9, and project dependencies
sudo pacman -S --needed nodejs npm yarn python
# Install Node dependencies
yarn install
# Install Python dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt
# Configure environment variables
cp .env.example .env
# Add instructions here to insert any necessary credentials into the .env file
# STEAMGRIDDB_API_KEY=
# ONLINEFIX_USERNAME=
# ONLINEFIX_PASSWORD=
# Build Electron
yarn build:electron
# Run Hydra Launcher
yarn dev

To grant execution permissions, you can use the following command:

chmod +x setup.sh

Then, to execute the script, use:

./setup.sh

This will run the setup script and install the necessary dependencies for Hydra Launcher.
To restore the read-only mode, you can use the following command:
sudo steamos-readonly enable
This will re-enable the read-only mode on your system.

To start the launcher

Navigate to the folder where Hydra Launcher is installed, and then run the following command:yarn dev
This command will launch Hydra Launcher and allow you to start using it on your system.
Exactly like the setup, you can create a file called, for example, 'Hydra Launcher.sh' and add it to Steam to run it directly from there.
Here's a sample script that you can use:

#!/bin/bash
# Navigate to the directory where Hydra Launcher is installed
cd /path/to/hydra_launcher_directory
# Run the launcher
yarn dev

Replace "/path/to/hydra_launcher_directory" with the actual path to the directory where Hydra Launcher is installed. After creating the script, make sure to grant execution permissions to it using the command chmod +x Hydra\ Launcher.sh
Then, you can add this script to Steam as a non-Steam game, allowing you to launch Hydra Launcher directly from your Steam library.

Reference:

• https://github.com/hydralaunchehydra
• https://online-fix.me/guides/16258-site-usage-faq.html

Links: ⚪ View in the website ⚫ View Steam Deck
https://decknewsunofficial.online/images/utils/2/4a3bcce1b71e06b8a91e87dfd3230ed86c3fe3a6\_hydra-launcher-header.webp

For anyone who might recommend me trying to talk to the scholarships office, I have already done so and I won't be able to retain it no matter what. I got this scholarship which takes care of my tuition fees + allowance which covers both my rent and food. It is a scholarship in which in the region I reside in only around 30 students were given the grant. Thus the standards that the office upholds to retain this scholarship is high. In order to even use the scholarship I'd have to go to our country's version of the ivy league schools.
My learning method before Uni has always been teaching/tutoring people. The way they ask questions makes me expound my knowledge even more and a lot of the time they would ask questions that would have gone right over my head on an exam.
Lately however, I am unable to employ this method in Uni. In our class alone, we have 9 people with the same scholarship as me, and they are all very smart.
For a while, I was still able to get top marks in the class, sometimes even getting grades over 100 as I would have perfect scores + get the bonus credits that the teacher gives to give chance to my other classmates who were struggling. I was immediately labeled as the classes' "smartest guy"( It didn't last long).
Thanks to that I was always put into a pedestal and when I start to genuinely struggle, my peers seem to just shrug it off. They keep saying things like "oh you can do it you are smart", which just feels off because for the most part university is never about how smart you are but how you are able to go about the courses smartly.
One by one as my peers failed and was set back, the remaining classmates I had were the 9 students who share the same scholarship as me +2 others who had a different scholarship.
Now this is a room full of the smartest people I've ever known. I am unable to tutor them, the way that I did my old peers as they wouldn't need the tutoring anyways, in fact lately they would be tutoring me instead.
In this semester however all that came crashing down on me. One by one I would fail tests which I would usually ace. It spiralled down into me not even listening to the lectures because of an amalgamation of "I am smart enough to ace this even with 1 hr of study" And " I don't understand these topics automatically and I don't even wanna try to listen".
It doesn't help that among those 9, only 1 of them was my friends. They all seemed too cliquey and only one of em ever bothered to ask me what was wrong. They would all talk about how sad they are that they couldn't get a 100, while I am here listening to them who couldn't even get to the passing grade.
Eventually they wouldn't even talk to me, it seemed like as soon as I couldn't keep being one of the smart guys in class, I was nothing to them.
The combinations of all these things led me to bomb both my midterm and final exams (each being 40% of our total grade) and got a 70( the passing grade is 72).
Right now I am lost, even to this day some of my friends would just say that I would figure this out, that I wasn't supposed to fail anyways, that if I would just do it again I'd pass. Unfortunately, I don't get second chances, that was it, that was my run. I am the first guy to have failed my scholarship, and if I ever decided to shift to another course, I'd have to pay the total amount of grants that was given to me +10% interest.
I can't possibly continue in that school without those grants, nor do I enjoy the overly competitive environment that the 'scholars class' has. I just don't know what to do. I can't shift, nor can I continue. It's just I don't know
I just don't know

Summer of Adventure Sale – 15% off some of Exodus Travels most popular trips

Posted on May 15, 2024 by Andrew Larder

Summer of Adventure Sale

Summer brings longer days and endless hours of sunshine, making a European summer trip more tempting than ever. Whether you’re looking to soak up the sun in Greece, enjoy local wine tastings in Italy or take rides along countryside lanes in France, we’ve got the perfect hiking and biking adventures for you.
To help you start planning, we’re offering up to 15% off some of Exodus Travels most popular trips, so you can get that Summer of Adventure feeling! Available on selected departures between May 1st and September 30th, 2024. With over 400 trips on sale, talk to our agents today to figure out what summer adventure you want to experience.
In a couple of months’ time, you could be discovering the legendary site of Pompeii and the romantic towns of Positano and Ravello on our Highlights of the Amalfi Coast trip. Or take a journey back in time, on our Highlights of Ancient Greece, to visit the fascinating archaeological ruins of Acropolis, Epidaurus and Mycenae. If you’re interested in biking, consider Cycle Northern France: Brittany to Normandy to take you past stunning medieval villages, the historic Omaha Beach and harbor towns that are known for their oysters and refreshing apple cider.
Make 2024 the Summer of Adventure to remember forever. With tours in over 100 countries on sale, get inspired by checking out a few adventures below or contact us to find your perfect trip.
Our Top Picks for Summer 2024;
With so many trips to choose from, here are just a few to get you started. Culture, Wildlife, Hiking or Cycling; find your adventure this summer!
Highlights of Ancient Greece – Cultural Journey through thousands of years and major UNESCO World Heritage sites
Tour Starting in Athens, this tour covers significant archaeological sites such as the Acropolis, Mycenae, and Epidaurus. It also includes visits to the medieval castle town of Mystras, Olympia—site of the ancient Olympic Games, Delphi, and the stone forest of Meteora, a major Orthodox community. The journey spans the Peloponnese peninsula and central Greece, featuring stunning coastlines, forests, and mountains.
HIGHLIGHTS
•Explore the ancient sites of Mystras and Delphi •Visit Olympia, the site of the first Olympic Games •Enjoy spectacular Meteora
Highlights of the Amalfi Coast – Cultural Discover one of the most fascinating and romantic destinations in the world
Tour Based in quiet Agerola, amid the green Lattari mountains, this tour explores the Bay of Naples’ famous sites, including the well-preserved ruins of Herculaneum and the legendary Pompeii. The journey extends to the dramatic Amalfi Coast, offering excursions to Capri, scenic views from the Path of the Gods, and the charming town of Ravello. Experience the region’s rich cultural heritage and breathtaking landscapes, celebrated by artists and writers throughout history.
HIGHLIGHTS
•Enjoy boat trips along the Amalfi Coast and to the island of Capri •See the romantic coastal towns of Amalfi, Positano and Ravello •Visit both Herculaneum and Pompeii •Enjoy Italian hospitality at family-run Hotel Due Torri
Cycling Vietnam – Cycling Experience the real Vietnam by bike
Tour This two-week cycling tour from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi covers diverse landscapes, from colorful fishing villages and rice terraces to jungle-clad mountains and white sandy beaches. Highlights include swimming on a tropical island, exploring the ancient port of Hoi An, and ascending the scenic Hai Van Pass for breathtaking coastal views.
HIGHLIGHTS
•Take a cycling holiday through Vietnam’s most scenic landscapes •Savour mouth-watering cuisine •Crawl through the Cu Chi war tunnels •Relax in charming Hoi An •Cruise among the limestone formations of Ha Long Bay •Overnight on a tropical island
Cycling Puglia & Matera – Cycling Cycle from the UNESCO town of Matera through Italy’s heel to Lecce
Tour Explore the cultural and natural treasures of Italy’s Puglia and Basilicata regions. This itinerary includes Matera’s intriguing Sassi houses and the UNESCO-listed trulli houses of Alberobello. The journey proceeds through idyllic countryside to Ostuni, the White City, and onto Gallipoli along the dramatic Ionian coastline. While cycling across the Salento Peninsula, experience the quintessential Italian lifestyle amidst olive groves, limestone cliffs, crystal-clear waters, and baroque towns.
HIGHLIGHTS
•Ride from the stunning UNESCO town of Matera •Enjoy gentle cycling through olive groves and past conical trulli houses •Sample fine seafood and wine from the Salento coast •Stay in accommodation bursting with character
Loire Valley: Walks, Wine & Chateaux – Hiking Discover regal estates and fine wines in the glamorous Garden of France
Tour Enjoy a walking tour in the Loire Valley, where stunning royal castles meet premier winemaking. Stay in a chateau near Tours and a country manor in Beaumont-en-Véron, ideal bases for exploring the region. Visit notable castles like Amboise and Chenonceau, and tour picturesque vineyards, sampling exceptional wines along the way.
HIGHLIGHTS
•Stay in a 15th-century chateau and 17-century country manor house •Tour Chenonceau, a magnificent chateau stretching over the Cher river •Visit wine producers to sample their celebrated drinks at source •Visit the lavish Château Royal d’Amboise, once home to French monarchs •Meet members of the Loire wine brotherhoods, practically unrivalled in their knowledge of the local produce •Enjoy tranquil walks through vineyards and along the Loire River
Iceland’s Laugavegur Trek – Hiking Hike one of the best-loved walking trails in Iceland to discover otherworldly landscapes
Tour Iceland is renowned as a premier trekking destination with its dramatic landscapes shaped by volcanic activity and glaciers. The Laugavegur Trail is a highlight, featuring a week-long trek from the colorful mountains of Landmannalaugar to the dramatic Thorsmork region, exploring craters from the 2010 eruption. All meals are included while camping. Additionally, early summer treks enjoy nearly 24 hours of daylight, while trips in late August and early September offer potential sightings of the Northern Lights.
HIGHLIGHTS
•Take the best-known trekking route in Iceland •Discover natural hot pools, waterfalls, lava fields, craters and volcanic fissures •Experience 24-hour daylight in July, chance of the Northern Lights in late August and September
Drew Larder FORA Travel Advisor – Amazing DEALS and perks of unforgettable travel. Hotels, cruise lines pay for my travel help, not you!
Andrew Larder, FORA Travel Advisor

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TravelExodus Travels, Summer of Adventure SaleSummer of Adventure Sale – 15% off some of Exodus Travels most popular trips