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My second to last quarter just ended and I'm pretty swamped with final reports right now, but I'm almost through. Not to mention, the next seven weeks are going to be pretty light because of a sudden lack of classes, since I busted my butt finishing up my remaining credits. I've decided to dedicate this time to (among other things) a writing frenzy! I wanna get some serioussss backlogs up because who knows how busy I'm going to be after graduation. (Not to mention, I'm having some troubles getting my VISA renewed, but that's a personal issue).
Anyways, don't wanna bore you with irl stuff. You're here for food and gay furry romance! So as always, I hope you enjoy reading! :D
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Note: This is a Fanfic of the Nature of Predators series by u/Spacepaladin15, that is being reposted from the NatureofPredators sub. Please support the original content.
Thank you to Philodox on discord for proofreading and editing RfD.
Thank you to Pampanope on reddit for the cover art.
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Memory Transcript Subject: Sylvan, Venlil Citizen
Date: [Standardized Human Time]: December 13, 2136
​
It wasn’t too long that I was absent from the event. Sure, Kenta and I had run into a few hiccups when trying to load up the cart, but that was to be expected. Just looking at the absolute behemoth of an edible pile that he had somehow been able to put together in such a short amount of time, it was a wonder just how we were able to fit them all on there in the first place. And the promise that there was still more yet to be brought out had left me astonished. If I hadn’t already seen the ravenous vortex of Venlil that had so efficiently done away with the other dishes, I might have actually been worried about leftovers.
The food in question, long tubes made out of some kind of starchy form of strayu and packaged in an even starchier husk, were stacked in circular pyramids atop three large trays. As it turned out, this delicacy was the same “Tamale” recipe that I had heard mentioned the day before, the sheer amount being the product of Kenta’s, Julio’s, and even Jeela’s preparations. Unfortunately, I hadn’t received the full explanation of what they were just yet, but Kenta had thankfully given me at least a quick rundown.
Using the same steaming methods as the gyoza, these tamales had been folded carefully over a mix of fresh, crisp vegetables whose scent floated around each in a rich aura. They were hot out of the steamer, a cloud of gaseous water encircling the air above it in a decadent plume. If I hadn’t known better, with the combined mass of the tamales and the sheer volume of steam they collectively released, it might have made me believe the cart itself to be on fire. But of course, there was no such thing, and the cloud that spread into the sky only served to sweeten the air.
As I rolled out the cart, I looked at one last addition to the ensemble. There in a large bowl was something that Kenta hadn’t mentioned in the slightest when explaining the recipe and reasonings behind the tamales, and I had been so urgent to get these out the door that I’d forgotten to press for more details. It had been left in the refrigerator since the day before, which I had only noticed when doing inventory after the fiasco of event preparations.
‘It completely slipped my mind until now… I’m glad I didn’t forget it. Especially after what that note said.’
When I had found the bowl, a small piece of paper had been taped to it. On which, an alien text had been inscribed that required me to use my visual translator to make any sense of. It had been nothing but obvious that holding up the translator informed me that the language was indeed Terran. But what confused me was that instead of the morphemic script that I had come to slightly recognize from Kenta’s subculture, it instead appeared to be something more alphabetic.
On it, the note simply read: “Make sure to serve this with the tamales, my friend. Don’t forget!”
Additionally, below those words had appeared to be an additional message. That one, however, was partially scribbled out. When I scanned that one as well, the translator had taken a long time to process, and its output remained considerably fractured: “**od l*ck wit* y*u* n*w boyf***nd.”
Having not thought much of the note, I had just barely remembered to retrieve the bowl from the fridge and put it on the card while Kenta was off busy grabbing one last batch of tamales before rushing me out the door. I shook it out of my mind for the time being. After all, right now there were more pressing things to manage.
Wheeling the cart back outside, I was hit with the briefest shortage of breath. It had only been a momentary respite, but shifting from the quiet of the empty diner to the lively atmosphere of a crowded party would never not be a shock. By now, enough people had shown up that the event could already be considered at max capacity. People from all over filled the street, chatting and conversing in a rambunctious, lively gusto.
To see so many people take the time out of their schedules and come down to my family’s diner just because of the promise of our food… It was almost overwhelming, enough to bring a brief tear to the eye reminiscent of my reaction to that very first wave of people Ginro had brought soon after I first hired Kenta. I took a moment just to bask in it. A feeling I had all but begun to grow almost too accustomed to. A feeling of success, and of pride. And as I once again continued pushing the cart past the crowds of chatty party attendees, along with the piles of wool that it entailed, that feeling continued to pour into me. It was all almost too much to hear at once.
“Hey Sylvan! Great party!” said one voice to my left.
“Amazing food as always, Lackadaisy guy! I can’t get enough of these little strayu things in the salad!” piped another to my right.
“Ooooo! What are those things?” asked one more as I passed by them, who excitedly eyed up the stack of tamales I was delivering.
I laughed along and chatted with people on my way to one of the tables, chuckling at their jokes and accepting their praise on behalf of both myself and the mysterious ‘Kahnta.’ With each pleased guest and hungry gaze, I couldn’t help but feel myself bloom in sheer joy at the tidal wave of enthusiastic complements.
That was… until one otherwise innocent comment sounded from behind me.
“So you’re telling me this was all made by one chef?” they asked one of their friends, not intending me to hear as they talked with their mouth half stuffed with food. Looking closer, I could see that they were two Gojids chatting with one another. “Better enjoy it now, I guess. Not gonna be long before some fancy place in the Capital comes and recruits them. Honestly, if the owner of this place wants to have any hope of holding on to them, he better marry them or something.”
The partygoer’s friend laughed, “Well if he doesn’t, then I will! Can you imagine eating something like this every day?”
I couldn’t help but bloom even more overhearing this. But this was a different kind of feeling. Not the gentle warmth of normal delight, but instead the torrid heat of surging emotions. And as I began nonchalantly transferring the steaming tamales to one of the tables, these emotions steamed to the surface of my mind as well.
It was a mix of things that fueled my silent reaction. At first, the implication of asking Kenta into matehood was… well it was certainly something. I was sure the two Gojids were simply making innocent remarks, assuming that the lie about my precious chef being another, completely ordinary Venlil was correct, not realizing in the slightest just how much the implication left me flummoxed. And in normal circumstances, it would have been just that, a simple perk of the ears and a brief daydream of something so far away from me. But after yesterday, things had changed.
The previous day had been eventful, to say the least. I had eaten some amazing pastries and listened to an even more amazing alien melody. Only for it all to come crashing down when my idiotic brain forgot to turn back on the translator before pouring out my entire menagerie of pent up emotions before Kenta. My one chance to seize an opportunity at the height of a courageous high, only to tumble and fall flat during the execution. Even worse, I couldn’t muster the bravery to say the same thing even one more time.
I had completely blown it. And needless to say, I wasn’t exactly keen on remembering my mistakes from that previous day, especially during such a pivotal event. The only mediocre condolence I could take from the whole ordeal being the opportunity of waking up next to Kenta that same day. But even that was cut much too short by the mad rush to get preparation ready for the event.
‘I can still remember how warm he felt… And how peaceful he looked when his eyes were closed…’ I thought to myself in deep reminiscence.
“Hey there Sylvan!”
‘I can’t get it out of my head…! Ugh! I wish it wasn’t just a one time thing…’
“Sylvan?”
‘If we really were together romantically, then maybe I could see that every day… But that’s not–’
“Sylvan!!”
The moment my attention was pulled away from my internal thoughts, I audibly bleated out a high pitched noise of surprise, “Eeep!”
My ears jutted up and my tail straightened like a steel beam. My attention shifted over to my side, where I soon realized Fehnel now stood. She had her paws held firmly on her hips, with a head tilted to the side in a half puzzled, half amused demeanor. Then, when I realized I had been staring a little too long without saying anything, I quickly turned my attention back to the table.
“Oh hey Fehnel!” I stuttered out. “Didn’t see you there!”
“Sorry if I sneaked up on ya, hun,” Fehnel replied with a single wag of the tail. “Got somethin’ on the mind, I’m assumin’?”
The image of Kenta and I huddled together on my couch flashed through my mind once more, before I quickly shook it away. “Uhhhh… Nope! I’m just really focussing here on getting these tamales out.”
“‘Tamales,’ huh?” Fehnel chuckled. “Well between this and that ‘gee-yo-za’ stuff, I think I’m startin’ to give up on predictin’ what crazy name Kahnta’ll come up with next.”
“Yeah it’s pretty… uh–” I coughed awkwardly, clearing something nonexistent out of my throat. “It’s pretty creative.”
“You can say that again. By this point, they’re startin’ to sound almost alien!” Fehnel laughed again, and I cringed as the irony fell over deaf ears. “But hey, who am I to judge! I mean, to me all the stuff on this planet is alien, so what’s another ‘Tamale’ added to the pile, yeah?”
I had to stop my ears and head from shrinking too far towards the ground.
“Anyways, I’m assumin’ these are the actual foods I requested Kahnta to create, right?” Fehnel continued to ask.
“Uh– Y-yeah, yes they ar–” I tried to say before one of Fehnel’s paws suddenly reached out and grabbed my wrist.
“Great!” she beamed, before dragging me away into one of the many chatty piles of fluffy wool that constituted our event.
It didn’t take more than a few rushed steps before I was suddenly pulled in front of another Yotul and Venlil, who I did well to recognize immediately. It seemed as though Kadew and Vuilen had arrived, the former of which looking just about as nervous as I had expected. Vuilen, on the other paw, was anything but. Her tail was wagging furiously, almost impossibly giddy with enthusiasm as her ears shifted around a swivel, likely allowing every new smell and sound to pull her attention to and fro.
Fehnel dragged me forward and plopped me down right in front of the two, before saying, “Tell them what you just told me.”
Vuilen leaned forward, bestowing me her full attention, while Kadew remained stationary, only doing as much as to straighten a single, skeptical ear.
“W-well, uh…” I stumbled, before quickly getting my act together. “Among a number of new strayu recipes, the main entree for today’s event is called ‘Tamales.’”
“Oooo!” Vuilen beamed. “What’s that, Lackadaisy guy? It sounds awesome!”
“According to Kahnta, it’s a mix of vegetables folded in a spongy strayu wrap and steamed inside a starchy husk. And…” I tilted my ears towards Kadew, “It’s supposedly a specialty that is designed to be eaten during times of celebration with family. Regardless of whether they be by blood, or found.”
Kadew huffed a short breath, before folding her arms. But before she got the chance to speak, Vuilen’s enthused voice overtook it. The black and white wooled Venlil leaned into her smaller Yotul partner and pulled them into a strong hug.
“Hear that, Dew? It’s like this food was MADE for your Running Day!” Vuilen piped, bouncing up and down like a cub and bringing the now deeply blooming Kadew along for the ride. “Well… I guess it literally was, but you know what I mean! Either way, there’s like a million new kinds of strayu foods here! Can you believe that? I think I even saw some sylvanas over on that table there! Can you even begin to wonder what they taste like? Oh my Sol, I’m so excited!”
Kadew, whose previously unimpressed countenance now had more steam coming out of her ears than the tamales off in the distance, stuttered out her response. “Uh– Uhmm– That’s… that’s great…”
“I know right!” Vuilen squealed. “This is going to be the BEST Running Day ever! I’m so happy for you!”
I couldn’t help but giggle out in response to this, something which Fehnel had long since been doing on her own volition. Unfortunately for Kadew, this did nothing to ease the sheer amount of embarrassment already flying around her dazed face.
“Of course, all guests are free to eat their fill, especially those invited by the Claw’s Lady herself,” I said, before gesturing a paw towards Fehnel. “All of it has been covered in advance by our generous sponsor.”
Vuilen retreated from her hug just as quickly as it had started, twisting her attention back towards Fehnel and I. “Really? I still can’t believe you’re just giving away all this for free!”
She walked towards the two of us, leaving a still dazed Kadew behind her, before rushing to give Fehnel herself another brief hug. “Thank you so much again for organizing something like this, ma’am.”
Fehnel returned the embrace, having nothing but pure pride and joy radiate through her voice. “Of course, hun. I hope you and my daughter enjoy your date.”
“Oh we will!” Vuilen replied quickly, pulling back once again. Just as fast, she began making a beeline for the buffet tables, almost disappearing into the crowd of fellow Venlil fluff before her voice was heard once more. “I’ll be back in a jiffy, Dew! I just gotta try some of this stuff before it’s all gone!”
Before she was out of range, I twisted around, raised a paw up to my mouth, and stood up high to help carry my voice after her. “Don’t forget to save room for dessert!”
Turning back, I joined Fehnel once again in her chuckling. It didn’t take long for Fehnel to comment on the situation now that Vuilen was out of earshot.
She leaned over and gently nudged me in the leg with her tail. “She’s a riot, ain’t she? Does my daughter know how to pick em’, or what?”
“Oh yeah, I’ve seen them together in the diner all the time. Honestly, I’ve been wondering how long it was going to take to knit that scarf,” I commented, referencing one of the more common and romantic Venlil courtship rituals.
“Guys I can HEAR YOU!” Kadew yelped, now seemingly freed of her hug-induced daze.
“Oh hun don’t you worry yourself about us,” Fehnel replied, a slight hum to her voice. “Us adults can’t help but watch the young love bloom.”
“That guy’s barely older than I am!” Kadew shot back, raising a finger to point at me.
I raised two paws in defence, much too similar to the way Kenta does when he’s been caught teasing me. “Hey, doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate it when I see it. You’re doing great, by the way.”
The teasing, however, had been lost on her. I had meant it in good will, but my words had only served to aggravate Kadew, and she huffed out an annoyed breath. Then, she started stomping rapidly in place, her trained legs moving in a blur like overclocked turbines. From even the briefest glance, I could tell that something had been pulling away at her tail, and our comments were doing it no favours.
“Uhh… are you alright?” I asked tentatively.
“ARGH!” she groaned back. “No! No, I am very much NOT alright! Running Day’s here already, I feel like a pile of speh, my fur’s a mess, and I’m FREAKING THE BRAHK OUT!!”
‘Quite the vocabulary on this one, apparently,’ I judged silently, wondering how my mother would have reacted to hearing me talk like that.
“Honey, Vuilen’s not gonna care about any of that silly stuff,” Fehnel said jovially. “Why, I remember bein’ covered in dried mud the first time I went on a date with your father. We went down to the creek together and took turns tossing water at each other. Then, we went down to the local actin’ house and watched a show. But even after all of that, I still had a bit of dried mud crusted on my fur, but your father didn’t mind. Said it gave me ‘character,’ of all the silly things.”
“Isn’t dried mud just dirt?” I asked.
“Naw, see, dirt is sand, silt, and clay, but it only becomes mud when it has a higher content of clay.”
“So then what happens when dirt gets wet but doesn’t have a lot of clay?”
“Wet dirt.”
“Ah.”
“WHAT ARE YOU BRAHKING TALKING ABOUT!?” Kadew squealed in a panic, her stomping had not ceased in the slightest. She threw her paws up and pulled her ears down over her eyes. “Dirt and mud! That’s all that we Yotul talk about apparently! And trains! Can’t forget the brahking trains! Stars above, that’s all people ever say!”
“Trains are cool,” I said indifferently.
“I don’t care!” she huffed, before turning to Fehnel. “Mom. What if Vuilen comes back and sees you talking about dirt? She’ll just see that it’s the only thing a primitive uplift is capable of understanding! Do you really want to prove her right?”
Fehnel looked shocked, but replied nonetheless. “Has… she said something like that before?”
“Well…! No…! But…” Kadew stomped again. “She might, okay!? Especially if she sees you actively talking about it!”
“To be fair, I asked,” I replied. “Besides, Vuilen seems like a smart girl. She wouldn’t make a rash assumption about the Yotul based off some random remark. Relationships are stronger than that. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“What do you know about it!?” Kadew shot back, releasing her ears and letting them perk up to max height. “Unless I missed something, I don’t see you dating any other Venlil in that restaurant of yours! How do you know if any of this is fine!?”
Fehnel’s voice soured immediately. “Kadew! That is no way to talk to our new business partner! He was just tryin’ to help! Apologize this instant!”
Realizing something had shifted without my notice, I tried to mellow my voice in an attempt to calm the situation down. “Oh, that won’t be necessar–”
“No,” Fehnel interrupted. “I refuse to let my daughter be rude to anyone. We might not have much, but we at least have manners.” She turned her attention back to her daughter. “Kadew, if you have a problem, then I want you to tell me about it. If there’s somethin’ we can do to help, then–”
“No no, it’s not…” Kadew replied, bringing two fingers up to pinch the bridge of her snout. “It’s not that…”
“It’s not what?” Fehnel tried to guess. “It’s with Vuilen, isn’t it? You’re afraid she’ll not be able to appreciate the Runnin’ Day? Listen, I know this isn’t Leirn, but Sylvan and I are kickin’ our hardest to make it special for you regardless. Sure, it’s not the most traditional, but I’m sure Vuilen won’t mind! I understand that livin’ on a new planet is taxin’, the gravity here especially, but as foreigners it’s our job to show these nice people where we come from. We’re Yotul, and nothin’ will change that!”
“Mom…” Kadew grunted back, before taking a deep breath.
Before she could speak, Fehnel continued with a proud wag to her tail. “Do you remember what a Runnin’ Day is all about, Kadew? It’s about all the cubs that came of age that year comin’ together and sayin’ that they’ll be fine by themselves. But it’s also about family. It’s about knowin’ that no matter where you run off to, I’ll be there to support you. But you’re makin’ it real hard to do that every time you don’t tell me what the matter is! And if you don’t, how can I make this Runnin’ Day the best it can–”
“But it’s not a Running Day, is it!” Kadew yelled, instantly shutting Fehnel up.
Her mother stared forward blankly, stumbling over a few unclear words. “Wh-what do you…”
“It’s not a Running Day!” Kadew repeated. “It’s not! I mean look around you!” She lifted her arms up dramatically, motioning towards the crowds of unaware Venlil around us. “We’re the only Yotul here! We’re the only two people that even know what a Running Day is, and I’m pretty sure we’re the only people that care!”
I tried to speak, “Umm… I know what a Running Day i–” but the look of animosity Kadew immediately shot my way gave me Jeela flashbacks, and I shut up just as quick.
“Kadew… Hun, that’s not true,” Fehnel tried to defend. “I’m sure they’d be willing to open their minds if we just–”
“What? Tell them all about how great it is to come from an Uplift planet? Talk about brahking DIRT some more!? Careful there Mom, don’t want to spoil their meal!” Kadew continued her berating. “Because you and I both know that the only reason anyone even showed up to this thing is because of that guy’s food!” Another finger was shot out in my direction. “Even you know there’s nothing special about your stupid Uplift culture! There’s nothing here even remotely related to the Yotul! It’s all just Venlil decorations and Venlil food, for our solely Venlil guests! And look!!” She pointed directly at the statue Jeela had placed as the centerpiece. “They have a statue of a Venlil as the center of everything! It’s the star attraction, not us! They couldn’t give a damn about me or Running Day or our culture or… or anything!”
Fehnel appeared to be on the verge of tears.
“And now I’ve got to find some kind of excuse for all this!” Kadew added. “It’s bad enough I had to drag Vuilen into pretending to care about the Yotul. But now the entire town is a part of it too! They’re laughing at us, Mom! Just like at school! Just like everywhere else I go! They’re laughing at us and you’re proud about it!”
From the verge of tears, Fehnel’s voice had croaked into a soft weep. A glimmering stream of water had begun to crawl down the ridge of her rust-coloured face.
“I hate being born a Yotul! I hate this gross, rusty fur! I hate everyone thinking I’m primitive and that I must be in love with trains and steam engines! And I hate you trying to push your culture on me! Cause guess what? I’ve never even seen Leirn! It’s NOT my home and you need to stop pretending it is!”
Fehnel stood simply aghast, the occasional choked-up garble of sounds emerging from her throat. Meanwhile, I stood speechless as well. Obviously, I had accidentally walked in on and been exposed to something that had been going on for quite a while. But even worse, it seems as though I had done nothing but fanned the flame of this long-fueled fire. Instinctively, I began taking a few steps back to give the two their space, which went unnoticed by either party.
Fehnel swallowed, her eyes still welling tears. “I… I…” she tried to say, but no words would form. Instead, she choked on her own voice. And Kadew, who stood waiting for a response, sucked in heavy loads of air in the fleeting hope to catch her breath.
But instead of an answer, all that any of us heard was a scream.
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My second to last quarter just ended and I'm pretty swamped with final reports right now, but I'm almost through. Not to mention, the next seven weeks are going to be pretty light because of a sudden lack of classes, since I busted my butt finishing up my remaining credits. I've decided to dedicate this time to (among other things) a writing frenzy! I wanna get some serioussss backlogs up because who knows how busy I'm going to be after graduation. (Not to mention, I'm having some troubles getting my VISA renewed, but that's a personal issue).
Anyways, don't wanna bore you with irl stuff. You're here for food and gay furry romance! So as always, I hope you enjoy reading! :D
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Thank you to Philodox on discord for proofreading and editing RfD.
Thank you to Pampanope on reddit for the cover art.
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Memory Transcript Subject: Sylvan, Venlil Citizen
Date: [Standardized Human Time]: December 13, 2136
​
It wasn’t too long that I was absent from the event. Sure, Kenta and I had run into a few hiccups when trying to load up the cart, but that was to be expected. Just looking at the absolute behemoth of an edible pile that he had somehow been able to put together in such a short amount of time, it was a wonder just how we were able to fit them all on there in the first place. And the promise that there was still more yet to be brought out had left me astonished. If I hadn’t already seen the ravenous vortex of Venlil that had so efficiently done away with the other dishes, I might have actually been worried about leftovers.
The food in question, long tubes made out of some kind of starchy form of strayu and packaged in an even starchier husk, were stacked in circular pyramids atop three large trays. As it turned out, this delicacy was the same “Tamale” recipe that I had heard mentioned the day before, the sheer amount being the product of Kenta’s, Julio’s, and even Jeela’s preparations. Unfortunately, I hadn’t received the full explanation of what they were just yet, but Kenta had thankfully given me at least a quick rundown.
Using the same steaming methods as the gyoza, these tamales had been folded carefully over a mix of fresh, crisp vegetables whose scent floated around each in a rich aura. They were hot out of the steamer, a cloud of gaseous water encircling the air above it in a decadent plume. If I hadn’t known better, with the combined mass of the tamales and the sheer volume of steam they collectively released, it might have made me believe the cart itself to be on fire. But of course, there was no such thing, and the cloud that spread into the sky only served to sweeten the air.
As I rolled out the cart, I looked at one last addition to the ensemble. There in a large bowl was something that Kenta hadn’t mentioned in the slightest when explaining the recipe and reasonings behind the tamales, and I had been so urgent to get these out the door that I’d forgotten to press for more details. It had been left in the refrigerator since the day before, which I had only noticed when doing inventory after the fiasco of event preparations.
‘It completely slipped my mind until now… I’m glad I didn’t forget it. Especially after what that note said.’
When I had found the bowl, a small piece of paper had been taped to it. On which, an alien text had been inscribed that required me to use my visual translator to make any sense of. It had been nothing but obvious that holding up the translator informed me that the language was indeed Terran. But what confused me was that instead of the morphemic script that I had come to slightly recognize from Kenta’s subculture, it instead appeared to be something more alphabetic.
On it, the note simply read: “Make sure to serve this with the tamales, my friend. Don’t forget!”
Additionally, below those words had appeared to be an additional message. That one, however, was partially scribbled out. When I scanned that one as well, the translator had taken a long time to process, and its output remained considerably fractured: “**od l*ck wit* y*u* n*w boyf***nd.”
Having not thought much of the note, I had just barely remembered to retrieve the bowl from the fridge and put it on the card while Kenta was off busy grabbing one last batch of tamales before rushing me out the door. I shook it out of my mind for the time being. After all, right now there were more pressing things to manage.
Wheeling the cart back outside, I was hit with the briefest shortage of breath. It had only been a momentary respite, but shifting from the quiet of the empty diner to the lively atmosphere of a crowded party would never not be a shock. By now, enough people had shown up that the event could already be considered at max capacity. People from all over filled the street, chatting and conversing in a rambunctious, lively gusto.
To see so many people take the time out of their schedules and come down to my family’s diner just because of the promise of our food… It was almost overwhelming, enough to bring a brief tear to the eye reminiscent of my reaction to that very first wave of people Ginro had brought soon after I first hired Kenta. I took a moment just to bask in it. A feeling I had all but begun to grow almost too accustomed to. A feeling of success, and of pride. And as I once again continued pushing the cart past the crowds of chatty party attendees, along with the piles of wool that it entailed, that feeling continued to pour into me. It was all almost too much to hear at once.
“Hey Sylvan! Great party!” said one voice to my left.
“Amazing food as always, Lackadaisy guy! I can’t get enough of these little strayu things in the salad!” piped another to my right.
“Ooooo! What are those things?” asked one more as I passed by them, who excitedly eyed up the stack of tamales I was delivering.
I laughed along and chatted with people on my way to one of the tables, chuckling at their jokes and accepting their praise on behalf of both myself and the mysterious ‘Kahnta.’ With each pleased guest and hungry gaze, I couldn’t help but feel myself bloom in sheer joy at the tidal wave of enthusiastic complements.
That was… until one otherwise innocent comment sounded from behind me.
“So you’re telling me this was all made by one chef?” they asked one of their friends, not intending me to hear as they talked with their mouth half stuffed with food. Looking closer, I could see that they were two Gojids chatting with one another. “Better enjoy it now, I guess. Not gonna be long before some fancy place in the Capital comes and recruits them. Honestly, if the owner of this place wants to have any hope of holding on to them, he better marry them or something.”
The partygoer’s friend laughed, “Well if he doesn’t, then I will! Can you imagine eating something like this every day?”
I couldn’t help but bloom even more overhearing this. But this was a different kind of feeling. Not the gentle warmth of normal delight, but instead the torrid heat of surging emotions. And as I began nonchalantly transferring the steaming tamales to one of the tables, these emotions steamed to the surface of my mind as well.
It was a mix of things that fueled my silent reaction. At first, the implication of asking Kenta into matehood was… well it was certainly something. I was sure the two Gojids were simply making innocent remarks, assuming that the lie about my precious chef being another, completely ordinary Venlil was correct, not realizing in the slightest just how much the implication left me flummoxed. And in normal circumstances, it would have been just that, a simple perk of the ears and a brief daydream of something so far away from me. But after yesterday, things had changed.
The previous day had been eventful, to say the least. I had eaten some amazing pastries and listened to an even more amazing alien melody. Only for it all to come crashing down when my idiotic brain forgot to turn back on the translator before pouring out my entire menagerie of pent up emotions before Kenta. My one chance to seize an opportunity at the height of a courageous high, only to tumble and fall flat during the execution. Even worse, I couldn’t muster the bravery to say the same thing even one more time.
I had completely blown it. And needless to say, I wasn’t exactly keen on remembering my mistakes from that previous day, especially during such a pivotal event. The only mediocre condolence I could take from the whole ordeal being the opportunity of waking up next to Kenta that same day. But even that was cut much too short by the mad rush to get preparation ready for the event.
‘I can still remember how warm he felt… And how peaceful he looked when his eyes were closed…’ I thought to myself in deep reminiscence.
“Hey there Sylvan!”
‘I can’t get it out of my head…! Ugh! I wish it wasn’t just a one time thing…’
“Sylvan?”
‘If we really were together romantically, then maybe I could see that every day… But that’s not–’
“Sylvan!!”
The moment my attention was pulled away from my internal thoughts, I audibly bleated out a high pitched noise of surprise, “Eeep!”
My ears jutted up and my tail straightened like a steel beam. My attention shifted over to my side, where I soon realized Fehnel now stood. She had her paws held firmly on her hips, with a head tilted to the side in a half puzzled, half amused demeanor. Then, when I realized I had been staring a little too long without saying anything, I quickly turned my attention back to the table.
“Oh hey Fehnel!” I stuttered out. “Didn’t see you there!”
“Sorry if I sneaked up on ya, hun,” Fehnel replied with a single wag of the tail. “Got somethin’ on the mind, I’m assumin’?”
The image of Kenta and I huddled together on my couch flashed through my mind once more, before I quickly shook it away. “Uhhhh… Nope! I’m just really focussing here on getting these tamales out.”
“‘Tamales,’ huh?” Fehnel chuckled. “Well between this and that ‘gee-yo-za’ stuff, I think I’m startin’ to give up on predictin’ what crazy name Kahnta’ll come up with next.”
“Yeah it’s pretty… uh–” I coughed awkwardly, clearing something nonexistent out of my throat. “It’s pretty creative.”
“You can say that again. By this point, they’re startin’ to sound almost alien!” Fehnel laughed again, and I cringed as the irony fell over deaf ears. “But hey, who am I to judge! I mean, to me all the stuff on this planet is alien, so what’s another ‘Tamale’ added to the pile, yeah?”
I had to stop my ears and head from shrinking too far towards the ground.
“Anyways, I’m assumin’ these are the actual foods I requested Kahnta to create, right?” Fehnel continued to ask.
“Uh– Y-yeah, yes they ar–” I tried to say before one of Fehnel’s paws suddenly reached out and grabbed my wrist.
“Great!” she beamed, before dragging me away into one of the many chatty piles of fluffy wool that constituted our event.
It didn’t take more than a few rushed steps before I was suddenly pulled in front of another Yotul and Venlil, who I did well to recognize immediately. It seemed as though Kadew and Vuilen had arrived, the former of which looking just about as nervous as I had expected. Vuilen, on the other paw, was anything but. Her tail was wagging furiously, almost impossibly giddy with enthusiasm as her ears shifted around a swivel, likely allowing every new smell and sound to pull her attention to and fro.
Fehnel dragged me forward and plopped me down right in front of the two, before saying, “Tell them what you just told me.”
Vuilen leaned forward, bestowing me her full attention, while Kadew remained stationary, only doing as much as to straighten a single, skeptical ear.
“W-well, uh…” I stumbled, before quickly getting my act together. “Among a number of new strayu recipes, the main entree for today’s event is called ‘Tamales.’”
“Oooo!” Vuilen beamed. “What’s that, Lackadaisy guy? It sounds awesome!”
“According to Kahnta, it’s a mix of vegetables folded in a spongy strayu wrap and steamed inside a starchy husk. And…” I tilted my ears towards Kadew, “It’s supposedly a specialty that is designed to be eaten during times of celebration with family. Regardless of whether they be by blood, or found.”
Kadew huffed a short breath, before folding her arms. But before she got the chance to speak, Vuilen’s enthused voice overtook it. The black and white wooled Venlil leaned into her smaller Yotul partner and pulled them into a strong hug.
“Hear that, Dew? It’s like this food was MADE for your Running Day!” Vuilen piped, bouncing up and down like a cub and bringing the now deeply blooming Kadew along for the ride. “Well… I guess it literally was, but you know what I mean! Either way, there’s like a million new kinds of strayu foods here! Can you believe that? I think I even saw some sylvanas over on that table there! Can you even begin to wonder what they taste like? Oh my Sol, I’m so excited!”
Kadew, whose previously unimpressed countenance now had more steam coming out of her ears than the tamales off in the distance, stuttered out her response. “Uh– Uhmm– That’s… that’s great…”
“I know right!” Vuilen squealed. “This is going to be the BEST Running Day ever! I’m so happy for you!”
I couldn’t help but giggle out in response to this, something which Fehnel had long since been doing on her own volition. Unfortunately for Kadew, this did nothing to ease the sheer amount of embarrassment already flying around her dazed face.
“Of course, all guests are free to eat their fill, especially those invited by the Claw’s Lady herself,” I said, before gesturing a paw towards Fehnel. “All of it has been covered in advance by our generous sponsor.”
Vuilen retreated from her hug just as quickly as it had started, twisting her attention back towards Fehnel and I. “Really? I still can’t believe you’re just giving away all this for free!”
She walked towards the two of us, leaving a still dazed Kadew behind her, before rushing to give Fehnel herself another brief hug. “Thank you so much again for organizing something like this, ma’am.”
Fehnel returned the embrace, having nothing but pure pride and joy radiate through her voice. “Of course, hun. I hope you and my daughter enjoy your date.”
“Oh we will!” Vuilen replied quickly, pulling back once again. Just as fast, she began making a beeline for the buffet tables, almost disappearing into the crowd of fellow Venlil fluff before her voice was heard once more. “I’ll be back in a jiffy, Dew! I just gotta try some of this stuff before it’s all gone!”
Before she was out of range, I twisted around, raised a paw up to my mouth, and stood up high to help carry my voice after her. “Don’t forget to save room for dessert!”
Turning back, I joined Fehnel once again in her chuckling. It didn’t take long for Fehnel to comment on the situation now that Vuilen was out of earshot.
She leaned over and gently nudged me in the leg with her tail. “She’s a riot, ain’t she? Does my daughter know how to pick em’, or what?”
“Oh yeah, I’ve seen them together in the diner all the time. Honestly, I’ve been wondering how long it was going to take to knit that scarf,” I commented, referencing one of the more common and romantic Venlil courtship rituals.
“Guys I can HEAR YOU!” Kadew yelped, now seemingly freed of her hug-induced daze.
“Oh hun don’t you worry yourself about us,” Fehnel replied, a slight hum to her voice. “Us adults can’t help but watch the young love bloom.”
“That guy’s barely older than I am!” Kadew shot back, raising a finger to point at me.
I raised two paws in defence, much too similar to the way Kenta does when he’s been caught teasing me. “Hey, doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate it when I see it. You’re doing great, by the way.”
The teasing, however, had been lost on her. I had meant it in good will, but my words had only served to aggravate Kadew, and she huffed out an annoyed breath. Then, she started stomping rapidly in place, her trained legs moving in a blur like overclocked turbines. From even the briefest glance, I could tell that something had been pulling away at her tail, and our comments were doing it no favours.
“Uhh… are you alright?” I asked tentatively.
“ARGH!” she groaned back. “No! No, I am very much NOT alright! Running Day’s here already, I feel like a pile of speh, my fur’s a mess, and I’m FREAKING THE BRAHK OUT!!”
‘Quite the vocabulary on this one, apparently,’ I judged silently, wondering how my mother would have reacted to hearing me talk like that.
“Honey, Vuilen’s not gonna care about any of that silly stuff,” Fehnel said jovially. “Why, I remember bein’ covered in dried mud the first time I went on a date with your father. We went down to the creek together and took turns tossing water at each other. Then, we went down to the local actin’ house and watched a show. But even after all of that, I still had a bit of dried mud crusted on my fur, but your father didn’t mind. Said it gave me ‘character,’ of all the silly things.”
“Isn’t dried mud just dirt?” I asked.
“Naw, see, dirt is sand, silt, and clay, but it only becomes mud when it has a higher content of clay.”
“So then what happens when dirt gets wet but doesn’t have a lot of clay?”
“Wet dirt.”
“Ah.”
“WHAT ARE YOU BRAHKING TALKING ABOUT!?” Kadew squealed in a panic, her stomping had not ceased in the slightest. She threw her paws up and pulled her ears down over her eyes. “Dirt and mud! That’s all that we Yotul talk about apparently! And trains! Can’t forget the brahking trains! Stars above, that’s all people ever say!”
“Trains are cool,” I said indifferently.
“I don’t care!” she huffed, before turning to Fehnel. “Mom. What if Vuilen comes back and sees you talking about dirt? She’ll just see that it’s the only thing a primitive uplift is capable of understanding! Do you really want to prove her right?”
Fehnel looked shocked, but replied nonetheless. “Has… she said something like that before?”
“Well…! No…! But…” Kadew stomped again. “She might, okay!? Especially if she sees you actively talking about it!”
“To be fair, I asked,” I replied. “Besides, Vuilen seems like a smart girl. She wouldn’t make a rash assumption about the Yotul based off some random remark. Relationships are stronger than that. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“What do you know about it!?” Kadew shot back, releasing her ears and letting them perk up to max height. “Unless I missed something, I don’t see you dating any other Venlil in that restaurant of yours! How do you know if any of this is fine!?”
Fehnel’s voice soured immediately. “Kadew! That is no way to talk to our new business partner! He was just tryin’ to help! Apologize this instant!”
Realizing something had shifted without my notice, I tried to mellow my voice in an attempt to calm the situation down. “Oh, that won’t be necessar–”
“No,” Fehnel interrupted. “I refuse to let my daughter be rude to anyone. We might not have much, but we at least have manners.” She turned her attention back to her daughter. “Kadew, if you have a problem, then I want you to tell me about it. If there’s somethin’ we can do to help, then–”
“No no, it’s not…” Kadew replied, bringing two fingers up to pinch the bridge of her snout. “It’s not that…”
“It’s not what?” Fehnel tried to guess. “It’s with Vuilen, isn’t it? You’re afraid she’ll not be able to appreciate the Runnin’ Day? Listen, I know this isn’t Leirn, but Sylvan and I are kickin’ our hardest to make it special for you regardless. Sure, it’s not the most traditional, but I’m sure Vuilen won’t mind! I understand that livin’ on a new planet is taxin’, the gravity here especially, but as foreigners it’s our job to show these nice people where we come from. We’re Yotul, and nothin’ will change that!”
“Mom…” Kadew grunted back, before taking a deep breath.
Before she could speak, Fehnel continued with a proud wag to her tail. “Do you remember what a Runnin’ Day is all about, Kadew? It’s about all the cubs that came of age that year comin’ together and sayin’ that they’ll be fine by themselves. But it’s also about family. It’s about knowin’ that no matter where you run off to, I’ll be there to support you. But you’re makin’ it real hard to do that every time you don’t tell me what the matter is! And if you don’t, how can I make this Runnin’ Day the best it can–”
“But it’s not a Running Day, is it!” Kadew yelled, instantly shutting Fehnel up.
Her mother stared forward blankly, stumbling over a few unclear words. “Wh-what do you…”
“It’s not a Running Day!” Kadew repeated. “It’s not! I mean look around you!” She lifted her arms up dramatically, motioning towards the crowds of unaware Venlil around us. “We’re the only Yotul here! We’re the only two people that even know what a Running Day is, and I’m pretty sure we’re the only people that care!”
I tried to speak, “Umm… I know what a Running Day i–” but the look of animosity Kadew immediately shot my way gave me Jeela flashbacks, and I shut up just as quick.
“Kadew… Hun, that’s not true,” Fehnel tried to defend. “I’m sure they’d be willing to open their minds if we just–”
“What? Tell them all about how great it is to come from an Uplift planet? Talk about brahking DIRT some more!? Careful there Mom, don’t want to spoil their meal!” Kadew continued her berating. “Because you and I both know that the only reason anyone even showed up to this thing is because of that guy’s food!” Another finger was shot out in my direction. “Even you know there’s nothing special about your stupid Uplift culture! There’s nothing here even remotely related to the Yotul! It’s all just Venlil decorations and Venlil food, for our solely Venlil guests! And look!!” She pointed directly at the statue Jeela had placed as the centerpiece. “They have a statue of a Venlil as the center of everything! It’s the star attraction, not us! They couldn’t give a damn about me or Running Day or our culture or… or anything!”
Fehnel appeared to be on the verge of tears.
“And now I’ve got to find some kind of excuse for all this!” Kadew added. “It’s bad enough I had to drag Vuilen into pretending to care about the Yotul. But now the entire town is a part of it too! They’re laughing at us, Mom! Just like at school! Just like everywhere else I go! They’re laughing at us and you’re proud about it!”
From the verge of tears, Fehnel’s voice had croaked into a soft weep. A glimmering stream of water had begun to crawl down the ridge of her rust-coloured face.
“I hate being born a Yotul! I hate this gross, rusty fur! I hate everyone thinking I’m primitive and that I must be in love with trains and steam engines! And I hate you trying to push your culture on me! Cause guess what? I’ve never even seen Leirn! It’s NOT my home and you need to stop pretending it is!”
Fehnel stood simply aghast, the occasional choked-up garble of sounds emerging from her throat. Meanwhile, I stood speechless as well. Obviously, I had accidentally walked in on and been exposed to something that had been going on for quite a while. But even worse, it seems as though I had done nothing but fanned the flame of this long-fueled fire. Instinctively, I began taking a few steps back to give the two their space, which went unnoticed by either party.
Fehnel swallowed, her eyes still welling tears. “I… I…” she tried to say, but no words would form. Instead, she choked on her own voice. And Kadew, who stood waiting for a response, sucked in heavy loads of air in the fleeting hope to catch her breath.
But instead of an answer, all that any of us heard was a scream.
—————————
​
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I don’t know if this is allowed but I just want suggestions on how to improve my game recordings/streams quality. I’m currently using StreamLabs and even though I set everything to the “best” settings, my videos always end up looking like they’re on 720p and not even close to the real time graphics I see whenever I play.
Here’s my PC specifications for more context: CPU: Ryzen 5600g MOBO: MSI B450m A Pro Max RAM: Kingston Hyperfury Beast 32gb(16x2) DDR4 3200mhz Storage: 1TB NVMe TeamGroup MP33 PCIe 3.0 GPU: Gigabyte GTX 1660super 6gb PSU: Corsair CX650 650w Bronze 80+ Monitor: N-vision 60hz
Suggestions on what software to use and the best settings is highly appreciated! (Free and no paid subscription softwares only)

If yall were just in her stream , a form filler won. And a bunch of other form fillers came on talking shit. and her titty sucking chat backed her up.
I’m fucking so happy yall got a warning from whatnot about giving form fillers a thank you card , that shit needs to stop. Hopefully yall get banned next and seek a REAL world job rather than being dirty THRIFTERS.
I’m gonna LOVE the sob story on instagram blaming your ban on “trolls” , I’ll laugh while you cry.
Outhereflippin plans to run their buyer giveaways every which way OTHER than whatnot allows. so yall PLEASE tune into their next few shows and mass report that bullshit , they need to be gone off the platform for being flat out retards. - and every time someone tried to tell them you couldn’t do that her titty sucking chat said otherwise and was then reported and blocked.
FOR THE TITTY SUCKING FANS - I hope life fucks all of you over. for being RETARDS as well , i hope God punishes y’all , real shit. For acting like a fucking RETARD. Dick sucking these folks until the they’re DRAINED. Foolish and embarrassing behavior from yall.
FOR DRESSED_BY_JESS - maybe one day , Chris will divorce his wife for you , because that’s what you really want. Keep “modding” and wasting your fucking life on this app 🤣 don’t you have a baby that needs attention? attend to THAT instead , you’re “modding” for FREE 🤣 and for those who know when she says specific shit during a specific situation to be “seen” / “felt” ifykyk
I’m here for the downfall of everything , most importantly Susan. I crave this shit. watching people get what they deserve.
And here Susan is telling US to get a job? Susan , you’re telling people to get a job when you buy shit from the Salvation Army that’s MEANT for poor people and give it sniff checks for their fucked up community and sell it for 10X and then tell people to get a JOB.

A Little Backstory
I launched Emailemu.com in November 2023 as a hub where you can discover, save, track, and analyze emails from top-tier companies.
The launch was pretty solid for my first time out of the gate.
First 30 Days:

• 13k page views
• 1.1k unique visitors
• 120 new accounts

First 90 Days:

• 16k page views
• 2.8k unique visitors
• 220 accounts

Since Then:

• Averaging 7,100 page views per month
• 1.2k monthly visitors
• Total of 400 accounts created

Current Situation
We haven’t managed to convert any free users into paying customers yet.
I’ve invested $13,847 in development, backend services, and an SEO agency since January, but I haven't spent a dime on marketing.
User Conversations
Every couple of weeks, I chat with marketers and founders—our target audience—to understand their challenges better. These discussions revealed a huge opportunity to evolve our platform into a more comprehensive competitive research tool, a point that often comes up naturally.
Vision
These insights clarified our long-term goal: to become the "Glassdoor for marketing content and competitor tracking."
The Bet
By building an extensive database of marketing content, we hope to attract founders and businesses looking to enhance their strategies or monitor their competitors. Eventually, this should open up revenue streams from those who value access to our data and insights.
The Dilemma
So far, I've funded everything myself, and although I’m not in a financial pinch thanks to my day job, I’m pondering over whether I’m too close to the project to see it objectively. Should I continue to invest, or is it time to adjust my spending?
The Question
Should I focus on monetizing soon, or stick to the long-term vision since I currently have the luxury to do so? I’d love to hear your thoughts or advice.
My Plan
I’m leaning towards sticking with the long-term vision. My aim is to enrich the site with more content and brands over the next six months to boost traffic. Then, I’ll explore serious monetization opportunities.
In the meantime, I’m looking into ad sponsorships to generate some revenue and trying to cut costs. Fortunately, I've found a developer eager to maintain their skills, which should help keep development costs down.

I'll be honest, even with the hours upon hours of researching I've done over the past year or so, I still feel clueless. I THINK I've found something that should do everything I need and more at a respectable level. Maybe not top of the line, but relatively free of any unsavory results.
I'm coming from Mac, which I've used almost exclusively for the last 15 years. My knowledge has been withered down to RAM, CPU, and storage. I now need to up my game to something that can do everything I need all in the same place. Primarily this will be used for gaming, AAA to indie games and I want it to be able to do just about anything if I wanted it to as far as games go. Secondary, although not by much, it will be used for recording gameplay and video/audio editing and some light photoshop. Not really in the streaming market right now, so I'm not considering it a factor in this build. Tertiary uses will likely be some light web browsing and YouTube, though I plan on keeping my MacBook for most of that. I'd say it will be about 60% gaming and 35% recording/editing. I also want to be able to run 2 displays, I'm hoping that is an option here. One display would mostly be used for my recording and mixing software, the other mostly for actual gameplay.
This is a build I spent a little bit of time putting together, and although it is bit more expensive in this configuration than I would like, I know I can move some stuff around, switch brands, etc. and probably get back around my 1500-1600 price range. I'm not concerned whatsoever with aesthetics right now. I don't care about RGB, so I will be trying to cut some aesthetic corners when I do start buying parts. I don't want it to look like shit, but I don't need my computer to be my primary source of light in my house. I think right now, my biggest concern is whether the 4070 super makes sense with the Risen 7 7700x or if I would be better with either a TI, TI super, or even going to a completely different graphics card. https://pcpartpicker.com/usehyperfrosty/saved/#view=TjbfmG
Is this enough? I often get a little bit overwhelmed by everything and end up focusing all of my energy on the CPU and GPU and then ignoring everything else and cheaping out, but I tried to be better about that and give myself not only a capable CPU and GPU, but also plenty of room for growth and customization in the future and I won't need to go around replacing everything for one part or taking the thing apart to install a new board just to get an extra PCIe slot.
TL;DR- Working on my first build, 60% used for gaming AAA to indie games, 35% recording gameplay from the PC as well as consoles and editing that footage as well as some light photoshop. Minimal use otherwise, wondering if this build would make sense for my uses. Maybe asking if it was overkill or not wasn't the right way to phrase it, I just want to know if it makes sense practically and if there are any issues I'm not seeing. Also, if anyone has any tips on cost cutting, that would be helpful. I'm not super tied down to a budget, but I'd still like to save money where it makes sense.
Recording software: OBS studio, to record console gameplay as well as PC gameplay.
Video Editing software: Davinci Resolve, but would like to move over to Premiere eventually
Photo editing would obviously be in Photoshop.

A Little Backstory
I launched Emailemu.com in November 2023 as a hub where you can discover, save, track, and analyze emails from top-tier companies.
The launch was pretty solid for my first time out of the gate.
First 30 Days:

• 13k page views
• 1.1k unique visitors
• 120 new accounts

First 90 Days:

• 16k page views
• 2.8k unique visitors
• 220 accounts

Since Then:

• Averaging 7,100 page views per month
• 1.2k monthly visitors
• Total of 400 accounts created

Current Situation
We haven’t managed to convert any free users into paying customers yet.
I’ve invested $13,847 in development, backend services, and an SEO agency since January, but I haven't spent a dime on marketing.
User Conversations
Every couple of weeks, I chat with marketers and founders—our target audience—to understand their challenges better. These discussions revealed a huge opportunity to evolve our platform into a more comprehensive competitive research tool, a point that often comes up naturally.
Vision
These insights clarified our long-term goal: to become the "Glassdoor for marketing content and competitor tracking."
The Bet
By building an extensive database of marketing content, we hope to attract founders and businesses looking to enhance their strategies or monitor their competitors. Eventually, this should open up revenue streams from those who value access to our data and insights.
The Dilemma
So far, I've funded everything myself, and although I’m not in a financial pinch thanks to my day job, I’m pondering over whether I’m too close to the project to see it objectively. Should I continue to invest, or is it time to adjust my spending?
The Question
Should I focus on monetizing soon, or stick to the long-term vision since I currently have the luxury to do so? I’d love to hear your thoughts or advice.
My Plan
I’m leaning towards sticking with the long-term vision. My aim is to enrich the site with more content and brands over the next six months to boost traffic. Then, I’ll explore serious monetization opportunities.
In the meantime, I’m looking into ad sponsorships to generate some revenue ad trying to cut costs. Fortunately, I've found a developer eager to maintain their skills, which should help keep development costs down.

A Little Backstory
I launched Emailemu.com in November 2023 as a hub where you can discover, save, track, and analyze emails from top-tier companies.
The launch was pretty solid for my first time out of the gate.
First 30 Days:

• 13k page views
• 1.1k unique visitors
• 120 new accounts

First 90 Days:

• 16k page views
• 2.8k unique visitors
• 220 accounts

Since Then:

• Averaging 7,100 page views per month
• 1.2k monthly visitors
• Total of 400 accounts created

Current Situation
We haven’t managed to convert any free users into paying customers yet.
I’ve invested $13,847 in development, backend services, and an SEO agency since January, but I haven't spent a dime on marketing.
User Conversations
Every couple of weeks, I chat with marketers and founders—our target audience—to understand their challenges better. These discussions revealed a huge opportunity to evolve our platform into a more comprehensive competitive research tool, a point that often comes up naturally.
Vision
These insights clarified our long-term goal: to become the "Glassdoor for marketing content and competitor tracking."
The Bet
By building an extensive database of marketing content, we hope to attract founders and businesses looking to enhance their strategies or monitor their competitors. Eventually, this should open up revenue streams from those who value access to our data and insights.
The Dilemma
So far, I've funded everything myself, and although I’m not in a financial pinch thanks to my day job, I’m pondering over whether I’m too close to the project to see it objectively. Should I continue to invest, or is it time to adjust my spending?
The Question
Should I focus on monetizing soon, or stick to the long-term vision since I currently have the luxury to do so? I’d love to hear your thoughts or advice.
My Plan
I’m leaning towards sticking with the long-term vision. My aim is to enrich the site with more content and brands over the next six months to boost traffic. Then, I’ll explore serious monetization opportunities.
In the meantime, I’m looking into ad sponsorships to generate some revenue and trying to cut costs. Fortunately, I've found a developer eager to maintain their skills, which should help keep development costs down.

u needa do what yugi doin on stream rn just go irl with vsb to a poppin area and just interview ppl it’s free content

Sup y’all. I felt like writing today, so I wanted to give everyone in this sub who stumbles on this post some food for thought. I await your downvotes. Sorry, no tl;dr, the waterfall is just the waterfall.
First, love the game or hate it, I think it’s a good idea to keep in mind that the potential player base for this game is infinitesimally small in the grand scheme of things. Lot of people here over the years pining for a casual shooter that harkens back to the “good old days.” Not only is a return to said good old days impossible, the industry cannot support it, especially when the largest chunks of casual shooter players are entrenched in other free to play games that keep things fresh for them several times a year. If XDefiant can’t keep up… well, you know how it ends.
That’s where we (being the players of the game) come in. Lotta Ubisoft hate all over the place, because it’s so easy to generalize, but you have to come to terms with something: if they have a dedicated player base that they feel the need to support, they will and have. Siege would not have survived its early years under another publisher. For Honor would not still be getting support after all these years under another publisher. Both of these games are light years more unique than XD, but they’ve also had unique and high quality games languish and disappear as well. It comes down to the players, and a lot of it going to be suffering through and adapting to the bad times. Criticize the game, but you have to do it respectfully and intelligently, or else you’re going to lose the “support” of the devs, and thus the suits. Adapt to the snipers. Suffer through the hit reg. It will all get better, but asking for Fix It Felix to come along and rectify these situations overnight isn’t going to leave you satisfied.
Next, consider the business. The devs, in reality, care about the players in that they want their target audience to have the best experience possible. The people calling the shots care about the players until a certain number or two gets too far into the red. With that: you want to play the game but are boycotting because it’s not on Steam? You’re part of the problem, and I don’t mean this awkward obsession with a monopoly. It’s probably going to be a while. A business doesn’t take a swing like this, with an extensive development cycle and cost, to pump out a free game, and immediately give up 30% of every transaction if they can help it. Ubi can absolutely help it. This game of chicken only goes one of two ways, and if you lose a lot of other people lose in the process.
We can all recognize XD isn’t perfect, and it won’t ever be, but I feel this strange obsession with skill-based matchmaking, and it being the PRIMARY selling point, has hurt this game more than anything else. You don’t want to play against players your own skill level because you want to chill? That’s cool, but it takes more than a matchmaking system for a game to be chill-friendly, and because (naturally) XD is making a certain push for esports credibility, so many many parts of this game are tuned with that (and “cool streamer clips”) in mind, and I think that’s the only way this game keeps a revenue stream going long enough for it to find its footing.
Recognize it for what it is: a CoD clone, warts and all, that needs work, and it needs players for that work to complete. Should bunny hopping be removed? Absolutely, and anyone saying otherwise might be delusional (oh I got a “skill issue?” I thought this game was about having some chill rounds?). Like CoD, XD has left in the defensive-maneuver-turned-offensive-exploit which has made the experience “sweatier,” and worse. Why’s it there? Because it makes the higher level players feel good. They’re the ones they really believe they need on board, after all.
Anyway, I had a good time doing this. I hope it helps, I really do, but mostly because it’ll be extra insufferable if this game dies and everyone reflexively blames Ubisoft or Obama or whatever it’ll devolve into. If you’ve read this far, feel free to pick apart everything I’ve said. Might be fun. Until then you can catch me spraying with a P90 without a care in the world. Just watch out for my spiderbot, eh?

Before I start, feel free to ask me anything about this and if it's my capacity I will answer :) Again, no proof of this just claims.
Went to a party yesterday, met a very senior person who built his career in photography and has good contacts in paparazzi game. He shared a few things with me yesterday.
1) We all know that Filmfare might be paid BUT do you know that Best Actor / Best Actress etc. Are reserved 4-5 months ago.
Explanation - Being an enormous event, Filmfare needs a lot of planning which is basically PR for the actors / actress and all. When the nomination list is getting made, the nominee are called and interested people book their awards
2) Filmfare happens in a posh hotel or near a posh hotel every time. The actors / actress / directors have already booked their rooms in that hotel for Makeup and all, all the actors drink (pre-booze) and come to the stage. That's why many look intoxicated. After the session, there are various after parties held in many rooms of that hotel and people keep on hopping parties, networking and asking for work (maybe the drug$ too, not sure tho)
3) Not everyone is present on the floor as you watch on TV. It's editing, all actors / actresses come with their convenience, collect their award and leave. It's merely editing which shows that there are many actors present.
4) Filmfare doesn't stream live, it's a pre-recorded event which everyone know but do you also know that there are re-takes in that event? Yes, there are retakes in that event
5) New comers actively participate in some parties to have fun (and get work, iykwim)
Also, in between I met some actors and let me tell you
1) Tripti Dimri is NOT HOT at all, it's just the makeup and the way her character was portrayed in Animal
2) SRK is not as tall as you think, neither he is very short. His height is very average... I'm taller than him (said the source)
3) Chunky Pandey is a fun loving guy but smokes a lot
4) Darsheel Safary is very short height wise and is out of the industry, he was recently seen in a rickshaw with a script in his hand but it wasn't leaked as he was hesitant
5) Big B and his wig rumors are true

I had my first stream today and it went.... bad. I used my $25 free credit to promote it but no on really stayed except for one person who bought a few things. To them, I'm grateful. Does being a Canadian seller deter people from buying?

Past customers aren’t the only ones who can send business yourway. Here are ideas for increasing referrals.

1. I buy a table at a charity event, school fundraiser, or chamber of commerce mixer. I invite some clients and encourage them each to invite a friend. Now I’m not a broker but the guy who invited them to dinner. At some point duringthe conversation I’m usually introduced as somebody’s broker and it’s almost by osmosis that I become their friend’s broker, too.
   
2. I’ve made it a point to get to know the people who answer the phones and handle administrative work forrental apartments, property management companies, and condo offices. They know when leases are coming up, and tenants and owners alike always seem to let them know well ahead of time what their buying or selling intentions are.
   
3. I’m a full-time working mother and find many of my referrals are generated through local activities that involve my child—music classes, my babysitter, playgroups. People with young children can see that I understand the needs of young families who want to stay in the same area but need
   

more space.

1. One way to generate more referrals is to join a business referral group such as Business Network International (www. bni .com). This will provide you with a “board of directors” for your business and a steady stream of referrals.
   
2. I set up an e-mail list of my high school and college classmates, as well as other alumni. I let them know that I’m inreal estate and explain how I can help them, their family and friends, and their co-workers. If they’re outside of my service area, I offer to help them identify qualified real estate professionals in their area.
   
3. Develop a memorable, 60-second oral description of what you do—“I help people find the home they’ve alwaysdreamed of”—and use it to describe your work to new acquaintances.
   
4. Attach a Post-it note reading “FYI” and your initials to your newsletter or to an article of interest, and give it to clients. The note helps attract people’s attention and makes the correspondence seem more personal.
   
5. Give past clients vouchers for a free 30-minute consultation with you that they can pass on to friends and family.
   
6. Offer real estate advice via your local paper or radio station to establish your presence in the community.
   
7. Choose a unique gift to send to past clients and referral sources each year—a special cake, a Halloween pumpkin, a spring flower arrangement—then repeat the same gift for several years. People will come to expect the gift and associate it with you in their minds.
   
8. Donate an annual amount to a local charity in the name of all your past clients and notify them of your gift.
   
9. Offer to work with a local insurance agent to help homeowners re-evaluate the adequacy of their property insurance.
   
10. Work with a local college to present an annual economic forecast breakfast. Speak about the real estate market and ask one or two local business leaders to share their ideas on the future.
    
11. Take up a new interest. It will expose you to a different group of people that you might not otherwise encounter. If you’ve always been a sports fan, try a reading group. Or take group golf lessons if your idea of exercise is walking from the car to the mall.
    
12. Ask. Let people know that you welcome referral business.
    

#realestate #tips #salestips #tipsandtricks

Hey there! So you're interested in the eSports industry? That's a smart move. The eSports scene is booming and offers tons of opportunities for entrepreneurs. Here are some top business ideas in the eSports space that you might find exciting:
Here's a great video on this topic: https://youtube.com/shorts/gG5zrtpLaDk?si=yluV7Qjvn5op7VgL

1. eSports Team or Organization

Starting your own eSports team or organization can be a thrilling venture. You can recruit talented players, enter them into tournaments, and build a brand around your team. It involves a lot of management and sponsorship hunting, but it can be very rewarding.

2. eSports Coaching and Training

If you have expertise in a particular game, you could offer coaching and training services. Many aspiring players are willing to pay for lessons to improve their skills. You can offer one-on-one coaching, group sessions, or even create online courses and tutorials.

3. eSports Event Management

Hosting tournaments and events can be a lucrative business. You can start by organizing local tournaments and eventually scale up to larger, online events. This can include setting up the event, managing logistics, securing sponsors, and marketing the event to attract participants and viewers.

4. Streaming and Content Creation

If you have a knack for entertaining and engaging an audience, consider becoming a streamer or content creator. Platforms like Twitch and YouTube offer great opportunities to build a following and earn revenue through ads, donations, and sponsorships. High-quality content and consistent streaming schedules are key.

5. eSports Merchandise

Selling eSports-related merchandise can be another profitable venture. This can range from branded clothing and accessories for eSports teams to gaming equipment and collectibles. Setting up an online store is relatively straightforward, and you can leverage platforms like Shopify or Etsy.

6. Gaming Hardware and Accessories

The eSports community is always looking for the latest and greatest gaming gear. Starting a business that sells gaming hardware, such as high-performance PCs, gaming chairs, keyboards, and mice, can attract a dedicated customer base. Partnering with manufacturers or even creating your own brand of gaming accessories could be a hit.

7. eSports News and Media

Creating a website or online magazine dedicated to eSports news, analysis, and commentary can attract a large audience. Covering tournaments, player interviews, game updates, and industry trends can establish you as a go-to source for eSports information. Monetize through ads, sponsorships, and premium content.

8. eSports Betting and Fantasy Leagues

While this comes with significant regulatory considerations, eSports betting and fantasy leagues are growing in popularity. If you can navigate the legal landscape, setting up a platform for eSports betting or a fantasy league can be very lucrative. Ensure you stay compliant with local laws and regulations.

9. Game Development

If you have the skills or can hire a talented team, developing your own games can be a fantastic way to break into the eSports industry. Create a competitive game with engaging mechanics and promote it within the eSports community to gain traction.

10. eSports Analytics and Data Services

Providing analytics and data services for teams, players, and fans can be incredibly valuable. This can include performance tracking, game statistics, and predictive analytics to help teams and players improve. Fans and bettors might also pay for in-depth insights and analysis.

11. eSports Venues

Opening a dedicated eSports venue or gaming café can offer a physical space for gamers to gather, compete, and socialize. These venues can host local tournaments, viewing parties for major events, and provide a community hub for gamers.

12. eSports Talent Management

Representing eSports athletes and content creators as an agent or talent manager can be another exciting opportunity. Help them secure sponsorships, negotiate contracts, and manage their careers.

13. Mobile eSports

With the increasing popularity of mobile games, starting a business that focuses on mobile eSports can be very forward-thinking. This could include organizing mobile game tournaments, developing mobile gaming apps, or creating mobile gaming accessories.

14. Virtual Reality (VR) eSports

VR is an emerging field in the gaming world. Starting a business that specializes in VR eSports, whether through game development, VR arcades, or VR equipment sales, can position you at the cutting edge of the industry.

15. eSports Education and Training Centers

Establishing training centers where aspiring gamers can come to improve their skills, learn about the industry, and get coached can be another great idea. These centers can offer courses, workshops, and boot camps.
So, there you have it! These are some of the top business ideas in the eSports industry. It's a rapidly growing field with lots of opportunities for those willing to put in the effort. Good luck, and feel free to reach out if you need any more advice!

There is too much time wasting entertainment in this era. Billions of combined hours of human potential are wasted. I'm talking about social media/streaming/videogames. Its like the junk food of fun. Our world would be much better if we spent that time on more constructive hobbies, like reading, learning an instrument, gardening, volunteering, exercising, or many other beneficial ways to spend free time.

Hello there! Welcome to what is likely going to be a long, rambly post. I'm going to structure this as though I were answering job interview questions, because let's face it, dating is a glorified job interview for a relationship/getting laid.
Oh, and to save some of you the time reading this (though I did spend a while writing it mind you), I'm 5'5, and it's perfectly fine if that doesn't work for you. I have preferences too! Anyway...
Tell me About Yourself.
Ah, this one is a classic to start off with, glad you asked (or told me to elaborate? Same idea)!
First and foremost, I am a nerd. My favorite day of the week is Sunday, because that's when my D&D game happens (It's actually Pathfinder, but I say D&D because most people are not into the hobby), and this account is named after the character I play in that very game! Feel free to ask for more details at the risk of an overly excited explanation. I also play video games, usually single-player CRPGs, but lately I've been playing Hades and I like being on voice call when I do that.
Professionally I'm... still in school. Here's a lengthy, detailed discussion as to why that is: anxiety sucks. Phew, that was so lengthy, glad that's over! Anyway, I'm a nuclear engineering major and plan to graduate in 4 semesters. In all seriousness, I don't mind going over the full story once we're talking.
What are Some of Your Hobbies?
Lists are helpful for this one! So here we go:

• D&D. Yes I mentioned it already, I'm doing it here again because it's so nice I'll mention it twice! Also, I find that lists are more impressive with more bullet points. Longer bullet points too, that makes it look even more impressive.
• Hockey. When I'm not looking for potential mates, I spend my time shitposting on the hockey subreddit. I've been to 3 NHL games so far and plan to go to more!
• Anything related to animals. For reference, some of the channels I watch on YouTube are Snake Discovery, Clint's Reptiles and Girl with the Dogs.
• Tech stuff. Electric cars, phones, gadgets, all of it is at least of some casual interest to me.

What do You Want in a Potential Partner?
Someone who's not an asshole, shares some interests with me, willing to do some basic stuff (sharing a picture, voice calling, video calling eventually) and treats me with respect. Honestly, not a long list. Physically, I would prefer someone who's of a thinner-average body type as that is what I am. I've made exceptions to this before though, so if you feel that I'm irresistible and not entirely obnoxious, feel free to reach out.
What I want the most though? Just intimacy. I think that's what we all want at the end. That is why this post is marked as NSFW because I am definitely not opposed to it going that way, but I also go at the pace of my partner and respect their boundaries.
What do You Look Like?
I'm 5'5 as mentioned before, 125 lbs, white, brown hair, green eyes, and have glasses that might as well be made of aquarium glass. Hopefully that gives you a vivid enough picture for now, but an actual picture is worth 1000 words so once we've exchanged a few messages I can share that.
And that, dear reader, is the end of my hopefully well-formatted and not-at-all-obnoxious wall of text. Hope you enjoyed reading it, and I hope to hear from you! If I don't, have a great whatever time of day it happens to be in your timezone!